The morning was crisp that day. The sun had rose high into the sky, obliterating past the cloud cover which had come the previous evening. Regina sat at the coffee table as she took small sips from her cup. "Even in that damn box and in Never land, Pan is still giving me trouble." she growled. She had spent the greater part of the last evening comforting her son... it still felt strange to say that. She had had Henry for so many years that it was strange to think that she now had someone else.
And yet... she loved James all the same.
Back in the home lands. Maleficent had been Regina's only friend and now... She was the only mother that James had.
She took a deep sigh as she tapped her fingers on the wood rhythmically. She had watched as James had returned yesterday just outside library. At first she had simply thought he was still looking around but then he had stood on his tip toes and kissed the air as though there had been someone there. She knew something was going on.
How had he got into the library anyway? It was impossible!
Only one person knew about this town that much, or about what was down in that cave. Rumple had been one of the very few who could have known about it; Hook, herself and Henry who had found her once sneaking down into the cave to check on Maleficent.
Pan must have stumbled onto it when he had switched bodies with Henry... that little... she snarled slightly and scoffed before taking a longer sip of her drink. She almost didn't notice when James walked into the kitchen still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he yawned. He was dressed only in his pyjama trousers and had that jacket wrapped around his shoulders.
Regina smiled slightly, at the cute way he yawned and took his seat. It was adorable. He could see it in his face. The pale blond hair. The way his indecisive eyes would change from a soft blue to an emerald green. As changing as his mother had been. But being his mother's son meant that he had something in his blood. Something that she would have to teach him about sooner or later... before it could consume him.
Her eyes lingered on the jacket as her thoughts lingered.
Or before it could be used by the wrong pair of hands.
What did Pan want with her son...
James on the other hand, although extremely tired both physically and mentally from the previous day's ordeal felt his heart kindled. He had spent most the night crying filled with guilt and deep regret. Cursing himself for every foul word he had ever mentioned about his mother. He pulled his jacket tighter around himself as a small smile made its way onto his humble face. He closed his eyes remembering the way that those arms had felt around him every time he had stumbled in the cave...
That cave.
He closed his eyes as he took a seat and remembered seeing what was left of his Mother. "What are you up to today?" Regina said casually. He had actually a great intention for that day. He was first going to visit his mother in the cave then he had some business at one of the local stores... and of course there was that note.
But still... after yesterday and a night of crying. His heart had been yearning to see his mother again. The way she had acted yesterday... must have meant there was still something left of her deep down. Right? There had to be. The way she reacted when she saw him. She had stopped attacking Peter at the sight of her son... there must be something left of her.
Now he just had to find a way to bring her back. And he had a pretty good idea how he would be able to do that.
His hand slipped instinctively into his pocket as he felt the still wax sealed golden parchment. He would have to talk to Peter about that. "I have a few things to do around the town." He said softly slowly looking up at her. His eyes widened as he looked at a few folded pieces of blue paper in her hand. "Are those?"
"Yeah." she smiled brightly as she looked at him. "I got them this morning."
"You didn't hang around... almost like magic." He grinned slightly and looked up at her. She on the other hand turned slightly pale before correcting her body manner. "No one deserves to be alone." she whispered before pulling out a pen and signed the documents elegantly before putting them down.
"I'm sure my mother would be happy..." He smiled truly before running over and hugging Regina tightly who laughed having a sparkle in her eye.
"Are you going to the library?" She stated bluntly and his eyes widened as he looked over her shoulder towards her face which was shielded. If that's all she wanted to know, why didn't she just ask him that?
"You know you don't have to tip toe around me." James whispered as he sat next to her and took her hands. "You're my mother now, you can ask me anything just as much as I can talk to you about anything." He beamed and Regina sighed before ruffling his hair.
"You don't even want to know how I knew where you were going?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Does it matter? You were probably just trying to look out for me." He shrugged before taking a light sigh and looking down at the table. "I'm going to the library then I'm going to meet a friend."
"Be careful." Regina stated as James left the room to change.
When he came back he was in his usual Nike shorts and a polo shirt with that jacket around his shoulders tightly. This time something else rested around his neck it was a small wooden necklace which rested on the hollow of his throat while the charm was held by no chain but simply on a piece of black silk. It had obviously been delicately carved and worked on... but the shape worried her.
It was the shape of some pan pipes.
James just smiled naively as he turned to walk out the door. "Don't worry. Maleficent won't hurt me."
"That's not the part I want you to be careful with." she whispered after he had left.
What ever Pan was up to.
She would find out.
So with that she set out to go to Gold's shop.
-Break-
The cave was still as cold as James remember as the elevator shaft opened and he slowly stepped out of it. Everything seemed... neater. His eyes looked over the whole place and he found it wasn't just his imagination. The pile of ruble which had been there yesterday was gone. The path had been smoothed out and the walls evened so no lose rock could fall and hit him. Every pot hole was neatly covered or had a deliberate path indicating a way around it.
It couldn't have been... but...
Had his mother cleaned up for his arrival?
Even the tunnel seemed shorter this time as he stepped out. Instead of an intense drop the cliff gently sloped out into a bank which proceeded to the bottom of the cave. Could it really have been his mother who had done all of this?
