p align="center" /p
p align="center"Emma didn't know it, but she was in shock. One second she was in her room at home with everything all wrong, the next she had landed with a thump in the middle of a forest. Emma recognised the landscape from all her trips through the lands of the Enchanted Forest. Was that where she was now? Had magic taken her out of the castle into the forest grounds? Emma pulled herself out of the tree trunk she had found herself in, clutching her blanket tight to her chest. This didn't feel right. She could hear birds tweeting up in the branches above her, but she could also hear a loud roaring noise in the distance. Was that the fighting going on? She had seen her daddy fighting the scary men. Where were they now? Emma had never been without them before./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Emma?" Emma jumped, startled. She turned to face whoever was addressing her. She recognised the voice, it was very familiar to /br /p
p align="center""Okie?" She said quietly. The boy smiled at the nickname. Pinocchio was a bit of a mouthful for such a little girl. "Okie, what happen?" Emma asked, her eyes welling up again./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Oh Emma, don't cry." Pinocchio begged her. He was just as scared, but knew he had to be a big boy. His papa told him when he came through the wardrobe he would have to look after the princess. He would be her protector now. Right up until they found their families again. He wasn't to know of the lies and deceit that led to him standing in the forest with Emma. He came over and gave the girl a clumsy hug. Like Emma, Pinocchio was an only child. Heck, he'd only been a human child for a few years. He had no idea how to be a good big brother and comfort Emma. "It's going to be ok." He told her. "I'll look after you."/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Want mama and daddy." Emma whimpered./p
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p align="center""I want my papa too, but we have to brave. They're not here. It's just us." Pinocchio tried to explain. At ten years old, Geppetto had at least been able to try and explain what was going to happen to his son. Emma was little more than a baby. She simply didn't understand. She peered up at her friend with teardrops still wet on her eyelashes./p
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p align="center""Where are they?" She questioned him. Pinocchio didn't really know how to answer her./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""They're…not here." He told her. "They're far away. We'll find them again…one day. It might take a long time though." Pinocchio told her. "Until we find our families, I'll be with you. I'm going to be your big brother now. You'll be my little sister." He tried to explain./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Really?" Emma asked./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Really. First thing's first, we need to find some grownups." Pinocchio told her. He tightly took hold of Emma's tiny hand. Still terrified, Emma's nails dug into his skin slightly. Pinocchio winced, but didn't tell her off. He knew she was just scared. Pinocchio scanned the area around them. To their left, there was a path through the woods. He led Emma over to the path and decided that if they followed it, they would eventually find an adult./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"Every noise made the children tense up. Everything was so unfamiliar. Nothing about this place seemed normal to them. There was no clip clop of horses hooves trotting through the grass. No gentle fluttering of fairy wings. No whistling from the dwarves as they finished a day's work in the mines. Both children froze on the spot when they heard someone running towards them. No, not someone, some-thing. Ahead of them, a dog was running full speed towards them. Emma screamed and leapt behind her new brother. Pinocchio wanted to do nothing more than abandon Emma and jump up a tree and save himself from the dog, but he couldn't. He had promised his father that he would be honest and true. He screwed his eyes shut and waited./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Toby!" Someone called out. "Toby, come here! It's alright kids, he's friendly!" Pinocchio cautiously opened one eye and looked down. The dog had stopped about a foot in front of them. He had dropped a stick and was waiting expectantly for one of them to throw it for him, his tail wagging wildly. Pinocchio couldn't help but wince a little. He hadn't always gotten along with dogs when he was a wooden boy. He gingerly picked up the stick and tossed it further down the path. Satisfied, Toby galloped off after his stick. The woman who had been calling him finally caught up with her dog and the children. She was panting slightly, having run to catch her pet. Pinocchio stared at her curiously. She was wearing such odd clothing. He only ever saw a lady wear trousers when she was riding. Surely she wasn't riding the dog? She took a rope like thing off from around her neck and clipped one end to some kind of necklace the dog was wearing, and held the other end in her hand./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Sorry guys, he's harmless really. A great big softie." She told them, smiling. Pinocchio and Emma stared at her. They had never seen a person who looked like her before. She was obviously an older woman. There were wrinkles around her eyes and at the corners of her mouth. The hair around where her hair parted was grey, whilst the rest of it was a chestnut brown. The children didn't notice that the woman was feeling just the same about them./p
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p align="center""Have you two been at a fancy-dress party?" She asked them. "Are you a princess, sweetie?" Emma nodded automatically, her blanket tucked under her armpit and her thumb back in her mouth./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Aw, how cute! Where are your parents?"/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Far away." Emma repeated the answer Pinocchio had given her. The woman frowned suddenly./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Oh? Are you here with someone else? A granny and grandpa? An aunt and uncle?" She asked them. Emma shook her head while Pinocchio didn't know what to do. He wanted this woman's help, he knew he wouldn't be able to look after Emma out here on their own for long. They had no shelter, food or clean water, and both children were already feeling a chill. However, he knew how odd this looked. Even back home it was weird to see two children, especially one as young as Emma, wondering the forest without an adult. The woman crouched down so she was eye level with Pinocchio, understanding that as he was older she might get more of the story out of him./p
