*Shredding noises*
My hands are clawing these wrappers off the box. Presents are waiting for me by the table to unwrap, and there are three of them I still have to open. My first gift was a pristine white crown made of full glass with gems on top. It looks classy, even better than my old crown.
"Oh, this is..."
Compliments could've been my answer, but it hurt to realise how priceless this gift was. The yellow crown with a blue gem of mine could not compete with this one, and yet Sebastian said I was a star with it—I was not. This crown is proof that I am not as good as I thought I was.
"You didn't like it? Aww, we thought we could've made you happy with another crown since we see you wearing it often." My father was saddened.
"No, no...I like it. Really...it's good. Really..."
"Really? Well, I'm glad it is. Because you still have more presents to open."
"Yeah, okay. I guess I—wait, no! I can't open this present yet! There's something more important here that we needed to talk about."
The thought of these gifts is sweet, but there is something more focusing for me to be concerned about, like the arrival of King Glum, who was here uninvited yesterday. The mansion is in danger, and anyone could be harmed if I don't take action about it.
I tried warning these humans about him, but nobody believed me. Hard to believe a girl with so little to prove herself, especially the presence of her long-absent enemy. Traces of droplets are faint on the wall, but it is clear that he was here last night with an ill-intention. Still, nobody believes me. The party continue with a stale ending, as my presents are left incomplete.
"I promise you! He was here last night! He was here haunting the kitchen and almost took my life! I couldn't do anything but sleeping in the lounge room because I was afraid he would chase me!"
"Please, you had to believe me. We need to tell the Institute about this!"
"How do you know that? Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" My mother caught a different attention in this conversation. Too bad I couldn't defy her without answering that question.
My parents were going against me. It's difficult to explain how and why a Frowling like him would be here—senseless, even. But my eyes were seeing his bells and boots right before me. He was cold and silent, yet his presence drained every joy and spirit within me. It's hard to tell how eerie that feels without sounding like a mad Frowling.
"Mom, please listen to me! King Glum is not an ordinary Frowling to be messed with! He's—" I was cut off by my mother's resentment.
"Pearl, I can't believe you snuck out of your room at night. Do you know how dangerous that could be!" My mother was angry at me. She didn't like me going out at night as if I was being a mischievous child.
"But I only did that because I was thirsty!"
I've never seen them so angry. I've seen humans angry before, but as they come from my family, it feels so different. They were not happy, and I know they wouldn't—but they weren't too happy. All of a sudden, they wanted to grind me and set me flat!
"Pearl, I'm afraid this misdemeanor is beyond words. I wouldn't like to punish you, but I'll have you know that I'm not letting you get away with it."
"Now, unwrap all these remaining presents so you can be grounded." My father is threatened with death!
"Ground?? As in...grinding me?? N-no!"
I quickly hid under the table, my skirt stayed elegantly from the ground with my hand and ducked away from the party before my parents could ever hurt me to pieces. But to my surprise, they weren't trying to grind me like Sebastian did. My body was not going to be turned into a pile of pearly remnants.
"P-Pearl? What are you doing?"
"I don't want to be a pulp! Please don't grind me! I'm just trying to help!"
"W-what? No! We're not grinding you! We're just sending you back to your room until dusk." My mother dragged me by the feet.
"What? That's a punishment?" I was shocked. Human form of punishment is milder than I thought. But grounding? It sounded like something worse.
"Yes! Why? Not good enough to you?" My father glance with worry.
"Yeah—I mean, it does! No—please don't—send me to my room and—do nothing? I mean, please...! I'm just trying to help!" I played along with this punishment.
———————————————————————————————————
In the end, I can only open all of these late presents from my human parents. First, I got the white crown, and then I got a pearl necklace. The more I opened this present, the more I realised how terrible my studio dress was. Such a void.
