Weekend Writing Warriors: Snippet 80- Gwynneth
It’s time for Weekend Writing Warriors! Every Sunday, a bunch of writers post 8-10-sentence snippets from their WIPs on their blogs. There’s a lot of reading, commenting and great writing. Click on the link to see the full list.
While Arryk rounds up allies locally, Gwynneth decides to visit an old friend who might be able to help as well. Natalya is the top religious official in the neighboring country of Galladium, as well as mistress and top adviser to King Gauvain, who’s been friends with Kendryk since they were children. Gwynneth hopes Galladium can get its powerful army involved in her cause to defeat Teodora and free Kendryk. Unfortunately, Galladium is having problems with a belligerent neighbor and can’t intervene right now. Creatively punctuated.
“I will help,” the king said. “I swear it; it will just take time before I can use the military. But I don’t wish to leave Kendryk imprisoned any longer, so Natalya has conceived a plan that might secure his release.”
Gwynneth’s heart leapt in unexpected hope, but once Natalya explained what they would offer Teodora, it sank again. “I hope it works. But if it does, she will insist on exile,” Gwynneth said. “There’s no way she’ll release Kendryk just to allow him back into the field against her.”
“No, she will not.” Natalya’s eyes were full of sympathy. “But exile is not the end of the world, and it would mean an end to this dreadful war, before anyone else gets involved.”
Previous snippets are here.
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War or peace? Justice or expedience? Decisions, decisions.
Gwynneth is realistic about kendryk probably being exiled. No ideal solution.
Yes, he’ll be lucky to survive this experience!
Terrific dialogue (as ever), and a troublesome but potentially war ending solution. Great intrigue, Christina!
Exile means you get to plot your revenge, to exact it later…that’s harder to do when you’re dead. Good snippet.
Thanks! It’s always better if you can live to fight another day.
One of the things I like about Gwynneth is that in this scene, she’s clearly worried about how exile will affect Kendryk and doesn’t really think about how it will affect her. She’s a great character!
Marcia
Aw, thanks! It took me awhile to warm up to Gwynneth, but now I love her!
Gwynneth sounds like a very caring and smart character. Love the scene.
She can be pretty selfish and arrogant, but has a huge soft spot for her husband.
Exile or war – I don’t think Gwynneth has much choice which to choose. A very effective snippet – a lot of information in just a few sentences.
Yes, she’s going to have to accept the lesser of several evils, at least for now.
Definitely a complex choice, especially since we all want Kendryk released too!
Sounds like no one really wins regardless of what decision is made. Nice snippet! 🙂
It seems that Natalya is pushing for exile, even against her better wishes. Wonder what Teodora wants… Great snippet! 🙂
Teodora would love to have an excuse to kill Kendrk. He’s lucky he has powerful friends!
Between a rock and a hard place! You create a sense of hope and defeat at the same time. Nicely done Christina
Thanks! It’s going to take a lot of effort from a lot of people to untangle this particular situation.
Frustrating when people want to help you but their plan doesn’t accomplish all that you’d hoped for. Excellent excerpt, quite realistic.
Exile means you can sneak back in later and cause havoc 😉 Tweeted
My thoughts exactly!
Very powerful exchange here. Excellent work, Christina!
Thank you!
Maybe exile isn’t the end of the world, but it doesn’t sound fun for the one being exiled. Still, if it stops a war…
It’s less than ideal, but would be an improvement for Kendryk.
Sounds like a complex problem with no easy way out. I’m with other comments – exile gives you a lot more latitude to work on a better answer.
Yes, if immediate victory isn’t in the cards, exile is a chance to figure out something else.
Will the idea work?
Only partially, because the other party is stubborn and difficult.
The problem with the plan is that it relies on Theodora being reasonable! I loved all the twists and turns in this novel, and Gwynneth really proves herself through it all. ( I almost forgive her for you-know-what.)
Yes, it’s hard to negotiate with the unreasonable. I really enjoyed writing Gwynneth’s storyline in this.
Those who are exiled often return to fight again.
Yes, they need to keep that in mind.
It’s not the end of the world…but might feel like it. 🙂 Good snippet, Christina!
Thank you!
Exile is better than death. And maybe better than more war.
You would think so! Some people are too proud and ambitious for their own good.
A difficult choice but better than none.Good to be back I’ve missed all of you!
So glad you’re back!
Better gone for now than gone forever. Tough choices, quickly explained and reasoned. Nice snippet.
Thank you!