In a misguided act of pride, a newborn princess is named after the vengeful Queen Titania and spirited away to the fae realm, where she is brought up under the false name, Hermia. Tasked with maintaining an enchanted flame, Hermia falls in love with a prince named Lysander, whose spirit is trapped inside a rainbow. When the flame is extinguished along with her ability to communicate with the prince, she must travel to the dangerous Unseelie Court with two fae protectors, Helena and Demetrius, to restore peace and free her true love.
This story combines an obscure fairy tale from Andrew Lang's Yellow Fairy Book called "Fairer-than-a-Fairy" with William Shakespeare's classic comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In a misguided act of pride, a newborn princess is named after the vengeful Queen Titania and spirited away to the fae realm, where she is brought up under the false name, Hermia. Tasked with maintaining an enchanted flame, Hermia falls in love with a prince named Lysander, whose spirit is trapped inside a rainbow. When the flame is extinguished along with her ability to communicate with the prince, she must travel to the dangerous Unseelie Court with two fae protectors, Helena and Demetrius, to restore peace and free her true love.
This story combines an obscure fairy tale from Andrew Lang's Yellow Fairy Book called "Fairer-than-a-Fairy" with William Shakespeare's classic comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
King Theseus and Queen Hippolyta were beloved by all in the kingdom of Midrovia for their fair and just treatment of the people, as well as their impeccable sense of style. Their pure white castle with its round turrets stood tall, overlooking the seaside kingdom, from its white beach to the blue sky. The people flourished in brick and wood homes of varying sizes and prospered in trade industries, which focused on fashion, carriages, and public relations. A warm land, Midrovia was pleasant to visit during any season.
Living in such a thriving kingdom, it seemed only natural that, of course, the king and queen’s newborn princess should have a grand name and an even grander ceremony to go with it. After all, the princess’s planned alliance with Prince Lysander of Spearia was going to make the kingdom more prosperous than ever. When the baby was born, she exceeded even the king and queen’s high expectations with her soft golden locks, bright turquoise eyes, and fair porcelain skin. They determined that not even the fae queen herself could match the princess’s breathtaking beauty.
King Theseus smiled with pride upon his newborn daughter and stroked his short brown beard. “We should call her Titania, for only the queen of fae can ever hope to compare to her brilliance.”
Queen Hippolyta brushed a stray lock of blonde hair behind her jeweled crown. “Our daughter is lovely, but don’t you think Queen Titania might consider it an insult to have a human child named after her? The fae have been known to curse children when they are in foul moods.”
“Certainly not! Sharing her name with such a flawless princess would be a great honor. Perhaps Queen Titania will be so grateful that she will even bestow a blessing on the child.”
Travelling to the human realm for important birthing ceremonies was not uncommon among the fae, and sometimes they presented the infants with magical gifts, but treating the fae with the utmost respect was imperative.
One fae was so offended at not being invited to a princess’s birthing ceremony that she cursed the child to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a death-like sleep. King Theseus was confident nothing like that would happen to their child.
When the day of the naming ceremony arrived, a grand procession filled the great hall with music, brightly colored flags, and performers in flowing costumes. A group of bards played a regal song on trumpets. Dancers suspended from silks attached to the chamber’s high ceiling spun in the air.
Queen Wilhelmina of Spearia made an impressive entrance in a red velvet gown with a long train trailing behind her as she carried her toddler son. The young prince gaped in awe at the bright colors, sights, and sounds of the birthing ceremony.
Yet, no sight could compare to the infant princess, who rested in an extravagant cradle draped in shimmering violet silk at the head of the throne room. A chiffon canopy with ornate golden accents stretched high over the cradle to the arched ceiling of the grand chamber.
Prince Lysander waddled up to gaze upon his future bride, his scruffy auburn hair bouncing on his head as he approached. She was magnificent. Coils of spun gold surrounded her heart-shaped face, and her eyes reflected the color of the clearest ocean on a sunny day. He would never forget that face or what happened next.
