Part Forty-Six

~

Jubilee led Hollyshock back into the woods, weaving through the trees until they reached the spot where Sapphire stood waiting. The pegasus had taken to sleeping in the woods- everyone agreed that if Sylvia were to return, it would be best for Sapphire to remain hidden. The AE didn’t know she was there, and it was in everyone’s best interest that it stayed that way until the pegasus was needed.

Sapphire nickered as the two CBers drew near, tossing her mane in greeting. Jubi ran over and stroked her nose. “Hey there!” they said softly. “I’ve got some bad news. Sylvia’s back.” At the name, Sapphire pawed the ground nervously. “We’re trying to fight her, but it’s not going well. Will you help us?”

Sapphire spread her wings and reared up, which Jubilee seemed to take as affirmation. They grabbed two pieces of cloth that were hanging on a tree branch and tossed one to Holly.

“What’s this for?” she asked, examining it.

Jubilee pointed to a coil of vibrant green vine on the ground a few feet away. “That.”

Holly resisted the urge to back away from the plant. “Oh. Right. So what are we actually doing with it?”

“Kind of the same thing that Bluebell and Dusk did last time, but on a different level. We’re going to fly out on Sapphire with the calamum vesperum, I’ll jump onto Sylvia’s shoulder, and you’ll fly around to wrap the vine around her throat.” They paused. “It won’t be pretty, but if it works, it’ll get the job done.”

“That sounds… really difficult.”

“Like I said, last resort.” Jubi wrapped the piece of cloth around their hands, and Holly followed suit. Together, they grabbed the coil, and holding away from themselves, approached Sapphire.

The pegasus kneeled down to make it easier for them to climb on, since their hands were otherwise occupied. It was difficult to mount without the poisonous plant touching either of them or Sapphire, but they managed.

“Ready?” Jubilee asked. Holly nodded, and Sapphire tossed her mane. “Then let’s go!”

Sapphire set off at a trot, then a canter, swerving to avoid trees. It was all the two CBers could do not to fall off. They quickly approached the campsite, and as soon as they were clear of the trees, Sapphire spread her wings and took off. They soared up, higher than the treetops. The wind whipped at them, and Holly tightened her grip on the vine.

After a moment, Sylvia noticed them. She did a double take as she recognized Sapphire, and her face contorted with rage. “You!” she cried. “Even you’ve turned against me!”

Sapphire let out a shrill whinny. The meaning was clear- it was a sound of defiance.

“Let’s go!” Jubi said, and Sapphire swooped down. They neared Sylvia’s shoulder, but as Jubi tensed to jump, the AE turned, blocking the attempt.

“Pull up! Pull up!” Holly called, and Sapphire complied.

“I need a clear jump!” Jubi said over the sound of the rushing wind. “We need to get her to face us again!”

“Do what Bluebell was doing!” Holly suggested. “Antagonize her! Make her angrier!”

“Good idea! I’ll taunt her, you say when to dive.” Jubi cleared their throat and yelled to the rogue AE. “Sylvia! Everything that’s happened is your fault! Not Goldie’s! You were the one who killed people you loved. You deserved to be locked in that tower! You deserve everything that’s coming to you!”

Sylvia turned back to them, her face livid, and Holly knew it was time. “Now, Sapphire! Now!”

The pegasus turned into a dive, speeding towards the giant girl. It was going to work this time, Holly could feel it.

Except it didn’t.

Jubilee prepared to jump again, but before they could, Sylvia’s flailing arm came out of nowhere. Her hand glanced off of Sapphire, who faltered. She tipped to one side, and Holly felt herself slipping off the pegasus’ back. She cried out and dropped the calamum vesperum, reaching for some kind of handhold. Her hand found Jubilee’s, whose face was stricken with panic. For a moment, everything was still- then her hand slipped out of Jubi’s, and she was falling.

The air whistled around her, and she heard Jubilee screaming her name as if from a mile away. She knew the end was coming and, for once, she wasn’t afraid. A split second later, she hit the ground and knew nothing else.

Up in the air, Sapphire had regained her balance, and Jubilee’s throat was sore from screaming. The calamum vesperum was gone, dropped somewhere in the confusion, and Sapphire beat her wings as hard as she could to fly away from Sylvia. Jubi could see Holly on the ground, lying so still.

