We are still reding, even though we’re dead! (yesss) (ithink) (sir’ss) (thhee) (mrdrr) :Speak foor yourself! I think itttt might beee AW! (sorry Agent Winter...):

I'm also still here! Life's been hectic, but I've been meaning to work on this, and seeing that you guys are still reading is wonderful! The next part will be up soon!

Part Twenty-Two

~

Soon after the mishap at the snack table, Goldie had some staff members remove the cake. The CBers were glad to see it go, for most of them had tried a bite of the offending dessert and found it as awful as Jubilee described.

Alice and Holly resumed their conversation, and the rest of the CBers returned to the dance floor. Winter led them all in dancing the macarena to various songs, then Evergreen and Gracia started to do-si-do.

Soon, they were all much more relaxed, and put the cake incident out of their minds. It was easier to not worry about murder when they were having fun.

After a while, Goldie produced a microphone from a pocket in her dress and spoke into it. “Attention, dear CBers! It is my pleasure to announce that dinner is served!” She gestured flamboyantly to the snack table, which had been cleared of desserts and was now set up with food. “There are hot dogs and hamburgers, along with black-bean and tofu burgers if any of you are vegetarians. Bon appetit!”

The CBers flocked to the buffet and stood in line to fill their plates. A few people took the vegetarian options, and the others chose a hot dog or burger. Once everyone had gotten their dinner, they went and sat at the small round tables around the dance floor. They split up, three to a table.

Strawberri took a large bite out of her hot dog. “Mmm!”

“These are really good,” Gracia agreed, swallowing a bite of her burger. She and Berri were seated at a table with Jubilee. At the table next to them sat Winter, Bluebell, and Alice, and a table over sat Holly, Dusk, and Ever.

“Do you have any ketchup?” Winter called over, and Gracia tossed her the bottle sitting on their table. “Thanks!”

“Oh, pass that over here when you’re done!” Dusk said.

Soon, the remainders of the dinner were cleared away, and the music started again. Evergreen perked up when she recognized the song.

“Guys, it’s ‘Dancing Queen’!” she exclaimed. Sure enough, the other CBers recognized the catchy tune. Ever herded them all out onto the dance floor, and shook her head amusedly when Holly and Alice tried to resist. “Come on, you two, it’ll be fun! Come dance with us!” She grabbed them by the hands and pulled them onto the dance floor.

At first, the two hung back a little, but they soon joined the CBers in jumping and spinning around to the music. Holly grinned as she twirled around Strawberri.

“You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life…”

She joined the others in singing along, but as they yelled out the lyrics, she looked up suddenly. Had she heard something…? Yes, there it was again!

“See that girl!”

Creak… 

“Watch that scene!”

Creak…

“Digging the dancing-”

Snap!

Holly looked up again just in time to see that the enormous chandelier was falling towards them, crystals clinking together loudly. In what seemed like slow motion, she screamed, “Look out!” before throwing herself off the dance floor. There was a deafening crash, followed by shards of crystal and glass flying everywhere. Holly slid behind a table, using it as a shield. Then everything was quiet. The music had ceased, and there was no other noise.

Holly stood up warily, looking to see if everyone else was alright. She counted one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… Her blood ran cold as she realized someone was missing.

“Is everyone alright?” Goldie asked, running towards the broken chandelier.

“We’re missing someone!” said Win, who had obviously come to the same conclusion as Holly.

The CBers began picking their way through the broken glass and debris, walking towards where Goldie was crouched. As Holly got closed, she heard Goldie take a sharp breath, then mutter, “Oh no…”

Fearing the worst, she followed Goldie’s gaze and held back a gasp when she saw a body, crushed and unmoving beneath the heavy chandelier.

It was Alice.

The other CBers began to reach them, the first of whom being Dusk. “Who is it?” she asked nervously. Holly opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Dusk’s face paled. “No…” She rushed forward, and Holly moved aside so she could see. “No!”

“I’m so sorry, Dusk,” Holly finally said. Dusk didn’t answer, staring heartbrokenly at her dead AE.

Later that night, after the CBers had all gone to sleep, Holly lay awake. She’d been tossing and turning for hours, unable to get Alice out of her head. She had just been talking to her earlier… If they hadn’t gone out on the dance floor… It just as easily could have been Holly…

She sat up and quietly got out of bed. The fuzzy carpet helped her sneak out of the room without waking anyone else up. The door closed softly behind her, and she set off in the direction of the kitchen. She thought maybe a glass of water or a mug of tea would help her get to sleep.

