Day 5, Part 1

"Don't you think someone should check on Luna?" Seadragon said.

"Of course," Reuby agreed. "I'll do it, if no one else wants to."

"Thanks," Silver said. "I'm certainly not brave enough."

Reuby went downstairs to see the cell that Luna was in, and immediately, everyone could hear her gasp.

"What?" Seadragon asked, rushing down.

"Luna…they're dead!" Reuby explained breathlessly. "She wasn't the murderer!"

Several guests leaned in to check, and as it turned out, Luna was actually dead, with a broken neck. But the door to the cell was still mysteriously locked.

"But I was so sure that it was them," Silver murmured. "Yet if it wasn't her, who could it be?"

"Maybe," Seadragon said in a serious tone. "Maybe it could be some sort of sinister magic. Maybe Flora’s involved in it."

"Flora? But…she couldn't, not to her guests!" Pangolin protested.

"Are you sure about that?" Reuby asked. "I mean, she was the one who brought us here."

"But if she was the one-" Pangolin started to say, but cut herself off as they saw Flora coming over.

"What are you guys discussing?" Flora asked curiously.

"N-nothing!" Silver said quickly, exchanging nervous glances with Pangolin and Seadragon.

"Are you sure? Because it sounded like something…" Flora said, suspicion narrowing her gaze.

"Oh, well we had just discovered that Luna's dead, and that means they're not the murderer," Reuby said smoothly.

"Ah," Flora said as Pangolin, Seadragon, and Silver let out identical relieved breaths at Reuby's quick thinking. "We better hold a funeral regardless."

So another funeral was held for Luna. By now, everyone was tired of funerals, with all the guests staring blankly at the grave while Flora planted a flower on top. It was not only tiring and sorrowful, but also frightening, knowing that at each moment, they could be close to their deaths. 

So Silver, Pangolin, and Reuby kept themselves busy by working on the suspect list. Silver crossed out Luna and Sam's name. 

"So, does anyone have any idea who could've poisoned Sam?" she asked.

"I was so sure it was Luna, but since she's dead…" Reuby trailed off, sounding subdued.

"No one else was sitting next to Sam since they were sitting on the edge," Pangolin said. "So it probably happened sometime before."

"Wait, Flora’s the one who always prepares the meals, though, right?" Reuby said slowly. "So isn't it possible that it's her, like we said earlier?"

"Yeah, possibly," Silver agreed.

Just then, they heard someone knock on the door. "Come in!" Silver called out. It was Seadragon at the door.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but I did eavesdrop on your conversation a little," Seadragon said, sounding apologetic. "But I just couldn't help overhearing it."

"So what's your opinion on it?" Pangolin asked.

"I agree with you on that," Seadragon said. "Because who else could it be? There's no other evidence. And I've also been wondering," she continued. "About what exactly is in that room on the third floor."

"Didn't Flora say that it was just a storage room?" Reuby said, sounding confused.

"But are you sure that she can be trusted?" Seadragon asked. No one answered her.

After a long moment, Silver said slowly, "Even if there was something else, isn't it…locked?"

"Oh, right," Seadragon replied, sounding disappointed. 

"So how do we get to it?" Pangolin prompted, in which silence followed.

Alive: 5

Dead: 5 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine, Sam, Luna Silvermoon)

Day 5, Part 2

"It's probably locked by some magic enchantment," Silver said. "Does anyone here happen to know magic?"

"Not really," Seadragon said. 

"Well, that's kind of obvious, but what I'm asking is if anyone knows anything that can get through enchantments-" Silver said, but was interrupted by Reuby Moonnight.

"Maybe it's just a normal lock," Reuby suggested. "What if there isn't an enchantment at all?" 

"That's a possibility," Seadragon agreed. "Anyone have a thin and sharp object, like a Bobby pin, so I can try to pick the lock?"

"I only have a dagger," Pangolin said. 

"Wait, maybe my pocket knife will work,” Seadragon said, rummaging through her pocket and taking it out. “Okay. How about I pick the lock tonight, when everyone's asleep, and see what I find there? I'll tell you what I see inside," she said.

