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| “ | I know where my heart is. And it died a long time ago. | „ |
| ~ Prince Lawrence to the Knave of Hearts as he ends his own life, Fables: The Wolf Among Us #46 — "Chapter Forty-Six" |
Prince Lawrence Gateau is a human Fable who is the husband of Faith and lives in New York City. He first appears in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #5 — "Chapter Five."
History
The Homelands
Prince Lawrence Gateau resided in his ancestral castle[4] alongside his parents within the Homelands. One day, he noticed Faith, a new girl working as a cook in the kitchen. The girl donned a donkeyskin cloak, a magic disguise, to outsmart the hunters her father, King Edward, had dispatched to capture her and force her into an incestuous marriage with him.[3]
Prince Lawrence was so tantalized by the cake Faith baked for his birthday that he began spying on her and soon witnessed her remove her donkeyskin cloak, revealing her true, beautiful appearance. Seeing her weep into the cakes she cooked, Lawrence ate every last crumb to taste her on his tongue.[4] Eventually, Faith and Lawrence fell in love,[3] and she told him her backstory.[4] Lawrence's parent's exiled him after their relationship was revealed,[3] and they became wandering vagrants.[4]
During the Exodus
When the Adversary began sweeping through the Homelands, Faith and Lawrence were among the last to escape his forces. They managed to book passage to the mundane world in exchange for Faith's fine dresses, given to her by her father.[4]
Arriving at Fabletown, Faith and Lawrence were shunted to the Exiles Building — an area in which impoverished nobles dwelt.[1] Promptly forgotten, the couple fell on hard times. Faith turned to prostitution to make ends meet, but their relationship ultimately ended up strained. Eventually moving out of her husband's apartment, Faith went on to work for the Pudding & Pie as a call-girl.[4]
Faith's murder
| “ | I once thought myself a prince among men, but I have come to realize that in truth I am barely a man among men. | „ |
| ~ Prince Lawrence's suicide letter to Faith, Fables: The Wolf Among Us #6 — "Chapter Six" |
When Faith's decapitated head is found on the steps of the Woodlands,[5] Fabletown Sheriff Bigby Wolf launches a murder investigation.[6]
When Bigby and Snow White learn of Faith's identity as Donkeyskin, they discover Lawrence is her husband.[1]
Bigby asks the Magic Mirror about his whereabouts and gets a glimpse of a dagger lying in a pool of blood. Bigby and Snow head to his apartment in the South Bronx. Upon entering, they see Lawrence's body in an armchair, seemingly dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. In further inspection of his apartment, Bigby find a gun and a suicide letter to Faith written by Lawrence. Suddenly, Lawrence wakes up, having survived the suicide attempt.[1]
He drearily asks what are they doing in his home and what just happened. Snow answers that they thought he was dead, and prepares to call for Dr. Swineheart to treat him, but Bigby tells her to wait, and then asks if Lawrence knows Bigby. Lawrence answers yes, and Bigby states that he has a few questions for him. When they question what happened, Lawrence states that he made a decision to end his life, so Faith would no longer worry about him.[4]
He asks why Bigby and Snow are at his apartment. Bigby lies to Lawrence about hearing a gunshot, which makes Lawrence suspicious, as the gunshot report would have been a week old and no one in this neighborhood would even bother reporting a gunshot. Bigby lies and tells Lawrence that his wife is missing. Snow asks if anyone might want to have taken her, and he replies, "Fuckin' Georgie."[4]
Soon, the noise of someone trying to force their way through the door is heard. Snow asks Lawrence to play dead, so they can first discover the identity of the intruder and have Bigby arrest them. Lawrence asks for his gun for protection, while Bigby and Snow hide in the closet.[4]
Tweedle Dee walks through the door and starts wandering around the apartment looking for something, though Bigby can't tell what. Lawrence jumps up and threatens Dee with the gun, asking where his wife is.[4] Bigby jumps out of the closet and seizes Lawrence, who fires a shot and misses. Dee runs for the door, with Bigby in pursuit.[7]
Suicide
The Crooked Man communicates with the ghost of Faith's deceased father and offers a deal with him: offering to give him his long-lost daughter, Faith, in exchange for the password to activate the golden excretion of the untethered reflection of Edward's deceased donkey, which passed gold.[8]
The King demands that they deliver his daughter Faith to him, adorned in her three luxurious gowns, and in return, he will reveal the magical word. The Crooked Man assures them that he knows where Faith is and promises to retrieve her quickly, but he is unaware of the location of the gowns. Edward hints that they can be found with Faith's husband, Prince Lawrence, and urges them to kill him.[9]
The Knave of Hearts engages in conversation with Lawrence through the looking-glass, convincing him to reveal the buyer of Faith's dresses. To break Faith's marriage to Prince Lawrence, he manipulates Lawrence into taking his own life by using both a gun and a knife.[2]
Appearances
Fables: The Wolf Among Us
- Fables: The Wolf Among Us #5 (first appearance; flashback)
- Fables: The Wolf Among Us #6
- Fables: The Wolf Among Us #7
- Fables: The Wolf Among Us #8
- Fables: The Wolf Among Us #9 (mentioned)
- Fables: The Wolf Among Us #10 (photograph)
- Fables: The Wolf Among Us #45 (mentioned)
- Fables: The Wolf Among Us #46
Original source
Prince Lawrence is based on the unnamed Prince from the fairy tale "Donkeyskin" by Charles Perrault; and the variant "Allerleirauh" by the Brothers Grimm, in which the Princess is called Allerleirauh and is at one point referred to as "Faith, rough-skin."[10]
Etymology
Lawrence's surname "Gateau" is a British English word for a large, sweet cake, often made with cream or fruit;[11] fitting for someone who had fallen in love with Faith after eating her cakes when she worked in the kitchen at his palace.[4]
Trivia
Prince Lawrence's address in New York City is 1695 Story Avenue.[1] 1695 was the year "Donkeyskin" was first published. "Story Avenue" references the fairy tale theme of the comic.
References
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