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Description
A loud thump sounded through the second story room as the elegant sun colored feline dumped a large pile of books on the sturdy wooden desk, startling the sparrows that had been resting on the open window sill, making them squawk and fly off into the sunset. The sky was turning lily pink as the sun descended for the day, making way for the gorgeous moon and twinkling stars. Layla picked up the first book on her pile; a heavy, leather bound brown book that was covered in a fine layer of dust. She blew on the cover, stirring up the dust a little before she lightly swept it away with her fingers.
Behind her, she heard muffled giggles coming from the two girls behind her; she turned her gaze over to her friends.
The demon hedgehog and white fox had turned their piles of books into one big pile and were currently sitting on it, reading a book with a glittery and shiny gold cover. The ears of the book were sagging slightly, and the book itself looked very old, but it didn’t both the girls.
“What are you two reading?” Layla asked curiously.
Spirit turned her gaze to the feline, smirking proudly. “It’s a “choose your own adventure book”. We found it in this big pile of books.”
“I don’t see how that’s going to help us in this situation Spirit.”
“It will help plenty. It will keep us from getting bored.” She turned her attention back to the book. “Where were we...ah yes...Do we wanna see the knight or the apprentice?”
Electra paused, before she smiled warmly. “Let’s see the apprentice.”
Spirit nodded, flicking through the pages as Layla peacefully began to read through her book. The pages were decrepit, making it hard for her to read some of the words. She flicked through pages, looking for anything that might give them a lead on their current situation when suddenly the two girls behind her began yelling, catching her attention.
“What’s going on?!” She said, alarmed as she pounced out of her chair, darting towards them.
Spirit quickly began flipping through the book, back to the page they had been on before. “Y-you saw it Electra...my finger never left the page...!”
The white vixen nodded swiftly in agreement. “Y-yeah, yeah!” They paused, met each other’s gaze before they began to laugh, softly, happily.
Layla sighed, deeply. “If you guys are going to continue reading that book, do it quietly.” Her tail began to swish behind her slightly. “After all, Derek’s only just fallen asleep.”
She nodded towards the black leather couch where the black fox was laying, a green covered leather bound book open on his chest, one hand over the book, his other arm over his eyes as he slept, quietly, taking small, soft breathes.
Despite being exhausted from staying up all night on his hedgehog hunt, Derek had managed to stay awake most of the day. After arriving at his sister’s, he’d gotten straight to work, going through every book to find answers. He’d only just recently fallen asleep, and Layla didn’t want him waking up any time soon.
Spirit sighed, closing the book and passing it to Electra. “Buzz kill,” she replied, leaping off the pile and searching through it. Layla nodded, returning to her book, flicking through the pages swiftly.
Spirit found a book, with a sky blue cover, the title having a few letters missing, making it impossible to guess the title. “Here,” she said, tossing it to Electra.
Electra swiftly caught the book, flicking through it as Spirit pounced back up onto the pile, a dark emerald book in her claws. She remained quiet, flicking through it for a few minutes before she groaned, loudly, tossing the book behind her.
“Leg work is boring,” she moaned, laying back. She yawned loudly, closing her eyes.
“This was your idea Spirit,” Layla retorted, flipping through another few pages of her book. “Stop complaining and get to work.”
The demon groaned again, opening her eyes, picking up a book at random, opening it. “I must be either incredibly bored or incredibly tired because I don’t even know what language this book is in!”
Electra turned her lavender gaze towards her friend, laughing softly. “You’re holding the book upside down Spirit!”
“Oh.” She quickly flipped it up the right way. “I knew that.”
Layla groaned deeply; it was gonna be a long night.

A single male figure stood at the bottom of the long black spiral staircase, half of his auburn face illuminated by the candle in his hands, the wax carefully dripping down onto the tiny gold plate the candle was housed upon. His chocolate gaze remained on the black door before him, the pentagram on the door partly illuminated by the flame. He waited patiently until the door opened, his Master stepping out in front of him, half of his face illuminated by his own candle as he turned, closing the door, locking it with his large golden key, a familiar black cat on his shoulder.
“Well?” Questioned the auburn hedgehog.
“You’re to keep an eye on the Princess,” he explained. “Make sure she doesn’t escape, or get harmed in any way.”
He pushed past his butler, making his way up the stairs, the auburn hedgehog hot on his tail.
“Yes Sir,” he said respectfully.
“One more thing,” he added, stopping turning his deep green-gold gaze to the younger hedgehog, his eyes hardening. “If her lover happens to find this mansion, stop him from getting to her at all costs.”
