From the Otherside.

I only had one perspective when I started on this journey.

But a child sees in black and white. The basic needs of a child are similar to those of an animal.

It is one of the wisdoms my father gave that not only lead me to care for animals better but also is a wisdom to hold for life.

All animals need is a warm bed and good in their belly to be content.

A simple life and if we could all be that content with the simple things then life would also be that easy.

But it is not. There are motivations beyond the bed and food. We want to be liked, loved, appreciated and noticed.

Even those of us that shy from public shows want someone to notice us, if only to help us.

When I started writing this I was only taking it from the princess' viewpoint. The girl who was defiled by her brother, betrayed by her mother and abandoned by everyone.

And the betrayal and despair hit her so hard that there was no way she was going to be able to trust anyone again.

And, seeing through her eyes, the characters became untrustworthy.

But a decision does not make us untrustworthy. And a step taken, whilst we may not agree with it, does not necessarily mean it is a bad or evil choice.

And so I am looking at this story from the other side. From the viewpoint of a king that does not want his older sister to return, fearful that her pure blood will out rank his own halfblooded. From the viewpoint of a mother desperately trying to protect her daughter from all the troubles that she has faced, only to realise that she has thrown her to the wolves.

From the viewpoint of a young woman without allies with a idea that an older sister will help her boredom and save her from her mundane life.

And some of these viewpoints will reconcile and some never will.

And the princess may never be persuaded to look from another side; and suddenly her journey is not just about getting back to the castle, to facing her demons but it is about her growing and changing and either coming to terms with what has happened or understanding it.

And it is the understanding that can sometimes be the hardest. We can rarely understand why someone does an act that hurts us. Because we like to think that we would not hurt others.

We like to think of ourselves as kind but we aren't always, that's not possible, because we are human and even an unintentional misplaced word has the power to harm.

Perhaps that is the secret to a happy life, Recognising that we cause unintentional harm and that we sometimes need to apologies when we can't see why we should.

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER on Unsplash