"Sounds good to me," Reuby said, while everyone else agreed.

So when night fell and all the guests were in bed, Seadragon crept out cautiously out of her room. She went upstairs and immediately saw the door. It was locked, of course, so Seadragon picked at the lock with the pocket knife, and after what seemed like endless hours, the door finally creaked open.

Inside, it was choked with dust. But as Seadragon looked closer, she noticed piles and piles of leather-bound books, leaning against the wall. This led her to wonder why it was locked at all, if they were only books. So Seadragon picked one of the books up to see what it was about. 

In cursive golden print read the title "A Guide To Deadly Spells and Curses". Immediately, Seadragon dropped the book, glancing around to see if there was anyone behind her. She turned around to see Flora, standing there, with an unrecognizable expression on her face.

"What are these books for?" Seadragon demanded, after a moment’s pause.

"Shall I explain?" Flora said calmly.

Seadragon slumped down on one of the sofas, while Flora sat on the other. Finally, she said, "You know how I can do magic, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, you should know that I only allow myself to do good magic, like magic that doesn't harm anyone," Flora explained.

"Then may I ask why you have a book about deadly spells?" she said, still sounding skeptical.

"I didn't mean for anyone to see it," Flora said quietly. "Because I knew that if someone did, they would be frightened and get the wrong ideas. If you want to know, the reason why I put those books there is because they are full of dangerous spells that could kill, and so I locked them away, since you cannot truly ever destroy a magic book."

Seadragon nodded slowly, understanding. But she had one last question. "Then why didn't you put a magical enchantment on it to lock it forever?"

Flora sighed. "It's because I can't. In order to lock something away permanently, it requires use of one of the deadly spells, and I swore to never touch those ever again."

"I see," Seadragon said. "But why did you lie in the first place?"

"It's better for people not to know, because if anyone with evil intentions discovers this, it will bring much danger to the island," Flora said. Looking outside at the night sky, she said, "Well, don’t you think you should go back to bed, now that you know?"

"Of course," Seadragon said as she headed downstairs back to her room. But this new discovery made Seadragon question who really was the one behind all those murders, and possibly someone she thought was trustworthy.

Alive: 5

Dead: 5 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine, Sam, Luna Silvermoon)

Short part this time. Also, thank you to everyone who've been commenting! I love reading all of it. 🙂 

Day 6, Part 1

"So that's what was behind the door," Silver said.

After breakfast, Seadragon had told them about what she discovered in the night about the storage room, as well as what Flora had told her about the deadly spells.

"Can I see the storage room for myself?" Pangolin asked. 

"We should ask permission from Flora first," Seadragon said firmly.

They asked Flora, who answered that they could, as long as they didn't touch anything.

"Alright, let's go," Seadragon said, leading the way upstairs. But suddenly, she stood still, as if in shock by what she saw.

"Let me see," Reuby said, bumping past her. She, too, fell silent. But after a moment, she said, "Do you think someone else came here after you?"

As in the middle of the room, there were books in random places, all on different pages, and the storage room door was wide open. It looked like someone had rummaged through the whole thing.

"Oh no!" Silver exclaimed as she looked at the scene. "You said there was a deadly spell book in here, right?" she said, and when Seadragon nodded, she continued to say, "Then do you think the murderer possibly used a spell on someone?"

"Hang on a minute," Pangolin said. "We haven't seen Avara at all today. What if she…?" Pangolin trailed off as everyone rushed towards Avara's room. And Avara was lying in bed, seemingly peacefully sleeping. But when Pangolin looked closer, it was quite clear that Avara, like everyone thought, was dead.

Reuby called Flora over, who indeed determined that it was a spell that killed Avara. A funeral was held, a purple hyacinth placed on top of the grave like all the others. But now, everyone mourned in silence, each thinking about who was the actual murderer, if it wasn't Flora.

