Passiflora was adopted, perhaps her birth parents are tied into this somehow? Could she be related to someone.... on the suspect list, perhaps? @Aaron_Moss

Passiflora is Elanor's daughter out of wedlock ... Maybe even with Aaron and he doesn't know?? (I mean they have the same colored skin after all?! ) Maybe Reginald found out and killed her before anyone else could find out?! *shrug* @Aaron_Moss

Still not a reason to kill anyone.
(But yeah, Passiflora *could* be Elanor's child. Samson did describe the royal couple as family, after all.)

So. How does Reginald's plant knowledge help here? Has he been teaching @Aaron_Moss before? Does that flower have a meaning? Or specific properties?

Also, does that centaur boy recall how he even got there? He doesn't seem to be the most likely guest at that party, even if it was an open invitation to everybody.

If so, it seems he didn't even know that this flower was dedicated to him!
It does match with his thought bubble "That’s the E I know." what with talking to each other in initials ...

Also, apparently the Calla Lily has a rather intricate history with Greek Gods, on a certain other planet.

Spoiler: From a flower blog ...

The calla lily was named after the Greek word for beautiful — calla. It is associated with the Greek goddess Hera. According to the legend Zeus brought Hercules, his son from another women, to Hera, his wife, while she was asleep to drink her milk. When she woke up she pushed him away and drops of milk flew across the sky to create the milky way. The ones that fell on the ground grew into beautiful lilies.

When Venus, goddess of love, beauty, and desire, saw the lilies she was jealous of their beauty. She cursed their beauty by placing a large yellow pistil in the middle of the flowers. Because of this story, some associate the calla lily with Venus and thus with lust and sexuality.

MsMeiriona

Passiflora was adopted, perhaps her birth parents are tied into this somehow? Could she be related to someone.... on the suspect list, perhaps? [at=Aaron_Moss]@Aaron_Moss[/at]

Flederfalle

Still not a reason to kill anyone.
(But yeah, Passiflora *could* be Elanor's child. Samson did describe the royal couple as family, after all.)

So. How does Reginald's plant knowledge help here? Has he been teaching [at=Aaron_Moss]@Aaron_Moss[/at] before? Does that flower have a meaning? Or specific properties?

Also, does that centaur boy recall how he even got there? He doesn't seem to be the most likely guest at that party, even if it was an open invitation to everybody.

weezee

I don't think it's a reason either, @Flederfalle but people have been killed for less.


Also, did you all realize that Elanor called Aaron "Ron"? Could THAT be the R? [at=Aaron_Moss]@Aaron_Moss[/at]

Are YOU the R?!

ScuroFenice

[at=Aaron_Moss]@Aaron_Moss[/at]

OOOOOH what if Elanor found Passiflora playing around with her husband and she killed the girl because she was angry? I just caught this, but in one of the previous entries, it said Elanor was "loved by almost all" Maybe she's hiding a part of herself away and putting on a front for her kingdom?

ScuroFenice

[at=Aaron_Moss]@Aaron_Moss[/at]

OOOOOH what if Elanor found Passiflora playing around with her husband and she killed the girl because she was angry? I just caught this, but in one of the previous entries, it said Elanor was "loved by almost all" Maybe she's hiding a part of herself away and putting on a front for her kingdom?

Lucille

[at=Aaron_Moss]@Aaron_Moss[/at] Or a twist on what Scuro said.... What if Elanor was caught cheating on her husband with Passiflora and he killed her?!

