Long Lost | Once Upon a Time (EDITING)

II. Lost Girl

After the unexpected encounter in the jungle, the once determined looks of the heroes were quickly replaced with shock from the startling confrontation with the teenager. Emma, for one, was filled with questions, as she had been well informed of the many Lost Boys on the island, though not of anyone else. She could tell without even asking Hook that the young girl had been someone the pirate had wished to forget. Perhaps that was why he never mentioned her before, though because of that, he would now undoubtedly be overwhelmed with questions following her sudden appearance.

"Who was that?" David was the first to ask, his distrustful gaze shifting onto the pirate as they all turned in his direction.

With a drawn out sigh, Hook continued to look out at the parting where the teen had left. With the encounter still fresh in his mind, it pained the man to think that that was the same girl he once looked after and developed a close bond with over many years spent on the island. It just goes to show that trust is a fragile thing; one imperfection and it's destroyed forever. "That was Grace... an old friend."

"Not friends anymore, it seems." Regina commented bitterly, the recent interaction rubbing the former queen the wrong way.

"Really?" Emma replied, "They seemed pretty happy to see each other again."

Hook was quick to bristle at their remarks. "I don't need your sarcasm, Swan. What we need is to find your son."

"How? We can't exactly do anything without some sort of inside assistance with Pan." Emma sighed in frustration. "I know you guys had a falling out, but is there any possibility of you and Grace making up again?"

"She would be a good opportunity for us to get to Henry." Snow agreed.

The reluctance on Hook's face was evident, and it wasn't just him. Regina, for one, had a raised brow as her face filled with doubt. "Like that'll happen. You heard the girl. She wants Hook dead. I doubt she'll be up for reconciling with the pirate."

"What did you even do to her, anyway?" David asked, though it didn't matter where the question came from. Hook expected to hear it sooner or later; he just wasn't sure what to say.

"You traded her for passage off the island?" Emma demanded.

The man sighed before reluctantly meeting their gazes. "You don't know the full story. If I hadn't done what I did, I wouldn't even be here right now."

Hook's vague response was unsurprising to the rest, though that didn't mean it was what they wanted to hear. "Right." David muttered in contempt, "So you traded her to save your own skin. Like that's any better."

"That's not what I meant." The pirate said shortly, sighing at the clueless man's accusations. Clueless or not, it didn't make him feel any worse about it all, even when he, himself, knew that he had made the right decision that day. Whether or not the decision had broken the girl's trust in him, it was the right one nonetheless. "I didn't have any other choice."

At that, David scoffed. "Right, because you needed to get off this island. Grace just posed as a good bargaining chip to get what you wanted."

"You don't know what you're talking about, so don't throw your accusations at me when you hardly even know her. I did what I had to." Hook snapped.

"Why does this even matter?" Regina interrupted with. "If we have any chance of getting to Henry, it's not going to be through some teen with an itchy trigger finger. We need to try something else."

"What, like magic?" Emma fired back. "Last I checked, that didn't exactly help us last time."

Regina crossed her arms. "I'm just suggesting that we find another way. This is our son. We don't have time for games."

"Luckily, Grace isn't the only person I knew on this island." Hook spoke up, causing curious looks to spread throughout the group quickly. "I know of a fairy who once lived here when I was about. She'd be an inside source on Pan. She'll be able to help us get Henry back, and be more inclined to, at that."

Many of them were curious as to who this person was, Emma being the one to ask, "Who?" Just as they had been losing confidence in their ability to succeed, Hook was able to draw them back in, giving them hope that they would.

With a similar look of determination, the man turned to face the blonde without a trace of uncertainty and answered, "Tinker Bell."

The sound of crunching leaves filled the air, it slowly getting louder as the source of the noise grew closer to the camp. A single hand reached forward to push the wide fan leaf aside, revealing the large camp run by none other than Peter Pan. Grace's cold eyes never left the boy as she walked towards him. She passed by a flaming bonfire the Lost Boys seemed so obsessed with. A few of them moved out from her path, as they knew that Grace wasn't one to mess with. After all, she was more than capable of fending off Lost Boys and would stop at nothing to rid herself of any who got in her way.

Pan's eyes met with her own as he blew into his flute, amusing himself with the sight of the entranced boys. He only put the instrument down when he saw Grace headed his way. He gave her a twisted grin before standing from the log as she met his side, easily matching her height with his own. Though her appearance suggested that she was older, Grace was outmatched when it came to his intimidation. Even when working alongside Pan, she was scared, though she'd be foolish not to be.

"I was wondering when the big reunion would happen." Pan's accented tone broke through the air sharply. Grace's dull eyes finally managed to meet with his own, a blank expression taking over her features once more. "I've been waiting to see it for years - and you didn't disappoint."

"You didn't tell me Hook was on the island." She let out, annoyance dripping with every word.

Pan merely chuckled. "Now where's the fun in that? And besides, I didn't know he was. But I had a feeling." The girl's silence earned a grin from Pan. He gazed at the bonfire with a pleased look. "I suspect you had no problems doing as I asked?"

Grace shifted her stance to view the rest of the camp. "There's five of them, including Hook."

"Who are they?"

"Just as you said." As if to confirm this, she tore her eyes away from his before facing the young boy sat just on the outskirts of the encampment. Anyone could see that he was uncomfortable and scared, though unfortunately for him, there was no way out. "They've come for the boy." She said, turning away from Henry. "They seem awfully determined to save him."

Pan laughed briefly, confident in his next statement. "I'm not about to let some heartbroken family stand in my way."

Grace knew that he wanted her to handle Henry's family on her own. She couldn't stop herself from grinning at the thought of getting a second shot at Hook. "What do you want me to do?"

The boy finally turned to face her with a dull expression. "I want you to get close to that group, close enough where you can take them all out, one by one." Pan seethed. All humor that once laced his tone was now gone.

Grace met the boy's stare confidently. "As long as they're with Hook, I have no problem taking them down."

At the girl's willingness to his demand, Pan showed a similar grin to her own. "I thought as much. Take all you want from the weapons chest." He let out, watching as Grace stalked over to the chest to collect her bow. With a dark look, she turned back to face him as he said, "Just remember to make their deaths as slow and painful as possible."

After slinging a quiver full of arrows over her shoulder, she found herself grinning at Pan's words. "Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure they know who's coming for them, and I'll enjoy every second of it." With that being said, Grace headed off in the group's direction, the thought of revenge not once leaving her mind. Whether or not she would succeed in taking out the entire group didn't matter to her, just as long as Hook was killed in the end. And for Grace, revenge is a powerful motive, and so she was determined to do just that.