Once Upon a Time: Ever After High (Book 13)

Ch.17 Memory click

After everyone had gathered at Elena and Olivia's house, Darling placed Brooke's storybook in front of them on the coffee table on the page showing Shadow High.

"What is this?" Elena asked them.

"This is what the changeling was looking at" Darling explained "We were hoping you guys would know what this is."

"Shadow High?" Mira read the title "Never heard of it."

"Actually-" Olivia put in while tilting her head "For some reason it sounds really familiar to me."

"Yeah me too" Elena agreed "But I don't remember where I heard it from."

"Well we were thinking maybe this Shadow High has to do something with Brooke's disappearance" Darling added "And perhaps maybe Lydia and her crew."

"Well what exactly does it say?" Aidan asked.

"Not much" Elena replied as she looked over the text that was near the illustration "All it talks about is that Shadow High is some abandoned school on a dark island that got destroyed by something call Unmaking Lava."

"Unmaking Lava?" Olivia questioned "Why does that sound familiar too?"

"Yeah" Elena agreed with a concerned look "Why does it?"

"What else does it say?" Terrence asked.

"Well there's not much text, the only thing left it talks about is some chisel and these Margins."

"Margins?" Olivia questioned, now growing more concern "Okay something's up, why does this Shadow High and everything it talks about sound familiar?"

"And how come you and I are the only ones who think so?" Elena added.

"Actually now that I think of it" Mira suddenly spoke up "It sounds familiar to me too."

"Well this just got strange" Aidan remarked a bit surprised.

"Something is definitely up with this Shadow High" Elena declared "We gotta find out what it is, maybe this is where Brooke and the others are trapped."

"If so, how are we gonna find it?" Olivia asked.

"I have no idea" she sighed with disappointment.

"Hey" Mira's face lit up "Why don't we try looking in Brooke's house? Maybe there's something there that can help us."

"Oo I'm in" Aidan announced with interest "I've never been to her place before, I wanna see how it's like."

"Well let's get going" Elena declared "The sooner we find out what's going on the sooner we can save Brooke, and get back home."

"Hold on" Olivia spoke up "Before we go, let's stop by Francis's place first."

"Why?"

"Because she has something that could come in handy for us."

_________

Still at the diner, Lauren waited for anymore messages from Brooke, but as time passed and no messages received, she was beginning to fear the worse.

"Come on Brooke please talk to me" she begged "Keep trying I know you can do it."

She waited, but nothing.

"Okay" she breathed "Maybe I can try to narrate to you, I mean I've done it before, maybe I can try it again."

She after taking a deep breath, Lauren tried to concentrate on communicating to Brooke through Narration.

"Brooke please hear me, it's me Lauren."

...

"Okay if you can hear me clap once."

...

"Oh that's right I probably can't hear you."

"Who are you talking to?"

She jumped as she turned around to see Nicole Meyer, also known as Justine Dancer, daughter of the 12th Dancing Princess.

"Oh my God" Lauren breathed while clutching her chest "I didn't hear you come in."

"Sorry" Nicole gave a small laugh "I didn't mean to startle you, I just came in and saw you talking to yourself."

"Well actually I was- it's complicated."

"You feeling okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine" she assured with a small smile "But uh, what can I help you with?"

"Oh I don't know if I'm gonna order anything, I might just hang out in here."

"Alright then."

"So what's with those new people anyway?"

"Oh apparently they're here to help break the curse, I don't who they are exactly, but Elena and the other's aren't sure if we should trust them."

"Well I feel the same way. Although that guy, what was his name? The one who's the blonde chic's brother?"

"Noah?"

"I guess so."

"What about him?"

"He just looks really familiar to me" she stated while beginning to think "It's like I've seen him somewhere before, but I can't quite put a finger on it."

"Did you used to date him?" Lauren smirked.

"Oh hell no" Nicole replied with her hands up "If I did I would of known."

"Do you recognize him in a good way or a bad way?"

"Hard to say, although I don't think it's important."

They both shrugged it off until a thought suddenly came to Nicole.

"Hey Lauren."

"Yeah?"

"I know it's been a long time since the curse happened but, have we found everyone here? Everyone that was in the curse."

"Um..." Lauren began to think "I think so. Why do you think we're missing someone?"

"I feel like we are, but I don't remember who. I just feel like there's someone out there we haven't found yet."

"Well he or she wasn't at Ever After High when the curse happened."

"No I'm sure of it, I just need something that could click my memory of who that person it."

"Well um, I don't know what to say but, look around, maybe you'll see or hear something that will do the job."

After that she bent down to open a cabinet as she reached in and pulled out a bag of walnuts as she stood back up and placed it on the counter in front of Nicole.

"Hey any chance you can help me crack these walnuts?" she asked while pulling out 2 pairs of nutcrackers "Whenever I do them alone time goes too slow and my dad needs them to put into our brownies and cookies."

But when she turned to the walnuts, that's when Nicole felt that click in her head as she froze in shock.

"Hey you okay?" Lauren asked "You're not like, allergic to nuts are you? Cause if you are I can put these back."

"I know who it is now" Nicole gasped.

"Wait what?" Lauren remarked "You mean these walnuts were able to click your memory?"

"Believe it or not yes."

"Oh my God" she gasped while setting down the nutcracker "Well tell me who this person is?"

"Well he's not exactly a human, he's more like an object come to life."

"Who?"

"Nathan Nutcracker."