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part two, scholarly notes!

[FROM CHAPTER SIX: THE ROSE-MAIDEN]

Now, one might imagine that The Rose-Maiden. We do not know when or where the tale came from, but there are many different ideas to who the maiden and the princess the story speaks of are.

One of those such theories is Queen Annabeth the Wise, and her wife Princess Consort Valentina Rose the Loving. We have records of the princess consort being called Thyme. In fact, that it is one of her names. We also know that Queen Annabeth supposedly had a crown, the fineness of which led to the net-crowns, which is a pervading trend of crowns that are oft described in modern tales. We also know that Queen Annabeth's reign ushered in a completely new style of dress where the heavy hanging of garments was momentarily replaced with lighter garments. Princess Consort Valentina Rose was also recorded to have maker-magic and was known for singing things into existence. Although Queen Annabeth and Princess Consort Valentina Rose are very likely, they are not the only candidates.

Another example of who the maiden and the princess may be is Queen Annabeth's own mother, Athena. It is often seen that Queen Athena would never marry, but she did contrive a false marriage several times. It is unknown of what her people thought of this. Additionally, it is suspected that the maiden was Queen Bianca from a different kingdom, although roughly contemporary. Queen Bianca and Queen Annabeth would, at least, have known of one another. Queen Bianca had a wife that was described as beautiful, but her alleged flaming red hair leads most scholars to conclude that it could not have been Queen Bianca, unless if the princess refers to her wife and the maiden to the queen herself.

Lastly, there are many theories as to who the prince may be. Some suggestions include the contemporary Prince Perseus, who undoubtedly would have been a good candidate for the then-princess's hand at the time. Another may be Prince Connor. However, many do suspect that the prince never existed at all and is simply a fanciful version which is contrived from the embellishment of stories.

But besides the multitudes of who the princess and the maiden may be, there are also several other historical notes. Undoubtedly, the princess and the maiden were not as beautiful as the stories make them out to be, as stories love a beautiful princess. However, we do know that Princess Consort Valentina was exceptionally beautiful, which lends that theory more credence.

The sister of the maiden is mentioned throughout as being from the far east, yet we have no records of any sister of the candidates. However, she could just be lost to time. I suggest that perhaps the sister never existed at all. Myth loves sisters, after all.

As for the Deep Lands, that is simply a return to the popular location in myth. All Enartian stories come from the Deep Lands, after all, and why would this be any different?

But as for us, this tale is an enduring one, an old one, told of by every parent to their child, as it seems like. May The Rose-Maiden endure for ages to come.

— excerpt from Facts and Fairy Tales: Where Myth Meets History by Dr. Hazel Levesque

[DR. HAZEL LEVESQUE] It is far from us to assume myths as history, but as we have often done with the Bible (no disrespect to any Christians in the audience, as the Bible is as much of a history textbook as that kind of historical text can be), we assume the same of the Historium, a text which has let us glean much information into the past.

In our anthropological study, myth and history must be untangled daily. In my book, Facts and Fairy Tales: Where Myth Meets History, shameless self promo [audience laughs], I remark that we can never know who the maiden and the princess are for certain. Like, you [pointing to an audience member], off the top of your head, who do you think the maiden and the princess are from The Rose-Maiden?

[DR. ANNABETH CHASE] I think it's Queen Annabeth and Princess Consort Valentina Rose, but I'm a little biased, seeing as my name is Annabeth.

[audience laughs]

[DR. HAZEL LEVESQUE] Maybe you'll find your own Valentina, then.

[DR. ANNABETH CHASE] Oh, I have, and I married her.

[audience laughs]

[DR. HAZEL LEVESQUE] Congratulations! Anyway, as I was saying, there are many interpretations. Annabeth here believes it to be her namesake, but my sister finds the Queen Bianca theory to be more enticing. Possibly because her name is Bianca [audience laughs], but never mind that. In any case, there is much left to question.

My partner in a recent dig, Dr. Lavinia Asimov, who unfortunately could not make it this conference, and I, who fortunately could make this conference, found new evidence in the shape of text written in what we call, colloquially, the lost language, and scholarly, Proto-Enartian, about the reign of Queen Annabeth the Wise. Or, rather, more about the magic that Princess Consort Valentina Rose the Loving possessed. As someone who is adept in the art of making-magic, the text shone a light on how making-magic's power has greatly diminished since the time of legends. Yet, I am excited to reveal this because translating it could be the key to reinvigorating and repowering maker-magic. As you can see here, the singing we have since lost is vital to making-magic, and the song is easily tapped into if you so study. Should I study it? I may perhaps have to give up my study of the intersection of myth and history, which I cannot do. I did my PhD on this, it is an obsession, as I'm sure many in the audience know [audience laughs].

