“No,” said Father again, “I cannot allow it.”
“Very well,” I said, “I shall simply go, with your permission or no.”
— excerpt from BtB, Draft One, Beauty's Perspective.
Meet Corinne, spirited female MC of my current novel-in-the-works, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast that I began during Novel November.
At the time this story really begins, Corinne’s mother is no longer living. She passed away five years earlier during the birth of Corinne’s twin sisters, Laliah and Isabeau.
Two years after Corinne's mother’s death, her father, Harlan, is injured in a woodcutting accident. A tree falls on him, leaving Corinne to care for two young sisters and a father who is unable to work, due to a debilitating injury caused by the accident.
Seventeen year old Corinne, playing the part of Beauty, is now her family’s sole provider.
There’s no money saved up in the bank, no social insurance, nothing to fall back on. Not on Plot 609, duchy of Corridae, under Duke Cassian’s rule. I haven't decided the year yet, but it's medieval.
Corinne has struggled to keep food on the table for the past three years. There has been no money left over to pay the Duke of Corridae rent on the land they farm. Corinne isn't sure if she will be able to pay up this year either. If she does, her family will starve over winter.
When a devastating fire strikes this year’s crop, the duke decides that it is time to collect what he is due. He demands that Harlan present himself at the castle. Here's an excerpt from Draft One:
“If I had realized just how far behind you have fallen, I would have called you to account sooner.”
The man [Harlan] made no answer, keeping his head down.
“I have a list a mile long of mere peasants like yourself who would give anything for the land you pretend to farm. Pay up now, or get off the land.”
— excerpt from BtB, Draft One, Beast’s Perspective.
Desperate, Harlan begs Duke Cassian, the Beast, to give him another chance. Some way to pay back what he owes without losing the land.
One of my guards moved as though to help the crippled old man from my sight.
“But what will become of my daughters?” the man cried, finally showing some spirit.
I don’t know what came over me as I watched him leave, but for some reason I shouted for him to stop.
“There is one way. Bring me one of your daughters. She can work off your debt as a castle servant.”
— excerpt from BtB, Draft One, Beast’s Perspective.
Harlan goes home, crushed. In his mind, sending one of his daughters to the Beast is not an option. He and his daughters will simply have to get off Duke Cassian's land. But where else can he and his family go? How will they survive? All Harlan has are questions, and hardly any answers.
"I'll do it," I said resolutely, rising to my feet.
"No!" said Father, "I can't allow it."
“Laliah and Isabeau are too young. I am the logical choice.”
“I won’t allow it,” said Father, “I never should have told you. I will not have one of my daughters so close to such a horrible man—nay, such a horrible beast! I won’t let him treat you as he treated me this very morning.”
“I’ve got to go. We can’t lose this land.”
“No,” said Father again, “I cannot allow it.”
“Very well,” I said, “I shall simply go, with your permission or no.”
— excerpt from BtB, Draft One, Beauty’s Perspective.
Harlan is ill, hardly able to walk across their small cottage without assistance, let alone stop his daughter if she decides that she is going to work at the castle. He acquiesces, for what else can he do?
Corinne makes arrangements with Jill, her surrugate mother ever since her real one died, and with Nabal, a neighbouring young man who can't seems to understand that no, she will not marry him. Jill will look after her father and sisters, and she will take up a food collection from the other villagers. Nabal will work the land that she has been struggling to work alone for the past three years. In return, he gets to keep any profit made. If Nabal cannot make any profit...well, Corinne will simply have to cross that bridge when she comes to it. Times are desperate, and she's just trying to stay alive.
There's a quick look at where Corinne is at in life. If you're more interested in what Corinne looks like, etc., here's some information about her appearance.
Corinne is seventeen. She's five foot, slender, with dark brown hair and eyes. Maybe freckles? Her name means "beautiful maiden," because, after all, she's our Beauty.
I've got a three or four page document all about Corinne that perhaps I will share at some point. It is still in the works, as I'm still in the process of getting to know her myself.
For now, the graphic I designed for this blog post is a bit of a "mood board" to give you an idea of what Corinne might look like if she were a real person. Creating new characters is a fascinating process, because there seems to always be something new to learn. All of the things I have told you in this post are possibly subject to change, and they'll likely stay that way for some time as I write and develop BtB over time. Thanks for reading!