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p align="center""Are you two out here on your own?" She asked him directly. Pinocchio felt his throat go dry. Could he truly trust this stranger? He didn't feel he had a choice. Slowly, he nodded./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Oh my!" The woman said, alarmed. "How have you ended up out here alone? Are you lost?"/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""We don't know where we are." Pinocchio answered truthfully. "We don't have a family. Just each other." He explained. The woman looked sorrowfully at the little boy./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Aw sweetheart. Ok, I understand. I'm sorry, but I can't leave you and your little sister out here on your own. You'll freeze. Come on, Toby and I will take you back to town." She said. Pinocchio felt a strange mix of relief and terror. Hopefully this woman would lead them somewhere safe, but he couldn't be totally sure. Still, he smiled reassuringly at Emma, squeezing her hand. He followed the woman out of the trees. She pulled a key out of her pocket and walked over to a strange looking giant tin contraption. She put the key in a hole in the contraption and it clicked. The children jumped again. What was this thing?/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"After opening another door in the back of the contraption that Toby jumped in merrily, she turned to the children. "Hop in, kids." She told them, opening yet another door. "I don't have any car seats for you, sweetie, but it'll have to do." She told them. Pinocchio and Emma were still staring at the contraption. Emma likened it to the only thing she could./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""That carriage?" She asked. The woman chuckled, thinking Emma was playing a game./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Sure is, honey. Your carriage awaits." She old her. Swallowing, Pinocchio let Emma to the weird looking carriage and helped her inside before climbing in himself. The woman walked around to Emma's side and pulled a weird metal ring thing across her shoulders and down towards a little hole popping out from the seat below them. Pinocchio saw one over his own shoulder and mimicked her actions. The woman then got into a seat in front of them that had a wheel like a ship's in front of her. Pinocchio wondered if she was going to sail them somewhere. She glanced at them from a mirror above her./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I'm Barbara, by the way." She introduced herself. "Don't worry, I'll take you to the station. I know it might not be what you want, but they'll make sure you're safe. You're too young to be wandering around here on your own. Too many bad people out there." She said, shuddering. Barbara put her key into a hole in front of her. The metal carriage roared. It was just like the sounds they'd heard in the distance. There must be a lot of these around here. Emma clapped her hands over her ears, not used to the sound. Fortunately, Barbara was no focusing ahead of her so didn't notice. Pinocchio watched out the window beside him, taking everything in as best he could. This place was nothing like back home. It was so…grey. As soon as they left the forest, great tall buildings loomed over them. Not like the castles from back home, these buildings were skinny. All different shades of white, grey, black or brown. Nothing like the petite cottages of the Enchanted Forest. Hundreds of the strange metal carriages were around them. Occasionally, someone would make a loud hooting sound from theirs, frightening the children. Other people walked along the side of the metal carriages like they weren't even there. Above them, more metal. This time, weird metal lanterns that seemed too bright. It didn't look like fire inside them. Pinocchio felt uneasy here. What was their obsession with metal?/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"Barbara stopped the metal carriage in front of a white building. Pinocchio read the sign over the door: Boston Police District A-1. He had no idea what any of those words meant./p
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p align="center""Ok kids, here we are. Let's go." Barbara opened her door and helped Emma out of hers. Pinocchio cautiously opened his own and jumped out, relieved to be walking again. Barbara led the children inside the building. The floor beneath them was strange. It was hard like stone, but shiny. Barbara led them both to a seat before going to speak to a man behind a glass wall. Pinocchio kept his arm around Emma. Pinocchio tried to listen, but he couldn't make out what Barbara was saying. Eventually, she turned around and gave the children a smile. She walked back over to them./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I guess this is goodbye, kids." She told them. "Officer Richards will keep an eye on you until a social worker can come and sort you out. I hope everything works out for you." She said. She hovered for a moment, her arms twitching at her sides. Then, she took a ragged breath and walked out the building. Both Pinocchio and Emma felt much worse after she left. They might not have known her for very long, but she was still the only person they knew in this world./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"Pinocchio continued to watch the man behind the glass wall. He saw him speak into some kind of horn. Occasionally, he would glance uncomfortably over at the two children. After what seemed like an eternity, another woman walked through the door. She went and spoke to Officer Richards, who pointed at the two children. Pinocchio tensed up again before she turned and smiled at them. His tension only grew as she walked towards them. She was wearing strange pointy shoes that clicked against the hard floor. Emma could feel Pinocchio's tension. Her thumb was back in her mouth again./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Okie?" She asked him. The woman was now in front of them./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Auggie, is that short for August?" She asked him. Pinocchio nodded, not really sure what she meant. The woman turned to face Emma. She spotted the blanket under Emma's arm. "That's a pretty blanket…Emma. Is that your name then?" She asked. Emma nodded. The woman pulled some paper and some kind of quill out of a leather bag she had over her shoulder and began to write things down. "So we have August and Emma. What's your last name, guys?" She asked them. Pinocchio was confused. Last name? What did that mean? He only had one name and that was Pinocchio, but she now thought it was August. He decided not to correct her. Maybe it was best he had a new name now. Just in case the Evil Queen came looking for them. He didn't even know who she was talking to. Him, or Emma./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Both?" He asked her. Were they both meant to have a last name?/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Booth?" She stated, mishearing him again. Again, August nodded, seeing that this didn't seem like a wrong answer. She wrote that down. "August and Emma Booth…"/p
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p align="center""Booth?" Emma asked, confused. The woman stopped writing. "Oh, do you have different last names?" She asked, puzzled. "Oh, do you and your sister have different dads?" The woman asked./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Yes." Pinocchio answered truthfully. "What's your sister's last name? She asked, waiting for an answer. Pinocchio felt his heart hammer in his chest. He still didn't know what that meant. He looked all around the room for anything he could say. He saw a wall with pictures on it. One of them was a woman who looked a bit like Emma. Well, she had blonde hair, anyway. Her name seemed to be Alexis Swan. Ah, that's what it meant! People in this world seemed to have two names. "Swan. Her last name is Swan." He answered hopefully. The woman didn't seem to find this odd and wrote it down. Emma opened her mouth to protest again, but Pinocchio squeezed her hand hard. Luckily, that stopped Emma. The woman pulled out more paper from her bag and scanned it./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I'm not seeing an August or an Emma on my list of missing children. Are you sure you've told me your real names?" She asked pointedly. Pinocchio looked her right in the eye./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I am always honest, ma'am." He told her respectfully. Reluctantly, the woman took this as true./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""The lady who brought you in here said you told her you don't have a family. Is that true? Because if not you're going to have someone very sad looking for you both." She told them. Pinocchio quickly squeezed Emma's hand again./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Nobody is looking for us." He promised the woman. She nodded again. "Where have you come from then?"/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""The forest." Emma answered, happy to know something./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Yes, I know that, but where were you before that?" The woman asked impatiently./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""We don't know." Pinocchio told her. "We don't really know where we are." He knew this didn't seem like a good answer, but it was the truth. She sighed, looking at something on her wrist./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Runaways are always a joy to place. Never met one this young before…"/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""We have to stay together." Pinocchio told her forcefully, holding Emma tightly. "I won't leave my sister"/p
