Chapter Three: Apples, Newspapers, and True Believers
Hearing the shower running for a moment before it shut off, Emma wakes up, glancing down to see the pallet on the floor empty of her twin. Rolling her eyes at the fact that Skylar is a morning person and has probably been up for a good hour, she pulls herself up to a sitting position. When a knock at the room door echoes in the room, Emma grabs the coffee mug left on the side table, thanking any deity for her twin with her quick thinking of coffee, and takes a gulp as she stands up and walks to the door, not caring about her sleeping attire.
Skylar popped out of the bathroom wearing a nice hugging pair of jeans with a black cotton belt, her Hi-Top sneakers, a white sleeveless shirt, and is putting on her last earring, shrugging and tilting her head to the left a bit at Emma when she gestures to the door, silently asking if she knows who's there.
Hearing a second set of knocks, Emma pulls the door slightly open. Seeing Regina, she pulls it open further, knowing the woman is here to 'subtly' throw out some threats.
"Did you know the honey crisp tree is the most vigorous and hardy of all apple trees? It can survive temperatures as low as forty below and keep growing. It can weather any storm..." Regina kept talking to Emma as Skylar tuned her out, already figuring where the conversation was headed as she put on her watch and put her wallet in her back pocket. Smirking as she hears subtle insults starting to be thrown around, she pulls on a long sleeve gray plaid button up, buttoning it around half way before rolling up the sleeves to her elbows.
Glancing back at the door a moment later, she sees Regina storm off, leaving Emma holding on to two apples before she tossed them into a basket a few feet away. Closing the door, the twins stare at each other until Skylar grins and gives Emma two thumbs up, getting an exaggerated flexing pose in return for a second, before Emma struts to the bathroom to get ready for the day, leaving Skylar to fall over holding her gut as she roars with laughter.
Sitting in a stool at the diner with her twin, Skylar glances at the newspaper in Emma's hand. Realizing it was about her twin, basically airing her laundry, false laundry at that, all over the front page. She starts glaring at it, hoping it will turn to ash from the rage of her stare.
"Here ya go." They hear, looking up to see Ruby place two mugs of what looks like Hot Coco with whipped cream and cinnamon on top, in front of them.
"Thank you, but we didn't order those..." Emma trailed off.
Winking and nodding hello at Skylar, she turns to Emma with a grin, "Yeah, I know. You have an admirer."
Seeing Emma glance back and notice the Sheriff, Skylar watched her pick up her mug and walk over to him. Glancing back at Ruby, she decides to stay put, leaning forward on her arms to talk to the waitress as Emma does her thing.
"So..." Skylar drawls out, raising an eyebrow, "this town have anything... fun to do?"
Ruby leans forward, eyes roaming yet again before meeting her eyes, "Depends on what your idea of fun is. There's 'The Rabbit Hole', that's the local, and only, bar in town. There are town events, but to be honest, there's not much else here."
"Hmm... I think I can find something..." Skylar trails off, biting her lip to keep from grinning to much.
"I can't even turn my back for a second Romeo," muttered Emma as she grabbed her twin by the back of her shirt, pulling her off the barstool, "I swear I feel like I'm the older sibling instead of twins. Now come on, we gotta walk the kid to his school. Make sure he actually makes it inside the building this time."
Waving bye at a giggling Ruby, she let's Emma lead her out of the diner by the back of her button up as Henry looks at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Kid," Skylar says as she narrows her eyes at him a bit before turning around and walking side by side with Emma, "you look like your mom way too much when you do that."
Emma quickly jump starts a new conversation before Henry can get defensive, "So what's the deal with you and your mom?" asking as they walk across the street.
"It's not about us, it's about her curse. We have to break it. Luckily, I have a plan. Step one, identification. I call it, Operation Cobra." Henry says without much pause.
"Cobra? That has nothing to do with Fairy Tales." Emma says, looking confused as she shared a look with her sister.
"Exactly. It's a code name to throw the Queen off of the trail." He nods as if proving a point.
"So everyone here is a Fairy Tale character. They just don't know it? Like, at all, not even an inkling?" Asked Skylar, actually looking intrigued before Emma elbowed her, giving her a 'what the hell, don't encourage him' look.
