The Tyranny of the Fays Abolished

THE TYRANNY OF THE FAYS ABOLISHED & OTHER STORIES
by Comtesse D.L.
adapted by Brian Stableford

cover by Mike Hoffman

The power of the fays had reached such a high degree that the greatest people in the world feared displeasing them. That accursed breed, of which no one knows the origin, had made themselves redoubtable by the harm that they caused those who disobeyed them to suffer.

The story’s representation of marriage as a matter of innocent young women falling into the brutal hands of disgusting Ogres who abuse them is only par for the course, but what is unusual is the conclusion, in which the bold Prince, eager to do battle against the monsters guarding the cave where his beloved princess is being held captive, is told to put away his sword, this particular rescue being women’s work.

When the rescue is complete, the prince is graciously permitted to continue adoring the princess, provided that he never lays a finger on her, while she enjoys a perfect bliss with her steadfast female best friend, under the tutelage of their benign protectress, the fay Clementine.

Tales produced at Louis XIV’s court were not usually allowed to end like that, but that one sneaked in under the radar. The mysterious Comtesse D.L. disappeared from view, censored out of history, and to this day, she has only been replaced in the official record by a phantom who probably originated as a spelling mistake. In her own peculiar fashion, however, she was a heroine.