He made a helpless noise, the turned away from Hawke. "I don't know." It's a lie, but it buys him time to explain himself better. "It wasn't that I didn't remember what she did to me but - " His hair was ruffled from how often he dragged a gauntled hand through it, "When she was in front of me, it was too much. I saw how easily I could make her pay."

When he turned back to face Hawke, he looked utterly wretched. His eyes were alarmingly green against the dark circles of his eyes. "I thought it would ease..." What, exactly? The shame? The memories? All of it?

"Something." Yet it was clear, from the tone of his voice, that it had eased nothing at all.