How do you write the aftermath of a betrayal?

[StorySeeker]

 

Backstory: 

My character has just been through a betrayal (because I wanted to be cruel like that). To make the long story short, my character is a shifter (#basically a werewolf). And my character’s best friend has just betrayed her to the authorities. Now my character has been captured and is potentially looking at a death sentence (Shifters have been outlawed in this land for a while now).

 

The Dilemma:

What now? As of now, I am attempting (and failing) to write the scene that comes directly after this sudden twist in events.

What are the short terms effects of this betrayal going to be? On the one hand, my MC is going to be concerned with her immediate survival. She’s at this moment waking up from the effects of a drug, so after she works that off she’s going to start asking questions such as “Where am I?” “How did I get here?” “how do I escape?” etc.

But outside of survival, what will be the immediate aftermath of her experiencing this betrayal? What will be going through her head?

To an extent, the MC is at least a little aware of why her best friend did it. For a while now the best friend had to wrestle between her love and fear for her friend (guess which won out). The best friend was afraid of what shifters in the past have done and afraid of what the MC could do (i.e. harming her or her family). It doesn’t help that the MC currently doesn’t clearly remember what she does in her other form (just as her other form isn’t able to clearly recall what she does in her human form).

My point is that the MC does have at least a little understanding of why the best friend did it. But that doesn’t make things any easier because her best friend did, in a way, just sentence her to death.

Oh, and it’s also worth noting that this is not the first time someone has detrimentally betrayed the MC’s trust.

 

To sum it up, what will the short-term effects of this betrayal be? And (while I’m at it) what will the long-term effects be?

 

 

 

 

• This topic was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by StorySeeker.
• This topic was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by StorySeeker.

[Sam Kowal]

The short term reaction would probably anger, frustration, and the character berating themselves for having associated with/been friends with the betrayer. And in the long term, maybe the main character will become more distrustful of anyone else who comes into her life.

*nom, nom, nom*

[Author]

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