Fiction Saturday: Characters and Their Siblings
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| Original Image by Andrea Smith |
Surprise! It’s Saturday and I have a post for you all. Today
I’m joining in with Ashana Lian’s new link-up, Fiction Friday. Fiction Friday
is a feature designed to allow writers to share an excerpt of their works in
progress, or, if they don’t have anything ready to share, to answer a question
about their book instead. This week’s topic is “Does your main character have any
siblings?” Today I’m going to be daring and both answer the question, and share
an excerpt.
I love siblings in fiction, or friends who are so close that
they could be siblings. When you have siblings, you can have fights, in-jokes,
and a group of people who will always have your back. Or, alternatively, you
could have a bitter feud and sibling rivalry, which is almost as awesome. I’ve
used both kinds of siblings in my writing. My current work in progress is my YA
fantasy, The Crystal Tree, which is
undergoing edits at the moment, and it contains an example of both friendly and
fighting siblings.
Briar, the main character, and her sister Ava are my
friendly siblings. They fight. Briar is a bossy older sister. But they love
each other to bits really. Briar would do anything for Ava. Sadly Ava only
makes an appearance in a few scenes, but their relationship is super important
throughout the book. By contrast, you have my villain, Sachio. His relationship
with his brother is a perfect example of sibling rivalry gone wrong.
Now I’d like to share
not one, but two excerpts, one for each type of sibling relationship. Enjoy!
*
Briar ducked down a small lane that ran between this house
and the one next door. She hoisted her skirt up and picked her way through the
muddy puddles, her feet automatically searching for the raised cobbles that
would keep her feet out of the dirt.
Her eyes searched the next street as she reached the corner,
quickly picking out Ava’s familiar figure waiting at the back of the white
house. Her shapeless brown dress instantly marked her as a servant. Ava glanced
Briar’s way, then darted towards her, a huge smile spreading over her freckled
face. Briar grabbed her sister and squeezed her tight.
"Hey Birdie," she said. "Sorry I’m so late. We
had a squad of soldiers come in right as we were about to close up. I thought
I'd never get away."
"It's ok. I was just afraid you’d been caught."
Ava squeezed Briar, then pulled back, tilting her head to look up into Briar's
face. “You won’t be though, right?”
Briar grinned at her. "Of course not. I’m always
careful. Oh. Rayna says hi by the way." Her heart swelled inside her when
she looked at her sister. It was worth all the danger and rule breaking to see
her. There was no way she’s give up this weekly trip, not unless she absolutely
had to.
*
“I’m only an outlaw because you twisted my father’s mind
against me.” Kade’s voice held an intense fury Briar had never heard before. “I
never did anything and you know it.”
“On the contrary my dear nephew.” Lord Sachio stepped closer
to Kade, an icy smile spreading over his face. “You were found to be plotting
to overthrow your own father. Naturally I had to protect my brother. He loved
you, and the grief of your betrayal turned his mind. I merely try to comfort
him and keep the country stable while he grieves.” Sachio was like a snake,
deadly, waiting for just the right moment to strike.
“It’s your fault that my father is going mad.” Kade took a
half step forward, straining against the guards. “You’re trying to overthrow
the king, not me.”
“Very well. I can admit that. So what? I should have been
the king. If it were for that outdated tradition I would have been king. It’s
my right.” Sachio’s eyes flashed with an anger that mirror Kade’s.
“The rules are there are for a reason,” Kade said. “Those
with magic-”
“Don’t tell me about the rules.” Sachio’s composed face twisted
into an animal-like snarl. “I live with the consequences of those rules every
day of my life. Every day I walk through the castle and watch my younger
brother rule the kingdom in my place. I’m just trying to put things back the
way they should have been.”
“This is exactly why no magician should ever be king. You
abuse your power. You manipulate people, even your own family. You disgust me, Uncle.”
Kade spat the last word out.
A chilling smile slid over Sachio’s lips. “You have no idea
how amusing it is to hear that name coming from you. I could be the doting
uncle and welcome you back with open arms. But instead I shall be the reliable
brother protecting the king and kingdom from the actions of a traitor. Your
death day is set Kade. As soon as I get you back to Mizra, you will die and I
will prove myself the true saviour of Kerr.”
*
Now it’s your turn. Do
you have any siblings in your books? Are you planning on join Ashana’s link up (you should!)?
Leave me a link to your post in the comments! Do you prefer friendly or
fighting siblings? Who are your favourite fictional siblings?
6 comments
Briar and Ava sound interesting, but I feel like Sachio really stole the show in this post. :) He sounds awesome! I don't actually have any siblings in my own story, but I do really like the Fowl boys in the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
ReplyDeleteSachio has a habit of stealing the spotlight. I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, as his author, but I secretly think he's kinda awesome. Oh, the Fowl boys are so cool. I wasn't sure I was going to like the addition of the twins, but they turned out to be so cool.
DeleteSachio sounds incredible. I have a thing for villains... hehe. ^.^
ReplyDeletexoxo Morning
Me too. Some of my favourite characters are villains. Thanks for stopping to read my excerpts Morning!
DeleteOH I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS LINKUP. It definitely makes me want to try it!! I liked these excerpts. ^_^ The first one is probably my favourite. SIBLINGS ARE THE BEST. I almost always write about siblings...although never in as big a family as I have for some reason, eheh.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely check it out and think about joining in. Big families are hard to keep track of in books, even though their awesome. I would never think of writing a family as big as mine either. Eight kids are just a few too many to handle sadly. But I definitely agree, siblings are the best!
Delete