Ghost Story

[Marian Hawke]

"My life was intense," she replies, hesitantly. "I think. I-- I remember what I did, to try and save my sister."

[Varric]

Varric stills for a second in his preparations. "Oh?" The word is neutral, inviting her to continue but not demanding it.

[Marian Hawke]

She nods. "I... I remember... I remember feeling this way. Scared, and alone, and like nothing was right. Only, only my family was there, and they were upset too. And they pushed me, told me to fix it, to get her back. So I went and I tried my best. I begged and I pleaded. And the sheriff said... He said maybe if I made him happy, he'd repay the favor. So I... I used my mouth to please him. And I felt dirty and ashamed and awful, but I thought, for my sister, it'd be worth it."

[Varric]

Varric closes his eyes for a moment, needing the gesture to throttle back the rage her words summon. "You didn't deserve that," he rasps out. "To have that asked of you, family or sheriff."

[Marian Hawke]

"It can't have happened here," she reasons, slowly. "The guy outside wasn't the guy I remember. So I had to have lived somewhere else at the time."

[Varric]

Why does that feel wrong? "Could also that he retired, got killed or moved," Varric points out. 

[Marian Hawke]

"Could be. I don't remember for sure," she says, with a small nod. "But... my sister died. So after all that, he must have double crossed me."

[Varric]

"Anyone that would rape a teenager is the sort that would double-cross them as well," Varric agrees, a snarl in his voice.

[Marian Hawke]

"It wasn't-- I agreed. It was just a trade," she says, in a small voice. 

[Varric]

"Did you want to do it? Not 'did you want what he was offering in exchange' but did you want to do that with him?" 

[Marian Hawke]

Emma shakes her head, wrapping her arms around her stomach. 

[Varric]

"Then it was rape," he says gently, setting his meal preparations aside to face Emma. "And you didn't deserve it. Didn't deserve to have that pushed on you by your family either. Saving your sister should never have been your responsibility."

[Marian Hawke]

"They blamed me, for her death," she whispers. "I didn't do enough. I didn't save her. It was my fault. Maybe if I'd let him use my cunt instead of my mouth, or... or tried harder to hold him to it..."

[Varric]

"No," Varric growls. "You did too much. You did more than anyone else from the sound of it. What did the rest of your family do?"

[Marian Hawke]

"My mother tried to bribe him with money. I think... she might have sent the money with me? It's fuzzy. But I know she paid dearly, trying to get her precious baby back. And my brother went on a tear, trying to threaten anyone he could find that might be able to rescue her. It didn't help."