Hava is the daughter of Bellamew and King Leck. She is the niece of Holt. She is Graced with hiding and disguise.
Appearance[]
Hava is tall, thin, pale-skinned, and has straw-colored hair. As a Graceling, she has two different colored eyes. Her left iris is copper-colored, and her right iris is blood-red. She believes her eyes are not beautiful but shocking instead. She has a long, narrow mouth like a gash, and a snub nose. She has plain, nondescript looks. She speaks in perfect, barely accented Keepish.
Personality[]
Hava seems to go wherever she wants and do whatever takes her fancy but does so in fear and in the most utter solitude. Because of her childhood, Hava has never learned how to make friends. Hava is only used to people talking about her eyes to be cruel to her. It's hard for her not to hide because she's so used to doing so. She is clearly unhappy, and has a bit of wildness to her. She has a history of compulsive lying, a habit she developed quite young out of necessity growing up in the castle. She tries to tell the truth now. Saf calls her creepy.
Hava's personality changes a bit now that she is older. Hava is blunt and honest. She often seems much older than she is. She is very clever, but has a brattiness streak. Hava dislikes emotions and will pull inside herself. She is extremely sarcastic and can be unpredictable in her behavior. She has a quiet way of avoiding the attention of others that helps her in her spy work. As Bitterblue's spy, it's her job to keep the queen safe. She does this by hiding and snooping, and by not trusting people. Her interpretation of her job as the queen's spy is to solve the queen's problems in the background of Bitterblue's life. Hava is also good at hiding things. She hates to be overpowered, especially by men. It's unusual for her to lose her temper and especially for her to lose her judgment. Hava has no problem playing a role that leaves people thinking badly of her. She guards her mind against everyone and everything out of habit. It is impossible to impose any will upon her besides her own. She has difficulty keeping still.
Hava struggles with having her own identity as an individual. She doesn't know who she is. She is not quick to trust, so it means something when she does. She has good instincts about the trustworthiness of others. She know when someone is trustworthy and when they're not. Hava is a thinker and considers all factors in a situation.
Hava's biggest wish is to have adventures. She wishes she could always live in a house that's moving. She is very smart and prefers to be around people who can teach her things. Hava loves words, riddles, puzzles, and learning. She wants to understand how everything works. Hava is good at languages and is fluent in all the world's alphabets. She tries to speak to people in their own languages. She likes to be alone, and likes small things.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Her mother Bellamew was a sculptor for King Leck. He raped her, and Bellamew later had Hava and hid her from Leck. Bellamew hid Hava in closets and chests. Hava could only bath infrequently and it was always rushed. Hava also learned to sleep alone. Eventually, Hava even learned to sneak away and hide from her mother too. When Leck found out, Hava was gone, and he killed Bellamew, later trying to destroy her work. Hava was eight when Bellamew was murdered. Because of her childhood, Hava had no friends and ended up wandering Monsea, eventually coming innate the company of the likes of Lord Danzhol. Hava has been to every corner in Monsea. She was four when she began wandering in the city alone. When her mother was killed when she was eight, she struck out across the countryside on her own.
Bitterblue[]
Hava is one of the accomplices of Lord Danzhol's kidnap attempt of Queen Bitterblue. After it fails, Po tried to chase after her. He discovers that this mysterious woman is Graced with the ability to hide. He is unable to catch her. Po tells Bitterblue that he couldn't sense any malevolent feelings from the woman, instead she feels sorry about the whole thing. Po says that while Hava was hiding from him, she was disguised as a pile of canvas, and that she "even felt a bit like canvas" to him.
When Bitterblue is attacked outside the castle's east wall one night returning home from the print shop, someone comes to her aid. She thinks it's Hava. Fleeing her attacker, she goes to Katsa's room to talk to Po. After telling them about the attack, Po admits that he befriended Hava when he sensed her sneaking around the castle trying to visit Holt. Hava feels very bad about what happened with Lord Danzhol, as she didn't realize until it was happening that he'd been intending to kidnap Bitterblue. Hava agrees to Po's request to spend time in the early morning hours keeping an eye out for Bitterblue's safety. Katsa becomes angry and frightened that Po revealed his true Grace to Hava, who is a stranger, and possibly dangerous.
At Po's request and unbeknownst to Bitterblue, Hava and Holt are outside the print shop when Bitterblue goes to visit for the first time after her true identity is revealed to Teddy and the group. When Bitterblue is attacked by a team of thugs, Hava and Holt did what they could to fight them off until Saf heard the fighting and came out to help. The three of them were losing the fight when six of Bitterblue's Lienid Door Guard arrived. When Bitterblue regains consciousness after the attack, Hava is there with her.