"That's the curse. Time's been frozen... until you two got here." He said, looking at them pointedly.
Emma and Skylar shared a look as they both went to take a bite of an apple each that Emma has been carrying around from them.
"Hey!" Henry said, causing the twins to pull the apples back away, "Where'd you guys get those?"
Looking confused, Emma answered nervously, "Your mom... why?"
"Don't eat those!" He said quickly and sharply, grabbing the apples and throwing them over his shoulders and into the gutter on the side of the road behind them.
Suddenly worried about Henry's sanity, Skylar quickly jumped back into a conversation, "Okay then, all right... what about their pasts?" She asked the kid.
"They don't know. It's just a haze to them. Ask anyone of them, and you'll see what I mean." He nodded at her.
Emma butted in, "So... for decades, people have been walking around in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town, that kept them oblivious." She stated in more of a question, trying to see if she got what he was saying.
"I knew you'd get it! That's why we need you two! You guys are the only ones that can stop her curse!" Henry grinned excited at them.
"Because we're the twin daughters of Snow White and Prince Charming?" Emma asked disbelievingly.
"Whoa, whoa, hold up. Why am I only just now hearing THIS theory?" Skylar asked, flicking Emma's right ear as they stopped walking.
Rolling his eyes, Henry continued, "Yes, and right now, we have the advantage. My mom doesn't know that. I took out the end, the part with the two of you in it. See? Your guy's mom is Snow White. I know the heroes never believe at first. If they did... it wouldn't be a very good story." Continuing down the path, he kept talking, "If you guys need proof, take them, read them, but whatever you do, don't let her see these pages. They're dangerous, If she finds out who you two are... it would be bad."
Feeling their hearts stop for a moment, the twins went quiet as they came up to the school entrance. Pausing when Henry turned to go inside.
"I gotta go, but I'll find you guys later and we can get started. I knew you two would believe me!" He said as he walked backwards to the door.
"We never said we did!" Emma called back, throwing her hands up a bit.
"Why else would you be here?" He asked, smiling at them as he turned around and ran inside.
Sighing, Skylar dragged a hand down her face, holding her hand over her chin and mouth for a moment, bumping hips with her sister.
Elbowing her in response, Emma narrowed her eyes at her twin, getting ready to start scuffling until they heard Henry's teacher walk up, talking to them. Promising retribution with mouthed words as Skylar rolled her eyes, they face forward again.
Walking up to the therapist's office, Skylar still felt like the wind was knocked clean out of her. Turning to Emma she asks, "Did she seriously say Henry thinks she's Snow White?" At Emma's nod she continued, "But... how... I mean..." She said, gesturing wildly before dropping her arms to her side. Stopping to stare ahead as Emma knocked on the door they now stood in front of.
"I'm... I'm just gonna chill out here on this bench, you go ahead... I need to relearn how to breath and sort my thoughts..." Skylar said as she dropped herself onto the bench outside the office, staring at the wall in front of her.
Nodding, Emma clapped her shoulder once before knocking and heading into the office.
Staring ahead, Skylar leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees as she covered her face with her hands. Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself down, forcing the idea away as being just a Fairy Tale idea from a kid.
Focusing on her breathing, she glanced over as the door opened again, with Emma stepping out, holding a folder. Nodding at her twin's questioning look, Skylar stood up, throwing an arm over Emma's shoulders as they headed out of the building.
Muttering about going to the 'castle' for a few minutes, Skylar separated from her twin as Emma headed back to the Inn, walking in the direction of the beach.
Coming across Mary Margaret talking to her class outside, she decides to hang out when Henry waves at her from the group of kids sitting in the grass, instead of heading back to the Inn.
