Chapter Four
A Puppet
"August?" I asked.
He walked in, his feet seemed to be stomping the ground every time. "Emma?" He asked. I smiled, tears of happiness falling down my cheeks. "You're alive!" I cried. "Of course I am, you broke the curse!" He said, with a smile.
I walked towards him and gave him a hug.
"You married Pinocchio?" James asked.
I turned. "Yes, I did. I love him, Dad." I whispered.
"You married the princess?" Gepetto asked.
"Yes, father, I did." He said. "And we're expecting our first child together."
"Hey!" Henry piped in. "Our first child biologically." August corrected. With the news of the baby, Gepetto's eyes brightened. "I can make a crib!" He cried. But then he furrowed his brow.
"I actually wanted to talk to Snow White and Prince James about the whole thing." Gepetto said. "Oh, would you like us to leave?" I asked. "No, you all can stay." He said. "Henry, go to your room." I said.
"What?" Henry said. "Go to your room, kid." I said. He sighed, and headed for his room. "If you guys don't mind, I'd like to sit down, you all are more than welcome." I said, heading for the couch. Everyone sat down on the couch, and August sat right next to me. He smiled. It was strange, seeing him as a puppet.
"Pinocchio and I….we did something that was really wrong…" Gepetto whispered. James shook his head. "I don't understand." James whispered. "The truth is…two people could have went into the wardrobe." Gepetto said.
"What?" Snow White asked.
"Two people could have went in the wardrobe." He repeated.
"Then, why did the Blue Fairy say only one could fit?" Snow White asked.
"Because, they asked me to build the wardrobe…and Pinocchio helped me, and then I realized…what would happen to my Pinocchio when the curse happened." He said, looking into the eyes of my parents. "So you and the Blue Fairy lied to us?" Snow asked.
I gulped. "August," I whispered.
"Sh, it will be fine." He whispered.
"That's the second time you acknowledged my son, like that…" Gepetto said.
"Father, that was my name in the reality world...kind of still is since we're still here." He whispered.
He nodded. But then the conversation returned to Gepetto's. "Yes." Gepetto finally said, after a long period of silence. Prince James sighed, and closed his eyes.
"I could've stayed with my daughter." Snow whispered.
"Mom," I whispered. She shook her head, as she began to cry. "My baby grew up without me."
"Your highnesses, I'm so sorry, but I was afraid Pinocchio would turn back into wood, and never come back to life!" He cried. "Well, as you can see my first fear came true."
"I'm sorry, father…I.." August began.
"No, Pinocchio, I trusted you…you gave me your word that you would help her." His father said.
"It's not his fault." I said.
"What?" Gepetto asked.
"Tell him, August." I whispered. He nodded.
August sighed. "Emma and I were in a foster home together. It was horrible," He said, looking at our parents, who were looking at us.
"I…I was fixing Emma's crib when one of the foster parents showed up…he yelled at me just for using his tools so Emma couldn't get hurt, but he yelled at me." He said. I rubbed my thumb softly over his hand, reassuringly.
"One of the kids, said he had tickets out of there, and I wanted to go. I tried to get Emma to go with us, but he didn't want her." He sighed, before continuing. "I wanted to stay…to be strong, but he was cruel and mean… I had to go." August said.
"But, you left her?" James asked.
"I know, and I'm so so sorry." August whispered. Just then, I felt a nudge in my stomach. "Oh," I cried, placing my hand. "What?" August asked. He looked at me, with worry in his eyes. I smiled. "It's okay, I'm alright." I whispered.
I smiled, and took his hand and placed it on my stomach that was slowly growing. "Our baby kicked." I whispered. He smiled. "She did?" He asked. "It's a she?" I asked.
"I know it will be a she." He whispered.
"You know, you two aren't the only two in the room, and we still have a lot to talk about." James said. I sighed, turning my attention back to the group. I hoped we could work through this. I hoped that they would understand, that August did try. But, I couldn't make them. They had to do it on their own.