A/N: Check this out, chapter 10! Yay! Apologies for making you wait so long. I cannot believe how popular this story has become. You might not think it by the amount of reviews per chapter, BUT the amount of VIEWS are impressive. Thank you all so much for reading. A special thanks to all the new followers. You reminded me that there are readers out there who like this story and want to read more. That inspired me to keep going.
Not long after Felix had rejoined the lost boys, he had felt himself grow weary. Quicker than usual one might say. On any other night it took him a while to catch his sleep. Here in Neverland there was a lot that could keep you up; sorrows, regrets, strange noises in the night. However, before Felix could even begin to question his acute lethargy, the slumber overtook him and his body slumped down to the ground.
Once he finally awoke, the first thing he saw was the rest of the lost boys. All neatly tied up, sitting in little groups of three or four. Felix tried to move his arms, but he couldn't, finding he was also bound with rope. He scanned the compound some more and who should he find sitting across the clearing from him, but the mermaid. With her legs. Anger welled up inside him. She was supposed to be dead. And her tail. All his fine work. Gone. He fixated his gaze on her, murdering her with his eyes.
It was as though she could feel his hatred assaulting her, because her eyes, wide with fear and abhorrence, shifted in his direction abruptly. Even from afar he could make out her trembling, though she attempted to hide it. A lazy grin slowly tugged on his lips, which made him look positively disturbed.
Ariel had a difficult time controlling her breathing. That boy being so close to her, within reach to... hurt her. She felt no longer safe or comfortable. Not even with Hook and Tinkerbell nearby. Flashes of Felix hovering over her, tightening that rope kept appearing before her mind's eye. Subconsciously her hand traveled to her neck caressing it softly.
All the while their wordless exchange was witnessed by Hook from a distance. When he looked back at Ariel one more time her demeanor had changed from relaxed to anxious and Hook decided to put a stop to Felix's intimidations. He walked over to him and seized him forcefully by his cloak.
"You're lucky I haven't buried my hook inside your heart yet, boy."
"Look who's still alive..." Felix drawled, appearing underwhelmed by Hook's threat. "But, you know as well as I do, Captain, you won't be for long," he nodded his head towards Ariel, "and neither will she."
Hook closed the space between them further. "Are you threatening her?" he growled.
Felix let out a derisive laugh. "Oh don't tell me you actually care about the dirty little fish. Moved on from the saviour already?" He could see that with each word he spoke he angered the pirate more and more. He leaned in for good measure and hushed his tone. "Once Pan's absorbed every single last bit of magic in Neverland, he will rip her to shreds and make you watch while he does it."
Hook let out a gutteral roar and pushed the boy back to a seating position before bringing down his hook, ready to shut him up for good. The hook was about an inch away from reaching its destination, when out of nowhere he felt an arm block his own, preventing him from tearing Felix's guts out.
"Hook!" Tinkerbell yelled to snap him out of his rage. "He's not worth it, let it go."
Felix paused to turn his attention to her, not in the least bit offended by being deemed unworthy. "Don't think he's forgotten about you, traitor."
Tinkerbell refused to let her unease show, so she covered it up with a vicious sneer. "Come on." she said to Hook, who yanked his arm out of her grasp. "Why did you stop me? He deserves to die."
"He can die another day, Hook. Right now we have more important things to consider."
"Such as what?" he challenged.
Tinkerbell said nothing, she merely turned around to look at Ariel then back at Hook, raising her eyebrows pointedly. Hook looked at Ariel. He almost killed someone in front of her. That was probably the last thing she needed to see. Besides, he didn't want to frighten her by showing this rather dark side of him. He'd done enough to scare her away already.
To Hook's surprise, but also relief, she looked more curious than frightened when he approached her. It was something at least. Her smile was still laced with insecurity, but she no longer seemed to fear him. When he came to a stop in front of her, she looked up at him expectantly.
A boyish smile crept up on Hook's face. He scratched the back of his head, feeling rather awkward and undetermined about where to go from here.
"How you holding up love?," he finally said as he placed himself on the tree stump right next to her.
"Oh, I'm alright," Ariel replied, looking down to the ground and giving the impression that everything most certainly was not alright. How could it be? After what she's had to endure.
A long silence fell between them. Neither knowing what to say or if to speak up at all. It was Hook who couldn't bear the silence any longer. When the silence between them became too much for him to handle, he simply blurted out exactly what he'd been wanting to say to her from the moment he found out she was here on the island.
"Ariel, I am so sorry."
The words came out in such a way that Ariel had to wonder if he was apologizing for himself or Felix. Or possibly all of it.
"Y.. you don't have to explain."
