Author: Okay so hi! This is a long but brief intro to my story. I don't want to give too much away or too many explanations as to who is who or what is what because all of that will added in upcoming chapters. This isn't my best work and yes I am aware I should add a hella good first opening but I've had this sat in my laptop. This is basically a plot I've had for the past two years and I've combined a few elements from the character Belle Blake (Manzoni) from a movie called The Family. It isn't a word for word character, I've simply taken the character and done a completely different backstory (more on here in the chapters). Now, this is a Faberry fanfiction but Rachel won't be in this just yet so please be patient with me, I have a lot of ground work to lay first. It will be a M rated fanfiction also so beware. The name is Skylar and you can catch me on Tumblr btw.

When Belle was a child her parents made it a regular thing to travel to their beloved family cabin up in the deep forests of Wisconsin. Giovanni rarely had time for his children and though he loved them with everything within him, he aimed to give them normality whenever he could. So for each Summer of the year the family would load up the car and go on a trip. It wasn't anything special or outstanding but each family member loved every moment.

Being a mob family was thrilling and had it's pros but sometimes just being regular was a relief.

At the age of ten Belle was already self aware and able to understand the differences to the mob life and the family life. One side was filled with violence which she and Warren were always shielded away from and one was filled with...well dullness. Belle did long for it though sometimes, that Brady Bunch kind of connection. To be normal and be a normal child, be able to play with friends, have sleepovers and watch cartoons with her baby brother...but that was impossible back in New York. Her mother Maggie always had guests round. Family and friends seated on every chair in the home. The kitchen was never quiet, it was filled with the mobwives all setting down plates, mountains of home cooked food or simple snacks with wines. It was never ever empty but it wasn't with people of her age and that was the downer. Belle didn't have it bad, she loved everyone who came over, even if they were criminals and known ex convicts. They treated her like she was their own daughter, the men protected her and the women comforted her. Still, it didn't stop her from watching the park from her bedroom windows and hearing the other children squealing with laughter while played tag. It didn't stop her longing for it.

So the trips were a gift. Her father would spend the day fishing or hunting for dinner. It didn't matter where they were, her mother demanded for and used fresh produce for her cooking. She'd wave through the dust filled window as she cleaned away the inhabited collected dirt and went about her way cooking up something fierce. You wouldn't think the woman wearing a daisy patterned apron had blood on her hands.

Fishing was more of the son and father activity as Belle didn't have the patience to sit watching the end of a fishing pole whereas Warren was fascinated by the slight ripple of the water so she would lay in the boat and either take photographs with her small kiddie Polaroid, even at that age she was a lover of photography.

The hunting however was Belle's and her fathers activity. A young one when she first started. Seven years old in fact but Giovanna firmly believed that teaching a child at a young age would make them grow to be a professional at anything and he was partially right as Belle had a brilliant aim with the gun and had zero issues when it came to helping with the killing, gutting and cleaning of the catch. She was a natural hunter. It became the tradition, a hobby, a habit and basic daily activity on that special week...but on their summer trip

at the age of ten

Belle didn't kill an animal

It was a moment in which her life and path was created and one she found herself running on.

...

The Fabray's were invited to stay at the cabin. They had the space though Belle had to share the small guest room and bed with her cousin Frannie, Judy and Russell's perfect child, a straight A student, popular, possible future cheerleader and all that cliche bullshit. It was just one of those things that you knew without even seeing it.

Warren slept in his parents bed and the Fabray parents would use the last shared room which Belle used for her quiet time.. She wasn't bothered by this however, in fact she was ecstatic as Frannie had never actually spent time with the Manzoni's clan before. Judy was a regular to her sister's home, Russell when he could of course. Frannie was a rarity and Belle was itching to spend time with the girl. Though when it came to the introductions Belle found herself recoiling as she had no idea on how to approach someone for friendship plus Russell was known to have questionable views on her parents but he had the decency never to air them in her presence, Luckily Frannie didn't share the views of her father and the two girls became inseparable. The first night was spent feasting on marshmallows and basic chit chat. Favorite movies, music and books. Typical nonsense that later becomes irrelevant in later life. Wherever Frannie went, Belle followed and vice versa.

That friendship which looked like a forever bond ended after the third day and everything took a turn. Belle made a decision that not only affected her family but stole her innocence forever.

...

"And what happened then sweetheart?"

Belle could remember the sound of multiple voices coming from all rooms in the house. Her father was speaking in such a lifeless voice that she barely recognized it. He had dealt with these type of circumstances multiple times throughout his life so it startled Belle to see him so...broken. Her mother of course was making the officers feel at home by serving tea, coffee and whatever else she could find. That was another oddity. Belle grew up to never trust cops unless they worked with her father and whenever they came to their home, Maggie never served them. She spat at them, cursed and threw things instead...but here she was, red eyed tear stained cheeks and topping up their cup like some sort of housewife.

