*Ring, ring!* *Ring, Ring!*
Baroness Von Bon Bon yawned as she shut off her alarm clock, sat up, and stretched. What a lovely night's sleep, she thought. She rubbed her eyes as she got out of bed and made her way towards her balcony. She leaned on it as she gazed upon the beautiful area she called Sugarland.
The land looked quite lovely, this morning. The cotton candy trees were as fluffy as ever, the lollipops were stiff, but nonetheless sweet, and the milk drops on the grass glimmered in the light from the morning Sun. It was wonderful.
Bon Bon sighed in awe as she admired the sight for a few more minutes, then quickly turned around so she could prepare for the day.
Today was a very special day. It was Friday. But more importantly, today was the day Baroness Von Bon Bon was going to spend the day at the Carnival with her best friend, Rumor Honeybottoms-the Queen of Bees!
Bon Bon took her morning shower, put on her striped cake dress, then sat down to examine herself in the mirror. Everything looked good so far, except for one thing...
Her hair was gone.
Bon Bon widened her eyes, shocked to see herself bald. She pondered for a moment about what could have caused this, then lightly slapped herself as she realized-her hair had melted in the shower, since she forgot to remove it beforehand. Bon Bon sighed in frustration as she opened one of her drawers and pulled out a tube of chocolate frosting. She looked in the mirror as she squirted the tasty topping onto her smooth, pink scalp. Once her head was covered, she squirted an extra dollop of frosting above her forehead, twiring it as she did. She put the tube away, then fiddled with the dollop a bit until it finally stood as an upright curl, just as she liked it. She smiled as she put on her makeup, then went to retrieve her ice-cream cone hat from her coat rack. Finally, she opened her closet to retrieve her most important possession-her candy cane.
This was no ordinary candy cane, mind you. Before Bon Bon, the candy cane had belonged to her father. And before him, it had belonged to his father. And before him-well, you get the idea. The candy cane represented authority over Sugarland, but there was more to it than that.
Bon Bon went over to her standing mirror and leaned on her cane, just as she would any other day. After a few seconds, she raised the cane in the air and slapped the long part against her palm.
*Poof!*
A cloud of candy dust formed around the cane. After a few seconds, the cloud disappeared to reveal that the cane had now transformed into a double-barreled cotton-candy gun. The Baroness posed in the mirror, holding the gun upright, just as soldier in the army would. She then struck the cane against her palm again, once more summoning a cloud of candy dust. This time, the cane transformed into a parasol, designed to match her dress. Bon Bon twilred the parasol and giggled as she looked in the mirror with it, followed by blowing a kiss. She then made the candy cane change back to its original form.
*Knock!* *Knock!*
"Hm?" Bon Bon said as she went over to her bedroom door. She opened it to reveal her butler-a gingerbread man named Jeremy, dressed up in his black-frosting suit and jellybean bowtie. He stood with his arms behind his back, a warm smile on his face.
"Good morning, Your Highness," he said. "Are you ready for for the day?"
"Of course I am!" Bon Bon replied. "Today is going to be a big day!"
"And a big day calls for a big breakfast!" Jeremy replied as he stepped to the side, allowing Her Majesty to step out of her room, towards the staircase. "The chefs made your favorite, Baroness," he continued. "Funnel cakes, covered in chocolate syrup with cherries and a glass of-"
"Whoa!" Bon Bon shouted.
*Thud!*
"Hm?" Jeremy turned around and widened his eyes at the sight. Bon Bon was lying face-down on the floor, her head leaning over the top of the staircase, just out of his sight. The Baroness had tripped on a stray gumball! How unfortunate. He walked over to her, put the gumball in his pocket, then grabbed her by her arm and pulled her back up on her feet. "Terribly sorry, Your Majesty," he said. "I must have missed that gumball while I was tidying up last-" He paused upon realizing that Bon Bon's head was missing. "Oh dear," he said as he looked down the staircase, down which Bon Bon's head was currently bouncing.
