Chapter 1: Tunnel Vision
While almost all of the bright Candy Kingdom was fast asleep, their teenaged princess lay in bed gazing at the long, violet shadows reaching across her ceiling. She had fallen into a deep, unrelenting confusion and in her anxiety-fueled frustration could not sleep. She had not slept a wink all night and it was now at least tree or four in the morning. Either way she was exhausted, but could not get her mind off of the theories she had been building in her head.
What exactly was the object she had collected from deep in the castles tunnel, who had left it there and how long how long had it been hiding?
These questions had been buzzing in her mind since yesterday's early morning explorations. Peppermint Butler had come and woke her with news that the team in charge of remodeling some of the oldest parts of the castle had accidentally knocked out an unmarked corridor wall. The butler then informed her that the team had found various scraps of paper in the sugar stone bricks and wanted to know what should be done about them. The Princess of course needed to collect samples for her studies on the kingdoms history and to further her own investigation into the genetic make up of the candy land and beings around them. Sciencey stuff like that. She speedily told the peppermint man to notify the remodeling team that they could have the rest of the day off so she could go examine the artifacts and before giving him time to object, rushed to her lab to prepare. The peppermint sighed, adjusting his small, red bowtie and left to alert the workers of their day off, courteously of the princess herself.
Later, after she had readied herself in the proper excavating clothing and acquired the appropriate instruments (and also did a couple breathing exercises to calm her nerves), she ventured deep into the lower parts of the castle. This was a part of the castle she rarely visited for…reasons of her own, but now she understood why renovations were so desperately needed. Inwardly, she cursed herself for forgetting her flashlight because flickering candles overhead were the only source of light in the older parts of the palace. She knew that, but she had gotten so worked up about the trip and…glob what a stupid mistake. Distracted by the onslaught of worry, she had stumbled several times over the ancient rock candy floor, which now had been eroded in most areas. In an attempt to end the journey sooner the princess jogged forward in the dim light, but full-on tripped when her pink pack caused her to lose her footing. Alarmed the teen monarch yelped as she fell onto her hands and knees in the shadowy passage. Breathe hitched and in cold sweats she fumbled in the darkness trying to get a grip on the crumbling walls around her. After regaining her balance from the fall, she exhaled slowly wiped her forehead before continuing. Anxious and overwhelmed, she could not deny that these candy corridors freaked her out in more ways than one. Earlier she had not given Peppermint Butler the time to object for a reason, he would have easily gotten her to change her mind and would have put the excavation to a halt in no time. He knew her all too well.
"Suck it up…Just breathe, you're alright." firmly to herself in the dancing light of the flames. The girl wanted to concur this…childish fear. She was turning sixteen at close of this year, meaning that in only a little over three years she'd gain complete control over the political and social aspects of her realm. But besides that, it was not acceptable for the strong-willed teen to have such immature… worries about something so trivial as the more dark regions of the lower castle. No matter how poorly lit and tight the corridors were to maneuver through, she assured herself that her panicked reaction was just a physical response to the lack of light and had nothing to do with past scaring, childhood events…that may or may have not happened. The princess refused to acknowledge it any further.
As she stood trying to recapture her nerves, she adjusted her crown and opened her eyes to return to the task at hand. Calmly, she continued forward toward the next source of candlelight and this time was careful not to trip herself. When the girl had reached the light she pulled her bag from her back and set it on the dusty floor in front of her. After opening it, she removed a diagram of the lower regions of the castle. The yellow tinted map looked as old as the passage she stood in and most of it was so deteriorated and faded that it was illegible. She sighed, again rooting through her bag drawing out a device her own design. The head of the tool was a bright pink, cylinder handle and centered with a black switch, then gridded with a green glass square at the base; at first glance the object appeared as some sort of flashlight. Proud of herself she held the device under the thin parchment and flipped the black switch. The map glowed a radioactive hue casting bizarre shadows onto the crooked shingles in the tunnel, but also lightly revealed the maps hidden secrets. The monarchs expression changed to one of grinning victory, she only had to make a left just ahead and she'd be there. Picking up her backpack she continued on again. Finally she would be finished with this uncomfortable task that she had given to herself...Sometimes she really questioned her own logic.