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p align="center""I'll take you somewhere together." She told him, clearly not concerned about how either child felt. "Come on, it's late. I just need to make a quick phone call to get you placed here." The woman left them again and walked back towards the glass wall. She spoke to Officer Richards and he passed her the horn. Pinocchio made a mental note that this was called a phone call. He was going to have to learn fast here./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"She came back a few minutes later./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I take it you don't have any things?" She asked. Pinocchio shook his head. "I'll bring you some supplies in the morning. You'll have to do with whatever your foster parents have until then." She told them. Pinocchio decided it was best not to ask what a foster parent was. At least they'd have shelter. "Come on then, my car's outside." The woman led the children to another metal carriage. Another mental note: this was a car./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"The children were taken back in the car through yet more tall buildings. The longer they travelled, the smaller the buildings got. Pinocchio stared straight up into the sky at the moon and the stars. Finally, something familiar in this strange world./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"Eventually, they stopped again./p
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p align="center""Right, here we are." The woman said matter of factly. "I can't promise it will be for very long, so best not get too comfortable. It's an already pretty full house as it is." Pinocchio and Emma were then marched to the front door. Emma had a tight grip on Pinocchio's hand with one of her own, and her blanket with the other. When would they find her mommy and daddy? She missed them. The woman knocked on the door firmly. Pinocchio and Emma heard what sounded like several children running around and screaming inside. A gruff voice shouted for them all to shut up. Was this the adult who was meant to be looking after them? They didn't seem nearly as nice as Barbara. After a few minutes, they heard a lock turn inside and then the door swung open. A stern looking man stood before them. He was wearing a dirty looking vest that might have once been white, and a pair of khaki shorts./p
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p align="center""Stacy you know I've already got my hands full here." The man complained. "I've got six kids as is crammed into three bedrooms. If I get inspected again I'll be the one who gets it in the neck." The woman, Stacy, reached into her bag and pulled out a small rectangular book. She brought the weird quill out again and the children watched her scribble something down before ripping the page out and handing it to the man./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I'm sure this will cover it. You know I wouldn't ask unless I was desperate, Bill. Two runaways. A nightmare for paperwork. We don't even know where they're from, they don't seem to know. Probably traumatised after something. I'll be spending the next few hours trying to find them somewhere more permanent. Surely you can handle them for a few days, max?"/p
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p align="center""Eight kids Stacy…" Bill whinged. "Joan's not happy, I can tell you that. She thinks I'm being too soft taking them. It's not for the love of it, that's for sure." He admitted. Pinocchio had decided he did not like this man. He didn't seem the best kind of person to look after two orphans./p
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p align="center""I truly appreciate it. I owe you one, Bill!" Stacy shouted. She gave the two children a gentle nudge forward before walking quickly to her car. Pinocchio could see he and Emma didn't have much choice but to stay here. At least for now. Bill looked down at them like they were something nasty he had found on his shoe./p
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p align="center""Get in then. There's a draft." He ordered them. Pinocchio ushered Emma inside. He had been brought up well by his papa. He held out his hand for Bill to shake./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Thank you for looking after us, sir. My name is…"/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Yeah yeah yeah, whatever kid." The man cut him off. He looked down at the paper Stacy had given him and scoffed. "I'm meant to feed you both on that? You don't have any clothes with you either? Does she think I'm made of money? No, you'll both have to make do with what we've got here." He told them. "Come upstairs. I'll show you to your rooms…"/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Rooms? Oh, sir, can I not stay with my sister? She's very sad…"/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I don't care kid. Rules are rules. Boys and girls can't share a room, even if they are siblings." He told her. Pinocchio could see there was no point in arguing his case any further. He would sneak in during the night and check up on her. He would have to work out a better plan. They couldn't stay here, not when they so clearly weren't wanted./p
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p align="center"They walked up the grubby stairs in the dark hallway, they past an equally shabby looking bathroom on their right. Pinocchio thought the chamber pot looked very peculiar. Again, most things in there might have been white a long time ago now, but had faded to a mirky yellow. He paused at the next room and flung open the door./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Jeez Bill, thanks for knocking." A girl who looked to be in her teens mumbled./p
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p align="center""Don't you give me attitude, Megan. Not when you live under my roof. I'm overcrowded as is, I have no problem kicking a cheeky little shit like you out." He warned her. Pinocchio winced at the bad language. He pushed Emma into the room. "Here, this kid's new. She's…how old are you kid?" Emma froze, too frightened of the man to talk./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""She's three." Pinocchio answered for her./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I wasn't asking you. Anyway, she's three. If she pisses the bed, it's your problem. Find her some pyjamas or something, would ya?" Megan rolled her eyes, but began rummaging through a drawer. There was one girl already in the room. She was sitting on the bottom of a set of bunk beds, looking anxious./p
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p align="center""Wait, sir, there must be some mistake. There's only two beds in here. There's no room for Emma." Pinocchio piped up./p
