Title: Crowning Tristan
Author: Sedri
Rating: PG-13 / T
Summary: We've seen Tristan grow from a boy to a man, but how does that man become a king? A gapfiller between the end of the battle and the coronation. Movieverse, with elements from the book. Canon pairings. Discontinued; final chapters summarised.

Disclaimer: I do not own Stardust in any way. This is just for fun.

Author's notes: When I began this story in November of 2007, I had no idea what I was in for. I had never written such a massive story before, and at the time I had scene sketches, plot outline and bits of dialogue flying out of my fingers – the usual obsessed-fan euphoria I'm sure you're all familiar with. After a year, though, that steam ran out, and I just don't have the energy or the inspiration to finish this anymore; I held out hope for a long time that it would come back to me, but it hasn't.

But, just as I hate to be left hanging when a story is abandoned, I hate to leave readers empty-handed. What follows now is a summary of everything I planned to write for the rest of Crowning Tristan – material which, if written in prose, would be almost as long again as what's already written.

I had six acts planned, which turned into five (of which three are written), and I have made a (relatively) short summary of important events and all the major points that would have moved the plot forward. But, because I hate to leave anything out, I've also included most of my more detailed notes, including visual descriptions, reminders for things I knew I had to include somewhere, multiple options for points I never actually decided on, random pieces of dialogue, and several scene sketches, some of which are partly written. In other words, it's a jumbled mess that I've done my best to arrange in some comprehensible order to give a more tangible sense of what the rest of this story would have actually been like.

I apologise for all the tense shifts; summaries, I've found, are impossible to write in past tense, but a lot of my notes and scene sketches were written as story prose. I've tried to section it, but frankly, it's just a great big mess. There is also some repetition, but I've tried to minimise it. Square brackets indicate bits of detail or dialogue that I wasn't sure about using but kept anyway as inspiration or simply a starting point from which to work out what would work.

Because it's been asked: No, this isn't permission for anyone else to write the rest of my story. Sorry.

I may still write some of this someday; short stories that would have been part of these chapters or one-shots set in this universe – maybe the family's future after the coronation, bits of Selena or Lilith's lives, or something else. I hope so.

So, without further ado, here is the outline-summary-big mess of notes for the rest of Crowning Tristan:

Act Four: Mount Huon

(summary)

Act Four is about Tristan, Yvaine, and Dunstan trying to settle into their new lives, and Una trying to fit back into her old one. It covers the longest stretch of time (for the characters), starting with the family's arrival at Mount Huon.

The grand presentation that Una was so worked up about actually goes fairly well, although Tristan spends most of it shaking with nervous. After a long and colourful parade-like journey up to the top of the city, the family emerges on 'the Grand Platform' (a temporary placeholder name I never found a good alternative for) – a large open space where all the city's remaining nobles and courtiers and whatnot have gathered to greet their new king, whom they assume is Septimus. A huge crowd of everyday people have followed the carriage and coffin-on-a-wagon up the slopes, and when Una steps out, she gets a huge cheer from her people. She makes her speech, twisting the truth as they agreed and making Tristan sound like perfect king material without ever actually lying. Then Tristan, who is trying really, really hard not to have a panic attack, steps up to the podium and gives his own well-prepared speech, which seems to get approval and after which he steps back, sweating. Yvaine and Dunstan stand right beside him, comforting and whispering that he did very well.

With Tristan's claim staked, at least legally, they move into the palace. A massive ball is thrown to celebrate their return, and then they are all thrown into the chaos of palace life: Una charges in, walking over people as she updates herself on everything she needs to know and arranges for tutors to give Tristan a crash course in being king, all the while making a display of discussing issues with her son to make it clear that he is 'in charge'. These intensive lessons would be a way to insert any relevant bits of history or economics or whatever else the plot and subplots require into prose, one of which would be the widespread black market for magic.

Septimus is given a proper funeral in the lesser tomb buried in the rock of the mountain ('lesser', as in, for defeated princes, not the ones who live to become kings).

The first official decision Tristan makes on his own, without Una's prompting, comes maybe two chapters in and is about the guards he promised to send to Wall. This works out just fine, and along with a formal letter to the village council (which he doesn't sign with his own name, just his title), he writes to his friend Frank as promised. Frank writes back, and their letters, though infrequent, pop up every so often throughout the chapters.

The bulk of this section is, of course, concerned with the growth of the characters and their relationships with each other. From start to finish, Tristan's knowledge and confidence grow, though he often finds himself overwhelmed with responsibility and fear. He turns to Yvaine and Dunstan for comfort and to his mother for guidance.

Una discovers that it's not as easy as she'd imagined to go back to being a princess. Things have changed, and she has changed, too. Mostly she spends her time trying to update herself, take control of the court, and guide Tristan. She turns to Dunstan for an understanding ear, as well as an old friend she once knew.

Yvaine finds all this exciting for a while, then gets irritated by the stuffy manners and piles of useless work. She eventually finds herself getting angry with unjust things and strives to do something about it. She's pretty useless with paperwork, but she can deal with people, and can pass judgements quite easily. She gets annoyed with Una for the restrictions she puts on them and with Tristan for his tentativeness, but tolerates both. She also keeps trying to talk to her mother and sisters almost every night, but makes little progress; the Moon is childishly refusing to speak with her, and few of the stars are willing to get in trouble for speaking to their sister without permission.

Dunstan, poor man, is quietly drowning. He doesn't have the workload the others do (though he does seek ways to help where he can, usually by researching in the library), and is torn between feeling out of place, useless, bored, and trying to keep his family from driving themselves mad – he gives support when he doesn't feel supported, a silent, solid presence. He's very proud of Tristan, and worried for him. He's getting to know Yvaine and appreciating her liveliness – there are a few scenes between them, just chatting and filling subplots. He's getting to know Una on a quieter level, and they're becoming very fond of each other. He quietly insists that the four of them spend time together every evening, and lot of the actual scenes in this act are set in those times, when two, three, or four of them are talking about things that are going on or going wrong.