In a flash of blinding golden light, the fae queen materialized in the middle of the room with a presence so overwhelming that all merriment and entertainment halted instantly. From the flower-petal-encrusted platinum locks cascading down her back to the tall, pointed wings engraved with a swirling pattern that looked as delicate as glass, Queen Titania was perfection itself. A flowing white gown draped her arms and legs elegantly while clinging tightly to her hourglass figure. Long pointed ears enhanced the soft golden glow of her eyes. Her petal-pink lips hardened into an unreadable expression.
“Is this the princess who shall bear my name?” she asked.
Her lilting voice may have held the sound of wind chimes, but her tone was harsh. Lysander clutched the tiny princess’s hand. Even as young as he was, he knew she was dangerous. Queen Hippolyta gave her husband a look that said, I told you so, but Theseus remained unperturbed.
“Queen Titania, I presume,” he said, with a slight nod of his head. “The rumors of your beauty were not exaggerated. Indeed, you are every bit as stunning as our newborn princess, whom we have graced with your namesake.”
“My namesake? Me? The queen of all fae? Am I supposed to consider this an honor? You truly believe that a human child compares to my magnificence?”
Hippolyta noticed her husband’s carefully formed mask began to slip, but he held his ground.
“Few can compare to your magnificence, Your Grace, but I believe Princess Titania is one of the few.”
“Darling,” Hippolyta warned. “Perhaps we should—”
“So, it’s true,” the queen interrupted. “You have named a mere human after me.”
Long silver fingernails shaped like daggers shimmered in the air, reflecting the white light her palm emitted.
“I think we can forget about that blessing,” Hippolyta muttered.
“My Queen, you are an honored guest, but we will not let you harm our child,” said Theseus, his words sharp with warning.
“Oh, don’t worry,” said Titania. “It isn’t her fault you compared her to me. I will not punish the child. She will grow up ignorant of all this. That much, I can assure you.”
“How can you be so certain?” asked Hippolyta.
Titania’s delicate lips pursed into an unreadable expression. “That is for me to know and you to wonder, possibly for the rest of your life. My revenge will come when you least expect it. You will spend your entire life wondering, worrying about your child, never truly knowing when I have struck. That is your punishment.”
With a flash of blinding light, the space Titania had occupied was suddenly empty. Hippolyta grabbed the baby princess from her cradle and clutched her daughter to her chest.
“She’s just trying to scare us, right?” panted the queen, her voice uneven. “She’s royalty. She wouldn’t harm a human princess.”
The fae were known to steal babies from the human realm, switching them with infants of their own before they were old enough to understand what was happening to them. Most parents of changelings never realized that the child they raised was not the one they had given birth to. That anxiety now rested upon the shoulders of the king and queen of Midrovia.
“We can’t take any chances,” insisted Theseus. “She will be locked away in a high tower and guarded at all hours of the night and day. No one will ever get near her.”
“Locked in a tower? For her entire life? That’s no way to live,” argued Hippolyta.
The king heaved a sigh. “It is if we want her to be safe.”
Delete
The tiny Princess Tania, as she was nicknamed to avoid further offending the fae queen, was indeed locked away in a high tower that was guarded day in and day out with only a nursemaid to look after her. Little did they know, their action only made Queen Titania’s job that much easier. Now there would be fewer witnesses. All she had to do was wait for the nursemaid to go to sleep. Then she could use her wings to float silently through the tower window, leave her baby, and disappear with the little princess. None would be the wiser.
Two guards reported sightings of a strange light that night, but everything looked normal when they checked the tower. The only thing the nursemaid noticed was that the baby’s ears had somehow gotten longer overnight, and her eyes had lost some of their brightness. Although Hippolyta suspected the worst, the royal doctor assured her that the baby appeared healthy and that such changes were normal at such a young age, as the child was growing into the person she would become.
