Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time
Chapter 7: Right in the middle
"Catch," Pan orders before throwing me an apple. I easily do as I'm told, glancing at it curiously, and then locking my eyes with his again.
"What is this for?"
"Today begins your training to become a Lost Girl. We are starting with a kind of game, a really fun game." He then shows me a finely-carved wooden crossbow, and I swallow hard at his next words. "I call it target practice."
Pan clearly wants to play this game so he can know my abilities, so he can know what his new possession is capable of doing. But should I be worried if he finds out how good I am with the bow? He couldn't want me more than he already does, and target practice actually sounds kind of fun.
"What's that?" I asks cautiously, referring to the black liquid in a flask he is now dipping the point of the arrow into.
"Dream Shade," he replies, preparing the crossbow and delicately placing the arrow on it. I raise an eyebrow at that but say nothing, already knowing that Pan has creative ways of making his games more interesting. But, surprisingly, I actually kind of like his idea; it gives the game a spicier taste. "It's a nasty poison. Felix! Get over here."
He then offers me the crossbow and, with a dramatic roll of my eyes, I take it. He doesn't know how much I miss shooting. Pan hands the apple to Felix, who gives a few steps back and then places the fruit on his head. I already know what Pan expects me to do, and I'm sort of looking forward to it.
I was never going to get along with Felix. That much was made clear after our first encounter, when he dragged me towards Pan so that I could meet him. I've been trying my best to avoid him for the past two months, though without much success. We stay at opposite corners of the camp, but even then we find ourselves constantly exchanging icy glares.
Pan seems to be aware of this, though he hasn't done much to stop it other than starting conversation to distract me. I'm not entirely sure if he understands how much we dislike each other. Maybe he underestimates it and thinks it would never actually come down to anything serious, or if there's a sadistic part of him that actually wants our hatred to grow with time, ending up in the two of us fighting each other to death. When it comes to Pan, I wouldn't be surprised. He must've put that apple on Felix's head because he knew the way I felt, and it's why it sends a thrill of excitement through me that he is the one standing there, more than it would were anybody else my target.
"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" The Lost Boys shout around us in coordination.
"You won't hit him," says Pan. Oh, I'm sure I won't. "Go on. Its exhilarating."
Felix places the apple on his head and gives me a daring look, which tempts me even more to do what his leader is telling me to. Pan then silences the crowd with a movement of his hand, and they all fall quiet at the same time.
I glare at Pan, and then arrange the crossbow so that it's pointing in Felix's direction. He is so close, such an easy target, I only have to hold the crossbow in it's position for a quarter of a second before releasing the arrow. I then lower the crossbow so as to see how the arrow has landed exactly in the middle of the apple, piercing it against a tree trunk behind Felix.
I glance at a smirking Pan, who is wearing a disarming grin and a broad smile merged into one.
"Didn't know you could handle a crossbow so well." I give the object back to him, and I can't help but smirk too. Pan doesn't even bother to hide how pleased he is. I know how to defend myself without magic, though he hasn't seen anything yet. This was way too easy compared to what I can really do. He gives a step closer to me and gently passes the back of his hand over my cheek. "It's amazing how you keep surprising me, Zoe."
I catch Felix glaring at me, and I can't resist the urge to do the same.
I hate Pan way more than Felix, however, unless I'm planning on entering a suicide mission, I know I can't fight Pan. But when it comes to Felix...well, that's different. I've been in the streets, homeless, for a long time when I was younger, so I pretty much know how to fight without my magic if I need to.
So I've been wondering for far too long if I can take Felix down, though I've managed to ignore the temptation of trying it out because I don't know which side Pan would take if the fight were to actually happen. On one hand, I am his precious girl with the rare gift of having a mix or dark and light magic –which he says he will need eventually –but Felix is his second in command and, although he has no magic and is far less useful than I am, at least he is extremely loyal to Pan.
But, as the days go by, I find myself caring less and less about what Pan would think if I beat Felix up.
"I have to go now," Pan whispers in my ear. "I got some business to attend." He releases me and backs away, walking towards his second-in-command and saying something to him I can't quite catch before disappearing into the trees. I release a breath I hadn't even realized I had been holding, and shaking out the tension in my muscles, walk towards an edge of the camp. Pan is leaving me alone for the first time since we made our deal, and I can't see a better moment to visit Bae.
Bae. I miss the boy so much it actually hurts, and I'm worried that if I don't see him soon he might do something stupid like show up in camp in an attempt to rescue me like he did before.
I then see Felix sauntering towards me, stopping where he could reach and touch me if he wanted to.
