Some Mistakes Can Be Fixed (Book Four, Era 2 of 'The True Reality' Series

~ Home Coming ~ Emma~

Emma sat in the single chair she had dragged over from the kitchen island into the living room. Jolie sat next to their mom on the longer couch, staring at the visitors, Biana and Fitz, they had said their names were.

"So you're saying all those stories you told us were actually true?" Jolie asked for the third time.

Emma rolled her eyes. "We went over that already. What I want to know is why you would keep it a secret from us of all the people?"

Her mom glanced at Keefe, then to Bianca and Fitz, then back to Emma. "Because it wasn't a risk we could take."

A thought occurred to her for once. "Is this even how you really look?" Fits snorted, and Biana laughed a bit.

Her mom shot them a glare before answering. "No. I dyed my hair. It worked for a while for such a simple disguise."

Emma nodded, satisfied as she tried to picture what her mom had looked like before. Her dad leaned forward and mock whispered to her "I'll dig up her old scrap book later" her grinned, and Emma smiled back.

She had always felt a strong bond with her dad. Despite her obsession with love stories, she was practically a replica of her father's personality. Her tendency to get into trouble at school, and spespecially all the pranks in the cafeteria from the fifth grade. Even her method of hiding behind a mask... but that wasn't a time in her life she liked to think about.

"Better question...." Jolie said. "When can we go to the lost cities for ourselves?"

"Yeah! Looks like Miss Runaway frontally has a good question to ask!" Emma said, pointing to her sister.

Their mom shook her head. "I don't know girls."

"We could take them while you take time to decide whether you're ready to come back" Biana chimed in.

Emma smiled at her mom, hoping that Jolie would get the memo too. Even her dad seemed to give her a 'it'll be good for them' look

She finally sighed. "Fine. But they have to stay with my parents at Havenfield. And only for a week." Biana nodded without hesitation, while Fitz seemed much more hesitant. 

Emma hopped to her feet and clapped. "Great! Come on Jolie, let's go pack some bags!"

"Not so Fast" Their Mom said. "Don't pack anything except for important things, like Nyx and Aria" 

Jolie just smiled and ran for the stairs. Emma on the other hand rolled her eyes. "Mooom, don't bring up Nyx when people are here." She just smiled, and Emma ran after her sister.

Nyx was her black Stuffed horse, and Aria was Jolie's stuffed seahorse. Their parents had bought them when they were five and got the flu at the same time. Even they still slept with stuffed animals, and they were full grown adults.

As she walked to her bed and grabbed Nyx, Emma glanced towards her desk, tempted to grab her sketch book, but decided otherwise.

"What are you most excited to see?" Jolie asked, the excitement rubbing off into her voice.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed with all of it that I can't decide." That wasn't it. It just seemed to perfect. Something just wasn't right. 

Jolie gave her strange look, but nodded and ran out the door. Emma however hesitated, before turning to her half of the room. Sitting on her table was a drawing she made of their family. Yet another thing she had inherited for  her dad.

Something  told her to grab it. Something that told her she would never see this place again.

Emma walked out the front door, watching her sister bounce on her heels excitedly, then go to hug their parents. Emma did the same, and smiled slightly. 

"Alright, you guys be safe. Just ask Biana to hail me- call me, if you want to talk." 

Once they had both nodded, she smiled. "We'll see you in a week."  Jolie began to follow Biana and Fitz out to the driveway, but Emma hesitated, listening to what her parents said as they closed the door. 

"What are we going to do, Foster?" Her dad asked.

"I have no idea." Her mom replied, just  as the door closed, and the sound of the lock turning signaled that there was nothing left to listen to.

As she hurried down the driveway after the others, she clutched Nyx and the drawing close, stopped when she realized there was no car.

"That's right, we travel on beams of light." She said, the mellow enthusiasm showing in her tone. Fitz pulled out a stick with some sort of gem on the end, then twisted it with a light click. A pathfinder is what she thought it was called. 

"Yep, now each of you take one of our hands, then walk into the beam of light." Jolie beat Emma to Biana, leaving her to reluctantly take Fitz's hand. She didn't know why, but she didn't factory like him that much.

Fitz lifted the pathfinder to the light, and the beam appeared in the driveway. Then, they all walked through.

Emma blinked a few times, trying to get a view of wherever they were, and almost gasped when she saw the clearing. They had appeared a little bit away from the enclosure that kept a wide assortment of creatures inside. She even swore she saw something like a dinosaur with neon green feathers. Then, there was the tree on the top of the clearing. The Panakes tree.

It wasn't until she saw the house that crested the hill did she really decide what made this place beautiful. 

"Welcome to Havenfield girls." Biana said, and started towards the house. They all followed, Jolie falling behind to walk beside her sister.

"This is it! We get to meet our grand parents." She whispered, a smile spread across her lips.

"Technically they're mom's parents by adoption." Emma argued, and suddenly a memory flashed through her head. It was like she was staring at something from Dramland, but different. It was almost like she was viewing it through a screen. But that couldn't be right, could it?

Shaking her head slightly, Emma took a deep breath as they reached the front steps. Biana knocked, and Emma couldn't help but step behind the two adults with anxiety biting at her heels.

The door opened, and a woman who looked to be about 25 in human years with red hair and turquoise eyes smiled. "Fitz, Biana! It's been a while."

Fitz snorted, and Biana shot him a warning glance. "Yes, and there is something we all need to discuss." She said slowly, as another person, a man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, joined them at the door.

"Oh, what is it?" The woman skied, glancing at the man for a second. 

Biana stepped aside, revealing the two girls. "We need to make sure it's alright that these two stay here for the week." 

The woman gasped, and the man's jaw seemed to drop slightly. "It couldn't be.." the man whispered.

The woman shook her head. "You have her eyes." She pointed to Emma. She had been told her eyes bore a striking resemblance to her mother's before. Emma couldn't help but notice the slightly disappointed look in her sister,s eyes when they saw aid that.

Biana cleared her throat "Grady, Edaline, I would like you to meet your grand children, Emma and Jolie Freeman."