Yet over time, the doctor began to observe abnormalities in the child. She had an extreme sensitivity to light and color and would cry excessively when placed anywhere near the window. As she grew older, she refused to wear brightly colored gowns and was most comfortable in black or gray. As it turned out, the tower that was meant to protect her was the best place for her unique health condition, as it kept out most of the bright sunlight that was so appreciated in the cheerful kingdom below.
When Princess Tania celebrated her thirteenth birthday, Prince Lysander presented her with a gift that he had poured his heart and soul into. He had spent countless hours painting a portrait of the princess. Using the rarest and most expensive oil paints, he captured the golden sunshine of her hair and the ocean blue-green of her eyes that had fascinated him at her birthing ceremony. He made her look a little older and showered her in glittering rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. The princess in the painting wore an elaborate gown of satin and velvet that captured every color of the rainbow. He was so proud of his work that he couldn’t wait to see Tania’s reaction.
“It’s hideous!” the princess croaked, as she tore the brown paper off the gilded frame. “Get it away from me! Who is this horrible woman supposed to be?”
Prince Lysander ran a nervous hand through his auburn locks. “It’s, er, supposed to be you, Princess. That is, it’s how I remember you from the first time I saw you.”
“How could you even think to compare this to me? I look nothing like that! Her hair is so bright it burns my eyes, and her skin is so pasty it looks like it’s about to crack. Do you really think I look like that?”
“Well, you used to…”
“Get it away from me! I can’t stand all these garish colors.”
Tania tried to cover up Lysander’s masterpiece with the torn wrappings. When that didn’t work, she threw the portrait face down on the stone floor so forcefully that the frame shattered and the canvas tore. Lysander felt his own heart shatter along with it.
“I know our parents want us to marry for the sake of our kingdoms,” he said, “But I could never marry someone like you. You’re not who I thought you were. Do you have any idea how long it took me to paint that?”
“I don’t care. If being married to you means having to claw my eyes out every time I look in your direction, then I don’t want to go through with the alliance either!”
Unfortunately, breaking the alliance was not as easy as Lysander and Tania had hoped. Their parents forced them both to apologize, but Lysander knew in his heart that he could not go through with the marriage.
Feeling trapped and desperate to find a way out, Lysander pondered the common rumor that when the moon was full, a mischievous fae came out to play tricks on unsuspecting humans. Lysander knew the fae were wily creatures and that many of them had magic that he would not have access to from an ordinary human. He waited until one such night to try his luck.
Puck was unique among fae as he belonged to neither the Seelie Court nor the Unseelie Court. He lived on the outskirts of the fae realm, playing pranks at his whim, and often traveled the human realm for a lark. He was easily recognizable as a fae sprite with his abnormally olive skin, bald head, short stature, and long pointed ears. However, he was so devious that most humans never even saw him coming.
One moonlit night, he was having a grand time pranking a high-strung lady into believing that a frog was speaking to her by hiding in a bush and throwing his voice. He attempted to convince her that the frog was a prince and needed a kiss to return to his human form. When the frog hopped toward her of its own volition, she was so startled that she fell into the pond, ruining her perfectly coiffed hairdo. Puck rolled onto his shoulders and cackled. He couldn’t have planned it better himself!
Little did he know that his laughter gave away his position to the young Prince Lysander, who had been spying on him. After helping the maiden out of the pond, Lysander snuck up behind the fae, who was barely as tall as he was, and tackled him to the ground.
“What’s the big idea?” demanded Puck, pushing the young prince off him.
“You’re fae, aren’t you?” asked Lysander.
“What makes you think that? Just because I’m a little short doesn’t mean I’m not human. Are you so preoccupied by appearances that you think anyone who looks a little different must be a fae?”
“Actually, I figured it out when you threw your voice to trick that maiden.”
“And no human is capable of throwing their voice?”
“Not from this distance.”
Puck growled. “I don’t have time for your games. I’m playing my own.”
He began to scamper off, but Lysander chased after him and tackled him again from behind.
