Remember Me *Book 3 Of The Remember the Rules Series*

The Savagery You Once Gave Up

For a while, the day was uneventful. Killian approached me at one point, infuriated at my answer to his message. David was at his side, mainly to express his irritation (read: complain) about the way I'd treated Percival. I knocked them down a few pegs; it wasn't hard. 

"Look guys. If you don't like how I act, that's really not my problem. Get in my way, and we'll have a problem. I'm pretty sure that Regina has told you exactly how bad that would be for your health." I crossed my arms.

Killian snorted. "Please. That would hurt Henry, and I doubt that you want to do that."

I almost wanted to laugh, except that it wasn't funny. I swept my leg under his and grabbed him by the collar before his knees hit the floor. Both men were too shocked to say anything. My face settled into the smirk that I'd perfected as Felix, so long ago. 

"He's still a good candidate for a Lost Boy. I don't want to hurt Henry, no. But I do want him. Don't forget that."

They were speechless as I walked away. Peter stood around the corner, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. "I don't recall ever saying that we could keep Henry."

"That's because I never asked. I just thought, I like him and you don't hate him. Win-win. Can we keep him?" I grabbed his hands and widened my eyes pleadingly. "Can we?"

Peter sneered and slapped my hands away. "You don't get to make decisions like that, remember? You may be the queen of the chessboard, but you're still just a game piece. Your actions are not decided by you, nor are your decisions. You belong to me, until such time as I give you back your will."

I stared at him in shock for a moment, then bowed my head in submission. I'd forgotten about my punishment; it had been put on hiatus because I was hurt, then Peter hadn't been around to enforce it. I'd gotten so used to the idea that we were really going home, so drunk on the power that brought, that I'd entirely forgotten about the fact that I'd hurt him. 

"I remember," I murmured. "I'll keep it in mind."

Peter grabbed my chin and gently raised face to force my eyes to meet his. He was suddenly very close, and I barely heard him over my pulse pounding in my ears. But I did hear him. 

"It's a good idea, though. I'll think about it."

I couldn't help slightly tilting my face toward him-- it was instinct, something I didn't even realize I was doing until he was pulling back and wagging a finger in my face. My face flushed in embarrassment, but I remained stubbornly quiet as he magicked away. 

My eyes burned, but I refused to let tears fall. I accepted my punishment already; now certainly wasn't the time to get upset about it. 

"That looked painful," Lancelot said from behind me. I whirled around. The poisonous words on the tip of my tongue died as soon as I saw the look of sympathy on his face. He didn't avoid my eyes or try to pretend that he hadn't been eavesdropping like most would. He just smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "I guess even you're human, after all."

"I'm not." I glared at him defiantly. 

I shrugged his hand away and he let it drop back to his side. "You are, in all the ways that matter. You're just in a lot of pain."

"I'm not human," I insisted, arguing for the sake of arguing. I hoped that he would take the bait and change the subject.

No such luck. "Aren't you?" He raised an eyebrow. "It seems that love is a very human emotion. Your brother, for example. He's on his way here, and you seem to love him very much."

"This isn't just love," I muttered, almost to myself.

"True Love, then," he shrugged. "The point still stands. Are you hurting?"