Soon, they had lunch, in which everyone started discussing who the murderer could possibly be. Afterwards, Flora taught everyone how to properly arrange flowers into a bouquet, which did succeed a little in taking the guests' minds off of the murderer. Meanwhile, the murderer was planning their next move. 

Alive: 4

Dead: 6 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine, Sam, Luna Silvermoon, and Avara)

@Reuby/Gloomy, do you want me to update your name for the remainder of the ski lodge? 

@everyone, as always, ty for all your comments! sorry this took a little bit longer. 

Day 6, Part 2

Flora gave everyone, that is, the four of them, some free time during the rest of the day to explore nearby or just stay inside. She seemed too tired to  organize anything else, which, Seadragon reflected, was reasonable seeing all these murders happening. Likewise, the guests were tired as well, and all opted to stay inside for most of the afternoon. Mostly, though, they sat in silence, either reading a book or thinking.

Silver Crystal sat in the still and grim silence, thinking. Everything seemed dull and quiet. She knew that silence was good sometimes, but somehow it felt…too quiet. So she said, “Why don’t we play a game of charades?”

There was a pause, in which Silver thought that no one would respond, but after a moment, everyone nodded in agreement.

“I’ll go get the cards!” Reuby announced. She rushed over to the place where the board games and cards were kept and took the stack of charade cards.

“Who wants to go first?” Pangolin asked.

“I’ll go,” Seadragon volunteered. “What topic is it?”

“Why don’t we do…animals?” Silver suggested. She took the cards from Reuby and handed a section of them to Seadragon, who picked a random one and began acting it out.

They played all the way until Flora announced dinner time, where the guests quickly put away the cards neatly and took their seats at the far-too-empty dining table.

After dinner, Pangolin decided to go out onto the cliff, just to enjoy the view of Flower Isle during sunset. She walked out into the slightly chilly air and smiled, despite the worries racing through their mind about coming out here. They were determined to have some sort of a relaxing time, even with everything happening. That’s what she came here for, after all.

Pangolin walked out onto the half-sand, half-dirt path and took a moment to admire the view. The fields of grass were dotted with multicolored flowers, the petals slightly oranged by the light coming from the sunset. She took a deep breath. Everything seemed much too pretty of a setting for all these events to be happening.

They could hear someone behind them, and at once turned around. "Hey there! Enjoying the sunset?"

It was the murderer, of course. "Yes, I am," they answered.

Pangolin paused for a moment, enjoying the peaceful silence. Finally, she broke it, and said, "I came to Flower Isle thinking it would all be fun and relaxing. But after all these murders and everything…” They trailed off, staring at the sunset. 

She cleared their throat and continued, “I feel like…just at any time, I could be murdered. It’s worrying, but it’s also inevitable.” They paused, and glanced over at the murderer.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" the murderer said, drawing closer to Pangolin. "Like within the next moment, you could just get killed by the murderer." 

And just like that, the murderer shoved Pangolin down, all the way. But for some reason, it didn't feel as satisfying as it should be. Either way, they couldn't deal with these feelings now, not when they were so close to the prize.

Alive: 3

Dead: 7 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine, Sam, Luna Silvermoon, Avara, Pangolin)

Final Day, Part 1

Silver sighed as Flora placed a small cluster of mountain laurels on top of Pangolin's grave. They had discovered it on a morning hike after breakfast, and although it was inevitable that someone would get killed, it seemed to hurt so much more now that there were less and less people, meaning the people she talked to today could possibly be the last time she would speak to them.

"Now what?" Seadragon said in a dull voice, echoing Silver's own thoughts.

Flora, at this point, looked like quite a mess. Her once-bright green eyes were now more grayish, and she looked more like a shell of her former self. But somehow, she mustered up some enthusiasm in her voice and said, "Well, how about we do something fun today?"

When no one answered her, she sighed and said, "I know we're all down, and I am, too, but we shouldn't let this get to us. I know! Let's go enjoy the butterfly meadows! It's a lovely place."

One by one, the guests followed Flora, but Seadragon lingered a little.