After nervously rounding a corner the princess's plum colored eyes fell on a sizeable hole in the wall and the piles of dirt and rumble that surrounded it. Her anxiety almost completely dissipated after setting her sights on the gigantic mess. She would certainly have to speak to who ever was in charge of the renovations because this was definitely not the way to do it. The princess knew her obsessive-compulsive tendencies would kick in if she did not put her attention elsewhere. Shifting her concentration she focused on the smashed sugar bricks in front of her lilac boots. Bending down she went to work examining various fragments and taking samples in plastic containers becoming so zoned in on the scientific process that she thankfully forgot where she was. She continued in an almost mechanical manner until her fingers found a bit of sandy feeling paper. Holding it up to her face in the darkness she thought she might have seen something written on it. She found several more of these ripped pieces, collecting them in there own sample bags and deciding it was best to wait until she was in her laboratory to see exactly what they were. After at least two strenuous hours of digging through the ancient debris, the teen stood in accomplishment, but absolutely filthy despite her victory. She could feel the coco power dust layering her skin and the powered sugar dirt deep under her coral-pink nails.
Just as Bubblegum had stood and brushed the powder off her pastel shirt in motion to leave, she noticed something hanging out of the bottom of the gapping hole in the wall. Feeling a bit of the unease return to her mind she eyed at the object from a distance, but could not tell exactly what it was. It had only caught her attention because she thought she has seen something glitter out of the corner of her eye. With a groan, she climbed back over the rumble, damning her own curiously scientific nature, but also applauding her fear-tromping approach. As she reached the top of the pile she snatched the item, it was somewhat rough in places, but also cold and smooth in others. At first she pulled on the object lightly and it didn't budge; it must have been caught on something she thought as she pulled harder, but again to no avail. Finally figuring that she was not going to get it out in one piece she pulled once again, but this time threw all her weight back. She had not expected whatever it was attached with to snap so easily from that single tug and as a result of her miscalculations was sent rolling backwards down the hill of broken brick. This time the Princess actually screamed as she tumbled and landed flat on her back, knocking the wind right out of her. Just as she was about fly into a fit of hysterics she heard a loud shriek from up the hallway,
"Princess!" this was fallowed by a couple of shuffling feet that came to a stop near her now scraped face, "Are you alright Princess?"
"Yeah, yeah…I'm okay Peppermint. Why are you guys down here? I said I was not going to need any assistance…" the monarch questioned her voice shaking slightly while she stood clutching the small object tightly in her fist. Secretly she was tremendously thankful to have been interrupted from the frantic tears that might have ensued. She also knew she had banged herself up pretty bad with that fall, but spoke in a pleasant, calm voice to conceal her discomfort.
"Well…we were concerned about your safety being alone, you know in these tunnels for so long and- Princess! You are bleeding! For globs sake you are not ok, we must take you up to the infirmary now your majesty" He sputtered throwing his small red hands up in the air and then resting them on his sides in what could be described as motherly behavior.
"Ok, ok I agree with you. Let me just grab my backpack-"
"Princess please, Cinnamon Bun will attend to that while I escort you to the infirmary back up stairs." The small man stated firmly as he leaned down fetching the royal crown from the sandy floor, then taking the teen monarch by the arm to lead her back up the narrow hallways. It would seem strange to most that a butler could hold such power over a royal, but he had basically raised the girl so she felt deep regard for the candy and seldom went against his genuine wishes. She looked back only once to see the gooey bun collecting her backpack and bagged samples that littered the floor around him with a confused expression on his face.
The princess lay in bed under cream-colored sheets and a fuchsia comforter her body ached in restlessness. Her mind refused to stop wondering the diverse possibilities for the papers she'd recovered and the artifact she had found. After nurse Pound Cake had patched her up, Peppermint stated that he had, had her samples taken to her lab and she was not to research until a decent time the next morning. Little did he know that she had one of the most interesting items she had collected in her pant pocket. He then had sent her off to shower and get ready for a royal luncheon with the elder candy court. What fun.
Bubblegum sighed and sat up in bed looking to a round, purple clock that hung above her double doors directly across from her bed. It was almost three A.M.…not exactly decent. Then, looking to her left, her eyes met an open bathroom door. She could see it clearly through that lavender door on the bathroom counter, just barely reflecting the moons light off of its dulled edges. The princess adjusted her position bringing her feet to the fuzzy pink carpet and pushed her self off of the overly-soft bed. She made her way to the bathroom pushing the door open slowly, gazing at the metal object and running her fingers though her thick gummy hair.
"Snap out of it Bubblegum…It's probably nothing special." She said to herself before relinquishing her tired body back to her pastel purple pillows once again. "I just have to relax for now…" she murmured closing her eyes to fall into a restless sleep. What exactly was this T shaped symbol?