A few minutes later, Skylar hears the dreaded clicking of heels, not even needing to look over to know that Regina, the apple loving, nit picking, hard ass, was walking up to the group. Watching the 'confrontation', she keeps a close eye on Mary Margaret's reactions, feeling oddly protective of the woman. Seeing Regina lead Henry off to the side a bit, Skylar locks eyes with the teacher, raising an eyebrow as if asking if she was okay. Mary visibly relaxed and nods once with a soft smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Henry tense up, before sending a fake smile to Regina, pushing past as he heads back to the group. He looks up and locks eyes with her, glancing back at his mom before gesturing at Skylar, showing his hands behind his back as if cuffed, before gesturing to an empty spot near her. Raising an eyebrow at him, she nods her thanks, shoving her hands in her pockets as she quickly turns and makes her way to the Police station. Not long after, Mary Margaret pulls up next to her running down the road, with Henry in the backseat.
"Hey, thought that since we're all going to the same place, you could use a lift?" The teacher askes, smiling at the blonde.
Grinning, Skylar nods her thanks as she gets in and buckles up. High fiving Henry, telling him thanks for the smooth Charades warning, getting a warm smile in return.
Skylar waved the two ahead, saying she had to go get something for Emma while they bailed her out. Which she thanked Mary for many times, even hugging the woman for a moment.
When the two closed the door to the station behind them as they went inside, Skylar grinned as she walked into a hardware rental store, knowing her twin would want vengeance, and knowing how much Regina loves her apple tree, she has a good feeling that Emma will want a chainsaw. Since Skylar loves her twin, hates it when she is wronged, and loves to 'even the score' with her sister. She quickly rents a chainsaw from the man inside, only for an hour of course. After all, it shouldn't take long to take a... bite... out of that apple tree.
Leaving the shop with the chainsaw in its case, she sees Emma walking out of the station with Mary and Henry. Waiting until the other two drive off without her sister Skylar whistles out, holding the case up for Emma to see. She is rewarded with a wicked grin and two thumbs up...
Sneaking into the garden area of the city's main office building wasn't too hard, trying to hide the chainsaw case from prying eyes was fairly easy as well, considering no one was around. Quickly running up to the tree, Emma pulls the chainsaw out of its case, putting some of the gas from the small container inside of the tank. Handing it to Skylar, she glances as a decent branch, motioning to it, offering her twin the honor of cutting it off. Beaming at Emma, the twin picks up the chainsaw, happy Emma is letting her get sweet justice for the shit the mayor put her sister through. Pulling the cable roughly, the saw kicks on and starts rumbling as she finds a decent spot to cut.
Seeing the Mayor jump up and look out the window, Emma grins and gestures for Skylar to have at it. Snorting as her twin wastes almost no time, and quickly cuts off the branch completely. When Emma glances back up at the window, she catches site of the Mayor turning around and most likely storming her way outside.
Skylar, being the brat she is, revved the chainsaw a couple of times until the Mayor charged across the garden, obviously pissed off.
"What the hell are you doing?" She shouts as Skylar lets the chainsaw cut off.
"We're picking apples." Emma snarks out at Regina.
Tossing the chainsaw down behind her, Skylar watches as Regina and Emma go head to head in an argument. Hearing Emma call out to Regina that it was her move, Skylar grins as she follows her sister away from the garden, whistling happily as she puts the chainsaw back in its case to return it.
Turning in the chainsaw as Emma headed back to the apartment, she thanks the man working there as she starts heading back to the Inn. Feeling her phone ringing, she quickly answers, knowing it's her sister.
"Hey! What's up?" She questions as she walks down the sidewalk.
"Wait... What?! She actually got us... Yeah, yeah, I'll be there in just a second. Okay... Bye." Skylar threw her phone back into her pocket, feeling even more pissed than earlier at the mayor. Sighing, she paused for a moment before setting off at a fast jog towards the diner in town, determined to get to Emma fast.
Nearly walking smack into Emma as she paused, talking to someone on her phone and staring at her bug, Skylar tilts her head to the side in question as Emma gestures wildly at the yellow car. Looking over, she narrows her eyes as she follows her sister over, glaring at the tire boot. When Emma tosses her jacket into the car and slams the door, she looks back up in time to see her sister hang up on whoever she was talking took, looking really annoyed.
"Hey, I'm going to go talk to 'Madame Mayor', would you mind looking through the paper, seeing if there is anywhere else we can stay, while I'm gone?" Emma asked, dragging a hand down her face.
