Fairytale Detective - The Curse of Briar Rose

Chapter 5 - 'It Is Not Over Yet'

Edinburgh, Scotland

12th September, 04:00

'Did you find anything else in the journal?' asked Catterly. He and Leah spent the entire night in the library going through the journals in search for clues.

'Nothing. I am afraid we are stuck. If Briar is not in the crypt, she might be under the manor somewhere, but there is no indication anywhere.'

'Uh, why can't it be easy? Like a magic trick - Abracadabra and boom, a light shines on the missing person.'

'Wait? What did you say?'

'Uh....Abracadabra..'

'No, no after that. A light shines? Catterly you are a genius!'

'I am? Well, yes, certainly...Why am I a genius again?'

'You will see. Give me your lighter.'

Leah took the lighter and brought it close to the back of the lab journal's last page.

'In the past, many people used invisible ink to hide messages. Here goes nothing!'

The detective slowly moved the lighter from the top to the bottom of the page and slowly a message appeared:

The key is hidden beneath the rose.

'Hmm, the Abercrombie manor has no rose bushes whatsoever...' sighed Chester.

'I don't think they are referring to the plant. When we entered the main hall, there was a large stained glass window with the image of a rose. We need to check it out.'

The moonlight shone creepily through the manor windows. It threw ghostly shadows across the walls and Catterly jumped at every creek and screech. 'Stop it!' whispered Leah.

'Boss, I am not taking my chances, if there is another giant spider on the loose. Who knows what that evil godmother has hidden in this house? Mind you, we still have not found Peter!'

'I get it, but jumping like a scaredy cat up and down does not make you the most subtle. Ah, there is the window I was talking about!'

Above the staircase in the main hall, there was a beautiful stained glass window, depicting the image of a dragon wrapped around a crimson rose. Leah went close to it, knelt and slowly started knocking on the wooden panels beneath it. One of them made a hollow sound.

'Got you!' She took out her pocket knife and loosened the panel. Behind it there was a scroll with a key tied to it.

Far deep at the heart of thorns,

In a room of rocks long worn.

Lays the prize you seek...

'At the heart of thorns...' whispered Lead 'Chester, I know where she is, we need to go to the basement again!'

None of them saw the craw that was watching them through the window.

Leah and Chester quickly made their way to the basement. When they reached the back wall, they started examining the ground for notches or any other holes.

'Found it' said Catterly, pointing to a small notch near the right corner.

'Here goes nothing!' said Leah. She placed the key and turned it. At first, there was deftly silence, but then suddenly there was the sound of wheels turning and the wall separated into two, revealing a secret passage. At the end of it there was the same ornately decorated brass door as the one in the crypt. Leah slowly pushed it open. At the other side of it, was a dimly lit room. In the middle of it was an old canopy white bed. In it, lay Briar Rose.

'Thank you for finding her for me, detective!' said someone behind them.

Both Leah and Chester turned abruptly. Behind them was Ms. Levi Fayir.

'Ms. Fayir?!' asked Chester 'What are you doing here?'

'Why, deary, I came to see my goddaughter, of course!' grinned the old lady.

'There was no Peter. Right?' said Lead 'I should have figured it out from the beginning, you name, it is an anagram for Evil Godmother.'

'Clever, girl...no, there was no Peter. Did a little magic to make some reports about him, that's all. Now step back and let me have the body. It has been 1,000 years since that curse drained me and I had to be stuck in this crone's body. Time to finish what I started!'

' I don't think so! Catterly, catch!' Leah quickly passed one of the potion vials to Chester, who performed one of his quick teleportation tricks. Before the evil fairy could react, Chester had found himself near Briar's bed and poured the liquid in her mouth. The moment the princess woke up, the Evil Godmother's spirit had nowhere to go and her body started to fade away, along with the thorny vines.

'Thank you for saving me, detective!' said Briar Rose as she was slowly getting up 'When the curse resurfaced, the evil fairy awoke as well.'

'How was it triggered?' asked Leah 'In the journal it was written, that Rose and Ivy had managed to contain it.'

'The curse is triggered by negative emotions. So much had accumulated during those 1,000 years that my godmothers' powers were unable to contain it any longer.'

'What will you do now?' asked Chester 'So much time has passed...'

'I will stay at the manor, travel, there are sanctuaries for people like me, hidden among other towns. I will probably try to find one and get on with my life, if possible...however, detective, I am afraid that your job is not done.'

'Why do you say that?' asked Leah.

'The triggering of the curse has awakened another one as well. One that will submerge our world in water. To stop it, you must find the Fabled Frog Prince, as he still lives among us to this day.'

'You've got to be kidding me! How will I find a fabled prince?'

'I have only one clue, which was hidden along with my body 100 years ago.' Briar rose took out a map and a small golden ring, shaped like a crown from underneath her bed. 'This might aid you in your search.'

'What is it, boss?' asked Catterly.

'It is a map of the Black Forest, in Germany.'

'Well, boss, you know what that means...' said Catterly, 'I need to pack underwear for a month.'

Edinburgh, Scotland

12th September, 08:00

It was 8 o'clock when Leah and Chester left the Abercrombie manor. Looking out the window, Briar Rose marveled at her second chance at life. She marveled at the fantastic city that had grown up around her castle. She marveled at the heroes who had conquered an epic curse.

And on the continent, across the sea, in the Black Forest of Germany, an exiled prince was plotting his revenge.

To be continued in 'The Exiled Prince'