Um...oh dear. Most unfortunate.  I am rather inclined to... um... suspect myself, seeing as I kept a rather... um... low profile during our... um... arrival.

Monocle Man, are you by any chance... um... Howdee?

Black Master, could you... um... be Morning or Kitten?

Chapter 2

The guests looked around, horrified.

"Kitty Cat...it was Kitty Cat...they're dead," Lady Flower squeaked after another moment of shocked silence. This started the guests screaming and running around in fear.

Madam Masquerade emerged into the hall. "What is the--oh."

She stared at Kitty Cat for just a heartbeat, then said, "we'll take care of this immediately! No need to worry! Everyone, come down for dinner!" But her voice was a little more high-pitched and wobbly. 

The guests, still muttering, walked downstairs to the dining room. It was grand, with gemstones and a large table carved in designs that sat in the middle.

The guests sat down nervously. Suddenly, Florence Flour-Que burst into tears.

"Florence!" Queen Sunrise said gently. Florence continued to cry. Some of the guests looked down sadly, or they sniffed.

Madam Masquerade waltzed into the room, but she carried an uncertain air. "Ahem. Well, for those of you that can eat, um, go ahead. And a warning: keep your door locked. Do not open it for anyone. Kitty has been, uh, taken care of." Her voice wobbled noticeably as she spoke.

The guests that didn't have full faced masks poked at the food that had somehow appeared on the plates when their attention was distracted.

"So," Mistress Bloodmoon said awkwardly. "Um."

That was the extent of the discussion over dinner. Not much was eaten, and most chose to eat in their rooms. The guests parted with little bows, and then departed to their rooms. The lock clicked closed on every door. 

No one slept very well that night. Luckily, when Gio came in the morning, there were no more dead guests. Just sleep-deprived ones.

Everyone walked downstairs in a grim manner. A few of the guests had donned black outfits. The Black Master, of course, was already wearing black, and so no one was sure whether or not he was mourning.

The guests were starting to find the meals very annoying. They just sat in uncomfortable silence, and then went to eat in their rooms, with the doors locked. Occasionally, there were some muffled sobs.

"Ahem!" Madam Masquerade said, using her quality to seemingly appear out of nowhere. "Today will be the grand ball. We will be inviting guests from far off to join us in dancing, but of course you are the VIP guests. Please do not mention, um, Kitty Cat. Thank you."

An uncomfortable silence settled for a moment as everyone thought of finding Madam Snow on the floor, unmasked. Florence let out a little sob. Queen Sunrise put their head in their hands.

Madam Masquerade disapleared unnoticed, and the guests filed upstairs to actually eat. The locks closed firmly. 

Queen Sunrise took off their mask. Finally! It was such a relief. Then there was a knock on the door. They reached for the doorknob then stopped, remembering Madam Masquerade's warning. Feeling uneasy, they checked the lock and replaced their mask.

There were no more knocks.

A few hours later...

The guests were sitting in the grand living room. It was tea time, but not everyone could drink the tea. It was basically sit around awkwardly time. Again.

Queen Sunrise suddenly stood up. "I'm leaving. This place is just creepy. And there's a murderer on the loose. Something tells me we need to get out lf here right now."

The other guests looked around, and eventually murmured agreement. They hurried over to the big double doors...and found them firmly locked. The lock was a combination lock, and unpickable. There were thirteen different numbers.

"W-why is it locked?" Silver Birch squeaked.

The guests looked at each other. "Something is very, very wrong..." Queen Sunrise said faintly.

Everyone went into a bit of a frenzy, trying to find a way out of Mulberry Mansion. But not only was every exit firmly shut and locked, Gio and Madam Masquerade seemed to have disappeared.

"We're stuck in a mansion with a murderer!" Florence Flour-Que screamed.

Just as the words left her mouth, there was another scream. Everyone ran around from wherever they were, trying to find the cause of the scream. Eventually, everyone was crowded around the bathtub in the upstairs bathroom. 

In it was Queen Sunrise. And they were dead, with a bloody knife to their heart.

A few guests fainted.

Suddenly, Mistress of the Wind yelled, "Quiet!" And everyone froze. "The wind-ghosts are telling me something," she whispered. Then the Mistress slowly turned. "L-look..."

The guests followed her gaze to the hallway outside of the bathroom. There was a wispy figure standing there.

"Madam S-snow?" Squeaked Showstopper, without his usual charm.

It was, in fact, Madam Snow. Except, their gown was pale and tattered, and their face belonged to Kitty Cat.

Everyone screamed. "I thought you were dead!" Gasped Mistress Bloodmoon. "A-are you a ghost?"

Kitty nodded, then pointed to the dead body of Queen Sunrise.

"Huh?" Asked Windy. 

Kitty pointed to their hand, then pointed back at Queen Sunrise.

Lady Cerulean bent over Sunrise, and gently touched their hand. There was a note in it. With shaking hands, the Lady pulled it out. "It says...it says, to escape, you must play my game. Go to the place where snow fell."

Lady Cerulean dropped the note and stood their, shaking.

"Well, um, I guess let's see who it was?" Lady Eclipse suggested without her usual grace. She was met with only vague nods. Gently, she lifted the mask...

- - - - -

Dead: 2

Revealed: 1 (almost 2!)

Murderer: ???

Escape: Clue #1

Yes, you now must escape Mulberry Mansion while avoiding the murderer. If you were Queen Sunrise, please reply saying who you were. 

Who do you think is suspicious? Where do you think you should go first to escape Mulberry Mansion?