He looked around cautiously as he lit a small candle and put it down to rest on the ground. "Mother?" He said softly. "I kept my promise. I'm back, just as I said."
A cold breeze passed through the cave slowly as some rocks began to roll together.
"Mother." James whispered and watched as slowly the lone skeleton began to reform. The worn skin tied over the bones. The red silk that cascaded from her shoulders was now pulled over her head. The only thing of her face which could be seen were the splendid golden horns.
A soft tone slowly made it's way out of Maleficent as she floated forward and got on her knees slowly with her son. Jack tried looking at her face but every time he did, bony hands would either pull the cloak further around her face or turn his gaze away slightly. Then she looked at the necklace Peter had given him. She grew slightly uneasy before reaching out and wrapping her hand around it. James gently took her hands in his. "It's okay." She shook her head and moved her gaze away from him as she did when he was to close to her face.
She was ashamed of how she looked...
He would then look at the ground with a sigh. "Mother I know you're in there somewhere." He searched into the darkness of her face as he finally met the empty gaze.
"She's not, James..." The boy looked up in time to see Peter lent against the wall of the cave. He avoided James' gaze as he felt an intruder on this moment. "I'm sorry James but there is nothing left of her."
"But... she recognizes me." James turned back to her as she pulled her cloak protectively around him and rested the faded material against his head.
"James. She is just an echo of herself. The reason she is not dust is because of-"
"Magic." James said coldly as he slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out the golden note. His mother seemed to shift uncomfortably at seeing it before she reached out and ran her hands over it.
"You have to open it sometime." Peter said as he sat and lent his head against the cool rocks.
"Who says?"
"Curiosity." Peter's gaze became slightly harder as he looked over. "It's the same reason why you will ask me a question soon. The urge to know is like a itch. It won't be satisfied to you deal with it." Peter looked over at the boy. All the while he was talking to James he was also addressing himself. He stared at James' slightly rouge lips... lips like faded blood.
James however was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. This cave made him feel... intimidated. He could feel the magic in the air, It was sweet with a bitter bite. All the while he was urging it to fill him. His body felt as though it was desperate to reach out to it. "I want to learn magic." he whispered.
"And there's it is." Peter nodded. He frowned slightly.
"You can't exactly hate magic." James looked at him. Peter was just like this cave. He could feel the magic radiate from the boy. The intense aura which dominated the area when he was around.
"I once grew into an adult." Peter nodded. "But then I used magic and wiped it all away. All those countless years growing old... it felt as though I had never grown past this." He looked down at himself. "Eternally youthful." He sighed. "But eternity means nothing if you have no one to be with."
"You're real picky... you know that?" James grinned. He turned back to his mother and sighed softly. "I have to go. I will be back again in the morning."
Maleficent let out a soft scream before she slowly began to crumble away.
James slightly at Peter before he walked past and stood in the elevator shaft. "James?" Peter frowned slightly.
"Do you know... What it's like to have hope ripped away from you?" The soft green eyes had become a sharp blue as they glared at him.
"Then why would you take mine away from me."
"You want to use magic to bring her back from the dead don't you." Peter said bluntly as he stood and walked over. James lowered his gaze behind his hair as it fell over his eyes. "James, magic doesn't work that way. There are rules-"
"Rules?!" James snapped as he glared up at the boy. "We're in a town which was the result of a curse from my mother-"
"Maleficent cast the curse?"
"No. Regina."
"Regina?!" Peter frowned increased. "James... stay away from her."
It came as a surprise when James turn. His eyes were glowing faintly and for a few seconds Peter thought he saw lines of scales moving across the boy's face. "You have a problem with my mother to?"
"When." Peter stated, eager to change the topic and slate the boy's anger.
"This morning. Regina signed the adoption forms."
"James..." Peter rolled his eyes and walked into the elevator shaft, closing the doors behind them.
"Hang on... you're questioning my actions... you?" James folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. He slowly walked forward and placed his hand on the side of Peter's face as he looked into his eyes with a grin. "You really are just a boy. You did erase your adult safe."
"I told you." Peter growled. "Once and always a boy. A king. You could be my queen." A sly smile moved onto his lips as the elevator rose.
"Why would I leave now?" James slowly pressed his body against Peter's. The grin becoming more confident as he watched the blush move on the older boy's cheeks. "I have Regina."
"Think James." Peter frowned slightly as he took his stance. A dark grin moving across his face. "Come on. Use that smart head. You're mother is down there dead. Okay, yeah, maybe she tried to save you... but, all this time... I wonder what your father was doing?" Peter knew he had scored a point as the younger boy became still. "So your father... abandoned you and in a way... your mother did also by sending you to this land."
"Shut up."
"Yeah sure she may have been saving you... but she burdened you with a weight on your shoulders and called it love." Peter stopped as a fist punched into his face and the boy fell back against the metal grating before two hands grabbed the collar of his tunic.
"I just want to... I want to..." James glared up at the blue eyes. For a while Peter thought he was going to punch him but then soon began to realise that look in James' eyes.
It was the same on in his.
