Upon a Time: The Darkness behind the Tales (English Edition)

Fee, the servant to the abusive Dunkel Hammer in the principality of Quellestadt, sacrifices her own happiness to protect her mistress, the young Besse, even as she has to forfend the punishment of her brother Peter, who has attempted to rob a merchant caravan. Dunkel has made life miserable for many people, including his wife, who hides in her tower home chamber, brushing her long, blonde hair to attract a lover who climbs to her from the outside, and a young, desperate boy who has sold his last cow for the equivalent of beans and claims to be his son. Meanwhile, the dauphin Charles scolds his friend Hans for seeking to save damsels in distress, among whom is Besse. Ultimately there is a fire and Charles must determine the guilty parties in the death that ensues, even as he helps save La Claire, daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, from her vain stepmother. Which of these, and others, will become legend enshrined in fairy tales?