Crystalasia's Power Couple

The Mystery of the Haunted Castle

 Everyone was ready to leave for The Haunted Castle. "Are you sure you want to go in?" Maxwell asked. "Are you already scared to enter?" I replied. "I thought you wanted to know what they have to say?" "Come on, Maxwell, we're not really going to find anything." Drake told him. "You won't have anything to worry about." "From what I heard this is a ghost hotspot." I said. "But I've done my research and made sure they weren't dangerous." "I never thought about what'll happen if we do meet one." Hana said. "Well, I sure hope you won't run away." A girl ghost replied, appearing in front of us, "We don't get many visitors around here." "Drake, what were you saying about not finding anything?" Maxwell asked him. "Come on, this isn't real. It's one of those hologram things." Drake answered. "It's a Halloween trick for tourists." "Don't be ridiculous!" The ghost exclaimed, "I've been living in this castle much longer than one day a year! Aw, are you having a baby!?" She drifted over to me. "How did you guess?" I asked her. "Let's just say I'm an expert on these things." The ghost answered, "I always wanted one of my own, but it never worked out. I fell out of a tree on an attempt to elope with the love of my life, I wasn't allowed to marry him because I was a Princess and he was a servant." "That's really sad." Maxwell said. "I take it you're her husband?" The ghost asked. "Yeah, I wouldn't even want to imagine being kept away from her like that." Maxwell answered, "It would have been worse finding out she could have died before we had gotten a chance to be together." "Well, your relationship is far more complicated than mine was." The ghost told him. "How do you figure?" Maxwell asked. "First of all, you chosen a waitress to marry your best friend, so you weren't expecting to be in love with her yourself. Not to mention that you were blindsided by financial troubles to even realize it. It was best friends turned into love, she knew you would be there for her no matter what, enjoyed spending time with you, and she had to let the truth out before it would be too late. Then you've been attacked, which led you to realize that she means everything to you, so that's where you decided to get married. Of course, a simple wedding wasn't in the cards for you two without getting attacked again and abducted. So, you had to spend half your wedding fighting for your lives. If that wasn't bad enough, you were both worried that your baby would have been threatened as well." The ghost answered. "Did you tell these people your entire life story?!" Drake exclaimed, referring to me. "Of course not!" I exclaimed. "All I did was research and set it up. I didn't have to write an entire essay or anything!" "Oh, I get it." Drake said to the ghost, "You read The Royal Romance, Maxwell's book." "Don't be ridiculous, I'm a ghost where am I going to get the money to buy books?" The ghost answered. "I can tell anyone's life story by looking at them." "I'm still not convinced." Drake told her. "That's too bad, but I really don't have to prove anything to you." She told him, "I'm not some kind of dancing monkey who's here to entertain you." "Well, I think you're the best ghost I've met." Maxwell reassured her. "She's the only ghost you've ever met." I reminded him. "But yeah, she's pretty cool. Especially if she can shut up Drake." "Oh, yes. Mr. Whiskey man." The ghost said, "It's not what I prefer, but if you could find a bottle in the castle you're welcome to it." "I'll see what you got, I'm an expert at finding these things." Drake said. "I'll go with you!" Kiara told him, "I'll keep you company and make sure you don't get lost." "Oh! Um, sure." Drake said, "Just make sure you aren't the one that gets lost." "Yeah, you both wouldn't want to fall in a trap door." I told them, as they left. "He's kinda cute in a rough exterior kind of way." The ghost smiled, "He reminds me of my fiancé." "Did he like Whiskey too?" I asked. "Oh, he loved it… I didn't really understand why though." She answered. "You still haven't told us your name." Hana said to her, "What are we supposed to call you? The ghost?" "Oh, right!" She exclaimed, "I'm Elise." "That's pretty." Hana told her. "If you like, I can give you all a tour." Elise told us. "I don't know about you guys, but I want to see what the armory is like here." Olivia told us, ready to take off. "You shouldn't go alone." King Arthur said, taking her arm. "You do realize I could take care of myself." Olivia smiled. "Be careful when you get to the dungeon! The ghosts down there are a lively bunch, you find that the armory is down there." Elise told them. "What do you mean they are a lively bunch?" Penelope asked. "They specifically enjoy throwing things