Character Growth – DOB Edition
Whilst I’m going through the older stuff I’ve still got kicking around for Dark One’s Bride, I’ve found myself stumbling into quite a few pieces that just didn’t mesh with Clara’s whole personality. I would like to think I knew that at the time of writing it, but I persisted for so long taking Clara down a path that ultimately put her in a position of being made weaker than she was at the end of Dark One’s Mistress. That likely led to my hatred of the story as a whole.
A fresh look tells me that, yes, there are still bits worthy of keeping. Her being somewhat on the hesitant around nobles, and even a touch uncertain of how to respond to people higher and lower than her social rank, is reasonable. She’s the daughter of a seamstress ffs, her life never would’ve had her leave Everdark had she not been kidnapped by Lucias’ men.
However, by the end of this trilogy, I need her to be in a particular place to do a particular thing, but I also need to her become the type of woman who won’t shirk at… well, doing this…
She pushed the dagger harder against the woman’s throat , eliciting a gasp from the Lady Raven . A thin line of red welled at the blade’s tip. “Wrong answer,” Clara growled. “Now, I’m feeling magnanimous, so I shall ask one more time and I’d suggest thinking very carefully about lying to me before you speak again. Where is my daughter?”
– Clarabelle, Dark One’s Wife
And Lucias? He’s changed a lot, too. For some reason that I simply cannot remember to save my life, the original writing (from back before I split DOB and DOW) had him struggling to control his power, growing more erratic the longer the story went and, for the same reason, he had turned into a bit of a horndog. Not that it wasn’t still a clean romance, but the weird vibes I got from my own writing was just…
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You know what he’s like without all that dreck? To put it simply, Clara is elevated to near godly status in his eyes. Her wish, his command. And she’s got a few wishes along the way.
Some of the other characters have changed: Thad turned out to be a bit of an arse. His wife is far bubblier than I first envisioned, too. And Brenna (yes, from the first one)… has mellowed with marriage and pregnancy. Just a bit. Don’t upset her, she’ll still slap your face off. But none have changed as much as the two main characters.
