History Literature / TheSorcerersDaughter

** Odile is Red to Odette's Blue.
** Siegfried is Red to Rothbart's Blue.

* LifeSavingMisfortune: Odette getting turned into a swan ends up being this. Without that curse and the resulting battle that got rid of his magic, Rothbart would have lived on as a reclusive sorcerer for who knows how many more years, so [[spoiler:Gottwald would have succeeded in poisoning Siegfried and in forcing Odette to marry him because she wouldn't know how to get the dragon killed otherwise, and the plague would have wiped out many more people in the country]]

* LightFeminineDarkFeminine: In a twist, sweet innocent Odile is the Light and haughty IceQueen Odette is the Dark. Although they are associated with the black and white swans respectively.

* KingIncognito: Played UpToEleven. [[spoiler:Rothbart]] turns out to be [[spoiler:King Roberto]], who, in turn, [[spoiler:isn't a born commoner]] as everybody used to think, but [[spoiler:the prince of Naples]]. The first part, however, isn't so sudden, as Gertrude and Odette begin to suspect it before [[spoiler:Rothbart]] actually reveals it.

* KissingCousins. Siegfried and Odette – as everyone expects, at least. Later, [[spoiler:Siegfried and Odile]].

* CostumeCopycat:
** Odile when posing as Odette at her first ball.
** [[spoiler:Gottwald]] poses as [[spoiler:Rothbart]] with a little magical help twice. [[spoiler:The first time, to incriminate him before Anne, the second, to kidnap Odette]].

* BestFriendsInLaw: It's obviously not enough for the whole lot of them to be related already. [[spoiler:Anyway, Siegfried and Odette with their literal JustFriends thing become son- and mother-in-law after finally marrying their respective sweethearts. Also, Rothbart and Siegfried ended up being best friends. Luckily for Odile]].

* AfterActionVillainAnalysis: When [[spoiler:Liemerich's dragon]] is temporarily defeated, the survivors of its attack listen to Rothbart's lecture on [[spoiler:dragon]] nature.

* AmbitionIsEvil: Rothbart, who feels himself unworthy of Odette and [[spoiler:hates the very thought of a king's crown]], eventually [[spoiler:gets both]], while Count Gottwald Liemerich wants [[spoiler:dark magical powers, Odette and the crown]], and gets [[spoiler:a battle-axe in his head]].

* BadassUnintentional: A random soldier who doesn’t even get his name mentioned [[spoiler:kills Liemerich with a battle-axe without even thinking it through]].

* LoveDodecahedron: Odette falls mutually in love with Rothbart, [[spoiler:who still harbors feelings for the deceased Anne]], but she is also pursued by TheCasanova Gottwald Liemerich and admired by Siegfried, also quite TheCasanova in the beginning of the book, who ends up loving Odile.

* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: No spell can be cast if the wizard doesn't know how exactly it works and what exactly it will cause. [[spoiler:That's why, as Rothbart explains, Liemerich, while guilty of many things, hasn't played any part in bringing the plague on the country: the nature of the disease hasn't yet been fully studied]].

** If you turn into a bird, it doesn’t mean you automatically learn to fly. That’s why [[spoiler:Odette in her swan form is able to defeat Liemerich in the form of a raven – she has had four months of flying practice, and he practically hasn’t used his shape-shifting powers at all]].
*** There is another aspect of the situation: [[spoiler:ravens]] are usually depicted as at least morally ambiguous if not outright villainous creatures, while [[spoiler:swans]] and everything associated with them are noble, peaceful and pure. However, it doesn't cancel the fact that [[spoiler:a swan has extremely strong wings, a sharp enough beak, and a very long neck which gives it a huge advantage over a raven]], so it's [[spoiler:Liemerich]] who gets utterly curb-stomped.
** [[spoiler:A huge, winged, two-headed, fire-breathing dragon]] can’t be defeated with swords and pitchforks, no matter how valiant and heroic you are. Only thanks to [[spoiler:the beast being young and inexperienced and Odette stealing Liemerich’s magical arrows that can pierce its wings]] the heroes have a chance against it at all; and even so, [[spoiler:there are casualties, and even Rothbart has a narrow escape from death]].

* HypnotizeThePrincess: Odette is savvy enough to be wary of the trope.

