A Mikaelson in Storybrooke

"Ariel"

~

3.06

~

"You okay, Hope?"

I blinked, snapping out of my state to see Devin sitting down next to me on the log. After everything that happened, I found myself drifting off into my own mind, a feeling of anger becoming magnified as I thought about everything.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, "Why?"

"Because you've been glaring at the fire for almost an hour." He pointed out, raising his brows. I glanced at the fire, which wasn't very big. It had small flames sprouting up from the wood. Truth was, I was still pissed at the unlikely team of 'heroes', and it was worse than normal considering I could feel that the full moon was close. I find it odd how the sun and moon still come and go, and moons change, but time is supposed to stand still, but decided to let that go after day two.

"Oh, yeah, no, I'm good."

"Right. Yeah." He said, nodding sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at his behavior, "Devin, I'm fine. Sure I'm still a bit angry at them for what they did to you, but it's not like I'm gonna start murdering everyone around me."

Devin rose his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay. Just checking."

"What I really need though," I glanced around the camp, "is a distraction." My eyes fell on the set of throwing knives on the ground before I looked at Devin, "Do you wanna throw those knives?"

Devin's expression morphed into one completely different. He glanced at the knives before regaining his composure. "Nah. That's for the sissy boys. We could sword fight, though." He shrugged nonchalantly, but I knew better.

I narrowed my eyes at the boy before me before releasing a small chuckle, a knowing look passing over my face, "You can't, can you?"

"Of course I can! I- obviously- yes...." His face fell, "No..." he finally admitted reluctantly.

I merely shrugged, "Want me to teach you?" I offered, his brows raising in surprise, as this probably wasn't what he expected my reaction to be.

"What?"

"I can teach you." I repeated, "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone. We can just take like two or three knives and head somewhere random in the woods. It's really not that hard once you get the hang of it."

"Oh.. uh, yeah. Yeah, sure. Thanks, Hope."

With that, we made our way pretty deep into the woods, making sure that no Lost Boys, Pan, or anyone else was near. "Okay," I began, "Fist off, your stance. One foot in front of the other, and make sure their wide enough apart that you can rock your center of gravity without, you know, falling." He did as instructed, taking a moment to figure out if he did it right.

"Good." I nodded, "Now, bend your knees slightly. Now,"I handed him a blade, "Don't grip it too tight, but hold it like you're shaking someone's hand. Okay, now aim for the tree right there, pull back, throw and let go."

I watched as he followed through with everything I said, the knife flying through the air and hitting the tree. It wasn't in the center, but that's not what we were aiming for on the first try.

We practiced for almost three hours, and by the end, he was hitting extremely close to the center. I even had to create an actual target for him.

"Thanks, Hope!" The boy exclaimed, a goofy smile on his face, "You're not bad for a girl."

I raised my brows, knowing he was only teasing, "And you're alright for a boy."

~

Later that day, Devin was throwing knives with the other boys while I watched from a distance, a small, proud smile on my face. Everyone seemed so happy here, and so was I.

Someone walked up, standing next to me. I didn't even have to look to know it was Pan. "You know," he began, "I find it curious how Devin just got loads better at throwing knives out of the blue when I know that yesterday he wouldn't have even been able to hit a moose if it stood still for him."

I cocked my head slightly, "It's so weird, isn't it? I guess he's just one of the lucky ones."

"Hm." He hummed sarcastically, "I'm sure." There was a pause as he finally looked at me, me deciding to do the same, meeting his green irises. "Henry's family is getting closer to ruining everything. I need to slow them down. Do you have any ideas?"

I pursed my lips for a second, "Well, they're heroes, aren't they? And heroes greatest strength is the people they love and trust, so make it so they can't trust each other." I shrugged.

A devilish smirk formed on his face, "Well, aren't you a little genius. And I have just the thing." I hummed, glancing back at Devin who was still throwing knives with the other boys. "Now, you got anything on your mind that's been buggin' you?" He asked.

I shrugged again, "Eh, not really. I talked with my mom a few times, and my dad, but the truth is that this place has been helping me let go, you know? Of all the weight that was on my shoulders before."

He smiled, which caused a smile to react from me for some reason, "I'm glad. You're finally where you're supposed to be."

"I have been meaning to ask you something though." I spoke, turning to him, hesitant to say the rest, "I want you to teach me more about magic, how to keep control over it. I know what I've read and what my family taught me, but this world is different from mine. I need to know more. I have to start accepting who I really am."

The devilish smirk and mischievous glint in his eyes came again, sending a tingling feeling across my chest. "Let's get started then, shall we?"