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“Maybe you just got the wrong type of wood,” Noki called out from the other end of their workshop. “You can always just ask Goldie to go with you and chop more later.”
Pino shook his head and huffed as he fell back on his seat, “Nope, it’s definitely this kind. My notes said they were correct when I copied them down.”
“You copied it down during one of our missions where a giant lobster was trying to kill us at the boat above the deep sea. I think Arthur was about to throw you overboard to it.” Kio crossed his arms and rested his feet on the stool.
“It was a rare novel that the boat just happened to have! You would’ve done the same!” Pino fired back.
“Well,” Noki stood up from his desk and stretched his arms, “why don’t we head over to the White Palace’s library now? Merlin and Gwen just came in with a huge shipment with them last week, we can check there.”
“That place is huge, should we ask Snow to help us navigate?” Pino asked.
Kio shook his head, “It’s her 6th month of pregnancy, we should let her rest as much as possible. Let’s try and find it ourselves.”
Pino and Noki agreed and they locked their workshop as they went up the flight of stairs. They passed by Snow and Jack near the gardens, who were having a little tea brunch. The aristocratic prince greeted them good morning as the now pregnant heir to the White Palace waved at them. It was a joyous occasion when not only Merlin and Snow announced their baby, but also Gwen and Arthur.
Both have yet to find out the gender of their kids but Gwen and Snow hoped that their children would eventually become best friends in the future. They were going to be raised in the same palace after all.
After making it to the first wing and climbing the carpeted red stairs, they finally made it to the ridiculously large doors that served as the entrance to the royal library.
“Me! I wanna open them.” Noki chuckled as he put both his on the door handles and pushed them open, leaving a loud creaking sound from the hinges.
Kio winced, “I can put oil on that if they want.”
“Don't,” Noki looked back at his younger brother, “These are traditional Tibetan creaking hinges, King White wanted to make this place feel magical.”
“It’s...unnerving.” Kio smiled and shook his head.
The triplets walked into the large dark room. The library was one of the oldest rooms in the White Palace, so old that it didn’t even have any electricity installed. It’s only sources of light were from the few large windows on the sides. Regardless of the morning light, Pino took the liberty of lighting the nearby lantern.
“Let’s split up in sections,” Pino told them.
A couple of minutes later, Kio was searching in the area near the windows, wondering if this book even existed at all or if Pino had just made it up. He then saw a glimpse of something that might be similar to it and sighed in relief. Kio tiptoed and reached out for the novel before something spooked him.
“Hmm~♪ Mhm~♫”
Kio jolted at the nearby humming and nearly fell on his back. Startled, he quickly composed himself and walked out of the aisle to the next to see who was there. Before he could see, however, he was stopped once more as he heard more of the tune.
“...upon a star. Makes no difference who you are..♪“
The youngest triplet froze. The singer hadn’t sung any lyrics, but as soon as he heard the following melody they were humming, the words came to him on their own, as if he recognized that tune by heart.
Because he did.
Largely concerned, he quietly paced his steps to his older brothers.
“Hey, did you find the-ow! Don’t yank my arm!”
“Guys, quiet. This is a library- argh Kio!”
Kio had swiftly grabbed them by their arms with no explanation and led them to the same aisle he had been in.
“Kio, what’s going on?”
Wordlessly, he turned around to him and raised a finger to his lips. Pino and Noki looked confused for a bit but stayed quiet nonetheless. And that’s when they heard it was well. Their reactions were the same as Kio’s, now largely confused.
“What...what is happening?” Pino asked as he frowned.
“I don’t-”
“Is someone there?” the voice asked.
Kio quickly looked behind him and decided to walk out of the aisle, looking at who this person was.
“Oh, Kio. Good morning.” Audrey greeted with a wave, “What are you doing here?”
“Er...just helping Pino look for a book, Noki is here too...somewhere…” he said trying to string his words together.
A light flush of red came to Audrey’s face as she winced in regret, “Ah, sorry did you hear me humming? I’m so sorry, I thought I was alone.”