Then one day, on her way to visit her father, Odile accidentally overhears a plot being developed against Siegfried, which turns out to be merely a part of a deadlier scheme that anyone could imagine, into which all four protagonists are unwillingly dragged. Funny/TheSorcerersDaughter

Then one day, on her way to visit her father, Odile accidentally overhears a plot being developed against Siegfried, which turns out to be merely a part of a deadlier scheme that anyone could imagine, into which all four protagonists are unwillingly dragged.

* LightFeminineDarkFeminine: In a twist, Odile is the Light and Odette is the Dark. Although they are associated with the black and white swans respectively.
* LoveDodecahedron. Odette falls mutually in love with Rothbart, [[spoiler:who still harbors feelings for the deceased Anne]], but she is also pursued by TheCasanova Gottwald Liemerich and admired by Siegfried, also quite TheCasanova in the beginning of the book, who ends up loving Odile.

* NoSparks: Siegfried and Odette, as they meet after Odette's rescue, realize their engagement goes on like that.

* RealityEnsues:
** If you turn into a bird, it doesn’t mean you automatically learn to fly. That’s why [[spoiler:Odette in her swan form is able to defeat Liemerich in the form of a raven – she has had four months of flying practice, and he practically hasn’t used his shape-shifting powers at all]].
*** There is another aspect of the situation: [[spoiler:ravens]] are usually depicted as at least morally ambiguous if not outright villainous creatures, while [[spoiler:swans]] and everything associated with them are noble, peaceful and pure. However, it doesn't cancel the fact that [[spoiler:a swan has extremely strong wings, a sharp enough beak, and a very long neck which gives it a huge advantage over a raven]], so it's [[spoiler:Liemerich]] who gets utterly curb-stomped.
** [[spoiler:A huge, winged, two-headed, fire-breathing dragon]] can’t be defeated with swords and pitchforks, no matter how valiant and heroic you are. Only thanks to [[spoiler:the beast being young and inexperienced and Odette stealing Liemerich’s magical arrows that can pierce its wings]] the heroes have a chance against it at all; and even so, [[spoiler:there are casualties, and even Rothbart has a narrow escape from death]].
** [[spoiler:Turning into someone else is very cool and can allow you to frame an innocent party for your crimes]]. However, even if one doesn’t undergo a complete makeover, there are some subtle changes in one’s appearance that can occur anytime. That’s how Rothbart is able [[spoiler:to convince Odette’s highly suspicious courtiers that he hasn’t kidnapped Odette]]: he hasn’t shaved for two days, and it shows, [[spoiler:while the kidnapper in his guise has a clean-shaven face]].
** When a spell is lifted, you’re on your way to a happy ending all right. Nevertheless, you can’t avoid being traumatized by what you’ve been through. Odette is lucky in that she, at least, is only cursed to change her physical form, and even that only during daylight, and she is very strong and resilient. [[spoiler:Gottwald’s servants, after being completely brainwashed into compliance, have huge problems readjusting to normal life, and many of them are amnesiac]].

* WrongGenreSavvy: Siegfried and Odette think they are in a standard fairytale and on their way to HappilyEverAfter marriage. However, as the glamour of the heroic rescue wears off, they realize their mistake pretty quickly.

* CostumeCopycat:
** Odile when posing as Odette at her first ball.
** [[spoiler:Gottwald]] poses as [[spoiler:Rothbart]] with a little magical help twice. [[spoiler:The first time, to incriminate him before Anne, the second, to kidnap Odette]].

* TheJester: Siegfried's court joker Berk, "with smart and, as it is with most jesters, always sad eyes". He's famous for his witty aphorisms and is the first to see that Siegfried and Odette just don't match together.

* RedOniBlueOni:
** Odile is Red to Odette's Blue.
** Siegfried is Red to Rothbart's Blue.

* ShapeShifter:
** Rothbart can assume the form of a black kite.
** [[spoiler:Gottwald]] can turn into a raven.
** At one point, [[spoiler:Odette]] turns into a [[spoiler:swan on her free will]].

* BadassBystander: A random soldier who doesn’t even get his name mentioned [[spoiler:kills Liemerich with a battle-axe without even thinking it through]].

* BettyAndVeronicaSwitch: For [[spoiler:Siegfried]], there's the DamselInDistress and the HotWitch… or rather, a proud harsh princess he's dead scared of and a sweet and adorable girl.