No, no she can’t be… They couldn’t even bring themself to think it.

The plan was done for, the last resort failed. There was nothing else they could do. The other CBers had watched from the ground, horrified, as Jubi and Holly’s mission has crashed and burned before their eyes.

“What can we do?” Bluebell asked.

Gracia responded, her voice grave. “Nothing.”

Sylvia, no longer focused on Sapphire and her passengers, started towards the spot where Dusk was still tending to Goldie. There was nothing the others could do but watch as she neared the injured Palace Keeper. Dusk stared up at her with fearful eyes, seemingly frozen in place as Sylvia drew closer.

It was when the AE was only a few paces away that the CBers finally had their first stroke of luck. As Sylvia stepped forward, she felt the tip of her foot brush against something. She looked down in time to see the weighted vine wrap around her legs. Before she could react, the second part of trap activated, and the heavy wooden beam swung out behind her. This time, she wasn’t able to avoid it, and it hit the back of her head with a dull thud. She swayed, eyes glazing over. She wasn’t unconscious, but it was clear that she was dazed. It took her two attempts to remove the vine, and when she tried to approach Dusk and Goldie again, she nearly fell over. She was very obviously in no condition to continue the fight, and she knew it. Clenching her fists, she closed her eyes, and another earthquake began. She made her way unsteadily back to the path, shrinking down as she went. By the time the earthquake concluded, Sylvia was gone.

Dusk ran over to where Gracia, Bluebell, and Agent Winter were standing, shocked. She looked pale and shaken, but relieved. “I can’t believe it!” she said. “I thought we were done for.”

“So did we!” Win said.

Bluebell looked up and pointed. “There’s Jubilee and Sapphire!”

The two were descending, spiraling towards the ground, and the CBers ran to meet them. Before Sapphire’s hooves even touched the ground, Jubilee threw themself off her back and ran to the middle of the clearing, where there lay a small, unmoving figure. The others trailed behind them, fearing the worst.

Jubi kneeled next to Hollyshock’s body, tears streaming from their eyes. “No, no, please not Holly...”

Bluebell put a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob, and Dusk stared at the body, mind hazy with shock and grief. Win angrily dashed away tears.

Gracia crouched beside Jubi, placing a comforting hand on their shoulder and trying to ignore the lump in her throat. “I’m so sorry, Jubilee. None of us could have imagined this would happen to her, of all people.”

“It’s my fault.” Jubi’s voice broke with the words.

“No, don’t say that, it isn’t-”

“Yes, it is. She grabbed my hand. I had her! I could have saved her but I just- I just couldn’t hold on.”

“Jubi,” Bluebell said, her voice wavering. “You can’t possibly think that. It’s not your fault, it could have happened to any one of us. There was nothing you could do.”

“But there was.”

“Jubi-” Bluebell tried to argue, but Gracia shook her head.

“Come on, let’s go check on Goldie,” she said, nodding in the direction of the Palace Keeper. They started walking. “We need to give Jubi some space,” Gracia explained. “They aren’t thinking clearly right now because of the grief.”

“Alright,” Bluebell agreed, “but I just wish I could help them.”

“I know. So do I.”

They reached Goldie, who was sitting up- a good sign. She looked up at them, wincing. “Everything hurts.”

“I can imagine,” Bluebell said gently. “Are you okay?”

Goldie sighed. “Winded, bruised, and sore beyond belief, but fine.” She craned her neck to see where the others were gathered. “What’s going on over there?”

Bluebell’s eyes filled with tears again, so Gracia answered, getting the words out with some difficulty. “Holly’s… dead. She fell off of Sapphire while she and Jubi were trying to take down Sylvia.”

Goldie’s face fell. “No. Holly? That’s awful, I’m so, so sorry.” She glanced around. “What did happen with Sylvia?” Gracia quickly explained, and Goldie’s brow furrowed. “So she’s still out there, then.”

“I’m afraid so.”

The Palace Keeper got to her feet, grimacing at the effort. The two CBers helped her over to the others.

“Goldie!” Dusk exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Me too, we were worried,” Win agreed.

Jubilee said nothing. They were still staring disconsolately at Holly’s body.

