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I pulled my cloak tighter around my body as I reentered the camp. It was past dinner, and I was sure everyone was wondering where Theo and I were. I glanced behind me, hoping to see his brown hair and blue eyes following along.
Nothing, but trees and bushes.
I sighed as I continued to trek along the path. Once I was in the camp's perimeters, I looked around for the rest of the boys. There was nobody in sight. I assumed they retired to their huts and finally relaxed my tense shoulders. I turned to sneak back into my own hut until I bumped into something hard. I stumbled back and stared up to meet a pair of unforgettable, emerald eyes.
Great, just great. Out of all people I could run into, why him?
Pan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "And where have you been?"
"I... ummm... I was...," I stuttered as I struggled to gather my words.
"Cass? You're back," I spun around and saw Zach walking up to us, "Where's Theo?"
Pan's eyes widened at Theo's name, and he peered down at my muddied boots, "Don't tell me he took you up there." At that point, I was gapping like a fish as I ruined my cuticles.
"Cass," Pan asked slowly, "Where is Theo?"
"I'm right here."
We all turned towards Theo voice and saw him approaching us.
"Did you or did you not go up there with Cassandra," Pan questioned as he glared at him.
Theo shrugged, "So what if I did?"
"What were you thinking, Theo?!" Zach exclaimed clearly upset.
"Why did you go up there?" Pan asked through clenched teeth, "I don't need anybody else falling from that damned cliff!"
"I've been to Dead Man's Peak a hundred times before Brandon's incident," Theo shouted back, "It wasn't until you came along that someone 'fell' off!"
"Fell? I thought you said Brandon jumped," I whispered to Zach.
"He did. Pan knows that very well. He just hasn't accepted it yet."
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Evelynne lead me through a tunnel in the mines. I tucked my hands into the front pocket of my black sweatshirt as I felt a chill along my spine.
In my research, I discovered that the mines under Storybrooke had been abandoned for years up until recently. But even now, not many have come down here.
"We're almost there," Evelynne assured me as she noticed my superstitious expression.
I nodded wearily as I began to catch sparkles along the walls of the tunnels. The further we went, the more sparkles seemed to appear. I brushed my hand along the them and rubbed the glittery substances between my fingertips. Its chalkiness felt familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
My attention was then drawn to a faint light at the end of the tunnel. She smiled back at me as she put down her lantern.
"Welcome to the United Realms," she moved aside to reveal a whole another world.
The tunnel opened up to a high hill top where you can see miles and miles below you. Castles and estates scattered about the land. Towers stood higher than any city skyscraper. Ports, filled with huge ships, spilled into the vast sea.
"Wow," I said breathlessly, "How... How is this even possible?"
"You know of the dark curse, right?" I shook my head, still in awe of the magnificent sight. Evelynne softly laughed, "Basically, it can send a whole realm to the Land Without Magic and reshape everyone's life to the caster's desire."
"Sounds like the spell the sorceress put on Adellia."
"Not exactly, but same idea," she replied, "As I was saying, the Good Queen, Regina, found a way to tweak the curse, so all the realms could combine into one making it easier to travel between them."
"Where's Adellia?" I quickly snapped my head towards her, smiling widely.
Evelynne looked down with a quite opposite expression, "I don't know. I was in Corona at the time of the curse, that's the only reason why I'm here. I looked for Adellia everywhere, but, for whatever reason, it didn't come through."
I turned back toward the vast night sky as I stared down at the castles. I came to Storybrooke to find Peter, but, instead, I found the United Realms.
I found someone from my home.
I found hope for my kingdom.
If there was anything I've learned in the last two centuries is that Adellia always came first. Peter was just going to have to wait a little bit longer.
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I took a deep breath as I raised my hand to knock on Pan's door. After what happened with Theo, some part of me, for whatever reason, wanted to make sure that Pan was alright.
'He disappeared for awhile.'
'He just hasn't accepted it.'
I knocked on his door, and upon contact, it slowly creaked opens. I cautiously walked into the room. It was a little bigger than my own room. It was split into two with the farther part being elevated from the floor. There was a bed with a trunk at its feet like everyone else's hut. On the elevated part, there was a bookshelf on the opposite wall of the bed and a hammock across from it.
