Once again, Champions, you have exceeded my hopes, thank you to everyone who has kindly left a review! The next short–which is actually my favorite–is now unlocked: A Gallant Celebration. (Click HERE for the PDF File)
Now, onto today’s topic: where the story fits into the Continent and the timeline.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses make their first debut in the Timeless Fairy Tale series through Cinderella, in a conversation between Friedrich, Merrich, and Deiderrik, and they pop up every few books after that. But besides saying the bare minimum (That they are cursed or something as they wear their shoes out every night) I keep all details under wraps, until the Black Swan Smugglers arrive.
In Swan Lake I reveal that Odette and her crew have been delivering a philtre that freezes the heart of emotion and inspires a passionate desire to dance. This is the first clue that the elves are tied to the twelve dancing princesses as the French version of the story includes that exact same philtre. I planned for the elves to be included since early on in the series, and I knew the Twelve Dancing Princesses would be my ticket.
As you learned in Frog Prince, all the curses, spells, and calamities that have befallen my characters is the work of the Chosen–who have been plotting and planning for centuries. The Chosen specifically target countries and people with power who ruined their attack on Verglas, so naturally the elves would make the top of the list.
Because the elves–though quite limited in number–are a people group, the Chosen would have to strike against all elves if they really wanted lock them out of the incoming fight. Preferably they would want to kill them, but as you recall the elves’ curse was originally powered by Lord Enchanter Evariste, and due to the purity of his magic it couldn’t be twisted to do that. (It is worth mentioning, however, that Angelique’s magic wouldn’t have that problem, which is some food for thought….)
It’s also worth noting that the Chosen acted against them fast. It happened so quickly, in fact, that Emerys and his people didn’t even know Evariste had been kidnapped. (There will be more about this in future books, but its safe to conclude this was done on purpose.)
And to answer your question, Yes, as many of you have asked I do have a Fairy Tale planned to explain the elven Wanderers and how the three generals were freed. My original plan was to include it before Angelique’s book, but the series is already quite long. I still plan to write it one day, but it will likely be a novella. And to answer your burning question, the selected fairy tale is The Elves and the Shoemaker. There’s actually three different stories that include some distant hints to this fairy tale, so super bonus points to any who can guess which three!
Finally, Twelve Dancing Princesses actually introduces a main protagonist from a future story that will take place after Angelique’s books, Bridget! Can anyone guess what her fairy tale is? (Hint: think about her job…)
Thank you for reading and reviewing, Champions. I really hope you enjoy the extra, and have a lovely day!