Chapter Two: Sibyl's School for Talented Young Women
The three boys walked in a straight line down a quiet and seemingly abandoned country road. Dark storm clouds loomed over them, covering the sun and leaving them cold and shivering. Vector walked in front, a map and compass in hand, head constantly shifting in different directions. Charmy followed closely behind him, hovering lazily, eyes drooping as he drifted in and out of sleep. Espio followed suit, eyes watching the clouds as the wind picked up.
"Estimated time of arrival, Vector?"
Instead of answering him, Vector stopped, prompting the sleeping Charmy to bump into his scaly back.
"Heyyy!" Charmy whined groggily. "What's the big idea? Are we there yet?"
Vector held out his left arm and pointed at the forest that they've been walking alongside. "Apparently, they live in the forest."
Espio sighs, exasperated. "I don't trust that." He stopped behind Charmy with his arms crossed. In his hands he fiddled a small shuriken, eyeing the forest.
"Maybe it's some sort of boot camp or something Espio, you've gotta be more optimistic."
Espio shook his head as Vector made a B line for the forest. Charmy yawned and buzzed behind. Espio walked gallantly in front of Vector. "In the event that we meet some sort of ambush, I'll take the lead." Vector doesn't respond, and Espio assumed that he didn't even hear him at all. No matter. Unlike Vector, Espio wasn't blinded by the promise of money. Their shoes crunched branches as they entered the shrubbery. In no time they were surrounded by tall trees and bushes. Luckily, there was an unmarked dirt path trail.
It was peaceful, he could admit to himself. If the time were appropriate, he'd stop and meditate. But, this was the time to be on his toes, although truthfully, he didn't feel like he was in a dangerous situation.
"I wonder if it's some sort of private school… Or like a rough and tough boarding school with a bunch of juveniles." Vector wondered aloud as he followed the path that he wrote on the map in bright red marker. Espio shakes his head.
"Are you certain this missing little girl could be considered a delinquent?"
"Nah you're right Espy, It's probably one of those fancy private schools. Interesting target, but you could expect a pretty handsome ransom… Hmmm…" Vector reached into the pocket of his black leather jacket and pulls out a little pocket book and pen. As he writes, he thinks aloud: "Possible motives: Ransom."
They continue walking down the path for a few minutes before they come to the opening of a large, iron gated cemetery covered in vines and moss as if it had been forgotten as the surrounding foliage and trees protected it from outside forces. Vector stopped at its entrance with a worried expression. "That's certainly… unexpected."
"Please don't tell me we have to go in there." Charmy whispers, eyes widened and brows furrowed. "I'm not going in there."
Espio felt this situation strange, but he knew Vector wasn't going to back down from the case. The gate was ajar, and he pushed it open which caused it to creak loudly and eerily. As he entered with his arms crossed, Charmy followed behind him, gulping loudly. Vector shivered and nodded.
"Right, okay, that's okay." He said with a shaken voice and an awkward smile. His map crumpled between his fingers as he clutched it nervously. "Well, the place shouldn't be far from here, in fact it should be right up ahead-"
SNAP
Vector and Charmy yelp as Espio's heel presses down on a crab tree branch. Espio smirks.
"Aye! you think that was funny?!" Vector yelled so loudly that crows took flight from the surrounding trees. Espio simply turned and continued onward, carefully tip-toeing over mossy chipped headstones, chuckling to himself. Charmy soars downwards towards one stone in particular and wiped it clean with his fingers.
"1700 to 1757… That's old right?"
"Ancient." Vector responded. "This place is ancient, and forgotten, and cursed, and dumb, and I don't want to be here anymore." He said matter-of-factly.
"Then let's go." Espio shouts from the other side of the cemetery. "I've found the place." He motioned towards another gate, and beyond the gate was a clearing, and beyond the clearing was-
"That is the biggest house I've ever seen!" Charmy flies up and over the gate excitedly, forgetting the cemetery completely. Vector pushed open the gate and gawked while Espio loosened his posture.
The building was massive, four stories tall with large white latticed windows, decorated with flower baskets and vines creeping up the white wooden siding. Grand white marble pillars lined the porch and arched double doors. The lawn was cut neatly which made a great contrast beside the wild foliage of the forest circling the mansion, and to the left was a small gated garden where shovels and other tools were kept sticking out from mounds of dirt. The trees encompassing the building seemed to give them the feeling of complete and utter seclusion, and the contents of the forest beyond was inconceivable.
