Snowflake (Peter Pan OUAT x Reader)

Chapter Seventeen

You arrived at the hanging cages, the place where Pan liked to keep his prisoners. Trapped high above the ground, only allowed a limited view of the life all around them, no seeable means of escape, cramped into a small space, swinging whenever a breeze blew, never knowing what would happen next, what Pan really wanted with them. Peter bit his lip and turned to you. "Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," you answered, "Considering I don't really know what to expect."

"Honestly, neither do I, but I know that the two of us can handle it together. Come here." He opened his arms to you and you entered them, breathing deeply as you allowed him to comfort you. He ran his hands gently up and down your back soothingly. You rested your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes. His touch comforted you and you knew that no matter what happened everything would work out just the way it was meant to. No matter what happened, nothing would separate you. You stayed that way for awhile, the two of you just enjoying each other's embrace.

Eventually, though, you knew that you had to get this done, that it was time to get it over with. Time to face whatever was coming next. You pulled away at the same time that Peter did and then the two of you looked at each other and laughed. Both of you thought the same way, just another aspect that showed he really was your true love. The laughter removed the rest of your nerves and left you ready for whatever came next.

Peter walked over to where the ropes that held the cages were held taut and he released one. He didn't even bother to try to slow its fall at all, and you winced at the loud crash that sounded when the cage hit the ground. That must've hurt the Dark One...unless he was unaffected by pain? You tried to peer through the bars of the cage, but you couldn't make out anyone's form, which was odd.

Peter looked over at you and smirked. "I'm sure you weren't expecting this." He opened the cage, and inside you saw a tiny gray box. So, what? You were supposed to stab a box? No, it was probably some sort of magical box that held the Dark One inside.

Peter picked it up lightly. "This is Pandora's box. It can hold, or really trap, anyone inside no matter how powerful they are. Having it in the cage was really just to mess with you, well, and because I didn't want to have to carry it around all the time. And it was the safest place I could think of because I put a spell on the rope holding it so I would be the only one able to get the cage down."

He put Pandora's box on top of the cage and pulled a dagger out of a pocket. It had a black handle and the blade was wavy. He gave it to you and you saw that a name was engraved onto the blade in black. It read "Rumplestiltskin."

He nodded toward the blade. "That dagger is magically engraved with the name of whoever the Dark One is." Neither of you dared voice that your name would soon be there in place of his.

Peter picked up the box again. "Are you ready?" You nodded. "As soon as he appears, he will be disoriented and you will need to stab him immediately." You nodded again, gripping the blade tightly in your hand, prepared to kill.

Peter waved his hand over the box and red light appeared from it, forming the shape of a body on the ground. You leaned over it and as soon as the body materialized, you stabbed it with the dagger. You knew that no one would be able to survive from that wound. Only then did you look into the face of an aged man who had shoulder-length gray hair. His face was clenched in pain and he looked down disbelieving at his dagger in his chest. Soon it would be your dagger.

He looked up at you, disbelief showing on his face. "Stella, why?"

"How do you know my name?" you demanded.

Peter moved from behind Rumplestiltskin until he was standing in front of him, beside you. "Hello, Rumple."

"You, you did this. But why?" His voice was breathless and every word he spoke sounded painful.

"Because you're no longer a part of my happy ending. Neither was Neal."

"Baelfire. He's gone?"

Peter nodded, an evil look on his face. The smirk he wore looked deadly, but it was the expression in his eyes that sent a shudder down your spine. His eyes shone with such malignant triumph that you couldn't bear to look at him and you turned towards Rumplestiltskin instead. Tears started coursing down Rumplestiltskin's face and he moaned. Then he fixed his eyes on Pan and said "You should know that villains don't get happy endings. Ever!" His eyes turned glossy and his head rolled back.

Pan smirk turned into a smile that for some reason terrified you. You shouldn't be afraid of your true love, but the expression on his face worried you. Worried you immensely. "You're wrong, Rumple. Only the best villains get their happy endings. Too bad you weren't one of them."

You turned to look at Rumplestiltskin again, and the dagger whose handle you still held. You saw the dagger glow slightly, and you heard a whoosh. You pulled it out of his chest. It was covered in blood, but not too much that you couldn't read the new name engraved on it. "Stella."