AUTHOR NOTE:

***I own nothing and nobody except the original characters***

I've been toying around with this idea for a couple months since I learned about soulmate fics. I loved the darker portrayal of Peter Pan in Once Upon a Time so that's the version I attempted to write in this story. Since this is AU, he is not Rumple's father. I most likely won't include any other characters from OUAT besides Felix and Devin. Besides adding my own characters, I will take liberties with personalities and back stories. This story is also published on AO3. Anyways, thanks for reading should you choose to :)

Soul Mate
[ˈsōl ˌmāt]
(noun)

A person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.

Imagine a world in which your soul mate has been decided for you from the time you are born. Somewhere on both your bodies in the exact same spot is a mark. A mark that will burn into the first words you speak to each other. Known as a soul mark, it is something the two of you will share for the rest of your lives. Not everyone meets their soul mate, some don't meet them on time and others choose to take their love lives into their own hands. But rebelling against the system that's been set in place can have consequences. And some consequences can be destructive or even fatal.

or

The story about the girl who's soul mate is Peter Pan.

CHAPTER 1: Stranded in Paradise

There was no clear path through the jungle, but Sawyer kept walking in the direction she decided was straight ahead. Just moments before, she woke up to find the private plane she and her older sister Eura were on had crashed somewhere unfamiliar. Their cell phones weren't working and neither was the plane's radio which meant they had no way of calling for help. They were horrified to discover their pilot Gregg was missing. Judging by the amount of blood in the cockpit and the windshield being completely shattered, Sawyer had little hope they'd ever see him again. And if they did, it was highly doubtful he would be alive.

The plane had crashed in a meadow surrounded by lush green jungle. The grass came up to Sawyer's shoulders. In one area, the grass had been cut away. There was a fire pit surrounded by logs for sitting on. The trees of the jungle were so tall Sawyer couldn't see the tops of them. Vines with colorful flowers of all shapes and sizes wound around the impossibly tall tree trunks. The smell of coconut and vanilla was everywhere. The sun was extremely bright and abnormally large.

While Eura worked on gathering up all their luggage, Sawyer decided to explore. Wherever they landed was quiet and peaceful. But unsettling at the same time. The sound of twigs breaking behind her made her stop. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. When she heard nothing else except birds, she continued on her way. Soon, she found a beach. Pristine soft white sands ran in both directions as far as the eye could see. Before her was the ocean. A brilliant and sparkling shade of blue.

She made her way over to a hill that lead up to a dangerously high cliff. By the time she reached the top, sweat was dripping down her face in response to the ridiculous heat. Even in shorts and a tank top, she felt as though she were walking through fire. Wiping some sweat off her brow, she looked around. All she saw was jungle and a few mountains. There were no telephone poles or towers. No buildings. Fear started gripping at her when the possibility that they were stranded on an uninhabited island crept into her mind. But she refused to give up hope. They would be found eventually.

Sawyer sat down on a nearby boulder and stared out over the ocean. A cool breeze blew around her and she shut her eyes to welcome it. Her sweat was drying and she didn't feel as hot as before. The faint scent of coconut made her smile. When she opened her eyes, something down at the bottom of the cliff caught her eye. Frowning, she looked again and saw someone standing in the shadows of the jungle. She jumped to her feet and started making her way down. As soon as she did, whoever it was ran off into the trees.

Sawyer tripped over her own feet and started rolling down the mountain. She curled into a ball when she saw she was headed towards some black thorny bushes. They poked and prodded all the exposed skin on her arms, legs and neck. She was completely overwhelmed by the sudden white hot pain radiating from everywhere she had been scratched. To her horror, veins had become black and began popping up from her skin. She cried out and stood to run back to the plane only to find that she was extremely weak. She collapsed to the ground as her vision blurred. A hooded figure appeared over her.

Her eyes were closing against her will and she opened her mouth the speak, but no words came out. She felt someone lift her up and she buried her head against them. They smelled of forest and earth with a hint of coconut. The cool wind began whipping strands of her hair wildly around her face and numbed some of the pain she was feeling. She remembered being put down on the ground some time later. The sun continued burning her skin. Then she felt cold liquid against her mouth and parted her dry lips to greedily drink the water that was being offered to her. She felt all the pain slowly fade away. Her body cooled down. Then her world went completely black. And she remembered the crash.

Sawyer and Eura were on their family's private plane headed to the Bahamas for summer vacation. Sawyer had just finished her sophomore year of high school. Eura had just graduated from Dartmouth with a degree she had no intention of using. She was already engaged to her soul mate whom she had met years prior. Sawyer had yet to meet her soul mate and quite frankly, didn't really care to. The very idea of being forced to be with someone she had absolutely no choice over didn't sit well with her. Every day she dreaded the moment her mark would burn into the first words he would speak directly to her. She was jolted out of her thoughts when the plane hit turbulence.

