Kiss Me, Kill Me

Chapter 1

Hey guys! I know, I know. I should be finishing my other stories, but then an idea came to me. So, here it is!

My name is Cerise and this is my story.

Well, first off, I was invited to star in a reality show. All the other girls would be like: "Yay! I'm going to be famous, and everyone's going to fawn at my feet!"

Well, sadly, it's not that type of reality show.

Let me start at the very beginning.

So, I was just sitting at home, minding my business. With my dogs and my sister by my side, watching the last episode of Alpha, which is this badass show about werewolves and war and some real twisted romance story.

Then, at the really really good bit when Sheba's going to punch Rowan in the face, the doorbell rang.

Of course.

"You're getting it," Ramona smirked immediately. I shrugged and padded to the door, rubbing my eyes. I flung it open to see a tall man about Ramona's age. He had this perfectly tousled black hair with a random red streak through it.

"Miss Cerise Hood?"

"Right in front of you."

He smiled amiably and handed me an envelope. Immediately, I was suspicious. I could smell some suspenseful sort of thing. It was a bad thing, too. I studied the envelope. It was the good, thick kind of paper you only saw when you got a letter from the Queen.

Judging from this guy's face, it wasn't from the Queen.

"Open it," he prompted with a small smirk. I was going to shove the envelope down his throat, that smug bastard. But I couldn't, because Ramona betted that if I was violent towards anyone, I'd have to give her fifteen dollars.

So I opened it.

It smelled kind of like a kinky mixture of blood and perfume. But mostly blood. I opened the crisply folded paper and started to read.

Dear Miss Cerise Hood,

You have been chosen as one of our contestants to participate in a reality show. This will give you fame and popularity [Which I had no care for], as well as $20,000 dollars if you end up alive [Now that was something. Though what did it mean by 'end up alive?].

Everything will be explained when you arrive at Portshire Palace next Wednesday.

Kind Regards,

Milton Grimm

Okay, that sounded sketchy. But I loved money. And I really wanted to go on a proper shopping spree and get some more furniture. So, of course, I said yes.

That would be one of the best decisions I would ever regret in my entire life.

"That sounds sketchy as fuck," Ramona said as she threw the letter back at me.

"Yeah, but I want the money," I replied as I zipped up my bag. Apparantly, they would probide us clothing. We just needed to bring underwear and al the other nesseceties. "Ramona, remember how I promised Mum and Dad I'd get enough money to support us and get a better house?"

Ramona visibly softened. "Cerise, this house is enough! You don't have to do this."

"Well, it's too late, isn't it?" I answered, throwing my bag over one shoulder. "Ramona, you've been a great sister. Bye."

My sister only stared. Then she awkwardly patted me on the back grabbed my shoulders, the closest I'd get to a hug. For whatever reason, a limo was coming to pick me up.

"Bye, Cerise," Ramona called. "Be back soon."

I called a farewell back and opened the door. A cold wind hit me in the face. I felt a sense of freedom and waited patiently as a huge, glossy limousine pulled up on the curb. Without a word, I opened the passenger door and crouched in, taking a seat.

There were three girls inside the limo. One of them had this beautiful cascade of ginger hair. The other had shortly-cropped hair that was half purple, half ginger. They were probably twins.

The other girl was sitting by herself in the corner. Her skin was very pale, and her hair was streaked with white, brown, and lavender and piled up on her head. She kept twiddling at a swan-shaped necklace she was wearing.

"Hey, everyone," the ginger with the long hair greeted. "I'm Holly and this is my twin Poppy."

I was pretty surprised to see they were nervous too, but kinda relieved. "Yeah, hi. I'm Cerise Hood." Poppy and Holly smiled. Shit, they even had matching smiles.

"What's your name?" Holly asked the miserable girl in the corner. "I love your hair."

"It would look good if you did a fishtail braid and strung it with pearls," Poppy added. Were they trying to be friendly? Because the poor girl looked like she was going to cry. Jeez, were they hairomaniacs? Hair-sexual?

"Duchess," she whispered.

"What was that?" Holly asked, beaming.

"Duchess," Duchess repeated. "That's my name. Duchess Swan." She gave a poor attempt at a smile. She was sure depressed.

"That's a beautiful name!" Poppy cooed quietly. "But not as beautiful as your hair."

Yeah, they were weird.

Just then, the car door opened and in burst a brunette. This would have been perfectly normal if the car wasn't speeding across a highway. I watched as the brunette tumbled onto the floor and tried to catch her breath. Holly and Poppy stared in surprise.

"Just you try jumping onto the roof of a limo and trying to get in," the brunette said scornfully. "Don't stare."

"Your hair is so…brown…" Holly said.

