Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know that I won't have the next part up today, there was some kind of gas leak in our house and we have to go to my aunt's. I will do my best to get it up tomorrow! Thanks for your patience.

Ooh, I hope your gas leak is fixed and you all stay safe!

Admin

Part Fifteen

~

The CBers decided after leaving the palace to explore a new part of the grounds, so they turned away from the familiar wooded hiking trails and set off in the opposite direction. They walked the length of the Golden Palace, then found a dirt path leading up a steep grassy hill. They followed the path, huffing and puffing as they made their way up.

“Do we even know where this goes?” Sirfire asked breathlessly.

“That’s the point of exploring!” said Strawberri, who somehow was still energetic.

At the top of the hill, however, the CBers all forgot that they were tired. Before them lay miles of beautiful rolling fields and hills, with swaying grass and wildflowers growing everywhere.

“It’s beautiful!” Holly exclaimed, and Bluebell nodded in agreement. The CBers walked down the other side of the hill and spread out, wandering through the field. Dusk absentmindedly picked flowers as she walked, and Agent Winter did a few cartwheels through the grass before falling in a giggling heap.

After walking for about an hour, the CBers were all tired again, so they found a nice spot in the grass and all collapsed.

“Can we stay out here forever?” Evergreen asked, lying on her back and staring up at the sky.

Dusk gave a contented sigh, and began braiding together the flowers she’d picked. “It is beautiful.”

Winter flopped on her back and stretched out her arms. “Do you think Goldie would notice if we just never came back?”

While the others were relaxing, Strawberri was fidgeting. “Can we keep exploring? Please? Sitting around is so boring.” When no one responded, she stood. “I’m going to keep walking!” she announced.

Gracia stood as well. “I’ll come with you,” she said, and the two set off away from the others.

“Don’t go too far!” Alice called after them. Gracia raised a hand to acknowledge the words, and they disappeared over the crest of a hill.

A moment later, the CBers heard Gracia’s voice shouting back to them. “Guys! Come here, quickly! Look at this!” The CBers all scrambled up and raced toward the voice, instantly worried for their friends. But when they reached the top of the hill, they could see Strawberri and Gracia halfway down the other side, and they could see what Gracia had wanted them to see. A little ways away, there was a ramshackle wooden building in the middle of the field, looking like it could fall apart any moment.

“What is is?” Win asked as the group caught up with Strawberri and Gracia.

“I think it’s an old abandoned barn or something,” Gracia responded. “Let’s go check it out!”

“I don’t know, it looks like it could be dangerous,” Holly said nervously.

“Come on,” said Sirfire, “it can’t be anything too bad, or else Goldie would have told us not to go near it. Let’s go!” Without waiting for Holly’s response, Sirfire led the way down the remainder of the hill in the direction of the abandoned barn. Not wanting to be left behind, Holly followed.

When they reached the barn, the CBers found that it was a little more structurally sound than it looked- at least, it didn’t collapse when Ever touched it.

“So how do we get in?” Dusk asked eagerly. “Do you think the door’s locked?”

Winter walked over to the door and tried the handle. Not only did it swing open, but the hinges disintegrated before her eyes, and the door fell to the ground. She shrugged. “Well, it’s open!” She led the way inside the barn.

It was surprisingly bright inside the building, although that could have been due to the holes in the roof. Once they were inside, the CBers realized that there were empty stables in the barn.

“Did Goldie used to keep horses?” Ever wondered. As she said the words, she heard a noise from the back of the barn and jumped nearly three feet in the air. “What was that?” she asked in a high-pitched whisper. The other CBers listened too, and after a moment, they heard the sound again. It sounded like a muffled stomping.

Winter put a finger to her lips and grabbed a nearby shovel, ignoring the fact that it was covered in cobwebs. Holding it aloft like a baseball bat, she advanced toward the stall she thought had been the source of the sound. Quickly, she jumped in front of it, shovel raised.

