Cursed: The Legend of Sleeping Beauty

Chapter Seven - Briar Rose

CopyrightⒸ 2019 by B. R. Bailey All Rights Reserved

"Briar Rose!" Lucinda shouted, jarring the girl upstairs awake. "It is half an hour past sunrise. Get down here and gather water from the pump outside for breakfast or you'll not eat this morning!"

Bolting upright, the little girl jumped out of her bed, slamming her feet onto the floor of the cottage attic as she raced across the room to her closet, throwing her nightgown over the room divider before pulling a simple blue dress over her head, tying the waist as slid one foot into a boot

Hopping up and down in haste to get the leather to move, she slipped, falling to her side on the floor.

"What was that? Are you alright up there?" Niall asks, sounding alarmed.

"Just getting my boots on!"

"Outgrown the pair down here already? We gave you those this last summer not 6 months past," Niall laments, sounding upset.

"A good thing I made a bigger pair of boots in case she grew faster than expected," Dolphina laughed, pushing glass containers around the dining room table.

Finally fully dressed, Briar Rose headed down the stairs, running her hands over her braid to smooth out the frizzes along her temples.

"There she is," Lucinda sighed, "get to it then. We haven't got all day."

Picking up the water pail, she ran outside brisk spring morning, past little mounds of snow, to the metal pump on the side of the house, working the lever until it loosened, filling the bucket to the brim and carrying it inside without spilling a drop.

"Alright, eat breakfast and meet me in the office," Lucinda stated after removing the skillet from the oven.

Once the eggs and milk were consumed, Briar Roses' daily lessons began.

"To break a curse, you must first isolate and identify the parts of the Curse," Lucinda stated.

"Three parts: What are they?" Niall asked, opening the door of the office, the glow of potions and beakers filling the downstairs as they entered the magic room.

Sitting down at the large table, the three Witches stared at their young ward, ready for another day of study.

"Three parts," Briar Rose stated, her bright green eyes alert after her walkout in the brisk morning air. "that would be cause, artifact, and being. There is a reason for placing the curse that shapes the meaning of the spell and directs the intent. The item being cursed that acts as the bind, keeping the magic bound to the Mortal plain. Then there the being that the curse effects. It can be focused on a single person if that is the meaning of the curse or, if it is an intent like protecting a place or object, the curse could affect multiple beings, Mortal and Immortal alike."

"Correct!" Niall smiled over at her, rubbing the top of her wards head before collecting herself, pulling her hand back with bright red cheeks. "Don't think that this will be easy just because you learn fast Briar Rose."

"Curse breaking is tedious and methodical. One wrong move and you get hit with the curse's power threefold. That can be lethal on strong curses."

"The law of Threes. I know. It's why casting a curse or spell of any kind is safest in threes. It gives balance to the form of the spell and focuses intent which may otherwise become indistinct and generalized if the caster attempts a spell or curse beyond their skill level."

"Even if the three Casters are of low-level skill and power, together they can successfully cast a spell beyond their individual levels," their student concluded, rubbing her nose with her quill.