Corrin looks up in shock, tears streaming down her face when the image around them changes, and all the death and destruction fades away. The shock of it almost causes her legs to give out, but she steadies herself against a wall as Tyzias explains how her end actually came about.
When the troll is finished, silence descends for a moment while Corrin takes a minute to get herself under control, wiping the tears away from her face. "Tyzias...I have never thought you were a coward." She says finally. "When I-when I said that...I wanted to hurt you, to try and throw you off-balance. And to do that, I needed to make a hole in your armour. So I took what we experienced on Starlight and I twisted it, and I knew I was twisting it because I knew doing that would hurt you more than my sword ever could. Or I thought I did. Because it's the same sort of petty cruelty I experienced every day from the man I thought was my father and the people who served him." She runs a hand through her hair. "I guess I learned from them better than I ever thought I did. Or maybe I didn't because...it didn't work, did it?" She asks finally. "I thought I could make you crumble, but I didn't crack your armour, I just hardened your resolve. When you challenged me to that duel, I agreed to it not just because of Ramaa's poison making me want to crush you underfoot, but because I had enough of myself back to know that not only would challenging you take me out of the fight, keep me from hurting anyone else but also because you could beat me. Whatever it would have taken, you'd have stopped me."
When the carnage outside returns, Corrin looks out at it. "You think I would have lasted in Alternia? At all?" She asks. "Of course I wouldn't have. I wear my heart on my sleeve and my first instinct is to help people regardless of the risk to myself. I only survived in Nohr as long as I did because of my station, barely, and because I was surrounded by people who thought the same as me and could protect me when I made mistakes. And I still had to bloody my hands to survive, so I could live long enough to save my home from the...the evil that was corrupting it."
She looks back around at the room they're in, away from the destruction going on outside, a contemplative look in her eyes. "If I'd been in Alternia instead of Nohr, I'd have been dead long ago. And so would everyone I cared about. And it would have just gone on and on and on without us. You lasted so much longer, and you made sure when you were caught that it wouldn't blow back on anyone else you cared about. So they could keep going, keep fighting. The way I blunder through things, I'd never have been able to. Of course you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? It would have been so much worse if you hadn't been; fear kept you alert, kept you watchful. It meant you understood what you were doing and what the consequences would be when you were found out. And you kept going anyway. How is that not courage? Courage doesn't mean you have no fear; it means you acknowledge your fear, but you don't let yourself be controlled by it, to master it and not be mastered by it."
She takes a deep breath, now mostly under control. "You're not a coward, Tyzias. You're one of the bravest people I know. Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot...including me."
She finally stands straight and turns to the girl. "I am so sorry I hurt you."
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When the troll is finished, silence descends for a moment while Corrin takes a minute to get herself under control, wiping the tears away from her face. "Tyzias...I have never thought you were a coward." She says finally. "When I-when I said that...I wanted to hurt you, to try and throw you off-balance. And to do that, I needed to make a hole in your armour. So I took what we experienced on Starlight and I twisted it, and I knew I was twisting it because I knew doing that would hurt you more than my sword ever could. Or I thought I did. Because it's the same sort of petty cruelty I experienced every day from the man I thought was my father and the people who served him." She runs a hand through her hair. "I guess I learned from them better than I ever thought I did. Or maybe I didn't because...it didn't work, did it?" She asks finally. "I thought I could make you crumble, but I didn't crack your armour, I just hardened your resolve. When you challenged me to that duel, I agreed to it not just because of Ramaa's poison making me want to crush you underfoot, but because I had enough of myself back to know that not only would challenging you take me out of the fight, keep me from hurting anyone else but also because you could beat me. Whatever it would have taken, you'd have stopped me."
When the carnage outside returns, Corrin looks out at it. "You think I would have lasted in Alternia? At all?" She asks. "Of course I wouldn't have. I wear my heart on my sleeve and my first instinct is to help people regardless of the risk to myself. I only survived in Nohr as long as I did because of my station, barely, and because I was surrounded by people who thought the same as me and could protect me when I made mistakes. And I still had to bloody my hands to survive, so I could live long enough to save my home from the...the evil that was corrupting it."
She looks back around at the room they're in, away from the destruction going on outside, a contemplative look in her eyes. "If I'd been in Alternia instead of Nohr, I'd have been dead long ago. And so would everyone I cared about. And it would have just gone on and on and on without us. You lasted so much longer, and you made sure when you were caught that it wouldn't blow back on anyone else you cared about. So they could keep going, keep fighting. The way I blunder through things, I'd never have been able to. Of course you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? It would have been so much worse if you hadn't been; fear kept you alert, kept you watchful. It meant you understood what you were doing and what the consequences would be when you were found out. And you kept going anyway. How is that not courage? Courage doesn't mean you have no fear; it means you acknowledge your fear, but you don't let yourself be controlled by it, to master it and not be mastered by it."
She takes a deep breath, now mostly under control. "You're not a coward, Tyzias. You're one of the bravest people I know. Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot...including me."
She finally stands straight and turns to the girl. "I am so sorry I hurt you."