Bon Bon screamed as her head fell down the stairs. Each time her head struck the steps or a wall, she shouted out:
"Ow!" "Rancid milk!" "Ow!" "Stale cookies!" "Ow!" "Rotten eggs!" "Ow!" "Fruitcake!" "Ow!"
"Can we eat now?" asked Lord Gob Packer.
"No!" said Sargent Gumbo Gumball.
"But I'm starving!" said Gob Packer.
"I am too!" said Gumbo. "But unlike you, I actually have respect for our ruler!"
"Respect!?" Gob Packer shot back. "I respect the Baroness! I really do!"
"If you did," Gumbo replied, "then you wouldn't ask to eat before she comes down here, now would you?"
"Well, what about him!? He doesn't seem to have any respect!" Gob Packer motioned towards Kernel Von Pop, who was sitting right beside Gumbo, eating away at his breakfast. Turning around and seeing the candy corn shamelessly breaking the rules made Gumbo so mad, his cap nearly blew off. With a twirl of his knob, he launched one of his gumballs out of his chest, striking Kernel in the side of the head with it, earning a groan of anger from him.
"No eating!" he shouted. He suddenly heard a loud chewing noise behind him. He turned to see Gob Packer, eating some of his bacon. The jawbreaker would have happily devoured the rest if somebody hadn't struck him in the side with a gumball. "Hey!" he shouted.
"No eating!" Gumbo repeated. "Until the Baroness comes down the stairs, nobody so much as touches their food, or they're on dish duty for the rest of the day! Understand!?"
"Yes, Sargent Gumball," Gob Packer, Kernel, and Sir Waffington III muttered in unison.
"I can't hear you!" Gumbo shouted.
"Yes! Sargent Gumball!" the three repeated, louder this time.
"Muffsky, what about you?" Gumbo said to Muffsky Chernikov, the cupcake sitting across from him. Muffsky didn't say anything. He was too busy reading a strange book. "Muffsky!?" Gumbo shouted.
"Huh!?" Muffsky jumped as he looked up from his book.
"Muffsky, did you hear a word I said!?" Gumbo demanded, standing up from his seat.
"Of-Of course I did!" Muffsky replied, anxiously.
"What did I say, then?" Gumbo asked.
""Don't eat until the Baroness comes down!"" said Muffsky. "I know the rules sir, I really do and I would never, ever break them for any reason! Honest! Cross my heart and hope to die!" He took a deep breath, exhausted.
"Good!" Gumbo said, sitting back down. As he calmed down, he eyed the novel Muffsky had been reading. "If ya don't mind me askin'," he began, "what book is that?"
"Oh, this?" Muffsky replied, calming down as well. "Oh, this is just something I bought at the local shop last week! I was reading it to pass the time while I wait for the Baroness."
"Well, what book is it?" Gumbo repeated.
"Oh, it's a classic!" Muffsky replied. "It's a horror novel about an evil, hideous, bloodthirsty-"
*THUD!*
"Hold that thought!" Gumbo interrupted. He looked around, confusing his peers. "Did anybody hear that?"
"Hear what?" asked Waffington.
*THUD!* *THUD!*
"That!" Gumbo answered. "What was that!?"
"I think it came from over there!" Gob Packer said as he motioned towards the staircase. The five court members leaned forward as they focused on the stairs, wondering what had caused that strange noise.
*THUD!* *THUD!* *THUD!*
"Do you think it might be a-a g-g-ghost!?" Gob Packer asked, shivering a bit.
"Perhaps," Muffsky answered. A sly look suddenly appeared on his face. "Or perhaps it's a bloodthirsty-"
"Ow!" somebody screamed.
"Listen!" Gumbo interrupted. "It sounds like...Bon Bon!?"
"Melted chocolate!" "Ow!" "Sourballs" "Ow!" "Cream soda!" "Ow!" "Tooth decay!" "Ow!" Bon Bon shouted as her head continued bouncing, the thuds growing louder and louder as she fell nearer. Eventually, she reached the bottom, but continued rolling forwards across the floor.
