THE ROYAL CROWN WARS

Chapter Six

Solving mysteries requires one thing: cookies. More specifically, Dean's cookies.

Well, we specifically needed to see Dean. Maybe we'd be able to talk him into giving us more information on the stolen crown jewels. He'd give in to us.

I blew out a relieved breath. Thank goodness we weren't taking the secret passageway. My stomach knotted just thinking about going back down there. We didn't need to meet the monster on top of all of this. The secret passageway wasn't even an option with the amount of guards lurking around. Though the second we came into their view, not one guard said a single thing.

Lizzie and I wandered down the hallway exchanging looks between us. Normally the guards weren't the chattiest people in the world, but they'd at least say hi.

The walk to the kitchen was much shorter than the secret passageway. I shoved open the door to find the few kitchen staff cleaning up from breakfast, but everyone seemed fine. The smell of oatmeal lingered in the air.

Dean leaned against the counter with a wide-tooth grin talking to Alexandria. Alexandria? She leaned against the counter and twirled her hair around her finger. She giggled when Dean spoke as if he said something funny. Since when was he funny?

"Alexandria?" Lizzie asked.

Alexandria squeaked and jumped up. Quickly she smoothed out the piece of hair that she had been playing with. Dean cleared his throat and pushed off the countertop, the smile fading into a frown.

"What are the two of you doing down here?" Alexandria asked.

"We wanted cookies," Lizzie answered. "I thought you had errands to run for my father."

"It's ten AM," Dean said.

"So?" Lizzie asked, still keeping her attention on Alexandria. "Why are you down here talking to Dean?"

"And, why were you laughing?" I asked.

Dean huffed. "You know, this isn't the way to get cookies."

Alexandria crossed her arms across her chest. "I came to ask him a question about the dinner later on this week. You know, the annual dinner for your late grandmother, Jamie."

Every year since my grandmother passed away, my dad held a giant dinner in her honor. It was typically filled with all of her favorite foods and tons of desserts. She loved candy more than anything else in the world. People from all over the world came to the dinner, and they raised money for charity too.

"Right," I muttered. "Can we have two cookies please?"

Dean's brow raised. "At ten in the morning, I'm supposed to give the two of you cookies? You, young lady, didn't even finish your oatmeal."

I shifted my weight from one foot to another. "I wasn't in the mood for oatmeal, but we want a snack please," I said. "You don't want to let two kids starve, do you?"

Dean glanced over at Alexandria, who shrugged. He shook his head and grabbed two plates from a high cabinet. Then, he walked over to a plastic container and set two giant cookies down on the plates. "Fine, but if your dads hear anything about this..."

"Oh, they won't," I said. With everything going on right now, I'd doubt that he'd care if Lizzie and I had cookies in the morning. "Trust me, they won't."

Lizzie and I jumped up onto the chairs. I broke off a piece of the cookie and popped it into my mouth. They weren't as good as yesterday, since they were room temperature and slightly crunchy. But, they were still easily one of the best cookies that I had ever had.