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"Would you like an adventure now, or shall we have our tea first?" - J. M. Barrie, PeterPan
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More school days came and went as the twins faded further away from the world around them, retreating to the one that lived on inside their minds.

Aura sat in one of the many green upholstered seats at the front of the auditorium, her eyes glazed over as her body numbed. All she could hear was the sound of her director's shrill reprimands.

"Aura," the voice called out, trying to catch her attention. Madame Snyder was a dour older woman with frizzy black curls that sprung from her head in all directions. She had been the director for their high school's plays for over twenty years, and she took her craft very seriously.

Aura looked up at her now, waiting for the berating to end.

"You haven't been as invested in this production as you were a few weeks ago, and now you're forgetting quintessential things for rehearsal."

All this over dance shoes, really? Aura rummaged through the contents of her bag in her mind, swearing that she had seen her shoes in there that morning.

It was then that Aura caught Casey smirking out of the corner of her eye. Of course Casey's eating this up. Anything to make her look better.

Madame Snyder sighed, pushing her rounded glasses further up the bridge of her pointed nose with a frail finger. "Don't let this happen again."

As her director walked away, Aura grinded her teeth together, trying to push back the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"Everyone take ten—and make sure when you come back you have everything you need," Madame shouted from up on stage.

Aura could feel the heat rising to her face. She quickly rushed out of the auditorium and into the empty hallway, trying to regain her composure.

Her tears still fell, though, despite her efforts to swallow the lump in her throat. Aura thought back to middle school when her teacher called home for her being a minute late to class. She had cried for nearly two hours in Carolyn's arms after—she had always been sensitive to confrontation.

Aura could feel her emotions overwhelming her, ready to break and crash down like a tsunami in her mind. Everything is falling apart. Being a princess in a world of magic would have been great news, had it not come with the dilemma of Fabula being overrun by evil forces, and had it not sounded so insane.

She quickly wiped her tears from her cheeks when she heard footsteps behind her. Her head turned just as Jake reached her side, a tender smile on his face.

"Are you okay?"

Aura tried her best to fake a smile, unable to look him in the eye. "Yeah," she started with a sniffle. "It's fine, it was my fault."

With an arched eyebrow, Jake pulled a familiar pair of nude-colored heels out from behind his back, offering them to Aura. "It's your fault they ended up in the men's restroom?"

She gratefully accepted the shoes, her mind putting together the pieces. "Makes sense, Casey kept disappearing from the auditorium and seemed all too giddy today—especially when Madame was yelling at me."

Jake carefully studied her puffy red eyes, his eyebrows furrowing in commiseration. "Do you wanna talk about it? I owe you from before."

Aura shook her head, sitting down on the vinyl granite flooring. "You don't have to listen. I've been a sucky friend and castmate—I've been so distant and distracted, like Madame said."

He sat down next to her, leaving little space between them. "I'm sure you have your reasons."

They looked into each other's eyes as Aura collected her thoughts, deciding if she wanted to pull the trigger. His eyes had soft blue hues and vivid shards of green, reminding her of the cool, steady Atlantic waves in the dead heat of the summer. He was as calming to her as those rolling waters were, like a safe place to set aside your inhibitions and be free.

And so she pulled the metaphorical trigger, releasing her woes onto his obliging heart, glossing over the incriminating details about the magical world accessible through her attic.

Silvia anxiously waited for the twins in the warmth of her silver Volkswagen after rehearsal. None of them attempted to say a word in the car that Thursday afternoon, the hum of the engine being the only sound to fill their ears.

The cold ocean breeze blew through the cracked windows, awakening their senses as they drove down the scenic shore. They had nearly reached Plymouth Rock when they turned into the familiar parking lot of the pizzeria.

The three were quickly seated before waiting in awkward silence for their pizza to arrive.

Carolyn watched the rolling waves crashing onto the rocky shore through the window next to their booth, her fingers circling over the smooth metal of her locket. She routinely snuck glances at her grandmother who never seemed to snap out of a detached daze. Her nails rhythmically tapped on the chipped lacquer of the wooden tabletop.

"Okay, I'll bite. What's wrong?"

"Hm? What do you mean?" Silvia quickly laid her hands in her lap.

Carolyn raised an eyebrow.

Silvia sighed, taking Aura and Carolyn's hands into her own. "I know you two are still not entirely trusting of me, or of Bailey for that matter."

"That would be an understatement..." Carolyn mumbled.

"And I completely understand why," Silvia continued. "But I need you two to trust me with what I am about to tell you."

Aura and Carolyn shuffled uncomfortably in their seats, stealing a momentary glance at one another before the waitress plopped down a large pizza and rushed back to the kitchen.

"Gran you're starting to scare me a little," Aura cautioned as the server walked away.

Silvia signed. "Promise me."