"Yes, and you're being a weirdo," she responded irritably. She dumped herself next to me. "Thank you, everyone, for staring at me like I had two heads and giving cryptic remarks about my hair. Now, my name's Briar. Please don't mess with me. Thank you."

"I'm Duchess," Duchess greeted, still looking mournful.

"I'm Holly O'Hair, and this is my twin sister Poppy," Holly smiled. "And over there is Crimson."

"Cerise," I corrected in the most polite way she could. "Are we waiting on one more person?"

As if on cue, a blonde with a poofy blue dress popped in and seated herself next to Briar. "Hello, everyone!" she chirped, throwing one leg over the other. "My name is Blondie!"

How obnoxious.

"Blondie," Briar repeated, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes!" Blondie said cheerfully. "I'm glad you're catching on. Now we can be the best of friends!"

"Hello, Blonde. I'm Brunette, and those two are Ginger," Briar said. "And we're not friends. Thank you." I wanted to laugh, but I was a little worried Briar would turn around and punch me. She seemed most angry.

Immediately, the atmosphere died a little. Blondie smiled anyway. "Well, isn't this exciting?"

"No," Duchess answered, sniffing.

"I've got to capture this on Instagram! Me, in a limo!" Blondie continued. She took out an iPad from her bag and started filming.

"Good morning, fellas! This is Blondie Lockes and I'm in a limo! Here are my wonderful limo mates!"

Duchess, Briar and I immediately frowned as Blondie turned the camera towards us.

"Good morning, fellas! This is Briar Beauty and I'm in a limo! Now, please stop filming me before I nun-chuck your face."

Blondie giggled. "You're a little moody."

Briar said nothing, for once. I secretly wondered if she had gone through something horrible. It looked like she had. As Blondie continued babbling to her iPad about what a wonderful day it was and how everyone should watch out for her on television, Duchess continued staring out the window. This sure was a negative bunch of people.

The limo pulled up to a courtyard with neatly mowed grass on either sides. Rows of hycaninth and roses staddled the concrete path. We stepped out, Blondie gasping and taking photos with her phone. There were a flock of people already there. There was a short girl with crazy aqua-and-violet curls; a blonde with pale skin wearing red and gold; another girl with almost-blue skin and light, almost white turquoise hair; a man of about twenty with perfect golden hair, and what seemed like his brunette, bespectacled brother; another male talking to the brothers, wearing a green hoodie; and a strawberry-blonde with gorgeous transculent heels.

Briar immediately rushed to the girl with the almost-blue skin. "Faybelle!" she sighed. "Good to see a familiar face."

The two started talking in hushed tones about trauma and television and everyone they had met. I stood there awkwardly, while Blondie started interviewing the other beautiful blonde. The girl she was interviewing gave a radiant smile; she was born to be on TV. "The name's Apple White," she was saying to Blondie's iPad. "I'm the daughter of the mayor."

Yeah, she was photogenic. I picked out the small girl, who seemed the most friendly-looking, and walked over. "Hey there. I'm Cerise Hood," I greeted, holding out a hand.

The girl shook it. "Madeline Hatter. Do you happen to know what all this is about?"

I shook my head.

"That makes the two of us," Madeline responded cheerfully. I felt that I liked her immediately. Holly and Poppy, arm in arm, walked up to us, smiling.

"What peculiar hair you have!" Holly oberved. "Most extraordinary!"

Poppy agreed, nodding as she framed Madeline's face with her fingers. "Have you ever tried it in a side ponytail?"

"And I thought I was mad here," Madeline whispered to me. I laughed as another limo pulled up. The door opened and some more people came out. The first was a girl with dark skin and curly dark brown hair, wearing a purple dress; then came a tall girl with lavender curls and a mischevious smile; another girl with a heart traced over one eye with a stern expression; a redhead boy with a generous smattering of freckles; a girl with white hair laced with baby blue; a boy with ginger hair and a fedora; and then a pale girl wearing silver and black with dark purple hair.

"Lizzie! Kitty!" Madeline greeted. The three started talking. I felt kind of bad. So Madeline couldn't really be my special friend. The freckled boy started to talk to the flawless blonde guy standing next to Apple. The girl with white and pale blue hair followed suit; maybe they were related. The girl in black joined Madeline and her friends.

The dark-skinned girl gave a shy smile and stood back, rocking on her heels. Maybe I could introduce myself later.

Then, at last, the biggest limo of them all came up. There were minature blue and gold flags flanking the front. I waited for an overload of people to spill out, but only one man gracefully came out. He had greying hair, a tall frame, and was wearing a blue three-piece suit with a white shirt and tie.

"Line up in a file," he commanded instantly in a loud, booming voice. Everyone immediately did, even Briar and Faybelle. Everyone seemed startled by his presence. There something chilling about his voice.