around." Elise answered. "It's like a bar fight, but only with ghosts." "How often does that go on?" Bertrand asked, shocked. "Usually when they play a game of cards." Elise answered, "And yes, they were." "I thought you said they weren't dangerous, Christy!!" Penelope exclaimed. "I didn't take into account wild card games." I replied. "Beside that's only if you go into the dungeon." Elise said, "And it doesn't last very long, you might have to duck and dodge a few times, but you'll be able to get through unharmed. It looks like everyone is splitting up, are the rest of you going your separate ways?" "Well, I do want to take a look of the garden." Hana answered. "Yes, well... we'll join you." Bertrand said, "Savannah still can't make up her mind on what kind of flowers she wants for the wedding." "There are so many beautiful types!" Savannah exclaimed, "Maybe this place could have some inspiration though." "You wouldn't have any ghost Poodles around here, do you?" Penelope asked. "Oh, the Queen loved Poodles." Elise answered, "You'll find them in their room upstairs, it won't be hard to miss. There is a sign that has the names Giselle and François." "You're going by yourself?" I asked her. "I'll be alright, Christy." Penelope answered, "Ghost Poodles mustn't be too different from real poodles, right?" "Well, you'll find that they are quite spoiled, but yeah they're like real poodles." Elise told her. "I can show you where to find them, if you like." "Sure! Do you like Poodles too?" Penelope asked. "Not these ones." Elise smiled, "They're the types to stick their noses up if you give them the wrong food." "But I thought ghosts don't need food?" Penelope asked. "That was when they were alive." Elise answered, "You can only imagine what they're like now." "Looks like we are on our own." I said to Maxwell, "Where do you want to head to?" "Well, nobody wants to stick around for the full tour, so looks like we have to make our own." Maxwell answered, "You want to be the tour guide or should I?" "Here we are at the most beautiful and most haunted castle." I answered, "We'll begin this tour by exploring the outside… Here's the royal garden where Agent Brother Bear, Agent Compassion Panda, and Agent Lilly Swan are choosing the most beautiful flowers for a lovely February wedding." "What are you two up to?" Bertrand asked. "Don't interrupt the tour, Agent Brother Bear." Maxwell smiled, "Hmm, do you think the ghosts will be angry if we pick one?" "It says… in honor of the Princess Elise and her servant fiance… those who are in love chose one perfect flower for each other. The purple ones represent their undying loyalty and passion, the red ones represent their eternal love, the yellow ones represent the joy of spending time with each other, the pink ones represent beauty, the blue ones represent that even through death they can never be apart..." I answered. "I bet we can pick one that fits us best." Maxwell smiled. "There's only one rule, we have to close our eyes." I told him. "Ok, that makes it more tricky!" Maxwell exclaimed. "I think it's because we have trust our instincts and let fate decide." I said, as we closed our eyes and felt for a flower. I accidentally felt Maxwell's hand instead. "That is not a flower!" I could hear Bertrand saying. "My bad!" I exclaimed, finally plucking a flower, "On the count of three and I mean three… we give each other our flowers." "Do we still have to keep our eyes closed to do this?" Maxwell asked. "Yep." I answered. "No peeking!" "One…" Maxwell counted. "Two…" I counted. "Three…" We both said, switching flowers, and finally opened are eyes. "Aw, Blue… death can't keep us apart. Princess Elise vowed that she will finally be reunited with her fiance. She would wait for her love every night by that window she climbed out of and hoped for him to come back to her. She would fight every enemy who got in her way. The reason she had to escape through the window in the first place was to escape an arranged marriage that was about to happen the next day. This was problematic for her, but when she saw that the guards had caught the servant boy waiting for her she forgot she was on a tree and stepped off as fast as she could to catch up with him. The last words she managed to say were I won't let anything happen to you, we will be together once again." I read. "Purple…" Maxwell read next, "Undying Loyalty and Passion. For weeks after she died, the servant boy placed one single purple flower on her grave. The first time they met, she wore a purple dress. He remembered every detail of their life together and never thought of another girl since, and because she inspired him… he fought tirelessly to help drop the rule that only royalty can marry royalty, he wrote songs of her gracefulness, and devoted