Disclaimer: The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy belong to Kristin Cashore.
Po hung his head miserably. His only thoughts lay with Katsa and their argument. "You lied to me," she had said one last time, before fleeing the room. And it was true. He had lied. But he did not betray her, as she imposed. He clenched his fists in frustration.
Why could she not understand? Why could she not, for a moment, push aside her anger and trust him? Po smiled sadly because he already knew the answer: she was Katsa, his wildcat. Of course, he of all people should expect this kind of reaction from her. He, who had spent days, weeks fighting her, sensing her, and advising her. Dread filled him, and he slumped back on the table, defeated. If only he could have told her himself, instead of allowing her lone to discover the truth. Perhaps then, she would not feel so betrayed, so used and manipulated under his pretence. Po silently cursed. He was going to tell her; he had wanted her to know. All those weeks he had been far less careful around her, leaving small hints here and there - or so he thought.
Suddenly, Po was shaking uncontrollably. He was afraid, he realised, and for good reason. Only five people in the world knew his true Grace: himself, his mother, Grandfather Tealiff, Prince Raffin...and now Katsa, a sixth. If she told anyone the secret of his Grace...
He grabbed the edge of Raffin's table to steady himself, for his hands shook. No, he reassured himself, Katsa wouldn't tell his secret. He knew her. They had fought and talked together. Even if she believed him to have betrayed her, she was not one to betray back. She couldn't, wouldn't, ruin his life. Katsa knew what it was like to be used and exploited for a Grace; that sadistic king who was her uncle had controlled her for years, and turned her into a weapon at his disposal. No, she could hate him, but she could never betray him. She could never ruin his life.
But it was just that: she now, undoubtedly, hated him, was disgusted by him. It pained Po to have seen Katsa look at him with distrustful eyes, and to throw words at him with a malicious tone, to have acted as if their friendship had never existed, for all she cared. Could she not see that she had hurt him as deeply as he hurt her?
Po's mind was an utter mess of worries and fears.
How? he wondered. How did everything escalate so quickly, so wrongly?
He had to talk to her. He would beg for her forgiveness, and make her listen to him. He would not hide any longer.
for me, this was a must-write. we're told the story of Graceling from Katsa's pov, and i just felt that it wasn't enough to convey how Po might've felt during this part of the book.
may turn this into a twoshot, i dunno...
please leave a review, and tell me what you think.