Pan's Tiger

Chapter 26: After finding Henry

Hey,
Thanks for reading.
I hope you enjoyed Halloween!
I recently went with my extended family the North of England in a rainy place called Blackpool. It was very fun, but it meant that this chapter will be quite short. I must also apologise because my half-term holiday is now over and school means that my progress and time to write is shorter- but I promise I won't forget or neglect you!
I don't know why I chose that picture, I just quote liked it.
Anyway, please vote an comment as always.
Enjoy,
Annabelle_the_reader
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My eyes wandered around the cave to see the groves and caverns and patterns to be just like Skull Rock in Neverland.

Pan was bent over, studying the picture of Henry curiously, committing it to memory. Groaning with the pain and exhaustion, I slowly sat up.

My eyes wandered over to the Shadow. His eyes met mine and he sent me a knowing look. He glided towards me, dropping down in front of me. I could tell that Pan was too absorbed in what he was doing to care what the Shadow was saying to me.

Dismissively, he sent the Shadow a glance and then went back to studying the map, assuming that the Shadow was checking that I was ok so that he didn't have to.

'Well, it seems like you are losing to Pan, Tiger Lily.' The Shadow said, folding his arms and plopping himself down in front of me, his hollow, emotionless eyes meeting mine.

'Losing? There is no game?' I repeated curiously, 'And besides, I think there is a fortunate difference between when one is losing and when one has lost. Therefore I will never give up until the latter is applicable to either Pan or myself.'

'Brave girl.' The Shadow chuckled, unfolding his arms. 'Such a pity bravery and stupidity are so close.'

I stood up straight away, standing strong and confident under his icy glare and not being thwarted by his hints and jealousy, suggested, 'Maybe I can show you the difference.'

'Maybe you can. Have you told Pan who the Owner of the Heart of the Truest Believer is?' The Shadow asked me slyly.

'Yes.'

'Have you told Pan where Henry is?' The Shadow pressed, coming even closer to me and looking at me directly in the eye.

'Not yet.' I said, hinting that I intended to tell Pan that I knew that Henry was in Storybrooke the moment I got the chance.

'Good,' The Shadow said, breathing a huge sigh of relief, 'At least we have something.'

'What do you mean?' I demanded impatiently. I hated the recurrence that the Shadow always knew everything, yet I seemed to know very little about the situation.

'If you tell Pan where Henry is, then he will find him. Are you not concerned for this young boy's life?' The Shadow demanded harshly. His hollow eyes glared at me angrily. 'I always thought that you would rather choose this boy's mortality over Pan's immortality.'

'What?' I whispered faintly, my body switching to overdrive. It suddenly all made perfect sense. Pan was being so secretive, yet desperate, about this situation because he wanted me to locate the Owner of the Heart of the Truest Believer before I found out his fate.

'It's a trade, Tiger Lily.' The Shadow replied slowly, as if he said anything more I would shatter. My eyes wandered upwards, hurt and pained beyond compare. My heart hammered in my chest, my breathing elevated and my vision was clouded.