He blinked his chocolate eyes curiously. “A-at all costs sir? Are you sure?”
The green Master nodded slowly, turning his gaze away. “Yes. I’m very sure. Tomorrow night...on the night of the full moon make sure the entry way is set in case he turns up...with all the traps.”
The auburn hedgehog visibly tensed, the expression on his face turning grim. “B-but sir...we shouldn’t take another life if we don’t have to!”
He swiftly turned, glaring down at his subordinate, the black feline on his shoulder hissing. “Are you questioning me?” He didn’t wait for his response as he continued speaking. “If he gets in here and manages to escape with her, don’t you realize what will happen?!”
The young hedgehog gulped and nodded swiftly. “Y-yes Sir...o-of course Sir...”
The older hedgehog nodded, turning away, continuing to ascend the black brick steps, the feline relaxing back on his shoulder.
“Good....Now get to work.”

Han yawned loudly, stretching until she heard her back crack. She sighed calmly, smoothing out her sky blue night gown. Luckily for her, Shayde had left it here for her to sleep in. She was overjoyed that she could stay out of the purple menace for longer, and even happier that she could stay out of the strangling fabric for longer. She wasn’t happy about how short the night gown was though; it was made of out satin, making it silky smooth. It had darker blue frills around the hem, the gown itself only reaching her knees, with no sleeves, leaving her peach furred arms bare. She sat down on her gold queen sized bed, slipping on the long cotton white socks Shayde had also left, stretching them up to her knees. When she was done, she patted her legs, lying down. She wasn’t quite ready to go to sleep yet; she still had a slight adrenaline rush from her fight with Jayla; she was also still in shock that she’d won. Not only that, but she was concerned about the looks the castle staff had given her. She wasn’t mistaken; their eyes had gleamed with hope when she told them she was royalty. She slowly sat up, putting on hand on her knee, resting her chin on her fist. After a few moments of contemplation, she stood up, heading towards the door, opening it and stepping out into the silent hallway. She silently closed the door behind her, stepping forward.
“Be careful you don’t slip over in those socks Miss Han,” a familiar voice teased behind her.
Han jolted, squealing, almost lashing out, spinning around, coming face to face with Zach.
“For God’s sake!” She snapped. “You shouldn’t do that!”
He smirked at her, chuckling lightly. “Why, did I scare you?”
“O-of course not!” She turned away, crossing her arms, huffing. “Y-you just surprised me.”
“Of course I did.” He chuckled again, and Han resisted the urge to turn around and hit him.
“Look, just leave me in peace,” she commanded, stepping further down the hall.
“Very well then...” After that, the hall turned silent, the only sound heard being of the flames burning on their wicks. Han was moving slow, remaining as silent as a mouse, her socks and the carpet making it easy for her to sneak around. She didn’t want to wake anyone up as she crept towards the stairs. She placed on hand on the white railing, taking a step down onto the top step.
“Be careful on the stairs,” Zach suddenly said from behind her, a large grin on his face.
Han gasped, whirling around, slipping over. Luckily for her, Zach was expecting this; he reached out, catching her before she could seriously harm herself.
“Aww looks like you’re falling for me,” he teased, wagging his tail.
Han growled loudly, furious. “You jerk!!” She swiftly pushed herself to her feet, leaping up onto the railing, sitting down on it, sticking her tongue out at him as she slid down the railing, heading towards the bottom of the stairs, her quills waving behind her slightly. Just before she hit the bottom, she pounced off, landing clumsily on the carpet. She turned to face Zach, her sapphire eyes burning, only to notice he wasn’t at the top of the stairs anymore. She blinked slowly, but shrugged it off; she knew he’d show up to annoy her again.