"BLAAAAAAAAAACK LIIIIIIIIIIIIIICOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiice..." she shouted as loud as she could, but her voice slowly grew quiter as she finally halted to a stop, just a few feet from the dining room table. Her eyes spun in her head for a few moments. Once she regained focus, she stared back at her subjects.
"Good morning, everyone," she groaned, obviously annoyed.
"Good morning, Your Highness," her subjects replied, all at once.
"Huzzah!" Gob Packer exclaimed. "The Baroness is has arrived! Now can we eat!"
"No!" Gumbo replied. "Not until the rest of her comes down!"
"Oh Gumbo, just let him eat!" said Bon Bon. "He's obviously hungry, and my head alone should be enough to qualify for my presence!"
"But wouldn't you prefer to have a body as well, Miss Bon Bon?" Jeremy said as he arrived downstairs, carefully guiding Bon Bon's headless body forward.
"Jeremy!" Bon Bon exclaimed. "As a matter of fact, I would! Please bring me over here!" As Jeremy obediently brought the Lady towards her lost head, Sir Waffington spoke up.
"What happened to your head, Your Highness?" he asked.
"She slipped at the top of the stairs," Jeremy explained as he picked Bon Bon's head up and handed it over to her. He then removed the gumball from ealier from his pocket and showed it to everyone else, "On a gumball, no less."
"A gumball?" Muffsky asked. "How did a gumball get upstairs?"
"I-I don't know," Gumbo answered, suspiciously. "How did a gumball get upstairs? A-And who would put it there? And why?" He grinned nervously as everybody looked at him. "What? Is there something on my face?"
"Gumbo," Bon Bon began, twisting her head back onto her neck, "what did you do?"
Gumbo stuttered," N-N-Nothing, Your Highness! Nothing at all!"
"Then where did the gumballs on the downstairs floor last night come from?" Jeremy asked, his arms crossed.
"Gumballs? On the downstairs floor?" Gumbo stammered.
"Gumballs that I had to clean up!" Jeremy grimaced.
Gumbo shook, his gumballs clattering around inside of him. He tried to think of something else to say, but he couldn't. Finally, he blurted out, "Alright, it was me! I'm sorry!"
"Gumbo!" Bon Bon exclaimed, putting her hat back on. "Why? Why did you leave so many gumballs lying around!?"
"Now, Your Highness, I know this sounds crazy," Gumbo began, "but last night, there was...well, a moth, fluttering around the castle."
"A moth!?" Bon Bon raised a brow.
"Yes, a moth," Gumbo continued. "And, well...I had just gotten up to use the bathroom, so I was tired and couldn't really think straight, and I didn't know if anybody else was awake, so I...fired a few gumballs at the moth. To try and get rid of it, of course. I chased that little critter all around the castle, even upstairs, but eventually, I lost it. Since I was tired, I forgot about the gumballs, so I just went back to bed. Honestly, I had still forgotten about the gumballs this morning, until Jeremy brought them up. Sorry, Your Majesty. It won't happen again. I promise." He grinned, hoping his mistress would just blow it off.
"Well," Bon Bon began, "I supposed it could have been worse..."
"Pardon me, madam," Jeremy , tapping Bon Bon on the shoulder. She turned to face him. "I hope you don't mind, but I retrieved these from your bedroom." He held up Bon Bon's tube of chocolate frosting, as well as her clamshell mirror. She took them.
"Hm?" she wondered aloud as she opened the mirror. "Why ever did you feel the need to- Oh my stars!" She gaped in horror at her reflection. Bouncing down the stairs had smeared her hair! And just after she fixed it up, to boot! "My hair!" she exclaimed. "My hair is ruined!" She turned to stare at Gumbo. Stare daggers at him. His smile faded, not that it was very stable to begin with.
