I just had the most brilliant idea.
The Background:
The last seven years I've been going about Adela the wrong way. I've been trying to tell her story from her point of view.
What a *stupid* way to go about it.
Admittedly, some parts went very well, and at some point the story will have to (I think) go to her point of view. But while she's still at Cadhadran?
Huzzah, the answer came to me today!
I started talking out loud and the words were flowing and I was like, "this is strange, but okay, I can work with it," but when I realized Adela was being spoken about in third person, I also realized something else:
Let Neven and the Faerie Queen (who has yet to be named, btw. Suggestions are welcomed, though not guaranteed to be used) tell the story of Adela's youth! Which is basically the whole point up to the climax anyway.
Ahem. The point is, now I have something to work with that doesn't feel stunted. Knowing too much when she shouldn't, because even Adela isn't omniscient. Close, but not quite.