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p align="center""They can share. Don't you get smart with me, boy. She's lucky she has a bed at all after the stunt you've both pulled." Pinocchio didn't have a chance to try and plead for Emma to get her own bed. The door was shut and Pinocchio was marched to the next door./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Rude!" A boy, about ages with Pinocchio, shouted when the door was opened./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Keep your voice down." Bill hissed. "Joan's asleep. Woe betide you if you wake her up. You'll get the whooping you've. Been begging for since your sorry ass arrived here, Jason." Bill growled. He shoved Pinocchio into the room. "You're in here kid. Got any more beds to count?" he asked. Pinocchio just looked at him. "Thought not." The door was shut, and Pinocchio was left with three strange boys. There was another teenager, who was asleep on the top of one of two sets of bunk beds, then there was Jason and another boy who looked about twelve. He stood up and came over./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""What's your name?" He asked Pinocchio. Pinocchio pressed his lips together for a moment before remembering he wasn't Pinocchio here, he was August Booth./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""August. August Booth." He answered quietly. The boy smirked./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""August? Did you get your name from a calendar?" He teased. Jason snorted. Pinocchio didn't find it very funny. "Lighten up kid. You'll need a thick skin around here. Bill's not so bad. It's Joan you've got to watch out for. She's got a wicked aim with her slipper." He warned. "I'm Garrett, by the way. That's Roberto up there. He's out for the count. It's pretty late. Why'd you get brought here at night? Was your last family in trouble?" Pinocchio shook his head./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""No…we just…arrived here, my sister and I. We don't really know where we are." Jason's eyes widened, he bounced up beside Garrett./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Wait, you're a runaway? You don't know where you are? You from another state? How'd you get here?-"/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Pipe down." Garrett commanded, bopping Jason on the head. But then he stared at Pinocchio curiously./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Are you a runaway though, August?" August nodded. Apparently that's what he was here. Jason and Garrett looked at each other./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Why?" Pinocchio asked, worried. Did they think he was a bad influence? Then, Garrett nodded./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Looks like we're in luck." He said. "We're leaving early." Pinocchio was about to ask what he meant, when Jason scrambled under the bed and pulled out a bag from under the bed. He opened it up and showed the contents to August. There were lots of bits of thin green paper with different men's faces on them. He was clearly meant to be impressed./p
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p align="center""Come on August, there's nearly five hundred dollars in there!" Garrett whispered. "If you've got this far before, you can help us escape now." Garrett gestured with his head above him. "Roberto has a cousin in New York who says he'll take us all. Like, the girls too! We just have to help him out with bills. There are a lot of busy people in New York. They won't miss a few loose bucks from their back pocket." Pinocchio gasped./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""We'll have to steal?" He asked. He shook his head. "That's dishonest."/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Well it's that, or stick around here and see how fun Joan is when she sees we're all gone. Roberto is going to steal the van. We can all cram in the back. You can sit up front with Roberto and help him out if the police catch us. You must be a good storyteller." Pinocchio felt his mouth go dry. He didn't like this, but he had to get Emma out of here. It was his job to protect her, to make sure she was ready when she was all grown up to defeat the Evil Queen. This seemed like their best shot./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Ok, I'll help you, but only if my sister can come too." He demanded. Jason pulled a disgusted face./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Aw man! Not the baby. August, she's too little. She'll get us all put back into care."/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Emma's not a baby. She's three. I can't leave her here on her own. She'll be no trouble. I can look after her. It's my job. Emma comes, or it's no deal." Pinocchio told him. Jason sighed and rolled his eyes./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Fine. The stupid baby can tag along. But if she starts to cry you're both on your own. Good luck when they find you again. Since you're both runaways already you'd probably get locked up in an institution somewhere." Jason said, clearly trying to frighten Pinocchio. Pinocchio swallowed. He didn't know what in institution was, but it didn't sound good./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I'll take care of her." He promised./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Whatever." Garrett grumbled. His eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. "Bill will be passing out drunk in a few hours. We just need to keep our cool until then. We'll try and signal to the girls to keep your sister awake if she's coming too. Or is she better asleep? Whatever she is, she better not screw this up for us. We've been planning this for months./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Emma will stay quiet. I promise." Pinocchio said, although he wasn't sure how he would be able to keep that promise if Emma got scared./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""You're doing an awful lot of promising, kid." Garrett said, raising an eyebrow. He clearly wasn't sure either. "For now, we just sit tight." He grinned at the other boys. "New York City, boys. We're finally escaping this hellhole." Jason was bouncing with excitement again. Pinocchio felt like he was going to be sick. His stomach was churning. He was meant to be honest, brave and true at all times. Otherwise, he would cease to be a real boy…but could that even happen when there was no magic to turn him back here? He would have to take that chance. If Emma stayed here, there was no way she'd continue to believe in magic for long. There wasn't even an ounce of magic in Bill and Joan's home. Maybe this New York would be better. He could keep Emma's hope alive. Tell her all the stories about their homeland in secret. He didn't think the other children should know. Something gave him the feeling magic was something to be frowned upon here. But at night, Pinocchio would remind his adoptive sister all about where they were really from. He would tell her of her royal heritage. About the fairies and the witches, the giants and the dwarves. All about her parents and his papa. About the wardrobe that brought them here and why. All about the Evil Queen's curse, and how she would break it when she was all grown up. He would take his role as the princess' sole protector in this land seriously. He would never let the little girl out of his sight. He was Princess Emma's lone guardian, and one day, he would lead her to her destiny to break the dark curse. One day, they would be reunited with their families. He would make sure of it./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"Emma didn't know it, but she was in shock. One second she was in her room at home with everything all wrong, the next she had landed with a thump in the middle of a forest. Emma recognised the landscape from all her trips through the lands of the Enchanted Forest. Was that where she was now? Had magic taken her out of the castle into the forest grounds? Emma pulled herself out of the tree trunk she had found herself in, clutching her blanket tight to her chest. This didn't feel right. She could hear birds tweeting up in the branches above her, but she could also hear a loud roaring noise in the distance. Was that the fighting going on? She had seen her daddy fighting the scary men. Where were they now? Emma had never been without them before./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Emma?" Emma jumped, startled. She turned to face whoever was addressing her. She recognised the voice, it was very familiar to /br /p