I took my place next to the heart-eyed girl and the dark-skinned girl.

"Cedar Wood, Cerise Hood, Lizzie Hearts, Kitty Cheshire, Madeline Hatter, Daring Charming, Dexter Charming, Darling Charming, Hopper Croakington, Apple White, Blondie Lockes, Raven Queen, Briar Beauty, Faybelle Thorn, Duchess Swan, Poppy O'Hair, Holly O'Hair, Hunter Huntsman, Ashlynn Ella, Sparrow Hood. Have I missed out any names?"

We all shook our heads. We were frickin' adults, but we were still scared of him. How pathetic.

"Now," he said. "My name is Milton Grimm, but you can call me…"

…Milton?

"Sir."

Wow. Just wow. Was he some retired teacher of the 80's?

"Now, I assume you know all of the rules?"

Hell no we don't. He stared at our blank expressions.

"Well, here's as specifies - you try and find true love - whether friendship or romance - and try get out of here alive. And your goal is to try and be the last one standing. But you must kill, you know? Or else you can't be the last one standing!"

He gave a laugh at his feeble joke. I wanted to punch him in the face.

"Your uniforms are in your closets. If you aren't wearing what you have to, you'll get shot."

Holly promptly fainted. Poppy was crying. From the game rules or Holly's blackout, I honestly didn't know."

"Now, you have to kill people without anyone knowing it's you. If I can tell…you also get shot."

Apple's jaw dropped.

He immediately dismissed us. Everyone murmured in dismay. They had all been tricked into a game! Apple was sniffling, and Briar and Faybelle looked murderous. I went up to the dark-skinned girl in the purple dress and introduced myself. Her name was Cedar Wood.

"If I'm being completely honest, which I am, this is one of the most terrifying things I've ever been involved in," she shivered. We were each assigned wings and rooms. Mine was the East Wing, with Cedar, Apple, Blondie, Faybelle, Briar, and the twins.

The hallway was lined with huge floor-length windows on one side and oak doors on the other. Chandeliers hung inticingly from the ceiling, glinting in the sun.

I stepped inside my room and was pleasantly surprised to see a redwood mahojany four-poster bed and a matching wardrobe. I threw my duffel bag into the wardrobe and fished out a dress. They were all the same black dresses. I slipped it on, as well as the pumps at the foot of the bed, and tied my hair into a bun.

The dress was a scoop-neck. It had short sleeves and an a-line skirt. I opened my door and slipped into the hallway.

Seconds later, Cedar opened her doorand joined me. She was wearing a cap-sleeved v-neck with a short, flowy skirt. Next came Faybelle, in an elbow-length sleeved lacy wrap dress; Apple, in a sleeveless sweetheart-necklined dress that hugged her curvy form; Blondie, in a high-necked frock with a pencil skirt; and Poppy and Holly, in matching bateau-necklined dresses.

Then Briar opened her door and stepped out. Holy shit. She looked like a red carpet model. Her spaghetti-straps criss crossed. The back stooped very low. There was a slit up on side of the skirt, long enough to see a dagger strapped to her thigh.

Dinner in the great hall was onion soup, lamb with potatoes and garden salad, and chocolate mousse. There were more murmurings among us. The men were dressed in monochromatic tuxedos.

Holly and Poppy were talking quietly to themselves. Holly occassionally touched her bun (how she fit all that hair into a small bun, I didn't know) and glanced at the blonde man. Poppy nodded and gestured to the ginger with the fedora once or twice.

Duchess looked amazing. She had an off-the-shoulder bodice with pearls along the hem, and a tutu-esque skirt that was less wide and longer.

When dinner ended, I talked to Cedar for a little before retiring to my room.

This is just a game. Just a game, just a game, just a game. Maybe the guns only have paintballs. Maybe the daggers are fake. Maybe Grimm's joking. Maybe this was all a dream…

…Right?

I was woken up by a blood-curdling, high pitched scream. I quickly hopped out of bed and walked into the corridor. A flash of harsh sunlight hit me in the face. Briar was pounding on Blondie's door. "Blondie! Open up! What's wrong?" she called. It was Blondie who had screamed.

Everyone else woke up one by one. Apple with her hair in curlers, Holly and Poppy was very odd bedheads, and the others. Faybelle gently nudged Briar aside and picked the lock with her hairpin. The door swung open and we gathered inside.

Oh. My. Fucking. Gosh.

Apple gasped. I stared. Cedar winced. Holly fainted again.

Blondie was lying in a state of undress on her bed. A hideous red, bloody wound in the middle of her stomach. Blood continiously flowing. But her face - oh godmother, her face - Blondie's mouth set in a pink O, her eyes wide open and pale like anything, screaming in fear, a tear down her cheek.