The white crown and the pearl necklace fit me well—its colour gave me a moment of clarity in my head as I finally found beauty in the mirror. The new Pearl looks so better with white—white gloves, socks, a necklace and now a crown. Too bad Sebastian has no skill in fashion.
"Christine. If you're done, would you kindly clean up the mess on the kitchen for us?" Father mumbled. "I know this is an adult matter, but. You're an adult now! I mean 2 years different, but..."
"Mom and dad needs to go for a shopping spree to fix the mess that you did in the house."
"But I didn't do it!"
"Well, I wouldn't say I don't believe you. But I don't believe you!"
"Dad...come on!"
"Come on, sweetie! Pick up a paint and start decorating like your people always did. You did that right there on your home, right?"
"No...huhuhu! Curse you, Glum!"
The questions remain unanswered. I was alone in this case. Humans didn't want to listen to me, and I was alone as I had always been. But then, my friend Starglaze still lingers beside me. For once, he finally found a use for me after two days of nothingness. It's not that I hated him for that, but he could've been useful.
"Starglaze, please...tell me you believed me, right?" I beg for him.
"Well, why don't you tell me that again? Maybe my ears would finally believe you..." He smirks. He didn't take me seriously again.
"Hey, this is serious..." I begged for him. But he was also a stone.
"Look, P. I think you're under pressure, okay? Not that I don't believe in you..." He utters with a disbelief tone. "But I don't believe you. You know how impossible the chances are for that?"
"It could be big! You don't know that..."
"Maybe, but as your friend, I want to see."
He's the only hope I could have to capture King Glum before I became something unimaginable in his imagination. He's been quite a nice friend to me for a long time. And honestly, I couldn't imagine what to do without him. Though I wonder if the human girl would be jealous about it. Maybe she does.
I guess there's no cake for Pearl today. She had already eaten her parts last night. Starglaze didn't favour anything from the presents, which means I get to collect all these for myself.
"So, are you done, friend?"
"You tell me! Let's kick some Frowling's butt. Shall we?" He wipes his mouth before with a tissue that should've belonged to me. Not that I needed it anyway.
Oh, what a cheerful creature he is. That's why I adore someone like him to be by my side. If I had to be here in the mansion without my pretty little stardust beside me, I would've shattered at the thought of him absent. My precious shutterman and eternal friend. Unlike Lisa, who has no regard for me.
But before I could go, I still have one present left. Maybe I should save it for the last. Who knows how precious it could be to be wasted now?
Rip! "Forget it! Let me see!" The fourth gift opens by accident. The wrappers are falling by themselves! Surely, I had to open it before anyone else did.
"Ooh...crystal mirror...?" I find myself even more awed.
A mirror made of pure crystal? Or perhaps a fragile glass like this house? That face of a Joyling reflects even better with this more decorated frame. I could never have thought that a mirror would be my precious gift! Better than what Fuss gave to me.
"Come on, Pristy! The case will be cold by now if you keep your eyes staring at the mirror."
———————————————————————————————————
[Outside]
We needed a detective for this one, and there's only one Joyling that could fit well in this case—Graham. We headed for the cart where the two humans were staying, and it's safe to say that they are compliant with our agenda as we speak.
"Ms. Adele?"
"Ah! Pearl, you scare me! What can I help you with, young lady?" She has a terrible looks that a sick Joyling has. But I wonder what are those wet balloons are for? She's sitting on it.
"Uhm...I need to call Graham? Can I...?"
"Graham? Well, anything!"
I tried not looking into it. But I noticed she was also coughing and sneezing with their human germs. Yuck! I'd rather make it quick for a call before I get one. Just one tap on the radio, with my friend Starsy, and two humans out of the carriage with their sickness.
"Eugh, I better not get sick after this..."
"Don't worry! There's a medicine on the cabinet. Not sure which one is working but it won't hurt to try, right?"
"I guess..."
*Call* "Ms Adele. You've contacted Institute already?" A woman was answering on the other side.
"Sorry, wrong person. Is that you, Ms. Madeline?"