Just as she was nearing the stairs, Holly paused, listening carefully. There were muffled voices coming from behind a closed door in the hallway. She crept nearer to the door to try to listen. Even with her ear pressed up against the wood, she could only make out snippets of the conversation. She could tell there were two people, both speaking quietly.

“...wasn’t supposed…”

“...not my fault…”

“...if you hadn’t…”

“...been anyone…”

Holly’s heart leapt. One of the people could be the murderer! Her hand moved to the door handle, but she stopped herself. If it was the murderer, she would be very vulnerable if she revealed herself. She was alone, and it was dark, and there was nothing to stop the murderer from killing her then and there. As silently as she could, she walked away from the door and back to her room, glass of water forgotten. She couldn’t tell much from what she’d heard, but she did know one thing.

If it was the murderer in that room, one of the CBers knew their identity.

~~~

Thank you all for your patience (I feel like I say this a lot)! I'm glad to know people are still reading this, and I'll still be writing it!

Part Twenty-Three

~

Yawning, Strawberri sat up in bed. Judging by the sunlight filtering in through the window, it was morning, and she was the first CBer awake. She swung her legs off the bed and stood, stretching. Hoping not to wake anyone, she walked over to the door and eased it open. She wanted to see if anyone in the Tanzanite Room was up. Still a little groggy, she was surprised when she bumped into something as she walked through the hallway. 

She rubbed her eyes and called, “Um, guys? If anyone’s awake, I think you’d better come out here.”

A moment later, Dusk walked out of the Tanzanite Room, bleary eyed. “Strawberri? What is it?” Then she too caught sight of what Berri had run into. “Oh. I think we’d better wake the others.”

Soon, all the CBers were awake and (with much grumbling) herded out into the hallway. Any complaints were silenced when they saw what was in the hallway.

In front of the door to the Tourmaline Room stood a small wooden table, one that had certainly not been there the night before. On top of it sat an envelope and a small intricate silver mirror.

“You don’t think it’s from…” Bluebell started, looking worried.

“The murderer?” Dusk finished. “Who else could it be?”

Agent Winter took a step forward, looking a lot braver than she felt. “I’ll read the letter, shall I?” No one argued. No one wanted to know what the letter said, what the murderer had in store for them, but they had to. Win ripped open the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper, trying not to let her hands shake.

“What does it say?” Holly asked nervously.

Win took a breath and began to read. “Dearest CBers, good morning! I hope you slept well, especially after last night’s incident.” They all winced, looking sympathetically at Dusk. “To lift your spirits, I’ve got a little fun planned for this morning. A game of sorts. Now why would you play my game? Because you have an incentive. I have something of yours, or rather, someone. Go ahead and take a look at the mirror.” At this, Winter paused, and Strawberri picked up the silver mirror. She nearly dropped it when she let out a loud gasp.

“Look! Everyone look!” She held out the mirror, and all the CBers were able to see a lone figure in a dark room, gagged and bound to a chair. The figure looked up, and they were able to see the face of Emekittycon.

“She’s alive! Em’s alive!” Holly exclaimed. The others had similar reactions. Win and Gracia shared confused looks.

“Win, you didn’t tell them she wasn’t dead?” Gracia asked.

“Me?” Win said incredulously. “I thought you were going to tell them!”

“What are you two talking about?” Jubilee said. “You knew Em was alive?” Now they both looked guilty.

“Yes,” Winter admitted. “Remember that day Gracia and I examined the murderer’s notes? There was a list of all the people who were dead, and Em wasn’t on it.”

“We really, really meant to tell you,” Gracia jumped in, “but then the notes got stolen and everything got so crazy with the ball and I guess it just… slipped our minds.”

“It’s alright, we understand,” Ever said. “A lot’s been going on. We know now, that’s what matters.”

“What does the rest of the letter say?” Bluebell urged.

Winter looked back down at the letter and continued reading. “Yes, she’s alive, but only for now. Which brings us to today’s activity. I have hidden twelve coins around the palace and grounds. Six are copper, four are silver, and two are gold. Your goal is to find all of the coins and bring them back to this table. The copper coins will be the easiest to find. The silver coins will be harder, and the gold coins will be the most difficult to find. If you find all six copper coins, then none of you will die today. If you find all four silver coins, then I will give you back a page of my notes. And if you find both gold coins, I will return Em to you. Good luck.”

“That’s it?” Jubilee said.

“That’s it,” Win confirmed. “It isn’t signed.”

