xxvi. wish you were here
━ ❝ calling out for him ❞
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forty votes and fifteen comments for next chapter!
warning! semi-short chapter!
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RETURNING TO STORYBROOKE made Arabella realize how much she adored Neverland. Sure, she hadn't gotten the chance to explore the island since she arrived on the island, but all of the happy memories made her miss it already. Now she understood how it was her home, not this fairytale town. This much set in stone once everyone walked down the ship's walkway, the townspeople cheering on the dock at the sight of them all.
She sighed, being one of the last to exit since she stayed with the lost boys. Henry had stopped suddenly, looking around with a thoughtful look. The brunette looked back at him with a confused expression before Simon pulled her forward so she didn't get caught in the sea of people.
Granny was there as was many familiar faces. Arabella was embraced by the older woman who had brought her breakfast in her time at the hospital. She smiled softly. "It's good to see you, Granny," she spoke in her motherly tone. The woman said the same and they pulled away.
When her eyes fell on, Emma and Henry speaking, she listened in. "How does it feel to finally be home?" the blonde asked with a grin, rubbing his arm.
"Better than I ever imagined," Henry told her with a forced smile.
They both knew who was watching and turned to see Arabella. The lost boys were talking to her, pleading her not to do anything to draw attention. But she was boiling with anger. Her eyes flashed black for a moment before going back to normal. She wouldn't do anything. Yet.
"Ara—"
"I suggest you shut that mouth of yours, Savior. It would be a shame if your tongue were cut out."
Henry refrained from smirking. The boys actually smiled at that, snickering at their mother's threat. Sure Emma and her family had gotten them out of Neverland, but they did hurt Arabella. That didn't stand with them ever. Curly tugged on her hand and she looked down at him. She smiled softly, ruffling his hair before going over to see her son and Belle who were hugging.
Emma sighed as the girl walked away but let her go. Neal followed his aunt over to Gold. Belle smiled at them. "Welcome back." She hugged them both and Arabella grinned at her.
"Thank you, Belle."
Neal showed something to them, Gold's cane. His father smiled in response. "I found this below deck. Thought you might need it."
"Thank you, Bae, I do." He took his cane. "As a reminder of the man I was, which shall no longer be."
Arabella moved to embrace him, hugging him tightly. There was a thin shimmer of tears in her eyes. "You have made me proud." She pulled back to smile at him. "Even though Malcolm is gone, you were a hero, you saved Henry." The brunette bit back the words for now. Pan was gone for the time being. He wouldn't be gone for long.
Neal saw Wendy with her brothers so he went to join them. Arabella saw the little girl and rolled her eyes, huffing and going to stand by the lost boys who were watching the reunion. "What I wouldn't give to leave that dreadful girl in the ocean," she confessed with a glare.
The boys agreed. Alex scoffed, his lips quirking up in disgust. "She is nothing but a brat. All she did was complain about how hot it was and how her clothes were dirty from this thing called dirt. She hated the animal furs we use for blankets, and she even was annoyed at how we ate. Pan should've killed her honestly."
Every one of them nodded in agreement. Arabella looked over at the redhead. "That bad?" He looked over at her with a look. She hummed thoughtfully. "Good thing she's going back to whatever place she came from. London was it? Ah, who cares."
Before she could continue, Mary Margaret spoke up, speaking loudly to everyone. "And we owe a lot of it to her. Regina helped save us all." The townspeople murmur in astonishment and Regina looked equally surprised at the open praise.
The former princess quirked an eyebrow at that. "Well look at that, the heroes are all cozy."
Jordan could tell she was getting angry again and so he grabbed her other hand, pulling on it. "Mommy, I'm hungry."
Arabella looked down at him, nodding after she heard his words. "Yes, I assume you boys would be. We will go and get some food in a bit, alright?" She looked up from him, her eyes scanning the crowd for Felix. He was standing alone until she saw Henry approaching him. Then her interest was piqued.
"What do you have in mind, Peter?" Felix asked as they observed Henry's family from a distance. Neither of them knew Arabella was watching them with a confused expression, oblivious to their conversation. "What if someone decides to open that box; let the real boy out?"
"That's not the problem, trust me," Henry told him, glancing up at him for a moment. Did he ever mention how utterly annoying it was to be so short? Even in his normal body, his best friend was taller, but at least he didn't tower over him. Now, Felix was a giant.
The blonde looked over at him. "What's the next step?"
He thought for a moment and then looked up at him. "You need to be punished." Felix became perplexed, unfolding his arms. "Hey, Mom, Dad," Henry called out. "What about Felix? He's still free."
