Set Your Sails...to Neverland || Peter Pan, OUAT

Chapter 21 - Round Two

"What happened to Neal, and Henry, it's not your fault. You can't blame yourself," Mary Margaret says.

I huff, my anger rising, "I don't. I blame you. All this happened because I listened to you. You say good always wins - it doesn't. I didn't grow up in some fairytale land. My experience is different, that's all I can go on."

"And all we have to go on is ours, so if you would just let us share our wisdom—"

"I appreciate you trying to be parents, but we're the same age. We have equal amounts of wisdom. And all I want is Henry back. I should never have broken the curse. I should've just taken Henry and—"

"You're right. Th-Then you'd be together. We missed you growing up Emma, and it haunts us every day," Mary Margaret continues - their continuous self-shame is starting to become overused.

"And that's why we're here now. We don't want you to have to go through the same thing, too, and you won't. We are going to get our family back," David adds.

"How can you two be so infuriatingly optimistic!"

"It's who we are," David states.

"Why? Ever since you got your memories back, ever since you remembered that you're Snow White and Prince Charming, your lives have... they've... well, they've sucked!" I blurt out.

"No. No, we found you," David says - again with our reunion, what about everyone else.

"And lost Henry! And Neal, and countless other people!" I say, reminding them of one of the biggest losses in my life.

"Emma, the minute I let go of the belief that things will get better is the minute that I know they won't. We'll find him," Mary Margaret says.

I'm about to reply, but Gold cuts me off, "No, you won't," he stands at the helm in all leather — some kind of significance that I'm oblivious to.

"Oh, that's a great use of our time—a wardrobe change!" Hook comments. I stifle a laugh.

"I'm going to get Henry."

"We agreed to do this together," Regina reminds him.

"Actually, we made no such agreement," he says.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask.

"Because I want to succeed," Gold replies.

"What makes you think I'm gonna fail?" 

"Well, how could you not? You don't believe in your parents, or in magic, or even yourself,"

"I slayed a dragon, I think I believe," I reply.

"Only what was shown to you. When have you ever taken a real leap of faith? You know, the kind where there's absolutely no proof? I've known you some time, Miss Swan. And, sadly, despite everything you've been through, you're still just that...bail bonds person, looking for evidence. Well, dearie, that's not going to work in Neverland."

"I'll do whatever it takes," I say.

"Well, you just need someone to tell you what that is. Sorry, dearie, our foe is too fearsome for hand-holding. Neverland is a place where imagination runs wild. And, sadly, yours doesn't," he says.

Gold spins his cane, and in the next second, he's gone, with only his cane left on the deck. He's the last person I want to be telling me what to do and how to do it. I stop myself from acting out physically and leave, going below deck.

I'm halfway through my pull-ups when Hook follows me down.

"Oh. Don't stop on my account," he says.