“So… what do we do?” Holly asked.

“We have to look for the coins,” Ever said. “What else can we do?”

“But that’s what the murderer wants us to do,” Jubilee argued. “How do we know Em’s actually alive? That could be an old video or something for all we know.”

“You heard what the letter said,” Gracia retorted. “If we don’t find those copper coins, one if us will die. Do you really think they’d lie about that?”

“And if Em is alive, we have to save her!” Strawberri added.

Dusk nodded. “I agree. Even if the murderer is lying, about any of it, I think it’s better safe than sorry.”

Winter nodded. “So we’ll find the coins. We can’t go alone, though, so how about teams of two? Then each team will be responsible for three coins.”

The CBers all agreed to this plan, and split into partners; Strawberri and Dusk, Bluebell and Gracia, Winter and Holly, and Evergreen and Jubilee.

“We’ll meet back here in two hours,” Gracia said, “hopefully with all the coins. Ready?”

Jubilee answered for all of them. “Let’s do this.” And with that, they went their separate ways.

Part Twenty-Four

~

Bluebell and Gracia, after a brief discussion, decided that their first course of action would be to head downstairs. They were accompanied by Agent Winter and Hollyshock. Evergreen and Jubilee were staying upstairs to search, while Dusk and Strawberri were headed outside. Bluebell led the way, turning down a smaller hallway and leading the way up a short flight of stairs.

“Where are we going?” Gracia asked, confused.

“The slide,” Bluebell responded. “I’ve got a feeling that’s the place to start.”

Indeed, inside the mouth of the large yellow slide sat a small copper coin. Bluebell scooped it up triumphantly, then slid feet-first down to the first floor. A moment later, the others joined her. Winter and Holly waved goodbye and went on their way, discussing what they should do first.

“Alright,” Gracia said, “one down, two to go.”

“Where do you think we should look next?” Bluebell asked, slipping the coin safely into her pocket.

Gracia thought for a moment, then her eyes brightened. “Why don’t we check some of the hiding spots from the scavenger hunt?”

“Good idea! Can you think of any off the top of your head?”

“Hmm… The cannon was one of them.”

Bluebell laughed. “Back upstairs we go, then!” They turned around and walked up the spiral staircase. When they reached the slide again, they turned right, and found the little room with the cannon dead-center. Bluebell checked all around the room, and Gracia looked under the cannon, in the wheels, and finally peered inside. She spotted a glint of silver. Cautiously, she reached her hand into the cannon, and her fingers closed around something small and cold. She held up the coin for Bluebell to see, and they both breathed sighs of relief. They had two.

Dusk and Strawberri had chosen to begin their search outside. They both remembered the way to the garden, which was the first place they looked. Under normal circumstances, the expansive garden made them feel peaceful and at ease. Today, it only filled them with panic.

“We have to search this whole garden?!” Strawberri cried.

“Not to mention the rest of the grounds,” Dusk added nervously.

“Not helping!”

“Let’s just be smart about it. I’ll start on that side, you start on this side.”

“Alright.” Strawberri nodded, taking a few deep breaths. The two split up and started searching every inch of the garden. Under bushes, behind vegetable boxes, even inside flowers (for which Strawberri was buzzed at by a disgruntled bee).

After what seemed like forever, Dusk’s gaze swept over a small stone bird bath, where she thought she saw something glimmering in the shallow water. Sure enough, there sat a partially submerged copper coin.

“Strawberri, look!” she yelled, startling several small birds nearby.

Berri saw what she was holding and jumped around in excitement. “You found one!”

Dusk nodded and pocketed it. “Where should we look next?”

Upstairs, Evergreen and Jubilee were searching through the wreckage of the Tourmaline Room. Ever was a little nervous to be in the room, and kept glancing up at the ceiling.

“You don’t think it’s going to collapse, do you?” she asked Jubilee.

“Why would it? It’s been fine so far.”

“Just because it hasn’t collapsed yet doesn’t mean it won’t.”

“It’s fine, stop worrying! We have to find these coins.” Jubilee crossed to the other side of the room and looked underneath the partially collapsed bed that had been the murderer’s hiding place. She nearly missed the small round shape sitting right in the middle of the space. “Aha!”

“You found one?” Ever asked, coming up behind her.

Jubilee nodded. “Copper. Let’s check the Amethyst Room next.”

The two left the Tourmaline Room (both happy to be doing so; the room had been full of sawdust and splintered wood) and walked the short way to the Amethyst Room. Evergreen, who lived in the room, led the way inside.

“Alright,” she said, glancing around the room. “You check in and under the beds, and I’ll check… everywhere else, I guess?”