The climax of this act comes when Una gives Tristan another of her many semi-surprise tests (as in, she prepares him but wants to see what choices he'll make without depending on her), and has several prisoners with varyingly serious offenses brought to him for sentencing. She stands with him the entire time so he can ask for advice, but the pivotal point here is that when he makes a decision she doesn't approve of – one more lenient and unconventional than she'd like – he stands up to her, refusing to take her harsher (but safer) suggestion. In other words, at this point he has gained the confidence to make choices without relying on his mother. (Despite the clash, she does take this well, once she gets over it.)

The act ends with Tristan feeling he can do this and agreeing to be crowned. Either this choice will be dramatic, the same way the Arden scene was, or it comes as a slow realisation that at this point is simply stated.

(details)

The presentation was a big, dramatic, and utterly impossible-to-write scene that was in my head from the very beginning. It starts with the family setting out from their last inn at the head of a small parade, the carriage and coffin covered in cloth and ribbons – royal blue, pale blue, white, gold, and (on the coffin only) black. Because blue is the royal colour, Una dresses them all in it, making a very strong visual statement; she and Yvaine in deep blue dresses, Tristan and Dunstan in their best suits with wide blue sashes and sapphire tie pins. Una wears gold jewellery, but Yvaine refuses to put anything even remotely chain-like around her wrists, so only wears a thin necklace. (Possibly: Tristan was supposed to wear a cravat, but kept nervously worrying it until Una relented, saying that a more relaxed collar would be fine as long as he maintained an air of confidence: "The king is in command even if he wears a dressing gown.")

Messengers run ahead to alert trumpeters that most of the city's population are up and in the streets when the 'new' royal family drives through, heading up the spiralling road to the palace. The carriage is first, either with everyone sitting in it or with its roof emptied of luggage so Yvaine and Una can sit on it like Arabic princesses (on pillows, all of which are kept from falling off by the rail meant to hold luggage in place) while Tristan and Dunstan sit on the driver's bench, not actually driving, as a soldier leads the horses from in front. Una sits directly behind Tristan, keeping one hand on his shoulder and talking, pointing things out to him. This all gives the impression of regal ladies and gentlemen arriving in grand style, and of Tristan as a confidant young man who has his mother's full support.

The polished coffin follows the carriage, the massive "7" freshly painted and impossible to miss, ensuring that everyone knows Septimus is dead, while the bright colours of the ribbons make it clear that there are royals arriving victoriously.

Meanwhile, Tristan's getting nervous, and depending on whether it feels in-character I might have had him say things like, "I can't do this, Father." To which Dunstan would reply, "Yes, you can. You've practiced this speech twenty times," et cetera, et cetera. Una has written the speeches for herself and Tristan to make when they arrive, with room for adjustment at the time if necessary.

Once up on the 'stage' (the 'Grand Platform'), Una steps out and smiles warmly as the crowd's cheers swell in enthusiastic greeting. The nobles and advisors who have hurriedly gathered expected to meet the surviving prince, and instead get a long-lost princess and a coffin. Older men who recognise her are genuinely pleased, as Una was well liked (at least in comparison to her brothers). She nods to them and turns to the carriage door, where Tristan steps out, and they walk together towards some sort of podium; Yvaine and Dunstan follow. Tristan walks – as ordered – exactly in step beside her. He says nothing as Una greets people she knew and those she doesn't, and then she turns to address the crowd.

Her speech briefly describes her capture and enslavement, and is probably worded to emphasise that she now knows what it's like to be "one of them" (that is, 'normal' people) as well as royalty, and then telling the lie about going to live in England to protect her son. She gives Tristan a grand introduction, using his heroics to wind up the crowd so there and there are cheers even before they 'meet' him. Tristan looks out at the crowd – there are so many that he can't see particular faces. That helps his nerves.

Tristan's first words are about how it wouldn't be fair not to say that Prince Septimus deserves credit, too, because they wouldn't have survived without him. The edited version of truth they're presenting is that Prince Septimus killed one witch and distracted the others (perhaps linking Una's freedom directly to Empusa's death), allowing his mother to escape and Tristan to attack – this kind of humbleness is so different from the other princes, including Primus, that it wins some extra favour. He talks a bit longer than Una because it's very important that he doesn't come across as his mother's pawn, then introduces his bride-to-be, the star Yvaine (who from here on is titled "Lady"). As predicted, this only makes him appear better, more so when he insists that she deserves credit for the final destruction of the Lilim witches with her magic. (This is a part of the speech Yvaine insisted on, since it will give everyone the very clear message of, "Don't mess with me, I can defend myself," even if she can't or wouldn't, since she's still really worried about that being common knowledge. Her bodyguards – the fledgling 'Star Guard' – are standing very close nearby.)

Anyway, that ends that scene, and it seems that this part of Tristan's initiation has gone as well as it possibly can. There are always exceptions, but the informants Una sends out to suss out the mood and real (not shouted) opinions of the people (because she never lets her guard down for a moment) return and say that while the elite aren't exactly thrilled by this wide-eyed kid taking power when they expected to get, at the very least, the well-trained and confidant Primus, they're not going to do anything unless Tristan proves himself incapable. The everyday people, on the other hand, seemed thrilled by the surprise, and are whisperingly optimistic that maybe things will be better under this new kind of king.

As a side note, I don't picture Stormhold as being a miserable place for most people to live regardless of class, but no matter what sort of government humans live under, everyone seems to find something to complain about, so why should these people be any different? Also, I imagine that the people of Stormhold generally appreciate cunning, but don't necessarily like the murder – though they are used to it (maybe like a twisted reflection of the Wall villagers). Perhaps the Mt Huon crowd are less excitable than their country counterparts, and therefore not so worked up over rumours.

A point relevant for later on is that soldiers like Oltran and Corvin and so on are country men – not like the stiff soldiers Septimus had with him, who were all the city men from noble families, while men who enlist from the country generally get assigned to the country, and the uniforms are a bit different, so they are treated with less respect. Tristan's favour for country soldiers could turn this snobbery on its ear, whether that's good or bad.