So many questions swirled in my head, but I knew who I had to get alone to talk to: Elanor. I moved over to her, and tried to motion her to come over. I finally caught her eye, and she excused herself from the group. She walked over to me, and we started talking in a hushed tone.
"Anything yet?" she asked, strain in her face. This was a new emotion I'd seen on her. Usually she was the poster child for calm and collected. It was much strain, but as someone who'd see what she's capable of,
"Nothing conclusive, just thoughts. Although I have some questions, if you can answer. " I replied. She nodded in response.
"How do you know Passiflora?" I asked.
"Well, being Samson's Daughter, I would see her a few times a year. I somewhat became a fun aunt, only this aunt ruled a kingdom." she chuckled to herself. " She chuckled to herself, then looked over at Passiflora, her eyes growing moist. "Now..."
I had to press this further. I felt I was close to a breakthrough. "I know that. But what is Passiflora to you?" I pushed.
Elanor went still for a second, but then turned to face me. "Well, Samson and Marcus did name me as a godparent." She said, smiling sweetly, the corners of her mouth a little too tight.
"No. There more than this. Tell me, E."
She locked gaze with me, then in a swift motion turned and moved away from the group. "Deckard, to guard, " she said curtly, and he deftly fell into step behind her. I scrambled to keep up with them.
We took a corner so fast, and then another. We finally arrived at a large, ornate door, and three of us stepped in. Deckard shut the door behind us, then took up his guard. It was a beautiful sitting area, with elaborate tapestries, stunning furniture, and ornate lighting. I took a guess and thought we were in the Royal Waiting Room. This was where Elanor would entertain guests of high status, such as Samson and Passiflora. She whipped around to face me, and there it was. Fear, anger, and anguish. All mixed on her face. Her facade has finally cracked. Here we go.
"How did you know? Who told you?" she shouted, choking back a sob.
"Don't dodge my question," I said calmly, "What are you to Passiflora?"
She seemed to be holding back so many emotion. She grabbed a nearby pillow off of a sofa and screamed into it. The screams soon turned into sobs. It seemed like years of pent up emotion were just pouring out all at once. She sank to her knees as the sobbing continued, and I saw movement from the corner of my eye. It was Deckard. He broke post? What the hell had possessed her top guard? He knelt down, and hugged her. This was highly irregular, but then it clicked. One more piece in the puzzle. She cried for a few minutes more while Deckard just held her, then slowly stopped. She raised here eyes to meet Deckard's, who nodded. They stood together. Deckard, normally stoic and vacant, was tearing up. Elanor seemed to regain some of her composure. Not all of it, there was no use for that. Her total calm and collected demeanor with me was gone. However, it looked like she was now ready to talk.
"Now," I started, "tell me from the beginning."
She took a breath, the look squarely at me. I swear she was looking into my soul.
"I am Elanor Proudheart, Queen of the Fae Kingdom. I am also the mother to Passiflora Birdsong."

(Hey guys! Royal here! This exchange isn't over, but I was finally feeling well enough to post this. The next part of this exchange will be up tomorrow!)

And Deckard either knew from the beginning, or he is even the father.
I wonder why she couldn't simply pretend Passiflora to be her husband's daughter ... bad timing, probably? But where was the child hidden in the 3 years before the adoption?

ha! called it!

yeah, my #1 suspect has just fallen off the list. Hmm.

Reginald, Lyle ...

I say it was Reginald. He put the armor into the garden, called the girl to have a look at that curious thing there (which had its sword properly propped up that point, I suppose) and made her sneeze using pollen (from a flower that was not dedicated to him but an old friend of his wife so this was also serving as a red herring to push investigators off-track), so that Passiflora kind of violently bent and stabbed herself on the armor's sword. Then he summoned a gate that placed a poor unsuspecting centaur boy as a main suspect and teleported himself back to the party where nobody missed him because Lyle took care of that by guarding an empty restroom for a while, because he was jealous that Deckard was the father and not he himself.

Did I get it?

Yeah, prime suspect is the royal hubby right now, if we can establish clear opportunity.....

You got it on the nose, Weezee, about Deckard being the father. Reginald almost certainly found out and that's why he killed Passiflora; angry the he was probably the one falling short when he and Eleanor were trying.

How the centaur boy ties into all of this still confuses the crap outta me. Other than being a possible plant by Reginald, he might not have anything to do with this.

Did Reginald summon the royal mother's spirit and have a chat with her?

@Aaron_Moss Oooooh the plot thickens even more!! What if it wasn't a matter of jealousy, but a matter of birth? Right now, Passiflora was the only blood related child of the royal family so she could have taken the throne even if she was a *ahem* bastard child. Maybe Reginald couldn't stand that he didn't have any children to continue his lineage? I would think that if he really was jealous, he would have two targets, with Deckard being the main one and Passiflora to "clean up Elanor's mess" and leave no trace of her infidelity. But then again, I could be wrong and he targeted Passiflora first because he somehow found out she was Elanor's child, but didn't know who the father was.

SedaYue

You got it on the nose, Weezee, about Deckard being the father. Reginald almost certainly found out and that's why he killed Passiflora; angry the he was probably the one falling short when he and Eleanor were trying.

How the centaur boy ties into all of this still confuses the crap outta me. Other than being a possible plant by Reginald, he might not have anything to do with this.

Flederfalle

Did Reginald summon the royal mother's spirit and have a chat with her?

Lucille

Or maybe the royal mother told him on her death bed? A secret she couldn't take to her grave, it weighed so heavily on her?