his heart to her for eternity." "It seems like you two chose the color of your Jewel of the Earth uniforms." Hana told us. "Yes! Coordinating colors!" Maxwell exclaimed. "Why don't you two try?" Hana asked, "Perhaps it'll be an easier way to pick a flower for your wedding." "No thank you." Bertrand answered, "I prefer to know what I'm getting." "It'll be fun!" Savannah exclaimed, "Besides, what do we have to lose?" "I don't want to find out." Bertrand answered. "Well, we're doing it anyways." Savannah told him. When they saw their flowers, they read what they meant. "Green! Undeserving, when the servant boy first found out about the Princess's death he felt that he wasn't worthy enough for her to die. At this time he felt guilty that if he would have never fell in love with her, she would have still been alive. Green was the Princess's least favorite color, so he used this color to represent how much he was disappointed in himself for causing her to suffer. After a couple months, he disappeared mysteriously." Bertrand read. "Heh, It suits you." Maxwell smiled, "Except Savannah was the one who disappeared mysteriously." "Orange: courage and independence." Savannah started reading, "Princess Elise didn't have anyone to talk to about her problems, the servant boy wasn't able to see her after she died, so he didn't know she was still with him. When she found out she was a ghost, it was a terrifying new experience. She tried everything she could to connect with the servant boy again. Her attempts were unsuccessful because the servant boy took all the signs of her presence as a sense of guilt. She accepted the fact that there was nothing she could do and kept her distance. She dealt with her new form on her own and came to except it." "I see you are admiring the flowers." Some guy came up to us and said. "Ahhh!!!" Hana yelled, "You wouldn't happen to be a ghost, would you?" He smiled and answered, "No need to fear, I'm as human as the rest of you. Someone has to take care of the flowers here and the ghosts aren't about to do it. I'm Charlie." "Oh, I'm Hana. These are my friends Christy, Maxwell, Bertrand, and Savannah." Hana told him. "You are extremely pretty, Hana." Charlie told her. "Oh!" Hana exclaimed in shock. "Why, thank you! So you're the one who takes care of all of these flowers, they're amazing." "Well, it is important to keep them in shape for the couples that come and visit." Charlie replied. "Well, they are just as lovely to the non-couple people." Hana said. "I'll tell you what, we can pick the flowers together, so you don't feel left out." Charlie told her, "For fun." "Ok!" Hana exclaimed as they each picked a flower. "The pink one: Beauty; Princess Elise was lovely in everything she does. The servant boy met her when she played an elegant piece on the piano. He was sent to tell her that she was about to meet the man of her arranged marriage, but when he saw her in a purple dress and playing the piano he was speechless…" "Yellow, the joy of spending time together." Charlie said. "Well, are you going to read what yours means?" Hana asked. "I don't need to read it, I'm an expert on Princess Elise and her servant fiancé." Charlie replied. "I know each story inside and out. I'm the one who wrote them." "You wrote them!" Hana exclaimed, "They're all so beautiful and it sounds like you could've been there yourself. How did you get interested in their story?" "Oh, I was always drawn to Princess Elise and the servant boy.  The only thing I haven't discovered was what happened to him. I've been trying to solve that mystery for half my life." He answered. "Yes! We've got a mystery to solve! Come on, Agent Breakdance." I was so excited, "Maybe we can find clues on our tour." "I'm as ready as you are, Ruby Rose." Maxwell smiled. "Good luck, I haven't discovered anything for as long as I have been here." Charlie told us. We continued to explore outside. "This looks like Elise's grave." I mentioned, now standing in front of a life sized statue of her, and started reading the nameplate. "Elise Sandra Bellarisse born 1956-1978. A girl who doesn't settle for tradition, a disgrace to the royal family, and had no business trying to run off with the servants." "Whoa, that is harsh." Maxwell said, "If I was a part of that family, they sound like they would kill me for being a screw up. Then I'd have to join the other collection of ghosts down in the dungeon!" "Bertrand sounds pretty good right about now, huh." I smiled. "I know we had our differences, but at least I know he wouldn't literally kill me." Maxwell answered. "Something does tell me her death wasn't an accident." I agreed, "That sounds more like a threat if I ever heard one." "Of course! When she was distracted, someone must have pushed her. Then they twisted the story