Wicked Game
By: Darkest Ember
Chapter 1: Hide and Seek
Sharp, jagged branches lashed at my face as nothing but fleeting remains of adrenaline pushed me further into the dense forest. Arrows flew from every direction. I'd been grazed a couple times, resulting in rips in cloth and flesh. The blood had already hardened and blended with dirt from the many times that I had tripped over loose roots.
I couldn't feel the pain that surely accompanied those injuries. All I could focus on was getting away from these little demons and finding Henry.
My father, known across many lands as the swashbuckling pirate Captain Hook, refused to let me join the rescue mission. He said Neverland was too dangerous. I was ready to prove that I could handle anything.
So, instead of continuing this plan of fleeing like a coward, I ducked behind a large tree stump, ready to attack. Of course, I had come prepared – the moment I heard that Henry had been taken, I joined Emma, Snow, Charming, Regina, and Rumple to conceive a plan.
We weren't really sure how we were going to get to wherever Henry had been taken, until my father showed up offering his ship as a means of transit while Rumple located Henry's whereabouts. Not knowing much about the destination, I came ready for the worst with a sheathed sword hanging from my belt and a dagger hidden in my boot.
The boys' stomping and shouting was getting closer. I tied back my raven hair and gripped the hilt of my sword. After drawing in a few deep breaths to steady my nerves, I leapt out and used my sword to pin the nearest boy to a tree.
His face was covered with a hood, which I pulled back as I increased the pressure of my blade against his throat. This boy was a few years younger than me, though his age suddenly seemed irrelevant upon noticing the ferocity in his eyes.
I may not have been around many children when I was younger, but I'm quite sure that normal 13-year-old boys didn't look like that. This was no normal island.
"Where's Henry?" I demanded, forcing my focus back on the task at hand.
The boy snickered through a cringe as his back was pushed further into the rough bark of the tree. "It doesn't matter. Once Pan's done with him, you'll never see him again."
His sneer seemed to widen as he glanced over my shoulder. Getting so caught up in cornering and questioning the first boy I could find, I forgot that there had been a small tribe of them chasing me. I kept my sword up against the boy's throat as I slowly turned around and found ten bows and arrows pointed at me.
Thoughts of surrender crossed my mind, but they quickly vanished as I considered what my father would think of me – provided he wouldn't be too angry upon finding me on the island in the first place.
Surrender was not an option. I pulled the sword away from my captive's throat and hit him on the side of the head with the hilt, effectively rendering him unconscious. Before his body hit the ground, a barrage of arrows soared through the small space.
I blocked most shots using my sword, but I was having too many close encounters. Murder wasn't in my nature, so I'd have to hope that knocking them out would be good enough.
Running over to a cluster of them, I grabbed one by the throat and kneed him in the gut before disposing of him and punching another square in the jaw. He didn't fall down as quickly and managed return the gesture. Abandoning the sword, I ducked down and retrieved my dagger. I slashed his chest, making the wound deep enough to stop him from fighting, though allowing for an eventual recovery.
Feeling a rush of excitement from my success thus far, I started getting a bit more creative with my attacks. Suddenly, rocks were as potent as bullets and pointed twigs as painful as the tip of a blade. More arrows grazed me during the assault, but I was feeling absolutely invincible, perhaps foolishly so.
Cloaked boys were falling at my feet left and right. At first, I thought from the lack of shouting and attacking that I had eliminated them all. With a satisfied smile, I turned on my heel, intending to continue my search for Henry and the others.
That endeavor halted as I smacked into someone's chest. Glancing up, I saw a tall boy, older than the rest, with murderous glee in his eyes. For a moment, I couldn't look away from him, my gaze settling on the long scar that crossed over his eye.
"I never thought I'd see the day a girl could do so much damage," he said. "Pan will want you…alive." Despite his supposed surprise with the situation, his voice was completely deadpan.
As the faintest traces of fear manifested, my fingers tightened around the dagger I'd been holding. All I have to do is catch him off guard and then make a run for it. "You're crazy if you think I'd go anywhere with you," I replied.
"And here I thought you wanted to be reunited with Henry?" He smirked as he watched my harden expression melt at the sound of Henry's name. As convenient as it would be to have this boy lead me to Henry, he can't be trusted.
"Oh, I do," I smiled, "but I don't need any help from you." Not wanting to give him a chance to creep back into my emotions, I slashed the non-scarred side of his face and shoved him. He was effectively caught off guard and stumbled to the ground, clutching his bleeding cheek.
After that brief pause in constant doses of exhilaration and fighting, the pain from the injuries I'd endured and general fatigue started settling in, making my limbs resistant when it came time to run like hell.
My eyes darted around, attempting to find some sort of path that would get me out of this godforsaken forest, but everywhere I turned, I was surrounded by plants and trees. Panicking, I felt suddenly claustrophobic, lost in this magical hellhole.
"You can run, girl, but you can't hide," the blonde shouted. His voice sounded like it came from behind me, yet I distinctly heard crunching leaves to the right.
I paused, bracing myself for an attack out of instinct. Despite my visual readiness, I was in no way prepared to take on another army of Lost Boys so soon. Once I was sure that something wasn't going to pounce out of the shadows, I took off in what I believed to be a forward direction, cursing under my breath with each burning sensation of pain and protest.
My heart nearly leapt from my chest with excitement as I saw smoke above the trees and heard wonderfully familiar voices. I didn't care whether my father would be upset with my unexpected appearance on the island; all that mattered was that I would be safe with them.
I ran toward their campsite with renewed confidence and an inexplicable amount of stamina. Just as I was about to make it into the clearing, a hand tugged on my jacket with such force that I fell backwards into a painful chokehold.
Without looking behind, I already knew who caught me. The one I left conscious. He didn't seem remotely fazed when I started clawing at his hand, all while desperately gasping for air. He bent his head down so that his lips were just above my ear. If I had more room to move, I would've shuddered in disgust as his warm breath billowed along my neck.
"Who do we have here? Let me guess, they've also come to rescue Henry?"
I scoffed. "I don't know them," I said between wheezes. "I just figured they'd be safer to be around than you and your little warrior boys."
He laughed mockingly in response as he twisted me around so I was now being pinned against a tree. When I saw the bloody mess I left behind on his face, I inwardly grinned. "You're a terrible liar," he said. "I saw them arrive on Hook's ship shortly after Henry was delivered to us."
Hook? How did he know my father?
"Clearly, you do know them," he said slowly, as if still working out the details in his head. "Yet, I didn't see you arrive with them…"
"I wasn't supposed to be here," I said, concealing my fear with a smug tone. "But I couldn't resist the challenge, so I snuck aboard that pirate's ship."
"Is that so?" he asked. He didn't sound particularly convinced. I could feel myself struggling to maintain composure under his intense, almost leering gaze. "Pan will definitely want to hear all about your…adventure."
"And if I refuse?" I asked, thankful that he backed away so I could cross my arms over my chest.
"Oh, I expect you to."
In a flash of movement, he struck me with a club I hadn't noticed him lugging around. As the corners of my vision faded to black, the last thing I saw was him looking down at me with a jagged grin.
A/N: So, about halfway into the third season of OUAT, I saw that Peter Pan was one of the main characters. I'd never seen the show, but it was on my list of shows to watch. I jumped right into the third season and still have to catch up with the previous two seasons. I'm going to try to keep this story focused on events that happened in this season, so bear with me if some backstories don't add up lol
If you've like what you see so far, leave a comment and let me know :)
Thanks for reading
XoXo Amber