Instead of a murderer or zombie or anything else she might have been expecting to find, she looked in to find a beautiful animal staring intently at her. In the stall was a golden pegasus. She had a silver mane and tail, both streaked with blue, and blue feathers on the tips of her wings. She stomped a silver hoof, and Win realized that the pegasus had been the source of the noise. She lowered the shovel sheepishly.

“Guys, it’s okay!” she called. “Look who I found!” The other CBers crowded around the stall and let out their own exclamations.

“A gold pegasus?” Gracia said with surprise. “Wow, they really stick to the theme around here.”

“What could she be doing out here?” Bluebell asked.

Dusk shrugged and pointed to the back of the stall. “I don’t know, but she’s being taken care of- look, she has fresh food and water.”

“Should we take her back to the palace?” Strawberri asked. She opened the door to the stall and beckoned to the pegasus. “Come here, girl!” The pegasus whinnied and tossed her silver mane, but didn’t move.

“I guess not,” Gracia said.

Sirfire walked into the stall and stroked the pegasus’s neck. “She’s so pretty! I wonder if she’s Goldie’s… whoa! Where are you going, girl?” The pegasus had started walking forward, out of the stall. The CBers followed her, perplexed. She led the way out of the old barn, then stopped in her tracks. She tossed her head and stomped her hoof.

“She looks like she’s waiting for something.” Dusk commented. She could have sworn the pegasus nodded when she said this.

Sirfire approached her, and the pegasus kneeled down. “I think… I think she wants me to ride her,” she said. This time it seemed obvious that the pegasus nodded.

“Oh, Sirfire, don’t!” Holly exclaimed. “You could fall off, or she could run away with you, or-”

“Don’t worry!” Sirfire said, mounting the pegasus. “It’ll be fine, right girl?”

The pegasus whinnied and stood up. Sirfire had to hold onto her mane to stay on her back. They took off at a trot, the went into a run. Sirfire bounced up and down wildly, holding on for dear life. Just as she thought she couldn’t hold on any longer, the pegasus spread her wings and they lifted off the ground. The ride instantly became smoother as they soared up. Cautiously, Sirfire let go of the pegasus’s mane and spread her arms like wings. She let out a shout of sheer joy. Holding on again, she looked down to see her friends cheering on the ground.

“This is amazing!” she yelled down to them, though she had no idea if they heard her. The pegasus shook her mane to see if her rider was holding on, then angled up sharply, going into a fast loop. It was exhilarating.

After a minute, the pegasus began to glide back towards the ground. When they touched down, Sirfire jumped off and ran to greet her friends.

“Did you see that?” she asked breathlessly. “I flew! We flew! On a mythical horse!”

“That looked awesome!” Win exclaimed. “And when you did the loop? I thought you were a goner, but you stayed on!”

“That looked absolutely terrifying,” Holly said, “but I’m glad you had fun.” As they discussed the exciting event, the CBers heard the clip clop of hooves on wood and turned to see the golden pegasus walking back into the abandoned barn.

“Are we going to leave her here?” Alice asked.

“It seems like she wants to stay,” said Sirfire, and the others agreed. They decided to return to the palace, since they’d been gone for a while and didn’t want to worry Goldie.

“Speaking of Goldie,” Strawberri said as they walked back, “should we tell her about the pegasus?”

