Elena Klovis

Elena is a 21-year-old woman living with her horrible stepmother Madeleine and her stepsisters Daphne and Delphinium in the capital of the Kingdom of Otraria. Her stepmother has spent the family fortune and has racked up a dreadful amount of debt. She flees to the countryside with her daughters, leaving Elena alone. Elena tries to get hired as a maid and ends up with her Kingdom's Fairy Godmother, a delightful lady called Madame Bella. Bella gives Elena a choice: either give up her power and live a normal life with kind and considerate employers, or become Apprentice Godmother to Madame Bella. Elena chooses the latter.

• Cinderella Circumstances: The only thing that prevented the Tradition from making her a Princess was that the only Prince in the kingdom was a very young boy.
• Good Is Not Soft: Isabella, the main character of the sixth book in the series realises that the good godmother can be ruthless when the situation calls for it. And in her own book Elena had no problem stabbing an Evil Sorceres with a needle with a Sleeping spell on it, condemning the other woman to a hundred years sleep.
• Guile Heroine: She manages to avert disaster at a christening and arrange for a worthy peasant girl to receive a reward in sixteen years' time. She also manages to guide the Tradition around a baby girl from its Ladderlocks Path to the far more pleasant Tender Princess Path.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: As someone who was destined to become a princess she has the Traditional appearance. She also has a good heart and sweet nature as suits a Fairy Godmother.
• Happily Married: To Alexander. They're still going strong as a couple in later books.
• Hot Godmother: Alexander finds her hot even when he detests her for turning him into a donkey.
• Pink Means Feminine: She is known as the Rose Fairy since pink is the color that suits her the most.
• Recurring Character: The first book is her story, but she makes appearances in later books, or is at least mentioned.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: When the Katschei invades the neighboring kingdom, Elena has to disguise herself as Alexander's squire and rescue Princess Kylia; if not for this intervention, Kylia would fall victim to a Rescue Romance that would derail her marriage to Prince Julian.
• The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask: She is happy to be a Godmother, but she gets lonely and wants to fall in love.

Madame Bella

Madame Bella is Elena's mentor and a former Godmother. She is a kind, shrewd woman that does her best to prepare Elena for her role.

• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Her alias is the Lilac Fairy.
• Grande Dame: The very benevolent if manipulative type.
• Passing the Torch: Mentors Elena to take over the duties of a Godmother.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Very graceful and ladylike, but she has kept the Tradition in step for many, many years.

Prince Alexander of Kolhstania

Alexander is the second son of King Henrik of Kohlstania and future Commander of the Army. He is also a Prince Charmless. When sent by his father to quest for the hand of Princess Kylia of Fleurberg, he fails the first test, that of kindness. His rudeness and cruelty is enough that Elena turns him into a donkey.

• All Men Are Perverts: He certainly was eager to seduce Elena.
• Big Brother Instinct: When he thought that the old beggar woman that turned him into a donkey was going to harm his younger brother Julian, he desperately fought the magical bonds restraining him.
• Break the Haughty: Done to him in a merciful manner and he is a much better man for it.
• Character Development: Invoked by Elena. In-universe, all failed questers are placed in a situation where this is likely to happen.
• Groin Attack: Is threatened with this. After he tries putting the moves on Elena in a rather aggressive fashion, one of her loyal house servants reminds Alex that what happens to the donkey also happens to the man—while holding a nasty device used to castrate livestock.
• Happily Married: To Elena
• Karmic Transformation: Gets turned into a donkey for his rudeness toward the old beggar woman At The Crossroads.
• Knight in Shining Armor: After he undergoes his Character Development, he is made a Champion.
• The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Elena has to give him a day as a man after a week as a beast to avoid this.
• Moral Myopia
• Prince Charmless: At first.
• Sheltered Aristocrat
• Would Hit a Girl: He tries to run the old beggar woman at the crossroads down after becoming suspicious of her. Also after Elena turns him back into a man to avoid The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body, he tries to attack her only to be thwarted by unicorns.

Prince Octavian of Kolhstania

Octavian is the eldest son of the King of Kolhstania and heir to the throne. He fails the test of kindness and is sent to get his redemption under the Sorceress Arachnia.

• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The main reason he was awful to his brother Julian was because he was attempting to turn him into a 'real' man that their father would approve of.

Prince Julian Of Kohlstania/ King Julian of Fleurberg

Julian is the youngest of the three brothers and the one that is more likely to succeed in a quest. Even though his father despises him, Julian does not hate him for it.

• Mistaken for Gay: By his older brother Octavian, who is terrified that their father will find out and kill Julian since it is very much a no-no in Kohlstania. Therefore Octavian tries to 'snap' him out of it.
• The Unfavorite: King Henrik sent him on his quest hoping that Julian would get himself killed.
• Youngest Child Wins

Madame Arachnia

Madame Arachnia was a young child abused by her wicked stepmother and sent to gather berries in the winter. In the forest she was snatched by an evil witch and kept prisoner. After getting fed up with the mistreatment, she shoved the witch out of the window and claimed the witch's castle, becoming an Evil Sorceress herself. Madame Bella arranges for her to meet a prince and fall in love, initiating her turn to Dark Is Not Evil territory.

• Dark Is Not Evil: She keeps the facade, but assists the good side by testing Failed Questers and Arrogant Bullies.
• Hot Sorceress: Elena notes that she is a good-looking woman.

