I have a really strong female character in my group of main characters, and one of my many, overlapping side-plots (at least in the first book) is going to be a romantic one. Her story is that she was a princess of this northern nation that is known for its harshness and violence. He parents were killed in a military coup when she was ten, and the new king planned for her to marry his son, who was a few years older than she was. On the night of her wedding when she was fifteen or sixteen (after the ceremony), she escaped (probably using magic), hopped a boat to a neighboring continent, and settled in a coastal town frequented by pirates, about a month of travel away from her old life. She gained local fame as a gambler and then accepted a high-paying job from a merchant interested in recovering a religious artifact, which is what the story is about. When the king discovered she was missing, however, he was humiliated (she's just a girl after all) and he proclaimed that his son would marry her or he wouldn't marry anyone (because the king is kind of an a**hole). Political upheaval prevented him from leaving immediately, but right around the time the story begins, he sets off looking for her. I deliberately created their characters so that they would be perfect for each other, but I don't know how to make their relationship believable and not the product of Stockholm syndrome
You're story sounds really interesting. I'd like to know what the guy's like though. Does he agree with the marriage or is he indifferent? And it wouldn't really be Stockholm syndrome until he actually kidnaps her and THEN they fall for each other.
His whole thing, his main motivator in life, is his father. He would never, ever disobey his father or contradict him; he's deathly afraid of disappointing the man who he looks up to and admires. What the journey to find his "runaway wife" will do for him is liberate him from his father's control. The plan is for him to realize that he never actually thought about what he wanted or didn't want, he just did what his dad told him to do. The process of searching for someone who lives so freely and does whatever they want makes him realize that he wishes that too. Before his revelation, however, he becomes increasingly obsessed with finding her, because the way he sees it, she's the only thing he's ever done wrong.
Okay, now I know. This reminds me of a series called Fallen Kingdoms, which had something similar. The girl and the guy were forced to marry each other, though she hated him and he didn't feel anything for her. What made their eventual relationship believable was the circumstances. They were repeatedly pushed together by external forces, and see sides to each other they never would've known existed. He is surly with a gentle, compassionate side, while she is frivolous but also strong-willed and kind. Your characters aren't thrilled by the idea of marriage, so they'll likely be at odds. Give traits to their personalities that prevents them from being complete polar opposites, then slowly ease them towards each other. The trick is not to rush it, and don't let them open up to each other too quickly if that's not what they usually do. Actions always speak louder than words, so one character can occasionally do something that surprises the other, but in a good way. Like in this series the guy claims he doesn't care either way, but won't hesitate to protect the girl from harm, and through that, the girl knows that he can't be as horrible as she thought he was and strives to find out more about him. It also helps to give them something to agree on, however small and insignificant. This shows them that they're not so different after all.
Hope this helps.
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