Cracked Paint, New Crown

Perantiqua, once a caretaker in a crumbling hotel, now stands before her transformed home—Hotel Vitale—wearing a tarnished copper crown. Her mother, more active in death than life, haunts the halls, and monsters emerge from wardrobes to dress and prepare her. Perantiqua is no longer a mere survivor; she is a newly crowned queen in a world where monsters and immortals rule the night. Yet, the weight of the crown is heavy, and her purpose is uncertain. She is surrounded by princely pawns—monsters warped by ancient kings—who look to her for direction. The city outside is a walled pulse, a remnant of a world shattered by The End, and Perantiqua's queendom is both sanctuary and prison, echoing her own fractured sense of self.

Monsters Unmasked at Dusk

Each dusk, Perantiqua's fifteen princely pawns gather, their monstrous forms revealed as dusk strips away their human masks. They are grotesque, beautiful, and loyal—yet torn between the will of their kings and the new queen. The pawns, each trio belonging to a different king, squabble and question her purpose, seeking certainty she cannot give. The kings themselves—Bring, Take, Change, Raise, and See—loom as both threats and potential allies, each with their own designs on the queen. Perantiqua's queendom is a fragile balance of power, and her own monstrous body, stitched together from fifty mothers, is a living testament to ancient bargains and sacrifices.

Tribunal of Kings

Summoned to a tribunal by the five immortal kings, Perantiqua faces accusations and the threat of eternal servitude. The kings, each with their own obsessions—saving, taking, changing, raising, and seeing—debate her fate, while their princesses and pawns watch. The tribunal is a stage for power plays, old grudges, and new alliances. Perantiqua, forced to defend herself, discovers that the contract binding her is flawed, and with the reluctant testimony of her own pawns, she escapes the kings' grasp. Yet, the encounter leaves her more isolated, her relationship with King See—her would-be lover—strained by jealousy, ambition, and the impossibility of love between king and queen.

Purpose and Pawns

In the aftermath of the tribunal, Perantiqua is left to ponder her purpose. Her queendom is filled with monsters, but she is alone in her uncertainty. She seeks solace in the mirror, tracing the stitches of her body, longing for the wisdom of her fifty mothers. The world outside is dying, and the kings' purposes—war, ruin, salvation—press in on her. She realizes that to survive, she must make friends of kings and pawns alike, and that her queendom's future depends on her ability to navigate the treacherous politics of monsterdom. The seeds of obsession and ambition are sown, and Perantiqua begins to understand that her uniqueness is both her greatest strength and her deepest vulnerability.

The Mirror's Truth

Each night, Perantiqua confronts her reflection, studying the mismatched patches and stitches that make up her monstrous form. She is the product of fifty generations of mothers, each sacrificing a part of themselves to create her. The mirror becomes a place of both awe and sorrow, as she grapples with the enormity of her inheritance and the loneliness of her role. The world she envisions—a place where monsters and humans might coexist—is at odds with the ambitions of the kings. The mirror's truth is that she is both ancient and new, powerful and lost, and that her journey will be defined by the choices she makes in the face of impossible odds.

Letters and Loyalties

Letters from the kings arrive, each bearing threats, bargains, or veiled seductions. Perantiqua's relationships with her pawns deepen, as she learns to wield her will and navigate their divided loyalties. A rope monster, once a mere tool, comes to life as her new gateman, symbolizing the unexpected ways power and purpose manifest in her queendom. The kings' games grow more dangerous, and Perantiqua must decide whom to trust, whom to love, and whom to defy. The boundaries between friend and foe blur, and the queen's heart is tested by both longing and betrayal.

Princesses and Patterns

Realizing that princesses are the true witnesses to the kings' wars and purposes, Perantiqua seeks out Princess Bring, forging a rare friendship. Through conversations with the princesses, she uncovers the patterns of war, the rhythms of kings, and the hidden costs of immortality. Each princess is bound to her king's purpose, yet in Perantiqua's presence, they begin to stir with new desires and ambitions. The queen's obsession with collecting bridal gifts from each princess grows, as she senses that these tokens hold the key to her own power and the fate of her queendom.

The Kingly War Games

The kings wage war not directly, but through their human subjects and monstrous pawns. Perantiqua's queendom becomes a battleground, as attacks and alliances shift with each night. The rules of engagement are ancient and brutal, and the queen must learn to defend her sixth—the humans who have come to depend on her. The cost of war is personal, as betrayals and sacrifices mount. Perantiqua's power grows with each victory and loss, and she begins to see the outlines of a new order, one in which queens might stand equal to kings.