around to make it seem like an accident." Maxwell gathered together information. "I'm taking a picture for evidence." I told him. "And I already took a picture of the flowers and the stories while that guy was talking to Hana." Maxwell added, "He might be a suspect, he says he's not a ghost, but how do we know for sure." "Right, he could have possessed the real gardner." I agreed. "Did you get a picture of the guy? If we find orbs surrounding him, we might be in business." "Well, I had to be inconspicuous about it, but I'm sure picking flowers was the perfect distraction for him. Unless he was peeking!" Maxwell answered. "Wait! If he is a ghost would he know I've taken a picture of him? Do you think he'll come after me?!" "I think we're good, we are on a tour after all." I answered. "I mean, I took a picture of the castle… nothing suspicious there. Just two people making memories. Just in case though, we better be careful about what we say." "I know, but he's around Hana." Maxwell said. "Should we be worried?" "If he finds out we might be onto him then we are the ones we would have to worry about." I answered. "But I hope he's not the one we're looking for, Hana would be devastated." "Yeah, she thinks he is the most charming guy in the world… I'd hate to take that away from her." Maxwell said. "Ugh, he already knows we're snooping around. We already mentioned solving this mystery." I remembered. "And he mentioned he wanted to know what happened to the servant boy." Maxwell told me. "He might be snooping along with us to see if we finally discover that little mystery." "He could be Elise's original fiancé seeking revenge on the servant." I added. "That depends if he is alive or dead." Maxwell said. "It's a 50/50 chance he escaped or they finished him off." "How much do you want to bet that they finished him off?" I asked him. "I mean the stories said he was fighting for royalty to have the decision to marry commoners, they probably wanted to stop him before things got out of hand."  "Do you think that rule applies to nobles?" Maxwell asked. "I doubt they would have loved the idea of your handsome Lordship marrying a common waitress." I answered. "I mean I had enough doubts from people when I was in the running for Queen, who would have believed in me enough to become a Duchess?" "You know I always will." Maxwell smiled. "Yeah, but you're the one who would stop me from climbing out of windows." I smiled as well. "I'd have to find another way to sneak out." "And I have my faith in you to succeed." Maxwell told me. "All I have to do is call in sick and run for it." "Really? Call in sick?" I asked. "You make it sound like a commoner's job." "Well, I'd have to get past Bertrand somehow." Maxwell told me. "I mean have you ever seen Bertrand run?" "No." I answered. "Exactly, by the time he realizes I'm missing we'll be long gone on our voyage of discovery." Maxwell said. "At least we wouldn't have to deal with royal guards." "You know Charlie wrote that the servant boy used to put a purple flower on her grave and this grave has one now. Do you think he put it there to Commemorate history or to cover something up?" I asked. "Like to convince Elise that the guy she loves still shows up and thinks about her?" Maxwell asked. "Well, let's see what we could find in the castle. Maybe we'll find secret entrances."  "Maybe one of them leads to that wishing well." I agreed. "We will now visit the main hall." As we went back toward the castle entrance, we found that Hana, Charlie, Savannah, and Bertrand were no longer by the garden of flowers. "Looks like they all went inside as well." Maxwell observed. "Do you think Savannah and Bertrand decided to pick the orange and green flowers for their wedding?" "I should hope so! It took them forever to pick what kind of flowers they want." I answered. "Well, not everyone has the perfect planning skills that we do." Maxwell smiled. "Speaking of planning, are you really going to throw a peacock themed Bachelor party?" I asked. "Wouldn't that be awesome!" Maxwell exclaimed. "Unfortunately, Bertrand made it clear that if I even think about it, he'll replace me with Drake as his best man. The fact that he didn't choose him first was because he and Drake had a rocky relationship because of the whole Savannah situation. He would rather take the intense stares than deal with any more peacocks." "Aw, that would have been fun." I said, disappointed. "But we shouldn't push him any further. We had our fun with him for as long as it lasted." "We'll  always treasure those moments the best." Maxwell smiled, when we finally got inside. "Wow, this castle looks really medieval!" I exclaimed. "It's like I stepped into the knights of the round table." "I hope the suits of armors don't come alive!" Maxwell