Madame Klovis

Elena's Wicked Stepmother, who used a love potion on her father in order to appropriate his wealth. She has two daughters, whom she spoils. In the end of the first book she gets her punishment in being forced to work as a cook and a servant in an inn in order to pay for her debts.

• Break the Haughty: While she has been stripped of everything of value she owns and forced to be a servant, she shows no signs of changing.
• The Dreaded: No one in the Mop Fair of Otraria dares to hire Elena as a maid lest they arouse her wrath.
• Gold Digger: Did not care about either of her husbands, just saw them as a meal ticket.
• Love Potion: Used one on Elena's father. Likely her first husband too.
• Wicked Stepmother: Goes without saying.

Daphne and Delphinium

Elena's Horrid Stepsisters.

• Alpha Bitch: Delphinum gives this vibe, but she certainly lacks a girl posse even if she has the attitude down pat.
• Big Eater: Daphne
• Break the Haughty: After a few months of backbreaking, thankless labour Daphne starts to regret how she treated Elena and becomes a nicer person. Her sister, not so much.
• Gold Digger: Both of them are their mother's daughters all right.
• Fat Bitch: Daphne, partly in due that she eats anything nice so Elena will not get it. Much like the cousin of a certain wizard.
• Of Corset Hurts: Daphne can barely fit in hers due to her weight.
• Pettanko: Delphinum, who is skinny enough to be anorexic suffers from a distinct lack of curves.

Princess Andromeda of Acadia

Princess Andromeda is the only child of Queen Cassiopeia and heir to the throne of Acadia. She has lived a very sheltered and lonely life, but she is very intelligent, resourceful, and has a talent for research and a love of books. Her life changes when her intelligence comes to the attention of her mother and her mother's advisor, Solon. While Andromeda tries to get used to her new life, tragedy descends upon Acadia, in the form of a rampaging Dragon.

• Badass Damsel
• Blood Brothers: Andie invokes it with Sir George to avoid a Rescue Romance, since the only time Tradition makes siblings fall in love is when they are unaware of the relation.
• Chained to a Rock
• Distracted By The Shiny: She almost melts into a puddle when she encounters unicorns, much to the derision of Sir George.
• Interspecies Romance: Andie falls in love with the Bookwyrm Dragon Periapt and marries him after the latter is turned into a human.
• Lottery of Doom: Her name gets drawn to be sacrificed to the Dragon. It was rigged by her mother and Solon to eliminate her.
• Mundane Utility: She finds one for Unicorns by having them purify the toxins in mushrooms and make them safe to eat.
• She Knows Too Much: That was what sealed her fate as a virgin sacrifice.
• Virgin Sacrifice

Sir George/Georgina

Sir George is the virgin knight sent by the Chapter House of Glass Mountain to slay the Dragon. He is very vehement that Andie will not fall in love with him.

• A Man Is Not a Virgin: Averted, in several ways.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: George is Georgina.
• Interspecies Romance: With Adam. She marries him after she becomes a dragon.

Queen Cassiopeia

Andromeda's beautiful and ruthless mother, who often expresses her disappointment that her daughter is not a copy of her.

• Beauty Is Bad: A very beautiful and horrible woman.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She is very conscious of appearances, is careful to cultivate an image of a benevolent and wise High Queen, and is particularly careful in hiding her illicit affairs.
• Blondes are Evil
• God Save Us from the Queen: While she is certainly ruthless, selfish, and very vain she is a competent ruler. By law she is entitled to the salvages of destroyed ships, and for years she has had her sorcerer Solon manipulate the weather in order to fill out her purse.
• Offing the Offspring: Sets her daughter up as the Virgin Sacrifice to the dragon via rigged Lottery of Doom.

Solon, Royal Advisor and Evil Sorcerer

Solon is one of Queen Cassiopeia's most trusted advisors and her lover. He is the one Andromeda approaches in order to reveal her talent for research and data compilation.

• Dangerously Genre Savvy
• Even Evil Has Standards: He might have been the one to summon the dragon and send those storms on unsuspecting ships, but he is disgusted at how eager Cassiopeia is to kill her own daughter.
• Evil Vizier: Subverted in that the Queen is as evil as he is and they are in cahoots. Until they come to outlive their usefulness to each other.
• Evil Sorcerer
• Properly Paranoid

Prince Aleksandr Pieterovich "Sasha"

Sasha is the youngest of the seven sons of King Pietr of Led Belarus. He has the magical abilities of a Seventh Son, Fortunate Fool and Songweaver. He is in charge of keeping the tradition in check in his country.

• A Man Is Not a Virgin: Averted, certified unicorn bait. Then Katya comes along.
• Friend to All Living Things: Has tasted Dragon's Blood, and he is nice to everyone he meets, friends and foes alike.
• Guile Hero: Like everyone charged with managing the Tradition
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold
• Heart Is An Awesome Power: His Songweaver abilities have kept his kingdom safe for years.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Acts the Fool in public, in private he is anything but.
• Purple Eyes: As befit his status as Seventh Son.
• Zany Scheme: Always pranks everyone to keep up the facade.

Princess Ekaterina ""Katya"

The seventh daughter of the Sea King. Katya is well versed in the Tradition and acts as her father's spy in the Drylands.

• Badass Adorable
• Badass Princess
• White-Haired Pretty Girl
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Has fairly decent magical abilities and is tiny.