“Nah,” Bluebell answered. “I’m sure she already knows.”

~~~

Part fifteen, finally! From here on out, I'm going to do my best to post two installments a week. Probably every Monday/Tuesday and every Friday. This is a bad time to do this, since it's NaNo, but we have a ways to go, and hopefully two parts a week will get this moving faster! Enjoy!

Part Sixteen

~

The next day, the CBers didn’t go down to breakfast like they did usually. They’d hiked a long way the afternoon before, and it had left them exhausted. They were all happy for a chance to sleep in.

Gracia was the first one awake in the Amethyst Room, and after checking the time, she sat in her bed and played with a few loose pieces of hay from her bag while the other CBers slept. She noticed that although it was far past the time they’d usually be downstairs, Goldie had not come to wake them up. She felt a twinge of guilt for snapping at the host the day before, and resolved to be especially nice today to make up for it. She heard a yawn from across the room, and looked over to see Bluebell sitting up and stretching.

“What time is it?” she asked groggily.

“Pretty late,” Gracia responded. “We missed breakfast.”

As the two conversed, the rest of the CBers gradually awoke, roused by the sound of voices.

“Morning,” Ever greeted with a yawn. “Did I hear we missed breakfast?”

Gracia nodded. “Yeah. If we’re all awake, why don’t we wake up everyone in the Tanzanite Room? Then we can maybe get a bite to eat and a plan for the day.” The other CBers in the room agreed, and they all trooped over to the other room. The CBers there were all still fast asleep.

“How should we wake them?” Holly asked.

Gracia answered by shouting, “Rise and shine! It’s time to wake up!”

Agent Winter sat bolt upright, and being on the bottom bunk, slammed her head painfully. “Ow!” she yelled, which effectively woke any of the CBers who hadn’t been roused by Gracia’s shout.

Holly winced. “That… is not the way I would have done it.”

Gracia shrugged. “It worked, didn’t it?” Win glared at her, rubbing the top of her head.

“What brings you all in here this early in the morning?” Dusk asked.

“Early? It’s after breakfast,” Strawberri said.

“Oh. Nevermind, then.”

“So, what does everyone want to do today?” Ever asked. “We thought we’d get you guys and come up with a plan.”

Sirfire shrugged. “Maybe we should just do our own things today. You know, split up.”

“But not alone,” Alice put in. “Maybe groups of three?”

The CBers agreed that this sounded like a good idea, and they split into three groups, all going to just wander the castle. The first group was comprised of Hollyshock, Alice, and Agent Winter. The second group was Strawberri, Bluebell, and Dusk. The third group was Evergreen, Gracia, and Sirfire. After agreeing to meet back by the rooms in no more than three hours, the groups departed, each heading in separate directions.

The first group, after a short discussion, decided to check out the library after swinging by the kitchen for some food. The kitchen was fully stocked, per usual, so they grabbed bagels and ate them on the way to the library. When they arrived, Alice made a beeline for the nonfiction books and began picking and choosing anything interesting. Holly walked among the shelves more slowly, perusing the books and allowing herself to delight in being surrounded by them. Winter let the two have their bookish fun as she examined the many artifacts on display. There were old books, statues, pottery, and most interestingly, weapons. Win picked up one of the swords, a long blade with a leather-bound hilt, and unsheathed it. The metal looked like it had been recently polished, and shone in the light. She gave it an experimental swing, and it slashed through the air.

“Awesome,” she said emphatically.

The second group had decided to skip breakfast and explore the first floor. They ended up entering the ballroom from the scavenger hunt to marvel once again at its magnificence. Strawberri ran out into the center of the room and spun around, arms outstretched.

“This is so amazing!” she said. “I love it in here.”

Bluebell nodded in agreement. “Me too. I wish we could have a grand ball!”

Dusk turned to her, a sparkle in her eyes. “Why can’t we?”

“What do you mean?” Strawberri asked, rejoining them.

“I mean why can’t we have a ball? Goldie’s always telling us that we’re on vacation, we should be having fun. Doesn’t a ball sound fun? We could go ask Goldie, then we could plan it!”

“That sounds amazing!” Bluebell said. “Should we go ask her now?”

