Tears rolled down Mr. Stackhole's eyes as he read the heartwrenching note his beloved daughter had left for him.
The note crumpled within his hands and neither Mrs. Stackhole, nor Ember knew what was going on. They exchanged doubtful glances at each other, surprised what was going on all of a sudden.
"Ember..." Mr. Stackhole addressed her, still sobbing.
"Ye-ye-yes!" Ember stuttered, astonished.
"Where is she?" his voice seemed calm, but frankly, he was almost threatening her.
"Wh-who?" Ember asked back, puzzled.
"My daughter." Mr. Stackhole replied.
"Isn't she in her room?" Ember asked, "I came to ask her to go shopping with me... is that alright?"
"Are you telling me the truth?" Mr. Stackhole glared at Ember, who felt as weak as a lamb for some reason.
"Of course!" Ember shouted, unable to handle those chilling eyes, "Please don't play games with me like this... Mr. Stackhole, you're scaring me!"
"You know dear," Mrs. Stackhole intervened, "you are glaring at her... I think you shouldn't tease such a helpless girl like this, right?"
Closing his eyes with an annoyed expression, Mr. Stackhole heaved a deep sigh. He handed his wife the crumpled note and immediately her bubbly sunshine facial features vanished.
"The midnight shopping spree event will have to wait for us, Ember..." Mrs. Stackhole smiled coldly, "first, we must find Suzy!"
"Eh? Why?" Ember asked, still confused, "Why, is she against shopping or something?"
"No, she usually doesn't mind tagging along, but..." Mrs. Stackhole replied as she exchanged a look of uncertainty with her husband, "She's actually... missing."
"I see, I see, so she's just missing." Ember chuckled to the couple's surprise, "Why? Did she go to a friend's... pla-"
At that moment, a thought crossed Ember's mind. The reality was that Suzy's wealth didn't allow her to have true friends and Suzy, being smart didn't help the condition either. Technically, Ember had been Suzy's only real friend ever since kindergarten.
Ember's casual mood, swung into a full-on panick mode as Mr. and Mrs. Stackhole sighed, "Good grief."
*
The whole night continued with no hope. Nearly half the city remained awake, searching for the teenager. Lost, alone... and rich.
Ember knew she had to find her best friend before anyone else. Even though 16 million was a lot, all she cared for now, was to see Suzy's annoyingly cheerful smile.
After all, what if she gets kidnapped... or worse, raped?! One thing was absolute now, if Ember finds her, then Suzy will receive the lecture of a lifetime!
On her way back to the Octagon Mansion, Ember overheard a certain conversation.
"Hey, have ya' heard of that gal?" a drunk man asked another.
"Oh... the million gold, one?" his companion got curious.
"Yeah!" the drunk replied with an evil grin, "I hear she's hopeless with magic!"
"Oh~" the friend chuckled, his face seemingly turning redder.
"A virgin like that," he paused with a smug on his face that chilled Ember to the bone, "would surely make a night for us! Eh, bro?"
Ember's face flushed red with anger. It was her worst nightmare coming true... in front of her eyes... with no luck of finding Suzy at all!
"Hahaha! Surely!" the companion cheered as he raised his bottle high up.
On the back of her shoulder, from the quiver, the bow and an arrow, slithered to her fingertips. All it took was aim and for Ember, she was the Queen of the Forest...
The bottles instantly shattered, as both drunkards lost their balance, falling hard on their butts.
As one of them took a peek overhead, still half-drunk, he was instantly paralyzed with terror.
"A-a-a-a-a... A demon!" he screamed his wits and peed his pants that gave off a rotten stench.
"What the fuck are ya' say-!!!" the other one complained as his eyes glanced on the tree branches just above them, which seemed so perfectly still on a full moon night.
White beaming eyes, pale white skin and ghostly grey hair that was glittering playfully alongside the moonlight and pacing back and forth.
When they feared it was a ghost, both men screamed and ran away.
"Idiots." Ember sighed.
*
Dawn was approaching by the clock, but even with all the help, Suzy's whereabouts remained unknown.
Exhausted with much wasted energy, the trio returned back to the mansion. However the moment they entered the mansion, a cheerful smiling maid greeted them.
"A guest had come while you were gone, sir. I sent them to the free room." she said.
"You cannot just let ANYBODY into the free room!" Mr. Stackhole claimed loudly as he rushed off.
Concerned, Ember and Mrs. Stackhole followed him. The maid trailed along behind them as silently as possible.
As he thrashed open the door with an angry expression, while Ember and Mrs. Stackhole hurriedly took a peek, all their emotions faded and only shock awaited...
"Thanks for your hard work!" she exclaimed with a bright, invigorating smile, "I've decided not to run anymore!"