exclaimed. "Shall we continue on, M' lady?" "After you, good sir knight." I smiled and gave him a curtsy. He took my arm and we continued to look around. We stopped to take pictures all along the way. "Find anything suspicious yet?" Maxwell asked. "There's nothing in the main hall, shall we try the study?" I replied. "The study is the perfect place for secret passages." Maxwell answered, as we headed toward the next room. "There's so much to explore, this could take weeks!" I exclaimed. "Do you know how big this castle is?" "Cordonia and Crystalasia combined." Maxwell answered. "Well, there's no one better to crack this case than Ruby Rose and Agent Breakdance. Let's check the book cases." "Just one moment, I'd like to take a look in this desk before we start heading into any secret passages." I answered. "I don't want to miss anything." "Of course, I'll check under the rug for any underground trap doors." Maxwell said, lifting the rug. "Perfect!" "Heh, it's exactly like mystery movies." I took a look at the trap door, before helping myself to the desk. Maxwell joined me at the desk to help look through the drawers. "Maxwell! Look! This must've been the note the servant boy gave the princess to tell her when to meet him!" "What does it say?" Maxwell asked. "Dear Elise, I have made the arrangements for our escape. Meet me at our favorite tree at 9:30 PM. I warn you to be extra careful; if anyone finds out about this, we may both be in danger. In our choice to be together we have made many enemies... but no matter what happens; I will never stop loving you. I know it's not exactly a royal castle, but I found a nice secluded cabin in the woods. It's perfect for you and me and Isabelle. Love, Alex." "Isabelle?!" Maxwell exclaimed. "Is that his sister?" "I doubt it... Not unless his sister wears a pink hand knitted mini sweater." I answered, raising up a tiny sweater with the name Isabelle stitched across it. "Oooh." Maxwell said, understanding the point. "Wait! Was she pregnant when she died... Or did she already have the baby and the family sent it away and they were going to get her back?" "Elise said she always wanted a baby, but it didn't work out." I remembered. "So, it could go either way. If she was pregnant when she died... how did she know it was going to be a girl?" "Heh, sounds familiar." Maxwell answered. "You're the one who insists ours is going to be a girl and we don't even know for sure yet." "Oh, right." I remembered. "The Queen must have flipped out when she saw this!" "Another suspect!" Maxwell exclaimed. "She could have hired someone to kill her off." "Well, I'm taking this with me for evidence." I said, putting the note and sweater in my bag. "According to these financial records, some money was reported stolen as well." Maxwell said. "She probably took enough to support her new family." "Well, it wasn't like they would just hand it over to her." I said. "She had to do whatever it took to survive." "Evidence?" Maxwell asked. "Definitely." I answered, adding it to my bag. After looking around the study some more, we decided to check out the trap door. "Careful." Maxwell said, helping me down. "Whoa, it's like a cave in here!" "How much you want to bet that it leads to the dungeon?" I asked him. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were right." Maxwell answered. "How convenient for them." We heard noises coming from the other end and Maxwell held onto me. "Are you scared of what we'll find?" I asked him. "And you're not?!" Maxwell answered. "Elise did say a lot of the ghosts do their hanging out in the dungeon! And they throw things!" "If anything comes flying towards us, I'll make sure to grab a shield." I smiled, as we finally made it to the dungeon. "Olivia!!" Maxwell and I exclaimed. "You're still down here?" "Yes, I was seeing what these guys got when it comes to sword fighting skills." Olivia answered. "For ghosts they're not half bad." "You were with Arthur, where is he?" I asked. "He's chatting up some ghosts in the armory." Olivia answered. "Talking about ways he can improve his reign as King of Cordonia." "You mean he would rather take on business than join in on the sword fight?" Maxwell asked. "He says he wouldn't want to make the same mistakes this King and Queen made." Olivia answered. "I don't understand why he is so worried, these people were tyrants and he is nothing like them. Unfortunately,  I couldn't convince him." "Maybe you should go and talk to him." Maxwell told me. "If anyone can cheer him up, you can." "I'll see what I could do, but if you're thinking about joining the sword fight; you better save a sword for me." I smiled. "And win the first round for me." "You got it." Maxwell said, grabbing two weapons out of the armory as I came up to Arthur. "So, tell me why you