The Shadow's Keeper ~OUAT Peter Panfiction (Book 2)

The Purest Heart

 Staring down in anxiety at Henry's nearly lifeless body, everyone was surprised and Emma gasped in relief when he woke up coughing. Rushing down to him, Regina helped him lift his head with a supportive hand. "Henry!" She hugged him securely, before Emma joined her.

"Ugh, what happened," he mumbled, weakly lifting his eyelids.

"It doesn't matter," Neal spoke, giving him a relieved shoulder squeeze.

"How do you feel, Henry?" Snow asked, laying a soft hand on his cheek.

"Tired," he replied sleepily, as everyone helped him back to his feet.

Neal approached Rumple and pulled him to the side, meeting his eyes curiously. "So what's this thing about Pan having Henry's heart?"

Distress crossed Rumple's face once more, and he took a deep breath. "After...he left me, I sworn to myself that I'd find out about the shadow, and what it had to do with the island." He sighed. "Do you remember that library you searched back at my manor? Just before you had the shadow take you back to the island?"

Neal hesitantly nodded.

"I did some research--"

Neal hurriedly gestured with a hand, "get to the point."

"I...found out about the type of curse that's been casted on the island, and only the purest heart..." He paused, guiltily contemplating.

"That the purest heart can do what?" Neal urged.

Rumple then met his eyes with a defeated sigh, "that the purest heart is the only way to reverse the curse. Though there's a price..."

~ ~ ~

Hemlock was demandingly pulling the lost boy along as Benjamin kept tripping over things on the forest floor. "Can you at least tell me where we're going?"

"Now why would I do that?" Hemlock mumbled as he kept walking.

"What'd you mean why would you? Don't I have a say in this??" Benjamin protested in annoyance.

Hemlock finally halted, yanking the boy close by his cloak. "No, now would you shut up?" The pale lost boy spat.

Uncomfortably swallowing, Benjamin watched as Hemlock let go of his cloak and began walking again. "Hey, wait!" He called after him, catching up to him and causing him to stop when he blocked the trail. "Are you refusing to tell me because you're worried he'll hear? Unless, you're currently doing exactly what he says--"

"Hell no," Hemlock immediately and quietly retorted, having brought his face close to Benjamin's when he did. He then glanced to the side, before he met the boy's eyes, "he's got my heart, it doesn't matter what I do because I know he'll kill me anyway--"

Benjamin gasped, "wait, what??" He stared at the lost boy cautiously, "am I--is he--"

"No, he's not talking through me, otherwise I'd feel him doing it," Hemlock mentioned with an exasperated breath, "he's probably busy or something," he mumbled.

"He has my heart too," Benjamin then confessed, alerting Hemlock's pale blue eyes to widen.

Benjamin immediately sensed the boy's sudden discomfort and jumped in before he could panic, "wait a second, relax--he's not talking through me either."

Hemlock's chest fell with relief.

"He was earlier, though," Benjamin confessed further, rousing more panic to translate on Hemlock's face. "He was trying to convince everyone not to hunt the rest of the lost boys--I think he has something planned for us--"

"No shit, Sherlock," Hemlock interrupted, sarcastically, "he's turning us into wolves so he could use us to slaughter Henry's family--he doesn't want their powers anymore, he just wants them gone..."

"So he wouldn't have to worry about them taking Anne from him," Benjamin mumbled to himself in realization, "but wait--" He then looked up.

"I find that the word 'wait' comes with you often," Hemlock interrupted, his eyes narrowed with irritation.

"But wait--"

"There it is again--"

"Wait, stop, how do you know that??" Benjamin then gave the lost boy a bizarre look.

"Anwen told me," Hemlock swiftly replied, his brows furrowing. "I'm surprised you didn't know."

Benjamin then sighed to himself, anxiously scratching his head and rubbing the nape of his neck. "This is crazy," he then repeatedly shook his head, "I don't want to slaughter anyone," the distressed lost boy protested. "These people planned to give us homes--we can't just let Pan--"

"Hey," Hemlock interrupted lowly, having laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. A sly smirk played on his lips, "that's why we're not. Anwen hates Pan just like the rest of us--she knows he's all talk about freeing them..."

Benjamin's eyes slowly widened.

"And hey, I'm not about to talk about this here, but we have a plan. You and I? We're going to go get Felix--"

"What?!" Benjamin panicked.

"Shhhh!" Hemlock hissed firmly, "why're you so damn loud??" The lost boy complained.

"Pan would never let that happen and you know it," Benjamin hissed assertively, glaring at the boy, "that's your plan?? How the hell are we going to pull that off??"

"Shhhhh," Hemlock shushed gentler this time, gripping Benjamin's shoulder with assurance, his sly smirk crawling back, "we'll pull it off. Pan fled with Anne someplace else, he isn't stupid enough to fall for Rumple's cheap ass plan." A confident grin played on the boy's lips, just then. "Relax, alright?"

Benjamin stared at the boy for moments, hesitant to trust the wild idea of going to rescue their fellow lost boy.

"Alright?" Hemlock was giving Benjamin a rough, confident neck rub before he pat him on the shoulder, "let's go."

With that, staring the boy hard in the eyes, Benjamin finally nodded. "Alright, fine, let's go."