Paladin of Souls

Fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold.

In The Curse of Chalion the story of the Royina Ista, the middle aged, mad, dowager empress, seemed over. Paladin tells her story as she figures out how to escape: she takes to the road on pilgrimage.

Several times, Ista tells the story of the traumatic & notorious attempt to undo the original curse, and every time the story is retold we learn new details...