*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
"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.
"Aww..."
"Do you think she likes it? We didn't know what she favoured, so we just went for anything."
"Oh, she definitely likes it. Look at her, she's even wearing it!"
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.
"After everything that happened yesterday? I think I'll pass on that one." He was busy eating his cake as usual. Hard as a star.
"Aw, come on! This is serious! I needed your help!"
"Like what? Leaving me over a new girl you didn't even know of? So much for our friendship..."
"What? No! I was just trying to be a human there. You know, because I'm a human!"
Starglaze was the only hope I could have to capture King Glum before he made another dilemma again. I was hopeless, but I had to be firm and accompany him. A few slices of cake that should've been mine could be a good bargain for him. And it didn't take long for me to get a hook on him.
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...? Any change of hearts?"
"I don't know...who am I helping again?" He wipes his mouth before with a tissue that should've belonged to me. Not that I needed it anyway.
Oh, how stubborn he was. Starglaze's head barely takes a fill of thought without a pearly bargain. Such a friend. My third present is also a good offer for him, but what he wants now is my voice. And so I gave it.
"Alright, friend! You were right! I shouldn't try to mess around at home without you. I should've listened to my friend Starglaze the shimmering one."
"And...?" He was teasing me.
"And...I am a greedy little girl with terrible confidence who did not want to be a good Joyling because she didn't want to trust her friend more. She's a stupid little pearl." I can't think of saying this without biting my own lips.
"Finally! Welcome back, friend!" Starglaze greeted me with a swing around my head.
Now he's convinced when I became desperate and pitiful. With his edges clean and my ego weakened, Starglaze came to me with a supportive smile as we finally began our case on King Glum. The table is left with a few of my presents, which the 4th one I haven't opened yet. I wanted to save the best for last.
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. But before I could get any information about this gift, Starglaze came behind me with his edge to drag me out.
"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.
"Mr Adele?"
"Ah! Pearl, you scare me! What can I help you with, young lady?" He walked out of the carriage after throwing papers down the rail.
"Uhm...Can I make a call with Graham? I need to talk to him for something..."
"Graham? Well, anything!"
Once I've got my hands on the radio, I can hear the static sound of this machine slowly turning into the gutter of a woman that turned clearer. Ms Madeline was the one answering the call, which is not the caretaker I was looking for.
"Hello, Mr Adele. What's
"Hello, Ms Madeline. This is Pristine Pearl...uhm..codename J-P-F-001. Can you tune me with Graham—codename J-G-M-099? I need to talk to him personal."
"Pearl? Graham just finish his last session for therapy. He was about to be launched tomorrow. But I can call him right now."
It was such a mixed feeling to hear him fresh for a new shell and also busy for that. Graham? Out of all people, I never thought of him being the one. He had always been so doubtful of things—skeptical, some said. He's not the brightest mind when it comes to new things, but he can always be trusted when it comes to solving a case.
In short, he was Joyling's enforcer and detective when it came to solving a crime. His hat is always up, but his eyes are always down on the tracks. If anyone needs to track a clue, he can imagine it ended with a guilty charge.
"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.
"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..."
"Yeah, an easy task. Humans thought I couldn't match up colours and read on some ink-splattered paper? Think again! Graham can't be fooled!"
"Too bad they haven't my parents yet. It's not like Graham needed one. I could just go out with my life in a new lens of monocle, too. Humans aren't the only ones who can be independent here."
"Good, that's what I needed. But I need your help...you see, I have a case that needs your help to be solved here. I have an intruder and I need you to track him down."
I find only a silence, but his breath suddenly turns short. I knew he was fascinated when he heard this offer. His fingers tap on the radio in a pattern, and there's a sound of a faint hum. And as soon as he let out a breath of happiness on the other side, he knew he was about to have a good time here. I can hear his tool coming out on the table.
"Go ahead. Share me the description and chronology of the event. How can I help without leaving this place?"
"Roll me back the studio's old file from 5 years ago on the category of Frowling. Find the one attached as the antagonist. I need to make sure he fits the profile..." I replied.
"Hold on, who? Why Frowling? Pearl, who'are we talking right now?"
I pause for a moment, "We are talking about a king."
Graham had already prepared to set his notes straight, listening to the stories I'd had last night about my encounter with the intruder. It was intense, dark, and terrifying—but not for him. Yet right after I mumbled that forbidden name, everything went silent as I expected.
"P-Pearl? King? We're not talking about him, right? Right??"
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.
"You never find him? I thought you do find him!" Starglaze confronted her.
"We don't even knew who's that guy! How could we left a Frowling unwatched? And why don't you tell us?"
I continue my case with Graham, ignoring Starglaze's senseless debate with the humans as we both dive deep into King Glum's paper. Graham was an observant Joyling, always keeping a record of everyone from the first to the last records. But hearing the name Glum made him stutter and waver with fear to focus.
"King glum...King Glum...yes...uh...where is it...? Sorry, I never heard that name for long..."
"King...King...King..."
"Alright...alright...I've got some data about him. I think I still have some...oh, there it is. King...yes, it read king over there..."
"Let's see. He was seen last on 31 October 1826. That's the same day during the Great Frown Outbreak event in the Joylingers studio. Alright, let's start the rundown from the characteristics..."
"Does he grunts?"
"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."
"Alright, that's 5 out 6 criteria fulfilled with one on grey area. Yes, I believe you are encountering King Glum..."
"I'll prepare my tools for the scene. Let's see if my old chrono-nator device still works. Hard to say the doctors let me hold it for more than 10 minutes."
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?"