But my main point is that, although much can be lost, not all ever is, and we can reclaim that which we have no longer known. That is the beating heart of our field, to reclaim what is lost. This is why we study anthropology, and seeing all the people here, I know that our field of study is going places that may actually even confirm who the princess and the maiden are.

And here I conclude my rather brief keynote. Anthropology is the love of my life, and those with doctorates in the audience surely agree. Not all that is lost cannot be found, and we are finding more and more of the lost every day.

Thank you.

[audience claps]

— keynote speech at the 36th Conference on Enartian Studies (ESCon) by Dr. Hazel Levesque

[FROM INTRODUCTION: WHY WE LOVE THIS MYTH]

The Rose-Maiden is an almost archetypical myth - there is royalty, there are quests, there is true love. Although the anthropological side, as analyzed by my colleague and leading expert on the study of history through myth, Hazel Levesque, is fascinating, I endeavour to focus more on the elements of literature throughout.

First, there is the stern queen archetype, which is often manifested in the form of the evil stepmother. There is the beautiful forest maiden archetype, as illustrated by the maiden, and the princess shows both the beautiful princess archetype and the courageous princess archetype. Another archetype is the mysterious castle. From a literary standpoint, this is a wonderful tale.

We have also seen a recent uptick in investment towards this tale, especially in the queer community, who hail it for being a queer tale. This includes interpretations of who the maiden and who the princess are. In modern fairy-tale retellings, Queen Annabeth the Wise and Princess Consort Valentina Rose are often the names for the characters, just as Cinderella is often given the name Ella.

So, why do we keep telling this myth? As Dr. Hazel Levesque has said, "Simple: it tells a lesson, it gives us hope, and it's a damn good story at that"1.

But I believe it is more complicated than that. Myths endure for three reasons: they are simple, good always prevails over evil, and they tell of triumph over all else. In The Rose-Maiden, there is not much complexity to it. There is a simple view of love, and most of the characters follow solid, well-known archetypes. Additionally, the lovers do stay together. There is no additional complexities added there - even the queen's heart is softened by the maiden at the end. Lastly, there is triumph. Despite a few setbacks, the maiden fights for her love, and she is given her love in the end.

The Rose-Maiden, however, is also a good story. Who doesn't remember being told it by their mother at night, or being regaled the tale by a teacher, or watching the timeless Disney movie? The Rose-Maiden endures because it is also common.

There are many versions of the Rose-Maiden that have been told over the years. Especially given the excess of modern romantasy adaptions, as I believe the subgenre is called. These adaptations are perhaps most notable in the form of books, in which the authors seek to humanize and complicate the subject matter. This is what I hope to examine in the book you are reading right now.

— excerpt from Examining The Rose-Maiden in Modern Literature by Dr. Calypso Nightshade (with an excerpt from Facts and Fairytales: Where Myth Meets History by Dr. Hazel Levesque

[FROM CHAPTER TWO: THE MYSTERY OF THE ENARTIANS]

Many, many tales have passed down to us from what used to be the Enartian civilization, especially through the Historium. However, a rather upsetting thing is that Enartia did not care for the specificities of who their characters are. For example, we have almost all the information on monarchs we'd ever want, and beautiful tales, but we do not know which characters correspond to which tales.

Take one very popular tale, The Rose-Maiden. Although we have many guesses, we do not actually know for certain. On the other hand, we know the names and epithets of every monarch (and many of their consorts' names) of that dynasty - there was first King Chaos the Great; then Queen Gaea the Benevolent and King Uranus; then King Zeus the Mighty and Queens (in order of marriage) Metis, Thetis, and Hera; then Queen Athena the Crafty; Queen Annabeth the Wise and Princess Consort Valentina Rose the Loving; and so on and so forth.

But which monarch corresponds to which tale? Who is the maiden and who is the princess? We can never know for certain.

And this is what we call the Mystery of the Enartians: their stories. We never know what is real and what is not, and that is a terrible thing. However, we must be thankful for what we have.

And we have so very much from the Enartians, more than any we could hope for from others.

— excerpt from Enartian History by Dr. Lavinia Asimov

[ANNABETH] And someday, I will find the world out I will live, I will learn, I will see, I will find something other to be, Oh, there's so much of what I can go do!

[VALENTINA, spoken] No, we'll do it together.

[BOTH] Oh, together, together, my love, We will fly so beyond our town-home, Oh, together, together, my love. There is no limit, we will roam.

[VALENTINA] My love, I will make ev'ry blessed thing, Let's go somewhere, oh, anywhere, together!

