Light trickles of blood spilled over my eyes but I wiped them away to glare up at the founders. "I knew this was all your doing! You opened the portal."

Stermin grabbed me and yanked me to my feet, shoving me into the room before shutting the door behind him. I looked around me. The room resembled that of the founders office at the top of the castle. Ykell prowled around me with a dangerous gleam in her eyes as Stermin stared silently. I didn't allow them to see my fear. I stared straight back with narrowed eyes.

"I told you she's trouble," Ykell finally told Stermin.

"Only when it's necessary," I spat back at her.

Stermin crossed his arms over his chest. "You're right about us being the cause of all of this. I won't deny that."

"I knew it." A heated anger was mixing with my fear, making my fists tremble. "So the mystery is unveiled."

Stermin chuckled darkly, casually pulling a knife out from the desk drawer. My eyes immediately moved to it. Its sharp tip glinted menacingly in dim lighting from the lanterns. "That's where you're wrong, Miss Yumia. You have yet to figure out something else. But that is expected from a naive child whose nose is too long not to be stuck around in other peoples business."

I swallowed, standing frozen in the center of the room. "What do you mean?"

"He means you don't know how to keep to yourself," Ykell drawled.

"I know that!" I snapped, glaring at her. "I mean about me not knowing something else. What else do I possibly need to know? You two are responsible! I don't know how you did it, but you're bringing Disney characters to this world. You should be in jail. That's all I need to know." I paused, inhaling deeply. "But why? Why must you do this?"

Stermin stepped forward, grazing my arm with the tip of his knife. I shuddered at the cold touch. Is he going to kill me? "I'm afraid we are not as naive as you. Why would we reveal something so confidential? You could go telling others."

"So you're going to let me go?" I asked, dumbfounded.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course not. You know too much. We will, of course, have to dispose of you - something Ykell has been looking forward to since our first encounter in the castle."

I swallowed, my bravery slowly depleting. Panic began setting in. "You...You can't kill me."

"Oh, we can," Ykell hissed, stepping forward."

Stermin smiled at Ykell, handing her the knife. "You can have the honor."

Ykell accepted it only to set it back down on the desktop. "Thank you, but I have something else in mind."

Stermin nodded, sitting back down at his desk and rummaging through more papers. "Go ahead."

I immediately backed away toward the door as Ykell nodded. Before I could turn to sprint for it, she lunged, slamming me harshly against the wall. I cried out as an intense sear of pain swelled in my head.

"Of course," she breathed in my ear, "we'll have to wait until the park is closed. So it looks like you'll be here a little longer."

"You won't get away with this!" I hissed. "You'll be caught. The both of you! Zeke-"

"Is going to be disposed of, as well," Stermin interrupted from his desk, not even bothering to look up. "Do not underestimate what I know. He knows as much as you and so he will receive the same fate."

Hot tears burned at my eyes. I'm going to die. I can't say goodbye to Mom or Mary-Ann. When the tears spilled over, Ykell clucked mockingly, dragging me away from the wall by my hair and shoving me into a chair. I barely registered as she tied my hands tightly together and said something to Stermin.

I never thought my expiration date would be at the age of nineteen. I hadn't even graduated out of my "teen" years and officially into adulthood. I always imagined living to be a grandmother - or at least a mother. And I fantasied that my kids could have been Zeke and mine.

I let my head hang, the tears falling onto my lap. How stupid and naive I am - almost like a character in Disney movies.

"Oh," Ykell laughed, "the infamous Gianna Yumia is actually crying. How pitiful."

I looked up to glare at her through soft sobs trying to wrack my body. "I hope you both die slow and painful deaths."

She shook her head. "I'm afraid dreams only come true in fantasies."

"It's not a dream," I spat. "No. It's me predicting your future."

At that, she narrowed her eyes. "Careful, child. I'm making your death pretty painless. Don't make me want to administer a little torture as we wait for closing time."