"Why are you just standing there? Come on!" Flora asked.

"Sorry, but I just have a question. I know you said that you can't do harmful magic, but what if there was something else, or someone else, who can do harmful magic and…I don't know, cursed this place?" Seadragon said.

"Oh, well I don't think you should worry about that. The only other person who also knew magic and came here, besides myself, is long dead," Flora replied. "Anyways, let's go to those butterfly meadows, shall we?"

Seadragon reluctantly followed behind, still having her doubts, but didn't say anything. After a long time of walking, Flora finally came to a stop. And the scene was breathtaking and beautiful. 

It was a smooth but springy-looking layer of grass, dotted with flowers containing more colors than a rainbow. The sun shone gently upon them, casting warmth and light, with a cool breeze every now and then. But the best part of it was the butterflies. They were fluttering everywhere, with exquisite and colorful wings, and their legs long and delicate, as they landed on the flowers, some even landing on the guests. 

The scene was almost beautiful enough to make Silver forget about all the murders. Flower Isle was meant to be an escape, after all, and this place felt about as good as paradise. 

Finally, Flora said, "I have to go back inside to prepare lunch now. You can come back with me, or stay here."

Of course, all the guests opted to stay, since the meadows seemed to hold a sort of enchantment on them. And so it was a moment of peace between the three of them, Seadragon, Silver, and Reuby.

But the peace didn't last very long. A flash of something sharp and shiny, a knife, could be seen in about a millionth of a second, landing directly on Seadragon. 

The person who did it was Reuby. "I'm sorry I had to do this," she said, in a voice that sounded neither like she meant it or not, but somewhere in between.

Seadragon still seemed calm, despite the knife embedded in her, with a small smile on her face as she said, "Well, this isn't a bad place to die."

Alive: 2

Dead: 8 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine, Sam, Luna Silvermoon, Avara, Pangolin, Seadragon)

Getting close to the end! 🙂 

Final Day, Part 2

Silver backed away from Reuby as Seadragon slumped to the ground. Just then, she saw Flora, who had just arrived to witness the murder. Maybe Flora would help deal with Reuby!, she thought. But what Flora said next confused Silver.

"You work with Fauna, don't you?" Flora said in a voice that sounded just a bit too monotone to let Silver know that Flora wasn’t worried at all, or coming to help.

Reuby nodded, looking pleased. "Of course. It was all to bring her back to power."

"Wh-who's Fauna?" Silver stuttered, bewildered. 

"Someone who I made a mistake about," Flora said, which did not help at all to answer the question. 

"Fauna's the one who Flora betrayed," Reuby spat.

"But why are you working with her?" Flora asked gently, as if she were trying to calm a wild animal.

"Because she promised me a way to return home, if I helped her to power," Reuby said, her voice still full of anger.

"Then she should at least come out and help you," Flora retorted, just as furious now. "Or is she just going to stand back like a coward?"

"I am not a coward!" a voice shouted furiously. It was a woman dressed in a red leather tunic and had flaming red hair. Her eyes were a glittery dark brown, almost black, like coal. And around her neck was a necklace with a ruby pendant.

"Fauna," Flora said, her voice soft and sweet once more. "My sister. Please, you know I made a grave mistake. We can work this out, and we can both be in power."

"It's too late for regrets," Fauna snapped. "And we cannot both be in power. You know it. Our magic combined is too strong."

By now, Silver was extremely confused and scared, wanting to escape. The only way to run was towards the Lake of Eternity, its deep blue waters reflecting no light. So she ran towards it.

Fauna noticed and began to shout orders at Reuby, who began chasing after Silver. But although she was ahead, eventually she had to stop when she got to the edge of the lake.

And one shove from Reuby was all it took to send Silver tumbling down into the water, never to be seen again. And as Silver sank below the surface, there was a feeling of sadness and regret, but also, some peace. 

Alive: 1

Dead: 9 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine, Sam, Luna Silvermoon, Avara, Pangolin, Seadragon, Silver Crystal)