Jubilee nodded and got to work, starting with the bed closest to the door. Evergreen went the opposite way, looking on, under, and inside the drawers of the small tables. Once those had been exhausted, she looked behind the curtains, on the windowsills, and finally under the lavender rug. It was here that she found what she was looking for; another copper coin.

“So we have two,” Jubilee said upon seeing it. “I wonder how many the others have.”

Agent Winter and Hollyshock had started their search in the ballroom. It was the scene of the most recent murder- something neither of them enjoyed contemplating- so they figured that it would be the best course of action. Their search yielded no results, however, much to their disappointment.

“Where to now?” Holly asked.

Winter kicked a stray crystal that had been missed during the cleanup, and watched it bounce across the dance floor. “I don’t know. Should we give the murder theme another try?”

“I don’t have any better ideas,” Holly said with a shrug. “So before Alice it was Dolphin. The freezer?”

“Or somewhere in the kitchen,” Winter agreed, and the two set off, leaving the empty ballroom behind.

It didn’t take them too long to get to the kitchen, and they both went straight to the freezer. Holly opened it, wincing as though expecting to see their friend’s body there all over again. But the only contents of the freezer were ice cream, a bag of frozen french fries, and a copper coin.

“We found one!” Holly exclaimed.

Win grabbed it. “Awesome! Where next?”

“I don’t know. How about the library?”

“Sounds good.”

Winter led the way out of the kitchen and nearly ran into Gracia, who was on the other side of the door.

“Oh! Hey, Win,” she greeted. “Hi, Holly. Did you check the kitchen?”

Holly nodded. “We were just in there. We found a coin!” Win held up the coin.

Bluebell, behind Gracia, beamed. “Great! We found two, a copper and a silver.”

“Where are you guys going next?” Gracia asked.

“The library, I think,” Win answered. “What about you?”

“No idea. Any thoughts?”

“Oh, you guys could check the infirmary!” Holly said suddenly. “We found this one in the freezer, so the murderer might be hiding them where people have… have died.”

Bluebell was nodding. “You’re right, good idea! I think we’ll head there next.”

“Good luck!” Holly told them.

“You too!”

The two teams went their separate ways. Bluebell led the way out of the banquet hall and headed to the infirmary, where Pancake had been taken on their first night at the palace. No one was there, not even the nurse.

“There are a lot of places to search in here,” Gracia said doubtfully.

“If it’s here, we’ll find it,” Bluebell said, wishing she were as confident as she sounded. “We’ll just split up. Start from opposite ends of the room.” And so they did, each taking a side and beginning to look anywhere that could possibly be hiding a coin. Cabinets, drawers, shelves, beds, everywhere.

It was only when they were close to meeting in the middle that Bluebell flipped back the covers on one of the beds and found herself staring down at another of the copper coins. She put a hand to her forehead. Of course it was here! This was the bed in which Pancake had been poisoned.

“Found it,” she said, waving Gracia over.

“I see,” Gracia said, realization also dawning on her face. “In the most obvious hiding spot. Well, I guess it’s always the last place you look.”

“We have all three of ours,” Bluebell pointed out, feeling hopeful. “Let’s head back to the rooms and wait for everyone else.”

~

Here it is! The next part is already written, so it should be posted on Friday. Enjoy!

AAAAAAAAAAA!!!

This story is so AMAZING!  It's developing so nicely!  I apologize for not posting anything, I've honestly been caught up in schoolwork, but I am still alive and reading!

I can't wait for the next part!! 

Part Twenty-Five

~

Strawberri and Dusk looked all over the grounds, but found no more of the hidden coins. They’d checked all of the gardens, the stables, and even ventured a little ways into the woods. They ended up down by the oak tree, where their friends were buried.

“Do you think there are even anymore out here?” Strawberri asked.

“I don’t know,” responded Dusk, glancing at the most recent grave. “Maybe we should go back inside to look.”

Strawberri nodded. She took a step in the direction of the palace, then stopped with a puzzled expression. “Hey, Dusk, do you feel something?”

“Like what?” Dusk asked, but it immediately became obvious what Strawberri meant. The ground began to shake, throwing them both off balance. It was accompanied by a rumbling noise, and something else that Strawberri couldn’t identify.

After a moment, everything gradually returned to normal, though the two CBers were still shaken.

“What was that?” Strawberri asked.

Dusk frowned and quickly shook her head. “I’m not sure. It was the same as the earthquake we had on our second day here, remember?”

“What could have caused it?”

“No idea. Maybe we should get back to see if the others are alright.”

