This is the transcription of posts from ten different contestants in an offsite forum. One by one, they'll be eliminated until only the winner remains. Your vote counts! Please join us by clicking "homepage" from our user page.

start of round three.

Chapter 33. Hopes And Dreams Are Shattering Apart

by Kima

You've killed her…You've killed her! The thought ran over and over through Kima's head. "No, maybe she's still alive…" Her words were absorbed by the books all around her, sounding small and incredibly feeble. As if the library was supposed to be silent.

In a daze, the wildcat shuffled over to the toppled bookshelf beneath which Raine now lay. The candle had extinguished itself, its still-warm wax now conforming very nicely to the contours of the stone floor. Books lay scattered all about, their once-immaculate leather covers dented and torn. She made no effort to avoid stepping on them, her bleeding footpaw leaving little red stains wherever it set down.

Kima knelt beside the bookshelf – an insect before a toppled giant. She set her paws on the cool, smooth wood. It was reassuringly solid. Bone-crushingly solid.

Was it possible Raine was still alive beneath all this? The odds were not in her favor. Her slight frame didn't stand a chance beneath this weight…

Her jaw clenched. No! She couldn't think that! That was exactly the kind of reasoning that brought about bad luck. Anything was possible. Kima quickly rapped her knuckles against the wood and slipped her fingertips beneath the bottom lip. The idea of leaving Raine trapped beneath this monstrosity was absolutely abhorring. "I'll get you out of there."

Teeth gritted, the feline pulled. The shelves creaked, and books fell to the floor. The heavy construct tilted upwards several inches. Just a little more… Kima's muscles strained valiantly. They began to burn, protesting this harsh treatment.

The bookshelf rose another inch. With a long growl that became a snarl, Kima tried to heave it up further. Her fingers slipped, and gravity eagerly sucked it back down. It hardly made a sound.

Crying out in frustration, Kima slammed her fists against the back of the shelf. It was simply too massive for her to move on her own. Lying down on her stomach, she peered under the shelf, but books obscured her vision.

"I'll get you out of there." The statement was spoken in a harsh whisper, like a blade slithering from its scabbard. It carried but an echo of the resolution and determination it held previously.

Arms reached under, and Kima began extracting books. Books of poetry, great works of literature – all were shoved unceremoniously aside. She kept working, waiting for that last book that would unveil her friend.

Finally, Raine's face appeared. If her eyes had been open, she would have been staring straight at Kima.

Kima's breath caught in her throat. Now that she was actually looking at the mousemaid, reality finally settled in. Dead. Gone forever. And yet, oddly, Raine looked as though she was at peace. Nowhere on her face could be found even a hint of the terror and agony that had been etched into the squirrel's. But she was still dead.

The musty scent of books all around her, Kima began to cry. Her tears blurred her vision and soaked her fur. Reaching forward a paw, the wildcat stroked the mouse's still whiskers.

It wasn't at all satisfying.

"I can't believe you don't want to keep that crown." Kima was in something of a huff as the group descended from the third floor. "It would fetch a hefty price."

Rhea didn't glance at Kima. "I just put it back into the room. You could have grabbed it."

"We have to get out of here first, anyways. Alive." Raine did glance at Kima, and her look was full of meanings, not all of them good.

Kima laughed nervously. It came out stuttered and not entirely-sane sounding. Now both of her companions were staring at her. She closed her mouth abruptly, then opened it again. "Of course we're going to get out of here alive."

"Is something wrong, Kima?" The way Rhea asked the question, it was clear she knew something was bothering the feline. She was more asking for an explanation.

Kima stared straight ahead, eyes on the stairs. "No, nothing's wrong…"

"Yes, something's wrong." Raine said.

Kima's ears flattened. She wasn't going to mention that, was she?

"You know when I went to find Kima? Well, I found her in a room with a dead servant."

All three stopped on the staircase. Kima winced. Yes, she mentioned it.

Rhea blinked in surprise. "Wait, what? You killed a servant, Kima?"

Feeling suddenly very awkward, Kima shook her head in a most vehement fashion. "No! No, I didn't kill that squirrel." She raised her paws as if by doing so, she might ward off the accusation. Instead, she found both her companions staring at them. Glancing at them, herself, Kima realized there was still blood on them. Hastily lowering them, the feline looked pleadingly at the other two. "I didn't kill him."