“What’s the big idea, kid? Would you get off me?”
Lysander obeyed. “I need your help.”
“Help? You need my help? Do I look like a fairy godmother to you? I don’t help people; I humiliate them and then laugh about it. Haven’t you been paying attention?”
“Then I need you to humiliate Princess Tania so much that my parents will break off our marriage alliance. Please, I can’t get out of this without magic.”
“Princess Tania?” Puck squinted at the boy with his lanky form and messy auburn hair. “The one they named after the fae queen?”
“You’ve heard of her?”
“Any business of Queen Titania’s or King Oberon’s is the business of all the fae.”
“Won’t you help me then? I can’t marry someone who doesn’t appreciate art. It’s my whole life.”
A mischievous gleam appeared in Puck’s eye. “An artist, are you? What’s your favorite color?”
Lysander didn’t hesitate for a moment. “All of them!”
Puck stroked a scaly finger across his chin, making an uncomfortable squeaking sound. “So, you want to get away from this human princess and surround yourself with all the colors of the rainbow, do you?”
“I live for my art. Can’t you do something? You’re fae!”
“I might have a solution.” His lips opened to reveal two rows of sharp, pointy teeth. “Why don’t you shake on it, boy?”
Puck held out a scaly olive hand that looked more reptilian than human. Lysander took a deep breath and reached for Puck’s hand. The moment he made contact, his body collapsed lifelessly to the ground. The last thing he heard was Puck’s laughter. He had no sense of his limbs. The world around him shot by at the speed of light. Everything seemed brighter and surrounded him with an energy he had never felt before. He could hear color. Red whizzed by like laser beams, yellow blasted like a trumpet, and blue was a relaxing lullaby. No matter how hard he tried to feel his body, there was no connection to be found. Finally, he realized what had happened. Puck had trapped his spirit inside the rainbow.
Suppose you want to roll out a new flavor of chocolate ice cream by combining two existing ones—say Death by Chocolate and Chocolate Sundae. You mix some of each thoroughly together; what would you expect the mixture to taste like? Doubtless, similar ingredients, like cocoa, milk, and sugar, present in both, will stand out by reinforcing themselves. The unique ingredients, such as nuts, fruits, and essences, will combine to create a new flavor that is likely to surpass both parents on their own.
Quite similarly, Lisa Dawn’s Titania's Reflection: A Retelling of Fairer-than-a-Fairy and A Midsummer Night's Dream is a delightful hybrid, born from the fusion of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream and Fairer-than-a-Fairy (from Andrew Lang’s Yellow Fairy Book), along with some personal touches and imaginative tweaks by the author. According to the author, Fairer-than-a-Fairy was the starting point.
Similar to any hybrid, it resembles both its parents in part, yet it retains a unique identity of its own. That said, it leans more toward A Midsummer Night's Dream. Estranged King Oberon and Queen Titania dwell in different courts, while Demetrius and Helena are fairies, not humans. Hermia is a princess, and Egeus isn’t her father. It is Hermia who rescues Lysander—not the other way around. The story's theme is the overarching power of pure love, which endures every hardship, transforms witnesses, and patiently overcomes every obstacle. In the end, having conquered all that oppose it, it reigns triumphant, always!
The book’s cover featuring a cute-looking Hermia looks beautiful. Definitely, it succeeds in conveying that there's a fairy tale inside. The author’s writing style is lucid and smoothly flowing. The sharp font, page formatting, and style complement each other nicely, contributing to excellent readability. An outstanding feature for which the author rightly deserves credit is that it has absolutely no errors. Since there are no defects worth mentioning, I confidently award it 5 stars.
Young readers (those under eighteen) in English-speaking countries, particularly the USA and the UK, would form the ideal audience for this book. Accordingly, I recommend it to them without hesitation. Even grown-ups are welcome to read it, provided, of course, they believe they are strong enough to face the consequences of being found reading fairy tales at their age!