Marcella Bentivegna

**Marcella Bentivegna**
Graduated Bellefeuille • Expert Herbologist & Florist • Vendor at Papa's Market

* Basic Info
* History
* Personality
* Relationships
* Trivia

Do you know what it’s like to go from having the world at your fingertips to having nothing at all? Carmella Romano does. One minute she’s saying *“I do”* to the respected Prince of Italy — the golden boy, the heir, the future King — and the next she’s staring down the tip of her husband’s best friend’s wand, forced to defend herself against his orders to kill her. She died thinking she had the world in her hands, not knowing she didn’t have anything at all. It was a remarkably fast manifestation of *Groom’s Remorse*, as Prince Augustis realized he didn’t feel anything for her potent enough to merit her being crowned his Queen. He held no love for her or their three daughters, added onto the disappointment that they were girls to begin with. It culminated in him ordering her assassination and handing his girls off to his henchmen to dispose of them as they saw fit. As far as anyone would be concerned, the Queen-to-be died in a freak splinching accident with the eight month old triplets. Only he and his closest confidantes knew the very truth, and even then, he’d go to even darker measures to ensure the truth didn’t come out.

Every girl ended up living a drastically different life. Valentina ended up in the custody of a kind, middle-aged couple in Montcuit, France. Caterina was left in a basket at the doorstep of the then-Deputy Headmaster of Beauxbatons Academy. Marcella, though — Marcella was supposed to be smuggled out of the country, due to be sold off to an American family who was being very quiet about their intentions. They fronted as an infertile couple unlucky with the American system longing for a family of their own, but if the successful murder plot on Marcella’s handler was any indication, there was more to it than just that. Luckily for her, the man tasked with stealing her from her handler and delivering her in America was struck by her handler moments before the killing curse sent him through the veil; like his victim, he ended up dead in the middle of the forest wherein the attack was launched. The bodies weren’t discovered until nightfall nearly twelve hours later by a couple who lived a few miles south of the area in their private farm. They certainly didn’t plan to take in any strays, but Marcella was so small and defenseless at the time that, when approached by the Magenmagot officials, they couldn’t help but inquire about where she’d end up. *A group home,* they’d said, and to them, that wouldn’t do.

So, they adopted her.

Marcella never longed for anything for too long. She had all she needed, and what she did want was hardly materialistic at all. More time with her parents, sure. To help out at the barn, definitely. Maybe a few more siblings that would gang up on her adoptive sister Kendall with her. But it’s not like she suffered or was neglected. On the contrary, really; she was thriving in this environment, so different to the cultured society she was initially born into. Even in her early childhood, most of her time was spent in the gardens with her mama, tending to the flowers. If she wasn’t there, chances are she’d be down in the fields, messing around with her papa’s tools. There were instances — albeit few and far in between — where she might be found playing around in the mud with all the magical and non-magical animals being raised in the barn. It, again, wasn’t very frequent considering she abhorred the potent smell of their dung not too far off, but she wasn’t specifically opposed to it. It was all part of her upbringing, y’know? And yeah, a few kids at the local tutoring center made fun of her mismatched outfits and the constant smell of pine that followed her everywhere, but Marcella was happy. Happier than she would’ve been as a princess, probably.

Her interest and love for herbology shone through very early on as she developed a passion for gardening and tending to the greenhouses. Both ended up being her permanent chores, which honestly, she didn’t even mind. Her free time was likewise spent going through all kinds of Beauxbatons textbooks on Herbology. By the time she was eleven and an actual enrolled student, she had the knowledge expected of a sixth year. She was just that into it. So naturally, her first manifestation of her human magic came in the shape of blooming flowers in the dead of winter, when only snow could be seen for miles upon miles. She’d been very frustrated by the harsh conditions, she remembers, when suddenly Kendall was pointing out the beautiful hyacinths. Yeah, that was a good day. Doesn’t beat the feeling she got when she finally arrived at Beauxbatons, though. To the surprise of nobody, she was sorted into Bellefeuille, where she thrived in the years to come. Or at least she was supposed to thrive, but nope. Apparently Merlin has a special kind of hate for her, because imagine her surprise when, shortly upon arriving via winged horses, she spots not one student with her face, but two.