I bit my tongue, looking away from her. But I couldn't hide the continuously spilling tears from them. Couldn't wipe them away. I could only wish I were stronger than this.

Death should be an adventure. At least, that was what Peter Pan says.

I looked back up at the founders. "Can I a-ask you something?" When they both looked at me, I asked, "What is wrong with Peter Pan?"

Stermin eyed me coldly before looking back down at his papers. "That is none of your concern."

"I'm going to die anyway. What do you have to lose?"

Ykell looked at Stermin who paused mid-writing. He looked back at me. "He was putting up some resistance when I was getting him through the portal."

"So you stabbed him several times?"

He smiled grimly. "Don't jump to conclusions, girl. Let's just say I had a close ally do the honors of harming him for me."

"Why isn't he healing?"

Stermin heaved a breath, studying me incredulously. "I'm keeping him from doing so with some concoctions Ykell has made. He knows too much. I can't risk him waking up."

"But he's dying!"

"Good. Then he will die slowly and it will look as if he died due to his unexplanatory injuries."

"You're a monster," I said through my tears, pulling at my tied hands.

"No, I'm human just like you," Stermin responded absently. "It is Ykell who is more of a resemblance of a monster.

"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Ykell only shot Stermin a fierce look of warning.

🔹✨🔹✨🔹✨🔹

The park was closed.

I writhed around in the tight grip of Ykell and Stermin as they dragged me through Creational Creatures and into Royal Rounds. Ariel watched through her exhibit with worry.

"Let me go!" I shouted.

"Be quiet, Miss Yumia," Stermin hissed in my ear. "If you alert any security guards, we will have to dispose of them too."

I let his threat hang over me and bind my mouth shut. But I didn't stop fighting until I felt Ykell press the knife into the back of my neck. "Stop moving!"

They dragged me over to an empty exhibit that was filled with water. Only wearing the swimsuit they forced me into earlier, I shivered against the cold air. A stack of fur coats lay by the exhibit, abandoned.

"Put them on quickly," Ykell demanded, knife at the ready.

What are they doing? I slipped the several coats on over the swimsuit with trembling hands. This is the end. Whatever this is leading up to is going to kill me. More stray tears streaked down my cheeks. I'm so sorry, Mom. Sorry, Mary-Ann.

"Get in the exhibit," Ykell spat.

I stared at the deep water exhibit. "This is going to kill me?"

"Don't get smart, Miss Yumia," Stermin warned. "Ever heard of pneumonia? Freezing to death? Get in."

Ykell had the knife pressed to my back as I climbed the ladder to the top of the exhibit. I dipped my feet into the water. It was freezing, sending burning shocks up my legs. I'm going to drown in freezing cold water. My whole body was trembling, but not because of the cold. My life was ending now. Being abruptly severed. What lies beyond this life? Heaven? Nothingness? I never really thought about it before.

"Get in!" Ykell snarled from down below. "Or I'll just run you through with this knife."

Sobs took over my body. I looked around me one last time before plunging myself into my doom.

The cold water swirled all around me, shocking my nerves and burning my body. The heavily drenched coats weighed me down. I sank slowly to the bottom of the exhibit. I couldn't physically cry but my heart screamed with its terror and pain. I opened my eyes to see Stermin pull a disguised lever on the side of the exhibit. Immediately, the water began draining.

Soon enough, my head broke the surface and I gasped for air, coughing into my numb hands. The rest of the water completely drained away, and taking its place, blasts of cold air swirled around the exhibit. My soaked body grew colder by the minute. I couldn't feel my fingers.

"Told you it would be painless," Ykell hissed, her voice slightly muffled as she stepped up to the glass. "Sweet dreams, little brat."

I watched them retreat out of sight, leaving me shivering violently in my freezing cold domain. My lip began to tremble and my eyes drooped slightly, causing me to panic.

I can't go to sleep.

•~•~•~•

This book is nearing the end! Happy? Sad? I have mixed emotions. xD