A Kingdom Come Short Story

By Jim Doran

Gooseberries is the first short story in my novel of short stories set in the world of Kingdom—Kingdom’s Advent. It describes a pixie who is assigned a task of finding a powerful ingredient that strengthens magic.

About Planet

Gooseberries was written shortly after the first draft of Kingdom Come—a novel in which Planet plays a starring role. Originally, Kingdom Come was to be a book where Hero traveled to a fairytale world and met a group of ragtag adventurers to fulfill a quest.  As I started dreaming out the “ragtag adventurers,” I thought I didn’t want it to be the same old species you often read about that had their origins in Tolkien. No dwarf warrior, elven archer, mysterious mage. Instead of mixing up species and classes (i.e. dwarven mage), I decided to explore fantasy characters often not depicted in fantasy novels.

I thought of someone small but powerful with major spunk. A pixie came to mind, and I thought, “No one’s ever made a major character a pixie before.” I swear, I never thought at all about Tinkerbell. But the day when Planet was conceived was one of the best days for the book’s early stages. She wasn’t supposed to be the first one Harold met when he arrived, but I decided to insert her into the story early. It would convince him quickly he was in a fantasy world. And then her spunky Marion Ravenwood style (she of Raiders of the Lost Ark and an inspiration for Planet) emerged when I didn’t expect it. Her actions and dialog were the most inspired that at times it felt like I was co-writing this book with a young, female author with a sarcastic attitude.

Planet – A Trope?

You may get the impression that my character, Planet, is a manic pixie dream girl. More of a film trope than a literary one, but a trope nonetheless. If you aren’t familiar with this trope, the manic pixie dream girl is, according to Wikipedia, “…static characters who have eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish. They invariable serve as the romantic interest for a (most often brooding or depressed) male protagonist.”

Okay, you’re probably thinking: “Not only did Jim insert this overused idea into Kingdom Come in the character of Planet, he implemented it with an actual pixie. And you could say Kingdom was an actual dream! How much more can you scream ‘Trope!’” Well, not too loud, I hope.

In Kingdom’s Advent, Planet (in Gooseberries) is the main character with an arc, and she doesn’t have a romantic interest. While she has a quirky personality—I won’t apologize for writing about quirky characters as they are my favorite no matter the gender—I believe she’s rooted in humanity though still a pixie. Disillusioned and depressed, Planet still doesn’t let the world conform her. And while the story ends ambiguously, we see Planet deciding for herself what kind of life she will live.

But what about Kingdom Come where Planet is a secondary main character? In that story, she meets brooding and depressed main character Harold Tray and helps him to recover. Sounds like a manic pixie girl to me.

I conceived of my original pixie of Planet far differently. Originally, she was one of Harold’s ragtag crew that journeyed around Kingdom, serving as a magic wielder. She was supposed to be more of the “tough girl” trope. But something happened in that first version that was writing magic. Planet refused to be that person, and she also refused to be a manic pixie dream girl. I always conceived the manic pixie girl trope to be in charge, oblivious to the main character’s depression, and leading her mopey partner around. The stereotype helps to bring the main character out of his doldrums with the philosophy of “take risks, see the bigger world, experience life!” If that’s true, then this does not fit the Planet who wakes Harold in the middle of the night before a fight with werewolves and tells him to slink away. This is not the Planet who can’t turn metal to silver for more than five minutes. What I love about Planet is she’s the insignificant wise person. A combo Frodo / Gandalf if you will. She can’t throw a spell in Devil’s Den that would make a difference, yet she’s the one who prevents the sisters from giving up their dreams of becoming of queens. She’s the one who’s afraid when the big bad tempts Harold when everyone else is overconfident. On the surface, Planet seems like the manic pixie dream girl but if you read the book, you’ll find she has her own arc. She’s riddled with insecurities, lack of skill, fear, and—in my opinion—the true manic pixie dream girl is always unattainable, a bit stand-offish. If there’s one thing about Planet is she is not stand-offish!

So does she help the depressed male protagonist come into his own? Yes, she does. So do the characters Honest John, the queens, and a host of others. Does she remain unchanging through the entire story? I emphatically say “no!” Planet, the girl who set out to prove her worth in the world, does everything for her love of others—not only Harold but every other character in the book. In doing so, she changes the world of Kingdom significantly. She set off to make a name for herself by finding a gooseberry, the most elusive of fruits in Kingdom. In the end, she makes her mark because of her large heart and devotion to her friends.

So, yes, Planet is a bit manic, and she’s absolutely a pixie, and she is a part of another character’s dream. All true. But Planet was never meant to be the elusive girlfriend, the carefree counselor, the girlish goofball. This small pixie has a lot more to offer.