“No, it’s fine. I barely noticed,” He said. Lying. Oh if he were still a puppet. As if by muscle memory he quickly brushed his index finger to his nose...just to make sure. “But since you brought it up...may I ask what song you were singing?”
“Oh,” Audrey shook her head, “It’s just some tune I made up when I was a kid. It doesn’t have any words to it-”
“Are you sure? You didn’t hear it from me or my brothers?” Kio asked quickly and quite directly.
Not seeming to notice, Audrey laughed and shook her head, “You can ask Frost, he knows this tune like the back of his hand because I kept humming it unconsciously back when we were traveling.” she said, putting some books back on the shelf, “Why would I have heard it from you guys?”
Kio kept silent for a bit and looked over to Pino and Noki, who were gesturing for them to get out of here. He shook his head, “Nothing, it’s fine. I just thought it sounded familiar. See you later.” he waved.
The triplets quickly ran out of the library as Noki shut the door. As soon as his hands left the doorknobs he sharply turned to the two.
“What the hell, why does she know that song?” Noki asked, a little upset. “No one, but us, is supposed to know that song.”
“Maybe she really did hear it from us? Or it could be a similar tune?” Pino offered worriedly.
Kio shook his head, “No, that was definitely the same tune. And I assume none of us even dared to sing or hum the song.”
“Then why does she know it?” Noki sadly asked, “What are the odds that Audrey came up with the exact same song that she gave us?”
Pino looked at the carpeted floors before looking at his brothers, “We’re going to call Papa and Jiminy.”
---
“Hi Jiminy!” Goldie greeted cheerfully.
The man in the top hat calmly smiled and bowed, “Good day, Princess Goldilocks. It has been some time since we have met. Where are Prince Peter Pan and Princess Gretel, if I may ask?” he said getting up.
“They’ll meet with us in a bit,” Goldie said, “So what are you doing here?”
“I’m accompanying Geppetto as Pino, Noki, and Kio requested to meet with him. They should’ve gone and visited the old workshop if I were to say so myself. What were they thinking...asking their poor old father to travel all this way?” he mumbled.
“Oh…” Goldie’s face fell slightly, “They didn’t tell you?”
Jiminy looked at her with a curious expression, “Tell me what?”
The blonde paused before shaking her head, “Never mind, if they didn’t tell you then they must’ve had a reason.”
Jiminy stayed quiet before sighing and looking at the glass pane windows that displayed the gardens, “It’s a shame, Goldie,” she turned to him as he addressed her not by her title but rather her casual name, “I thought you and I were...becoming friends.” he shrugged.
“...”
“...”
“...Okay I know you’re manipulating me...and I love it.” Goldie smiled excitedly, giving the gentleman a light chuckle. “So the other day, the triplets went to the library and they heard a song being hummed, a song that no one else was supposed to know except for those three.”
“A song? Seems a little extreme to bring their father here...” Jiminy mumbled then asked, “Who was singing it?”
“Audrey.”
“Audrey...you mean Prince Jack’s wife? The traveler?” he asked.
Goldie nodded, “She-”
“She claimed to have made up the tune when she was younger, but Kio told me it was a song all three of them knew since the moment they were made human. It should be impossible for anyone to know it because someone sang it to them exclusively.” Peter said, floating in the entrance hall. “Sup, Jiminy.” he nodded.
“Cheers,” he nodded back.
“Do you have any idea what song they’re referring to?” Goldie asked.
“Not exactly…” he said, “But I have an idea of who they might be referring to.” Jiminy let out a long sigh, a pity for those three boys who hated being reminded of this person.
Not very far from the Parlor, Noki was quite literally dragging Audrey by the arm as she tried to resist.
“I’m going to miss the season finale of the show Briar and I are watching! I brought a tablet with cellular data from the outside world for this!” she protested as she tried to free her wrist.
“Audrey, I’ve seen those shows. You’re not missing out, it’s just a bunch of people crying from betrayal, someone gets shot, there’s a love triangle. It’s literally the same, I don’t understand why you two like it.” Noki shook his head as he tugged her along, “Besides, this is much more important, you’re meeting with my father.”
