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The rumors have been circulating for a few weeks before the questionnaires arrive. Belle rolls her eyes at the squealing of her sisters as they scramble to snatch their parchment from the messenger's hands. She waits patiently for her own and nearly chokes in laughter as she reads the script.
Questionnaire for the Potential Spell Breaker.
Belle raises an eyebrow, tries to catch the messenger's eye (he ignores her with the air of someone rather lacking in a sense of humor—or maybe he's just annoyed by the high pitch screams of her siblings). Returning her eyes to the ornate parchment, she is interrupted in her reading by her elder sister's shout.
"There's a note from the king!" (Belle believes if people could talk with multiple exclamation marks, her sisters would have perfected the art) She returns her gaze to her parchment and finds that there is indeed a letter from the king on the back of the questionnaire.
Dear Potential Spell Breaker,
Due to our beloved prince's unfortunate run in with a malevolent fairy he is under the well-known Beast Syndrome. Unfortunately the only known cure for this illness is for the prince to fall in love and marry a beautiful lady within the time span of two years. So we need your support. Pease fill out the questionnaire on the backside of this letter and return it as soon as possible.
The King
"It is signed by the king!" Her other sister shouts, and Belle studies the mark with amusement. (The signature is obviously false, but Belle figures there is no point in trying to explain to her sisters).
Her sisters immediately rush to fill out the questionnaire; Belle subtly slides her paper between the fireplace kindling and heads upstairs to her room. She reaches for the rather plain mirror set atop one of the overflowing bookshelves lining the walls of the room. Breathing on the mirror, she taps the glass three times before calling out.
"Tommy?" The fog on the glass swirls and condenses into the figure of a young, auburn haired man.
"Hello Ella." He smiles at her as she rolls her eyes at the nickname.
"We received proof of the prince's misfortune today." She smirks back at her friend. "They sent out a questionnaire, searching for potential "beauties" to break the curse. Apparently, they will accept 20 women into the castle for the year."
"Ah, I suppose they do not believe I will find a cure? It is considered impossible, so I can understand their doubt."
"Wouldn't be the first impossible thing you've managed. Six before breakfast, like Alice."
"Did you just compare me to a fictional little girl?" He asks with amusement.
"Yep. I'll make you a blue dress." She smirks. "So, what are your present theories?"
"I have been unraveling the basic spell structure on the curse, but Fairytale magic is very different from Elemental abilities so most of my books are useless. And, unfortunately, the palace library is not very well stocked in any magic theory."
"You should have called me earlier." She admonishes, flipping through her book collection, "My collection is far more diverse than yours. The only benefit of not having any magic myself is not choosing a specific branch of focus…oh, and the fact that I willingly study science." A pause as she continues searching. "Ha! Found them." She snatches several books from one of her shelves. "I'll send these to you as soon as possible."
"Thanks Ella."
"Always. Keep me informed, and I'd like a copy of your notes. I'll check whether the spell directly affects the physiology of the prince. If it is biologically relevant, I may have to come down and help."
"Of course."