RKanimalkingdom asked Juliet Marillier:

This is the question I wanted to ask. While I was reading Dreamer's Pool I was curious as to why Grim was so accepting of Blackthorn's behaviour towards him. I know that at the end he expresses his feelings about it too her but why does he only display his anger towards others and not her? She doesn't treat him as nicely as the other villagers.

Juliet Marillier Hi there,

The relationship between Blackthorn and Grim is quite complicated! He really cares about her and respects her. At the same time he has quite a low opinion of himself, and therefore does not start to challenge her about her behaviour until later in the story. If she's unkind to him he probably thinks he deserves it, or makes allowances for her because he knows she is angry or unhappy about other things. As for Blackthorn being sharp with him, that is often because he has insights into her state of mind that are uncomfortable for her. I hope that goes some way toward explaining it! Blackthorn does learn to value Grim, but she remains snappish, not because she is really angry with him, more because of her internal conflict.

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