Kessie's Short Stories

[Dragon Age] Hana

Originally published 6/4/2020

I am a little girl

Who is Unborn

I live in the Fade

Where monsters a'swarm

I see a new friend

Why do they look so worn...?

-a poem written in the sand, signed by 'Hana'

. . .

Ever since he became trapped in the Fade, Hawke could not shake the overwhelming feeling that he was being watched. Perhaps it was the looming fortress that the Chantry would have insisted was the Black City. Maybe it was just the unnerving fact that he was physically in the Fade itself, left behind to ensure that the Inquisitor returned to the mortal plane to finish off Corypheus.

Or maybe it was the oddly child-like giggling in the background, as if Hawke's discomfort was all sort of some silly game he knew nothing about. Which, considering his luck so far, didn't sound too far off.

As much as he didn't like it, Hawke couldn't help but head toward the laughter. He would have insisted he had tried to go the other way. He would have sworn that at some point he tried to move away from the noise. But the giggles called to him, guided him, and gave an odd measure of comfort in the otherwise harshness of the Fade.

To his absolute, horrified shock, he found a female child. The child could not have been more than ten years old; her small, youthful face could not hide her flat nose and prominently high cheek bones. Her hair, thin and as yellow as dry straw, hung against her face and reaching down to her shoulders. There was also something in her eyes- something that for some reason reminded Hawke suddenly of Varric.

"I've found you." she happily decided, looking up at Hawke with a particularly mischievous flicker in her eyes.

Now fairly certain that the girl-child was another demon sent to beat him down, Hawke drew his staff in preparation. However, if this girl-child was a demon, she sure didn't react to his gesture of hostility.

"My name is Hana, Ser Hawke."

Well, that was new. No demon before had introduced itself, let alone know his name. Hawke cautiously started to lower his staff as he then questioned, "How do you know my name?"

"The whispers have told me." the little girl mused. "They whisper many things to me; whispers for the past, the present, and maybe the future- I'm not too sure. Not all the whispers like me, but I can find the ones that do."

"Whispers?" Hawke repeated before going on to inquire, "Who are you? And why are you in the Fade?"

"Not sure..." she decided, innocently moving around him. "I think I was... born here."

"Born... in the Fade?"

"Yes. That's what the whispers tell me. I am an... Unborn, I think is what they said. Yes, an Unborn, a creature that died before being alive. It is a very sad thing, I think, because I can hear my parents cry for me but I can not find them. And I've looked Ser Hawke, I have."

Hawked looked down at the girl, now with a mixture of worry and empathy. While he had never heard the term 'Unborn' before, there was another that he was familiar with...

"Hana," Kirkwall's Champion then decided to ask, "Who are your parents? Do you -or even the whispers- know who they are?"

But Hana looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. "The whispers said that you would know, Ser Hawke." she insisted. "The whispers said that my Papa is your best friend, Varric."

Upon hearing this, everything in Hawke's body froze. As absurd the thought was, Hawke had some feeling that she was telling the truth. Then an even harder thought hit Hawke's mind; did Varric know that this child existed? Hawke had to recompose himself for a moment before going on.

"And your mother?"

Hana bounced on her toes a little; a nervous tick, Hawke was sure, that most kids are prone to have when nervous.

"The whispers... they said... they called her 'One of our blood, but not of our kin.' And... and a word- they said a word too."

"Do you remember what it was?" Hawke quietly asked, getting down to the girl's eye level.

"Valla-something-harellan, I think." she said as she looked back at him. Her face detailed worry and confusion. "They did not say it nicely."

"I'm sure..." Kirkwall's Champion mumbled to himself as he got back up. Hana looked at him, studying him, with curious eyes that Hawke now knew were Varric's. That nose too, come to think of it. A lot of this girl carried more than a few traits from the dwarf- it was a small wonder that he didn't put two and two together earlier.

"Well," Hawke then said to the girl, "It was nice meeting you Hana, but I have to move on. It's too dangerous to stay in one place in the Fade for too long. Unlike you, I'm made of flesh, which means I am a major target for any demons laying about."

The look Hana gave Hawke was so soul crushing, he might have adopted her right then and there. He turned and started to make his leave. The girl studied him, her face contorting into one of upset.

"Wait!" the little girl called out, grabbing the sleeve of Hawke's armor. "Can... can I stay with you, Ser Hawke? The Fade is so big and I've been alone for so long..."

Hawke paused. He could feel how hot the girl's touch was from under his armor. It was like she was a living being; not spirit or demon, nor dead or alive. This girl, this... unborn girl. He couldn't just leave her. It was more than clear that she had thoughts of her own. Never forgetting that she carried a lot more characteristics of Varric than Hawke cared to admit. Even if she was a demon, even if she was a false vision, even if she could strike him down at the first chance she got, what else did Hawke have to lose?

"Of course you may come with me." he found himself saying. "I assume you have a way to defend yourself, should you need to?"

Hana gave a little nod. "The voices tell me when to hide. Some have kept me safe with their magic. Others try to teach me their magic."

"Does it work?"

"Not always..."

So the girl was not a mage? Or perhaps she was a very undeveloped one. Regardless, Hawke was set on his choice of keeping her now- he could find more about her as they journeyed together.

"Come," he offered, "We have to get moving."

"Right." came the affirming nod.

The two walked together, almost side by side, into the deeper reaches of the Fade. It was some time before Hawke noticed that Hana was starting to nervously ring her fingers in each other. Just as he was about to ask what was on her mind, the child whispered in a small voice;

"I'm not scared of the Fade, you know."

With his eyes focused on the path ahead, Hawke gave a small snort. "I did not doubt it for a moment."

"But..." the girl then admitted, "I... I am afraid of the monsters. Are you afraid of the monsters, Ser Hawke?"

The Champion of Kirkwall gave the girl a sideways glance before getting down to the child's level. For a moment, a brief, mischievous smile crossed Hawke's lips as he said, "No, Hana. Not anymore."