Psychotic | OUAT ✔️

Chapter 14 - "I...I can't drink rum!"

They had the trap set up and ready for a lost boy to stumble upon it. Snow, Regina and Emma were all hidden, weapons out and ready to attack, while Atarah was sat off to the side fantasising of all the other places she'd rather be than here. And there was a long list. A very long list.

After a few minutes, a lost boy had fell into their trap, and Snow quickly let go of the arrow that was once situated in her quiver, which then caused the net to fall over the boy. Atarah looked over as the boy dropped to the floor from the net landing on him, while the other three instantly raced over to surround the lost boy.

"What are you doing?" The boy asked them as he unscrambled himself from the net, as Atarah made eye contact with Snow, who aggressively gestured for her to join them. So, Atarah stood slowly and made her way over and crossed her arms over her chest with a scowl. "Are you trying to start a war with Pan?"

"Pan started the war when he kidnapped my son!" Emma told the lost boy, who looked towards her questioningly. She only shook her head in signal to him to just not ask her.

"But that doesn't make you our enemy." Regina added in softly and manipulatively. Regina then cunningly held her hand out and a bar of chocolate appeared within it, and the lost boy stood and stared at her hand.

"What's that?" He questioned.

"Chocolate!" Regina replied. "I thought you might like the taste of something sweet."

"We don't want to hurt you." Emma added in. "We just need you to deliver a message to Henry."

"Why should I help you?" The boy asked with narrowed eyes.

"Because you had a home once and a family once, and you stopped believing you could get back to them." Emma said. "Now we're here. We can help - not just Henry, all of you! We can get you home." Atarah resisted the urge to scoff, the lost boys were unconditionally loyal to Pan, as Regina held the chocolate out to him.

The boy took it and smelled it with a chuckle. Regina and Emma joined in and Atarah just shook her head knowingly - she defiantly knew better.

And she was proven to be right as the boy quickly turned and threw the chocolate bar away from them and out of sight. "Like I have said a thousand times before." Atarah mused in amusement. "The lost boys are unconditionally loyal to Pe-Pan! And they will always be loyal to Pan."

"She's right!" The lost boy said. "And you just don't get it! I'm here because I don't want to go home. None of us do!"

"Pan's a monster!" Emma told the boy, as Atarah let out a angry breath as she suppressed her anger at that comment. "Look what he did to you!" Emma said as she gestured to the cut along his cheek.

The lost boy chuckled and Atarah hid her smile. "Oh, Pan didn't do that!" He told the woman in amusement with a small shake of his head. "Henry did!" Regina and Emma's face fell as Atarah raised her brows, slightly impressed by how Henry was the one responsible for the boy's injury. Atarah knew that Henry wouldn't do that on purpose, she knew that Peter was influencing it.

But she didn't mind. Peter was doing all this so that he could survive, so he could take Henry's heart. Now, Atarah knew that it was bad that she was fine with Henry's heart being taken so Peter would live. But she guessed that was the type of person she was. If she were a hero like everyone else, her morals would force her to choose morals over her feelings - she'd be forced to watch Peter die just so she could be comfortable, just to keep her morals green.

But as a villain she chose her feelings over morality, she chose to allow Henry to be sacrificed so that Peter could live. Being a villain was all about choice in reality. And before her, she had the choice of: allow Henry to have his heart taken, or allow Peter to die. And the answer was clear, she'd rather chose the latter.