She walked past the gold grandfather clock, whose time was stuck on eleven fifty nine, making her way towards the archway beside the dining room. She walked down it, gasping in amazement. The hallway here again was different compared to the other two. It was full of porcelain statues. One was a statue of a lion, with citrine gems for eyes, hunched forward, his mouth open in a fierce roar, another was of an elegant maiden with sapphire gems for eyes carrying a large vase filled with different kinds of fruit, and there was even one of wolf, with amethyst gems for it’s eyes, it’s head raised up towards to roof in a loud howl. Han lightly patted its head as she walked past, heading towards the large golden doors with the word “LIBRARY” etched into the gold shining plate. Beside it on the other door was etched “SILENCE” into the other plate. Han placed her hands on the two large double doors and pushed on them with all her might, and soon the doors inched open, revealing the massive library within. The entire room was filled with bookcases that stretched high, touching the roof proudly, each bookcase filled with different kinds of books, just like the bookcase in her room. From myths to stories of ancient warriors, this room had everything. Straight across from the double doors was a black fireplace, the fireplace alight, crackling loudly as if someone had just been here. On top of the fire place were a few photos in small brown photo frames, as well as what looked like another snow globe, with a few little Eskimos standing beside the globe, pretending the be holding it up with bright smiles on their hooded faces. Around the room, sitting on velvet cobalt rugs with gold tassels were several elegant looking deep ocean blue satin sofas, with gold frames. Han stepped in, closing the doors behind her. Han looked around, her mouth agape as she smiled, hugely. She darted to one of the bookcases, grabbing a few mythology books, one about vampires, another about werewolves when something caught her eye. It glimmered in the corner of her eye and she turned. In the far right corner of the room was a bookcase, a few feet smaller than the others, on top of it was a wooden eagle statue, quietly perked on the bookcase, its beak open with something small glimmering inside. Han put her books on the nearest satin sofa, walking towards the bookcase. She looked up at the eagle statue with curiosity.
“I wonder what’s in its beak...” she whispered. She looked at the bookcase, gripping onto it, shaking it lightly. It was sturdy, and didn’t even shake as she violently shook it. She grinned, placing her hands on the third shelf; her feet on the bottom shelf, preparing to climb up it. She started her ascent, climbing carefully, her hands becoming stained with ugly gray dust, her eyes remaining on the elegant statue as she approached it.
“Don’t look down,” she constantly told herself as she grunted, continuing up.
Eventually, after climbing about thirty shelves, she’d made it to the top. She smiled widely, taking a moment to take in the expert craftsmanship that had gone into making the eagle statue before her. It almost looked like it could soar of the top shelf at any second. Han carefully reached up with her left hand, gripping tightly onto the shelf with her right hand, reaching into its beak, grabbing whatever was housed inside. She pulled it out carefully; it was a small silver key with a small clear diamond on it. She blinked, wondering what the key was for when suddenly the statue before her moved. She gasped, turning her gaze towards it quickly as it squawked at her, angrily, flapping its wings. Han screamed softly, losing her grip on the shelf, falling backward, her sapphire eyes wide with horror as she plummeted towards the floor. She grabbed the bottom of her nightgown, blushing softly, pulling on it fiercely as it blew up. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact.
Part of her was waiting for Derek to catch her in his arms and cradle her close, scolding her for being so reckless, while he checked her for injuries. She could almost feel his arms around her; wait...there were arms around her, catching her. She slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see her brave black fox holding her close. Her heart sunk when she met the chocolate gaze of the auburn hedgehog. He was crouched down on the floor, the sun yellow hedgehog in his arms, smirking at her. She turned her gaze up towards the top of the shelf where the eagle statue was still sitting, quietly as if nothing had happened.
“Looks like you’ve fallen for me again,” he teased, laughing loudly.
Han snarled. “You idiot!!’ She lunged out with one of her legs- the strongest part of her body- kicking him in the ribs. He gasped loudly, letting her go, stumbling back. Han landed on her hands, following through, sending him flying towards one of the satin couches. He hit it, the cushions softening his fall. Han growled, placing her feet on the ground, carefully standing, her hands on her hips. She gripped the key close, darting out of the room angrily. She raced through the hallway, past the archway, back up the stairs, and straight into her room, slamming the door closed loudly, leaping onto her bed, tossing the key onto her bedside table, screaming into her pillow before she rolled onto her back, staring up at the top of her bed.
She was angry, angry with Zach for being such a jerk to her. She was frightened, because she could have swore that statue had moved, and also because she had almost plummeted to the floor; she could have been hurt, badly. But the strongest emotion she was feeling at the moment was sadness. She pulled one of her pillows close, hugging it tight as she felt hot tears rolling down her face, sobbing into her pillow.
“Romeo...” She sobbed into her pillow, loudly, one hand clutching at her nightgown, over where her heart lay.
Meanwhile, back at a certain white fox’s house, the black fox that lay asleep on the couch frowned deeply, raising his hand from the book to his shirt, over where his heart lay, clutching at it tightly as a single tear rolled down his cheek.
“Juliet...”
