In Shadows

I’m attemting to increase the angst for Ursula. She’s intmately aquainted with Azrael’s brutal side as well as the passion. In the original manuscript, I didn’t play this up as much as I could.

On the flip side, there’s another issue from Azrael’s point of view - that of royalty falling in love with slaves. I glossed over it a bit when she arrived home, but I really need to beef it up through the initial falling in love.

When I did more research on the politics, I decided I wanted On Azrael’s Wings to be based in a combination of Medieval and Roman times. I found a couple of decent sites about the lifestyle of the Roman and famous. One of the major differences between that time and this is the fact that no one looked introspectively at themselves to qualify their actions. Everything was about appearances, especially to the higher castes.

By extension, I have to put more of that into the story which, of course, ratchets up the level of angst for Azrael, too.

So, in chapter eleven, between the scenes of Ursula’s ‘morning after’ and the army leaving Provey, I’ve added a bit from Midia’s point of view. She, too, is aware of the fine line her mistress walks, and the thinning of that line if what she believes is happening is true.

Was it finally happening? Was their mistress finding the other half of her soul in Ursula?

The thought was both exhilarating and terrifying. Midia loved her mistress. To see her in love, her heart at ease, her soul complete, was a tremendous thing. Azrael deserved to have romance in her life, merited comfort and pleasure after the savagery she was forced to display for the crown.

But Ursula was a slave, and Azrael royalty. Nothing could ever come of their relationship. Nothing could truly be done about their emotions, providing Ursula felt the same way - and Midia suspected they did. The leading houses disapproved of such a match. Would they allow Azrael to enjoy a long term and illicit affair with a slave unmolested? Or would they fear her esteem of a mere servant, perhaps believe that Azrael upset the natural order of things?