They were world travelers and turbulence wasn't new to them. But something was different. It was much more violent and seemed to be getting worse. Eura was gripping the armrests so tightly her knuckles were turning white. The so called turbulence continued for a lot longer than Sawyer assumed it would. Last she had seen, they were directly over ocean so she was anticipating a water evacuation. She looked out the window but couldn't make out much of anything. Just a second ago she saw clouds flying by. Eura's hand reached out and grabbed Sawyer's tightly. Then all the lights went out.

They heard loud banging noises all over the plane. Sawyer looked out her window again. She saw water but they were still moving at a rapid pace as though they were falling through it. Cracks were forming on the windows. Sawyer closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. She didn't know what was about to happen. Was this the end? Was she going to die before meeting her soul mate? Not that it really even mattered since she had made the decision to spend her life alone. But she still wanted (maybe even needed) to know who it was destiny had paired her with. The plane continued to jerk around and one jolt caught Sawyer off guard. Her head slammed up against the window, knocking her out instantly.

"You should've just let her die."

Felix spoke matter of factly. As if letting people die was a way of life that wouldn't bring about feelings of guilt. Peter said nothing and kept stabbing his knife absentmindedly into the tree trunk he leaned up against. Thick pools of honey were pouring from the holes he created. They were hidden high up on a branch covered by a canopy of green leaves. It was a perfect view of where they left Sawyer on the beach. Peter knew the girls were there as soon as the plane burst through the portal and was spit into the middle of the jungle. His jungle.

The trees had swayed and animals became frantic. Even the winds had changed direction. Felix, stupid Felix, almost got caught by following Sawyer too closely as she explored. Stepping on a twig when he was normally more stealthy. But then it was Peter who she caught a glimpse of while high up on the cliff. He didn't expect her to come after them or trip over air on her way down. When she landed in the Dreamshade, Felix had failed to stifle laughter which was silenced into a scowl when Peter ordered him to take her to the healing springs.

"Perhaps I should have," Peter said. "But we could always use more help around camp."

"I thought that's what the other two were for."

"Nothing wrong with two more."

Felix said nothing and looked at Sawyer who still hadn't moved. Peter sighed and put his knife back into the sheath on his belt. "We should head back to camp."

"Why not take her now?" Felix frowned. "Come back for the other one later."

"No," Peter shook his head. "They'll slip up soon enough. For now, I'll let them have their freedom."

They soon heard another voice echoing through the trees. It was Eura frantically searching for her sister. Felix and Peter watched as she ran to Sawyer's side.

"Sawyer!" she said, as she shook her. "Sawyer! Sawyer!"

Sawyer's eyes shot open and she sat up quickly. "How did I get here?"

"Oh thank god you're not dead!"

Eura pulled her into a hug. Sawyer was too busy examining her arms and legs, confused when there were no signs of being attacked by an unknown prickly plant. Eura looked at her strangely.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Uh yeah I just...I could've sworn I fell off that cliff and into some thorny bushes."

Sawyer stood and started walking down the beach towards the cliff. Eura chased after her.

"You fell off a cliff?"

"Yeah."

"Were you trying to kill yourself?"

"No! Why would you say that?" Sawyer laughed a little.

"Well you just said you fell off a cliff."

"I rolled down after I tripped. Over my feet."

Eura laughed and Sawyer rolled her eyes, as they approached the black bushes. She observed them closely. There was dark red liquid dripping from each of the thorns.

"Is that blood?" Eura frowned.

As they stared at the curious plant, the sun began to set. And rather quickly at that. An explosion of rainbow colors burst up from the horizon giving way to a darker sky that was already dotted in millions of stars.

"Let's get back to the plane," said Sawyer.

Eura nodded and followed after her into the dark jungle. The moon was full and covered more of the night sky than they were used to. Consequently, it cast the entire jungle in a hazy white glow giving the girls just enough light to see where they were walking. There were no real paths and neither of them had a good sense of direction. But they continued fighting through trees and brush that seemed to be moving all around them until they found the plane. And they wouldn't know that the only reason they made it safely was because Peter allowed it much to Felix's annoyance.

"You should've just let the jungle take care of them," Felix muttered, as the girls disappeared into the plane.

Peter said nothing to his tall, lean friend who wasn't a fan of strangers. Especially the kind he didn't understand. Then silently, he flew up into the night sky and Felix hesitated before going after him. Like Peter, these two new girls intrigued him. He just hoped they wouldn't be the downfall of Neverland or break Peter like the last girl who had come here.