Strawberri didn’t respond. Something shiny at the base of the oak tree had caught her eye. She crouched down to get a closer look. It appeared that the earthquake had jostled some of the headstones out of position, and sticking partially out from underneath Alice’s was a silver coin. Calling out to get Dusk’s attention, she worked it free.

“Is that a coin?” Dusk asked.

Strawberri wiped the dirt off and grinned. “Sure is! Now let’s head back up to the palace.”

After parting ways with Bluebell and Gracia, Agent Winter and Hollyshock made their way to the library. While they were both fairly familiar with the room, it was still a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time; they were soon due back outside the rooms.

Holly immediately went to begin searching the numerous bookshelves, and Winter started with the tables of artifacts. She checked inside several old clay pots, nearly dropping one. She quickly placed it back on the table.

“Find anything?” she called over to Holly.

“No, you?”

“Nothing.” Moving along, Win picked up a long sword with a leather-bound hilt, recognizing it as the one she’s been messing around with on the last visit to the library.

She frowned as she looked at it. A small portion of the blade was showing near the top, as though the sword wasn’t all the way in the sheath. She attempted to slide it further in, but it wouldn’t go. She tried to pull the sword out of the sheath and found that she could. As she did so, something rattled around inside the sheath. Winter tipped the sheath over her palm and caught the silver coin that tumbled out.

“Yes!” she cried, holding it up triumphantly.

“So we have two,” Holly noted, walking over to join her. “We’d better get back, it’s been nearly two hours.”

After finding the coin in the Amethyst Room, Evergreen and Jubilee searched the Tourmaline Room as well. To their disappointment, they came up empty-handed.

“Should we keep looking somewhere else?” Ever asked.

Jubilee looked at her watch and shook her head. “No, the two hours is almost up. Everyone else will be back here soon. We might as well just wait for them.” The two left the Tourmaline Room and went to stand by the small wooden table.

Evergreen picked up the silver mirror and gazed sadly at the image of Em, bound and gagged. She sighed. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

Jubilee opened her mouth to say “I doubt it”, then changed her mind. “Yeah, of course,” she said instead. “I’m sure the others found the gold coins.”

Evergreen nodded halfheartedly. She turned the mirror over in her hands, not really paying attention until she saw something small and round set into the back. She looked closer. It was a coin, silver, matching the rest of the mirror. “I think I found one!” she exclaimed. She dug her fingernails into the groove around the coin and pried it loose.

Jubilee walked over to look. “You sure did!” she said, looking impressed. “And listen, here come the others.”

Indeed, voices from down the hall indicated the arrival of the other CBers. They all gathered together and placed their coins on the wooden table, separated by metal.

Dusk quickly counted them up. “Alright, we have… six copper coins, so all of them, and four silver coins, so all of those too.” She looked up, worried. “No gold coins, though.”

“So we’re all safe and we get a page of notes,” Strawberri said, “but Em’s still not safe. We have to find those gold coins!”

Jubilee nodded. “We’ll find them. Let’s search again.”

“Meet back here in an hour?” Gracia suggested.

“Sounds like a plan. Stay with your partners,” Win reminded. “We’ll find the coins.”

The CBers searched every inch of the Golden Palace, but to no avail. After an hour, they returned to the hallway, disheartened.

Bluebell, as she neared the table, saw that there were more items on it than there had been when they left. She walked over to take a closer look.

In addition to the mirror and the letter, there was a folded piece of paper with writing on it, which Bluebell assumed were the murderer’s notes. More noticeably, on top of that, there was a scrap of thick paper with two words, written in bold letters.

Time’s Up.

Later in the evening, down in the palace dungeon, Emekittycon heard the door to her cell unlock and creak open. She knew who it was without looking up.

“What do you want?” she asked tiredly once the gag was removed.

“Not a very enthusiastic greeting,” the murderer said with a fake pout. “I’m here to tell you the results of our little game this morning.”

Em looked up, hope in her eyes for the first time in days. “What happened? Did- did they find the gold coins? Are you going to let me go?”

The murderer chuckled, though there was little humor in their eyes. “See, I can’t let you go. You know who I am.”

“But what if I-” Em tried, but the murderer cut her off.

“What if you promise not to tell? I couldn’t trust you not to.” The murderer moved forward, and Em saw a flash of silver. “For the record, Em, I’m sorry it had to end this way.”

Em took a quick, nervous breath. “So- so they didn’t find the gold coins?”

“Oh Em,” the murderer said, sliding the knife into her chest. “Did you really think there were any gold coins?"

