Taking Back The Crown – Thoughts

Okay, so I know it’s been a few days since I posted the ending of TBTC, but bear with me. I hope you enjoyed the series, I had a good time writing it, and it was great for me to able to focus on a longer project in preparation for NaNoWriMo.

I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people who stuck with it, or went back and read the whole thing! Thank you so much!

Honestly, how did you feel about the ending?

I hated it! I was so disappointed with myself! I kept on telling myself I had plenty of time to fix it and I never quite managed to get it to feel right.

Obviously, the relationship between Seta and Sonya is so complicated. Seta’s transition from guardian to romantic partner is tricky. I felt like I managed to make them equals from Sonya’s point of view, but I could never really figure out when Seta realizes Sonya isn’t a child anymore. When does it become acceptable for him to have romantic feelings for her?

I originally wrote Seta as younger than I really wanted him to be. For that reason, there’s an edge of jealousy when he thinks Sonya is sneaking out to see a boy. I never changed that when I rewrote Seta to be older, and that’s a mistake on my part. That was originally when I wanted to hint that Seta was beginning to develop those kind of feelings. With the later age differences, we’re on dodgy ground right up until Sonya sees him on the day of her coronation.

I guess I just felt a huge amount of pressure to get it absolutely perfect, because Sonya and Seta are my favorite couple in the TBAM series by miles, even though they hardly feature/will feature in the main books.

Another possibility I considered was having Seta help Sonya with the final battle, as it would allow him to see her in a leadership role rather than as a child. However, I felt this would veer far too closely him “saving the day” and that is absolutely something I wanted to avoid. This was Sonya’s coming of age story; she did need to do this by herself.

If you would like to read the series, click here. That link will take you to the first post.

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Taking Back The Crown – Part Fifteen

Sorry about the missed day. Been a little distracted of late. I can only hope this mood improves by the time I start NaNoWriMo.

 Eighteen months later, their small army marched into Helena with Sonya and Linden at their head, but they didn’t see a soul. They pressed on, Sonya feeling uneasy, until they reached the central square.

 “This is a mistake.” Sonya breathed.

No sooner than she had finished whispering those words, a screaming mob of Rutilus and dark magicians had surrounded them. Sonya found herself taken back to the night of the raid on the Palace, watching as people were slaughtered. Not again. It wouldn’t happen again. She surged forward, throwing attacks at her enemies and watching them fall. Her recruits followed her into the chaos. She suffered blows on her back, front and legs but kept going until she found herself against the tall Palace gates. Sonya turned to see hundreds of Rutilus pressing towards her, and she couldn’t keep them at bay.

  What can I do? What can I do? Sonya thought. A Rutilus threw an attack, and she was blown into unconsciousness.

 Linden saw this happening and used his magic to shoot a blue flare into the sky. This was the signal to retreat.

 “What about Sonya?!” Orika yelled above the din.

 “She’s gone! There’s nothing we can do!” With that, he teleported back to the base.

 Orika ignored him and dived into the mass. With the aid of some other recruits who did not want to lose their leader, she retrieved Sonya’s body and finally retreated.

Taking Back The Crown – Part Fourteen

For months there were arguments about how they should oust the dark magicians from Helena.

 “We should approach from the North and slowly clear everyone out.” Linden advised. “There aren’t enough of us to split into groups. If all the Rutilus come in from the Back Desert, they’ll be able to pick us off, one by one.”

 “No, we need to take them by surprise. If we take Magdalene, the leader, before she can call them in, they might just leave us.”

 “Your highness, I appreciate you are concerned, but I have experience in these matters. You must trust me.”

 Sonya walked out of the room, frustrated.

While the plans were discussed, Sonya spent time teaching new recruits everything she knew about magical combat. She was even taught new things by those who had studied different methods under trainers from other lands. In the end, Sonya had her own style that she was comfortable with, but she never stopped feeling guilty about her incomplete training with Seta.

 She made friends with Orika and, six months after moving to the camp, confided in her about the Training Ground and the circumstances in which she left. She neglected to mention her feelings for Seta, but Orika understood and comforted her.

 “Why not go back and explain properly? He might want to fight with us.” Orika suggested.