are talking business when you could be having fun on your vacation?" I asked him. "I know, but I can't even begin to enjoy myself right now." Arthur answered. "I know what Elise had to go through was tough. Then I think about the social season and how hard you tried to please everyone... How I found out that you and Olivia were blackmailed... How you and Tariq were framed... and the competition being rigged in the favor of Madeleine." "I had already forgiven  everyone that took part in it." I told him. "It wouldn't have changed the way I felt about Maxwell." "Well, if my parents hadn't gotten involved... you would've been chosen as Queen during the Coronation. You wouldn't have had to search for the people who ruined your reputation. You wouldn't have had any time to change your mind." Arthur said. "Is that what you would've prefered?" I asked. "In an ideal Fairytale that's how it would end, but that wouldn't have been fair to you and Maxwell." Arthur answered. "Part of my parents' intervention was a good thing, but it was still a bad way to go about it. I'm trying to find a way to prevent something like this from happening again. Cordonia needs to give the ladies more time to figure out where their hearts lie when there's a new social season." "You mean like extending a speed dating session?" I asked, smiling. " Just set the clock back 5 minutes." "Heh, I feel better already." Arthur smiled. "I could use some help in here!" Maxwell called. "Don't tell me that he is sword fighting Olivia!" Arthur exclaimed. "I hope not, he's in way over his head!" I exclaimed. "Assuming he still has a head." Arthur added. "I better save him!" I exclaimed, running out and grabbed a long, thin sword. "Is this the best you can give me?" "I couldn't have given you a heavy one." Maxwell answered. "Fair enough." I said, pointing out the sword to get ready for a fight. "Back away from my husband!" Arthur came out of the armory and watched the display in amusement. "Please... I can take on you both." Olivia smiled, using one hand to fight off our swords. "Not if I can help it." I told her, moving my sword faster until I knocked hers out her hand. "Victory is mine!" The audience of ghosts and Arthur applauded. "Great handwork." A ghost came up to me, bringing on his charm. "You're pretty cute when you fight with swords." "Back off!" Maxwell told him, pointing his sword at him. "You really think you can scare me off with that thing. I'm already dead." The ghost laughed. "I suppose your death was due to flirting with royalty?" I asked him. "Yet that doesn't stop me." The ghost answered. "Well, as much as I would like to go for round 2, we have our own business to attend to." I said, putting away our swords. "We'll go with you." Arthur told us. "Yeah, I suppose I'm through fighting off these boneless, meatless phantoms." Olivia agreed. "Anyone up for another game of cards?" One of the ghosts asked.  "Oh, No!" Maxwell exclaimed. "Wait, one of the weapons in this armory is missing." I observed. "Are you sure?" Maxwell asked. "Maybe one of the ghosts still have it." "I was pretty sure I collected all of them." I answered. "Olivia?" "Don't look at me, I didn't steal the sword if that's what you're asking me." Olivia told me, taking a look at a picture of the weapon below its assigned location. "I haven't seen a weapon like that when I first arrived in the armory. "Another clue." I said taking the photo and put it into my bag. "A clue for what?" Arthur asked. "We're trying to discover what happened to Alex." I answered. "Who is Alex?" Olivia asked. "The servant boy." Maxwell answered. "We discovered his name in a note." "What note?" Arthur asked, curiously. "We'll bring you up to speed later." I answered. "Right now we have to get out of here before the ghosts begin their game of cards and start throwing things." Maxwell said. "I don't want to wait for that to happen." Arthur told us, as we all rushed out of the dungeon and went back up to the trap door. Next, Maxwell and I checked the book cases. "What difference does it make what happened to this guy?" Olivia asked. "It makes every bit of difference!" I replied. "Elise and Alex are meant to be together. That's why she is wandering the castle alone." "The last I checked there were plenty of ghosts to keep her company." Olivia told me. "It's not really the same thing." I replied. "Remember when I was a newcomer to Cordonia and you felt threatened by the attention Arthur gave me?" "Well, I wouldn't say I felt threatened." Olivia answered. "Well, imagine if I had swooped in and stolen Arthur from you, how would you have felt?" I asked her. "I suppose I would have been disappointed." Olivia answered. "Ok, now imagine what it would have been like if Anton succeeded in killing him." I told her. "Ok, I