Kingdom in The Sand

Time and Time Again (7)

Marie-Fey glanced at Kilan as Kilan continued to study the key. "Alright, so what does that mean?" she asked.

"You've heard of the fairytale Blue Beard, yes?"

"Sure, in passing, it was hardly a favourite. I've never heard of a Blue Beard Curse though."

Kilan shook his head. "It's a way of cataloguing for Storytellers. It's not that there's a specific curse, it just means I have a better understanding of where the story fits in alongside those already officially collected. Like, uh, a Beauty and The Beast curse. If I told another Storyteller that in relation to Beldon and Luka, they would instantly understand. No one ever collected their story, there's no official record of it, history will forget it, but it can be catalogued. Themes and stories come around again and again throughout time. Little Red Riding Hood, The Snow Queen, Donkey Skin. Even unique names reappear. Cinderella? Thumbelina? The same names reappear again and again and... enchantment just means we accept hearing these names time and again without thinking about it too hard. You'll meet a Thumbelina and not think anything of the fact that you heard her name in a fairytale."

He shrugged absently, setting the key aside and opening his bag, pulling his notebook out.

"Enchantment is a strange, awkward thing, those who spend their lives chasing it need ways to track it."

He pulled a quill out next and then pointed the feather tip at the key.

"What caught my attention here is that red staining appearing again. That's a key feature to the Collected Blue Beard story – pun unintended."

Marie-Fey frowned at Kilan and he shot her a grin.

"In the original story, Blue Beard's new wife unlocks the one door that he specifically ordered her not to open. Inside, she finds the bodies of his former wives, all of whom he murdered because they disobeyed his one instruction. Shocked at the sight, the new wife drops the key in a pool of blood. She then relocks the doors, returns to her room and tries to wash the blood off. The key has a spell on it however, meaning that no matter how often it's washed, the blood will always return, betraying her to her husband and revealing that she entered the forbidden room. Unlike her predecessors, she manages to stall for time long enough that her sister can call on their brothers, who arrive in time to kill Blue Beard before he kills her."

"So, the original Blue Beard is dead?"

"Very much so," Kilan nodded, reaching for the key again, "Which makes this staining interesting. There are lots of similar stories, some collected, some not, but I haven't heard about this staining in them."

As he started to flick through his notebook, Marie-Fey looked at the key.

"Why did he do it?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did Blue Beard kill his wives for entering that room?"

"Hmm, he wanted someone he could trust?"

Marie-Fey was quiet for a moment, then blinked and stared at him. "That's it?"

"There's no accounting for disturbances of the mind in fairytales," Kilan pointed out. "Enchantment played a role in that story, without a doubt, but enchantment has a way of leaking through the cracks of the psyche and twisting the already fragile mind. It's one of the reasons I like to go back to Rose Castle when I can."

Marie-Fey's brow creased at that, looking at him in confusion and he smiled at her, tapping his temple.

"Beldon isn't always as sound as he appears," he said, "He's my dear friend and I care about him deeply. He's surrounded by enchantment, all the time, and war shakes him to his core. Enchantment almost swallowed him whole once, but he scrambled free. I don't want to see it happen again, so I like to keep tabs."