Hello Silver Hunters,
I’m still busy working on the new vampire series, but Kieran and Cory have been pestering me in the background about putting their story in one book and giving the fans a special story that picks up where the epilogue of Hunter ends. So because I’m doing deep research to keep the characters in The Curse sounding like they actually know something about their fields, I’ve decided to let Kieran and Cory have their extra story. The House of Beauty is composed of a lot of sub-families and those of you who’ve read the epilogue of Hunter were introduced to Angelina Belle-O’Donal. Clan O’Donal are originally from the Highlands of Scotland, believed in an independent Scotland, and fought valiantly in the defense of king and country. Kieran and Cory’s story in Legend of the Silver Hunter is a twist on the story of “Beauty and the Beast.” Angelina brings the hidden story behind Goldilocks and the Three Bears into the chronicles of the House of Beauty. As a sneak peek, I give you the original version “The Three Bears” by Robert Southey, and a piece of the O’Donal Clan chronicles that twists the tale.
The Goldilocks Pledge
Prologue
In a far-off country there was once a little girl who was called Silver-hair, because her curly hair shone brightly. She was a sad romp, and so restless that she could not be kept quiet at home, but must needs run out and away, without leave.
One day she started-off into a wood to gather wild flowers, and into the fields to chase butterflies. She ran here and she ran there, and went so far, at last, that she found herself in a lonely place, where she saw a snug little house, in which three bears lived; but they were not then at home.
The door was ajar, and Silver-hair pushed it open and found the place to be quite empty, so she made up her mind to go in boldly, and look all about the place, little thinking what sort of people lived there.
Now the three bears had gone out to walk a little before this. They were the Big Bear, and the Middle-sized Bear, and the Little Bear; but they had left their porridge on the table to cool. So when Silver-hair came into the kitchen, she saw the three bowls of porridge. She tasted the largest bowl, which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too cold; then she tasted the middle-sized bowl, which belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, and found it too hot; then she tasted the smallest bowl, which belonged to the Little Bear, and it was just right, and she ate it all.
She went into the parlour, and there were three chairs. She tried the biggest chair, which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too high; then she tried the middle-sized chair, which belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, and she found it too broad; then she tried the little chair, which belonged to the Little Bear, and found it just right, but she sat in it so hard that she broke it.
Now Silver-hair was by this time very tired, and she went upstairs to the chamber, and there she found three beds. She tried the largest bed, which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too soft; then she tried the middle-sized bed, which belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, and she found it too hard; then she tried the smallest bed, which belonged to the Little Bear, and found it just right, so she lay down upon it, and fell fast asleep.
While Silver-hair was lying fast asleep, the three bears came home from their walk. They came into the kitchen, to get their porridge, but when the Big Bear went to his, he growled out:
“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY PORRIDGE!”
and the Middle-sized Bear looked into his bowl, and said:
“Somebody Has Been Tasting My Porridge!”
and the Little Bear piped:
“Somebody has tasted my porridge and eaten it all up!”
Then they went into the parlour, and the Big Bear growled:
“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!”
and the Middle-sized Bear said:
“Somebody Has Been Sitting In My Chair!”
and the Little Bear piped:
“Somebody has been sitting in my chair, and has broken it all to pieces!”
So they went upstairs into the chamber, and the Big Bear growled:
“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TUMBLING MY BED!”
and the Middle-sized Bear said:
“Somebody Has Been Tumbling My Bed!”
and the little Bear piped:
“Somebody has been tumbling my bed, and here she is!”
At that, Silver-hair woke in a fright, and jumped out of the window and ran away as fast as her legs could carry her, and never went near the Three Bears’ snug little house again.
Robert Southey, “The Three Bears,” Fairy Tales and Other Traditional Stories, Lit2Go Edition, (0), accessed April 28, 2016, http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/68/fairy-tales-and-other-traditional-stories/5105/the-three-bears/.
It’s hard to believe how much the tale has changed over time without any help from the chroniclers of our new patron, Lady Clarissa Belle, Huntress of the House of Beauty. While the tale started out with an old woman in the role, it has changed over time to come a little closer to the truth. Silver-hair or Goldilocks as she later came to be called was born Ursala O’Donal, first born daughter of the chief of Clan O’Donal. What really happened to her in the cottage of the three bears is a tale we’ve kept hidden in our own chronicles. Only the chief of our clan and the eldest daughter of each generation know Ursala’s secret. Our current clan chief feels this secret no longer impacts the few survivors of our clan. So I record in this chronicle the existence of the Goldilocks Pledge, a pact between Clan O’Donal, and the bear-shifter Clan MacMathan. The MacMathan pledged to defend the O’Donal from attack in return for the firstborn son of the firstborn daughter of each generation. The MacMathan failed to come to our aide when our clan was attacked by a group of wolf-shifters who’d disguised themselves as a troupe of wandering players. We would have been slaughtered to the last babe if Lady Clarissa hadn’t arrived when she did. The Huntress of the House of Beauty and her servants destroyed the wolf-shifters and saved our clan. We are now a sub-clan of the House of Beauty.
From the Chronicles of the O’Donal Clan, recorded September 1542, shortly after the O’Donal Clan aided King James V defeat the English at the Battle of Haddon Rig.
Kethric Wilcox - Author 