That moment I knew this wasn't a game.

This was bloody real.

Everyone had heard about Blondie's death by lunchtime. Now everyone was cautious. They took this game for real.

Lunch was spaghetti. As I stared at the yellow noodles, I was reminded of Blondie's hair. It made it sick to the pit of my stomach.

At four, when Cedar was sketching a picture of me, another yell came from inside the Palace. This one was male.

In the sitting room, everyone dropped their things and ran towards the sound. My heart pounded inside me. When would it stop beating altogether? I shivered fiercely.

In the men's wing, the south wing, the redheaded, freckled boy was lying on the ground. The was a bullet hole in his collarbone. But it wasn't he who had yelled - it was the brunette in the glasses. "He's still alive!" he shouted. "We have to save him!"

One of the girls who I think was called Ashlynn ran for a medical kit. Some people followed. Others used toilet paper from the nearby en suite to clog the bleeding.

I walked back in search of Cedar when I saw a figure outside.

It was Madeline's friend with the light purple curls. She had a collared dress. But that wasn't important - the important thing was that she was holding a gun her hand and wiping blood off her sleeve.

Kitty Cheshire was a murderer.

I wondered if I should tell Grimm. Wasn't it a rule that if you were discovered, you were to be shot? I trembled. Surely Kitty didn't did to be shot. Surely she had a perfectly good excuse. Maybe it ws an accident…

Did she kill Blondie as well? If so, why hadn't anyone noticed? My mind raced. Everything seemed a blur now. This was real. This was all real. I could die and so could Cedar and all the girls I knew.

I had a good mind to go investigate Blondie's room. If it was proved that the murderer was Kitty, then we would just kill her…or avoid her…

I stood up from my chair and walked towards our wing. The Palace was silent, sending shivers down my spine. It seemed devoid of life. I headed towards Blondie's room, last down the hall. I tried the doorknob. Open.

Opening the door, I peeked my head in. They had long moved Blondie's body, but her presence was still there. Blondie's extravagant room, with all its splendour as like mine, suddenly felt like a graveyard, or a haunted house. I walked over o the window. It was locked from the inside. Blondie must've done so. Kitty had targeted from outside, like she had shot - or attepted to shoot - the red haired boy this morning. Her wing was the West, the furthest away. Would she have time to run by, shoot Blondie, and run back? Every lady had to wear heels. Could she run in heels?

Or did she drop the heels altogether? It was early in the morning, after all. But Blondie screamed the second she got shot. I remembered how some of her skin was still pink. Did Kitty have enough time to run? Or did she hide…

I opened Blondie's closet. It was pretty empty, enough to hide a petite person. Under the bed was another choice…or in the en suite? I checked the en suite. Was there anything there to prove it? Other than some strands of blonde hair, there was nothing. But it was still a possibility…

I racked my brains. Blondie's door was locked. How did Kitty get in? But all the same, she could have unlocked it with a bobby pin like Faybelle did…or did she shoot through the keyhole and run for it?

I looked at the keyhole. There was no way a bullet could fit through there. So Kitty, or whoever had killed Blondie, must have gone inside the room. But the only person who I knew had lock-picking skills was Faybelle…

And Blondie herself? Was this a wild attempt for suicide? No way. Blondie had the oppurtunity to film the mayor's daughter and all the luxuries she could want. That was obvious through the jewellery she wore, and her iPad and iPhone.

I silently calculated inside my head. I paused and ran all the way over the West Wing. I checked my timer. Five minutes! And I was counted as hella fast. So there was no way Kitty could have sprinted all the way. I had seen her running before when she was late to lunch, and she was pretty slow. Agile, but slow.

The hallway in our wing was long and straight. Briar, who was first up because her door was closest to Blondie's, should have heard or seen Kitty.

I crossed Kitty off my list of possible Blondie-murderers.

Who else could have murdered Blondie?

I thought again. There was Faybelle, who could pick a lock. Apple might have gotten annoyed about Blondie's constant bugging, but it wouldn't drive her to that much abnormality.

There was Cedar, but I chucked her aside. She was comfortably honest and wouldn't harm a fly.

Then there was Holly and Poppy…

Holy shit.

I knew who killed Blondie now.

I know. I left you on a cliffhanger. And also wrote a new fic. My other Ever After High fic, Where's My Happily Ever After, will be close to finishing. House Of Twisted Ever Afters…not so much. So, I'm going to upload a chapter of that, and then one of this, and then over and over again in that cycle. Please check out my other stories and vote in my poll!

So, who is Blondie's murderer? Why did Kitty target Hopper? Is everyone as innocent as they seem? What's up with Grimm? And who will be the last one standing?

Most of these questions wil be answered as the story goes along. But that's it for this chapter!

Adieu!