understand your point." Olivia responded. "Maxwell! Look, it's a diary!" I exclaimed. "Shouldn't that be in Elise's room?" Maxwell asked. "Unless the Queen found it and kept it in here." I answered. "We can't read that, it's personal!" Maxwell exclaimed. "So was the note Alex wrote, yet we already read that." I reminded him. "Apparently the Queen must've read it too." "Well, we do have to continue with our research." Maxwell gave in as we took a seat at the desk. "Where do we start?" I scanned through the pages to find anything important. "July 8th, 1977… I couldn't resist Alex any longer, I snuck out to meet him in the woods. He set up a tent for us to camp out in. He made a campfire for us to stay warm and we cooked some hot dogs. It may not be fancy, but when we spend time together outside of the castle I feel like we can be ourselves. I wish everyday can be like this... with just the two of us and without the worries of royal duties. I kissed him for the first time in my life and suddenly I needed him to hold me tight and never let go. Maybe we took things too far, but I just became enticed by his gentle charm. I haven't felt anything like this in my entire life and I could spend an entire night wrapped in his arms." "That took a steamy turn." Maxwell told me. "And I'm just glossing over the real steamy details." I replied. "That must've been the night she got pregnant." "What?!" Arthur and Olivia asked. "How do you know this?" Arthur asked. "We found a baby sweater with the name Isabelle stitched across it." I answered. "Does Elise remember this?" Olivia asked. "We don't know for sure." I answered. "We weren't even sure if she gave birth before she died or she was still pregnant at the time. The answer might be in this diary. From now on I've got to check out the pages carefully in order to find the answer." "I'm kind of afraid to find out the answer." Maxwell said. "I feel like either way it's not going to end well." "Yeah, either way Elise ends up dead." Olivia agreed. "But you already know that part of it." "I know, but if the Queen sent the baby away then Elise lost her forever. Not knowing where she is, not knowing if she's ok, or in a good home…" Maxwell mentioned, sadly. "But if she still had her on the inside, then they would have died together. Which would have killed Alex on the inside twice as much. He would never meet his future baby." "Aw, Maxwell, I love how you always care." I told him. "If it bothers you that much, we don't have to read this any further." "If we don't read further, we're going to stay up all night wondering what the answer is." Maxwell replied. "I'll be ok, continue on…" "September 8th, 1977... I felt sick throughout the entire day. The Queen expressed her disappointment in me when she learned that it was because I was pregnant. She locked me in the bathroom, so I wouldn't disgrace her in front of her royal guests. I spent the entire night daydreaming about life outside of the castle. When I woke up after dozing off, Alex managed to know where I was and came to rescue me. That's when I had to tell him the truth, although it wouldn't have mattered anyways considering we have a shared intuition. He knew before I could even get a word in. He lifted me off the ground by the time I reached the end of the ladder. He stopped himself from twirling me because of the fact that I hadn't been feeling well. I had to tell him that the Queen is so angry that she put up a bounty on his head. He knew it already, but that doesn't stop him from seeing me. He told me he would climb the highest mountains, swim the deepest oceans,  and wander through the hottest deserts just to see me. I told him that all of it is nothing  compared to facing the wrath of the Queen. Despite everything the Queen says, I can't wait to have this baby. I know for a fact that it's a little girl and I'm just looking forward to the day when Alex takes me away from this castle so we can be a family. Our minds settled on the name Isabelle, it used to be the name of a doll my dad gave me as a birthday present, but my sister… the royal and perfect Francine destroyed it." "Sister rivalry, very interesting…" Maxwell mentioned. "Let me guess, another suspect?" I asked him. "You guessed correctly, Ruby Rose." Maxwell answered. "Hmm, Francine wanted to be the next Queen, The Queen wanted Francine to be the next Queen after she learned about Elise's disgrace… I can see that happening." I hypothesized. "Continue on, Ruby Rose." Maxwell told me. "I've thought The Nevrakis were known for cruel and unusual punishment, but these people are the very definition of evil stepmothers and stepsisters." Olivia mentioned. "Ok, here's the answer to our question…" I said. "February 16th, 1978… I wanted to give birth away from the castle, so no one would