"We promise, Gran. Now tell us what's going on," Carolyn urged.

"Do you remember I told you how the Stories came to be today—why they don't have happy endings?"

The girls nodded.

"Onyx freed the Villains and screwed everything up," Carolyn said.

Silvia let out a soft laugh before her face grew serious. "Yes, and thankfully there is a way to restore them back to what they are supposed to be, but—"

"I don't like the sound of 'but'..." Aura whispered.

Silvia squeezed their hands. "It is far from a simple task. All these years I thought that I might be the one to do it, but after visiting Fabula and realizing how much pain I caused for just being there a few, short hours, I knew instantly that I would unintentionally cause suffering to thousands of innocent people."

She looked into Carolyn and Aura's large eyes, squeezing their hands as her emotions rolled over her. "But you. You two could travel through Fabula essentially undetected—"

Both girls froze as their grandmother's words began to sink in.

"You have to understand I was the last person who wanted to put this responsibility on you, especially after all you've had to process these past few weeks."

The twins remained silent, their minds racing.

Aura gazed out the window, trying to sync her rapid breathing with the crashing waves. The forefront of her mind was plagued with thoughts of doubt, replaying the many mistakes she had made in her life. I'm not meant to fight—I can't even stand up to Casey Williams. I'd only slow Carolyn down, she's always been the strong one.

Silvia waited expectantly for the twins to say something in response.

"Hm," Carolyn uttered, plucking a fresh slice of pizza from the tray in front of them. She took a large bite as she continued to process her thoughts, her family staring at her curiously.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin before looking back and forth between her grandmother and Aura. "Let's do it."

Aura's eyelashes fluttered as she looked at her sister. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Carolyn affirmed. When would we ever get another chance to save the world? "It'll be dangerous, but it'll mean something. Besides, it is technically our home."

"I'm just not sure..." Aura trailed off, tugging at her ear. Was her grandmother really expecting her to go on some grand adventure when only a few hours ago she was crying because her theater director raised her voice at her?

Carolyn grabbed her sister's hand, looking her straight in the eyes. "We'll have each other."

"How are we even supposed to do this?" Aura asked warily, looking at her grandmother.

Silvia laced her fingers together in her lap, her fear not well-concealed. "There are specific magical items that when used together have the ability to restore the Stories—"

Carolyn whipped out the notes tab on her phone, her fingers ready to type. "—Great! Which ones?"

Her grandmother sighed. "That's the problem. I don't know any of them apart from one: The Lamp of Promise."

The twins slouched into the cushioned seats.

"Just our luck." Carolyn placed her phone back into her pocket.

"But I do know what you must do once you collect all of the necessary items." Silvia took a deep breath before saying, "You must travel to the heart of the Crystian castle and go to what is called the Portal's Grotto. Simply place the items you collected in front of the doorway and the Portal will do the rest."

"So how do we find the rest of the objects?" Carolyn inquired.

Silvia rustled through her tote bag before pulling out a petite, gold chest with a silver butterfly melded onto the top. She carefully opened it, revealing two identical bracelets with rose gold chains complete with twenty-three charms.

Although shell-shocked from the task at hand, Aura gasped at the sight of the jewelry. She delicately picked up one of the bracelets, a small smile on her face. "Gran, these are beautiful!"

The twins each closed the clasps of the bracelets over their wrists, admiring the various charms which ranged from a glass slipper to a red rose to a miniature, golden tiara.

Their grandmother placed the box back into her bag before clearing her throat. "When someone is ready to go through the Portal, a charm is created for them as a sort of 'key' to enter their story. Just before I fled Fabula with you two, the Heroes and Heroines gave me their charms, knowing that without them the Villains couldn't permanently change the fairytales. I was planning on using them to fix the Stories, but now since I can't, I figured I should give them to you."

"But why are there two of each?" Carolyn asked, moving her wrist next to Aura's.

"I don't want to frighten you, but it's an insurance plan of sorts. Even if—God forbid—one of you gets captured, the power of the charms is split in half, so the Villains wouldn't be able to finalize their new endings without both of you."

Silvia studied her granddaughters' faces, which were still utterly confused. "Think of your charm bracelets as guiding lights, they'll help you find what you need," she explained. "It will be no small feat, by any means, to even collect the Lamp of Promise— if only you had someone with you, who knew Fabula well..."

Aura and Carolyn exchanged a knowing glance.

"She's our best bet," Aura said quietly, nudging her sister.

"I'll call Bailey," Carolyn huffed.

Hello lovelies!
Can it be? Two chapters on the same day?  Why yes, yes it is!
So Silvia dropped the ball once more (it's becoming a habit.) and Aura & Carolyn are heading to Fabula once again!

Until next chapter!
♡ Melody & Rebekah ♡