Arabella heard the believer's words, her eyes narrowing. The boys, this time, didn't stop her as she stomped over to the heroes who were going over to Felix. No way were they going to hurt him or take him away.
"Henry's right. We can't just let Felix walk away free," Regina agreed.
The brunette scowled. "You are not going to die anything with him," she hissed when she arrived. They all looked at her and Henry kept from smiling, knowing that she would defend the lost boy. "Felix is coming with me and the boys. If you have a problem with that, I'd be happy to have a talk." None of them argued so she grabbed his arm and walked away with him.
———
Arabella couldn't believe that her son placed Pandora's box in the floor of his shop without so much as a blink of an eye. He really didn't care that she loved Pan. None of them did. That much was obvious when she stood back, watching silently as they put him away. "Once I seal the box in here, no one can break the spell but me." A gold shine emitted from it and she clenched her jaw, looking away.
She would've stolen it back but she couldn't deal with Gold hating her for it. So she stayed there. Henry spoke up from beside Emma, eyeing the spot. "You're not going to do that?"
"What do you mean? I want Pan trapped as much as you."
Arabella wiped her tears on her sleeve, crossing her arms over her chest. Her magic was acting up this time surprisingly. Yet. Emma told her son not to worry and Neal reassured him that Pan wasn't getting out. She bit her lip in response.
"We won't let anything happen to you again, I promise," Regina told him.
"She's right," Gold confirmed. "You needn't worry. As long as I'm alive, that boy will never see the light of day."
That was the last straw for her. Once the words were spoken, she broke down, covering a hand over her mouth and dashing out of the shop. Everyone turned to her but she was gone just as quick as light in a dark room. Emma went to follow but Gold stopped her.
"She'll be fine, Miss. Swan. She's just heartbroken, that's all."
They all doubted his words, even the Dark One himself did. But none of them argued against it. Not even Henry who frowned for his wife.
"She really does love him doesn't she," Mary Margaret sighed sadly, looking guilty. They always gave people second chances. This time they didn't. All because Henry's life was at stake and they couldn't do anything else. Still. She felt as if she broke her code of giving everyone that chance of redemption. And she had.
Gold sighed and nodded. "Yes. Yes, she does."
———
The lost boys weren't enjoying StoryBrooke as much as they thought they would. There were too many people and too many things they weren't familiar with. And they found themselves wandering back to their mother who was sitting on a bench, guarding them to make sure they stayed safe. Soon enough they were all near her. Jordan, Curly, and Slight sat on the sides of her while the rest of them sat in front of her.
Her eyes were red and puffy, looking off into the distance. It was then that they began to miss their home, their real home. Neverland. While Pan did make it a nightmare, turning them into warriors for himself, deep down they knew he cared in his own way. So because of it, they missed him. They missed how he had changed when Arabella arrived. They missed their father figure.
Meanwhile, Pan was thinking about his wife as he sat in one of the booths at Granny's Diner. The town was throwing a celebration, one that made him scoff. And his thoughts just had to be interrupted by the Savior. She set down the storybook in front of him and annoyed, he stared at it blankly.
"Well, don't get too excited," she told him sarcastically with a teasing smile. "Neal still had it in his room. We thought you'd want it. Especially since you just lived a fairytale of your own."
He looked at her, unsure, and then smiled tentatively. "Right. Thanks." Then flipped it open. It was difficult not to strangle her right on the spot but he managed, keeping cool. Stupid heroes, stupid, stupid heroes. If only he was in his normal body with his magic. Oh, he would make them all pay.
Emma looks confused by his reaction. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Why?"
She doesn't answer and then let the subject drop. At that moment, Arabella entered the diner, none of the lost boys following her. Tiger Lily, a fairy she had known years ago, had been walking by when she saw the former princess. They had a little reunion before she offered to watch the boys as Arabella went to the celebration. Lily told her that she might want to, raising confusion in the brunette.
And yet there she was, walking into the diner. She went to sit alone, passing Emma on the way. The blonde called out to her but was ignored. Arabella sat at the corner booth near the restrooms, crossing her legs. Ruby came up to her, asking what she wanted. She ordered a hot cocoa, watching the wolf leave before she studied the table in front of her.
Only ten minutes passed, her cocoa halfway gone already when Henry sat right in front of her. "Hi," he greeted.
Arabella put her mug down and gave him a forced smile. "Hi."
"So, you and Pan, uh?"
At his words, she rolled her eyes, sighing, and then ran a hand through her hair. "We can talk about anything but him." In all honesty, she didn't want to be talking to the believer at all. His family toom Peter away from her and here he was, acting all nice.
"But you loved him right?"