The Price of Obsession

Perantiqua's obsession with collecting the bridal gifts of the princesses—pearls, gloves, garters, and bouquets—drives her to acts of theft, violence, and cunning. Each gift she acquires increases her power and ancientness, but also brings her closer to madness. The kings, sensing her growing strength, unite against her, and the alliances she forges with the princesses become both shield and sword. The price of obsession is high, and Perantiqua must confront the darkness within herself as she navigates the treacherous path between love and ambition.

The Gathering Storm

As Perantiqua's power grows, the kings—once rivals—form an uneasy alliance to bring her down. The royal dinner affair becomes a stage for betrayal, as poison and plots threaten to unravel everything she has built. The queen's pawns, princesses, and humans rally to her side, but the odds are against her. The storm of war breaks over her queendom, and Perantiqua must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to survive. The lines between savior and destroyer blur, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Of Queens and Enemies

The aftermath of the dinner is chaos—Princess Bring's apparent death, King Bring's betrayal, and the kings' united assault on Perantiqua's queendom. The queen's alliances are tested, and her own heart is broken by King See's ambition and jealousy. The final bridal gift—the dried bouquet of Princess Change—becomes the object of a desperate, violent struggle. Perantiqua's madness threatens to consume her, and only the intervention of her mothers, through the hellebores, saves her from destruction. The cost of power is revealed to be both external and deeply personal.

The Final Bridal Gift

With the acquisition of the fourth bridal gift, Perantiqua's power reaches its zenith, but so does her vulnerability to madness. The hellebores—her mother's legacy—become both sanctuary and crucible, as she confronts the ghosts of her lineage and the true nature of her inheritance. The tower in the barren world, watched over by her mothers, is both a symbol of her loneliness and her strength. The queen emerges from the grave changed, her queendom transformed, and the final battle with the kings looming.

Madness and Mercy

King See, driven by obsession and fear of losing Perantiqua, attacks her in her own queendom, seeking to control her through the final bridal gift. The confrontation is both physical and emotional, as the queen's pawns rally to her defense and the king's rage threatens to undo them both. In a moment of vulnerability, Perantiqua and See touch—truly touch—for the first time, their hearts beating in unison. The madness recedes, replaced by a fragile hope, and the queen is carried to the hellebores to be healed once more.

The Queen's Garter

The power of the bridal gifts is both blessing and curse, granting Perantiqua new abilities and insights, but also making her the target of every king's ambition. The garter, the most coveted of the gifts, becomes a symbol of both her autonomy and her peril. The queen must hide her treasures, trust her pawns and princesses, and prepare for the final reckoning. The boundaries between love, obsession, and power are tested, and the queen stands on the edge of both destiny and doom.

The Grave's Secret

In the grave, Perantiqua meets her mothers—Cassandra, the first, and her own, the last—who reveal the true history of her creation and the purpose behind the ancient bargains. The tower in the barren world is a testament to their sacrifice and her potential. The queen stitches together the past and the present, hiding her bridal gifts where no king can reach them. She emerges from the grave with new clarity, ready to face the united kings and the final test of her queendom.

The Tower and the Mothers

The tower, watched over by the stitched-together mothers, is both a place of exile and a beacon of hope. Perantiqua's journey is revealed to be the culmination of centuries of sacrifice, love, and ambition. The mothers' wisdom guides her, and the queen embraces both her loneliness and her power. The final battle looms, but Perantiqua is no longer alone—she carries the strength of fifty generations within her, and the fate of the world rests on her choices.

The Royal Dinner Affair

The royal dinner brings together all the kings and princesses, each with their own agendas and secrets. Poisoned goblets, secret alliances, and the unveiling of true intentions turn the affair into a battleground. Perantiqua's power is tested, as is her ability to navigate the shifting loyalties of her guests. The dinner marks the beginning of the end, as the kings' alliance against her is solidified and the final moves of the game are set in motion.

The Poisoned Cup

The apparent death of Princess Bring, the accusation of murder, and the kings' united front threaten to destroy Perantiqua's queendom. Yet, through cunning and the loyalty of her allies, the queen turns the tables, revealing the truth and exposing the kings' own betrayals. The cost of survival is high, and the queen's heart is hardened by the necessity of sacrifice. The poisoned cup becomes a symbol of both the dangers of power and the resilience of those who wield it.