p align="center""Okie?" She said quietly. The boy smiled at the nickname. Pinocchio was a bit of a mouthful for such a little girl. "Okie, what happen?" Emma asked, her eyes welling up again./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Oh Emma, don't cry." Pinocchio begged her. He was just as scared, but knew he had to be a big boy. His papa told him when he came through the wardrobe he would have to look after the princess. He would be her protector now. Right up until they found their families again. He wasn't to know of the lies and deceit that led to him standing in the forest with Emma. He came over and gave the girl a clumsy hug. Like Emma, Pinocchio was an only child. Heck, he'd only been a human child for a few years. He had no idea how to be a good big brother and comfort Emma. "It's going to be ok." He told her. "I'll look after you."/p
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p align="center""Want mama and daddy." Emma whimpered./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I want my papa too, but we have to brave. They're not here. It's just us." Pinocchio tried to explain. At ten years old, Geppetto had at least been able to try and explain what was going to happen to his son. Emma was little more than a baby. She simply didn't understand. She peered up at her friend with teardrops still wet on her eyelashes./p
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p align="center""Where are they?" She questioned him. Pinocchio didn't really know how to answer her./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""They're…not here." He told her. "They're far away. We'll find them again…one day. It might take a long time though." Pinocchio told her. "Until we find our families, I'll be with you. I'm going to be your big brother now. You'll be my little sister." He tried to explain./p
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p align="center""Really?" Emma asked./p
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p align="center""Really. First thing's first, we need to find some grownups." Pinocchio told her. He tightly took hold of Emma's tiny hand. Still terrified, Emma's nails dug into his skin slightly. Pinocchio winced, but didn't tell her off. He knew she was just scared. Pinocchio scanned the area around them. To their left, there was a path through the woods. He led Emma over to the path and decided that if they followed it, they would eventually find an adult./p
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p align="center"Every noise made the children tense up. Everything was so unfamiliar. Nothing about this place seemed normal to them. There was no clip clop of horses hooves trotting through the grass. No gentle fluttering of fairy wings. No whistling from the dwarves as they finished a day's work in the mines. Both children froze on the spot when they heard someone running towards them. No, not someone, some-thing. Ahead of them, a dog was running full speed towards them. Emma screamed and leapt behind her new brother. Pinocchio wanted to do nothing more than abandon Emma and jump up a tree and save himself from the dog, but he couldn't. He had promised his father that he would be honest and true. He screwed his eyes shut and waited./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Toby!" Someone called out. "Toby, come here! It's alright kids, he's friendly!" Pinocchio cautiously opened one eye and looked down. The dog had stopped about a foot in front of them. He had dropped a stick and was waiting expectantly for one of them to throw it for him, his tail wagging wildly. Pinocchio couldn't help but wince a little. He hadn't always gotten along with dogs when he was a wooden boy. He gingerly picked up the stick and tossed it further down the path. Satisfied, Toby galloped off after his stick. The woman who had been calling him finally caught up with her dog and the children. She was panting slightly, having run to catch her pet. Pinocchio stared at her curiously. She was wearing such odd clothing. He only ever saw a lady wear trousers when she was riding. Surely she wasn't riding the dog? She took a rope like thing off from around her neck and clipped one end to some kind of necklace the dog was wearing, and held the other end in her hand./p
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p align="center""Sorry guys, he's harmless really. A great big softie." She told them, smiling. Pinocchio and Emma stared at her. They had never seen a person who looked like her before. She was obviously an older woman. There were wrinkles around her eyes and at the corners of her mouth. The hair around where her hair parted was grey, whilst the rest of it was a chestnut brown. The children didn't notice that the woman was feeling just the same about them./p
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p align="center""Have you two been at a fancy-dress party?" She asked them. "Are you a princess, sweetie?" Emma nodded automatically, her blanket tucked under her armpit and her thumb back in her mouth./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Aw, how cute! Where are your parents?"/p
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p align="center""Far away." Emma repeated the answer Pinocchio had given her. The woman frowned suddenly./p
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p align="center""Oh? Are you here with someone else? A granny and grandpa? An aunt and uncle?" She asked them. Emma shook her head while Pinocchio didn't know what to do. He wanted this woman's help, he knew he wouldn't be able to look after Emma out here on their own for long. They had no shelter, food or clean water, and both children were already feeling a chill. However, he knew how odd this looked. Even back home it was weird to see two children, especially one as young as Emma, wondering the forest without an adult. The woman crouched down so she was eye level with Pinocchio, understanding that as he was older she might get more of the story out of him./p
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p align="center""Are you two out here on your own?" She asked him directly. Pinocchio felt his throat go dry. Could he truly trust this stranger? He didn't feel he had a choice. Slowly, he nodded./p
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p align="center""Oh my!" The woman said, alarmed. "How have you ended up out here alone? Are you lost?"/p
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p align="center""We don't know where we are." Pinocchio answered truthfully. "We don't have a family. Just each other." He explained. The woman looked sorrowfully at the little boy./p
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p align="center""Aw sweetheart. Ok, I understand. I'm sorry, but I can't leave you and your little sister out here on your own. You'll freeze. Come on, Toby and I will take you back to town." She said. Pinocchio felt a strange mix of relief and terror. Hopefully this woman would lead them somewhere safe, but he couldn't be totally sure. Still, he smiled reassuringly at Emma, squeezing her hand. He followed the woman out of the trees. She pulled a key out of her pocket and walked over to a strange looking giant tin contraption. She put the key in a hole in the contraption and it clicked. The children jumped again. What was this thing?/p