From here on, Dunstan also gets referred to by the respectful "Sir" by everyone who talks to him, though Una says that either as her consort (which he isn't, really) or as Tristan's father he should be called "Lord". He doesn't make much fuss about it, but Una does, which embarrasses him.

Something to note is that Dunstan looks very English – his haircut, for one thing, and he seems to prefer wearing English clothes even in the coronation scene, so it's probably obvious to others that he's not from Stormhold. I would think this is a choice he makes consciously, not because he wants the attention – far from it – but because he doesn't want to just toss aside his past; he is English, and that's important to him.

They move into the palace. From what I can make out from the DVD, the royal tower (which I was going to call "The Tower", "The Royal Tower", or maybe "The Tower of Stormhold", but never decided) has eight levels, not including the king's chamber up top. I decided those eight levels are full of bedrooms for the princes and princesses, and all the other rooms in the palace – official halls, meeting places, whatever – are in walls of the vast circular 'stadium' where the coronation takes place, and in adjoining buildings.

For a while I played with the idea of the centre of that tower being hollow, with a huge empty shaft in which there is some sort of magical 'elevator' system (since I wanted more active use of magic in the story, and who wants to climb nine stories before bed, anyway?). I also toyed with the idea of having something like a set of magic carpets or small flat platforms sitting at the bottom of the shaft, which one can simply step onto and float up to the level of choice, where they get off onto a small balcony before going into the normal hallways. Yvaine, I'm sure, would love living in such a high tower, and on a mountaintop, no less.

Immediately after the speech, they each get rooms. As he's not king yet, Tristan is given one of the prince's rooms (Quartus', I suppose, as the others haven't been dead long enough for their things to be moved out and everything cleaned), as do Dunstan and Yvaine (Quintus' and Sextus'), and Una gets her own old room back. There would be a bit of awkwardness if Dunstan has to ask for his own room, if someone expects him to share Una's. Yvaine is annoyed because she wanted to share Tristan's room. (Mererid once described Yvaine as having an "easy and almost innocent sensuality", in the context of Yvaine being "completely enamoured of sweets", both of which are descriptions that I think are utterly perfect for her, and had planned to use around here.)

Una re-entering her old room would be a quiet scene: she finds that her things have been kept (stored, probably, not left sitting around), and she wonders if her father could have been that sentimental, or if maybe it was Primus, or one of the others; all her brothers liked her. She has a moment of nostalgic joy when she finds an china doll in a blue dress, with a matching, tattered, girl-sized hair ribbon tied around its wrist (if you've read A Day With His Heirs, you'll know where this comes from). She would also indulge greatly in material comforts, like baths and fine clothes, soft slippers and so on; "I haven't had this since I was a girl".

The huge ball thrown to celebrate the family's return was rather spontaneous; no one, including Una, said anything or told people to arrange it – the assorted nobles and servants just sort of assumed, since they didn't think such a grand occasion would be complete without a ball. I'm not sure what time the family would have actually arrived at the palace (how long do you think it'd take to drive around what looks like ten circles of a Minas-Tirith-inspired mountain city?), but I'm going on the assumption that there was a little time to spare before an evening/night-time celebration. The poor kitchen cooks would still be frantic, trying to prepare food in time, and Una finds a minute to assure them that there's no need for a seven course dinner; a heaped banquet table will do. As we expect, Una expertly directs the servants, though there are a few stumbles when her knowledge of the household is twenty years out of date (she habitually asks for a long-dead or retired housekeeper by name). Musicians are hurried in and nobles arrive as fast as they can.

Because this is a ball at the highest level of formality, none of the clothes the family were wearing are good enough by Una's standards. She ransacks the wardrobes of her brothers and digs her own old things and her mother's out of storage – most of which don't fit her and have to go to Yvaine. It's another level of chaos that I was quite tempted to leave out, particularly since it would mean finding things grand enough for Tristan and Dunstan that don't have numbers embroidered all over them.

Tristan is still on edge, but Dunstan keeps a level head and calms him down, fixing his cravat and all that. Una pops into the room for a minute to say that, after talking to her informants, she thinks it would be best if Tristan could start building his reputation right now, which means spending a lot of time mingling with both the rich and the middle class people (though the latter will be celebrating in their own homes, in the street, or at the public open spaces, while only the snobby nobility attend the ball in the palace).

A silly moment: Walking the corridors before the main party, Yvaine overhears two rich women wailing because there hasn't been time to have new outfits made, and what will society think if they come to the prince's welcoming feast in "those old rags"? Yvaine dryly asks what does it matter, if the prince and princess haven't been here in the last twenty years and couldn't tell anyway? The noblewomen don't answer, just gasp – "the star!" – and bow. Yvaine, irritated, walks off.

The centre point of the party is in a ballroom with an orchestra, thrones, and a dance floor. Thrones are the most difficult, as the king's throne is on a dais raised off the floor, with the queen's (occupied by Una) just a little lower. Beside them are placed two grand-looking chairs for Yvaine and Dunstan. None are particularly comfortable.

Tristan finds himself sitting in the centre of the room, dressed in clothes so fine he keeps slipping, so expensive he fears eating, with a heavy circlet jammed onto his head, and clumsy rings on his fingers. He faces small mountains of food and a ballroom full of rich, gawking people. He tries to mingle, but really spends most of the party sitting there trying to look confidant. He actually succeeds out of nervousness, and Yvaine makes a point of loosening him up with wisecracks. The people see a handsome, laughing couple, and at this point that's all they need.

Yvaine, when sitting, looks very serene and elegant in Una's (or Una's mother's?) borrowed gown. Una is on Tristan's other side, totally in her element. Dunstan is just beyond her, and father and son share glances every so often.

This is a chance I'd probably take to make Tristan and Yvaine to dance together, which they would enjoy as long as he isn't too nervous. If so, Dunstan, returning from getting a drink, sees them and blinks, looking amused: "Tristan can dance," he said, blinking. "Tristan can dance. Never thought I'd see that happen." He chuckled.