The Last Alliance

As the kings' alliance fractures, Perantiqua forges new bonds with the princesses and her pawns. The final bridal gift is secured through violence and cunning, and the queen's power is unmatched. Yet, the cost is great—friendships are tested, love is lost, and the world teeters on the brink of ruin. The last alliance is not between kings, but between those who have been overlooked and underestimated—the princesses, the pawns, and the queen herself.

The Battle for the Sixth

The kings unleash their sixths—armies of humans and monsters—against Perantiqua's queendom. The battle is brutal, and the queen's power is pushed to its limits. Through strategy, sacrifice, and the loyalty of her allies, Perantiqua defends her sixth and secures her place as a ruler in her own right. The cost of victory is high, and the queen is left to ponder the true meaning of power, purpose, and love in a world shaped by ancient bargains and immortal ambitions.

The Kiss and the Crown

In the aftermath of war, Perantiqua and King See confront the possibility of a future together—not defined by love, but by respect, trust, and choice. The queen's journey is one of self-discovery, sacrifice, and the forging of a new order. The kiss they share is both an ending and a beginning, a symbol of hope in a world still haunted by the shadows of the past. The crown sits lightly on Perantiqua's head, and the story of queens is only just beginning.

Characters

Perantiqua (Queen Patch)

Perantiqua is the protagonist, a monster queen created from the stitched-together parts of fifty generations of mothers, each sacrificing a piece of themselves for her creation. Once a human caretaker, she is thrust into queendom after her mother's death, inheriting a hotel that becomes her living queendom. Perantiqua is defined by her uncertainty, her longing for purpose, and her deep empathy for both monsters and humans. Her relationships with the kings are fraught with tension—she is desired, threatened, and courted, but never truly understood. Her journey is one of self-discovery, as she learns to wield power, navigate betrayal, and embrace both her monstrous and human natures. Her obsession with collecting the bridal gifts of the princesses is both a source of strength and a path to madness, and her ultimate challenge is to forge a new destiny for herself and her world.

King See

King See is one of the five immortal kings, defined by his ability to see past, present, and future. He is both Perantiqua's greatest ally and her most dangerous adversary, torn between his obsession with her and his fear of love. See is marked by jealousy, ambition, and a deep-seated need to claim and protect the queen. His relationship with Perantiqua is passionate, fraught with misunderstanding, and ultimately transformative—together, they challenge the boundaries of destiny, power, and the possibility of love between immortals. See's journey is one of learning to relinquish control, to trust, and to accept the uncertainty of the future.

King Bring

King Bring is the king of saving, obsessed with purpose and the summation of his actions. He is both seductive and dangerous, willing to poison his own princess to achieve his goals. Bring's relationship with Perantiqua is defined by denial—of his own feelings, of the consequences of his actions, and of the possibility of change. He is both a potential ally and a bitter enemy, and his downfall is marked by his inability to see beyond his own ambitions. Bring's journey is a cautionary tale of the dangers of obsession and the limits of power.

King Take

King Take is the king of taking, defined by his insatiable hunger for power, pleasure, and control. He is both charming and cruel, his relationships marked by lust and manipulation. Take's obsession with Perantiqua is both physical and psychological—he seeks to break her heart, to claim her body, and to assert his dominance over the other kings. His relationship with his princess is transactional, devoid of love, and his ultimate goal is to render the queen powerless. Take's journey is one of self-destruction, as his own obsessions consume him.

King Change

King Change is the king of changing, a monstrous, scarred, and manged figure who embodies ruin and self-loathing. His pawns are werebeasts, tormented by their own sense of unworthiness. Change's relationship with Perantiqua is antagonistic—he seeks to destroy her, to prove the futility of hope and the inevitability of ruin. Yet, beneath his savagery lies a deep pain, and his actions are as much a cry for help as a declaration of war. Change's journey is a meditation on the costs of self-hatred and the possibility of redemption.

King Raise

King Raise is the king of raising, obsessed with contracts, bargains, and the accumulation of power. His relationship with his princess is warped by love—he adores her more than his purpose, and this weakness is both his undoing and his salvation. Raise's relationship with Perantiqua is defined by manipulation, as he seeks to bind her to him through ancient contracts. His journey is one of learning to let go, to accept the limits of power, and to find meaning beyond ambition.

Princess Bring

Princess Bring is the princess of King Bring, defined by her role as witness to his purpose and wars. She is both friend and victim, loyal to a king who seeks to destroy her. Her relationship with Perantiqua is one of rare friendship, and her willingness to help the queen is both an act of self-preservation and a gesture of hope. Princess Bring's journey is one of survival, as she navigates the dangers of immortality, betrayal, and the possibility of a new purpose beyond her king.

