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“What about the legends that if you catch a bean-nighe, it can give you any knowledge that you desire?”
Fern blacked out. Without warning, she was ripped back to her childhood and a cold winter holiday in Edinburgh with her family. They were seated around a fireplace at their bed-and-breakfast, where their mother told them stories of the bean-nighe and their psychic abilities.
“Professor?” the student asked again, jarring Fern from her memories.
“Excuse me,” Fern fidgeted with her skirt behind the podium, “I seem to be possessed myself today. To answer your question, I have only heard that portion of the legend in…oral tradition.” Fern stumbled for the right words. “I’ve never come across any scholarly resources that dictate that portion of the bean-nighe’s mythos.”
Another student’s hand shot up, and Fern glanced at the clock on the wall. The line of questioning about the washer woman spirit was making her uncomfortable. She couldn’t place the sensation, but combined with the sudden memories of her childhood, Fern found a cold sensation traveling up her spine.
A sensation that might be magic.
“That’s enough for today,” she snapped, waving her hand to dismiss her students. “If you have any further questions, please see me after class or send me an email.”
Fern turned around and busied herself with rearranging her notebooks in her messenger bag, doing her due diligence to wait and see if a student approached her but praying no one did.
“Excuse me?”
Fuck. Fern cursed inwardly as she glanced up and saw one of her students approaching the desk. They were gripping an ancient looking book. As they got closer, Fern realized it was an old copy of their required textbook for the semester, ‘The Female Spirit of the Celtic Islands.’
“How can I help you?” Fern plastered a polite smile on her face as students filed out around them.
“I was curious about what you said regarding catching a bean-nighe.” The student pushed their copy of the textbook towards Fern. “It’s in the textbook.”
Fern frowned. “I’m sorry?” She reached for the book, and as soon as she touched the pages, a static shock tickled her fingers.
“I know my book is old.” The student sounded almost apologetic. “It’s a first edition. It was the only copy that I could find secondhand…”
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Fern looked up and smiled at her student. “I don’t mind at all where you got it from. You’re saying that the book says something different, though?”
“Yes, right here.” The student pointed to the open page that Fern had landed on. “The chapter on the bean-nighe says that if you catch one, it will tell you anything that you desire.”
Fern’s heart stopped. There it was, in black and white, staring back at her from the yellowed pages of the first edition. The book was almost glowing, a faint, golden light illuminating from the faded text on the cover.
It’s magic. Fern had to fight the sensation to run out of the room. She knew her student would be oblivious to the magical signature, but Fern wanted to horde the copy.
“Oh my god,” Fern was nearly shocked into silence and reread the paragraph several times.
“Is it…wrong?” The student stammered, worried that they had purchased the wrong textbook and completely oblivious to the reasons behind Fern’s disbelief.
“No, no.” Fern pried her gaze away from the pages. “It must have been edited out of subsequent editions. I’m not sure for what reason.” She forced a smile. “It’s fascinating, really. I’ve never seen that information documented anywhere else. Do you… Do you mind if I hold on to this? I can get you a replacement textbook from the university library.”
The student seemed surprised. “Well, yes, that would be fine. Can I ask why?”
“I just want to make some photocopies. Truly, I’ve never seen this information printed anywhere.” It’s also clearly a magical book, and you really shouldn’t have gotten a hold of it.
“Oh, yes,” they grinned, “that makes sense. It’s cool, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Fern tossed her messenger bag over her shoulder, “very cool. Where did you say you got it again?”
“I got it from a used bookstore in the city.”
“Ah. Well, if you need anything else, please come to office hours.” She nearly jogged from the lecture hall before her student could respond.
Fern sprinted towards the Office of Highland Magic. She needed to get the book in front of Calum. Foremost, it had a magical signature and had ended up in the hands of a human student. One reason Calum had started the department library was to ensure that any magical books or relics were safely preserved, away from peering mortal eyes.
Fern had accidentally discovered a way to find out how to break Scotland’s curse.
She ran through the possibilities in her mind and nearly knocked over several students as she wove her way through the foot traffic. The leaves had all turned colors on campus, creating a striking background to the University’s old, gothic buildings. Groups of students milled about on lawns and on the sidewalks, bundled up in jackets and scarves but unwilling to congregate inside when the campus looked so picturesque in autumn.