At this, Audrey paused, “Mister Geppetto?”
Noki nodded, “It’s really urgent.”
Audrey frowned and at the back of her head. She was wondering if Geppetto was one of the poor old shopkeepers she stole from back then. If so then the dread and guilt that was settling in her stomach was working.
Alas, that turned out not to be the case as Geppetto greeted her with a small smile and wave, “You must be Audrey.” Beside him were Pino and Kio, who seemed to have been in deep conversation with their father.
Audrey, minding her manners for once, lightly bowed as her right hand was over her heart, “Your Maje-”
“Oh! No, no, dear!” Geppetto laughed, “I’m not like my sons. I’m just a mere carpenter. No need for formalities.”
A little surprised for a moment, Audrey let out a short laugh, “My apologies, sir, but you are still the father of my friends, so I welcome you to the White Palace.”
Pino gave her a questioning look as he turned to Kio and silently mouthed out, ‘She’s never been this polite to anyone.’
‘Shut up. We're finally getting somewhere.’ he responded.
‘If I may ask,” Audrey said, “Why is it that you requested to meet with me of all people?”
Geppetto paused and turned to his sons before looking back at her, “Well...Kio here tells me he heard you sing a certain song a couple of days back.”
She frowned and looked ahead at Kio, who only raised his hand up, “Audrey, you told us you made that tune up when you were younger. Are you absolutely sure of that? You didn’t hear it from anyone?”
She shook her head firmly, “No, I’ve had it in my head for as long as I can remember.”
The brothers looked to their father for an answer. Put on the spot and a little conflicted on what to do for he barely knew the woman, he reluctantly asked, “May I ask if you can hum the tune again?”
Audrey looked sideways quickly, “Like, now?”
All four of them nodded.
“Al...right,” she said, a little self-conscious and confused as to why this whole thing was happening over some silly childhood song. It was a little over the top if you asked her.
As she finished the tune, Geppetto closed his eyes, a wave of relief and sadness washing over him. When he opened them once more, he looked to Pino, Noki, and Kio.
“Boys, can I ask that you leave the room for a bit?”
“What?!” Noki stepped forward, a little upset.
“Papa, we should be here for this.” Kio frowned as he looked at him.
“Why can’t we listen?” Pino asked, just as confused as the two.
“Because this matter isn’t about you three anymore.” he said calmly.
“How on earth is it not about us?” Kio protested as he stood up.
“Pino, Noki, Kio. Outside. Now.” Geppetto spoke a little louder to his sons, “Don’t make me ask you again.”
The embarrassing wave of nostalgia of that phrase rushed into them as they shuffled outside the room, but not before they gave Audrey questionable and even annoyed looks before they shut the door.
“Am I in trouble?” Audrey asked him.
Geppetto’s face reverted back to normal, “No, I’m sorry that I had to raise my voice, dear. I haven’t done that in years.” he chuckled to himself; missing the memory of his sons running around their workshop. Audrey stayed silent as she waited for him to continue.
“Audrey, you have no parents...do you not?” he asked.
She shook her head, “I don’t.”
“Your first memory is you waking up alone, am I right?” he pressed further.
Stunned at his question, Audrey hesitantly nodded before asking, “Are you a fortune-teller?”
He chuckled, “Not in the slightest. Pino tells me you can manipulate water.” he gestures to the unused glass of water on the table.
Audrey nods before lifting her hand up, the liquid coming out and circling just above the rim of the glass. Geppetto smiles, “And have you ever wondered where your powers come from?”
“...I have.” She admitted, “I just learned to accept it though. I mean I’m happy with the way my life is now but I’ve tried everything. It’s not a curse, not by accident, and certainly not-”
“Magic?” he asked. Audrey once again nodded. “Yes, I know. Controlling water is the same as eating, sleeping, and breathing to you, is it not? As if you were born with that ability being normal and basic to you.”
Audrey, a little tired and disturbed at how much he knew, asked, “Mr. Geppetto, what does this have to do with my song?”