Nodding, Skylar pulled her sister into a hug before pushing her off in the general direction of the Mayor's house, smiling softly as Emma thanks her before walking off.
When Emma got back, Skylar noticed her sister seemed upset. Waiting till Emma got close, she quickly threw her arms around her as she hugged her tightly for a few moments. When Emma pulled away, she said something about paying Mary Margaret back for the bail today. Nodding, Skylar threw on her own jacket and tossing the red jacket to her twin, and the two women headed over to Mary Margaret's apartment, determined to pay her back before tomorrow.
Arriving at the correct apartment number, Skylar leaned against the opposite wall from the door as Emma knocked. Hearing movement right before the door swung open, the twins glanced up, seeing Mary really there made them relax for some odd reason. Hearing her sister thank the woman, stuttering all the while. As they were about to leave from sudden nerves, Mary Margaret spoke up, and basically invited them in to talk with her with a soft smile. Grinning, Skylar shoved Emma forwards as she seemed shy and was walking too slow into the apartment. Before the two could start scuffling, the now dubbed MM (for Mighty Mouse, Skylar had suggested, much to Emma's amusement...), cleared her throat. Looking amused as she raised an eyebrow, she gestured to the table near them as the twins looked sheepishly at each other, before sitting down quickly.
After a small heart to heart with MM, Emma and Skylar realized that they couldn't just leave. Henry truly needed his birth mother and his aunt. As they were leaving the building, they shared a determined glance before running as fast as they could to the therapist's office, knowing Henry would be there at this hour.
"So are we really doing this? Throwing away that desperate clinging of disbelief and opening up to the chance that this curse thing might actually be real? Staying for Henry?" Asked Skylar as they tore down the road on foot.
Nodding after a moment, Emma replies firmly, "Yeah... Yeah, we are."
Grinning at her twin, Skylar let out a cheer, hurdling over a bench. Emma shook her head and rolled her eyes, smiling as they picked up speed a second later.
When they reached the door to the therapist's office, they stopped for a moment, bent over panting for breath before straightening up and barging into the room. Hearing Emma brush off the man as he tries to apologize for earlier, Skylar leaps up and over the side of the couch, landing next to Henry and Emma walks around to sit in the chair on the other side of him.
"Henry, there is one simple reason why we stayed here... You." Emma started, determined to say her piece, "We both want to get to know you."
Still trying to keep emotionally distant, Henry interrupts her, "You think I'm crazy."
Letting Emma take the lead here, Skylar watches as her sister quickly responds, "No, I think the curse is crazy, and it is," Emma pauses for a moment before continuing, "But that doesn't mean it isn't true. It is a lot to ask anyone to believe in, but there are a lot of crazy things in this world. So what do I know? Maybe it is true."
"But you told my mom..." Henry tried to start again, only for Emma to interrupt him.
"What she needed to hear. What I do know... is that if the curse is real, the only way to break it, is by tricking the Evil Queen... into thinking that we are nonbelievers. 'Cause that way... she's not on to us. Isn't that what operation Cobra was all about? Throwing her off the trail?" Emma asked, leaning forward.
Skylar couldn't help her happy grin when Henry perked up and agreed with his mother... her sister.
Emma kept going as she stood up and headed to the fireplace, "We read the pages, and Henry, you're right... they're dangerous. There is only one way to make sure she never sees them."
Throwing them in the fire and seeing them burn, Emma turns back around. "Now we have the advantage." She finished off with.
Grinning at Henry and nodding towards Emma, Skylar watched as he jumped up and hugged her twin tightly. Sticking out his arm, Henry gestured Skylar to join the group hug, which she quickly did.
"I knew you guys were here to help me." He mumbled, clinging to both of them.
Looking at each other, seeing the resolve to truly believe, the twins looked back at him, speaking an agreement at the same time. Pulling away to promise that even the curse won't stop them, they hugged him once again before telling the Doctor that they were taking him with them, and they'd drop him off at the Mayor's house so the appointment could end early. Nodding in agreement, the Doctor held open the door, smiling at the small group as they walked out together, discussing plans as they went...