Lila and Ace made their way back to Lila's room, nodding at the few people who have begun coming out of their homes. Most of the people were strangers to her, but every once in a while she felt a flicker of recognition. Lila never really stayed anywhere long enough to really get to know people, but she had been so many places that she had at least seen many residents of Storybrooke before the curse.
Ace held the door to the bed and breakfast open for her, snickering as she made a face at him.
"Glad to see you're feeling better."
Lila scoffed and made her way upstairs with Ace following closely behind. Lila fumbled with her key, pushing it into the lock and jiggling the door handle. As she pushed the door open she heard a weird noise. As she fully entered the room she gaped at Charlie, who was jumping up and down on the bed.
"Charlie!"
The boy froze midair and fell, legs crossed, on the bed.
"Uh...Hi."
Lila stood there with her hands on her hips, glaring at Charlie, a smile playing on her lips.
"What do you think you're doing little boy?"
Charlie grinned impishly and shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't do anything."
Ace ran past Lila and grabbed Charlie, pushing him onto the bed. The kid squirmed and laughed as Ace tickled him while Lila leaned across the door frame, shaking with laughter. Suddenly the two boy rolled off the bed, jerking Lila out of her laughing fit.
"Are you guys OK?"
She crept over to the other side of the bed and gasped as both of them tackled her to the ground. She giggled violently as Charlie tickled her feet while Ace held her arms above her head so she couldn't swat him away.
"Get off me! I'm serious guys, get off!"
A loud knocking at the door caused the two to get off of her. A voice yelled at them from outside of their room.
"Keep it down in there!"
"Sorry," Lila called back, barely keeping her laughter in. She heard faint grumbling outside and footsteps retreating. The three of them stood in silence for a few seconds until Lila began shaking with suppressed laughter. Ace stared at her, his glasses hanging off of one ear. Charlie giggles uncontrollably. Finally all three of them fell onto the bed, unable to stop laughing.
The first thing Lila heard was incoherent whispering echoing through what sounded like a very large room. She struggled to open her eyes, finally able to crack them open slightly. Though her vision was still blurry she was able to make out shadows of people and cots lining the whole room. She groaned softly, drawing the attention of a nearby shadow. The shadow, an old, plump woman, turned to Lila and placed her hand gently on her shoulder.
"Don't try to get up, dear. The poison did you no favors."
Lila leaned away from the woman, gasping as her side exploded in pain. Clicking her tongue, the woman pulled up the white shirt Lila was wearing, inspecting the claw wound in her side.
"What did I tell you?" She picked up a bowl and cloth from a nearby table and took off the bandage covering the marks. Lila glanced down and bit her cheek to prevent herself from throwing up. The wound was dark green with a strange yellow substance oozing out of it.
"W...what happened? Where am I? Who are you...I don't"
"Slow down, Child. You're safe. I'm sure you'll remember what happened in a bit. And you can call me Nan...everyone does." The woman smiled kindly as she dipped the cloth in the bowl and placed it on her wound. Lila bit her lip and glared at Nan, who only shook her head.
"Don't give me that look, Young Lady. Without this you would have died hours ago."
"Hours.." Lila's eyes widened. "How long have I been out?"
"All night. You slept like a babe." Nan patted Lila's head. "Seems like you needed the rest."
Lila pulled away again, the pain in her side subsiding. She covered her face with her hands and took a deep, shuddering breath. Suddenly, everything flooded back. Lila sat up, but was forced to lay back down because of a splinting headache.
"The lion! The people...are they OK? Is anyone hurt? The woman...I..." She clenched her fist as she remember the woman's words. "She...she... UGH."
Lila punched her cot, ignoring her pain. Nan just stared at her, a worried look in her eyes.
"Calm down." She glanced over her shoulder, where two shadows still stood whispering. Mumbling, she turned back towards Lila. "That boy better get over here quick."
"What boy? Oh you mean..."
"Good morning, sunshine."
Lila glared at the Prince, who had made his way over to her, trailed by a nervous looking man tapping his thigh impatiently.
"Oh shut up."
Nan glanced from Lila to Jackson, her hand covering her heart. "Goodness, girl..."