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p align="center"After opening another door in the back of the contraption that Toby jumped in merrily, she turned to the children. "Hop in, kids." She told them, opening yet another door. "I don't have any car seats for you, sweetie, but it'll have to do." She told them. Pinocchio and Emma were still staring at the contraption. Emma likened it to the only thing she could./p
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p align="center""That carriage?" She asked. The woman chuckled, thinking Emma was playing a game./p
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p align="center""Sure is, honey. Your carriage awaits." She old her. Swallowing, Pinocchio let Emma to the weird looking carriage and helped her inside before climbing in himself. The woman walked around to Emma's side and pulled a weird metal ring thing across her shoulders and down towards a little hole popping out from the seat below them. Pinocchio saw one over his own shoulder and mimicked her actions. The woman then got into a seat in front of them that had a wheel like a ship's in front of her. Pinocchio wondered if she was going to sail them somewhere. She glanced at them from a mirror above her./p
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p align="center""I'm Barbara, by the way." She introduced herself. "Don't worry, I'll take you to the station. I know it might not be what you want, but they'll make sure you're safe. You're too young to be wandering around here on your own. Too many bad people out there." She said, shuddering. Barbara put her key into a hole in front of her. The metal carriage roared. It was just like the sounds they'd heard in the distance. There must be a lot of these around here. Emma clapped her hands over her ears, not used to the sound. Fortunately, Barbara was no focusing ahead of her so didn't notice. Pinocchio watched out the window beside him, taking everything in as best he could. This place was nothing like back home. It was so…grey. As soon as they left the forest, great tall buildings loomed over them. Not like the castles from back home, these buildings were skinny. All different shades of white, grey, black or brown. Nothing like the petite cottages of the Enchanted Forest. Hundreds of the strange metal carriages were around them. Occasionally, someone would make a loud hooting sound from theirs, frightening the children. Other people walked along the side of the metal carriages like they weren't even there. Above them, more metal. This time, weird metal lanterns that seemed too bright. It didn't look like fire inside them. Pinocchio felt uneasy here. What was their obsession with metal?/p
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p align="center"Barbara stopped the metal carriage in front of a white building. Pinocchio read the sign over the door: Boston Police District A-1. He had no idea what any of those words meant./p
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p align="center""Ok kids, here we are. Let's go." Barbara opened her door and helped Emma out of hers. Pinocchio cautiously opened his own and jumped out, relieved to be walking again. Barbara led the children inside the building. The floor beneath them was strange. It was hard like stone, but shiny. Barbara led them both to a seat before going to speak to a man behind a glass wall. Pinocchio kept his arm around Emma. Pinocchio tried to listen, but he couldn't make out what Barbara was saying. Eventually, she turned around and gave the children a smile. She walked back over to them./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I guess this is goodbye, kids." She told them. "Officer Richards will keep an eye on you until a social worker can come and sort you out. I hope everything works out for you." She said. She hovered for a moment, her arms twitching at her sides. Then, she took a ragged breath and walked out the building. Both Pinocchio and Emma felt much worse after she left. They might not have known her for very long, but she was still the only person they knew in this world./p
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p align="center"Pinocchio continued to watch the man behind the glass wall. He saw him speak into some kind of horn. Occasionally, he would glance uncomfortably over at the two children. After what seemed like an eternity, another woman walked through the door. She went and spoke to Officer Richards, who pointed at the two children. Pinocchio tensed up again before she turned and smiled at them. His tension only grew as she walked towards them. She was wearing strange pointy shoes that clicked against the hard floor. Emma could feel Pinocchio's tension. Her thumb was back in her mouth again./p
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p align="center""Okie?" She asked him. The woman was now in front of them./p
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p align="center""Auggie, is that short for August?" She asked him. Pinocchio nodded, not really sure what she meant. The woman turned to face Emma. She spotted the blanket under Emma's arm. "That's a pretty blanket…Emma. Is that your name then?" She asked. Emma nodded. The woman pulled some paper and some kind of quill out of a leather bag she had over her shoulder and began to write things down. "So we have August and Emma. What's your last name, guys?" She asked them. Pinocchio was confused. Last name? What did that mean? He only had one name and that was Pinocchio, but she now thought it was August. He decided not to correct her. Maybe it was best he had a new name now. Just in case the Evil Queen came looking for them. He didn't even know who she was talking to. Him, or Emma./p
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p align="center""Both?" He asked her. Were they both meant to have a last name?/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Booth?" She stated, mishearing him again. Again, August nodded, seeing that this didn't seem like a wrong answer. She wrote that down. "August and Emma Booth…"/p
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p align="center""Booth?" Emma asked, confused. The woman stopped writing. "Oh, do you have different last names?" She asked, puzzled. "Oh, do you and your sister have different dads?" The woman asked./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Yes." Pinocchio answered truthfully. "What's your sister's last name? She asked, waiting for an answer. Pinocchio felt his heart hammer in his chest. He still didn't know what that meant. He looked all around the room for anything he could say. He saw a wall with pictures on it. One of them was a woman who looked a bit like Emma. Well, she had blonde hair, anyway. Her name seemed to be Alexis Swan. Ah, that's what it meant! People in this world seemed to have two names. "Swan. Her last name is Swan." He answered hopefully. The woman didn't seem to find this odd and wrote it down. Emma opened her mouth to protest again, but Pinocchio squeezed her hand hard. Luckily, that stopped Emma. The woman pulled out more paper from her bag and scanned it./p
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p align="center""I'm not seeing an August or an Emma on my list of missing children. Are you sure you've told me your real names?" She asked pointedly. Pinocchio looked her right in the eye./p
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p align="center""I am always honest, ma'am." He told her respectfully. Reluctantly, the woman took this as true./p
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p align="center""The lady who brought you in here said you told her you don't have a family. Is that true? Because if not you're going to have someone very sad looking for you both." She told them. Pinocchio quickly squeezed Emma's hand again./p
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p align="center""Nobody is looking for us." He promised the woman. She nodded again. "Where have you come from then?"/p