[ANNABETH (VALENTINA) BOTH] My ro-ose (my yarrow), so across the starry skies, Let us see the glory of the stars, (Let us see the beauty of the earth) Let us see the wonder of the world! (Please don't go anywhere I can't follow) Please don't leave me behind, oh, please don't, I will never, never go beyond you, love (leave you behind, my love) For you cause my soul to sing! And I love you!

— excerpt from My Rose, My Yarrow from the Disney film The Rose-Maiden

The Rose-Maiden

The Rose-Maiden is a enduring fairytale, passed down by a kingdom whose people are long-gone. Or: The princess of the Deep Lands meets a forest-maiden and falls in love, and the forest-maiden fights for her hand.

Read on ao3!

A long time ago in a land that was and wasn't, there was a queen known for her wisdom, the princess is known for her genius. None have rivalled her architectural genius, and her buildings stand ever-tall today. She was beautiful beyond compare, with eyes the colour of fine silver and hair of brilliant gold. Her kingdom treasured her more than any, and her mother treasured her most of all.

The Queen of the Deep Lands sought a husband for her daughter, a husband who would love and take care of the princess. The queen hoped for someone strong but not stifling, for someone soft but protecting, for someone smart but kind.

But the princess thought ill of any marriage. Because of her beauty and her genius, many coveted her, and even those who didn't realized why did quickly indeed. But the princess did not love them back; she declared that she never would, in the deepest recesses of her heart. No one could turn her head, and the princess did not want them to.

But our tale does not end there, for the princess soon found herself leaving the palace of the Deep Lands and leaving the town, into the great forest which protected the Deep Lands from any and all adversaries.

And in the forest there was a river, a beautiful river. And near the river was home to a beautiful maiden. Perhaps the word beautiful is a folly to use. The maiden was radiant, brilliant, as if the warmth of the sun and the captivation of fire had made themselves human flesh to dance and to sing and to make. Her hair was thick, long, and dark, and her eyes were deep brown, almost black, that held as many secrets as anyone would ever want to know. Her lips were painted pink, her eyelids dusted with gold, and all who saw her were enthralled by her beauty.

And she was not just enrapturing. Her song was the very same that made up the world, the very same that told of the future, the past, and everything in between. And she could change reality with that song, so much that she no longer had to sing to change it.

The princess heard the maiden's voice first of all and felt the very tapestry of the universe alter. But she also saw the strength that lay underneath it, and so with a voice that may be called shy, but in equal measure bold, she called out to the maiden.

"Hast the Rose which grows so abundant in the gardens found a voice?" she asked, and the maiden stopped altogether, for she was astonished indeed. "For I cannot imagine another whose strength would be so everlasting."

"Who speaks to me?" the maiden asked into the trees. "Show yourself, for none have ever come so close to hear my voice after seeing my face."

"I have not seen you yet," the princess replied, a smile in her eyes. "But I have heard your strength and your song, and it is unmatched by any and all."

"Show yourself, then," the maiden replied. "Or sing with me. I shall then know you."

The princess was yet shy, despite being bold the moment before, and began a low melody that, although lovely, was incomparable to the maiden's splendid voice. Yet the maiden added her voice to the melody, an octave higher, as the princess altered to a slightly higher harmony.

And so they sang together. Perhaps we will never truly know what they sang of, but they did not see each other, yet saw each other all the same. The princess found herself enamoured with the maiden's voice, and the maiden likewise.

Yet the song finished soon enough. All music sung by the ungodly must end, even if its roots are baked into the godly.

"Show yourself," the maiden repeated once more, and the princess acquisitioned at last.

But the moment the princess's eyes fell upon the maiden, she was enraptured. I have told you no lies about the maiden's beauty, and although the princess could never hope to reach the maiden, she was still enraptured for it did not matter in the end.

The maiden was equally as enraptured by the princess as the other was by her. The maiden had seen beauty, but none was paired with the princess's intellect.

"I do see now that you are no Rose," the princess spoke. "I had not realized that one could surpass the beauty and hope of the Rose."

"I thank you for your compliments," the maiden replied. "You are kind, indeed."

"Kind! All I do is show you reality."

The maiden smiled, but she did not reveal her love for the princess. It would be folly to do so, she believed.

Yet the princess felt bold once again. "I should endeavour to win your heart, if it can be won."

"You already have," the maiden only replied, which caused both to rejoice. The princess and the maiden, cast ever in their love.

"I thank thou for thy compliments."

"And who art thou, precisely? I am the forest-maiden, Rose-maiden by your words, and I have lived nowhere but here."

"I am princess of the Deep Lands, and nothing more."

"I do not need any more than you. But shalt thy mother the Queen protest our love?" the maiden wondered. "I do not dare think of it, for the very thought has clouded my heart in despair."

"My mother the Queen has wisdom beyond compare," the princess replied. "The love we share is strong enough that she shall not bring herself to protest."

