Ireth
Myth Weaver
I have a slight problem with a supporting character in my main WIP, Winter's Queen. The character, Eira, is a servant of the Unseelie King of Faerie, and is ordered by said king to serve the MC, not-yet-princess Ariel, as her personal maidservant.
Eira's character arc involves her forming a fast friendship with the MC, who is about the only person to treat her as a friend rather than a servant; eventually that friendship motivates her to first secretly disobey and then directly stand up to the king when his orders compromise Ariel's safety. Since Eira is not a POV character, or do I intend to make her one, I need a way to show Eira's conflicting loyalties from other points of view.
Especially problematic is the fact that the king in question is not really a bad person; he's actually a reasonable authority figure who understands her desire to just go home and live in peace, while still not being especially keen on doing anything about it, since he figures she's a good match for his son, the villain of the book (who kidnapped Ariel in order to marry her).
While the prince is outright abusive and unapologetic, the king doesn't raise his voice to her or do anything that could be considered "bad" until her actions result in his son being maimed and rendered ineligible for kingship. At that point the king orders Ariel executed for attempted regicide, or so he sees it -- in actuality the maiming is pure self-defense, as the prince had at that point been trying to kill her, but there were no witnesses or anyone else present to corroborate Ariel's side of the story. Eira, out of friendship for Ariel, helps her escape from prison and find her family. When the king and his guards catch up, Eira refuses to stand down and let them take Ariel to be killed, giving others the chance to persuade the king toward mercy as well.
My big question is, is the way I've described it enough to show Eira's conflict, or should I add more into the story to make it clearer?
Tangentially-related note: I intend for Eira to be punished for her insubordination (offscreen), but haven't figured out what such a punishment would entail. Technically Eira is well within her rights to defend Ariel, due to the mutual claim of friendship she and Ariel establish when they meet; for a Fae to harm a mortal claimed by another Fae is very ill-advised, and can be punished in various ways. It's Eira's status as a servant, with a king interfering with her claimant, that makes this a special case.
I'm gonna stop there before this gets too much more rambly. Thoughts and comments are appreciated!
Eira's character arc involves her forming a fast friendship with the MC, who is about the only person to treat her as a friend rather than a servant; eventually that friendship motivates her to first secretly disobey and then directly stand up to the king when his orders compromise Ariel's safety. Since Eira is not a POV character, or do I intend to make her one, I need a way to show Eira's conflicting loyalties from other points of view.
Especially problematic is the fact that the king in question is not really a bad person; he's actually a reasonable authority figure who understands her desire to just go home and live in peace, while still not being especially keen on doing anything about it, since he figures she's a good match for his son, the villain of the book (who kidnapped Ariel in order to marry her).
While the prince is outright abusive and unapologetic, the king doesn't raise his voice to her or do anything that could be considered "bad" until her actions result in his son being maimed and rendered ineligible for kingship. At that point the king orders Ariel executed for attempted regicide, or so he sees it -- in actuality the maiming is pure self-defense, as the prince had at that point been trying to kill her, but there were no witnesses or anyone else present to corroborate Ariel's side of the story. Eira, out of friendship for Ariel, helps her escape from prison and find her family. When the king and his guards catch up, Eira refuses to stand down and let them take Ariel to be killed, giving others the chance to persuade the king toward mercy as well.
My big question is, is the way I've described it enough to show Eira's conflict, or should I add more into the story to make it clearer?
Tangentially-related note: I intend for Eira to be punished for her insubordination (offscreen), but haven't figured out what such a punishment would entail. Technically Eira is well within her rights to defend Ariel, due to the mutual claim of friendship she and Ariel establish when they meet; for a Fae to harm a mortal claimed by another Fae is very ill-advised, and can be punished in various ways. It's Eira's status as a servant, with a king interfering with her claimant, that makes this a special case.
I'm gonna stop there before this gets too much more rambly. Thoughts and comments are appreciated!