Nathaniel pinches the bridge of his nose, folds in on himself, and falls silent. He doesn't know the answer to the question, only that he is bracing for this to make everything worse. That's how things work in the world. Maybe not in Anders' world, where people need a voice because they are silenced forcibly, but in the real world, this is how it works.
That thought makes him soften. Anders was trying to do for him what he does for everybody. Nathaniel can understand it when it's put that way.
He sighs and sits back again. "It's not. It's our worlds that are different, my dear. In yours, people aren't allowed to speak. In mine..."
He has to think of a way to put this. How things are, for non-mages and especially nobles.
"In my world, it's a free-for-all. The only way to have respect is to scramble and fight for it, and if someone else gets to it before you, you're out of luck. No--if someone else gets there before you, it means you weren't worthy of it in the first place.
"You know what my mother was like, or at least some of it. When I went to my father asking him to make her stop, he told me to tell her myself. To stand up for myself. And if I didn't, there was no help he could give me. I don't think I've told you that before because to you, it might make him seem callous. And he would win no trophies as a parent, but this was a kindness from him. He was teaching me a lesson about how to survive. How to fight for my honor because I could never expect anyone else to do it once I was on my own."
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Date: 2017-04-14 10:11 pm (UTC)From:That thought makes him soften. Anders was trying to do for him what he does for everybody. Nathaniel can understand it when it's put that way.
He sighs and sits back again. "It's not. It's our worlds that are different, my dear. In yours, people aren't allowed to speak. In mine..."
He has to think of a way to put this. How things are, for non-mages and especially nobles.
"In my world, it's a free-for-all. The only way to have respect is to scramble and fight for it, and if someone else gets to it before you, you're out of luck. No--if someone else gets there before you, it means you weren't worthy of it in the first place.
"You know what my mother was like, or at least some of it. When I went to my father asking him to make her stop, he told me to tell her myself. To stand up for myself. And if I didn't, there was no help he could give me. I don't think I've told you that before because to you, it might make him seem callous. And he would win no trophies as a parent, but this was a kindness from him. He was teaching me a lesson about how to survive. How to fight for my honor because I could never expect anyone else to do it once I was on my own."