But the princess was wrong, as she seldom was. The Queen of the Deep Lands had found a candidate for her daughter's hand, and the maiden was incomparable in the light of the solidity that the prince the Queen had selected could be. Yet the prince was incomparable to the maiden in all ways that mattered to the princess.

But the Queen could not forsake her daughter in that way, and promised the hand of the princess to whoever could find her the finer crown.

The prince set out and found the best smiths in his kingdom, and they made a crown of fine gold and silver. It was heavy, inlaid with gems, and was as costly as a crown could be.

But the maiden did not make a crown like that. Her song turned the air to a crown so delicate and fine as to be impossible, a hair-net which fit her beloved as the stars fit the sky, as the flower fit its stem. Red yarrow bloomed on the delicate chains, without stem and without soil, and the rubies which fit into the crown glowed from the inside, the light of the stars captured in the crown.

And so the prince and the maiden brought their crowns to the Queen of the Deep Lands, and none who saw the crowns could judge the prince's finer, for the crown of the prince was made for a princess whose life would be lived like that of a statue, and the crown of the maiden was made for the princess herself.

And so the princess wore the maiden's crown, causing all to declare her more beautiful yet, and the Queen of the Deep Lands could say no more about the crowns, although she soon delved another trial. A trial of clothing, for the Queen thought her daughter worth of naught but the very best, the finest cloth available to man.

The prince again brought layers and layers of heavy velvet and saffron, a resplendent gown for any who declared themselves wanting of luxury. All coloured in purple and gold, which any would look rich and worthy.

The maiden sang a likewise dress into existence, that rippled like waves, but instead of the heavy fabrics, she sang tulle in layers and rubies in those layers. A sash of gold-coloured thread wrapped around the waist, and the dress was embroidered with the gold thread, making roses in the patterns of the gown. It was beautiful beyond compare.

However, a few days before the dresses were to be presented, the Queen of the Deep Lands or maybe the prince, as even I know not whom, sabotaged the maiden's dress and turned it to shreds. The dress could not be salvaged and the song for it would take multiple days that the maiden did not have.

The maiden knew she could not make something in that reduced time. She could not make something which all the money in the world could buy. She simply had to make something that fit the princess. But then, the maiden knew who to call: her sister, who lived in the far east, in a place where dragons were good and hair was like that of a raven's. The sister of the maiden loved her sister indeed and helped her sister sing into being a fine dress, which matched the crown.

The crown was of gold and ruby, and so the dress was of ruby red fabric, finer than any known to the Deep Lands. The thread was that of solid gold, expensive and beautiful, yet effortless for the maiden. Rubies, as red as roses, were sewn into the gold thread, a sash made only of the gold thread and embroidered with red thread and yarrow crossed it. It was a form unique to the east that the maiden's sister was from, and it was unique and resplendent indeed.

And so the dresses were presented. The princess wore her crown as made by the maiden, and the prince's dress was lovely, but the purple did not fit the princess and she looked drowned out in it. And the maiden was yet again victorious, as none could tear their eyes away from the princess after she donned the maiden's dress, least of all the maiden.

With that, the Queen had no more trials to give, as the princess's love for the maiden and the maiden's love for the princess were clear to all who saw them, and the Queen did not want to protest. With a smile on her face, the Queen gave the hand of the princess to the maiden, and the maiden felt blessed indeed, if only by the princess's love for her.

Ere the betrothal, the maiden decided to make a necklace for her love and sang herself a necklace which so beautifully matched the princess's dress and crown. A net of rubies hung on a chain, interlocked and beautiful beyond compare. The princess declared the maiden's gifts to be her wedding-clothes and sought to give something comparable to the maiden.

But the princess had no gift of magic, but she did have the gift of riches, and asked the maiden if she would so provide bolts of the same cloth which she had given for the princess's dress. Unable to deny her love, the maiden sang them into existence, without even a single question as to why.

The princess then asked the best tailors of the Deep Lands to create a dress of the cloth — called silk then and now — which matched the maiden's dress to herself. And although it was difficult, a matching dress was made of blue instead of red, with gold and embroidery of roses.

And then the princess sought out the jewelers of the Deep Lands and bid them for a crown and necklace which matched the maiden's to the princess. Using fine gold chains and sapphires, the jewelers created something that matched as closely as it could, but the crown could not yet grow flowers, but the princess hoped that one day it would grow rose.

But the wedding day came soon enough, and the princess and the maiden greeted each other in happiness, and all remarked on their clothing - identical, as the maiden's happiness caused blue roses to grow out of her crown.

The Deep Lands rejoiced, and even the Queen could find no fault in her new daughter-in-law.

And who knows. The maiden and the princess may still be happy today, as I am not aware of their death or if they died at all.

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