Winter Holly

Darcy's curse is reminding me so much of this painting of Guinevere and Lancelot by Wilhelm List.

Is Darcy being compared to Lancelot or the Lady of the Lake? Or is the Imperial Star just being compared to the sword Excalibur? In some versions, Excalibur is retrieved from a lake, not pulled from a stone. I think it's a reference to Excalibur and a nod to the fact that Darcy will help heal Lance (Lancelot).

Spoilers for up to book 6

There are obvious similarities and allusions to Lance as a representation of Lancelot.

While Darcy isn't exactly like Queen Guinevere personality wise, her name (Gwen/Gwendalina) is a pretty obvious reference. There are also more general references to Arthurian myths.

On my re read of the series I noticed how much Darcy and Orion's relationship follows the principles of Courtly Love, especially those established in Chretien De Troyes Lancelot, The Knight of The Cart.

The points about Darcy being inaccessible and their love being dangerous to consummate are obviously established from the first book onwards, but the rest takes place over the series, as they both develop their love for each other. Lance doesn't start out as a noble knight but has to become that for Darcy.

He eventually becomes a knight worthy of her by recognising her as his Queen, swearing himself to her, sacrificing his social position for her, and fighting on her behalf. These are pretty standard Courtly Love tasks that knights perform.

Disregarding the general characteristics and focusing on the last three that are specific to Courtly Love, it becomes clear that this applies to Lance in a similar way to Lancelot. Both notably offer complete loyalty to the woman they love and are willing to endure shame for her.

As well as Lance becoming a better person due to Darcy.

I honestly really appreciate the research the authors did to accurately depict Courtly Love instead of just using names similar to Lancelot and Guinevere for a cute reference. I never expected that when I started the series.