 “For a group of magicians who train in combat, they’re very anti-conflict. They don’t get involved with other people’s wars.”

 “Maybe in general, but he might not be.” she pointed out. Sonya was doubtful. It was best to leave Seta and those painful memories behind.

Taking Back The Crown – Part Thirteen

If I’m completely honest, writing this part made me a tiny bit emotional. Also, I may not get around to posting tomorrow as I’ll be out all day.

 

 “Who is he?” Seta asked. He was sitting on the floor in her room. He’d clearly been there for quite some time. Sonya had warped in fifteen seconds ago, and now stood in front of him, unable to move or answer. To let him think that she had been visiting a boy was unbearable, but if he knew the truth…

 “If you won’t tell me where you’ve been, then I have to assume the worst, Sonya.” Seta’s lips were turned down firmly at the edges. It was clear he found the whole situation unpleasant. “Sneaking out at night, the way you’ve been distracted… I suspected what was going on, but I really didn’t want to think it was true. Give me any explanation…” He was almost pleading.

  Sonya couldn’t even look at him. The shame burned her chest and eyes.

 “I know the rules are strict but, in the end it’s your choice to stay here… You’ve really disappointed me. I can’t ignore this deceit. I have to tell the Elders.” He walked out of the room, leaving her drowning in the sense of her own disgrace.

While he was gone, Sonya made up her mind. She quickly searched through her room for things she wanted to take with her, but realized she never really kept any personal effects here. Taking a deep breath, she transported to the camp and went straight to Linden.

 “Back already?” he asked, looking concerned.

 “I’m back for good. I’ll be staying here permanently until we take back Litia.”

NaNoWriMo Dry Run

Today I did a dry run for National Novel Writing Month. To hit the target of 50,000 words in thirty days, I’ll need to write approximately 1700 words per day.

I timed how long it took to write 1700 words. I often found myself distracted, but I was pleased when I managed to reach my goal within three hours and forty minutes.

Given that I’m now into my summer holiday, and I don’t have much else planned in July, I think it’s a fairly realistic target, although I can see it taking longer and longer to complete each day as I get more tired and I get into parts of my novel that I haven’t fully planned out yet.

I’m working the first three days in July on a residential summer school, where I will never be “off-duty,” so to speak. I probably won’t have access to my computer. That means I’m already going to be behind as soon as I start. I imagine that there will probably other days where I don’t manage to meet the target. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll catch up without too much difficulty.

The novel I’ll be working on is the sequel to TBAM. I’ve already written 11,900 words. I’ve accordingly adjusted the target on my NaNoWriMo account. My major concern is that I’ll run out novel by the time I hit 62,000 words!

Here’s my Camp NaNoWriMo Profile Page.

Taking Back The Crown – Part Eight

“Seta, do you ever still talk with your old mentor?” Sonya asked, casually. They were finishing up a training session early. It was Sonya’s 14^th birthday today.

 “Not really. He went back to his home town. We sent letters at first, but then we lost contact.” Seta began. “We were never really that close.”

 “Really? Despite all the time you spent together?”

 “He was very formal. You know, the others criticize me sometimes for being too casual with you. They were worried…” Seta stopped and paused.

 “Worried about what?” They walked towards the doorway.

 “It doesn’t matter.” Seta was blushing. It was the first time Sonya had seen him embarrassed. She blushed too when she realized what they were worried about.

 They went their separate ways to bathe before dinner. When Sonya reached her room, she was still red-cheeked. Seta was over ten years older than her. The entire idea of him… and her. It was ridiculous. That was why he had been embarrassed. Her eyes were watering and a dull ache weighed down her chest. What was most ridiculous of all was that she had much bigger things to worry about than the absurd crush she had on her mentor.

 It had been four years since she’d come here. It was time she showed some initiative and found out what had happened to her country, the one that she had been born to protect. She had planned to go when everyone was sleeping, but if she stayed here then she’d only be miserable. She looked in the mirror and summoned a black cloak, darkened her brown hair and made small changes to her face that made her look older.

 Sonya looked at her watch. She had an hour before it was time for dinner. That meant she had just less than five hours on Earth.