That should have been the first sign that something was amiss. She was lucky she already knew she was adopted; one of them — Valentina — didn’t, and the panic attack that she went through shortly after the realization encouraged Marcella to thank her parents for telling her when she was five. She felt more prepared to face the new reality that she was a triplet. What she didn’t feel prepared for was the possibility that they’d end up hating each other, which is exactly what happened. Marcella was very different from them. Caterina was a bookworm, Valentina was an artist, and Marcella still had a deeply rooted passion for Herbology. Their interests didn’t overlap, and neither did their friend groups. So as you can imagine, it resulted in ugly clashes between the trio leading all the way into their graduation. Not even finding out who their biological parents was a motivator in trying to get along. Marcella was very happy with not knowing. Look, she’s living a good life, okay? She was then and is now, so why is she going to worry about that kind of stuff? No, thanks. Caterina, though — she was obsessed with figuring out where she truly came from. Valentina was curious, but her dislike towards her biological sisters truly overshadowed everything.

Listen, Marcella was more than happy to stick to her own devices and see herself through to graduation, which she did just fine. As soon as she hung up her baby blue robes, she traded it all in for overalls and comfortable sweaters to help her parents out with their farm. She got a part-time job as a florist to help with the finances a bit, but for the most part focused on growing herbs, veggies and fruits that could be sold at the market. Of all her siblings, it was pretty easy figuring out which one would one day take over for the couple. Marcella was the dream kid, into all that kind of stuff, and true to all others’ expectations, she was more than ecstatic when her parents finally announced they’d be leaving the farm and all its responsibilities to her. It was a pretty big burden for a 25 year old, but she transitioned into the role seamlessly and has maintained all duties as instructed since then. Hit the market on Sundays, deliveries on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and dealing with in-barn tasks on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. No off days unless she really wanted them. It’s fine. She loves it!

Or she did, until her estranged biological sister Caterina knocked on her door a year later and turned her life upside down.

She was the King's daughter.

First and foremost, Marcella doesn’t believe that Beauxbatons engrains in its students a taste for elegance. She studied there for seven years straight and not once did she sit back and think — *huh. I’m going to start acting more like a stuck-up princess.* No. That’s a pretty common belief when it comes to graduates from her Academy, and when you meet Marcella, she’s quick to disprove it with her casual mannerisms and general disinterest in materials other alumni from Beauxbatons might be enamored by.

Personally, Marcella is very simple. It’s never been about settling for a quaint life. Far from it. But she’s very minimalist, and it bleeds into everything else she does and says. Her love language is quality time, for Christ’s sake; she isn’t someone obsessed with grandeur. She likes walks through Montcuit at two in the morning, going for picnics at the Montcuit Trail’s cliffside stop, and spending hours upon hours gardening. She isn’t afraid to get dirty either, no doubt about that; at least not in the literal way.

Metaphorically, well — Marcella is very big on honor. She respects her elders, keeps her language clean and appropriate, and definitely does not like strikes below the belt against anyone. Why do you think she just outright avoided engaging with her biological sisters? She believes in kindness and lives by it every day, regardless of how much someone might be testing her. She strives to be a good person — to be like her parents are — and to be remembered as the girl everyone loved. Doesn’t exactly leave much room for nastiness.

If there’s something good about befriending Marcella, on top of her natural friendliness and sweet nature, it’s that she’s always there for the people she loves. She’s unyieldingly supportive and loyal to a fault. If you have a problem, she’s willing to go to the ends of hell and back for you. Unfortunately, there have been many times where this reliability and benevolence has been taken advantage of. Her loyalty is easily won and hard to lose, so — yeah, she’s gotten hurt more times than she can count. It sucks, but it’s almost like she never learns. She’ll keep trusting people openly and easily, and yes, you might think she’s naïve for it, but that’s how she is.

WIP

* Marcella is part-veela via her biological mother; her powers manifested some time after her 13th birthday, but are weak in comparison to her sisters'. She finds it odd, given her innate connection to nature.
* Marcella has a cruppy named Pierre.