One thing that’s interesting to me about the scenes in FE, the ones where Fitz blames his assassin’s training rather than his trauma, is that we never actually see him killing/treating anyone as coldly as coldly as he thinks he did in RA, and he only kills in self-defense in AQ, despite his attempts otherwise.
You were never really any good at it, Fitz. Despite what you told yourself.
We start to see Fitz harden his heart and prepare himself for what he thinks he must do. He tells himself that the boy is a killer despite his terrified eyes. He tells himself he’s a killer, despite his own terrified eyes.
We see Fitz witness the pain he caused and think himself immune to it. He uses it to harden his heart and make a plan that he refuses even to tell us. Even Myblack can tell nothing good will come, but he asserts that he will be obeyed.
The plan coalesces with Fitz reminding the boy and himself that he’s a traitor instead of a person, and now he starts to spend his energy on shows of strength. He’s hardened himself enough.
Unreliable narrator Fitz strikes again. He’s convinced himself that because he’s decided this is a good idea, so too do Laurel and LG.
I wondered about the parallels between Fitz’s treatment of Deerkin and what he experienced in RA in the dungeons and AQ the times when he was captured. The below are from RA:
A quick ebook search showed he never said “on your feet” to someone and hauled them to their feet, despite what he thinks he would have done 15 years ago. He’s so far gone into his trauma that he’s remembering the actions of others as his own.