“Yes! Let’s go!” Strawberri said, practically bouncing up and down. The three CBers left the ballroom, brimming with excitement. They searched the first floor for Goldie, eventually finding her coming down a staircase, looking frazzled.

“Goldie!” Dusk said, and the host started as though she hadn’t seen them.

“Oh, it’s you! Good morning! How did you sleep? You missed breakfast, but I didn’t want to wake you.”

“We slept fine, thanks,” Bluebell responded. “Listen, Goldie, we were thinking, would it be alright if we had a ball? In the ballroom, we were thinking we could plan it and decorate the room.”

“It would be so much fun!” Strawberri added.

Goldie’s face lit up. “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard! I’ve never done anything with that ballroom, it would be awesome to put it to good use!”

“That’s great!” Dusk said. “When would we start?”

“How about tomorrow? You can take the rest of the day to do whatever you want, but tell the other CBers and we can form a planning committee! Oh, this’ll be so much fun!” Goldie left the three CBers, skipping away down the hallway humming to herself. The CBers left the twisting staircase and went to try to find the others.

Up on the second floor, the third group of CBers was outside the rooms, debating where to go.

“We could watch a movie?” Ever suggested. “Or explore the gardens.”

“I’m kinda hungry, do you think there’s any ice cream left?” Sirfire asked.

“Sir, ice cream isn’t breakfast.”

“Why not?”

Gracia was only half-listening to the conversation next to her. Her gaze kept being drawn to the door with the pink and green stone and the “Under Repairs” sign. “Hey, guys,” she interjected, and the other two stopped arguing to listen. “How about we see what’s in there?” She pointed to the Tourmaline Room.

Ever’s eyebrows shot up. “Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

Sirfire, however, was nodding. “Yeah! Good idea, Gracia. I’ve been wondering about that.”

Gracia approached the door and tried the handle. She was surprised to find that it was unlocked. “Ready?” she asked with a mischievous smile.

“I really think we shouldn’t…” Ever tried, but Gracia was already opening the door.

Inside the room was a mess of broken wood and other debris. It looked more like it was undergoing demolition than repair. There was a heavy scent of sawdust in the air, causing Gracia to cough. Sirfire followed her into the room, with Ever trailing nervously behind. The room was dimly lit, but bright enough that they could see.

“Doesn’t look like there’s much repairing going on,” Sirfire remarked. She picked her way around the debris on the floor, examining her surroundings.

On the other side of the room, Gracia was looking at one of the smashed wooden bedframes curiously. In front of it was a conspicuously whole piece of plywood. She gripped the sides and heaved back, moving the wood out of the way, then dropped to her knees to examine the newly revealed space under the bed. When she saw what was inside, her face turned pale.

“Guys,” she called shakily. Sirfire and Ever turned in her direction. “I- I think you need to see this.” The two CBers made their way over to Gracia, then they too looked inside the space.

Under the bedframe sat several things. There were a few vials of green liquid, vials identical to the one they had found under Pancake’s bed in the infirmary. There was a pile of what were clearly explosives, along with rope and gags. There were knives. And there was a stack of papers with writing, notes in a scribbled unfamiliar handwriting. To the three CBers, it was very clear what they had found.

They’d found the murderer’s hideout. 

Part Seventeen

~

Alice, Holly, and Win looked up from their various activities as the library doors burst open. All six of the other CBers came rushing in, chattering loudly. They stopped in front of the library group, all talking over one another.

“Ohmygoshguysguesswhatwe’redoing-”

“You’llneverbelievewhatwejustfound-”

“-sowewereintheballroomandwethought-”

“-wedecidedtogoexploretheTourmalineRoom-”

“-itwouldbesomuchfuntohave-”

“-itwasinsanetherewasabunchof-”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down!” Winter said, holding up her hands to stop the flow of words. “One at a time- Dusk, how about you go first?”

Dusk beamed and started talking again, slower this time. “We were back in the ballroom just now, and we had the most amazing idea. We’re going to throw a ball! We can plan it and everything, we asked Goldie and she thought it was great! She’s totally on board, so we’re going to form a planning committee and start tomorrow!”