He and Una talk a lot; she's finally relaxing.

Perhaps Tristan has a bit too much wine in an attempt to calm down, and ends up with an awful headache. No stereotypical drunken screwups (too cliché, and too out-of-character), but maybe some grand romantic gestures, as we saw the last time he was drunk. Maybe not, though; probably not. I don't have the heart to really embarrass him!

In any case, the party ends absurdly late, and the exhausted family slink off to bed.

Tristan goes to his room – getting a bit lost along the way – and falls straight to sleep in the huge bed. He dreams of standing in the circle of a massive crown (but not tight, like in the previous dream sequence).

The next day, he wakes up and looks around the massive, ornate bedroom that absolutely does not suit him. He was woken by a cautious and nervous servant (a boy, about thirteen), who has been sent to find him by Una, who wastes no time and is already up. He tells Tristan that Una is already meeting with her officials.

Tristan is nice to him and says to tell his mother he's on his way. The boy scampers off and Tristan has barely pulled his clothes on when more servants come in and, unasked, prepare a bath – apparently his uncles bathed every day. He comes from a relatively poor village and isn't accustomed to that. Apparently his uncles weren't big on modesty either, because he has to actually order them out so he can bathe in private. (Tristan feels a bit overrun by the idea of servants.) (I like the idea that in this massive stone palace, the baths are dug into the floor and tiled like swimming pools rather than being tin tubs, but that's a minor detail.)

When he's in the water (and hurrying as much as he can for Una's sake, while feeling guilty about wasting so much hot water), the door opens again and he spins around, either in surprise or irritation–

To see Yvaine standing there, snickering. He sighs, relieved, and complains about the servants. She grins and says they're all waiting outside, afraid they've done something wrong. She had to simply bull her way in.

Tristan says, "I don't think my family treated them very well." (Might be too inane a statement, considering, you know, their habit of murdering each other, but something along those lines.)

Tristan gets out – Yvaine throws the towel at him – and dresses. When leaving the room, he makes a point of thanking them and saying that they don't need to wait like that for him. This could endear him to the household staff, which (as most people except the rich employers know) is probably one of the best recommendations he could get.

Over the next few weeks, he and Dunstan have a strange time getting used to this total luxury. So does Yvaine, in a different way; for her it's more the customs and such than services. She will be a bit less than polite when annoyed, but she won't have the awkwardness of men who are used to doing everything themselves.

Tristan joins Una in a stately meeting room; there are two large chairs at the head of the table, and the other men sit around it. Tristan is introduced to everyone important while Una meets many old 'friends'.

I've vaguely assumed that there are a number of high-ranking advisors who are currently running the country - Primus, at least, isn't likely to have left the city without someone to watch over it. On the other hand, I didn't get the impression that any of the princes spent much time actually governing anything since their father became ill, but that's something of a side matter.

Una isn't about to rush her son into the madness. She outlines her plans for the next month or two (until the coronation). She tells ministers / new bishop / et cetera more truth than was in the announcement – that Tristan has practically no training, because she never expected him to rule and thus avoided teaching him specifics. She's been speaking with all these men individually, evaluating them and starting to update herself on the last twenty years of changes, and tells them her son will need tutors in every major field while she runs things. However, she insists he be present for every decision so she can talk him through her reasons and illustrate what kind of things he'll actually be doing. This is rather tedious for the officials/advisors, but Una has a habit of walking over people to get things done her way. Tristan spends this meeting feeling like a puppet on display.

Also at this meeting I was thinking of setting up more political situations and facts by having them discuss bits and pieces. (As I use the word "meetings", I think of a modern day corporate boardroom, which is not necessarily good. I'm not sure how else things would practically get done, though, and I never figured it out.)

By staying silent due to ignorance during meetings, Tristan will probably give everyone the image of a very quiet (thoughtful) man – compared to Secundus and Septimus, at least, and that's probably a very good thing.

Una to advisers: "Now, gentlemen, I am twenty years out of date and my son has no training whatsoever. Let's start with the basics."

Later, after some small fuss: "Gentlemen, we are not here to debate my son's qualifications. [We are here to help him.]"

Tristan also tells the advisors / bishop / et cetera (though Una wasn't exactly in agreement) that if Stormhold needs a stronger leader, he has every intention of stepping back and leaving it to his mother. This is quite a change from his uncles, and the advisors – on the surface, at least – accept it. There are some for whom the (bloody) tradition is more important, and some will have a grudge against Tristan right off simply for existing and ruining their plans to take power. Tristan isn't used to having people hate him (at least not for those reasons).

Una arranges for a crash course in Stormhold history, geography and politics.

Once out of the meeting, Una sweeps her son off to his room where a tailor is waiting to measure him for clothes. Again, Tristan feels like he's being dragged around like a puppet. Something to note is that his clothes in Wall never fit perfectly; his father's coat was always too big and so on. These new ones, of course, will.

An idea: Una, referring to how the tailors and other servants can be in the same room and yet never really interact: "They're what we call 'invisible people', Tristan. We don't exist to them any more than they do to us." (Rather silly a line, actually; it would have been rephrased and contextualised in prose.) Tristan might ask why no one changes it, to which Una would reply that everyone's comfortable the way it is: "It served me very well. If Sal was low on money she would rent out my services to anyone needing extra servants for a banquet or the like. Some of the higher ranking lords even knew me from the palace, but they never recognised me." (To this, Tristan would likely ask why she never said anything to the people she knew in hopes of being freed. Una might reply that she would be putting herself in the power of whatever lord bought her and so on, but an easier option would simply be that Sal magically bound her tongue so she couldn't.)

When they're done (also with taking Una's new measurements for her dresses), Una sends the tailor to Yvaine. Yvaine has no problem asking for things and wants clothes in white, blue and silver; the green travelling outfit she'd bought never really suited her like these night sky colours do, being earthy tones.

Yvaine has been having quite a day, too. She found herself being cornered by the heads of the sister- and brotherhoods of witches and warlocks, who are even more interested in stars than the rest of the people. They think she can to teach them new wonderful things like Selena did for their ancestors. They're disappointed when Yvaine says that she doesn't know anything about magical theory.

