Cierra's Tale ✓

Bonus Chapter: Q+A

This chapter is here to answer all those questions you might have been yearning to know the answer to.

Questions such as:

• What was Cierra's motivation to enter the fights?

• Who is Cierra's mother, and what significance does she bear? 

• Why didn't Cierra accept her win? It's clearly a goal she's been working towards for a long time!

 • Why and how did she learn to master the sword in a society that actively and aggressively discourages it? 

• Will Cierra's Tale ever be a full-fledged novel? 

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Find the answers to all that and more in this very chapter. Special thanks to Amethyst_Alveres for the interview as part of my winning prize for The Campfire Awards 2.0 and blackwidow_reads for your insightful questions about the story. Both of you encouraged me to think past the pretty words and delve deeper into the world I envisioned this story taking place. ❤︎

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Q: ❝Is Cierra's Tale finished? Will there be more chapters in the future, and if so, when?❞

blackwidow_reads asked me if this is the end of the road for Cierra's Tale - will I ever write more chapters? Well, the answer is kind of complicated.

I'm incredibly happy with the world-building that came about as a result of preparing this chapter (and incredibly sad that this is a short story, and I can't integrate it into my two chapters' worth of writing). So maybe one day, just maybe, when I'm a more experienced writer and I actually have the time (and I'm not procrastinating on my school work), I'll sit down and continue writing Cierra's Tale. 

If all goes well (and I'm still active on Wattpad), I would say maybe 4 years? Maybe? You know how I like to procrastinate on things - I have three new novels in the works set to be released in the next few years (when I get a chance to write them), and Cierra's Tale isn't currently one of them. 

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Q: ❝Why (and how) did Cierra learn to master the sword? Did something - or someone - in particular influence this decision?❞

A: Cierra learned to master the art of swordplay from her mother Zaltana, through secret training sessions behind her father's back. When Cierra was born a girl, not the male heir her father was anticipating, Zaltana resolved to teach her daughter self-defence, so no matter what happened, she would always have a fighting chance. 

Zaltana knew it was too late to save herself. As soon as Cierra was old enough to provide a good source of income (and you can easily guess what she would sell), her life would be forfeit. But it wasn't too late for Cierra. 

She endeavoured to teach Cierra swordplay and other forms of defence so that she would always have a choice. In the man-dominated society they lived in, it was impossible for a woman to say no to a man's demands, whatever they may be. 

So in giving Cierra these skills, Zaltana gave Cierra one of the rarest and most important things of all: freedom.

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Q: ❝Q: What is the message behind Cierra's Tale?❞

Both Cierra's Tale and the message behind it are essentially directed at women - but I think everyone could learn something from this story, regardless of their age or gender. 

You are strong. Don't let anyone - man or otherwise - tell you that your opinion doesn't matter, that don't have a choice or that you are inferior. You aren't inferior. Your opinion does matter. And most importantly, you should always have a choice.

Some could argue Cierra's world is a dystopian reflection of our past or even our present, but I believe Cierra's world and our own are one and the same. A wolf is still a wolf, no matter how well they are dressed. In today's society, they hide behind good manners and smiles. But make no mistake, the wolves exist.

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Q: ❝Q: What's your goal as a writer?❞

To continue painstakingly rearranging 26 letters and (hopefully) gain some recognition for it. 

Jokes aside, what inspires me to write is the joy of being able to reach out and touch other people's lives, connecting through my writing even if it's just for a split second. So, keeping that in mind, my goal as a writer is to touch someone's world and change it for the better. 

To bring a smile to your faces, my wonderful readers. To offer you a world in which you can escape from life, even if it's just temporary. A world in which your only limit is your imagination. A world in which you are free to do anything and everything you like.

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Q: ❝Q: Cierra has clearly been working towards her goal of winning for a long time. Shouldn't she actively accept her win?❞

Perhaps. But what was the point of entering the fight anyway? Certainly not showing off, or proving to herself that she could win.

In a way, it was to prove to those men that a woman was capable of doing it. To fulfil that burning desire to challenge the stereotypes ingrained in her society, heavily influenced by both her experiences as a child and the teachings of her mother.

But if you think carefully, that wasn't Cierra's only motivation. It was revenge, the need for justice (albeit misplaced) and remnant anger that fueled the fight. She was too caught up in the whirlwind of emotion to think logically - to even step back and consider for a second that the men in the cavern had likely done nothing wrong. 

If you've been working towards a goal your whole life, it's too late to stop and question if your motives were justified just as you're about to achieve it, and the same logic applies here. Cierra never stopped to consider that her anger was misplaced, or that the perceived slight by the male fighters was just a subconcious excuse. 

And when that realisation finally dawned on her, right there at the end, her win suddenly became hollow, empty. Because what was the point in rejoicing? She didn't gain anything from that fight. She already knew she would win. 

All winning did was make Cierra feel small, make her realise that the world is so much larger than herself and her petty need for revenge.

Other people - not necessarily women, as I chose to phrase it (due to her world's society) - are struggling all around the world. By winning a fight, Cierra changed nothing.

And so she went home with a heavy heart.