Prompt 60 (20 July) – Choice
Title: That which passeth understanding
Words: 125
Characters: Sir Alanna of Trebond & Olau, Lord Thom of Trebond
"How could you do it? How could you, Thom?" Alanna demands. They've grown apart, she knows that – worlds apart, it now seems; still she struggles to reconcile her beloved brother with the horror he's created.
Thom won't look at her, which perhaps isn't surprising. "You don't understand," he repeats.
"What?" Pleading, and hating herself for it. "What don't I understand?"
"You think I did it on purpose." It seems he's decided to attempt some explanation, after all. "You think I planned … this. You don't understand!"
She waits.
"I had no choice," Thom continues, when the silence has gone on past bearing. "I had no choice."
And something breaks, then. "There's always a choice," she says quietly, and leaves the room without a backward glance.
A/N: I can't actually remember what Alanna and Thom say to one another right at the end of LR, or what the exact sequence of events is; this is just my idea of a conversation they might have had.