Po suggests to Bitterblue that she spend time in the art gallery with Hava, who is there most nights. Hava breaks down into tears, and tells Bitterblue that she didn't know Danzhol was planning to kidnap and hurt Bitterblue. She had only worked with him because he asked her to disguise the boat, which was a new use for her Grace. Bitterblue forgives her.
Hava discovers the cave where Fox lives. Then she witnesses Thiel, Darby, Rood, Holt, Judge Quall, and two clerks removing human bones from Leck's hospital and throwing them in the river.
Bitterblue and Hava meet in the art gallery of the castle. Hava tells Bitterblue that she feels like a pretender. Bitterblue replies by saying she is also a pretender. Hava tells Bitterblue how growing up she knew how to "fly away," and that the only person she was ever herself with was her mother. Holt didn't even know until recently that she was alive. Bellamew kept Hava safe from Leck by pretending she had died. Whenever anyone came near, Hava would use her Grace to hide. Looking at Hava's face, Bitterblue asks her who her father was. Hava changes the subject and walks away to look out the window. Suddenly, Hava sees a strange group of people who are revealed to be Lady Fire of the Dells, and her group of Dellian and Pikkian ambassadors.
Later Bitterblue finds out she and Hava are half-sisters. It is hinted that Hava already knew that she and Bitterblue were half-sisters, but was afraid to tell Bitterblue because she didn't want to be treated like a princess. Bitterblue assures Hava that she will make sure that Hava is not ever in a position to be made queen. She also tells Hava that they can keep their relationship a secret. She becomes a spy for Bitterblue.
Winterkeep[]
As part of her job as a spy for Queen Bitterblue, Hava often leaves the castle for days, sometimes even the city, without telling anyone. Hava and Giddon have worked together often to gather information. She plays the nosy one and he plays the conciliator. To explain her role in Bitterblue's court without revealing her relationship or role as a spy, Hava is described as being an aid to the queen in a broad range of topics.
Hava, Giddon, Bitterblue, and the royal entourage travel to the nation of Winterkeep after their Monsean envoys died in mysterious circumstances.
Seasparrow[]
Hava is on the Monsea as it returns to Bitterblue City. As they travel back to Monsea, Hava is working on translating Linta Massera’s formulas for building the zilfium weapon from Keepish into Lingian. She asks Bitterblue about asking Linny for basic chemistry lessons to better understand the concepts in Linta Massera’s notebooks. Bitterblue denies her request, saying they can't trust him.
Abilities[]
Hava's Grace gives her the ability to change what people see when they look at her. Her Grace changes a person's perception of what they're seeing. Po notes that she even feels to him a little bit like whatever she is disguising herself as. If one knows to watch for it, when she uses her Grace there is a strange wavering in the air. A person feels the sudden need to look away from her as well. Her Grace allows her to take on a fuzzy, blurry appearance that can make others feel nauseous if they look at her directly.
Relationships[]
Bitterblue[]
Bitterblue and Hava develop a close friendship as sisters. They are two years apart. When Hava is off doing her job as a spy for her, Bitterblue misses her and worries over her safety. Bitterblue loves having Hava near her. Bitterblue tells Hava that without her, she would never laugh. Since she spent most of her life watching her sister suffer, Hava doesn't have patience for Bitterblue's pain. Because she watched Bitterblue grow up, Hava lacks emotional barriers between herself and Bitterblue. She feels as if she's porous and Bitterblue's feelings invade her and obscure her.
Giddon[]
Hava and Giddon develop a close friendship. Hava is able to be herself around him. Giddon is proud and understanding of Hava.
Hope[]
Hope is the Blue Fox that Hava saves from Kera in the book Seasparrow. When Hava first saves Hope, Hope's memory is shattered due to being drugged for a long amount of time by Kera. It is learnt later in the book that Hope was the bonded Blue Fox of Linta Massera. Hope is the mother of the first generation of Royal continent Blue Boxes who have the ability of reading and talking with anyone not just one person as is the law in Torla. Hava adopts the alleged first born kit of Hope whom Hava names Moth.
Trivia[]
- Annet, the captain of the Monsea, is the only person who Hava always becomes respectful and almost shy around. Annet is the only person Hava doesn't use her Grace around.
- Because she couldn't bath regularly as a child, Hava now loves bathing.
- Hava carries a collection of figurines made by Bellamew with her wherever she goes. Her collection includes mountain lion-girl, bear-girl, porpoise-girl, and bird-girl.