Halloween Costume Series Day 1: The Good Queen’s Ghost

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I can’t tell you why someone who was called “The Good Queen” during her life now haunts a ruined castle of no consequence; queens don’t tell their secrets to paper doll artists. I took on the assignment in the hope of a good story to deliver to my readers, but she condescended to tell me very little about her life, although she was quick to tell me that I had the bodice quite wrong, that I was obviously phoning in the lace, and so on. The older history books paint a glorious picture of her, but I couldn’t help but think that the historians that speculate that the epithet “The Good Queen” was applied to her much like “the Kindly Ones” was applied to the three Furies very well may be on to something. My romantic mind first imagined that she plunged the dagger into her own heart for love, a pre-cursor (possibly inspiration?) to Juliet, and I still think she died by her own hand but the more I sat with her the more I sensed her desperation and anger, and despite her annoyance with my lace, I don’t think it was directed at me. Now I feel her death had nothing to do with love but rather with intrigue of some sort, a power play that went wrong enough to bind her to this world. Still, I’m dying to know what’s with the blood on her hem, but if she will not tell me, fine; in a few hundred years her power will wane further and she’ll wind up telling anybody, probably a bunch of thirteen-year-old girls staring into a bathroom mirror at midnight, just for one last chance at peace.

11 Comments

• 

  By Smalltown Mom, October 2, 2008 @ 11:32 pm

  It’s beautiful. I’m so happy you are doing Halloween costumes. They are inspiring.

  I’ll probably be Cleopatra or Mary Poppins. It depends on my mood.
• 

  By Brian, October 2, 2008 @ 11:45 pm

  >LOOK AT PERSON
  Her face is turned away from me, but I can tell that it’s a young woman, dressed in long flowing purple garments. Dressed in royal purple, sitting in a throne, I can only assume that she’s a queen or princess of some sort, but since I don’t believe in monarchy, and certainly am not one of her subjects, I don’t feel the need to bow or scrape or call her “Your Majesty”. “Hello?” I say.

  >WAIT
  After a moment, she turns to face me. And that’s when I start to get really scared.

  She has my face.
• 

  By Liana, October 3, 2008 @ 6:42 am

  Smalltown Mom, thank you! :)

  Brian, is that from a text adventure or did you make it up? Sadly the shocking element doesn’t lend itself well to paperdolling…
• 

  By Brian, October 3, 2008 @ 8:57 am

  The former. Photopia.
• 

  By Sue, October 7, 2008 @ 3:38 pm

  If you would just wash this dress I think I would call it your most beautiful dress ever. I think zout is a good start.
• 

  By Liana, October 7, 2008 @ 3:42 pm

  I’m afraid her dress is as beyond redemption as she is ;)
• 

  By Brodie, November 15, 2008 @ 4:31 pm

  WASH IT!! I think the dress is beautiful they way it is, the blood stains really set it of!
• 

  By Lisa, April 3, 2009 @ 6:44 pm

  Please re-draw this with out the blood! I think it the most gorgous dress ever!
• 

  By Liana, April 3, 2009 @ 7:44 pm

  Thanks Lisa.. maybe I should redraw it after all, it is a good dress. Getting it exactly like the original without blood probably isn’t an easy task, so I’ll do it some day when I’m feeling really confident :)
• 

  By Andrea, June 24, 2009 @ 5:38 am

  i like the blood in this dress
  kind of reminds me of flower petals
  <3

Other Links to this Post

1. Liana’s Paper Doll Blog » Recession Themed Robe à la Anglais in White and Green with Pouf à la Bailout — March 23, 2009 @ 3:31 pm

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