"But I do," Hook insisted. "My behaviour was... unforgivable."
As much as Ariel wished she could argue with that, she couldn't. But then why did she feel this overbearing need to put his mind and heart at ease? For a moment, she examined him, she looked deep into his eyes. There he was. The man she had saved. He was still in there whether he knew it or not.
Ariel moved her hand over to his hook, showing him she wasn't afraid and that she understood he hadn't meant to harm her.
"I forgive you," she uttered softly.
"You what? Why? You saved me and I rewarded you by trying to kill you." The disbelief at her kindness was clearly visible on his face.
"Because..." Yes... Why was she forgiving him so easily? Ariel wasn't entirely sure that even she understood it. She just knew that some matters were best left up to the heart instead of the mind. "Because I want to. Everyone deserves a second chance. Besides, I don't think you intended to cause me pain," a warm smile appeared on her beautiful features, "I never did."
Hook still sat there. Silent as ever. Attempting to make sense of her motivations. All this time he had been worried she wouldn't even hear him out. He stared into her eyes, looking for his answer. Her heart. That was his answer. It was pure despite everything's she's been through. She never let any of it taint her spirit or bring her down. Her heart stayed as pure as ever. Such amazing strength she must possess to remain as kind and forgiving as she was to him, after Pan had virtually crushed her mind, body and soul.
Instantly he felt a strong desire to kiss her, but he contained himself and simply sat with her a while longer. They had just gotten a bit closer, he did not wish to scare her off now by acting like... a pirate.
"You are a good man Killian," Ariel concluded.
And just like that, the tension was back. The comfort they had shared evaporated. Hook's lips formed a thin line and shadows seemed to dance around in his eyes. Each and every one of his past misdeeds came flooding back to him. If she only knew.
He looked down to his hook and her delicate fingers resting on top of it. She had no idea of the violence that hook had been a part of. No idea at all that his darkest days had been spent in service of the very monster who had had her tortured and was now manipulating an innocent boy into giving up his heart so that he could live. The memories made him feel sick.
He jerked his arm away from Ariel, a little more forcefully than he intended, and stood up.
"I'm not a good man, love," he replied with a dark expression on his face.
Ariel watched him go. She was confused, and somehow, slightly hurt that he had pushed her away. Again. Had she said something wrong? Why did he suddenly act so cold? But before she could gather the answer to either one of those questions, another person sat down next to her. It was Wendy Darling.
"Hi..." the small girl tentatively uttered.
"Oh hello," Ariel smiled kindly. She waited for Wendy to speak up again and reveal the reason why she had come over, but she only carried on staring at the ground. "That was a very brave thing you did."
Wendy's eyes darted towards the mermaid in surprise. A shy smile tugged at her lips "I don't feel very brave."
Ariel nodded her head gently. She could understand that. It was hard to feel brave when you've been terrorized by an individual such as Pan. She shuddered to think what it must have been like to endure it for years.
"To go against Pan's wishes..." Wendy sighed, leaving her sentence unfinished. "It's never a very good idea to come back to Neverland once you've found a way to escape it," she noted sadly. The wistfulness in her voice said more than words ever could. "I suppose more than a few of us have found that out the hard way."
Ariel noticed that Wendy's eyes had shifted to her legs. Her gift and curse at the same time. She let her hand glide over them softly. "It's the price," Ariel whispered. Wendy furrowed her eyebrows and was about to ask what she meant when, she explained.
"The pain is the price I have to pay. For wanting something more than I could have."
"No, it was Pan," Wendy immediately protested. She knew all about his manipulative ways. It broke her heart to see yet another person fall prey to his devious ways. "This is his doing."
"Then maybe I'm being punished for betraying friends. I'm bearing the consequences of my betrayal. If I hadn't told Pan about the box, things would have gone according to plan and everyone would be living happily ever after."
"And what about you? What would have become of you?" Wendy stressed. "You did not betray anyone, you did your best to help them, but Pan... sometimes, to survive, you have to do as he says. No one blames you Ariel."
The girl took hold of Ariel's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Two sets of tear filled eyes locked, sharing an expression of compassion.
Additional A/N: Yes, I have decided. I WILL keep Pan alive, mainly because it'd be a great challenge for me to write. A lot of things came forth from Pan's death and so lot of things are going to have to change when I keep him around. Now with that decision, comes a whole set of other decisions that need to be made, like do I redeem him or keep him evil and what about Zelena... I think I'm gonna have to do some brainstorming soon. ;)
PS. Because of school, updates will be slower, but I promise I won't abandon any of my stories. You guys have been amazingly supportive and I cannot tell you how much that means to me.