He spun and pinned James back instead as his fingers began to crawl through the soft, pale blond mess. "Will you be my lost boy?" He whispered. His hand slowly traced gently up James' neck and circled the soft black silk which was tight around the boy, almost like a collar. He grinned slightly at that thought. Yeah, James was his lost boy and no one would take him away.
James however was beginning to get impatient as he looked up at the boy. "Depends... does that mean you will kiss me or not!" he snapped then stopped as Peter lent forward and slowly their lips joined.
James found it weird at first. The way that they both seemed to sink into it before his arms locked around Peter's neck. He pushed deeper into the kiss and Peter obliged more than willingly as slowly James felt his tongue seek entrance into his mouth and James bowed down to the control.
He almost growled if he could of as they broke apart. His eyes were half closed as his tongue rested slightly on his lower lip as he slowly got the air back into his lungs. A thin line of Saliva that connected their lips broke and Peter put his hand next to the boy's head as he leaned forward and grinned slightly. "Don't stay with them. Come with me."
"Take me on a date." James stated slowly regaining his thoughts. "Then we will talk." James winked slightly then ran out the elevator as the door opened. A playful smile worked it's way onto his face and Peter couldn't help but grin.
"Oh this boy doesn't play well." He soon ran after him.
-Break-
After a few hours of getting chased by Peter, a few make out sessions and a long walk on the beach. James knew he had to get down to his final business. He had to check out that store. He had heard many things about the store... and even more things about 'The dark one'. He looked up slowly at the store. Every instinct in his body was telling him to run. Mr Gold... James grinned slightly as he pushed open the door and came to a dead stop as he saw a woman with dark hair in a expensive looking business suit. "Mom?" He frowned slightly. "What are you doing here?"
"I would ask you the same thing." She smiled before holding her arms out in a hug which James ran into mirroring her smile. "What are you doing here?" She raised her eyebrow slightly but still her eyes sparkled. "I thought you were with your...'friend'." She grinned slightly as she said it.
"Mom!" He groaned quietly.
"Don't worry, I won't pry... but I want him around for dinner sooner or later... but anyway, we digress." She looked back at him. She could feel the magic aura which surrounded him. It was like being stood by a BBQ in the summer for to long; you soon begin to smell of smoke and right now. She could smell her own magic on him but beneath the cover of her own magic... she could sense something.
James shuffled his feet slightly as he avoided her gaze. "How was your Mom?" She asked softly, wondering if that was why the boy was acting so strange.
"I thought we agreed not to tip toe around each other." She took a seat on a stool by the cash point. As James gazed around he finally got to take in the details of the place. The large glass counters full of strange jewels and items. The faded paint on the walls and the lock cabinets. It all seemed befitting of this place. "Mom..." He looked up slowly. "I want to learn magic." He whispered.
"Really?" She looked at him slowly as though he had just dropped from the sky. She had offered Henry to teach him magic and she had eventually had to teach Emma... but teaching James? Could it really be that dangerous...?
"Yeah." James nodded and slowly looked towards the book case.
"James... what do you know of me... before the curse?"
"Not much." He said truthfully. "Except for what ever reason, everyone here doesn't seem to fully trust you."
"Because..." she sighed and looked at him. "I cast the curse."
A dark pause grew between them before James grabbed a stool and sat next to her. He didn't seem angry or anything. He just looked into her eyes and said softly. "Why?"
"I wanted happiness... No matter the cost was at. I though the curse was my solution. But it was not what I needed to fill the hole in my heart."
"You lost someone." James looked into her eyes.
"Yes. My fiancée." She paused. "For a while I thought magic was the solution to getting him back." She knew as she spoke that her words were hurting James. It was more than obvious what his main reason for wanting to learn magic was. "But magic does not work that way." She sighed and watched as the boy puts his hands together and rested his chin on them as he went deep into his thoughts.
"I want to be better than her." He finally whispered.
Regina's eyes widened slightly as she looked at him. "What?"
"I want. To be. Better than her." James finally decided. He looked up at Regina. "You're no wicked Queen... not any more. You're my mother." James slowly stood. "I want you to teach me everything."
"Once you learn it all, there's no going back from it." Regina said. "Are you sure?"
"More sure than I have ever been in my entire life." James whispered.
"Well then..." Regina slowly stood as she picked up a pile of books from across the counter. "Let's get started."
"Where is gold?" James looked around finally noticing there was no signs of the man.
"He's... preoccupied." Regina decided was the best choice of words. "Now come on." She smiled softly and left the store.
"As you wish." James nodded and followed in her foot steps obediently.
Neither noticed the figure lurking in the shadows watching them.
So here's chapter four. Worked through my breaks at college to get this finished for today and I worked most of evening to get some ideas ready for the next chapter. But, no reviews? *sad face* Aw. Anyway, I was halfway through this chapter when I thought of something. I was going to make a music video for Peter and James but I got wondering... what would their song be? Leave a review with which song you thought and why and I may make it into the music video. Anyway, again hope you all enjoyed this chapter. But I wonder? Will James take up Peter's offer to go with him? Who was the figure watching them? Hmm. Find out in the next chapter which should be up within a week. Until then.