Now Bon Bon was mad. Madder than a hatter. And not in the crazy way. Handing her frosting and mirror back to Jeremy, she stormed over towards the frightened gumball machine, never once taking her eyes off of him. She leaned over the table towards him, causing him to lean back in his chair as best as he could. The other four court members could only shiver as they watched in horror at what their leader was about to do.
"You..." Bon Bon growled, through gritted teeth. "You...made me trip..." she raised her candy cane over her head, preparing to strike him with it. "...AND RUIN MY HAIR!?"
Muffsky couldn't bare to watch. He covered his face with his book.
"YOUR HIGHNESS, I'M SORRY!" Gumbo shouted. "I'M SORRY! I WAS TIRED! I COULDN'T THINK STRAIGHT! PLEASE, I PROMISE IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!"
"RrrrAAAGGGHHH!" Bon Bon cried as she raised her cane higher. Just before she could strike Gumbo, however, she saw her reflection in his glass head. Her beastly teeth. Her hellish eyes. Her monstrous expression. She let out a gasp, then glanced at her candy cane. Stepping back away from the table, the Baroness took several deep breaths, her arms lowering with each exhale. She finally regained control of her temper after what she felt was the tenth breath. With that, she held her candy cane in a more ladylike manner, cleared her throat, and said, "Apology accepted, Gumbo. Just, please, try not to do that again."
Gumbo let out a massive sigh of relief, as did the other court members. "Thank you, Your Highness," he said.
Bon Bon turned to her gingerbread butler, "Jeremy, my mirror and frosting, please," she said. He obeyed and gave them back to her. "And if it's not too much trouble, could you fetch the newspaper while I start on my breakfast?"
"Of course, madam," he replied.
Just then, the telephone rang in the next room over.
*Ring Ring!* *Ring Ring!*
"Oh, could you get that first, Jeremy?" Bon Bon asked.
"Yes, madam," he said as he walked towards where the ringing came from.
"Thank you, Jeremy," Bon Bon said as she sat down in her seat. She looked in her mirror, fixed up her hair, then set her items aside before raising the lid off of her breakfast plate to reveal her favorite meal, just as Jeremy had promised-funnel cakes, with a bottle of chocolate syrup, cherries, and a glass of strawberry milk!
"Well alright, everyone," she exclaimed, raising her fork, "Dig in!" And with that, the Lady and her subjects happily began to eat. Bon Bon wasted no time in pouring her syrup onto her funnel cakes, followed by adding the cherries on top. She cut into her food and took a bite, and it was like taking in a mouthful of heaven! As the Baroness chewed her food, she caught sight of a book on the table, lying right next to Muffsky as he ate his scrambled chocolate eggs. The book was closed and laid face down, so she couldn't read the title. Curious, she swallowed her food, took a sip of her milk, and then asked, "Muffsky, what is that book you have there?"
"Oh, yeah," Gumbo said, swallowing his licorice oatmeal. "I almost forgot! Muffsky, what book is that?"
"Hm?" Muffsky looked up from his food, then at his book. "Oh right, my book!" He pulled it closer to himself. "Well, like I was saying, it's a famous, classic horror story about a vicious, bloodthirsty-"
"Miss Bon Bon," Jeremy interrupted as he walked in, holding the telephone, "It's for you," he handed the phone to Bon Bon and walked off. She put the receiver by her ear and spoke into the phone itself.
"Hello?" she said.
"Hi, Bon Bon!" she heard a familiar voice say.
"Rumor!" Bon Bon smiled. "Good morning Rumor! How are you doing?"
"Oh I'm just fabulous, Bon Bon!" Rumor replied. "Absolutely fabulous! Oh, hang on a second sugar, I gotta do somethin' real quick!"
"Alright, then," Bon Bon replied.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Bon Bon, Rumor was sitting at her desk in a state of misery. As she and Bon Bon conversed, she was reluctantly signing papers to pay off her remaining debt. An investor stood in front of her desk, handing her the papers. One of her worker bees, meanwhile, was standing right next to her.