The centaur kid... I think he's just the poor fool who had the misfortune of stumbling onto the dead body. However, it's also possible that he works for the murderer and was ordered to clean up the mess. When he heard someone coming he dropped her body, bumped into the armor in his haste, and then (being not a murderer himself) he easily fell into the role of a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. A way to verify would be, doe she have blood or pollen on himself? @Aaron_Moss If this isn't the case, then I'm definitely of the opinion he's an unfortunate nobody who discovered the body.

ScuroFenice

@Aaron_Moss Oooooh the plot thickens even more!! What if it wasn't a matter of jealousy, but a matter of birth? Right now, Passiflora was the only blood related child of the royal family so she could have taken the throne even if she was a *ahem* bastard child. Maybe Reginald couldn't stand that he didn't have any children to continue his lineage? I would think that if he really was jealous, he would have two targets, with Deckard being the main one and Passiflora to "clean up Elanor's mess" and leave no trace of her infidelity. But then again, I could be wrong and he targeted Passiflora first because he somehow found out she was Elanor's child, but didn't know who the father was.

I moved down the hallways, with Eleanor and Deckard on my heels. Once back near the scene, I eyed the last witness I needed to talk to: Reginald. I truly believe held the key.

“Reginald, we need to talk,” I said, trying to keep my cool.
“Of course,” he replied, “Do you think so that we can find this vile person who committed such a crime.”

Well, here goes nothing. I thought to myself, Knowing what all they ahead of me.

“How long did you know Passiflora?” I started off.

“Well, as long as anyone else around here. We all met her when Samson first brought her here,” he replied again.

“Uh huh. How close were you guys?”

“As close as anyone can be when you only see them for a few months. Although we loved her as much as any blood relatives,” Reginald seemed to get lost in the daydream, “She lived her life so amazingly. Truly a tragedy that it was cut short.”

He started to tear up, and I let him compose himself. I need to nail this down… I feel like I’m truly onto something.

“A bit of a random question for ya, but that garden out there…” I trailed off.

“What about The Garden?” Reginald asked.

“You always been a big fan of flowers, right?” I queried.

“I have been. Ever since I was a lad in school.”

“Do you have a favorite flower? I asked.

“I fail to see how this is relevant to the task at hand,” he replied, clearly a little bit miffed.

“Please answer the question,” I replied. It could be a matter of finding the killer or not.

“Fine,” He said, a bit exasperated. “It’s the Calla Lily.”

I knew it.

“My beautiful wife Eleanor gave me a whole section of our garden just for them as an anniversary present. I personally tend to that section of the garden. It’s a prized possession,” He was beaming as he told me all about this.

I noticed he was holding one as he spoke. Another little cog clicked on my mind.

“So I’m not sure it noticed this, but there happen to be pollen on the body of Passiflora.”

At that exact moment, the tinniest cracked showed in Reginald’s face. He face went a little bit paler, and I knew I was on to something.

“Oh, Passiflora loved being outdoors and especially our gardens. It was one of her favorite places on the castle grounds. Perhaps he had a misstep in the dark.” Reginald seemed to regain any falter, and I knew I had to push.

“See, I wondered that myself. So I did a little investigating myself. The garden that had the Calla Lilies was untouched, even from the casual pluck of a passer by. The sign deterring also helped with that.” pointed out.

He seemed a bit shaken at my rebuttal, but I could tell he was just starting. Now all eyes were on us, so I had to nail this down.

“Also, there’s something that you should know. Passiflora… is the queen’s daughter,” I announced, rather unceremoniously for such big news. The hall instantly became quiet. All you could hear was the din of the Halloween Ball, although a little quieter than before. That, and a hushed “daaaamn” from Kashmas.

“Oh. Oh my god,” Reginald said, clearly taken a back. He rushed over to Eleanor, “Is it true, my darling?”

Eleanor didn’t look him in the eye. Instead, she just nodded her head for confirmation.

“My baby Passiflora!” Reginald exclaimed, and ran over to the body. He started to cry at this point, and I knew this had to stop.

“Reginald… I hate to he the one to break it to you, but she’s… not your daughter. But you knew that already.” I said flatly.

Reginald stiffened at this, and instantly stopped crying. I continued.

