“They had given him candles, so he lit one and waited for death, watching the body of his beloved. There were flowers entwined in her hands, dog violets they were, and they matched the color of her lips. Soon he grew hungry, and thirsty, but there was nothing he could do. Eventually, a little snake crawled out of a hole in the wall—small and green and quick. Thinking it meant to bite the dead princess, the soldier leapt up and cut the snake into three pieces, killing it dead.”

Reave paused, brushing his fingers against his lips as if remembering something.

“A little while later, another snake slithered out of the hole, and seeing its dead brother, immediately retreated. However, it soon returned carrying three leaves in its mouth. These it placed over the severed pieces of the other snake’s body, and in moments, the dead snake was alive again. They disappeared back into the wall together, leaving the snake-leaves behind. The soldier, barely hoping to believe it could be true, retrieved the leaves and placed them on the eyes and mouth of the princess, and in half a breath the blood flowed again to her blue lips, and she leapt up, full of life. Together they banged on the tomb doors until the guards came and let them out. The soldier and the king were both so happy, and the kingdom rejoiced for seven days and seven nights.”

“Does this have a point, Reave?” broke in DC Turner. “We didn’t bring this woman all the way here for creepy story time.”

“I brought myself, actually, and I want to hear the end.”

If Reave appreciated her support, he didn’t show it. Instead he carried on as if neither of them had spoken. “But the princess had come back changed. With her new blood red lips came a new power, and new appetites. She would haunt the kitchens, stealing pieces of raw meat and eating them. The castle’s dogs and cats began to go missing, and then, the beggars that waited by the back gate found their numbers lessening. There are gifts, and then there are prices that must be paid. There is a becoming, we …”

He stopped, and met her eyes again. “One day, the princess went to the armory and dressed herself for war, and she went directly to the king’s chambers, and killed him. She did not kill the soldier, but kept him obedient in her room, and ruled over the kingdom herself for the rest of her days.”

An uneasy silence seeped into the room, while DC Turner coughed and sighed behind her. Heather thought it likely that this story had been given a new ending, too, just as the story of the brother and sister had—surely even the unpleasantness of the Grimm’s stories could not end with so much implied strangeness.

“I’m not sure if that’s a happy ending or not.”

Michael Reave shrugged. “Colleen … I mean, your mum, enjoyed that one. The roles of women in these stories were interesting to her. They were witches, and people hated them, but they had power.”