Once

Thirty Two

"Hey. You OK?"

Elle shook herself and turned her head. David was sitting beside her, staring at her with that half-worried look she was coming to expect by now.

They'd been researching all day. The remainder of the morning had been spent exhausting the children's section of the library. In the afternoon they'd split up the stories and researched them online on the library computers, and pored over every book on folklore and fables they could find. It had been an exhausting day.

Some time around half two Sellan and Maggie had left, saying they had to head to Sellan's house to revise. Elle didn't really mind them going. Fairy tale monsters were one thing, but tomorrow's English exam was an equally pressing concern. What's more, Elle could tell they still weren't entirely convinced. Until they actually saw it for themselves they wouldn't be, and there was nothing she could do to change that.

Then just before three Jax had gone, too. Only Elle, Russell and David were left, still staring at computer screens with aching eyes and stiff, tired backs. Russell had gone to get a drink in the cafe, and David and Elle were now left alone in the library.

Elle was about to tell him she was fine. But she'd said it a million times over the past few days: it hadn't really been true any of those times, and it wouldn't be true now. Maybe it was time she started telling the truth.

"I was just thinking about Mr Luzlic," she said.

David nodded, understanding.

"What do you think happened to him?"

"No idea. I didn't, like, see it or anything. Not like the others."

"So he definitely wasn't one of the stories?"

"No. I'm sure I would have seen it if it was."

David scratched at the back of his head, lost in thought for a second.

"And the book? You think that's disappeared too, like he has?"

"I assume so. Maybe something didn't want us to see it. Maybe there's something in it that would have helped. A clue or something."

"Maybe you're right."

There was a short pause. David broke it by saying, "So. Found anything interesting?"

Elle gave a sigh.

"Loads. Too much, really. There's, like, a million versions of some of these stories. Cinderella, for example. I've been looking into it for an hour now and I just keep finding new ones. There's some ancient Chinese version here where she's got like twenty stepsisters." She threw up her hands in despair. "I feel like I could sit here for days and not get to the end of it."

"We should stop soon," David said. He rubbed his eyes. "I can't really take any more in today. And this job's giant enough as it is."

Elle looked at him swiftly.

"What did you say?"

David, frowning at her, said, "I said this was a big job."

"You didn't say big. You said giant." She had gone ice cold again. "Why would you use a word like that, David?"

"I - I don't know. I didn't really think about it. I didn't mean anything by it."

"I'm sure you didn't," she said. "But it, like, sparked something. Something sort of went off when you said it."

"A clue?"

"Maybe. But if giant is a clue then that means..."

She faded off. Their eyes both drifted down to the splayed selection of fairy tale books they'd brought through that morning from the children's section, settling on one in particular. Jack and the Beanstalk.