Goldie knelt beside them and spoke softly. “I am so sorry this happened, Jubi. We all loved Holly, and we never wanted to see anything like this happen to her. Why don’t we go bury her? We can pay our last respects.”

Jubi finally spoke. “Okay.”

Holly was buried underneath the willow tree, which seemed a suitable place. It was beautiful and serene, and so quiet as the CBers sat around the fresh mound of dirt. Holly had been their first casualty since leaving the palace, and it hurt not to be able to bury her with the rest of their fallen friends.

They all knew that things would be different now. Though they’d lost so many people already, this time it felt like the first step towards something. An end, maybe? A beginning? It was unclear, but nonetheless important.

After an appropriate amount of time, the CBers left, one after another. The campsite needed to be put back in order, the traps reassembled. Soon, the only one left was Jubilee, who was unwilling to leave their friend’s side.

They leaned forward, pressing their forehead into the cool ground. “I’m sorry,” they whispered.

And there they sat, long after the others had gone, in the soft golden light of the sunrise.

this is incredible! ~top~

Part Forty-Seven

~

The sun had long past risen and the CBers were just about finished cleaning up the campsite when Jubilee finally returned. They didn’t look at anyone and walked straight to their tent, closing it behind them.

Bluebell and Gracia exchanged a worried look, but no one went after Jubi. They all knew their grieving friend needed some time to be alone.

“Will they be okay?” Dusk asked quietly.

Bluebell made a helpless gesture, looking as lost and hopeless as everyone felt. “Will any of us?”

They had defeated Sylvia for the time being, but at what cost? Each of them felt the morning’s loss keenly, somehow more so than any that had come before. The little group had been through so much together in a short time, and it now felt as though something was broken that couldn’t be fixed. Even though they couldn’t see any way forward, there was no turning back.

Win grunted as she tried to lift one of the larger pieces of a trap and found it heavier than she expected. “Could someone give me a hand with this?”

Gracia hurried over to help, and together they pushed the piece back into place, securing it with vines. None of them had much faith in the traps after that morning, but they figured they might as well keep them up.

No one knew what they would do if Sylvia came back. That morning, they’d felt so ready, and still everything had gone so wrong. How could they move forward? What else could be done? They were at an impasse- and there was still the constant, nagging fear that if Sylvia didn’t get them, the murderer would.

Goldie in particular was very quiet. She was seated by the firepit, still recovering from her injury earlier in the morning. She thought her ribs might be bruised, but that wasn’t what was bothering her. She couldn’t forget what Sylvia had said to her, and she couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling that her AE was right. What did she know about trust? Sylvia had depended on her, and she’d let her down. She’d let everyone down- her family ten years ago, and now this group of CBers. People who had depended on her to keep them safe. Who had trusted her.

She buried her head in her hands, oblivious to the CBers’ concerned glances. She didn’t deserve their trust. She didn’t deserve anything. Eyes downcast, she resigned herself to the words that echoed in her head again and again.

“Don’t talk to me about trust.”

Jubilee stared at the wall of the tent they no longer had to share. Their mind was blank. How could this have happened to Holly, of all people? How could they have let it happen? Just the previous day, they had felt so sure that everything would be okay. That they could win. Now all hope was gone again, replaced by a deep, sickening emptiness that Jubi knew would never truly leave. The only thing that could fix it was Holly, and she was gone.

Despite their friends’ protests and reassurances, there wasn’t a doubt in Jubi’s mind that Holly’s death was their own fault. It was Jubi who had agreed to the plan, Jubi who had put her in harm’s way, and Jubi who had failed to save her in the end. Their fingers curled involuntarily, as though feeling the phantom touch of Holly’s hand slipping away.

Jubilee felt, same as everyone else, that something irreplaceable had been broken. The wound was just a little deeper and the pain a little sharper. The others didn’t understand, but they would. Sylvia had been right- this was a fight they couldn’t win.

The rest of the day passed agonizingly slowly. With the campsite back in order, there wasn’t much for the CBers to do to keep their minds off things. Agent Winter took to practicing her weapon skills (which essentially consisted of her repeatedly beating a tree with a big stick), while Dusk and Gracia played an excessive amount of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Bluebell had started a fire, and now sat next to Goldie, doodling absentmindedly in her sketchbook and occasionally prodding at the embers to keep them burning. The Palace Keeper remained hunched over, consumed with guilt, but she appreciated the quiet company of the CBer.