I've met with so many humans, but not from the outside. Not a child in sight, too. I was told that Graham was just finishing his anger management course with a few 'setbacks' on his attitude. It doesn't bother me, because I only looked for the man himself. I hope his ears are as ready as his eyeglasses.
"Ehem, young lady. Did you call me?" There he is. He's answering my call with a sound of slight exhaustion. It must have been a tiring session.
Alas, I heard that voice again. Not far for a week, and I already forgot how that wolf sounded. That gentleman's voice, followed by the faint growl under his jaw. I can also hear him tapping those nails on the table with glee. He's teasing me here.
"Ah, Graham. How I wish to hear your voice again. So I heard you were leaving the Institute? Proud to hear that. Can't wait to see you here..."
I heard his story at the Institute was quite interesting. Some challenges, like ink-blots and colours, are given to him on paper, and not that he was meant to draw them. But somehow, he felt a wind coming through his wool with serenity. It's like human magic.
"Deception is quite a game in people's hands," Graham said. "But trust me, I've encountered worse by the back of Sebastian's head."
It was easy, and the detective said he was ready to touch some grass. After years of lying in the dusty office with his hat and monocle in the background of Joyling city, he can say goodbye to the factory where he was thrown. Crimes are justified as they are supposed to be, and Wiltham just had a new detective lurking through their alleys.
"So, are you ready to face your first crime?" I asked.
The wolf was eager to hear my offer. For someone who worked harder on my shoulder, he deserves to have another one. He was excited. His old coat is just hanging right next to him. But when he heard me talking about another gentleman, he turned curiously to me. And this gentlemen is nothing like he expect.
"Woah, hold your horses, pearly face. Frowling? Are we talking about the leaning-lips beast on my paper now? What kind of wrongdoer slips on these talks that needed this?"
I pause for a moment, "We are talking about a king."
And there it was. A silence. But it felt like the world was shifting for Graham. He knew that the word had never been so loud in his ears before. That name itself had every Joyling shudder down their legs.
"What kind of king are we talking about? Monarch? Emperor? Anything but that one, are we? Are we??"
Graham was shuddering—I could hear it only from the call. His breath went from calm and curious into a deepened curiosity. He knew that the name had never been uttered for long. But like me, he never believed he was truly gone from the time.
"Ooh... a king? Tell me! Tell me!" Daniel was being so funny. I couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Who's him? Who's this 'King' you're talking about?" Adele was drawn into this. My expectation was right. The humans never found him.
Doctors were curious about his name. Not even they have ever heard of someone like him before. Hearing his name sounded less intriguing to them, but hearing the word Frowling had threatened their ears. They weren't ready to leave it hanging.
Graham came to me with a sense, preparing what he needed to see whether he could come up with the name Glum. Not many Joylings know about him, but a Showstyle Frowling never left my head before. Especially someone like Excellence, Murmur, and Narrow. But Glum was the highest of them all. But someday, we'll be able to see the three.
"Does he grunts?" Graham's voice can be heard nervously on the call.
"Yes."
"Does he hold a cane?"
"Yes."
"Does he had a soft chime when he walks?"
"Yes."
"Is he tall?"
"Yes."
"Does walls begin to sweat around him?"
"Yes."
"Does he have his crown?"
"Yes—uhm...I don't know. It was dark, and I couldn't see anything."
We've finally put the name on. It was King Glum, and he was menacing as usual. But what mischief awaits me now? What is the motive of this one Frowling to me? As soon as I could drag Graham into the crime scene, I could finally relieve the tension back into the void of my heart. And perhaps to think freely about this human girl, too.
"W-wait, Pearl. Care to tell us first about this person you were talking about? Why didn't we knew about him? If this is a Frowling, this would call for a emergency force from the Institute."
"Well, you never ask." I replied, which put a smile on Starglaze's face.
"Haha!" He laughs.
"Well, can you tell us now?"