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Concept
The one, the only, the original story! Woo hoo!
I first wrote ADT right after I finished Chev’s romantic route in the game. It was the first route I’d played, and I didn’t have a good handle on any of the characters (looking back, not even him). I came away from the game loving his character, though, but I thought Belle was far too weak for him, and with what I knew of his character from the game, I didn’t think she should have even caught his eye. I also had concerns about the whole dynamic of their relationship, where he was continually mocking and belittling her, and she just took that, determined to change him somehow by tolerating his bad behavior, or even telling herself he meant something different underneath it all.
Not a healthy relationship. At all. And not good inspiration for people in real life, because going into a relationship thinking you can change the other person doesn’t work. The only person you can change is yourself.
So, I started thinking about a female character who would catch Chev's eye. A sassy little maid who always knew exactly what to say or do, one who wouldn’t tolerate any insults or mockery from him. One who didn’t want a relationship with him at all and had no interest in him. One who he would have to work for if he really wanted her affection.
And Ivetta was born.
The first draft was about 25k words long. Each chapter corresponded to a 24-hour period, and the first thirteen chapters introduced one prince/character from the game per chapter. The reader never saw Ivetta’s background or life outside of the palace until the climatic moment when Chev had to rescue her (from a cellar in an abandoned farmhouse, by the way). When he and the rest of the princes discovered what she was hiding, that was when the reader discovered it, too.
My mom complained about that. She wanted to see Ivetta outside of the palace. She wanted to know more about her.
So, in the second draft, I did that. I also doubled the word count to 50k and started to get away from the 24-hour period per chapter. I’d played Leon’s romantic route in the game by then, and maybe Clavis’, too, and I fixed their characters, as well as some problems in the plot that a genius like Chev would have foreseen and prevented from even happening.
Mom wanted more descriptions. Aside from the images I added throughout the story from the game, there wasn’t much descriptive detail.
Third draft. I’d read Yves’ and maybe Nokto’s romantic routes. Fixed characters. Doubled the word count again. The plot was getting more and more complex. Emphasis on a "mask and a dance," Ivetta learning how to play the part everybody expected from her in public and being her true self only when she was alone with Chev.
I think this is where I started wondering what the story would be like from Chev’s perspective. It was here or after the second draft. Either way, I wrote the first draft of A Beast’s Tale, rewriting ADT as I went to maintain a chapter-for-chapter match.
The current version is the fifth draft, I think. I’d read Licht’s romantic route and was starting on Jin’s when I began the rewrite, and by the time I finished, I’d read Luke’s, Sariel’s, Rio’s, Gilbert’s, and Keith’s. Emphasis on portraying realistic consequences to Ivetta's mental and emotional health after everything I put her through, with the bonus of showing Chev learning how to help her cope and get through it.
Basically, I’m going for canon compliance on steroids. I want each character to be true to the game. I want as much of their backstories tied into my plot as possible. I want all the extra details throughout the game, too: the world building, the lore, the tidbits of info I glean from side stories.
And the more I learn, the bigger and more complicated the story gets.
I’m reading Silvio's romantic route right now. And I’ll be working on this story for a long, long time. I'm not sure if I'll ever consider it complete.
Logline
When Ivetta takes a job as a maid at the palace, she ends up in the employ of Prince Chevalier Michel. She needs money to pay for her mother’s medical care badly enough that she’s willing to put up with the Brutal Beast’s bad behavior, but there’s more to him than meets the eye, and an unlikely romance blossoms.
Story Description
All Ivetta wants is a steady paycheck and consistent hours. Her mother’s health is failing fast, and she has to earn enough money to keep paying the mounting doctor's bills. But a dubious background means finding safe employment is hard. Getting a job as a palace maid seems like the answer she needs, even if she has a long commute.
Until she meets her new employer.
Prince Chevalier, the Second Prince of Rhodolite, has a reputation for being a cruel, heartless monster. The Brutal Beast. The Bloody Tiger. This is the man Ivetta now works for, and if it weren’t for her circumstances, she would quit after the first day. But although he and his seven brothers are each their own variety of beast, putting up with them is better than the alternative. There are many dangers outside the palace for a vulnerable young woman, after all.
When disaster inevitably strikes, she resolves to hide the truth and pretend nothing is wrong, just like she’s always done. She never expects Prince Chevalier to come to her rescue. But he does. And suddenly, he’s the only person with whom she truly feels safe, allowing the roots of an unlikely and impossible romance to take hold. A romance neither of them can let happen.
But the heart wants what it wants.
Threats against Prince Chevalier become threats against Ivetta, forcing them even closer together. When the pain of loss overwhelms her, she turns to him. When the threats become reality, he’ll do anything to save her. And when the mysteries of her past come to bear, the impossible becomes possible. A glimmer of hope for a brighter future blossoms in the darkness.
Maybe, on the other side of pain and heartbreak, is the fairytale ending Ivetta never dreamed was possible.
Content/Trigger Warnings
None of my stories contain profanity or explicit sexual content, but this book contains mature themes and content, including depictions or mentions of:
- Abuse and Relationships: arranged marriage, child abuse, emotional abuse, infidelity, physical abuse, verbal abuse
- Alcohol and Drugs: alcohol consumption
- Animal Death and Cruelty: animal death
- Blood, Injury & Medical: blood, chronic illness, dismemberment, gore, life-changing injury, medical treatment, physical injuries, scars, weight loss
- Death and Loss: death, death of a loved one, grief depiction
- Hate, Discrimination & Oppression: classism, poverty, sexism, slavery, workplace harassment, xenophobia
- Mental Health and Suicide: anxiety, anxiety attacks, attempted suicide, cutting, depression, eating disorders, nightmares, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder, self-harm, sleep disorders, suicide, suicidal ideation, trauma
- Pregnancy and Childbirth: breastfeeding, childbirth, pregnancy
- Sex and Sexual Violence: non-explicit sexual content, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual predator, sex work, sex-worker shaming
- Violence and Crime: abduction, attempted murder, captivity, confinement, disappearance of a loved one, knives, murder, physical assault, poisoning, stalking, swords, torture, whipping6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmC5urQ8iV
- War and Genocide: massacres, military service, military violence, war themes6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3MQw5hhjy
