Academy of Legends

Chapter 5: Snow (Decision)

The day after Harold's death, I met with his brothers and Belle to decide what we would do next. It seemed that an unspoken decision had been made between all of us, even though we'd seen little of each other since the murders had begun. We met in Hansel and Gretel's bakery, and the two bakers gave us privacy as we sat at in one of the booths. Frankly, it was more like a diner than a bakery, but the twins liked to call it their bakery.

All four of the Charmings with their curly brown hair and blue eyes were squished into the booth. Me and Belle sat at the end, facing them, our back to the bakery. Since it was a Sunday, school was out and we had the time we needed to discuss our plans. Belle laid her hands on the table, her green eyes dry for the first time since Harold's death. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

"I think that's obvious," Han said. "We're going to find Harold's murderer."

Henry shot him a glare. "What Belle is trying to ask is how we're going to find his murderer," he rebuked him.

Silence fell over us. It seemed like such a simple plan; gather together and find Harold's murderer, avenge his death. But how we were to do that when we had no idea who had killed him? I laid my elbows on the table and buried my face in my hands. "It's hopeless!" I cried suddenly.

"Sorry, but what's hopeless, Miss White?" The voice behind us took us all by surprise—we turned to see Professor Hood standing behind us. He had stunning red hair and a dark red beard, but greyish-blue eyes. He was dashingly handsome, I decided.

Seeing that I was lost for words, Henry took over for me. "We were planning on going looking for Harold's killer," he admitted. I could hear that his voice sounded close to breaking. "I want to bring them to justice."

Robin pulled up a stool from the counter and sat next to Belle. I found myself wishing he would sit next to me. "That's funny," our criminal law professor commented. "That's rather what I wanted to do. Is there room for one more?"

We all looked at each before Hugo—sweet, cute little Hugo—crossed his arms. "We'll have to discuss it," he said. "Do you mind?" The youngest Charming made a shooing motion with his hands.

Robin gave a small smile from beneath his beard and stepped back, over to the counter with Hansel and Gretel. The six of us leaned closer together. "Should we let him in?" Han asked. "I know Marian was his wife, but honestly, I don't feel comfortable with it."

"He's a criminal law professor," I pointed out. "Who better to help us sniff out a murderer?"

"What if he's done it?" Hal questioned. "I mean, nobody's completely free of suspicion."

"Then what better way to keep an eye on him?" Henry said. "I say we let him in. He can help us find the killer or slip up and show that it's him. Either way, we come out on top. And frankly, we need something to give us a starting push, and this could be it."

"Anything to find the Beast's killer," Belle agreed.

I nodded in agreement to Henry's words, and the other three Charmings reluctantly agreed. We all motioned Robin back over and Henry delivered our decision. "You can help us," he told him.

Robin smiled, sliding back onto his stool. "Very well," he said. "Let's start planning how to find our killer ..."