Chapter 2.
Peter Pan didn't have magic until he came to Neverland. In this place you could do whatever you want, everything you desire. Soon, he discovered every kind of tricks on the island. He felt powerful, like a true ruler.
When he formed the group of the lost boys he knew he was a leader and they were his sidekicks. They would be loyal to him and he would guarantee them an eternity of youth and fun, they wouldn't turn into grumpy adults. But he also promised them a life full of joy, no more tears, freedom and they would never feel alone again.
So when everyone went to sleep, Pan scooted slowly so he wouldn't wake up anyone and sat beside Baelfire, who was dreaming peaceful lying on the grass.
Pan took from his pocket a wooden pipe. He leaned a little more, slightly touching Baelfire's ear. Then he started playing a sweet melody, kind of a lullaby. He felt a tingling in his fingertips. A signal that the magic was working.
Bae wriggled a little but he didn't wake up.
Peter started playing another tune, this one sounded gloomier and faster. Bae scowled and started panting.
"Papa...no...don't..." He murmured.
A mischievous smile appeared in Peter's face and the music stopped.
"Sweet dreams wimp."
He got up thinking that his plan was already in motion.
Meanwhile Baelfire was fighting a mental battle with himself. He knew something was wrong when some memories started flooded away. When he couldn't remember the Darling's dog name, or which one of the brothers, Michael or John, was the older one; he knew he was in trouble. Bae tried to hold on the images in his head. He didn't want to forget his life with the Darlings, or the good moments he spend with his papa before he turned into the Dark One, but he couldn't do anything else than stay dreaming while every person that ever loved him was erased from his life.
And as if nothing could get worse, he dreamed about the last memory he had of his papa. Something that he remembered with every single detail, at least he thought he did. The night his papa abandoned him.
He was again in the forest walking beside his papa, who keep him in a tight grip.
"Faster boy," he said with a raspy voice," I don't have all the night".
When his papa decide that they were in the right place, he took out a small blue bean.
"Papa, what's that?" Baelfire asked.
Rumpelstiltskin made an exaggerated smile that gave chills all over Baelfire's body.
"You know what they say about love son?"
"Yeah, that's the most powerful magic."
Rumple didn't respond him, he just laughed in a weird, creepy way. He threw the bean and it fell on the floor. A green tornado formed, and Baelfire´s eyes widen with amazement.
"What's happening?"
Rumple approached him cautiously and Bae stepped back with fear, the same way he did when he had become the Dark One.
"I need more power Bae," he said," but you don't want me to…because you're a coward and a selfish boy that doesn't want me to be happy."
"No! It's not like that." Bae replied. "But you don't need magic papa."
Rumple's eyes darkened.
"You're wrong." He pointed a finger at Bae. "I don't need you."
Then, he pushed Baelfire into the portal. Bae screamed and managed to grab a rock embedded in the ground.
"Papa please!" Bae cried. "Don't let me fall!"
Rumpelstiltskin kneel in front of Bae and took the hand that was grasping the rock.
"Papa…"
"I'm sorry son, but love is not power. Love is weakness."
And in that moment the Dark One let go his son's hand and watched him with a relieve smile as he transported into another world.
Baelfire wake up agitated, with beads of sweat running down his forehead. He felt his head ached, like if someone had just hit him with a brick. Bae tried to put his thoughts in order.
He was…in Neverland…after his papa… His papa had send him here because Bae was the only obstacle between him and the power he had always dream. He sent his only son to an unknown land.
He'd never wanted me, Bae thought, I should've expected that from him. After the curse he changed.
Power, power, it was always about power. He was starting to hate that stupid word.
Suddenly, he felt dizzy and sick so he put his hands on his temples, trying to calm down.
Peter saw him awake so he come closer to him. Smiling inside, he put the best concerned look he could.
"Hey Bae," he started, "are you alright?"
Baelfire wanted to say no, but he refused. The other boys already think of him like a good for nothing, he didn't need to be known as the baby who's scared of nightmares too.
"Yeah…" Bae murmured.
Peter frowned.
"You don't have to lie Bae. We´re your family now, you can trust us."
Bae felt weird. Something was wrong…but he couldn't tell what it was.
Well he has a point, Baelfire said in his mind, if I'm going to be here for the rest of my life…I have to trust him.
But a voice inside of his head told him to run away, to find a way back to his home. But papa didn't love him, it was his fault he was trapped here in the first place, and there was no one he knew that would take him. All of his friends in the Enchanted Forest were scared of Baelfire, Hook didn't care about him either. This was the only place he could settled down and start all over.
"I have a nightmare about my papa" he said in such a low voice that it was almost inaudible.
Peter raised his eyebrows.
Baelfire told Peter about his dream and he was surprise when Peter didn't mocking him about it.
"I know how you must feel" he told him. "My father abandoned me too, when I was little. That's why I created the lost boys. Because like the name say it, all of us feel lost, but here we don't have to worried about adults telling us what to do. Here, we´re free."
Bae started at his feet, a little ashamed. He had been such a jerk with all of them, just because he was mad at his papa and Hook. But well, they hit him when he refused to stay…so maybe they´re in a truce.
Peter patted him on his back.
"Why don't you join the others?" Peter suggested. "Maybe you would feel better."
Bae nodded and walked with the lost boys. They were dancing and playing handmade instruments. At first, Baelfire was reluctantly. Why they would accept him now? But again, he was surprised when they welcomed him with open arms.
What he didn't know was that Peter already told them to treat Bae like one of them, and who didn't was going to be punished. They didn't argue, because they knew that the only rule was to obey their leader, and the lost boys didn't want to make Peter angry.
That afternoon, Bae went to visit Tinkerbell. At first, they ate fruits that the fairy had collected, and they started talking about silly things. Tinkerbell noticed that Bae was happier than usual and was smiling constantly, maybe he was getting used to the life of a lost boy, but she didn't want him to turn in one of them. They were violent, anarchist and cold hearted. She knew Bae was better than that.
"Why don't you tell me more about the Darling," she asked him.
Bae frowned.
"Who?"
Tinkerbell blinked confused.
"Your family." Bae kept looking at her like she was crazy. "Wendy, Michael, John."
"Tink, I don't know anyone with those names."
"But…but…you said you came here because of the shadow" she insisted", that you did it because you wanted to save their family."
Bae scratched his head awkwardly, and his eyes darkened.
"Tink, I told you that my papa sent me here by a magic portal because he didn't wanted me."
Tinkerbell knew that someone had made something to Bae, but she knew that it was better to keep quiet until she found out what was happening.
"Yeah…I remember…maybe I got confused."
Bae sensed her hesitation.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, of course."
But she wasn't.
