*POV means point of view

September 19, 2024

Chase's POV*

It was midnight when I got up from bed; it was my turn to guard and take over Rocky's place. Rocky passed by me groggily, yawning more than once.

"Thanks, Chase. Good night," Rocky said.

"Night, Rocky!" I replied as he disappeared slowly into the dark hall.

I joined Ryder outside by the gates, and we both tried to help each other stay awake. Ryder's eyes dropped now and then for about three seconds, and then he would jolt back awake again.

"Everything okay, Chase?" Ryder asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." I answered.

Just then, I remembered something that happened a few hours ago.

"Why were you talking to the princess alone earlier?"

Ryder looked a bit surprised by my question but answered anyway.

"Oh, um... It was her who wanted to talk first. She told me something... something personal."

I didn't mean to be nosy, but I was dying of curiosity about what it was.

"I don't mean to pry, but what was it about? Is it alright for me to know?"

"I know it seemed quite obvious during our last mission here in Barkingburg... The princess told me that... she likes me," Ryder said.

My next yawn turned into a dropped jaw. I had that feeling since our last mission, but now I knew it was real. I couldn't believe what I just heard.

"Well, what did you say?"

"Chase, just don't tell everyone, okay?" Ryder whispered. "I told her I didn't like her back."

I wasn't surprised at all—not one bit. I didn't say anything, though, since it was something I wasn't allowed to spill. If I were allowed, it certainly wouldn't be here in the castle.

Suddenly, we both heard footsteps approaching the gate. Someone just came out. It was Zuma.

"Zuma?"

"Oh, sorry, dudes. I just needed to go," he yawned.

Ryder and I exchanged glances.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, go ahead, Zuma," Ryder replied.

Skye's POV

My eyes shot open. Something was keeping me awake. I glanced at the digital alarm clock and saw that it was half past midnight. Why the heck am I awake at this hour? It's not like I drank coffee or something. I tossed and turned in bed until I couldn't fall asleep anymore. I got up on my paws and walked through the door. Peeking down the hallway, I noticed a shadow just leave. A shadow? I guess I'm not the only one having a hard time sleeping.

I tiptoed down the dark hallway. I tapped on my pup tag to make it light up, using it as my source of light. A cold breeze blew across my face. It came from the princess's bedroom, where her door was slightly ajar. But why? She usually closes her door. We all do...

I crept inside and pushed the door a little further to check on her. I first saw the window left open and her small lamp still on. Well, that's where the breeze came from. I glanced around the princess's bedroom and saw a horrific scene.

"AH—" I squealed but quickly covered my mouth to avoid waking everyone up.

The princess was covered in blood, lying on her bed as if she were still sleeping. A knife lay on the floor next to a puddle of blood. Sweetie was snoring on the other side of the room, completely unaware.

I had to get help. I ran out of the room to find the other pups.

Zuma's POV

I went outside to do my business. Ryder and Chase were on guard duty at this hour. Something was creeping me out tonight, but I wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was because I wasn't used to sleeping in the castle. Well, it's fine; it's just for a few nights, I guess. When I was done, I headed back inside.

"Hey, Ryder. What time is my shift?" I asked.

"Oh, um... I think yours is at 3 AM. I'll call you when it's your turn. You can get some sleep for now," Ryder answered.

"Okay, thanks, dude..." I replied as I headed back inside.

I walked through the dark hallway. The light from my pup tag was enough for me to see where I was going. As I walked, I felt like I stepped on something sticky. Sticky and wet, I might add. I bet Rocky would hate to touch this. Imagining his face made me chuckle a bit. But then I shone my light at my paw, and my chuckle faded.

"Blood? Where the heck did this come from?" I wondered, feeling a shiver run up my spine.

I shone the light further and realized it was a trail. A trail of bloody paw prints leading to the princess's bedroom, which was wide open. I felt frightened but went inside anyway. What I saw was even more shocking.

"W-what?! What happened here?!" I yelped, still trying to keep my voice down.

The princess was lying in her bed, dead. There was blood on her clothes, her bed, and on the floor. More bloody tracks were scattered around.

"I... I gotta go get help!" I said as I ran off in a panic to find Ryder and Chase.

Marshall's POV

I woke up to Skye shouting and shaking us awake.

"Skye, what the heck?!" Rocky complained.

"What in the world is going on?" I questioned.

"It's the princess..." Skye said.

"Well, what about her?" Rubble asked, still half asleep.

"She's dead," Skye replied.

"Skye, that's not a funny prank at all. She's probably just sleeping," I shrugged.

"This is NOT a prank."

Rocky and I stared at her while Rubble took off his sleeping mask.

"You're serious?"

Suddenly, Skye was interrupted by Chase, who spoke from the door.