“That’s so cool!” Holly gushed.

“I know, right?” Strawberri said excitedly.

“That sounds awesome!” Winter agreed, then turned to Gracia. “Alright, your turn, what did you guys find?”

“Well,” Gracia said, “we were trying to decide what to do, and we were curious about the Tourmaline Room, so we went in. It was completely wrecked, but we found a pile of stuff under one of the beds.”

“What kind of stuff?” Bluebell asked.

“Poison, explosives, rope, weapons,” Sirfire listed. “And there were notes. We’re almost positive that it’s the murderer’s hideout.” There were several audible gasps in response to this.

“So… what do we do?” Holly asked, looking nervous.

Winter debated for a moment, then responded. “Well, I think we should post guards on the Tourmaline Room, for starters. If the murderer’s tools are in there, we don’t want them to be accessible. Does everyone agree with that?” There were nods from the other CBers. “Good. We can draw up a schedule. So now why don’t we choose the planning committee for the ball?”

“Should we still have a ball?” Strawberri asked.

Dusk shrugged. “I mean, I don’t see why not. Is it alright if Strawberri, Bluebell and I are on the committee, since it was our idea?”

Win nodded. “Fine by me. Does one more person want to join?”

Ever raised her hand. “I’d like to help out!”

“Perfect,” Bluebell said. “So tomorrow we’ll go to plan with Goldie.”

“Meanwhile, the Lead Detective and the Clue Master-” Gracia indicated Win and herself, “-will examine the murderer’s notes, to see if there are any clues to their identity.”

The CBers woke at the crack of dawn the next morning. Sirfire took Hollyshock’s place as guard outside the Tourmaline Room, and Holly gratefully went to take a short nap- she’d been up all night. Goldie stopped by the rooms to get the planning committee, and once they were gone, Gracia and Win entered the Tourmaline Room.

It was just as chaotic as Gracia remembered. Cracked beams, wood splinters, and a haze of dust.

Win whistled. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. It looks like a hurricane tore through here.”

Gracia led the way through the rubble over to the broken bed. “The murderer’s things are over here.” She knelt down and pulled out the papers, rifling through them as Winter examined the rest of the stuff under the bed.

“Is this the poison that… killed Pancake?” she asked, holding up one of the vials. Gracia nodded, and Winter sighed sadly.

Gracia laid the papers out on the floor, and Win moved over to study them with her. The first paper seemed to be blueprints- drawings of traps and rigged explosives. The second paper was filled with notes in that unfamiliar handwriting. The third paper had nothing but a drawing of a cube with something inside, but from the drawing, Gracia couldn’t quite tell what it was. She set aside the papers with sketches and instead focused on the writing. At the top of the page was a list of all the guests who were gone.

DEAD: Pancake, Alexandria, Xena, Vixen, Rigel, Dolphin

She tried to ignore this list, moving on to the other notes.

~ poison takes effect quickly, possibly use again

~ trap effective, but takes too long to prep

~ explosives too unpredictable

~ gloves=no prints

~ c.v.?

~ S says don’t trust Goldie

Gracia and Win read through the notes several times, both becoming more confused with each word.

“What’s C.V.?” Win asked.

“I don’t know,” Gracia responded. “It could stand for anything.” She looked back at the last note. “S says don’t trust Goldie,” she read. “Who’s ‘S’?”

Winter thought about it. “Strawberri and Sirfire both start with s.”

“Could they be working with the murderer?” Gracia asked, casting a dark look towards the door and towards Sirfire, who was standing guard just outside.

“I don’t know, but I think we should give them the benefit of the doubt,” Win said, catching Gracia’s look. “Suspecting each other all the time isn’t going to do much good.”

Gracia nodded, recognizing the point. “Alright. Well then, I guess reading these didn’t do us all that much good- Win?”

Agent Winter was no longer listening. Instead, she was staring at the top of the page. She suddenly grabbed Gracia’s arm. “Gracia!” she said. “Look! At the list!”

Gracia looked, but had no idea to what Win was referring. “What?”

Win pointed. “The names, of the people who died.”

“Yes, what about them?” Gracia asked again, growing impatient.

“Em’s name isn’t on it.”

~~~

Ooh, confusing murderous notes! I love hearing everyone's theories, thanks for sticking with the story!