realize it was time for the baby to be born. The only thing the Queen could talk about is sending my baby off to a church doorstep in a basket like what you see in movies when the family isn't able to care for it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to the door… there were a crowd of guards surrounding the castle and I was in no condition to climb a ladder, so I was trapped. If that weren't bad enough, The Queen led me to give birth in the dungeon, so I wouldn't run after my baby when they took it from me. I wish I could've run, but after 8 hours of pushing the baby out of me, all I could do was sleep. Before I knew it, Little Isabelle was gone, and I was stuck chained on a stretching table." "Ok, that was much more horrible than I imagined." Maxwell said, frowning. "But I don't get it… Elise said that our life was much more complicated than hers… and from the sound of her life so far... our problems mean nothing." "Well, she did fall out of a tree perhaps that fall blocked her memory of those painful times." I said. "Who wouldn't want to forget how awful her life was before she died." "Well, she did seem unaffected by any tragedies." Olivia said. "For a ghost who lived a life like that, I would've expected her to wallow in self-pity." "Which brings us to the day she died…" I turned to the final page. "February 18th, 1978… Two days after my baby was born, I received a word that Alex was keeping a watch out for me and brought my baby back safe and sound. He discretely followed them to the door step in which they left her and took her to the cabin in which I'm supposed to meet with him at our favorite tree. This is the moment I've waited for my entire life and now I can truly be happy. I never had the chance to hold Isabelle in my arms, so I can't wait to hug her against me. When I see her, I want to give her the sweater I've made with her name on it. That's when she'll know that I will always love her." I put the diary in my bag. "Aw, she never got to hold Isabelle, she never got to give her the sweater, and she never got to see her grow up." Maxwell said. "I feel like I want to give Elise a hug…" "That's enough detective work for one night, Ruby Rose and Agent Breakdance." Arthur said. "We should all head for bed." "Good night, Agent Cordonian Ruby Justice and Agent Sword Flame." I said to them. We all picked a room and got ready for bed. "Christy, are you asleep?" Maxwell asked me. "I just got into bed 2 seconds ago." I answered. "I can't fall asleep that fast." "Heh, there are times when you're knocked out like a light and it takes a megaphone to wake you up." Maxwell told me. I turned over to face him and stated, "Let me guess, you're still thinking about Elise and Isabelle?"  "You know me so well." Maxwell answered. "I'm just happy that you survived Anton's attacks." "I'm happy you survived Anton's attacks as well." I told him. "I wouldn't know what I'd do without you; I mean when it happened I was so scared to even find out… If Drake wouldn't have shielded you... you would have been the one who took the bullet." Maxwell told me. "I would've hoped I could have dodged out of the way before that would happen... but who knows... it all happened too fast." I replied.  "Then we were locked in the dungeon and you were trying to convince Anton to let me go…" Maxwell added. "You get points for being brave in a time of crisis, but I don't want you to think that I would ever go and leave you there." "Now look who gets points for being brave." I teased. "Heh, for a royal jester you fought like a pro." "Together we really can make it through anything." Maxwell smiled. "I just wish Elise could've had some of that luck we had." "Life is unpredictable for individuals… but don't worry; we'll figure all of this out together." I reassured him. "We will fulfill Elise's wish once and for all because we are Agent Breakdance and Ruby Rose of Crystalasia!" "You're amazing! I love you, Christy." Maxwell told me. "I love you too, Maxwell." I said, squeezing his hand and gave him a kiss. "There is nothing that can keep me away from you. You're stuck with me as your official good cop." "Perfect, I wouldn't have it any other way." Maxwell said, giving me another kiss. "Well, as long as we're still up why don't we take advantage of our alone time before we have babies crying in the middle of the night." "But we're in a haunted house... aren't you worried a ghost will pop in on us?" I asked. "They better have enough sense to don't disturb us because I want you now more than ever." Maxwell answered. "Good, because detective work really drives me crazy for you." I smiled. "Come here, Captain Hot Stuff." "Gladly, little Blossom." Maxwell smiled, pulling up the covers over our heads. "There... away from any potential prying eyes."