Dora Dovetail

Dora Dovetail was the Head Seamstress, mother of Daisy Dovetail and the wife of Daniel Dovetail. Her death was recorded as the beginning of all the troubles that were to engulf Cornucopia. Dora had been close to her daughter and husband, so her death had a huge impact on them.

Her death began as an illness that had made her unwell, but King Fred had made her work on a violet suit that he requested. He had heard that the Head Seamstress wasn't quite well, but he had not paid much attention to it, and Dora sat up 3 nights in a row, racing to finish the suit. At last, she was overworked and her assistant found her dead in her office with the last amethyst button in her hand.

She was thus buried in the graveyard of the City-Within-the-City, and her death caused her daughter, Daisy, to bear a deep grudge against the King.

Early Life
Dora Dovetail was born to unknown parents at an unknown time. At some point, she met Daniel Dovetail, and they married and had Daisy. She was also friends with Bertha Beamish, Daniel's classmate, and her family. At some point, she took on the position of Head Seamstress for King Fred.

The Dovetails' Visit
Dora and her family visited the Beamishes one night, and Mr. Dovetail entertained everyone with what he claimed were the latest updates about the Ickabog, a seemingly mythical creature that originated from the Marshlands as a fairy tale. However, his stories scared Bert, Bertha's son, who had nightmares about when he went to bed. Feeling guilty, Mr. Dovetail carved Bert a wooden Ickabog, which he cherished.

Porifio's Visit
The King of neighboring Pluritania, Porifio, had come to pay Fred a visit, perhaps hoping to exchange on of his daughter's hands in marriage for a lifetime's supply of Hopes-of-Heaven (delicious pastry). Fred thought that he ought to have a new suit for this event and ordered Mrs. Dovetail to make him a suit of dull purple overlaid with silver lace, with amethyst buttons and gray fur at the cuffs.

However, Mrs. Dovetail had not been quite well at the time, but nonetheless, she sat up 3 nights in a row, racing to finish the suit in time. Soon, her assistant found her dead at dawn on the fourth day, with the last amethyst button in her hand.

Post-Mortem
After her death, the rest of the servants of Cornucopia had been divided into 2 groups, the first one of which that felt that Fred had did this to Dora on purpose, and the second of which that felt like Fred didn't know she was unwell and would have never made her work if he did. Mr. and Mrs. Beamish were part of the second group, but Mr. Dovetail and Daisy were part of the first group. Overcome by the guilt of losing Mrs. Dovetail, they had begun to secretly hold a grudge against the King. It didn't help that Fred switched them to the Roach family's house, where they could have a good view of the graveyard.

Meanwhile, the king and his two lords were discussing the matter. Flapoon argued that Mrs. Dovetail should have spoken up if she was unwell, and properly looked at "it was disloyalty."

Daisy however, was an ally of the first group. She felt that everyone had gotten so used to her mother being deceased, but she hadn't. She felt it unsettling when to visit her mother, she had to visit a white gravestone. Daisy was disturbed seeing her father wipe away his tears when she wasn't looking. All of this was too much for her, causing her to blame Fred.

Daughter
Dora was evidently extremely close to her daughter, going as far as to name her daughter after her favorite flower, which symbolized how strong the bond between them was. Daisy, unlike many of the other residents of Chouxville, had a hard time getting over her mother's death. While Dora was alive, she made many dresses for Daisy to make her look like a little lady, even though Daisy did not particularly enjoy it at the time. As Daisy aged, the dresses became too small for her and after her mother died, she would visit the grave daily, wearing a dress.