Just an idea, but maybe as Tristan has to learn a lot from his mother, Yvaine too could ask her family's help with this. Not that she would actually learn how to use magic, but there could be some mother-daughter / sister-sister talking, similar to the "lectures" Una gave Tristan – but it would have to wait until her family (Selena, at least) are willing to speak with her again, so it wouldn't fit here.

An idea I never decided whether or not to use:

The day is exhausting, and afterwards Tristan crawls into bed with a headache. Soon after, Yvaine comes in and climbs in, telling him to move over. She's been cold and lonely in her huge, empty room, and misses sleeping next to him (and she's talking about actually sleeping). Tristan worries that there might be a fuss, but Yvaine says that Una said it's all right as long as they're discreet. This startles Tristan – she's been talking to his mother about them sleeping together?

Over the next few weeks, she does this a lot. Maybe one morning (quite a bit later), Dunstan comes in to wake them? (Though there is the issue of servants waking them, like that first morning, unless Tristan told them not to... but there are no alarm clocks in Stormhold... actually, there could be. Hm.)

Narrative if Dunstan does so: It would have been quite adorable if not far too intimate for him to see. At least they were dressed.

Tristan wakes and is embarrassed. Yvaine is not. ("At least he didn't tickle us.")

As Una promised, in direct contrast to what it was like while travelling, when they live in the palace the family do not have soldiers watching them all the time. In the tower, especially, even Yvaine can feel safe because the only entrance is from the lower palace levels, and they're guarded on all sides; she doesn't have to be followed everywhere.

All the furniture from Wall arrived with the family, and the staff, not having a clue what it was for, simply put it in Dunstan's room. All of it.

When he has breathing time, Tristan unpacks his old knick-knacks, but doesn't know where to put them in this elegant room as they seem so out of place.

Somewhere in the palace, I'm sure there are portraits of all Una's brothers, her father, probably her mother, and many other ancestors. At least one scene would involve her gazing at them, remembering, and talking to either Tristan or Dunstan (or possibly Yvaine, if the circumstances were right) about them.

The tomb scene when Septimus is buried would be very dark; lots and lots and lots of murdered great-uncles – however, I never decided if I was going to actually include it, given that the mountain would probably run out of space within a few generations. On the other hand, in the book the ghosts lamented that none of them were buried in "the family tombs", which implies that maybe they expected it. But on the assumption that I kept the scene:

This might be a chance for Una to angst a bit about her family's less-than-noble legacy; perhaps she wouldn't really want Tristan and Dunstan to see it. She would also think about what it would be like to be buried there herself. Tristan would probably be half-sick at the number of headstones / coffins / whatever in that tomb, while Yvaine simply hates being underground, maybe feeling claustrophobic.

The letters to Wall, and the 'Wall Guard':

In Stormhold it is known that Tristan once lived in Wall. How much affect that has on his actions and how it's interpreted by the difficult 'important people', I never did work out.

These scenes might very well be done mostly, if not entirely, in document form, showing contrasts between the formal letter to the village council and Tristan's letter to his friend Frank, or possibly in the point of view of the villagers themselves, as the 'king's' letter is read out loud – or maybe as the reply letters are written and sent back.

The other option was to show a scene at Wall where the Stormhold soldiers arrive and deliver the letters: Mr Edwards, would probably feel rather redundant in the face of these young, armed soldiers, but I can imagine the village council (especially Humphrey's father) not being too trusting of these strangers and keeping the village roster up anyway, and so inadvertently giving a chance for people from Wall to talk to these apparently normal people from the other side – after all, it's hard to stand on opposite sides of a big hold in a stone wall for hours on end without at least being curious about the people nearby. Also, I can imagine Tristan and Una picking young and chatty men and encouraging them to talk to the villagers in hope of establishing a friendly rapport.

Because Tristan also promised magical protection, he sends two magicians to guard the wall; a young warlock and his fussy mother, who have the ability and authority to block the passage of anyone from Stormhold that the non-magical guards can't. The witch and warlock would similarly be encouraged to show of harmless enchantments and try to break down the barriers of fear that keep the village of Wall secluded.

This works, to a degree: the village guards – particularly the younger men (led by Frank) start talking to the warlock and soldiers and form friendships. No one ever actually crosses the wall, but they sit on opposite sides of the gap and chat. When word of this gets through to Wall village, it probably outrages (and/or frightens) stiff-shirt men like Mr Banks and Mr Comfrey, which would be an amusing little scene to write.

Tristan's lessons:

These scenes would be filled with bits and pieces of history, depending on whatever is relevant for the chapter in question. Things like treaties formed by specific kings or why the Stormhold crest has a boar and a griffin on it (you can see them clearly in the Stardust Visual Companion), or answers to questions such as why the Lilim witches needed special (black glass?) knives to cut out Yvaine's heart. Septimus was certainly never on a quest for a special knife, and seemed to think a normal dagger would do just fine – why? Where the glass knives good for retaining as much starlight as possible? Or would normal knives somehow not work, meaning Septimus never had a chance? Fun questions. If anyone has an answer, I'd love to hear it.

Tristan learns details of Stormhold's history and geography, as well as cultural traditions and practicalities like finances and so on. One of these tutors may be the new bishop. In personality, they vary: Some will be patient with him, some will like him, and others will not. He has to treat them as respected subordinates without letting the difficult ones walk over him. At least one of these tutors, or advisors / officials, would have to become a proper minor character, as their overall role is too important to be wallpaper. At least one would actively dislike Tristan for some reason, and some will actively plot against him and there will be a few subplots about that.

Yvaine insists on joining them. The staff and officials learn early on that Yvaine has no intention of being a pretty-face stay-home-and-knit queen; she wants to learn and be involved. (She probably would not need geography lessons, and might be able to correct some historical points if she'd happened to be watching a particular battle or something a few centuries back.)

As he learns, Tristan slowly takes on more and more work from Una. He has to deal with economic, legal, and diplomatic issues, which means I have to find situations for all of them – there will be ambassadors and so on.