Damn right, it was her, it was Suzy! She did indeed come back...
"What is all this?!" Mr. Stackhole stated, his voice in shock and turmoil.
A million questions floated around his mind, but he couldn't utter anything.
"Oh, come on, dad!" Suzy exclaimed with a cute pout imprinted on her face, "I just came back and this is how you greet me?"
Ember sighed with mixed emotions running through her brain. Had all she done from dusk till dawn been in vain?
Eventually, her puppy dog eyes won over both Mr. and Mrs. Stackhole. Although it seemed evident enough that Ember would not be won over as easily...!
Overlooking all those frustrated beams that had nothing but boiling rage tucked in them, Suzy simply stood on top of the luxurious couch and pointed her index finger as high as her hands could possibly reach.
The room which had been filtered by golden dust since centuries, seemed so aligned with Suzy's aura that nobody could look away. She had always been daring and upfront.
Pointing her finger up towards the roof, with a smug expression on her face, she declared, "From now on, I will aim to be a DETECTIVE!"
Behind her, as if at the right time along with a dramatic effect, the sun was rising. No, it was as if the Sun itself was following Suzy's direction...
Everyone's jaw dropped.
The whole room fell silent for a moment, until the maid who had previously greeted them at the entrance, suddenly spoke her mind, "I'll go prepare some herbal tea."
*
After gulping down some sandwiches, Mr and Mrs Stackhole tried to consult Suzy to open up to them, but to no avail.
Just as Ember was about to leave, they grabbed her aside and tried to bribe her, all for naught.
"I'm sorry," Ember repeatedly apologized to the couple, "Elves value their friendships to the core. We are a proud race... I cannot accept your valuables."
"Isn't our little Suzy your friend?" Mrs Stackhole asked.
Ember glanced over at Suzy, who was undoubtedly prying into the conversation.
"To Those Who show no mutual attachment to us, betray thy race..." Ember continued, "we do not show our appreciation."
Mrs Stackhole stood dumbfounded, while Mr Stackhole snickered slightly.
"I see," Mr Stackhole commented, "But then, does that mean you will no longer be Suzy's friend?"
"Eh?" a tiny whisper came out of Suzy's mouth.
"Depends, but this will be farewell." Ember implied with a stone face.
The moment the door creaked open and Ember was about to leave, Suzy grabbed hold of her hand and began to whimper and cry uncontrollably, repeatedly begging, "No, no, NOOO!"
After a while, they seemed to have calmed her down, but the lack of refreshment made the mood even more sour.
"Girls," Mr. Stackhole tried to suggest the best possible solution, "Why don't you go up to Suzy's room and get some rest?"
"You can always ask Mr. Sven if you'd rather like the guest room instead, Ember." Mrs. Stackhole implored hastily.
"No, no, no!" Suzy was not about to release her best friend's hand.
"Mr. Sven will get you some hot chocolate-" Mr. Stackhole was suddenly interrupted.
"Marshmallows dipped?!" Suzy's eyes sparked like diamonds.
"Hmm..." Ember tried to hide her face, which vividly showed a clear interest.
"Ye-yes!" Mr Stackhole replied, satisfied that the fish took the bait.
"Let's go!" Suzy cheerfully dragged Ember away, as the couple grinned mischeviously.
All that was left... where Suzy was, when she went missing?
Unfortunately, all this effort seemed wasted, when even to her best friend, Suzy did not confide in. Ember could think of nothing else, but this being another one of the spoiled rich girl's whims.
*
Almost an entire week later, when Suzy still insisted on throwing tantrums, Mr. Stackhole finally agreed.
"On one condition," he smiled brightly toward the girls, "You must raise your own finance and not depend on me. I will not provide for you."
Ember simply sighed and stayed on the sidelines of what she thought would be a father-daughter feud.
Instead though, Suzy simply nodded and agreed, "It is to be expected, daddy!"
To her reply, which seemed quite ladylike, even the cunning Mr. Stackhole remained stunned. Was his little angel growing up? She won't leave the nest, will she?!
What he hadn't noticed was that while he was reminiscing, his beloved angel had already pushed him out of her room and left him.
"I have about 25,000 gold coins at the bank." Suzy's eyes glittered with pride as did her words.
"...What?" Ember felt chill go down her spine, "You can't be serious...!" but Suzy's dagger eyes were full of conviction.
With a reluctant sigh, Ember confessed that she had about a hundred gold coins with her, but wouldn't be willing to share the entire batch with Suzy.
"How about I give you 50 gold coins?" Ember insisted, almost unwillingly.
"Well, the more the merrier!" Suzy uttered the words of guilt. She wondered if it was better not to show off... too much.