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p align="center""The forest." Emma answered, happy to know something./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Yes, I know that, but where were you before that?" The woman asked impatiently./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""We don't know." Pinocchio told her. "We don't really know where we are." He knew this didn't seem like a good answer, but it was the truth. She sighed, looking at something on her wrist./p
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p align="center""Runaways are always a joy to place. Never met one this young before…"/p
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p align="center""We have to stay together." Pinocchio told her forcefully, holding Emma tightly. "I won't leave my sister"/p
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p align="center""I'll take you somewhere together." She told him, clearly not concerned about how either child felt. "Come on, it's late. I just need to make a quick phone call to get you placed here." The woman left them again and walked back towards the glass wall. She spoke to Officer Richards and he passed her the horn. Pinocchio made a mental note that this was called a phone call. He was going to have to learn fast here./p
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p align="center"She came back a few minutes later./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I take it you don't have any things?" She asked. Pinocchio shook his head. "I'll bring you some supplies in the morning. You'll have to do with whatever your foster parents have until then." She told them. Pinocchio decided it was best not to ask what a foster parent was. At least they'd have shelter. "Come on then, my car's outside." The woman led the children to another metal carriage. Another mental note: this was a car./p
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p align="center"The children were taken back in the car through yet more tall buildings. The longer they travelled, the smaller the buildings got. Pinocchio stared straight up into the sky at the moon and the stars. Finally, something familiar in this strange world./p
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p align="center"Eventually, they stopped again./p
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p align="center""Right, here we are." The woman said matter of factly. "I can't promise it will be for very long, so best not get too comfortable. It's an already pretty full house as it is." Pinocchio and Emma were then marched to the front door. Emma had a tight grip on Pinocchio's hand with one of her own, and her blanket with the other. When would they find her mommy and daddy? She missed them. The woman knocked on the door firmly. Pinocchio and Emma heard what sounded like several children running around and screaming inside. A gruff voice shouted for them all to shut up. Was this the adult who was meant to be looking after them? They didn't seem nearly as nice as Barbara. After a few minutes, they heard a lock turn inside and then the door swung open. A stern looking man stood before them. He was wearing a dirty looking vest that might have once been white, and a pair of khaki shorts./p
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p align="center""Stacy you know I've already got my hands full here." The man complained. "I've got six kids as is crammed into three bedrooms. If I get inspected again I'll be the one who gets it in the neck." The woman, Stacy, reached into her bag and pulled out a small rectangular book. She brought the weird quill out again and the children watched her scribble something down before ripping the page out and handing it to the man./p
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p align="center""I'm sure this will cover it. You know I wouldn't ask unless I was desperate, Bill. Two runaways. A nightmare for paperwork. We don't even know where they're from, they don't seem to know. Probably traumatised after something. I'll be spending the next few hours trying to find them somewhere more permanent. Surely you can handle them for a few days, max?"/p
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p align="center""Eight kids Stacy…" Bill whinged. "Joan's not happy, I can tell you that. She thinks I'm being too soft taking them. It's not for the love of it, that's for sure." He admitted. Pinocchio had decided he did not like this man. He didn't seem the best kind of person to look after two orphans./p
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p align="center""I truly appreciate it. I owe you one, Bill!" Stacy shouted. She gave the two children a gentle nudge forward before walking quickly to her car. Pinocchio could see he and Emma didn't have much choice but to stay here. At least for now. Bill looked down at them like they were something nasty he had found on his shoe./p
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p align="center""Get in then. There's a draft." He ordered them. Pinocchio ushered Emma inside. He had been brought up well by his papa. He held out his hand for Bill to shake./p
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p align="center""Thank you for looking after us, sir. My name is…"/p
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p align="center""Yeah yeah yeah, whatever kid." The man cut him off. He looked down at the paper Stacy had given him and scoffed. "I'm meant to feed you both on that? You don't have any clothes with you either? Does she think I'm made of money? No, you'll both have to make do with what we've got here." He told them. "Come upstairs. I'll show you to your rooms…"/p
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p align="center""Rooms? Oh, sir, can I not stay with my sister? She's very sad…"/p
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p align="center""I don't care kid. Rules are rules. Boys and girls can't share a room, even if they are siblings." He told her. Pinocchio could see there was no point in arguing his case any further. He would sneak in during the night and check up on her. He would have to work out a better plan. They couldn't stay here, not when they so clearly weren't wanted./p
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p align="center"They walked up the grubby stairs in the dark hallway, they past an equally shabby looking bathroom on their right. Pinocchio thought the chamber pot looked very peculiar. Again, most things in there might have been white a long time ago now, but had faded to a mirky yellow. He paused at the next room and flung open the door./p
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p align="center""Jeez Bill, thanks for knocking." A girl who looked to be in her teens mumbled./p
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p align="center""Don't you give me attitude, Megan. Not when you live under my roof. I'm overcrowded as is, I have no problem kicking a cheeky little shit like you out." He warned her. Pinocchio winced at the bad language. He pushed Emma into the room. "Here, this kid's new. She's…how old are you kid?" Emma froze, too frightened of the man to talk./p
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p align="center""She's three." Pinocchio answered for her./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I wasn't asking you. Anyway, she's three. If she pisses the bed, it's your problem. Find her some pyjamas or something, would ya?" Megan rolled her eyes, but began rummaging through a drawer. There was one girl already in the room. She was sitting on the bottom of a set of bunk beds, looking anxious./p
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p align="center""Wait, sir, there must be some mistake. There's only two beds in here. There's no room for Emma." Pinocchio piped up./p
