A man and his horse

When we think of a horse and its owner we generally think of the bond they share.  Some owners are extremely loving and caring of their horse, while others are unfortunately brutal and careless.
In Cursed with Power there were not as many scenes of Alaire and Vinur as I had hoped for, but I do believe that because of the way they were a "team" together brought on a new addition to Alaire.  (For those of you who haven't read CWP Vinur is Alaire's horse.)

With a story where your MC cannot or is not willing to trust new people, it can be difficult to find the answer to that problem.  What is it that will gain their trust?  With CWP this definitely was a question that came across multiple times, and I wanted to talk about in more detail so for those writers out there this can be a first hand account of how you can come to resolve problems involving trust.
Celestria could not trust anyone with how everything in her life had changed.  Her lover left her, her sister died, and she was forced to leave the only home she knew.  When Alaire walked into her life there was a question of how they could trust each other.  However, Alaire had an advantage no other character had.  He saved Celestria's life, and in return she had no reason to doubt his desire to help her find a haven or answers to the questions they both desired.  By the time chapter 12 came about and Celestria met Alaire's horse, she was quick to realize the horse's closeness to his owner.

What had happened to him? The horse nudged his head; its eyes looked almost human with the sympathetic way it observed him. Slowly, I extended my arm over Alaire and held two fingers against his neck. There was a pulse, yet his breathing was faint. As I withdrew my fingers I realized the horse was staring at me; almost glaring at me. The look it gave me seemed human, and it was enough to make me think twice about the animal. It had appeared out of nowhere, but there it was standing loyally by Alaire's side.
“He’s not really much to fret about, you know.” I said, though the joke did not make me laugh.

This scene not only helped Celestria realize how Vinur felt for Alaire, but it was also the beginning of how her feelings were developing for him.
Having a "sidekick" or "partner" for your MC helps move the plot along and bring in realistic emotion.  So remember when he/she comes into the story, there needs to be a reason for them to be trusted.  Whether they have a loyal animal by their side, their life is put at risk, they fall in love, etc. etc... It needs to be something.

We may certainly see Vinur again in the story.  If you'd like to read the chapter where Vinur is first introduced --assuming, of course, you've already read the chapters before--take a look at it: here.  As always, if you have a favorite scene you'd like me to post up from Cursed with Power send me an email or leave a comment.

"There's a lot that I want." He said. He smirked as he said it like he knew he was pushing my patience.