Ember took charge of the total 25,050 gold coins, since Suzy was pathetic when it came to the financial crisis of saving money. From the joint account they made at the bank, it took off 10 gold coins at the get go, and 1 gold coin would be cut off per month as a rate interest.
Ultimately, disaster stroke when Suzy persisted on wanting to find the 'perfect' detective agency and casually took about 500 gold coins out of the joint account. She hadn't informed Ember beforehand and when Ember received the 500 gold coins being taken out from their account, there could only be one culprit... Suzy.
On their first visit to the newly bought apartment, Ember had a light breakfast and the curling in her stomach hadn't stopped either. By instinct, she knew that something would turn horribly wrong... boy oh boy, was she right!
Ember stood shocked at the rundown little rotting apartment which Suzy had 'bought'. It was shabby with stale wooden floor and a ceiling which dripped sewage water from a corner.
"You are the best idiot I've ever seen..." Ember sarcastically remarked, her face filled with disgust and remorse.
"Why, thank you!" The blockhead Suzy dared to reply.
*
"You get it now, great detective," Ember began to lecture the innocent Suzy, "you were scammed!"
Her voice was freakishly loud and as per Suzy's deductions, onlookers all over the street were staring at the duo as they whispered amongst themselves.
"This world is not like, 'I say great detective, you say great detective,' do you get that? Besides, what do you think..." Ember continued to rant, unaware of the embarrassing scene they were making in public, "Well do you-"
"Excuse me!" a high pitched voice startled Ember from behind, "Are you a detective?"
A cute demi-human girl with deep yellow eyes stared at them. While Ember stood, slightly confused, Suzy jumped right in front to say, "YES!"
The girl, relieved, asked for their assistance. Her eyes were panicking and her cat-like ears seemed to be on alert. Sensing that something was amiss, Ember simply waved her hand in a symbolic manner and a horse drawn carriage came galloping from the end of the street.
To the fidgeting little damsel, Ember reassuringly smiled and said, "Its okay. This carriage is from the Stackhole Family. You can calm down.
"It's a gift from my dad!" Suzy added.
Since ancient times, beast men had been able to sense the emotions of others. The girl, though a bit shaken by the sudden events, was one of those ancient tribes. Despite being a half human like Ember, she too had a gift from her beastmen bloodline.
As her nerves slowly started to fade while she realized both the girls in front of her meant no harm, the maiden began to relax, but couldn't trust them enough to open her mouth again.
Finally she sighed with relief, when the carriage actually stopped and went inside the Octagon Mansion grounds.
"I do not wish to cause a scene..." her soft spoken voice requested, "...please."
"You're safe..." Ember hugged the mysterious stranger, "Tell us who you are and why do you need our assistance?"
Tears flooded down the girl's cheeks and didn't stop still. Her tears flowed constantly until Suzy ordered one of the maids nearby to bring the girl a glass of warm milk and a cozy blanket.
"Thank you detective..." the stranger hugged Ember tightly while still sobbing and shaking.
"Hey!" Suzy tore them apart, seemingly irritated, "I'm the detective, y'know!"
"Oh my," the girl widened her eyes and looked apologetic, "sorry for my rudeness..."
She paused a while and then continued, "My name is Neilin Tilton, daughter of Jason and Amy Tilton and granddaughter of CEO Arthus and my late grandmother Nana Tilton. Please excuse my behaviour from moments ago, my mind seemed to be elsewhere."
"And I'm sure you've got your little secrets too." Suzy remarked, sarcastically.
"I-" she muttered and tried to clear her throat, "I mean, yes, we absolutely do."
As her nervousness increased bit by bit, her cat ears slowly dropped down to rest on her silky jet black hair.
"Actually, our family is very traditional and from older generations. Especially my grandfather. He hates dealing with the police and therefore-"
Suzy interrupted her with a wicked smile, "no room for detectives, am I correct?"
"Yes!" Neilin nodded timidly.
"So why did you come to us?" Ember asked, curious.
"You see, the thing is, even i do not know the entire story. However, there are quite a few things I would like your assistance in! I believe that both of you might give me the clues I'll need to crack the secrets my family is so hesitant to let me know...!" Neilin stated, brave and nervous at the same time, but her voice remained firm.
While she told her half-baked story, still hesitant to trust them, Suzy had been scribbling something. Once Neilin's feelings came to light, Suzy handed Neilin her contact number.
"Take this and when you feel less spooked, call us. We can meet up at an appointed date later." Suzy winked.
The client thanked the duo as they saw her off at the mansion gates.
"I don't like this." Ember whispered as she pointed out how ridiculous this seemed.
"Me neither..." Suzy couldn't agree more. She felt as if something odd and dreadful was soon about to come true.