It would probably be appreciated that, unlike some princes – Tertius, for instance – Tristan is careful with money. He probably doesn't know how to be extravagant, but certainly does know what it's like to not be able to have everything. The sight of the treasury would probably awe him, though I can see him buying things for his family more easily when he has the chance.

At some point, probably very early on, they have the witches' palace at Carnadine torn down or burned. The residual magic there, or the magical items/potions/whatnot that they left behind are much too dangerous to be left out in the open now that people know where to find it and/or it's abandoned.

Yvaine may become something of a celebrity, and if so, I can imagine people going to her crater just to gawp – it could probably be played up in a very amusing little tourist-attraction sort of way.

However, at some point, Yvaine is attacked – maybe while in the market. It's nothing major, and easily dealt with by guards – and, to their surprise, quite a few common people who are outraged by the greedy act against a symbol of their childhood fairytale – but it shakes her.

There would also be a scare when somebody (and Somebody Important, most likely) starts asking detailed questions about the lie that Una created – that Tristan had grown up in Stormhold. Maybe someone does some checking, or Tristan fumbles a simple answer, but that lie comes back to haunt them. Perhaps Tristan or Dunstan (or Yvaine?) assert themselves and insists on the truth, but most likely not. They're never going to be able to be entirely honest again.

Either in this act or in the next one, Yvaine (or Tristan) accidentally spills the immortality secret to Una and Dunstan; says something aloud that makes them ask, and then confesses. It's a tough issue because it's so absurd (and sappy, though sweetly sappy), but not something I can see them hiding forever – not from his parents.

Yvaine would probably enjoy going riding fairly often. Considering what Primus boasted about his father's mastery of beasts, I imagine the palace has a large array of horses and carriages and other mounts.

On a similar note, why shouldn't flying be a normal way for the rich to travel? The royal family may well have their own flying ship, like the Caspartine, though then there is the question of why the princes didn't use it in their search. Maybe it was too hard to land, or just too conspicuous.

A rather big issue for the later part of this act is the black market:

Back in Act Three, after their run-in with Shakespeare, Una talked eagerly about wanting to uproot the vast black market in Stormhold – should she manage, things like the enslaving silver chains would be largely gone and rid of. The black market, quite obviously, gets in the way of economics and can sometimes cause major problems – probably one of them would flare up to start off this sub-plot. About half the dealers in Market Town, like Sal, trade in illegal magical goods, and Una's twenty-ish years of observation have given her a lot of inside details that she could use to bring it down.

Una is so determined because she has seen the ugliest side of the underworld and has been totally repulsed. If she never had the chance to get to know any of the involved people personally – if Sal dragged her from one to the other too fast, never letting her out of sight or chain length, she would have only ever seen Sal's muddy personality, and when she saw her people suffering as a result, it hardened her. She would have found refuge in friendships with Hatha and other low-class but honest sorts. Therefore she has a hatred of the criminal underworld and a fierce desire to uproot the whole thing, which Tristan would agree with – in theory. Una stands by the laws she thinks are right at all costs, while Tristan feels sorry for individual people. That doesn't mean he doesn't agree – besides which, a king could hardly argue to let illegal trade continue – but he wouldn't have her kind of ferocity.

The central character issue of this sub-plot is that Una goes ahead and starts uprooting the black market without telling ("troubling") Tristan – perhaps she deliberately avoids letting him know about it. When he finds out he's upset, though he can't put a finger on why. It's not that he disagrees ethically, or that he hasn't been dealing with financial problems resulting from it. He's not really afraid for the safety of Captain Shakespeare and crew, nor does he feel like she's pulled the rug out from under him (he doesn't feel in possession of the job yet anyway), but he does feel a bit betrayed. Hurt, even – perhaps more by the fact that she didn't tell them than any actual action. Like she didn't trust him. Maybe she doesn't.

He finds out either in a group meeting (which includes Una), or while talking one-on-one to some official, at which point he smiles tightly and walks off to look for her. He says, "Mother, can we talk? Now?"

Their clash would be her near-fanaticism versus his non-aggressive approach on a personal level. Not a fight, but a clash. They don't understand each other.

Dunstan would have an interesting take on this; he's had no great experience with criminals nor close observation of strict laws – in Wall, everything was done on a person-to-person level, and the large national laws were observed in a distant sort of way. In theory he agrees with Una, but he's the moral voice that Tristan was raised on, so his advice would always boil down to "do what you think is right".

Yvaine, on the other hand, has seen many horrible things that criminals have done, but has no view of them as individuals; she sees the acts, not the idea of a person who is bad or good. She would probably agree with Una when the issue is keeping someone from causing more harm (but then, so would Tristan), but not necessarily in other cases.

How it would work out, I'm not sure.

More on character interaction:

Una would probably end up feeling rather ganged up on every time there are clashes, and while she's got the scholars and advisors agreeing with her Law Is Right view, she quietly longs to feel like a part of her own family; there is a closeness between the other three that she is sometimes left out of. Una seems like the type who would be a willing loner – not deliberately excluded, but set apart and silently desperate to belong.

Sometimes Una's mask cracks and either she becomes quietly miserable or cries in secret, though sometimes someone finds her. Yvaine will be her first confidant, and later on it'll be the key by which she grows closer to Dunstan.

At some point there is a spat of some sort between Yvaine and Una – Una, feeling wronged, is stubbornly waiting for the apology she feels she deserves. Yvaine, however, refuses to apologise because she didn't mean to do anything, so why should she apologise? Tristan or Dunstan, playing mediator, tell her that it's not an apology for herself that Una wants, but a statement of regret that it happened. Yvaine is equally stubborn; she refuses to go crawling and beg forgiveness from her own mother (no, actually, she likes Una better than her own mother, but the point stands), so she isn't about to do so for Una. The actual issue doesn't matter, and the resolution comes easily enough, but I very much want these characters to be as multidimensional as possible, and this is something I can see happening.

