Marnie is a young goth girl with a less-than-cheery disposition. Her parents are going away for a week of sun and surf in Bordeaux, and Marnie has been palmed off in her grandmother’s care in the backwater English village Fenchapel.
Marnie isn’t much looking forward to her week in the sticks. Fenchapel is a small village with a population below 500, without any shops or cinemas. Marnie’s sure she’ll be bored out of her skull – and then, there’s her grandmother’s continued ravings about fairies.
“Don’t venture too far into the forest,” Grandma Iris warns. “There are strange creatures in there, and if they find you, they’ll never let you leave.”
Of course, Marnie ignores her grandmother’s warnings. Fairies don’t exist, after all – and Fenchapel is so tiny, what can she do other than explore?
And so, Marnie wanders into the forest…
While exploring, Marnie happens upon a young female knight in a glade, clutching a sword. The knight has been sleeping for many centuries, but Marnie (inadvertently) awakes her. The young knight calls herself Leofe. She does not know why she went to sleep, but she knows that the forest itself is plagued by a horrible curse, and she is the only one who can lift it.
Together, the two young girls go on an adventure. They learn of Fenchapel’s storied past, and with the passing days, their feelings towards one another grow.
Fenchapel, as it transpires, is far more interesting than Marnie imagined.