"Are you going to tell her, ma'am?" the worker asked.
"In a minute, hon," she told him.
"What was that?" Bon Bon asked.
"Nothin', sweetheart!" Rumor spoke into the phone in a faux cheery voice. "I'm just doin' a li'l bit o' work while we talk, is all!"
"Oh!" Bon Bon replied. "Well, maybe I should hang up. So you don't get distracted!"
"Oh no, that's okay!" said the Queen Bee. "It's not that much! Jus' gotta sign a few papers, and I'll be done for th' mornin', that's all!"
"Ma'am," the worker began, "She has to know eventually."
"Oh would you hush up!?" Rumor barked.
"Hm?" Bon Bon heard that. "Rumor, is something wrong?"
"No no no! Of course not, sugar!" Rumor fibbed. "Just gotta a li'l buzz in my ear, if ya know what I mean! Hehehe!" She glared at the worker as she signed another paper.
"Errr...Alright then," Bon Bon replied, slightly put off. "Well, are you ready for our trip to the Carnival today?"
"Am I ready?!" Rumor paused, a surreal grin forming on her face. "Why, of course I'm ready, surgarlumps! Ya'll want me to meet ya at eight-o-clock at the entrance, right? Right!?"
Rumor's tone of voice was starting to creep Bon Bon out. She said, "Um...Right, of course! Rumor, are you alright? You sound a tad...unhinged."
"Oh, I ain't unhinged, sweetie!" Rumor began.
Just then, the worker bee spoke up, "Miss Bon Bon, I don't know how to say this, but-BLUGH!" He was suddenly cut off by Rumor shoving a jar of honey over his head. He struggled as he tried to pull it off, only to wander off into another room.
"I just had one too many sips o' coffee this mornin', that's all!" Rumor continued. "Five more minutes, and my caffiene rush'll be all outta gas!" She giggled.
"Well...alright then Rumor," said Bon Bon. "Good luck with your work. See you at the Carnival! Bye!"
"Bye, sugarcake!" Rumor said as they both hung up. She looked down at the papers on her desk, then signed the last one. She set her pen down, folded her hands, and put on the best fake smile she could for the investor
"Thank you ma'am," the investor said as he collected the papers. As he got ready to leave, he said, "I'm gonna be honest, ma'am, I'm really gonna miss buying honey from you. All my life, nobody's ever made honey taste as great as yours." He sighed. "I wish there was something I could do to help. I really do. But I'm afraid there isn't. Welp, goodbye ma'am. It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Hope you can find work somewhere else. And if ya can't..." he opened the door, "I hope ya know someone who's rich." He tipped his hat, then shut the door behind him.
Once he was gone, Rumor's hands fell to her sides, whilst her face fell against her desk. A pool of tears quickly appeared as the bee began to sob.
"That was a lovely breakfast!" Bon Bon said as she stood up from her chair. "My compliments to the chefs!" She grabbed her candy cane and was about to head out, when Muffsky stopped her.
"Wait a minute!" he said. "Don't you want to hear about my book!?"
"What?" Bon Bon tilted her head. "Oh right, your book! What was it called again?"
"It's called..." Muffsky began as he held the book up for everyone to see. "...Dracula!"
"Dracula?" Waffington asked. "Oh, I think I've heard of that one! Isn't it about a vampire?"
"Oh yes!" Muffsky answered. "It's about an evil vampire who made a deal with the Devil!"
Bon Bon widened her eyes at that last part, as it brought back a few unpleasant memories.
"I'm only about halfway through," Muffsky explained. "But it's very engaging! It just might be my favorite book yet!"
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it, Muffsky," said Bon Bon. "But try not to get too caught up in it. You know vampires are just a silly old myth, right?"
"Oh of course, Your Highness, I know that!" Muffsky replied. "I'm just really excited, is all!"
"Well, try to save your excitement for work," Bon Bon said. "Now then, Gumbo, as usual, you are in charge while I'm away."