Pan stood by the shelf and vigorously flipped through a book. He quickly shut and placed it back on the shelf.
"Do you need something, Cassia?" he asked while walking up to me.
"I wanted to check up on you," I said as I ran my fingers through the baby hairs sticking out of my ponytail, "I can tell you were upset about Theo and I going up to Dead Man's Peak."
He sat down on his bed and propped his elbows on his knees while folding his hands together.
"Everyone blames you for what happened to Brandon," I continued as Pan was still unfazed, "What you did to him was... was a bit uncalled for, but it wasn't like you pushed him off the cliff or anything."
I crossed my arms and laughed uneasily as I looked down at the floorboards, "What I'm trying to say is I don't blame you for Brandon's death."
"You should."
I snapped my head up at him, "What?"
Pan shrugged, "Brandon took the cowards way out, which is exactly what he deserves because that's exactly what he is. I take full responsibility for it."
"You're unbelievable," I sneered, "How could you say something like that?"
He shrugged once more, "It's the truth." I was left absolutely speechless. "Sorry to disappoint you," Pan laid back on the bed, "But Peter Pan isn't at all like the stories they tell you."
"Obviously not," I huffed, "I regret that I ever believed in you."
I stomped out of his treehouse and slammed the door behind me. I ran down the stairs and past my hut. I snuck away once more to the beach. I laid my head in between my knees as sleep weighed heavily upon my eyelids. But I was too angry for rest. I tried waking myself up by imagining the first thing that came to mind: Pan's piercing green eyes and how bright and full of life they are. But at the same time, how storms brewed in them whenever he was engulfed in rage.
I shook my head of the image. It didn't matter how devilishly good looking or how intriguing Pan was, I could never associate myself with someone like him. He was nice at first, controlling, but nice. Then his true colors slowly resurfaced from his clenched fists at breakfast to almost shooting at Zach and the glares he gave Theo.
Cyrus obviously didn't approve of Pan, Zach just stayed out of his way, and Aden downright feared him. But whenever Pan looked at me or it was just me and him, he seemed like a completely different person, unlike tonight. I finally saw him for the heartless being he truly is.
What could possibly make him like this?
Suddenly, I'm snapped out of my thoughts as I heard footsteps approaching me. I turned around expecting to see the devil himself, but I was surprised to find a young woman dressed in green. I immediately stood up defensively, but she put her hands up in surrender.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she started, "I just needed to see you for myself."
"See me for yourself?" I questioned, "Who are you?"
"They call me Tinkerbell," she answered calmly.
"Ok, Tinkerbell," I approached her cautiously, "I thought I was the only girl on Neverland, what are doing you here?"
"I was sent here to conduct tests on pixie dust since it's strongest on Neverland," she pat her satchel, which was hanging off her shoulder, "Pan has been helping me."
I almost bursted out laughing, "Pan's been helping you? So that's where he's been disappearing to. But that was days ago, why are you still here? And why on Earth would Pan help anyone but himself?"
"When I first met with Pan, he was distraught and distant. I told him if he helped me, the pixie dust would help him get over whatever he was so hung up on by finding his soulmate."
"His soulmate?" I raised an eyebrow.
Tinkerbell nodded, "Pixie dust apparently has the ability to find anyone's, even someone like Pan's, soulmate. Trust me, I was also surprised when it worked, so I had to come see you myself."
"I'm Pan's soulmate?" I laughed, "Ok, even if I were to believe anything you said was true, why are you telling me this? Pan doesn't seem like the kind of person who would want other people to know about him having a 'soulmate'?"
"You are definitely right about that," Tinkerbell replied, "He threatened my life if I ever told you or even got anywhere close to you."
"Then why are you telling me this?"
She reached into her satchel and took out a handful of a shimmering green powder, "I needed to conduct one more test."
I took a step back from her, while eyeing the substance, "A test for what?"
Before I could react, she blew the powder into my face.
"Memory."