Dunstan, as said, spends most of this act feeling like he's quietly drowning. With Una, Tristan, and Yvaine largely busy all day, Dunstan finds himself alone, feeling rather useless. He sorts all the luggage from Wall and gets help for arranging or storing it (there'll be empty rooms around for that) from servants, some of whom he can talk comfortably to, and explores the library. Being an intellectual sort, this would probably delight him, and he could do a lot of study in there. But he gently insists that the four of them have dinner together every night (in a private dining room, so very familyish), and it becomes a pleasant thing to look forward to.

Dunstan is trying to find a place for himself; that's largely his issue here. He and Una have little time together as she's actually running the country, and he feels lost. He and Tristan talk about that at some point.

At the same time, I can see him politely but firmly refusing little offers that would absorb him more fully into Stormhold; he keeps his hair short in the English fashion and wears the best of his old clothes – then, when Una says he really needs to have more than two outfits, asks the tailors to copy the old patterns as closely as possible. This isn't rejection, exactly, but he can't change suddenly like Tristan can. He needs time and space, which there is plenty of, but change isn't easy, and as said, it's important for him to remember that he is English.

Dunstan will be the one Tristan turns to when he needs to talk – not necessarily get reassurance or help, but just to talk. He'd talk to Yvaine, too, and they take time every day just to sit together and relax. Una and Dunstan have something similar; Una needs to unwind in the presence of an equal and is happy to tell Dunstan anything he wants to know about her world. This strengthens their relationship, and they become solid, completely comfortable friends. Scene snippet:

She looked up, briefly, stopping at a random table to write something down. "Yes, Dunstan, what is it?"

"Midnight," he said.

Also, another, at some point, an echo of the movie prologue:

"What do you want of me?"

"Just your company. Someone to talk to."

This next bit of dialogue was originally written for Act One, when Una and Dunstan are talking on that first evening after the big scene with the Wall village council. I cut it because it seemed out of place and the scene was too long already. They are sitting in different chairs one evening, each drinking a glass of wine before going their separate ways to sleep, as has become their custom:

She tilted her head sideways and asked, "Do you think England and Stormhold should start formal talks someday? With your queen, I mean. Would she listen?"

He shook his head. "The world is more scientific now than it was when I sent that letter, and they didn't believe a word of it then. You'd have to prove you have a magical world here, and there's no telling how much of a threat they'd see in that. Better that they remain apart."

"So you think we should seal the wall?"

Shrugging, he rubbed his forehead. "I don't know. But I trust that word of Stormhold won't leave the village; we've kept the secret for hundreds of years, and everyone understands that outsiders would never accept it."

Also, it always bothered me that Una wrote a letter to Tristan but not to Dunstan. The practical but plot-less explanation I came up with is that Sal didn't give her enough paper, but if that's not the case – could it be that she was afraid to write to him, for some reason? A possible but very far-fetched idea is that she didn't want him to have a letter on him because she worried that her brothers somehow would find out what happened and go to Wall to kill the baby. Magic doesn't work on the other side, but their swords would. And that would also be a reason for not signing the letter.

In any case, at some point Dunstan would ask about it, and Una would have to answer some uncomfortable questions.

Some more (semi-random) bits about Yvaine:

She would know perfectly well that being a queen means having quite a few responsibilities, but the amount of time required – especially in comparison to her life in the sky, where she was utterly free to do as she pleased every minute of the day – would surprise and irritate her. In reference to lessons, I can see her using the phrase "queen training" with no regard for how polite it seems to others. That's half of why she's such a fun character, after all.

At times she seems wise 'beyond her years' (though considering how old she actually is, that's not really a good phrase to use), and other times, like a child. This contrast is something I'd have liked to play with, such as in scenes like this:

During the first days, she walks by a stone-faced soldier standing absolutely still, guarding a particular corridor. She pauses, frowns, and leans over to examine his face – then pokes him. "You are alive, aren't you?"

"Yvaine!" (If that's a truly horrified-sounding exclamation, it'll probably be Una saying it, or maybe Dunstan. Or a minor character, depending on the scene setting.) Yvaine would be embarrassed, I think.

She, more than any of the others, would really need to make friends beyond their little circle of four. She has her Star Guard soldiers – Corvin, I'm sure, would be more than glad to keep her company, too much so – but I can imagine that she would very quickly befriend a random nobleman's daughter, and every maid who tends to her room. The noble-class girl is one I wanted to develop into a proper minor character too; she'd be a woman who is not particularly beautiful, especially in comparison to Yvaine, and largely ignored by the upper class until they became friends – the kind everyone thinks will become a spinster. A shy girl, always alone, that Yvaine felt sorry for at a gathering and started talking to. Painfully shy. Maybe the daughter of a minister or a tutor, which would make it easier for them to meet.

Yvaine might want to continue her piano lessons, as Shakespeare would hardly have had time to teach her much more than basic chords. When getting frustrated and impatient with exercises, or is interrupted, she bangs the keys hard.

Generally, she would care very little about material things, but I decided early on that at some point there would be a scene in her room where she accidentally (perhaps because she's flinging her arms about angrily) knocks the little crystal cat from wherever it sits, and it shatters on the floor; that would upset her terribly.

Yvaine makes a habit of sitting outside for a few hours every night so her sisters or mother can talk to her if they want to. She keeps trying, but as they haven't managed to convince her to leave, even Selena isn't talking – Celeste might have tried, but the Moon probably caught her trying and told her off. At some point one or more of them tentatively start conversation, and Yvaine introduces Tristan to some of her other sisters and they talk about some of the more surreal aspects of life in the sky.

Though nothing comes of it in this act, there are scattered moments and reflection scenes in which Yvaine worries about Tristan's possible immortality. Selena's warnings about "it always starts well" get to her, and an offhand comment about their children someday taking over the throne start her thinking, and seeds of doubt begin to gnaw at her. She feels guilty for doubting Tristan's word, afraid that Selena and her mother are right, determined not to go running home to a gloating mother and so on. She tries to put it out of her mind, convince herself, whatever, and puts off talking to him about it for whatever reasons she can justify.

