WHAT I LOATHE ABOUT MY CHARACTERS (BUT WHAT MAKES THEM INTERESTING TO WRITE FOR/ABOUT)

It's a question of where to start with Brankaresh, the Queen's Chief Wizard.  He's power hungry, sexist and known to kill to advance his career.  He does not believe in waiting for dead men's shoes!  Indeed he's been responsible for the dead men being dead.  He mistakenly feels he can force the Queen's hand and plans to marry her to gain access to the vast power house of spells the fairy royals own.  The fact she is gorgeous (and wealthy) is a bonus but Manatrix, an old rival, feels Brankaresh would make love to a gargoyle if it helped his career.  Brankaresh ends up allying himself with the Witch and together they do briefly overthrow the Queen but it all ends in tears - and the Queen is one of those characters determined to ensure they're not hers.

The Queen has difficulty understanding the need to distinguish between confidence and arrogance.  It didn't occur to her Eileen would resent continually being sent out on dangerous missions, that it definitely looked as if Eileen was being sent out of the way (and possibly to her death) which would get up anyone's nose.  The Queen, believing duty is all, feels that must automatically make her right, which it doesn't.  The Queen does acknowledge she needs L'Evallier as a kind of conscience which is to her credit but she has the ability of her ancestor, Gwendolyn, to aggravate everyone.  The Queen desperately needs to learn to be more humble.