~~~

Hollyshock, I'm so glad you like it!

Did. Not. See. That. Twist. There.

WHYYY!!!! I think the murder is probably either Duck or Strawberri

Part Twenty-Six

~

The CBers, exhausted after their search, ended up in the library. No one spoke. Strawberri was crying quietly, and Bluebell was consoling her. Winter was pacing angrily. Holly sat in an armchair, looking numb. Evergreen was cross-legged on the floor with her head in her hands. Dusk was sitting next to her, hugging her knees and blinking back tears. Gracia was leaning against the end of a bookshelf, staring at a spot on the floor. Jubilee was flipping half-heartedly through a book, looking upset.

After a while (none of them knew exactly how long), the doors of the library opened. Goldie entered the room, looking mildly concerned.

“There you are!” she said. “I haven’t seen you all morning. What… what’s wrong?” She looked at each of their faces, noting the distraught expressions.

“I’ll tell her,” Gracia said with a sigh. She went on to explain the events of the morning.

Goldie’s eyes widened. “That’s awful! Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s almost worse,” Holly said quietly, “knowing that we could have saved her. That we almost saved her.” Strawberri nodded tearfully.

For once, Goldie didn’t suggest anything to lift their spirits. She sat down with them and let the silence stretch on. They all figured Goldie would say something, but eventually it was Agent Winter who broke the silence.

“Did you all feel that earthquake earlier?” The CBers all nodded, this time glad for something to talk about. The silence had grown so heavy it felt like it was choking them. They hadn’t gotten a chance to discuss their experiences during the hunt, so no one had yet mentioned the earthquake.

“We felt it,” Dusk chimed in. “We were outside. It came out of nowhere!”

“It was just like the one we had on our second day here,” Bluebell added. She turned to the host. “Goldie, do you know what’s causing them?”

Goldie jumped to her feet and shook her head vigorously. She looked like she wanted to bolt out the door. “No! No, I have no idea. It happens a lot. I mean-” she backtracked, looking panicked. “it doesn’t happen often. Like, never. It’s never happened before this vacation. I don’t know what’s causing them.”

Bluebell looked startled. “Oh. Well… okay then.” She shared a look with Gracia, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. That was odd.

Jubilee frowned, then shrugged. To her, it didn’t sound much stranger than Goldie’s usual babblings. “Hey, does anyone want to go swimming or something?” she asked. “I think I’m going to lose my mind if I sit here any longer.”

“I’ll go,” Win said immediately.

“Me too,” Dusk agreed.

To their surprise, Strawberri spoke up too. “I’ll go with you.”

“Are you sure?” Bluebell checked. It was safe to say Strawberri had been the most upset over Em’s death.

She nodded. “I’m sure.”

Goldie, who had been standing by the door wringing her hands, gave a slightly forced smile. “That sounds like a great idea, Jubilee! I think I’ll go with you!”

Jubilee nodded. “Alright then. Anyone else?” The other CBers shook their heads. They didn’t quite feel like doing anything. “See you all later, then!”

After returning to their respective rooms to change into swimsuits, Goldie, Jubilee, Dusk, Winter, and Strawberri entered the woods. The four CBers didn’t quite remember the way to the swimming pond, but Goldie led the way confidently. They walked leisurely down the wide path, chatting about unimportant matters.

Dusk was just remarking to Agent Winter about the lovely weather when she stumbled. Win caught her. She looked around, then said, “Is it just me, or-”

Her words were interrupted by the loud rumbling of yet another earthquake, this one even worse than the last. The CBers and their host were all throw off balance. It could have been Dusk’s imagination, but this earthquake seemed to last longer than the others had.

“Again?!” Strawberri cried as the shaking lessened, then finally stopped.

“What is going on?” Jubilee asked. “This definitely isn’t normal.”

“I will look into the cause of these earthquakes,” Goldie promised. “I’m sure there’s nothing at all to worry about.”

As Goldie reassured the shaken CBers, Dusk noticed that the Palace Keeper looked immensely worried, though she was doing her best to hide it. She kept biting her lip and glancing back in the direction of the palace.

Something very strange was going on, and Goldie was hiding it. 

~~~

@Spirit (now Nightfall, I believe), thank you for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I appreciate your comment and your suggestions. Those are some great words for stabbing!

@Emekittycon, I'm glad I surprised you! I feel very evil. :) Good guesses! I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out...