Queen Sleeping Beauty is the monarch of the Eastern Kingdom. She makes her debut in the Wishing Spell.
Background
Queen Sleeping Beauty is the well-known fairytale character from the fairy tales by Charles Perrault[1] / The Brothers Grimm, a princess who is cursed at her christening to prick her finger on a spindle wheel and fall into a hundred years' sleep along with her entire kingdom. (see: Sleeping Curse)
The Wishing Spell takes place after the traditional fairy tale ends and Queen Sleeping Beauty and her kingdom have been awakened. She married Prince Charming and now leads the Eastern Kingdom (formerly Sleeping Kingdom).
Appearance and Personality
"The woman wore a tiara made of silver flowers and had long, flowing, golden hair. She wore a thin gown a shade of pale rose with matching gloves."[2]
Queen Sleeping Beauty takes great responsibility in leading her kingdom and vowed to stay awake until her kingdom was fully restored from the curse.[3] She is adamant that her people should not suffer consequences for being cursed (such as punishment on lingering sleepiness). When Conner offers a solution, she is willing to listen to him despite him being a child (and an intruder to her council meeting).[4]
She tells Alex and Conner she believed their father's story about the Wishing Spell because she is "somewhat romantic" herself[5] and freely offers to help them by giving them the spindle.
In The Enchantress Returns, hers is the first kingdom to be attacked by Ezmia, the enchantress who originally cursed her and her kingdom with the Sleeping Curse, and for a long while she assumes the enchantress has returned to "finish the job" and kill her. Ezmia corrects her and makes it clear she means to take over the entire Land of Stories.
In A Grimm Warning, Sleeping Beauty revels that the Sleeping Curse left her and many other women in the Sleeping Kingdom barren.[6] Shortly after, she and the other royals come upon the ruins of a village that has been ransacked by the Grande Armée, leaving no survivors but a small baby girl. She and her husband Chase immediately decide to adopt her. They call her Ash.
Relationships
Sleeping Beauty is married to King Chase Charming. Her parents are mentioned in The Enchantress Returns: they once devised an emergency escape plan from the castle in case it was ever needed, and Sleeping Beauty uses it to escape when the enchanted vines start creeping up on the castle.[7] They have an adopted daughter named Princess Ash.
Her father is the king who wanted to marry a woman who could spin gold out of hay (see: Rumplestiltskin). Her grandfather is the king who was cursed to live looking like a beast until a girl fell in love with him and broke the curse (see: Lady of the East).
She has a royal advisor; he is described as a short, old man with a white beard.[8]
Story
1. The Wishing Spell
Sleeping Beauty helps the twins by lending them the spindle they need for the Wishing Spell.
2. The Enchantress Returns
When the vines start covering the kingdom again and it becomes clear that the Enchantress is back, Sleeping Beauty is advised to flee. She is captured along with the other queens and forced to surrender her kingdom to Ezmia.
3. A Grimm Warning
When the threat of the Grande Armée becomes real, Sleeping Beauty goes into hiding on the secret path along with the other royals. When they see the destruction the army has wreaced upon a town, Red Riding Hood asks Goldilocks for fighting lessons. Sleeping Beauty and the other queens join her. The royals are ambushed and captured. When they are rescued, they fight alongside Alex and Conner to defeat the army.
4. Beyond the Kingdoms
She attends Red and Froggy's (almost) wedding.[9] It is unclear what happened to the Eastern Kingdom and the royal family when the Masked Man's army of literary villains attacked.
5. An Author's Odyssey
Sleeping Beauty is among the royals who are almost executed by The Emperor (Masked Man). They are rescued just in time by Jack, Goldilocks, The Merry Men and The Lost Boys.
Quotes
"Had my parents just let me die, as the curse originally intended, none of this would have happened. So I'm prepared to spend the rest of my life, the life they ensured, making things right again."[10]
"The fairy tale had always romanticized the bravery of the young prince and the horror of the curse that had been cast upon the land, but it had failed to mention what a strong and brave woman the sleeping beauty truly was."[11]
"I believe the most extraordinary ideas come from children," the queen said. "If only we could all be so perceptive, we would find the simplest solutions to the greatest problems are right under our noses."[12]
"There are many many things out of my control."
(Add your fave quote here!)
References
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Perrault
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 14, p. 287
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 14, p. 296
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 14, p. 289
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 14, p. 293
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 21, p. 338
- ↑ TLOS II, Prologue, p. 8
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 14, p. 287
- ↑ TLOS IV, ch 8 p 124
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 14, p. 296
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 14, p. 296
- ↑ TLOS II, Prologue, p. 3