Judy and Russell were nowhere to be seen. Most expected kids not to understand the process of dealing with tragedy but she knew the two were off somewhere. Crying. Everyone had cried, even Warren, but Belle came to that conclusion only because the sounds of his family screaming had cleary disturbed him. No one likes seeing their parents cry.

Belle however, she was different.

Sat there with a blanket wrapped around her soaked body and some random teddybear on her lap. It wasn't hers, the officer gave it her like an ice breaker. She was observant and quick to understand when someone wanted to talk about difficult things

.

"I know what happened was scary and you probably don't understand much of what's happening but I want you to know that you're not in any trouble. The opposite, we're proud of what you did little miss. You tried to get help and that was a brave thing to do"

He continued on with a soft voice that caught Belle's attention again. It wasn't fierce or scolding which she expected. It was comforting and it made no sense at all because she didn't need it. The others needed it more and honestly she wanted to go outside and watch the investigation pan out.

"We was jumping and she fell in." Belle answered while she played with the small teddy, it was a small dog and Belle wondered how many children had played with it previously. Had it been washed? How many tears had it collected? How many secrets were whispered in its ear over the years?.

...

"I can't wait till I'm older so I can go to prom. Do you know what prom is Belle?"

The small blonde shook her head and watched as the slightly older girl span round with one of the small oars that was found on the floating dock. The two had decided to sneak away while their fathers argued over who caught the biggest fish and their mother's soaked in the sun. They, without permission. stole the cabins paddling boat and ventured off to the dock that floated in the middle of the lake on the opposite side of the cabin. Out of sight from the family as their mother's would ground them for going out so far.

"It's a day where all girls can be princesses. A boy takes you to this huge dance filled with food and pretty decorations and you dance all night. Then at the end of the night, a girl is crowned Queen with a king."

Belle eyes widened with awe at the thought of being a Queen. She had dreamed of a prince coming to rescue her on a white horse with crisp white clothing and taking her to live in a huge castle on the top of the highest mountain in some magical land.
"Does that mean I can be a Queen?" She asked excitedly and watched as Frannie removed the daisy chain necklace they had made earlier from her neck and placed it on top of Belle's blonde head. "You're more of a princess but when I'm crowned Queen I'll make sure you're the most loved princess in all the land!"

But Belle didn't want to be a princess, she didn't want to be something worth less then anyone else. Not at all. This is where the ground crumbled in her mind, where the heat boiled in her chest, just one simple and innocent opinion...destroyed everything.

"Why are you frowning sourpuss? The wind will change and you'll get stuck like that and no prince wants to marry a girl with a sourpuss"
Every word that came out of Frannie's mouth stung, but not in in a hurtful way. It invoked something Belle had never felt in her life. It twisted and turned deep within her chest, numbed her fingers and toes so she clenched them as tight as she could to chase it away.

It wasn't like the time her mother had taken away her copy of Rapunzel because she had punched the boy in her class for pulling her hair. It wasn't like when some stupid girl from across the street pointed and laughed because Belle had accidentally tripped, cutting open her knee. This was something else and when Frannie reached over to brush a simple strand of hair from Belle's eyes, Belle could see everything in Frannie and everything she wanted to be.

The girl had everything Belle dreamed of. She had the large group of friends, the sleepovers, the trips out, shopping days and she was pretty. Very pretty. Nice blonde hair, perfect skin and bright eyes. A Queen. Belle had dark tinted hair with cut skin littered with bruises from constant fights, bruises on her legs from tumbling down after being tackled by some coward. She hated that Frannie had everything and would continue to get everything without a fight.

She. Hated. It.

The moment Frannie stood, stretching her arms over her head. Belle grabbed the small oar, it was heavy but manageable to swing, and she did swing. Hard.
With a ear splitting squeal she swung the oar with her entire body weight with clenched eyes until a hard object was hit and then a splash sounded.

...

"She wasn't moving so I jumped in and tried to shake her but she wouldn't wake up. I didn't want her sleeping in the water so I swam back to get my daddy. He would of told her off for playing like that. It's silly to play in water like that. My mommy says that water can be dangerous cause it's so quiet." Belle shrugged as she swung the teddy between both hands.

"Did she wake up yet?" She asked in in a deep voice with the teddy in front of her smiling mouth.

...

The police report stated that Frannie Fabray suffered a concussion caused from hitting a rock when she fell into the shallow water. By the time Russell and Giovanni reached her, too much water had entered her lungs and the girl drowned before the paramedics could come to the scene. The funeral was held in the Fabray's hometown Lima with friends and family. Belle standing by her mother's side while they lowered the coffin into the dirt. Her friends had all written letters and dropped them inside, whispering their goodbyes.

"Mommy, why are they saying Q?" She whispered at hearing some mutter the letter.
"Her middle name was Q, Quinn was Frannie's nickname to her friends sweetie."
'That's a pretty name.' She thought to herself, over and over again.