"This is it fellas. Took awhile." Vector took a look at a wristwatch that he kept in his left pocket. "It's almost noon. Time to introduce ourselves, boys."
The three enter through the gate and walk alongside each other, all the while, they are oblivious to the pair of eyes watching them from a fourth story window. Vector is the one to approach the arched double doors while he crumpled up his map and shoved it in his pocket. He raised his hand and knocked delicately, then waited.
Voices from behind the door can be heard, when they were suddenly shushed and reduced to whispers. The door opened slowly, and they were met with the eyes of fourteen little girls, all different species and ages. They were lined up in front of a large staircase, which was carpeted with a red floral plush carpet and lit with a bright and intricate silver chandelier. They wore uniforms, red plaid skirts and black tights with white blouses. And with them they were accompanied by an older woman, a white hedgehog, who had answered the door. Her quills were short and arranged neatly along her face and her eyes were a deep red. She wore a black blazer with the school's formal insignia and a knee length black pencil skirt.
Espio's eyes shifted from her quickly to an older girl who stood on the stairs behind the kids. A wolf, with white fur. She, too, was dressed formally, wearing a black turtleneck sweater and a high waisted red plaid skirt. She wore black thigh high socks and brown boots. It was her behavior that caught his eye, the way she fiddled with her white pearlescent hair that was held up high into a neat long ponytail. She averted her icy blue eyes, clutching a thick book against her chest. She seemed nervous.
"Gentlemen. Thank you for being here so soon." The white hedgehog woman spoke, retaining an authoritative posture. She held a hand out to Vector. "My name is Sibyl, I am the headmaster."
Vector grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously with a grin. "We're glad to be here ma'am, we didn't want to wait a second while one of your students remained unaccounted for."
Yeah, Espio thought. Because she's got the money.
His words seemed to strike something in the children. The girls all exchanged sad, worried expressions. One among the youngest, a little blue bird with a pacifier, began to cry.
Espio sent Vector a quick glare. "Nice, Vector."
Vector cleared his throat, sweating sheepishly. "I-I apologize. I forgot my professionalism at home, it seems."
Sibyl pushes a quill out of her eyes. "Please don't worry about us, my girls are tough enough. They hold faith." Thunder crashes from outside, and rain starts pouring from the dark clouds quite suddenly. "Please, come inside."
The trio steps inside, wiping their heels on the welcome mat and gawking at the interior of the school. The foyer was elegantly decorated, side tables against the hallway walls made of marble were dressed with vases holding bundles of roses. Paintings and statues hung on the paneled walls. It was as if they had walked into a museum.
The girls all looked at them as if they were alien creatures, and offered them only uncomfortable stares as Miss Sibyl shushed and lifted the little blue bird into her arms as she cried. Espio noticed that while he was busy glaring at Vector, the wolf girl on the staircase behind the children had disappeared. He made sure to take note of her behavior.
"Miss Sadie, could you please take the girls to-" Sibyl stops when she realizes that Sadie had already left. "Oh…" She laughs nervously. "You must forgive her, my assistant is quite shy." She cradled the girl in her arms gently and hummed before setting her down next to the other girls. She cleared her throat and stood before the girls, who all looked up to her obediently. "Ladies, you are dismissed to your rooms. Classes will be postponed for awhile, understood?"
They respond in unison. "Yes, Lady Sibyl."
The children disperse, climbing the stairs and running off into different directions. Missus Sibyl turned to the three detectives.
Vector and Espio gave the woman their full attention, whereas Charmy looked the other way, generally uninterested.
"Ma'am, with respect, the first thing we need to establish is that the scene of the kidnapping has not been tampered with." Said Espio, who was ready to get down to business. "Is there anything that has been moved since the crime?"
She hums and looks up as if in thought. "Not to my knowledge. I haven't allowed the children on the third floor since she was taken. My assistant Sadie, however, has been staging her own little investigation. I'd prefer you speak to her delicately, she's very hurt by all of this. She's likely up in her bedroom as we speak, but before we get to that…" She turned to face the stairs and began to walk, beckoning them to follow. "I'll need you three to follow me to my office."
Thank's y'all for reading, I understand so far that it may seem like a slow introduction but I promise more intrigue in the next chapter!