“Do you remember how the triplets came to be?” he instead asked another question.
“Of course, everyone does.” she said recalling the stories of three wooden puppets to mysteriously came to life in a carpenters workshop.
“Do you know who brought them to life?”
“A Fairy, from what some of the F7 told me.”
“Not just any fairy. The Blue Fairy.”
“What exactly are you suggesting, Mr. Geppetto?”
He sighed before readjusting his seat, “No more dallying, I suppose. Your life here in Fairy Tale Island came to be because of the Blue Fairy.”
The shock, surprise, and little bit of her being upset, slowly formed on her face, “Sir, the Blue Fairy died a year before the day I woke onshore.”
“As she planned, yes. She, Turchina, gave her life force away as the life span of her fairy days was coming to a close. As true as the stories go, Turchina had the kindest heart among all the fairies. She used what little life force she had left to bring one more human to life. Now you’re not her.” he quickly said as she noticed her fear.
“Not to worry, dear. You don’t have any of her memories, powers, nor are you part fairy. You are two completely different people.” he assured her.
“Alright...but that means, my powers came from her?” she asked.
“Well, yes. Just as she gifted Pino, Noki, and Kio with brilliant minds, she gave you a gift as well, except this one was more extreme as she was transferring her whole power and life to you. In a sense, those are her powers converted into your water manipulation.”
Audrey took all of the information in, a little stressed and panicked as she always assumed she’d never know the origin of her powers. She never assumed it was magic, because magic was usually something infused or learned by a human. Usually over usage or wrong use would hurt the person. Her water manipulation was nothing of that...it felt normal to her. As she thought of this, her concerns came to the next people in question.
“Do Pino, Noki, and Kio know what happened to her?”
He nodded, “Yes. We, including Jiminy, were all there during her final goodbyes.”
“And she only told you?”
Geppetto smiled, “We were very good friends, yes. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a special friendship from an extraordinary being, I was just a carpenter. But I’m thankful for it nonetheless.”
Audrey gave him a small smile as he reminisced before asking him another question, “So...the song I made up; that was the song Turchina sung to them?”
“I wouldn’t say sung to them. Just like you, it was something that was already in their minds. Is it part of bringing someone to life? I don’t know, I’ve learned not to question her ways. But, Audrey, I must ask for a favor.” he looked at her.
“Of course, what is it?”
“Please refrain from telling my sons about this. I don’t know if you’ve noticed after living with them for nearly five years, but they’re very sensitive when it comes to Turchina.” Audrey understood this, as she recalled the time Goldie accidentally mentioned her years ago with the fight in Morgana’s tower. They had seen her as an illusion and that caused more mental damage to them than it should have.
“I know. But what do I say to them now?” she asked.
“I’ll talk to them. But I can’t guarantee they’ll treat you the same after this, just for a while, a week maybe. You can tell them when the time is right. But currently, they’re too clouded with emotions. They may have the smartest minds, but beneath that, they’re not very good at handling their feelings upfront.”
“...I understand that, sir. But it still feels a little mean not saying anything to them since they were the ones who brought you all the way here for answers. Answers they won’t even get. Our family here in the White Palace fights every once in a while...but this just seems like it will last a lot longer than a week.” she said worriedly.
“I know that. But as their father, please trust me. The outcome of telling them now will be much worse than telling them at a later time when they’re calmer. Pino might be the fastest to warm up to you, Noki would be the most difficult, but can you promise me you won’t tell them until they’re all ready? Per favore.”
Audrey looked at him as she thought of the coming months where she would no longer be greeted by the triplets' smiles. How her coming into their workshop would now have added tension, and most of all her friendship and love for them as family being tarnished, something she valued greatly. But if she really cared for them...then she would bear it all.
“I promise.”
---
Bonus: Here's a little sketch I did on how the triplets treat Audrey for the next couple of months.
1. Pino ignores her whenever he comes into the workshop
2. Noki refuses to eat next to her when they all have dinner
3. Kio isn't there at all bc he refuses to sit next to her
