Warning! Wall of text; mentions of abuse; love triangle; arranged marriages Background/Context: I’m writing a book, and there’s this main character (we’ll call her C; I’d like to not say too much) (not a for-sure protagonist but could be), she’s very petite and curvy. Her age is 17-18 in the beginning, and she’s at this knight’s academy (think like FE:3H, but the plot is very different). Edit: She‘s supposed to be very soft and outspoken! Forgot to mention that- I’m thinking of giving her a love triangle in which she ends up with one, and the other just remains painfully in a friend zone. (from this point, everything is before the book begins) the first guy, another major character much like C, is about 6’1 or so, very overprotective of those he loves, and is bodyguard to a princess. Very creepy because you can‘t see his eyes and he’ll kill you if you get close to loved ones. We’ll call him D. D has known C since he was 19 or so (he starts as 23). C was in an arranged engagement (she’s 13; these are earlier times so these types of things are common, especially amongst nobles). It was very abusive and D was working as a guard when he found her. They became close friends, D begins to develop feelings, and then he leaves for a position as previously-mentioned princess’s personal bodyguard after a few months. C then gets sent to another nation’s royal family when said nation’s queen catches wind of what is happening within the engagement. C is turned into a sort of cleric for the prince after her second fiancé (said family’s oldest and original heir;) gets badly damaged physically and mentally along with the rest of the family (the engagement is then called off). It’s at this point both her and the younger prince (not the one she was engaged to) gets sent to the earlier-mentioned academy. She reunited with D. Whilst at the academy, our second lover enters the picture. This second lover, L, is a 6’3 speedy-mercenary build. He’s a noble from a third region, training to be a knight, although his real goal is to be a mercenary or poet of sorts. He’s very sharp-tongued and a lone wolf, although he finds C to be very appealing. He starts by clashing swords with her in training. Eventually, they become good friends, and both develop feelings for each other. Problem? C obviously loves both D and L! This is where I split off do I, A. End up with D during the actual story portion, and L is stuck hopelessly in love with C but can fully become a mercenary B. Get engaged with L via another arrangement, except this time C has a choice because she gets adopted by the royal family (whom she was previously living with), and they end up married, and D is hopelessly in love but can now focus on his jobs, while L is stuck as a poem-writing knight C. The whole love relationship with L never happens, and L and C are just good friends, and D and C are happily in love (it’s worth noting that C can see emotions and hear/see thoughts during her after coming to the academy) Comment, please, the letter of which path you like better!