She realizes he's already carrying a very heavy burden in terms of having to take on his responsibilities as king. I could see her wrestling with herself over this, knowing that she has to tell him but concerned about the stress he's already under, as well as dealing with the pressure that Selena is putting on her

Also, stars – being immortals – might be in the habit of living in the moment, not generally worrying about the past or future (with a multi-million year lifespan, it seems plausible), and thus I might be able to justify her "forgetting" on a more day-to-day basis until something reminds her, so she could go through most of a day without being reminded and remain her usual self.

At one point there is a dream sequence – nightmare, really – in which she sees Tristan as a very bitter old man.

In one chapter, Yvaine gets sick. Just a flu, but she's never been ill before. She was able to handle the broken leg pretty well because she knew exactly what the problem was, but illness is another matter.

Because she's complaining of nausea, Tristan says she shouldn't come to whatever event they had scheduled that day but stay 'home' (in her room) until she feels better. It's a mark of how bad she feels that she doesn't argue.

Some hours later, one of the housekeeper ladies comes to find Tristan because she's worried; the healer has been by, and Yvaine is complaining of symptoms far more intense than expected. Tristan leaves (the event) in his mother's capable hands and goes back. Outside Yvaine's door is her maid and a rather frazzled-looking healer, who say the lady has thrown them out. Tristan thanks them and knocks, opening the door.

Yvaine is inside, stumbling tiredly around the room in a foul mood. Her mood swings every which way, dramatically, from anger to misery. "I'm feeling really horrible, Tristan," she said, voice teary. "Really, really bad. My head hurts and my stomach's twisted and I can't think or move or..."

Tristan, who's been sick before, tries to soothe her by saying, "I know how you feel."

"You know? How can you know and be so calm about it? This is horrible and humiliating and– Oh no–"

She feels nauseous again, but never actually throws up. Somehow, that was even worse. Tristan hugs her, smoothing her hair and rubbing her back. She was shivery, and crying on and off – little, miserable sobs. He grabs an extra blanket/one of her warmer coats and wraps her in it, warming her tired body.

She's adamant that illness won't stop her living the day normally; she's strong, she can handle it. Meanwhile, she's sheet white and cold. Tristan talks her out of playing hero and into bed, drawing the heavy curtains for her. She relents and drifts off to sleep. He says there's really nothing they can do but wait it out (except maybe draw a hot bath), and the best way is to sleep it off.

Tristan kisses her forehead and tucks her in, wrapping the blankets more tightly. He quietly leaves and tells the servants that she's all right – she's not got some terrible incurable disease, she's just never been ill before, so everything seems worse to her. He adds that she apologises for shouting at them. Yvaine, of course, had done no such thing.

(I'd like to add that I wrote this particular scene sketch one day when I was really, really sick. Yvaine was playing mouthpiece for me, but it actually turned out to be somewhat useable material, though I never made the necessary characterisation adjustments.)

Quite late in the act, some soldier or minister makes a stupid mistake with hurtful consequences, and Tristan gets really angry with him – "You idiot!" Like the scene on the cloud where he's snapping at Yvaine; I tend to write Tristan as being very quiet, tentative or reserved, but in the film he was eager, depressed, irritable, angry, enthusiastic, and does lose his temper sometimes, all of which need to be shown or else his character would be flattened.

The climax of the act is when Una has Tristan sentence some prisoners. It's not usually the sort of thing the king does for any offenses short of treason (or attacks on his person), but it's meant as training, anyway. Una briefs him on the usual punishments for various crimes – all lengths of time in prison (dungeons). Tristan insists on seeing it, saying he can't send anyone there without knowing what it'll be like – the conditions in the dungeons are rather good, actually, clean and fairly warm, but it's tiny and cramped and not a place you'd want to be locked away in.

Una knows this will be hard for him, and that's why he has to do it. She sits or stands just behind him, as his advisor, keeping as quiet as possible. They are in a formal but not oversized room meant for the king to give audience to petitioners. Each prisoner is presented to the prince and his crimes are described by (the Minister of Justice? Or maybe a soldier). Tristan looks to each and asks them if it's true, and each man (in various ways) says yes. Tristan may ask them to add some add details.

Whether by chance or the good common sense of either Una or the Minister of Justice, two of them are sympathetic characters. The first man, however, very clearly is not. He murdered his wife, his brother, and possibly another woman who was found dead some months earlier. Tristan still has to steel himself to say it, but orders the man imprisoned – for life.

The next is also a murderer, who is very angry but very young, fourteen. Tristan feels the kid will grow up, but admits that for now he's dangerous, and has him sent to prison, but says they'll review him in a year.

The third man is a young father who stole food and money from passing traveller who, unfortunately, was rather well-connected. The man pleads that his business was ruined by a fire and that his wife and small son are starving. Some people watching from around the room are stone-faced, either because they think crime is crime, or because they're used to steeling themselves against this. Tristan just cannot send him to prison – he's not dangerous – but can't let him go, either – bad example. He thinks back to one of his tutors' recent complaints that they're having to spend extra money hiring workers for some building project, and decides that this man will spend a year working as a labourer under guard, and in the meantime they will send a little money to his wife every month – just enough to live on. The man is allowed to write his wife a letter. He looks worshipfully grateful.

Una doesn't approve, saying that they must send him to prison to prevent others from doing the same, but Tristan refuses; it's the first time he flatly overrules his mother. (Do note that she's being practical, not callous – she has lived a poor life, and doesn't think this man a liar. She means exactly what she says – it's a bad example.)

The fourth man is also a thief, but had no need to steal; he did it because of greed. Tristan also sends him to work, as he's not dangerous, but with an extra guard to ensure he doesn't steal again, or escape. Tristan is very pleased to have come up with this idea for alternative punishment, and decides to use it as much as possible.

And that's more or less the end of Act Four. Encouraged, not only by this incident but everything else he's been through since arriving, he's feeling reasonably sure of himself, and now has enough grounding to know what the position of king will actually require of him. He feels he can do it, and plans for his coronation begin.