"Uuuuggghhh!" the other court members groaned.
"Yes, ma'am!" Gumbo nodded, smugly.
"Right then," Bon Bon said as she walked away from the table. She then called for Jeremy.
"Yes, madam!?" he called from another room.
"Don't worry about the newspaper!" Bon Bon replied. "I'll get it on my way out!"
"Very well, madam!" Jeremy called back.
"Oh, and Jeremy, one more thing!" Bon Bon called.
"What!?" he replied.
"Can I get a bottle of strawberry milk to go!?" Bon Bon asked.
Bon Bon hummed a merry tune as she stepped out of her castle door, her parasol over her head. She took a sip of her strawberry milk as she walked over to pick up the newspaper. She tucked her parasol under her arm as she walked out onto the sidewalk, towards the Carnival. As she began her journey, she sipped her milk again as she took a look at the front page. For the most part, she didn't find anything of interest. Just some things about a discontinued brand of lipstick, a chemist winning the Nobel Peace Prize, a group of people that had gone missing...
...Wait a minute...
A group of people that had gone missing!?
Bon Bon spat out her milk and blink-blinked. Did she read that right? She took a closer look and found, to her horror, that she had.
According to the front page, a grand total of eight people had gone missing in the last month. There didn't seem to be much of a pattern to the disappearances, other than that at least one person vanished every three days. Curiously, while not all of the victims were human, almost all of them were men, with only one woman being listed. She was a human that appeared to be about middle-aged, and she had long red hair with bright blue eyes. Bon Bon was not familiar with any of these people, but even just reading about something like this would have made her hair stand on it ends-if she were human, that is.
Bon Bon covered her mouth in shock and sorrow. Who were these people and what had happened to them? Did she even want to know? No, she didn't. Feeling unclean, she quickly threw the newspaper into a nearby trashcan, along with her milk, which wasn't even a quarter-finished. She clutched her parasol as she looked onwards towards the Carnival up ahead, its gigantic ferris-wheel and giggling children calling out to her.
After reading about those missing people, Bon Bon was starting to feel unsafe. Even though the Sun was shining down on her, Bon Bon felt as if she was wandering out at night, when predators lurked about. In the back of her mind, something was telling her that she should just turn around and go back home. Cancel her day at the Carnival. Stay inside with her subjects. But Bon Bon couldn't do that. She and Rumor had planned for this day, and she was not going to just quit on her friend. So she sighed, took a deep breath, and carefully made her way towards the Carnival.
Easy now, Bon Bon, she thought to herself. Just keep walking, and you'll be there in no time. There is nothing to worry about. It's morning time. Nobody is going to sneak up on you in broad daylight.
Just...keep...walk-
*CLINK!*
"G'ah!" she jumped, shutting her eyes. "What was that!?" She kept her eyes closed, refusing to open them for any reason whatsoever.
*CLINK!*
There it is again, she thought. What is it!?
*CLINK!*
*CLINK!*
*CLINK!*
*CLINK!*
Each progressive CLINK made Bon Bon more and more anxious. She heard several more clinks, and they didn't help at all. The final few CLINKS weren't as loud as the ones before, but they sounded like they were right in front of her. Bon Bon really didn't want to open her eyes, but she knew she had to. Slowly, her eyes opened up and looked in front of her. She looked around, and didn't see anything at first. But then she looked down, and saw...
...a coin.
A silver coin.
That was it.
Bon Bon let out a breath of relief, then giggled a bit. That's what she was afraid of? A coin? Hmf. Wait until she told Rumor. The bee would surely have a laugh at that.
With her sense of dread now gone, Bon Bon stared at the coin for a few more seconds. She still couldn't believe she had almost had a heart attack from it. She looked around the area, suspecting somebody may have dropped the coin. With nobody in sight, she figured she'd better hang onto it for now. She might find the owner later. So Bon Bon knelt down to pick up the coin...
...then she screamed as her hand was suddenly touched by another one.