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p align="center""They can share. Don't you get smart with me, boy. She's lucky she has a bed at all after the stunt you've both pulled." Pinocchio didn't have a chance to try and plead for Emma to get her own bed. The door was shut and Pinocchio was marched to the next door./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Rude!" A boy, about ages with Pinocchio, shouted when the door was opened./p
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p align="center""Keep your voice down." Bill hissed. "Joan's asleep. Woe betide you if you wake her up. You'll get the whooping you've. Been begging for since your sorry ass arrived here, Jason." Bill growled. He shoved Pinocchio into the room. "You're in here kid. Got any more beds to count?" he asked. Pinocchio just looked at him. "Thought not." The door was shut, and Pinocchio was left with three strange boys. There was another teenager, who was asleep on the top of one of two sets of bunk beds, then there was Jason and another boy who looked about twelve. He stood up and came over./p
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p align="center""What's your name?" He asked Pinocchio. Pinocchio pressed his lips together for a moment before remembering he wasn't Pinocchio here, he was August Booth./p
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p align="center""August. August Booth." He answered quietly. The boy smirked./p
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p align="center""August? Did you get your name from a calendar?" He teased. Jason snorted. Pinocchio didn't find it very funny. "Lighten up kid. You'll need a thick skin around here. Bill's not so bad. It's Joan you've got to watch out for. She's got a wicked aim with her slipper." He warned. "I'm Garrett, by the way. That's Roberto up there. He's out for the count. It's pretty late. Why'd you get brought here at night? Was your last family in trouble?" Pinocchio shook his head./p
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p align="center""No…we just…arrived here, my sister and I. We don't really know where we are." Jason's eyes widened, he bounced up beside Garrett./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Wait, you're a runaway? You don't know where you are? You from another state? How'd you get here?-"/p
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p align="center""Pipe down." Garrett commanded, bopping Jason on the head. But then he stared at Pinocchio curiously./p
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p align="center""Are you a runaway though, August?" August nodded. Apparently that's what he was here. Jason and Garrett looked at each other./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Why?" Pinocchio asked, worried. Did they think he was a bad influence? Then, Garrett nodded./p
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p align="center""Looks like we're in luck." He said. "We're leaving early." Pinocchio was about to ask what he meant, when Jason scrambled under the bed and pulled out a bag from under the bed. He opened it up and showed the contents to August. There were lots of bits of thin green paper with different men's faces on them. He was clearly meant to be impressed./p
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p align="center""Come on August, there's nearly five hundred dollars in there!" Garrett whispered. "If you've got this far before, you can help us escape now." Garrett gestured with his head above him. "Roberto has a cousin in New York who says he'll take us all. Like, the girls too! We just have to help him out with bills. There are a lot of busy people in New York. They won't miss a few loose bucks from their back pocket." Pinocchio gasped./p
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p align="center""We'll have to steal?" He asked. He shook his head. "That's dishonest."/p
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p align="center""Well it's that, or stick around here and see how fun Joan is when she sees we're all gone. Roberto is going to steal the van. We can all cram in the back. You can sit up front with Roberto and help him out if the police catch us. You must be a good storyteller." Pinocchio felt his mouth go dry. He didn't like this, but he had to get Emma out of here. It was his job to protect her, to make sure she was ready when she was all grown up to defeat the Evil Queen. This seemed like their best shot./p
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p align="center""Ok, I'll help you, but only if my sister can come too." He demanded. Jason pulled a disgusted face./p
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p align="center""Aw man! Not the baby. August, she's too little. She'll get us all put back into care."/p
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p align="center""Emma's not a baby. She's three. I can't leave her here on her own. She'll be no trouble. I can look after her. It's my job. Emma comes, or it's no deal." Pinocchio told him. Jason sighed and rolled his eyes./p
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p align="center""Fine. The stupid baby can tag along. But if she starts to cry you're both on your own. Good luck when they find you again. Since you're both runaways already you'd probably get locked up in an institution somewhere." Jason said, clearly trying to frighten Pinocchio. Pinocchio swallowed. He didn't know what in institution was, but it didn't sound good./p
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p align="center""I'll take care of her." He promised./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Whatever." Garrett grumbled. His eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. "Bill will be passing out drunk in a few hours. We just need to keep our cool until then. We'll try and signal to the girls to keep your sister awake if she's coming too. Or is she better asleep? Whatever she is, she better not screw this up for us. We've been planning this for months./p
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p align="center""Emma will stay quiet. I promise." Pinocchio said, although he wasn't sure how he would be able to keep that promise if Emma got scared./p
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p align="center""You're doing an awful lot of promising, kid." Garrett said, raising an eyebrow. He clearly wasn't sure either. "For now, we just sit tight." He grinned at the other boys. "New York City, boys. We're finally escaping this hellhole." Jason was bouncing with excitement again. Pinocchio felt like he was going to be sick. His stomach was churning. He was meant to be honest, brave and true at all times. Otherwise, he would cease to be a real boy…but could that even happen when there was no magic to turn him back here? He would have to take that chance. If Emma stayed here, there was no way she'd continue to believe in magic for long. There wasn't even an ounce of magic in Bill and Joan's home. Maybe this New York would be better. He could keep Emma's hope alive. Tell her all the stories about their homeland in secret. He didn't think the other children should know. Something gave him the feeling magic was something to be frowned upon here. But at night, Pinocchio would remind his adoptive sister all about where they were really from. He would tell her of her royal heritage. About the fairies and the witches, the giants and the dwarves. All about her parents and his papa. About the wardrobe that brought them here and why. All about the Evil Queen's curse, and how she would break it when she was all grown up. He would take his role as the princess' sole protector in this land seriously. He would never let the little girl out of his sight. He was Princess Emma's lone guardian, and one day, he would lead her to her destiny to break the dark curse. One day, they would be reunited with their families. He would make sure of it./p
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