Edinburgh, Scotland
11th September, 13:00"Why did it have to include a creepy cemetery?" groaned Chester as he and Leah approached the Abercrombie crypt. The fog had thickened since they left the manor, shrouding the ancient resting ground in an eerie gloom.
"I told you to wait in the house," Leah quipped, sidestepping a vine-covered gravestone.
"Yeah, not happening, boss. After seeing you trip on that vine earlier, I'm not risking you getting lost or worse. Who's going to pay my salary if something happens to you?"
"Aw, I'm touched by your selfless concern," Leah replied dryly.
"One has to think practically," Chester shot back, smirking.
The crypt loomed large before them, its exterior a webbed tangle of ivy and briars. Inside, cobwebs coated every surface like an ancient veil. At the back of the crypt stood a small shrine, adorned with five statues. Behind them, seven stained-glass windows cast multicolored light onto the figures. A bulky tome rested on a pedestal in front of the statues.
"Strange-looking angels," Chester muttered, his voice bouncing off the crypt's stone walls.
"They're not angels," Leah corrected. "Look closer. These statues represent the five godmothers from the Sleeping Beauty tale."
Intrigued, Leah approached the tome and began flipping through its pages. "It's full of rhymes and fairy tales: The Frog Prince, Snow White... Ah, here's Sleeping Beauty. There are notes in the margins."
"What do they say?" Chester leaned in, peering over her shoulder.
"It says the secret to Briar Rose's curse lies with the godmothers. To reveal it, one must engage with the statues in the order they appeared in the story."
Chester scratched his head. "Not to be a buzzkill, but haven't they been dead for a thousand years?"
"Perhaps," Leah said, examining the statues closely. "But each godmother's name corresponds to a flower. Look at their wands—they're shaped like the flowers."
She stepped onto the shrine platform and turned to Chester. "What's the first name?"
"Lily," he replied, consulting the book.
Leah approached the statue holding a lily-shaped wand. Its stone surface looked worn compared to the others. She gripped the wand and pulled. It lowered like a lever.
"Nice work, boss!" Chester exclaimed. "Next is Calla."
Leah repeated the process with each statue: Marguerite, Ivy, and finally Rose. When she pulled the last wand, the ground trembled. Stones shifted, revealing a staircase descending beneath the shrine.
"Can you see where it leads?" Leah asked.
"It's too dark," Chester replied, pulling out a flashlight. "Oh, and this was on the second step," he added, handing Leah a badge.
She examined it. "It belongs to the missing firefighter. Looks like he got this far."
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Chester muttered. "If Briar Rose is still roaming the manor, it means he wasn't successful. What's down there?"
"Only one way to find out," Leah said, leading the way.
The staircase ended at a narrow corridor lined with thorny vines. At its end stood a brass door engraved with five floral symbols.
"Same flowers as the godmothers' names," Leah noted. She knocked cautiously before pushing the door open. Beyond lay a small, cluttered laboratory filled with vials, petri dishes, and dried flowers.
"Now this is an unusual basement hobby," Chester whistled, scanning the room. "No sign of the princess, though. Let's head back."
"Not yet. If this lab is here, it's important. Search those shelves while I check these."
After some time, Leah found a journal embossed with the Abercrombie crest.
"It says here that Rose and Ivy tried to save Briar after containing the curse. They believed a potion could wake her, and this lab contains the ingredients and instructions. But for the potion to work, the curse must be reactivated."
"Well, we've got that part covered," Chester said. "Shall I start chopping flowers, or are you the chemistry expert?"
It took a few failed attempts, but eventually, they brewed the potion. Leah carefully filled several vials and tucked them away.
"Boss, one question," Chester said as they ascended the stairs. "Since we found the firefighter's badge, it means he got this far. What do you think happened to him?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe..." Leah's voice trailed off as something slimy splattered in front of them. She froze. It was part of a human hand.
Chester screamed. Looking up, they saw a massive spider perched on the crypt's ceiling, its web holding two cocooned bodies—one in a police uniform, the other in firefighting gear.
"Well, that answers your question!" Leah shouted as the spider lunged. They dove behind the shrine, but the creature began sealing off exits with webs.
"Boss, I didn't sign up to be spider food!"
"Quiet, Chester! I have a plan. You need to distract it."
"Distract it? Are you insane?"
"Trust me! Run to the right side of the crypt, now!"
Chester hesitated but obeyed, darting toward the crypt's far corner. The spider followed, spitting webs. One struck Chester, pinning him to the wall.
"BOSS, HURRY UP!"
Leah sprang from behind the shrine, hurling a vial of potion at the spider's back. The glass shattered, and the liquid sizzled. She threw a lighter, igniting the potion. Flames engulfed the beast, which shrieked and thrashed. Leah raced to free Chester, cutting through the sticky web. Together, they sprinted for the exit as the burning spider brought debris crashing down around them.
Once outside, they slammed the crypt door shut, panting. A crow perched on a nearby tombstone flapped its wings, cawing with a voice almost human.
"Well done, detective! I didn't expect my beast to fall so easily. But you won't succeed!" the bird mocked before flying off.
"What the hell was that?" Chester gasped.
"Our first look at the evil godmother," Leah replied grimly. "We need to hurry. And we've got another mystery."
"What's that?"
"There were only two bodies in that web. Peter might still be alive."
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Fairytale Detective 1- The Curse of Briar Rose
FanfictionThe following is a fanfic based on the 'Dark Parables' hidden object game series. The story follows the fairytale detective, Leah Banks, and her assistant Chester Catterly, as they solve cases, which involve more than meets the eye. A dash of magic...