fables

“ She was always horribly overconfident, she was. More than once I said it was bound to be her undoing someday. You'll recall I said that. „
― Yeva the Lively on Hadeon the Destroyer, to her fellow fairy godmothers, Fairest #6 — "A Field Spotter's Guide to True Love: Chapter Six of Wide Awake"


Yeva the Lively is one of the seven fairies who became godmothers to the infant Briar Rose, who each provided their own blessing for the baby. She first appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fairest #2 — "Run! Chapter Two of Wide Awake."

History

Background

Yeva the Lively and the other six fairy godmothers hail from the Twilight Lands. She educated humans in the art of music, offering them a means to resolve their differences without resorting to warfare.[1]

Briar Rose

“ She will craft delightful songs and play all sorts of music to the utmost perfection. „
― Yeva the Lively blessing the infant Briar Rose, Fairest #3 — "Party Crasher: Chapter Three of Wide Awake"


All seven fairies were invited to the grand celebration of the birth of Briar Rose, the newborn princess of Seppantyre, and to officially become her godmothers. All seven blessed the infant Briar Rose at midnight, with their own special gift. Yeva bestowed the sixth blessing, granting Briar Rose the extraordinary ability to compose and play music to the utmost perfection, which inspired Briar Rose to temporarily seek a career as a rock musician in a band in the mundane world in the 1960s. However, the blessings bestowed upon Briar Rose were abruptly halted by Hadeon the Destroyer, who felt snubbed for not being invited to the christening, barged into the celebration. Yeva encouraged her to embrace forgiveness, but the wicked fairy coldly replied, "Look to your own heart, dearie," adding that hers contained only the impenetrable darkness of the abyss.[2]

Showdown

When Hadeon is battling the Snow Queen, Yeva is summoned alongside her fellow godmothers to help her defeat the evil fairy,[3] but they are unable to help due to the Treaty of Morencaire, a mutual non-aggressive pact. However, once Hadeon is defeated, they use one of Hadeon's own spells and bind her into the shape of a car into servitude to Briar Rose. Yeva notes that Hadeon was always horribly overconfident, asserting that she had, on several occasions, indicated that this flaw would ultimately be Hadeon's undoing.[4]

Appearances

Fables

Fairest

Original source

Yeva the Lively is based on one of the seven fairy godmothers from the Charles Perrault version of the "Sleeping Beauty" fairy tale. In the Perrault version of the fairy tale, the titular character has seven fairy godmothers,[5] like in the comic; in the Brothers Grimm's version, they are thirteen "wise women."[6] Yeva[2] is based on the sixth fairy godmother, who ordained that Sleeping Beauty would play every kind of music with the utmost skill.[5]

Etymology

The name "Yeva" is of Ukrainian origin and means "life,"[7] making Yeva's moniker of Yeva the Lively[1] a fitting one.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Fairest #2 — "Run! Chapter Two of Wide Awake"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fairest #3 — "Party Crasher: Chapter Three of Wide Awake"
  3. ↑ Fairest #5 — "A Waltz in Frost and Shadow: Chapter Five of Wide Awake"
  4. ↑ Fairest #6 — "A Field Spotter's Guide to True Love: Chapter Six of Wide Awake"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods," The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old-Time Stories, by Charles Perrault, Project Gutenberg. "A grand christening was held, and all the fairies that could be found in the realm (they numbered seven in all) were invited to be godmothers to the little princess." (…) Presently the fairies began to bestow their gifts upon the princess. The youngest ordained that she should be the most beautiful person in the world; the next, that she should have the temper of an angel; the third, that she should do everything with wonderful grace; the fourth, that she should dance to perfection; the fifth, that she should sing like a nightingale; and the sixth, that she should play every kind of music with the utmost skill."
  6. ↑ Little Brier-Rose, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by D. L. Ashliman, February 16, 2015, University of Pittsburgh. "He invited not only his relatives, friends, and acquaintances, but also the wise women so that they would be kindly disposed toward the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but because he had only twelve golden plates from which they were to eat, one of them had to remain at home."
  7. ↑ Yeva, She Knows. "In Ukrainian Baby Names the meaning of the name Yeva is: Life."

Notes

  1. ↑ As explained in Fables #22 — "Cinderella Libertine," and other issues, Briar Rose was awakened from the sleeping curse by Prince Charming and married him; indicating that she and her godmothers are from the same world as him.