Raine rolled her eyes in disgust. "Oh no, you were just grabbing his bloody throat because it felt nice."

Kima had no reply. How was she supposed to respond to that? It wasn't far off the mark, by any means.

"What floor is he on?" Rhea asked.

"First floor." Kima pounced on the question, glad to have one she could answer. "In one of the guest rooms. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" The badger shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She looked distinctly uncomfortable with what she was about to say. "Maybe we should go have a look at the body."

Raine transferred her gaze from Kima to Rhea. "What good will that do? If we're going to interrogate a servant, he kind of needs to still be alive."

Rhea shrugged. "Maybe we might find some clues as to who actually did it. Might be a useful thing to know."

Kima thought of the squirrel's pained expression. His staring eyes. His matted fur. His matted, bloodied…

She shuddered and shook her head. "No, I can't go back into that room."

"And we agreed we were going to search for a servant now."

"Fine, how about one of us…well, I suppose me. How about I just take a quick peek in? It won't take that long to look around, I imagine. We can find a servant after, and they'll probably be easier to find on the first floor, anyways." As if that settled matters, the badger began lumbering down the stairs without waiting for agreement, leaving the other two behind her.

Sighing in near unison, Kima and Raine followed after. Rhea may have said she considered them all to be equal, but it was clear she was used to making the decisions.

It didn't take the group long to reach the first floor, and once there, even less time to come to the door from behind which the scent of blood still wafted.

Kima nervously stepped against the wall. "I'll wait out here. Keep watch."

Rhea nodded, took a deep breath, wrinkled her nose at the scent, nearly decided to call the whole thing off, and finally just pushed open the door. She and Raine stepped inside.

Immediately, the smell intensified. And it smelled delicious. Kima inhaled and closed her eyes, savoring it. Maybe she would take another peek inside the room…

"He's gone!"

Kima's eyes snapped open. Gone? Peering around the doorframe, she stared for a moment, and then came all the way into the room.

Everything was the same as before: bloodied bed, bloodied sheets, bloodied floor. Except – no bloodied squirrel. It was as if he had simply vanished into thin air. Like a ghost.

"The servants probably cleaned him up."

Raine's statement made sense, but it didn't completely reassure Kima. "Or maybe the castle is haunted."

The sounding of the dinner bell closed off any further discussion.

"I suppose we should probably go eat," Rhea said. "It might be good to compare notes with the other groups." There was murmured assent, and the three exited the room.

Kima looked at her still-bloodied paws. She couldn't go to dinner with them looking like that. "I think I'll wash up first. I'll meet you guys there."

"Will you be alright by yourself?" Raine asked. Her tone suggested what she was really asking was whether or not other beasts would be alright with Kima by herself.

"I'll be fine." And so saying, Kima headed back upstairs. She passed no one on the staircases or hallways, and arrived at her bedroom without incident.

As she began to wash, a wave of nausea surged over her. Gasping aloud, she leaned against the wash basin for support. That's right. I'm sick. Funny how you can forget something like that. I'll have to drink some more tea at dinner.

She remained that way for several minutes, breathing as deeply and steadily as she could manage. The queasiness finally passed, and Kima kept scrubbing. The blood wouldn't come out. She scrubbed harder. The blood wasn't bothered at all. Frustration began to build, and she scrubbed as though she was trying to take her fur off. If anything, the blood seeped in deeper. "Blast this blood and blast…Wachoo!"

Kima paused. Her sneeze came suddenly – unexpectedly even, but that wasn't why she stopped. She could have swore someone else had sneezed at exactly the same time. She glanced fearfully to the side. It had sounded as though someone right next to her had sneezed, but all that greeted her was a stone wall.

Frowning, the wildcat kept her gaze on the wall, decided her paws weren't getting any cleaner, and dried them. Grabbing her cloak to ward off the castle chill, she slowly backed out of her room, eyes glued to the spot next to her sink.

The nine guests were again gathered around the dining table, engaged in amiable conversation and eating food that was as splendid as ever. There was almost a feeling of camaraderie amongst the group.

Well, maybe camaraderie is too strong a word. Kima looked around the table. As compared to the first night, though, everyone was downright jovial. Gone was the rift between vermin and woodlanders. They sat next to each other, at least. And we're perhaps getting somewhere now.

