How to Love ➳OUAT

12 ➳Do Us Apart*

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When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in the familiar ballroom of the palace back in Adellia. Bright lights shined through the windows. Soft piano music echoed off the walls. Rows and rows of chairs filled the room; I was sitting in the back. I recognized a couple royal faces, all dressed in formal attire, including my mother, who was seated in the front row. Her crown glistened upon her head as she happily made small talk with the people around her.

What in the world was going on?

Suddenly, the organ begun to play and the back doors burst open, revealing my father and a girl dressed in soft white. Her face hid behind a long, lace veil; I feared the worst.

As she glided down the aisle, it seemed as if my body was moving along with her. I was now in the front row beside my mother as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. My breathing hitched as the groom lifted the veil from her face.

My fear was confirmed; Dahlia looked as radiant as ever. She was an angel. Her doe eyes were bright, she practically glowed. Everyone would agree that she was most definitely the fairest bride.

Her head turned toward me, and she feigned a smile, "Is this what you wanted, Cassandra?"

Words refused to come out of my mouth, so I violently shook my head and stood up to object to the matrimony only to be pulled back down. Pan tightly wrapped his fingers around my wrist.

"You need to trust her," he whispered calmly into my ear and put his other hand over my eyes.

I tried to free myself from his grasp, but every muscle in my body went numb. When Pan finally took his hands off me, I was pulling my head out of the water and desperately gasping for air. I ran my fingers through my damp hair as I recognized the trees and shrubs of the pool. I quickly swam back to the shore and dried myself hastily. As soon I was dressed, I ran as far away as I can from the spring.

I didn't care that there was still water dripping from my hair or about the looks the boys gave me as I fled into my tent. I carelessly threw my belongings at my cot as my legs gave out below me. I buried my head in between my knees and hugged them close to my body. I was overwhelmed by this familiar sense of dread; I thought I was over it. Obviously, I was wrong.

I felt a hand on my knee and looked up to meet the same bright doe eyes from earlier. Dahlia smiled at me sympathetically and lifted me back up on my feet. She lead me to my mirror and wrapped her small arms around my shoulders. I leaned my head against hers as she hugged me from behind.

"How could you do this to me, Cassandra," she sighed sadly into our embrace.

I snapped back at the mirror, and Dahlia was no longer behind me; she has replaced my reflection, wearing her wedding dress once more. She glared back at me as she grabbed fistfuls of the white lace.

"How could you do this!" she yelled with aggression in her voice and tears forming in her eyes.

I gripped onto the frame, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for any this to happen!"

"How can could you be so selfish!"

Selfish.

Mistake.

Hypocrite.

Grow up.

SelfishMistakeHypocriteGrowUp

SELFISHMISTAKEHYPORCRITEGROWUP

Tears stung in my eyes, and I couldn't take it anymore. I knew this wasn't really Dahlia, I knew this wasn't how she felt about me.

I trusted her.

With one swift swing, I punched the mirror as hard as I can, making it shatter into a hundred tiny pieces. Little shards of glass made small cuts around my knuckles. Blood dripped and pooled around the wounds. Despite the stinging, it felt good. I felt relief.

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The familiar chime of bells rang through my ears as I entered Gideon's shop. Gideon glanced up at me from the counter while carefully polishing a chipped teacup.

"Hello, Cassandra," he greeted as he placed it back in the cupboard behind him, "What can I do for you today?"

"I need information," I replied, quickly getting to the point, "David says you know how to get to the Underworld."

Gideon stepped out from behind the counter and leaned back against it while crossing his arms, "You're trying to save your lost love, Peter Pan, aren't you, your Majesty?"

At this point, I wasn't even surprised that Gideon knew I was. What took me aback was that he knew about my relationship with Peter.

Did Felix tell everyone the story?

He softly laughed at the puzzled expression on my face, "I knew who you were the minute you walked in here days ago. I recognized you from a painting in Adellia when I did my study abroad."

"How did you know about Peter?" I asked cautiously.

He walks over to the display with Peter's pipe, "I was the one who found the pipe on Neverland, not my father," he then picked it up and flipped it over, "And I found the initials. I didn't know who the second set belonged to until I saw you eyeing it the other day."

"Then you understand why I must go to the Underworld?" I said, taking the pipe from his hands; my thumb grazed over the like-new engraving.

"Going to the Underworld is a hard task upon itself, especially for someone still breathing," he started, "But bringing someone back is much more difficult."

"Please, Gideon, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to bring him back," I pleaded desperately.

He sighed and gave in, "First off, you're going to need help from Emma Swan."

I raised an eyebrow, "The sherif?"

"She's better known as the Savior around here," he clarified, "Who happens to have the power to pull out hearts, which you're going to have to give up in order to bring back Peter."

"I would give up anything for him."

...

"You want to do what?!"

I chased Emma outside of Granny's, "Please, Emma, wait!"

She turned around and crossed her arms, "I'm sorry, Cass, but I'm not going to help you bring that little demon back from the dead."

"Look, I know you have some bad blood with Peter-"

"He kidnapped Henry and tricked him into giving up his heart!"

"Yeah, that was pretty terrible," I admitted quietly while biting the inside of my cheek, "But trust me, that's not the Peter I'm trying to save. The Peter you describe sounds exactly like the one I met when I first arrived in Neverland. He was... a monster. But I was able to change him. He became caring and patient and... good. And, as crazy as it sounds, we might've even fallen in love. I mean we had a child that he doesn't even know about! That is the Peter I'm trying to save! And I know you can relate too."

The wind blew threw her blonde hair as she looked down and sighed, "Fine, but the minute he screws up-"

"He won't," I cut her off, "I promise."