Oh, I'm so sorry, Roselyn...

I've made no secret that this is my first real stab at a novel, and that this is a re-write of a short story from my junior year of high school.

That being said...Is it..."normal" to feel remorse when you do mean things to your characters? Admittedly, I've gotten really attached to them, and I've had to write some really tough stuff tonight. The time has come for me to pull Edmund and Roselyn apart after all they've been through, and I feel so awful doing it! Even though I've known from the beginning that I would have to do it, I think it almost broke my heart to write it. (If I could have willed the words to 'paper' instead of typing them, I would have much rather done that!)

I don't know if it makes me a good writer that I care, or just loony.
At any rate, 34,407. There is absolutely no way this story is going to resolve itself by 50k. I think we're looking at least 60k, and that might be a conservative estimate. The question is, am I up to the challenge of writing the rest?

Alright, so. You won't feel so emotional because you haven't been following everything. But I'll fill you in. Louie runs the inn/tavern where Roselyn and Edmund have been working. Imagine a short older guy with coke bottle glasses. His sons are off fighting the war. A few days prior, a mysteeeerious stranger started poking around.

There, in front of her stood the lady from the specialty shop, the odd man that had left the inn a couple days prior, and a whole troop of royal guard. Edmund was being restrained by two of the royal guards, one on each of his muscular arms. Roselyn’s heart fell through her stomach.
Louie, hearing the commotion, came hobbling out of the back room and bumped into Roselyn.
“What in the heavens is the meaning of this racket!?”
Everyone turned, looked at Louie, and looked at Roselyn. The odd man nodded to two more guards who stepped over and grabbed Roselyn by the shoulders.
“Sir, I am Erwin Pembroke, of our lord King Stephen’s royal guard. I apologize for the scene, but I’m afraid I must take these two people into custody.”
“What have you got to do with my hired help?” Louie sputtered, “I need them around here!”
“Sir, are you aware of who your hired help is?”
“Well that’s Jane and her husband Edmund. They’ve been helping me out here for the past few months. I can’t imagine what they could have done to deserve this.”
Erwin turned to the shop lady and pointed to Roselyn, “That is her, right?”
The lady nodded silently.
“Sir, these two people are the Princess Roselyn and her lover, Edmund Carey. The Princess has been on the run from the King for quite some time.”
Louie looked at Roselyn, his beady eyes wide with surprise. “You’re the Princess Roselyn?”
Roselyn nodded. Louie knelt and kissed Roselyn’s hand. “It’s my pleasure to meet you, Princess. I’ve never had the privilege of meeting royalty before. To think! You’ve been here all this time, making my beds and emptying my chamber pots…”
Roselyn couldn’t help but smile, despite her growing sadness. “It has been a pleasure to meet you too, Louie.”
Louie looked at Edmund. “But I thought you two got married, didn’t you?”
“Is this true?” exclaimed Erwin, “Could you really have married the Princess?”
“Yes,” Edmund said, pulling against the guards on his arms, “If you’ll allow me, I’ll show you the proper papers. I assure you, it’s legal. You have no right to be here.”
Erwin made a tut-tut noise with his tongue. “Whether it is legal or not is for our King to decide. Our task was to bring you in, whatever the circumstances we found you in.”
“Do you really have to take them?” Louie asked sadly, “They’ve been such a big help to me…I don’t know when I’ll find anyone else as good to me as they’ve been.”
“I’m afraid so, sir.”
Roselyn turned her attention to the shop keeper. “How did you know?”
The lady hung her head, appearing to be full of shame. “I am sorry, Princess. You have an aura about you. It is unmistakable. I knew you from the moment you set foot into my store. I wouldn’t have said a thing, but…”
“But when we found out that she is a native of Banya, she had a choice to make. If she told us about you, she would be freed of her crimes and receive a very hefty reward.” Erwin said with a snort.
The lady looked up into Roselyn’s eyes pleadingly. “I am so very sorry.”
“What crimes?” Roselyn demanded.
Erwin snickered. “She’s from Banya. She has no right to be here.”