[ Thancred can't be certain that the word "hate" has ever come up before in relation to how he'd betrayed Yennefer during the Nocwich attack, but he'd felt it all the same. She hadn't ever spat that into his face, but she hadn't had to, the distance that had grown between them speaking plenty on its own.
With his hand still hanging there in the air, waiting for Yennefer to take it, Thancred does feel oddly vulnerable. But he doesn't pull back, focusing instead on Yennefer's face and waiting for her to speak her piece, as he already has for himself.
It's illuminating to hear her talk of it now, to describe her past actions almost as if they belonged to another person. With the queen's life practically forfeit now as far as they know, perhaps she's realized that she can let all of those masks fall away and simply be herself.
He'd be the last one to judge. ]
You were right to blame me, for the record. I didn't mean it as a betrayal against you so much as keeping a promise to another, but that doesn't change what I did or how it all played out. It was a risk, one I knowingly took, and if you had suffered any worse consequence as a result, I never would have been able to forgive myself.
[ Oh, and finally, there's the warmth of her fingers wrapping around his hand. Thancred lets out a breath that had been caught in his chest and shuts his eyes for a moment, the relief washing over him. ]
I am sorry that I reopened old wounds. And I'm sorry if that's happening all over again now. [ He suspects that it is. Yennefer has been in some situation like this before, and surely that's why she's digging her heels in. When Thancred opens his eyes, his expression has hardened with determination as he stares her down. There's no reason not to lay it all out on the table now. ] Yennefer, listen to me. I don't want to leave you behind, if only because I can best assure your safety if you're at my side. I realize that's selfish of me, but...
[ He tightens his grip on her hand. ]
Well, I at least had to come say my piece. I can hardly force you, but I didn't want to leave without trying.
[ No, he isn't going to try and drag her to the caravan against her will. Yennefer will have to make this choice for herself. But he had to come see her before it was too late to make his stance clear. ]
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With his hand still hanging there in the air, waiting for Yennefer to take it, Thancred does feel oddly vulnerable. But he doesn't pull back, focusing instead on Yennefer's face and waiting for her to speak her piece, as he already has for himself.
It's illuminating to hear her talk of it now, to describe her past actions almost as if they belonged to another person. With the queen's life practically forfeit now as far as they know, perhaps she's realized that she can let all of those masks fall away and simply be herself.
He'd be the last one to judge. ]
You were right to blame me, for the record. I didn't mean it as a betrayal against you so much as keeping a promise to another, but that doesn't change what I did or how it all played out. It was a risk, one I knowingly took, and if you had suffered any worse consequence as a result, I never would have been able to forgive myself.
[ Oh, and finally, there's the warmth of her fingers wrapping around his hand. Thancred lets out a breath that had been caught in his chest and shuts his eyes for a moment, the relief washing over him. ]
I am sorry that I reopened old wounds. And I'm sorry if that's happening all over again now. [ He suspects that it is. Yennefer has been in some situation like this before, and surely that's why she's digging her heels in. When Thancred opens his eyes, his expression has hardened with determination as he stares her down. There's no reason not to lay it all out on the table now. ] Yennefer, listen to me. I don't want to leave you behind, if only because I can best assure your safety if you're at my side. I realize that's selfish of me, but...
[ He tightens his grip on her hand. ]
Well, I at least had to come say my piece. I can hardly force you, but I didn't want to leave without trying.
[ No, he isn't going to try and drag her to the caravan against her will. Yennefer will have to make this choice for herself. But he had to come see her before it was too late to make his stance clear. ]