The questions were beginning to bother her so she answered it with a glare. "I still love him. He was my happy ending and now he's gone because of your stupid family. And I will do anything to get him back from them," she confessed. Then he smiled widely, clearly ecstatic with her answer which only confused her.
"Well, that's nice to know you care so much for me, love."
Arabella rose an eyebrow. "Pardon?" Her accent seeped through and he smirked at her, leaning forward and putting a hand on the side of his mouth, almost like he was getting ready to share a secret.
"It's me. I'm Pan."
She pulled back and gave him a look. "That's not funny, Henry."
"I'm serious Aria. I can prove it." The mother rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her cocoa. This was a joke for sure but she gestured toward him, silently telling him to continue. Henry smirked. She wasn't even going to listen until he said, "I feel bad for those trees you know? They didn't do anything wrong. But hey, I'm definitely not complaining about that—"
"It's you?" Arabella exclaimed, shock overtaking her face. "You switched?" Then she smiled widely. "You clever idiot."
Henry rolled his eyes playfully and then nodded. "I did. But just know that I have a plan."
She looked intrigued, nodding. Before she could say anything, Emma walked over to them. They both stopped talking at the sight of her. "Sorry, kid. It's time for something you didn't have in Neverland—bedtime." Arabella glanced back at Henry who smiled at her knowingly. He followed Emma without saying anything. Using her magic, she listened into the conversation that time. "Oh, let's say goodnight to Regina."
"Goodnight?" Regina questioned, looking up at the clock. "I didn't realize it was getting so late." She looked back over at him, brushing a knuckle on his cheek fondly. "It's going to be hard to let you out of my sight."
Arabella snickered quietly to herself, seeing the way Henry cringed a bit at the affection he didn't want. But then he quickly covered it up with a smile. "Maybe you don't have to. Maybe I could stay with you tonight."
"Oh. Of course."
Emma nodded, looking shocked and yet she played it off nicely. "Yeah, uh, just call me tomorrow and let me know what time you want to pick you up." She was skeptical, not expecting to hear that from her son.
The former princess was watching him leave with a frown before he spoke up. "Wait! Can Aria come too?"
Arabella opened her mouth to say something but then Regina smiled welcoming at her. It surprised her but she figured that the Mayor felt bad for what they did to Pan. The brunette stood and walked over. "Oh, um, I'd love to. Tiger Lily is watching the boys so I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Do you think you could..."
"I'll give her a call," Regina told her with a nod.
She smiled genuinely back at her though there was a hint of bitterness. They did destroy her happy ending after all. Or at least they thought they did. Ruby gave her a hot cocoa to go which she thanked her for, leaving with the two. And she most certainly didn't miss the grin Henry gave her.
———
Exploring Henry's room was quite interesting considering he hadn't done much exploring of the world without magic. His shadow did, but not him. Letting his fingers skim over the storybook which was opened to the page of the Dark Curse, Pan rolled his eyes in boredom and flipped to the next page. He saw the Evil Queen standing in front of her vault. Keeping that page open, he traveled around the room, picking up a comic book before setting it back down. These things were strange.
The door creaked and he looked over to see Arabella standing there with a knowingly smirk. But she kept her voice in the same motherly tone. "Hey, Regina told me to tell you that it's bedtime."
He chuckled, going to sit on the bed. She entered the room, moving to sit next to him. "Aria. Regina's vault. Did she bring that over with her?"
She nodded, thinking for a minute. "I'm almost positive she did. Why?"
"With all her magic?"
Arabella nodded again, raising an eyebrow. She spoke lowly to him, afraid of Regina listening. Casting a sound spell would be too suspicious. "Let me guess, it's part of the plan." Henry smirked mischievously. She sighed, rolling her eyes playfully, and standing up. He moved underneath the covers and pulled them up. The mother shut off the lights and was about to leave the room when he called out to her.
"Don't I get a goodnight kiss?"
She turned back to him and gave him a look. "No."
He pouted, pulling a cute face she was couldn't say no to. It was amazing how he wasn't in his own body and he still managed to make her do what he wanted. "Please?" She walked over and kissed his cheek.
"Goodnight, darling."
"Goodnight, love."
Arabella smiled at him and then left the room, closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, Henry got up and went to the window, pulling the curtain aside, opening the window, and sticking his head out. "It's time." At the words, the Shadow was released from the sail at the docks. Forever tied to its master. It flew through the empty streets and he smirked. Oh, the heroes had no idea what was coming for them.
———
I don't really got much to say about this chapter really. It's mainly just buildup until we get to the curse stuff and then that ending you guys are probably dreading because you have no idea what I have in store, lol. As usual, have a great day/night guys! :)
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