~
Han remained laying on her bed for what felt like several hours, even long after she’d finished crying. She just remained lying down on her bed, cuddling her pillow close, a deep frown on her face as her cheeks remained tear stained. She sniffled as she turned her gaze to the key on her bedside table. She reached out, grabbing it. She inspected it closely; it looked just like a normal key, besides the diamond on the end of course. She slowly sat up, rubbing her slightly red eyes, swinging her legs off her bed and getting up, heading towards the door. She had to do something to get her mind off Derek, and this mysterious key was the perfect thing; it sparked her curiosity greatly and urged her to go on an adventure. She opened her door, breathing softly as she looked around. The hall was just as silent as it had been several hours ago. She crept out, wondering where she should try the key first. She paused, tapping the key on her bottom lip; she blinked as she remembered the mysterious crimson door in the Sports room. She giggled with excitement, running towards the stairs, running down them two at a time, darting towards the Sports room. She pushed on the door, squirming inside swiftly. The room was eerily silent now compared to earlier when they’d been fencing. Han could still hear the cheering in her ears though, making her grin proudly. She walked towards the crimson door, sliding across the wooden floorboards carefully, heading towards the crimson door, her heart pounding wildly from excitement in her chest as her blood began to boil. She stopped in front of the door, looking down at the tiny key in her hands as she grabbed the door handle with her other hand, slowly trying to insert the key in the lock.
Sadly, it didn’t fit; Han groaned with frustration.
“Come on!” She growled softly. “Just go in...!”
She tried again and again, but every time the key just wouldn’t go in. Han tried turning the knob, in hopes that the door might actually be unlocked; it’d give her somewhere to explore. But again, sadly, it wouldn’t open.
Han cried out, angered, falling back onto her tail. “Dumb door!!”
She sat quietly, calming down for a few moments until she got up, leaving the Sports room, heading back towards the stairs.
“I wonder what this key could fit in then...” she whispered to herself, keeping her gaze on the key. “Maybe a jewellery box...or a treasure chest...or...” She cried out, running into the Grandfather clock, swiftly looking up. “Ow!! Why you...!” She paused, looking at the clock; it had a lock on its glass and wooden tiny door that houses the analog clock!
“Hey...! Maybe...this key fits...” She slowly raised her hand, inserting the key, gasping. “Perfect fit!! Alright!” She slowly turned the key, unlocking the door, opening it. She looked at the analog clock closely; it had two rather heavy looking golden hands, one slightly smaller than the other, with pentagram on each. Han reached up, touching the bigger hand. It felt loose, very loose. She began to tug at it, gently freeing it from it’s place. She took a closer look at it, her eyes widening.
“This looks like a key!” She turned her gaze towards the smaller key, putting the heavier key down and gripping at the smaller one. She tugged at it, grunting in exasperation, tightly closing her eyes. Before she knew it, she was flying back, crying out in surprise, the smaller key actually turning out to be a handle, which opened up, revealing a secret compartment. She hit the ground, landing on her tail, painfully.
“Owwie, owwie, owwie...” She moaned, rubbing her tail as she slowly got up, her fur fluffing out. She peered into the hidden compartment, finding a small green box. She reached forward, grabbing it. She slowly opened it; inside, sitting nestled on top of a small green cushion was a small silver key, similar to the one she found earlier, only this one had a pentagram on it, rather than a diamond.
“This is getting more and more interesting by the second,” Han breathed softly. She hid the small key in her left sock, carrying the larger one in her hands; she’d decided it was for the best to hide both key’s in her room and continue her adventure in the morning; she was starting to come down off her adrenaline high, and was beginning to feel rather exhausted. She yawned, closing the small door on the grandfather clock, locking it, stuffing it into her right sock, making her way back to her room. She hurried up the stairs like an excited little rabbit, bounding into her room and closing the door. She turned, looking towards the bed where Tybalt was, curled up asleep.
“He must have snuck in while I was gone,” she thought, logically. She looked around the room for somewhere to hide the keys; after all, this could be considered theft. She walked over to the wardrobe, trying to open the doors. Strangely enough, it wouldn’t budge.
“That’s odd...I’ll ask Shayde about it later...” She crouched down, slowly sitting on her knees, placing her head on the floor, looking under the wardrobe. It was just a little bit off the ground. She turned her gaze to her large gold key. “Maybe...” She pushed it towards the small hole, carefully pushing it under the wardrobe, making sure it was still within reach for tomorrow, but also so no one would be able to see it. She slowly got up, straightening her night gown out, looking around again.
“Now...where to hide these..” She carefully got the two smaller keys out of her socks, wandering around the room. She made her way over to the bookcase, noticing a small pink kitty piggybank. It sat on the shelf below the snow globe and Pegasus, sitting on its tail, one paw up with a large smile on its face. Han grabbed it, slipping the two keys into it, hearing them clank against the little money that was inside. Yawning once again, she made her way over to her bed, pulling the donna and sheet back, laying down in bed before she pulled the sheet over her body, her eyes drooping. Yawning one final time, she closed her eyes, falling into a deep slumber.