a life unkind
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Summary: Shianni and her wayward cousin, but mostly Shianni, as Bell Tabris is hopeless and doomed to be just like her mother. – Multichapter Origin Fic.-
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Bell had been raised with a series of unfortunate truths.
The first truth was that yes, it could be argued that her mother had died a hero. Standing up to the guard to protect the innocent and all that- all very well and good, but that didn't disguise the fact that Adaia had had her skull crushed by an errant billy club once they'd tired of breaking her arms and legs.
The second truth was that yes, her mother had been a warrior, and had taught Bell quite a lot before her death, and had even made the mistake once or twice of telling Bell how good she was at swordplay. Bell had taken that to heart, as she took so many things to heart, and then she never let go of it.
The third truth could hardly be called a truth at all. Shianni was rather under the impression that if it was stupid, it was hardly truth, but Bell didn't ever question it.
The third truth was that if you saw injustice being done, you had to put a stop to it.
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They hit her cousin in the face.
They hit her cousin in the face, and if Shianni had had the presence of mind, she would have screamed many, terrible things about Bell's wedding dress hitting the dirt like that after it had been so much trouble to actually get her into it, but she was instead fighting the urge to scream for entirely different reasons.
Bell hit the ground in a crumpled heap and didn't move, and from the horrified look Nelaros was giving his intended bride, you would have thought he'd actually wanted to marry her. It was only his dash forward to throw himself over her that prevented the front guard from giving Bell a savage kick to her unprotected spine- they became so busy afterwards clubbing him around the head that they didn't have the chance. Shianni would have been touched for Bell's sake, under different circumstances.
Nola was screaming- something about the Maker, something nonsensical about Andraste's mercy, but one of the Bann's men had her arms pinned behind her back and had one hand clamped firmly on one breast as he hauled her away.
Belatedly, Shianni dove for the edge of the stage, hoping to get out, get away before she was snatched up like the rest of them, when a blinding pain in her shoulders alerted her to the fact that the Bann had twisted her arms behind her and was jerking her back towards the safety of his group. The Chantry sister was still looking on, horrified, as the Bann breathed hard into her ear, "I've been looking forward to this, you knife-eared whore."
I didn't hit him hard enough.
The thought was ridiculous and less than comforting, but somehow hysterically funny under the circumstances.
She knew she should be panicking, should be kicking herself for setting this whole, awful thing in motion, but all that she could think while looking at Bell's slack body being pulled through the dirt by one listless arm, was-
She never even got to be the hero.
Shianni gave up and screamed for the hell of it, but the sound was lost in the noise and confusion.
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