Don't Look At Me - Loyalty Fallen Book 2

The poses and the background on this piece were particularly challenging. However, I'm mostly satisfied with the final result, and it's certainly one of the more dramatic pieces I've ever created. In case you're wondering why Ren looks s omuch darker than in other pictures, it's because he's been working out in the sun in the middle of the desert for a few months.

If you've been watching me for a while, you know about my novel, Loyalty Fallen. As of Tuesday, the entire first book will have been uploaded at loyaltyfallen.com. Head over there to read the story so far. Loyalty Fallen tells the story of a princess and talentless mage who goes on the run with her loyal bodyguard after she is falsely accused of her husband's murder.

Book one primarily covers her escape from an unjust execution. Book two will be serialized on loyaltyfallen.com starting in November.

Major spoilers ahead for the entirety of book two. If you care about spoilers and you plan to read the serialized novel, you've been warned!

Spoiler territory:

After failing to find refuge in her home country of Iridalys, Kathryn headed over to Tephraya, the desert kingdom. Her bodyguard, Ren, will take part in the Contest of Champions to win her the status of a noblewoman. However, the Contest takes a turn when, after winning, Ren is poisoned. It turns out Kathryn was the true target, and the goal was to force Ren to fight for the Tephrayan crown and put down the slave rebellion.

With Kathryn as a hostage, the Tephrayan king effectively forces Ren to fight against his conscience as a sort of gladiator, both for entertainment and against the slave rebellion forces. As he receives poor treatment and abuse at the hands of his new taskmasters and watches other slaves suffer the worst kinds of abuse, Ren gradually nears his breaking point. There is one particular moment, when he is instructed to cut off his braid, that he nearly loses his temper in rage since he feels it is dehumanizing and unnecessary. Meanwhile, Kathryn is desperately trying to find a way to regain her footing in the Tephrayan court, but instead gains unwanted attention from the king, who wishes to make her one of his hundreds of concubines. Since Tephrayan beauty focuses on long hair, Kathryn chops her hair short to symbolize her rebellion, and successfully rejects his advances.

Ren eventually loses his temper after seeing a slave brutally beaten and kills several guards with his bare hands before finally being brought down and told that Kathryn will be killed for his disobedience. In despair and heartbroken at his own failure to protect her, he is too exhausted and broken to resist his fate any longer.

But Kathryn rushes into the room as he is about to be executed, telling the king and the watching nobles that, should either she or Ren be killed, the King's entire panel of advisors will die before the week is over. While initially her claims are laughed at, Kathryn points out the symptoms she knows they have already begun experiencing, and one by one, they are silenced as they realize she has successfully poisoned every one of them, with the exception of the king.

Kathryn is able to secure a private audience with the king, who is somewhat amused by her bravery and her remarkable strategic mind. She offers to let him keep his pride by lying that he was using her merely to test their security measures and assures him she can end the slave rebellion in six months, but only if he guarantees that Ren and her will remain safe and be able to act as completely free agents within his kingdom. To her amazement, he actually agrees. Kathryn rushes back into the room where Ren is kneeling, exhausted and defeated, and falls down to comfort him and reassure him that the worst is over. To her astonishment, he begins to cry. It is the first time she has ever seen him weep, and she is stunned and concerned. He utters the heartbroken words, "Don't look at me," as he is ashamed of his lack of control and his utter defeat.

While Ren soon recovered from his physical wounds, which were mostly superficial, it would be a long time before the mental and emotional scars, and his faith in Kathryn, were fully healed.