Aleifr does not wither under that wrathful stare, nor does it harden him into anger.
"Maybe." His voice is cool and even. "But you would have disobeyed the word of your uncle, and your king, doing it. You would have still spilled his guest's blood in his hall even if you knew Gríma for a snake the moment you laid eyes upon him. And you still don't know for certain what would have come from that choice."
Something comes over him then. A distant look that briefly clouds his eyes before they refocus on her.
"If you made a mistake, it wasn't because of cowardice." He says firmly. "A coward wouldn't cast aside what they hold dear for another's sake. And if you made a mistake, then everyone in Théoden's court shares in it."
Éowyn was not alone, after all, in despising Wormtongue for the pestilence that he poured into their king's ear. His days beneath Théoden's roof would have offered them chances - many chances - to rid themselves of him, and yet his shadow still darkened their hearth with each new day.
"What happened didn't come to pass because of your choices alone, so do not try to claim all the guilt as yours."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sforzinda
no subject
Date: 2025-02-17 09:45 pm (UTC)"Maybe." His voice is cool and even. "But you would have disobeyed the word of your uncle, and your king, doing it. You would have still spilled his guest's blood in his hall even if you knew Gríma for a snake the moment you laid eyes upon him. And you still don't know for certain what would have come from that choice."
Something comes over him then. A distant look that briefly clouds his eyes before they refocus on her.
"If you made a mistake, it wasn't because of cowardice." He says firmly. "A coward wouldn't cast aside what they hold dear for another's sake. And if you made a mistake, then everyone in Théoden's court shares in it."
Éowyn was not alone, after all, in despising Wormtongue for the pestilence that he poured into their king's ear. His days beneath Théoden's roof would have offered them chances - many chances - to rid themselves of him, and yet his shadow still darkened their hearth with each new day.
"What happened didn't come to pass because of your choices alone, so do not try to claim all the guilt as yours."