Once Upon A Twin?

16

I walked into school that day with Henry. Ms. Blanchard wasn't there. She's still being framed for something she didn't do. I sighed and turned to Henry. "We have to help Ms. Blanchard. She didn't kill Kathryn," I said. "I know, but we have to wait until school ends," Henry told me.

"Who said we had to wait?" I asked with a smirk. Henry looked at me confused and I whispered, "We just need to sneak out during recess." He nodded and our sub walked in. We were then taken outside and when the teacher wasn't looking we snuck away.

We quickly left school, hoping no one was watching us. We ran all the way to Emma's. I opened the door and we walked in to see Emma looking around the apartment. "Kids. What are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?" Emma asked us.

"We have to help Ms. Blanchard," Henry said. "I am helping her. That's why I'm searching the apartment. But you have got to go home," Emma told us. "Not going to happen," I said. Emma stared at us and we stared back at her. She sighed and said, "Just stay out of my way."

"So, what are you looking for?" Henry asked. "I'm trying to see if maybe, someone broke in. Looking for busted door jambs, broken glass, muddy boot prints. That kind of thing," Emma answered.

"So you think someone's setting her up?" I asked just to clarify that she was thinking what we were. "It's the only thing that makes sense. The only problem is, nobody's got a motive," Emma sighed. "Our mom does," Henry told her.

"Regina?" Emma asked. "She hates Snow White," Henry explained. Emma gave us a look. "Hey, you wanted a motive," I pointed out. "Well, I don't think 'she hates Snow White' will hold up in court, kids," Emma told us.

I sighed and we all continued to look around the apartment in silence. We finally decided to take a break and we sat down on the bed. Suddenly, we jumped up when the heater turned on really noisily. It almost sounded like something was in there?

We got up and searched for the source of the noise. Emma got down on the floor and I noticed her lifting the heating vent gate up. She stuck her hand in. "Did you find something?" Henry asked. Emma then pulled out something wrapped in cloth. She unwrapped in and we all gasped. It was a hunting knife.

Emma put it down and turned to us. "Um, kids, I need to do my job. You should go home or even go back to school," Emma told us. We nodded and left. "I don't want to go back to school. Let's go to Granny's!" I suggested happily. Henry nodded and we headed to Granny's. We sat down and ordered two hot chocolates with cinnamon.

We sat in silence and I couldn't stop thinking about Ms. Blanchard. I stared into my hot chocolate, not taking a sip, just thinking. I heard someone come in and sit next to us. I looked up and saw the man, who Emma had eventually told me was named August.

"I don't think that hot chocolate's going to drink itself. You're upset about your teacher, aren't ya?" August asked us. We nodded. "She didn't do it. Why can't anyone see that?" I asked.

"Because most people just see what's right in front of them. And I don't think you're going to find the answers you want at the bottom of that mug," August said. "Then where?" Henry asked.

"That book in your bag? You both know I'm a writer. So, I'm partial to finding my answers in the literary form," August said. "It's just a book," I told him. "Is it?" He asked. "Yeah," I said. "I think we both know that that's not the case," August told us. We stared at him as he asked Ruby for a water.

"What do you know about it?" Henry asked. "I know it's a book of stories," August answered. "Aren't all books?" I asked as I rolled my eyes.

"Stories...that really happened," August said. My eyes darted up to him. "You think our book is real?" Henry asked. "As real as I am," August said. "How do you know?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes. This guy was basically a stranger who came to town who actually knows our book is true, that sounds suspicious to me.

"Well, let's just say that, uh, I'm a believer. And I want to help others see the light. That, my friends, is why I'm here," August said. "But we already believe," Henry told him. "Oh, I'm not here for you two, kids. I'm here for Emma," August told us.

"So you want to get her to believe? Why don't you just tell her?" I asked. "Well, there are some people - like you two and me - we can go on faith. But others - like Emma - they need proof," August explained. "Last time we tried to get proof, we got trapped in a sinkhole," I told him.

"There are less dangerous places to look," August said. He tapped our book and then left. I sat there confused and then remembered something.

I grabbed the book and started flipping through. "What are you doing?" Henry asked. I ignored him and stopped on the page I was looking for. It was the Evil Queen unlocking a door with a special skeleton key. I pointed to the key. "That key, it looks a lot like the ones mom has," I told him. "That's our proof," Henry sighed.

I nodded. We ran out of Granny's and to mom's office. Luckily, she wasn't there. We walked in and I found her keys instantly. "Now, let's go before she comes back," I said. Henry nodded and we left quickly. We ran to Emma's apartment, but the door was locked. Emma wasn't home.

We sat on the steps in front of her door and waited. I heard footsteps and looked up to see Emma. I jumped up and waved the keys in the air. "We have proof," I told her. "This is how our mom got into your apartment. This is how she framed Ms. Blanchard," Henry explained.

"Did you steal these from her office?" Emma asked. "You're missing the point," I told her as I tried to dodge the question. "Yeah," Henry said. I slapped my forehead. "The book said they could open any door," Henry told her.

"There's no way they'll even fit in the lock," Emma told us. "We have to try," I pointed out. We walked up to her door and I tried a couple of keys. Each one was unsuccessful.

"See? What did I tell you? Come on, kids. I know you want to think the answer to everything is in Operation Cobra-" Emma started. I cut her off, "It is!" "But, sometimes the real world needs to come first," Emma pointed out. "Just try one more, please," Henry begged.

"Okay, one more. But then we're done," Emma told us. "You do it," I told her and handed her the keys. I grabbed one and pointed it out. "This one," I said. "Okay," Emma said. Emma takes the keys and uses the key I pointed out. The door clicks and unlocks. She stood there shocked.

"Do you believe now?" I asked smirking.

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So sorry it took a while to update! It's been a couple of weeks and I've been super busy! Maybe another update? No promises! I'm going to try and update regularly again! Hope you guys like this chapter it's from episode sixteen. Heart of Darkness. Remember to comment, vote, share, and follow!

❤️Luv you❤️
-K

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