Evening approached, and just as the tension in the camp grew too much to bear, Jubilee emerged from their tent. The glint in their eye was back, but now it was grim and determined rather than light and mischievous.

“So what now?” they asked into the silence, looking from face to face.

“What do you mean?” Bluebell asked carefully, placing her sketchbook to the side.

“You know what I mean. We can’t just sit here and do nothing. We need a plan.”

Win was already nodding. “You’re right. We have to figure out where to go from here.”

Gracia was a little more concerned about the change in her friend, but she had to agree. “That’s a discussion we all need to have together.” She glanced over at the firepit. “Goldie?”

The Palace Keeper raised her hand in acknowledgement, wincing as the movement sent a jolt of pain through her ribs. “Yes, I agree. We need to discuss our plan moving forward.”

“Which is?” Dusk prompted after a moment of silence.

Goldie looked around, startled. “Oh, I don’t have a plan. I was hoping one of you did.”

“Let’s storm the palace!” Win suggested, lifting her chin. “We’ve spent enough time waiting for Sylvia to come to us.”

“There are only six of us,” Gracia reminded her.

“And one of her!”

“One evil magical earthquake giant that wants us all dead.”

“...Right.”

“Well we can’t just stay here forever,” Dusk pointed out. “Sylvia knows exactly where we are, and we’ll run out of granola bars eventually.”

“Sylvia has to pay,” Jubilee said, quietly but firmly.

“So basically, we can’t go to the palace, we can’t stay here, and we can’t beat her in a fight.” Bluebell sighed. “Let’s call the plan a work in progress, then.”

After an unsatisfying dinner, the CBers decided to call it a night. They were all exhausted, physically and emotionally. They had discussed their situation a little more, but in the end there was really nothing else to be said. No one knew what the next step would be.

Back in their tent, Dusk fell asleep within minutes, but Bluebell tossed and turned. Her mind was still reeling, and as much as she wanted to, she just couldn’t drift off. Finally, accepting the inevitable, she sat up and felt around for her history book and the booklight she’d borrowed from Dusk.

A Long, Well-worded, and Thoroughly Detailed History of This Castle had turned out to be rather interesting, and she’d dog-eared some pages that she thought might be useful if they ever got back into the palace. She was nearly at the end now, taking in the book’s closing remarks about the Golden Palace Hotel- or, as it was called then, Noblegate Palace.

She rubbed her eyes as she turned the last of the heavy pages. Then she frowned. Something was amiss with the back cover. She squinted at it, pulling the booklight closer. The back cover was definitely thicker than the front. There appeared to be something inside the dustjacket- something small and thin, but just noticeable enough. She reached into the space between the jacket and the back cover, and her fingers closed on something. Upon removing it, she saw that it was a folded piece of paper. It looked old and delicate, so she was careful unfolding it.

As she skimmed the words handwritten on the page, her eyes widened. She scrambled to her feet, accidentally jostling Dusk, who stirred.

“Hmm?” she said blearily. “What’s wrong?”

Bluebell didn’t answer, instead hastily unzipping the tent and hurrying out into the night. She headed right for Goldie’s tent, not bothering to announce herself before entering. She knelt down and shook the Palace Keeper awake. “Goldie! Wake up!”

Goldie’s eyes slowly opened, then she saw Bluebell and sat up frantically. “What? What happened? I’m awake, what’s going on?” She looked around, realizing it was the middle of the night. “Bluebell? Is everything okay?”

Bluebell held out the paper in her hands, shock evident on her face. “You really need to see this.”

~~~

I'm back!! Hello! I was finally able to finish this part, now that I'm on break and have a bit of free time. I honestly forgot how much I love writing this story and these characters. I'm not sure if anyone who was reading this is still around, but I'm going to finish it anyway. It may take a while, but this ski lodge will make it to the end. If you're still here, thanks for being patient with me! Enjoy :)

i haven't been here in forever, but i randomly remembered this story. if you're still here, i'd love to see if i was the killer. if not, i hope others can read this amazing ski lodge; one of my favorites.