Princess Raise

Princess Raise is the wife and princess of King Raise, a woman of sharp intellect and deep feeling. Her union with her king is warped by love—she becomes king in all but name, locking herself away to protect him from the consequences of his own weakness. Her relationship with Perantiqua is defined by mutual respect, and her willingness to help the queen is both a plea for salvation and an act of trust. Princess Raise's journey is a meditation on the costs of love, the burdens of leadership, and the possibility of healing.

Princess Take

Princess Take is the princess of King Take, a creature of the flesh who has emptied herself to survive. Her relationship with her king is transactional, devoid of love, and marked by submission and cunning. Her interactions with Perantiqua are fraught with rivalry, desire, and the possibility of transformation. Princess Take's journey is one of self-discovery, as she confronts the emptiness within and the possibility of a new purpose.

Princess Change

Princess Change is the princess of King Change, a scarred and manged figure who embodies numbness and despondency. Her bridal bouquet is the final key to Perantiqua's power, and her relationship with the queen is defined by violence, theft, and the possibility of redemption. Princess Change's journey is one of awakening, as she is forced to confront the consequences of her own ruin and the possibility of change.

Plot Devices

The Stitched Queen and Bridal Gifts

The central plot device is Perantiqua's body, stitched together from fifty generations of mothers, each contributing a piece of themselves to create a queen capable of challenging the kings. This inheritance is both literal and symbolic, representing the accumulated sacrifices, wisdom, and pain of the past. The collection of bridal gifts from the princesses—each a token of power, love, or ruin—serves as both a quest and a test, driving the narrative forward and deepening the queen's connection to her own history. The gifts are also the source of her growing power and ancientness, but each acquisition brings her closer to madness, forcing her to confront the limits of ambition and the costs of obsession.

The Tribunal and the Game of Thrones

The tribunal of kings is a recurring plot device, serving as both a literal and metaphorical stage for the power struggles that define the world. The kings' alliances, betrayals, and bargains are governed by ancient contracts, precedents, and the ever-present threat of war. The princesses, as witnesses to the kings' purposes, provide a counterpoint to the machinations of their lords, offering insight, wisdom, and the possibility of change. The game of thrones is both external—fought through humans, monsters, and pawns—and internal, as each character grapples with their own desires, fears, and ambitions.

The Mirror and the Grave

The mirror is a recurring symbol of self-examination, as Perantiqua confronts her own monstrous form and the legacy of her mothers. The grave, and the hellebores that grow from it, serve as both sanctuary and crucible, a place where the queen can commune with her ancestors, heal her madness, and hide her treasures. These devices ground the narrative in the themes of inheritance, sacrifice, and the search for meaning in a world shaped by ancient bargains and immortal ambitions.

Obsession, Madness, and Mercy

Obsession is both a driving force and a source of peril, as Perantiqua's quest for the bridal gifts brings her to the brink of madness. The kings' own obsessions—love, power, control—mirror and magnify her own, creating a web of desire and danger that threatens to consume them all. Mercy, when it comes, is hard-won and transformative, offering the possibility of redemption, healing, and a new order.

Foreshadowing and Cyclical Structure

The narrative is structured around the repetition of patterns—wars, bargains, betrayals, and sacrifices—that echo through the generations. The prophecy of the poem, the rhythms of the kings, and the cycles of power and loss all serve to foreshadow the choices and consequences that define the story. The cyclical structure reinforces the themes of legacy, destiny, and the possibility of breaking free from the past.

Analysis

Of Brides Of Queens is a lush, gothic fantasy that interrogates the nature of power, legacy, and the cost of ambition in a world ruled by immortal monsters. At its heart, the novel is a meditation on the burdens and possibilities of inheritance—how the sacrifices of the past shape the present, and how the choices of one can alter the fate of many. Perantiqua's journey from uncertain caretaker to powerful queen is both a personal and political awakening, as she learns to wield her unique gifts, navigate the treacherous politics of monsterdom, and forge new alliances with those who have been overlooked and underestimated. The novel challenges traditional notions of love, leadership, and destiny, suggesting that true power lies not in domination or submission, but in the willingness to embrace uncertainty, to trust, and to choose one's own path. The lessons of the book are both timeless and timely: that the past need not dictate the future, that strength can be found in vulnerability, and that the most enduring legacies are those built on respect, trust, and the courage to imagine a different world.

Last updated: September 26, 2025