Once dinner had gotten underway, conversation had naturally fallen into discussing the day's discoveries.

Rhea watched a servant glide from the room, empty platters in paw. "So the servants aren't as emotionless as they pretend?"

"I should say not!" Flynn said.

"At least, that head servant, Jeremy, isn't," Quincy amended. "And I imagine that if he's not as emotionless as he seems to be, neither are the others."

"So it really is just an act." This news came as something of a relief to Kima. The idea that somebeast could have absolutely no emotion just wasn't natural. Not natural at all.

"Well, all actors slip up sometimes." Nallmian didn't seem in the least surprised by this revelation. In fact, neither did the other two members of his group.

Saveaux coughed and looked as though he was about to say something, but Biara leaned over and whispered something in his ear. After a moment, the newt nodded.

The marten smiled and turned to the rest of the guests. "I think we should record our findings. Saveaux is an excellent writer, and he says he wouldn't mind recording everything"

As if to emphasize the point, Saveaux cleared the table in front of him and began setting out quill and parchment.

Desmond, who had remained largely aloof throughout dinner, finally spoke. "Well, at least some of us have some good ideas." He cast a meaningful look at the other two members of his group.

Flynn glared at him. Even Quincy looked a little displeased with the squirrel.

"Has anyone discovered a way out?" Raine asked, sounding rather dejected. "Because we didn't."

"Nor us," Quincy said.

"I think we've made it clear we didn't find an exit," Nallmian said.

"So we've accomplished nothing." The mousemaid sounded even more depressed.

Kima shook her head. "Not nothing, Raine…"

On her way back to the dining hall, her reflection in a passing mirror gave Kima pause. She looked a mess. Red-rimmed eyes and mussed fur was hardly something to present to the other guests. The wildcat smoothed her cheeks and rubbed at her eyes. It didn't help much, but it was better than nothing.

Tail twitching as she composed herself, she spotted something on the floor. A droplet of blood – her blood. With a jolt, she realized this was the spot Raine had smashed the mirror. It had been completely destroyed, and yet there was no trace of it anywhere. It had already been swept up. Not only swept up, but also replaced. What service. Those servants and their cold efficiency. It hadn't been very long at all since Kima came dashing through here. Somehow, they seemed to know exactly when and where they needed to be.

Well, they wouldn't be able to easily get Raine's body. Not like how they had taken the fox and the squirrel. And where were those two now? Probably rotting in some garbage pit or back room. Maybe another sealed one.

Anger boiled up inside Kima, and she was tempted to smash the mirror as Raine had done – just to spite the castle's janitors. A small token of defiance.

But no, she wasn't quite that desperate yet. Only a fool would do something as incredibly unlucky as smashing a mirror.

Maybe that was what had gotten Raine.

Kima sniffled, told herself it was because of her cold, and continued on. Surprisingly, when she made it back to the dining hall, everyone else was still there. Saveaux was no longer recording, and the conversation was now on other things.

Rhea was the first to notice Kima's return. "Hey, Kima. Where's Raine?"

Kima said nothing. Shuffling to her chair, she sat down. The conversation slowly died away as the others noticed her slightly-haggard appearance.

"Where's Raine?" Rhea asked again.

Kima looked at the badger. A thousand thoughts tumbled through her head – a thousand different things to say – but all that came out was, "Dead."

None of those at the table said anything as they came to terms with this new piece of information. Although none had expressed it, most of them had likely held onto a hope that no one else would die before they escaped. Raine's death brought this fantasy crashing to the ground.

Finally, it was Flynn who spoke, suspicion oozing from her words. "How did she die?"

"It was an accident!" Kima said quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly. She looked at the staring faces, more than one a little suspicious. For a moment, she considered telling the truth – just telling the tale in all its absurdity. But that hardly seemed the wise thing to do. It would only make her look guilty. "We decided to explore the library. Well, Raine did. I…I just followed. We started to search around. I moved off to explore down one of the aisles. We weren't there a minute before I heard a crash. One of the bookshelves fell over and…Raine was underneath it."

"So you didn't see who did it?"

Kima shook her head. "No. As far as I know, Raine and I were the only ones in the library."

"Well. Two down, seven to go," Desmond said. "Pass the salt."