"Pan told me to look after you while he is away," he says with his usual monotonous voice. "So just do the two of us a favor and don't try to escape."
"Was that an order or a request?" I ask taunting, my tone playful.
Felix sighs as if he is already tired of me, though I can tell he not going to let this go.
"You can take it the way you want. Is one of the few things you are still free to do these days...thinking for yourself. Enjoy it while you can, because that ability will be far gone when Pan is done with you."
I laugh bitterly at that. I can't help myself. "You think I will become, what? Pan's puppet?"
"Well, that's exactly what he wants; to have you and your precious power under his grip to do as he pleases." Felix walks closer to me, but I stay standing where I am, refusing to back down even as his breath sends a shiver of disgust up my spine. "And trust me when I tell you, Peter Pan never fails."
"There's a first time for everything," I challenge. I know I'm right. I follow no ones orders but my own, and Pan will never succeed in taking that away from me, but the intensity in Felix's eyes makes me doubt myself the slightest bit. "He won't mold me into a weapon."
"We'll see," is all Felix says, but it's enough to send another shiver up my spine. This one out of fear.
"We don't all turn up like you, Felix." I snap, venom in every word. That makes Felix stutter.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, you know. The way Pan controls everything you do, and you are so broken in the inside that either you don't see it or, worse, you don't even care." I know I hit a nerve when Felix comes dangerously close to me, his smirk transformed into a straight line.
"You have to know that, if you weren't under Pan's protection..." he places his hands around my neck, and this time without fear, I let him. I know that as much as he wants to he can't squeeze it, and that can be more frustrating than any of my witty comebacks could ever be. "I wouldn't hesitate to crack that pretty neck of yours."
"But you'll never have the chance, will you?" I take a few steps back without losing his gaze, making his hands fall numbly at his sides. "And it's all because of your precious leader."
"Even if I did it, Pan would never hurt me." He reassures me, though there's an edge in his voice he can't quite hide, and that only makes my smirk widen.
"Are you completely sure of that? Because you seem really worried that I will escape from the camp. You know what? Maybe I will do it just to see him spill some blood, use you as an example to make the others realize who he really is." I'm just bluffing, of course, because escaping would break my deal with Pan. And then Bae would be in danger again. But Felix doens't know that. "He doesn't care about any of his Lost Boys, and that includes you."
"Shut up! Just shut up!" He raises his voice, which calls every Lost Boy's attention. After a few seconds, they have already gathered in a circle around us, hoping to be witnesses of how this will play out. "You will stay right here under my supervision."
"Or what? What will you do, Felix? Hurt me?" I know I'm getting to him now, and the anger flashing intensely in his eyes should make me stop, but I can't. Because Pan is clearly not an option, and Felix is the second in line to release my anger at. Back in the Enchanted Forest, I used to be known for my ability to get inside people's heads, but I only went there to amuse myself. Pan has always been extremely hard to read, but Felix is an open book.
"I could do it," he says, and I know but the determined tone in his voice that he is not just bluffing anymore. He means it. "Pan would hardly blame me for that if it was the only way to stop you."
"Well then, if you really are so sure you can take me down, prove it." I challenge.
"With pleasure." Felix then pushes me towards the nearest tree trunk, and I purse my lips to hold back a hiss of pain from the impact. His knife is already against my thoat, and his eyes are filled with hatred and anger like I've never seen before. He slices it gently, forming a shallow, though large cut that makes me close my eyes for a second to help me deal with the pain. I hear the Lost Boys gasp in surprise.
Good. Let them see Felix for who he really is.
"Not so smug now, huh?" He whispers in my ear, his head so close to mine I can feel his cool breath against me. It is then when I can't stand it anymore, which leads me to reach out for his knife and grab it so fast he can only stare at me in shock as I bury it into his chest, in a place I know he won't die but it will still hurt like hell.
He backs down, his eyes wide-opened in surprise, and then quivers and moans loudly in pain. "You son of a bitc-" He starts calling me offensive names as he gets down on his knees, the pain making it impossible for him to remain standing. My head turns to the Lost Boys, who look as shocked as Felix was a few seconds ago and are actually backing away now instead of helping Pan's second-in-command.
Felix grips the knife and drags it out of his skin, dropping it on the floor with a loud hiss of pain. If I don't take off now, I never will. So, taking a deep breath, I force my body to turn around and run away from the camp, knowing that if I stayed there for one more second then things would've gotten worse. Much worse.
As I keep on running, all I can think about is how would Pan react when he find out about this.
No good, I take it.
Hey guys! I hoped you liked this chapter :) Now pleeease review!