"GUYS, SOMETHING BAD HAS HAPPENED! IT'S THE PRINCESS... SHE'S DEAD!"

"WHAT?!" Rocky, Rubble, and I yelled.

Skye rolled her eyes. "Now you believe me?"

"Wait, you saw it too?" Chase asked.

"Yeah, and they just won't believe me," Skye answered.

"Because Zuma saw it too and told us," Chase explained.

The four pups were surprised. They hadn't realized the Labrador wasn't in the room all along.

The Earl and the Butler dashed into the room, awakened by Chase's shouting.

"What's going on? I heard shouting," the Earl questioned.

"Your Earlness, it's the princess! She's dead!" Skye cried out.

"What?!"

Finally, Chase got all of us to follow him to the princess's room. Ryder turned on all the lights so everyone could see where they were going. But when we glanced into the room, I was more surprised to see something else. It was Sweetie, groaning as if she were just waking up.

Sweetie's POV

I groaned and stretched on my bed as I started to hear commotion in the room. I opened my eyes and saw Ryder and all the pups panicking in circles.

"No... It can't be!" the Earl stared in shock.

"But how?" the Butler added.

"Oh no..." Skye cried out.

I gazed at what everyone was staring at and jumped out of bed at the sight. My princess, my owner, was dead. She was dead!

"AHHH! What happened?! What did you all do to her?!" I yelled.

"I just went out to do my business, and when I came back and passed by her room, she was dead!"

"But nobody came in. I was awake the whole time, even during Rocky's shift. Okay, maybe I fell asleep for three seconds now and then, but really, we saw no one," Ryder explained.

"Then whoever did it is... one of us?" Rubble asked.

Everyone stared at each other and then turned their gaze back at the crime scene.

"Hmm, looks like it was one of us. Left a messy trail of bloody paw prints," Chase observed.

"So, a pup did this?" the Earl questioned.

"It could be..." Chase concluded.

Zuma and Skye looked around the scene as well.

"What's this? A glass of something that's nearly finished?" Zuma wondered.

He grabbed the glass and decided to taste whatever was in it. His tongue was already sticking out of his mouth when we all stopped him.

"ZUMA?!"

"What!"

"That's a piece of evidence, Zuma. Don't touch that!" Chase scolded.

Zuma put down the glass and went to explore something else.

"Dudes? Is that a knife?"

"A knife? You mean the one in the kitchen?" I questioned.

"You really think there could be another knife here other than a kitchen knife?" Skye said, glaring at me. I didn't say anything back.

"Yeahhh... Looks like a kitchen knife to me," Rubble nodded.

"We were all standing here for quite a while and just spotted the knife now?" the Earl questioned.

"Probably because we're all half-awake?" Marshall suggested.

"Right..." Rocky chuckled.

"Maybe we should call the police now..." Ryder suggested.

"I'll agree with that..." Rubble answered, whimpering.

Ryder's POV

I phoned the police, and within a few minutes, they arrived. They inspected the situation and took away the princess's corpse.

"Ryder..." Chase called me.

"What is it, Chase?" I answered.

"I feel bad about what happened to the princess. What if one of us killed her? I... I want to investigate too. I want to help find whoever did this. But I can't go without your permission."

Chase was right in some ways. But he was about to take on a seriously huge mission—one bigger than any before. If he wanted to help, then I should let him.

"Okay, Chase. If you think you can handle it, I'll support you..." I told him.

"Thank you, Ryder," Chase said, standing on his hind legs and starting to lick me.

Chase walked over to the policemen and asked if he could join them. They hesitated at first, but seeing his determination, they finally accepted him into the investigation. As the police began inspecting the messy scene, we were asked to step back, except for Chase. I checked on the other pups and saw Rubble talking to Sweetie.

Rubble's POV

I saw Sweetie crying, and I tried to comfort her. She had just lost her owner; any pup would feel that way.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

Sweetie couldn't look at me through her tears.

"I'm sorry about what happened. I know the princess didn't deserve that."

"Thanks, Rubble. I... I appreciate that," Sweetie replied, wiping her tears.

"Want a snack? Eating cheers me up when I'm sad," Rubble offered, showing her a bowl of pup treats.

Sweetie smiled as Rubble gently pushed the bowl toward her.

"Sure..."

After that, the White Terrier and the Bulldog sat quietly together, eating.

Hey, Detectives!

(I guess I'll start calling you all detectives for this story) I hope that was a good start in finding shreds of evidence behind the murder. Just so you know, Skye is not exempted or will have a lower chance of being a murderer just because she is my favorite character. I remember someone mentioned that and I'm just clarifying that. Sorry, Skye! I'll give you a better role next time.

That's all I have to say for now. Stay tuned for the next chapter! :)

- Detective Skye -

(Omg sorry if that doesn't sound good)