The Courageous Princess
The Courageous Princess by Rod Espinosa is a tale of a princess named Mabelrose from the smaller and poorer kingdom of New Tinsley. After getting kidnapped by a dragon she has to make her own escape and her own way home.
Tropes used in The Courageous Princess include:
- Adipose Rex: Irgerat, who usurps the throne from his brother, is depicted as rather... rotund.
- Animate Inanimate Object: The rope, which does a number of things to help Mabelrose.
- Big Bad: The dragon Shalathrumnostrium.
- The Chosen One
- Damsel in Distress: Subverted.
- Fallen Princess
- Full Boar Action: Subverted; he's actually a nice guy, albeit a muddy kisser.
- Funny Animal: The Anifolk.
- Happily Married: King Jeryk and Queen Helena.
- King of Beasts: King Argaile, a Funny Animal lion, is the true king Leptia.
- Modest Royalty: The royal family of New Tinsley is well-dressed, but certainly not to the same extent as other royals. Made especially clear when Mabelrose attends her first ball, only to be mocked for her comparitively modest dress.
- Non-Human Sidekick: Spiky, a talking porcupine.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Shalathrumnostrium has an army of minions that bring him gold and kidnaps princesses for the ransom their fathers pay.
- Ring of Power: Mabelrose steals it from her kidnapper, but never really figures out what it does. It hides the mind of the wearer, which is quite useful as Shalathrumnostrium is capable of reading minds.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Princess Mabelrose, obviously, but also her father and King Argaile, when he gets out of his funk.
- Shout-Out: A number of them to other fairy tales, often in the form of kingdom names found on the Fantasy World Map. The Slipper Kingdom, Pea Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Dancing Princesses are only the most obvious.
- Talking Animal: Spiky the porcupine and the Boar, subject to Fantastic Racism from some of the Anifolk.