“You discovered this fact for yourself, didn’t you? After years and years of trying to produce an heir, you must have been overjoyed and confused. However, it wasn’t your, and that, after all these years, was too much. You must have been planning this, since you knew Samson and Passiflora would be there with the holiday. So when the night arrived, you knew that you’d have to strike. You followed Passiflora out to the garden, hence why people started to wonder where she was. You confronted her, but she ran. She tried to get away but you were faster than she was, and caught her. The flower you carry got the pollen on her during tour struggle, and the sword, which we found earlier, you used to stab her while she was down. You hid the sword in one of the suit of armor that line this hall, and you almost had a clean get away, except for one thing: Arcus. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and catch you trying to escape. You couldn’t be gone for too long, or else that would arouse suspicion, so you scared the lad, made him sweat to never tall a soul. Hence why he’s been so quiet and shellshocked this whole time.” I turned over to look at Arcus, as to ask for confirmation. The lad was pale, but jerked a small nod yes, and then continued again.

“He ended up backing up in the armor, causing it to tumble and causing the racket that drew me to this scene. However, you were long gone, having used the secret passages to get back to Eleanor and the rest of the royal party, which I’m sure they will confirm if we ask. Let’s ask shall we?” I turned to Eleanor and Deckard, with a face of sadness and heartbreak on the former’s face, rage and anger on the latter.

“Regi…. What he’s saying isn’t true…. Is it? You didn’t kill her, right?” Eleanor said, practically sob.

Reginald just knelt there, a statue. Slowly, he stood and turned to face the group. His face was indescribable, but I would say it a sadness, rage, regret, and sheer madness.

“Well, well, well. It seems that the title of “Great Detective” is well-deserved. However, I didn’t want to do it. I HAD to,” he emphasized, physically shaking. “After years of trying to have a child of our own, I find out my other half was unfaithful. With a castle guard, none the less! WHAT would the kingdom and aristocracy think of us, other kingdoms, everyone. Even though I did love her, I did what I thought was best for the kingdom and our people, unlike SOME of us.” He spat, putting venom into the last words.

The next minute was a flurry of activity. Reginald lunged at one of the guard and grabbed the sword he had originally used to do the deed, a crazed look in his eye. Deckard put himself in-between the Queen and Reginald, and drew his sword in response. The other guard drew their weapons as well. Reginald stabbed out at Deckard, and the large guard blocked it with his own blade. Reginald was classically trained in sword play, but Deckard hadn’t become the guard captain by being a slouch. They traded blows for a minute until Deckard managed to get his sword under Reginald’s, and flicked it to the side. Deckard then held his sword up to Reginald’s neck, and let it sit there.

“I could kill you right now. Avenge my beautiful daughter. End your life so easily. Blood for blood,” Deckard’s voice was low and menacing. “However, I’m not like you. You, however, will rot in prison until you last days. Take him away!”

The other guards came over and restrained Reginald, who seem to have died a bit inside, a vacant expression on his face. The guards took him away, and I finally took a breath. It felt like I was holding it that whole time. However, it was finally over.

The next couple days were a flurry of activity, and I managed to stick around for it all. The two kingdoms came together to morn the passing of Passiflora Birdsong, beloved of many. Eleanor, Deckard, Samson, and Marcus all mourned the loss of their child, and a beautiful funeral was held for her. The day of her funeral was made into a national day of morning for both kingdoms, but rather than have it be exclusively sad, everyone was instructed to use the day to better themselves. “Passiflora’s life was one lived proudly,” Eleanor had said, “and she would rather people celebrate life more than death.” It was a beautiful memorial, and after the day, I decided it was finally time to take me leave. I was near the edge of castle ground, I heard my name called. I turned back to find Eleanor and Deckard standing behind me, his arm around her.

“Where will you go?” Eleanor asked.

“You know me, E. I just go where life takes me,” I smirked.

She chuckled and shook her head. “Thank you, Ron. Truly.”

I nodded, and then asked, “You guys together?”

“It would seem we are,” Deckard said, hugging Eleanor a little tighter. “I would have been happy not having this, but this also is nice.”

I smiled. At least one thing turned out sort of ok, even if it was an odd turn of events.

“See you guys around. If you need me, I’ll probably find my way back. I’m pretty good at that.” I bowed a goodbye, and took off into the night

(Hey all! Royal here! Thank you all for joining in with this interactive event! It was absolutely a blast to run, and I hope everyone enjoyed the story! You guys managed to guess who it was, so congratulations! Everyone who participated will receive a participation award! Hope it was as much fun reading this as it was writing it!)

weezee

Passiflora is Elanor's daughter out of wedlock ... Maybe even with Aaron and he doesn't know?? (I mean they have the same colored skin after all?! ) Maybe Reginald found out and killed her before anyone else could find out?! *shrug* @Aaron_Moss

I totally called it a week ago (tho the father was wrong, that wasn't the important part)!