Happy Thanksgiving to all!
“They” say timing is everything, which is why it is so fortuitous that today be Thea day. The mythological Thea was the Goddess of the light who gave birth to the sun. Thanksgiving is meant to be a day that brings the light and joy of family into our lives…
Okay, I’m stretching things here and being quite corny and more than a little quotidian in the way I am trying to draw connections and meaning out of thin air. In truth, Thea is another mystery for me to unravel. I absolutely envisioned her as the love interest for Ikrivain in a basic effort to force a love triangle into this silly little story. One of the things I’ve learned about story is the expectations of the reader. B-stories often revolve around the love interest and the love triangle is a familiar way to bring that to the forefront. As the story went on I found myself thinking a linkage with Esme would be more interesting, but perhaps the most interesting thing would be to actually make a female lead into a fully rounded character and not have her rely upon the male leads in order to have purpose or death. So, here we go.
Thea has been through a great deal more than her sister is aware of. She loves her sister and wants to protect her sister, in spite of being a few minutes older chronologically. It was Thea who agreed to the match between the wealthy man and both sisters. She cared little about the optics and wanted instead to know her sister was safe and that she would be with her forever. Thea has never wanted for much more than to be a part of something. That something has always been this bond with her sister–this familial linkage that manifested as them against the world. When Marek came along and showed Esme what it meant to love, Thea began to worry about herself and her future and what that could look like alone. She joined the military out of love and protectiveness for her sister, but once her sister had someone else in her life, Thea decided that she needed something else as well. Early in the story she is forced to pick between that service and her family and she picks her family, leading the next phase of her story to be about reconciling herself with those feelings, trying to mimic companionship and family with those she comes in contact with (she grows attached to the guide I think), and finally realizing that she has all that she needs inside of herself.