How do you write the aftermath of a betrayal?
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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?
I’m dealing with similar events in one of my own stories, so I’ll tell you what I’ve learned. Short term, any casual reminders of that friend are going to hurt. Depending on your character, she could either be open about this and angry, closed and bitter, or sad that someone would do that, or perhaps all three. Long term, it seems to me that your MC’s history of trust betrayed could result in her growing mistrustful and misanthropic. Depending on where you want your story to go, this betrayal could also force her to trust Someone/thing truly trustworthy (as was the case with my MC).
Good luck with your story!
We are called to be lights in the cosmos.
May your inkwells never run dry!
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