It is time...

For me to finally fulfill my promise to autumn_sunfire  and do another "Stages of..." post! And to think, it only took me months, haha...

In the beginning...

Fenroy and Eleyna started out as a set of dolls/figures I used to play with growing up. I grew out of the dolls, and they gained new names, but the personalities I'd given them stayed with me. To understand how Fenroy developed, it's important to realize just how wrapped up his character was in Eleyna.

While Sedgewick and Feyla clicked together serendipitously, Fenroy and Eleyna were...different. For as long as there's been an Eleyna, there has ALWAYS been a Fenroy with her. They were designed to fit together. I'm not sure if soulmates exist in my world, but if they do, then Fenroy and Eleyna would be the poster children.

Design-a-boyfriend

Early Fenroy is why I'm glad my twelve-year-old self didn't write very much. I wanted Eleyna to have a boyfriend/love interest and Fenroy was essentially what I envisioned as the perfect guy at the time. He was handsome, endlessly romantic, loyal, and his hobby was following Eleyna around like a lovestruck puppy.

His only "flaw" was burning with jealousy at the drop of a hat, which younger me viewed as the pinnacle of romantic displays. *cringes*

Backstory abandonment

He and Eleyna were high school sweethearts (why yes, my magical fantasy world did have cliche modernish high schools) who broke up dramatically for...reasons (I couldn't ever find one that worked. Turns out it's hard to get couples to fight when they're insanely perfect.). They avoided each other until Fenroy started working as a guard at the palace. They eventually became friends again, but Fenroy wanted more while Eleyna stuck him deep, DEEP in the friendzone. She liked him, but never acted on it because... I don't know, she had issues? He was too tall? It was Tuesday? I never identified a solid reason.

Interestingly enough, part of the reason I change Sedgewick and Feyla's relationship to her pining after him instead of him confessing to her was because I didn't want two couples where the guy was lovelorn over the girl, which was the case with Fenroy and Eleyna.

Eventually, Fenroy nearly died saving her life, and Eleyna pulled a Sedgewick and stopped repressing her feelings for him.

So. See aaalll of that up there? Ditched. Abandoned. No longer applies. I replaced it with a backstory that started out as an AU, but eventually developed into a better, stronger backstory in general. It's also a big role in the prequel I want to write so I'm not going to say any more...

Growing up and growing characters

As I got a bit older, I realized that maybe it wasn't a good idea to have a boyfriend who punches out anyone who so much as glances in his girlfriend's direction. Thus began my journey to strengthen Fenroy's character.

It was...harder than I thought it would be.

Add a flaw? Felt artificial. Make him do something mean or stupid? Whoah, stop Vanna, you've gone too far. It was like the guy was petrified that if he showed the slightest hint of non-perfection, I'd drop him from the story and pair Eleyna up with a handsome mage or something.

This went on for a looonnnggg time. You know your character needs more development when you have trouble answering questions for him on a personality test. It wasn't until I started tweaking Eleyna for the umpteenth time that something finally...clicked.

Like the fact that Fenroy and Sedgewick actually have similar relationships with their fathers. Or the fact that Fenroy seemed desperate for approval not just from Eleyna, but from others as well. Or the fact that Fenroy doesn't always like being king.

I'd always found Sedgewick and Feyla's differences and how they complimented each other to be the most interesting part of they relationship, but once I started tweaking Eleyna again, it hit me that maybe the same could be said of Fenroy and her. Exploring how their differences might compliment each other actually helped me make Fenroy more developed and Eleyna less perfect. Fenroy became more outgoing while Eleyna was finally free to embrace her "Roy, please-save-me-from-talking-to-the-PEOPLE" streak.

Fenroy's physical appearance stayed mostly the same. Fenroy eventually became broader (he was always tall) and while not unattractive (although he was never as good-looking as Beryn), just plainer with a boyish smile to contrast with his intimidating built.

Back to backstory...

Fenroy's backstory didn't change quite as dramatically as Sedgewick's, but there were some changes. He started out being only a year or so older than Eleyna (she skipped a grade when they were all still attending Fantasy High School). This was also back when I decided fey reached adulthood at the same time we do, as opposed to now where they're not considered an adult until their first century. Now, there's a bigger gap between them, although they'd still be considered in the same "peerage" (born within 100 years of each other), so not as big a gap as Sedgewick and Feyla's.

His family shifted a bit as well. Fenroy started out with a mom, a dad, and a kid sister. His parents were kind of a vague blur that stayed that way until I started thinking of why he seemed so insecure when it came to relationships. Then he lost his mom, gained an older brother and a stepmom (who used to be his nanny), and had his sister become his half sister. Whatever happened to his actual mom? Depending on who you ask, it was either a tragedy or a scandal. I'll leave the rest a mystery for now...

Out of all my characters, Fenroy is in the running for the one who has given me the most trouble developing him. To be honest, I'm still not certain I have him all figured out (which is part of the reason it took me so long to finish this), so don't be entire surprised if by the time I start my next project, I pop back in here and say "Surprise! He changed on me again!" Despite this, I still love the guy. He's a total sweetheart. <3