Jackson just waved his hand at Nan and turned his attention back to Lila.
"You're cranky this morning."
"Well I was kind of poisoned last night, if you care to remember."
"Oh, come on. We made an antidote in minutes. You're fine." He sat the the foot of her cot, suddenly sounding concerned. "You are fine, right?"
Lila just rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, I'm fantastic."
"Now is not the time for sarcasm."
"Seriously, I'm fine." Lila nudged him off the cot with her foot and sat up, sighing in relief when there was no pain. "See? All better. Now I never got an answer on where I am, but I have a pretty good idea."
Lila glanced around, her eyes filled with amusement. "Infirmity of the palace, right? Not exactly how I pictured it, but it's...big"
Jackson let out a short laugh and offered his hand to Lila. She took it and swung her legs over the side of the cot and leaned on him as she stood up. Her legs shook, but she was able to steady herself, letting go of his hand. Nan and the other man watched her, both looking at her as if they expected her to do a back flip or something. Lila glanced at them and ignored their stares. She turned to the Prince.
"So last night was fun."
"Oh yeah. Oodles."
Lila flicked her hair off her shoulder and looked around.
"So what exactly happens now? Do I leave or..."
Jackson held up his hand. "Woah, no way. We have a lot to talk about. That's kind of why I found you in the first place, remember?"
Lila smacked her forehead lightly. "Duh. That mysterious monster you told me almost nothing about. I don't suppose there's any chance that lion is the monster you were talking about."
"No such luck." Jackson nodded at Nan offered Lila his arm. "Walk with me and I'll explain everything."
Lila took his arm reluctantly. "I can walk of my own" She mumbled as they walked out of the infirmary, the small man muttering incoherently behind them.
Lila awoke with a start, sweat coating her brow. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for invisible dangers. Her heart pounded in her ears, inhibiting her senses for a few seconds. Finally, after calming down, she glanced directly around her, taking in the sight.
Ace was curled up next to her with Charlie separating them, both of them fast asleep. She smiled to herself as she carefully untangled herself from the mass, gently pulling Ace's glasses off his face and placing them on the bedside table. She reached for her flashlight and glanced at the bright display of the digital clock. 3:13
"Ok...ok..." Lila grabbed her backpack and pulled out the books she took from the library. She glanced at the genealogy book, setting it aside in favor of the smaller Peter Pan. She sun.k into the nearby chair, sticking her flashlight into her mouth to flip through the pages. Illustrations jumped at her, accompanying a story Lila did not recognize. She shook her head slightly as she read about a carefree and selfish, yet innocent, boy named Peter Pan. The lost boys were not the ominous followers she remembered, but young boys who love playing make believe.
"Lila?"
Lila turned her head towards Ace, who was sitting up groggily, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh God, I'm blind."
Lila rolled her eyes and walked to the bedside table, handing Ace his glasses. He pushed them up his nose and blinked rapidly, focusing on Lila.
"Is everything ok?"
Waving her hand Lila sat back in the chair. "Yeah, yeah...Sorry for waking you. I...woke up."
"I noticed. What? Did you have a bad dream?" Though there was no sarcasm in his voice Lila could feel heat rushing to her cheeks.
"Nah." She lied, instinctively pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. Ace eyed her suspiciously, but didn't comment. He covered Charlie with a blanket and made his way over to Lila, who was playing with the cover of her book. Looking over her shoulder he read the title out loud.
"Peter Pan? Friend of yours?"
"What? Why would you ask that?" Ace's wide smile faltered as he registered her sharp tone. Lila turned away, stuffing the book into her bag.
"Wait...is he really..."
"No, of course not. Neverland isn't real and neither is Peter Pan."
Ace hesitated before sitting on the arm of her chair.
"It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself of that more than you're trying to convince me." When Lila didn't respond he set his hand on her shoulder in a comforting way. "Listen...I know we don't know each other that well...but you known that if something is bothering you you can talk to me, right?"
"I...I...I can't. At least right now." Lila looked up at Ace, who was watching her with slight concern. "Maybe someday...but not right now." She shrugged away from his hand. "I know you probably think I'm being ridiculous but I just can't. You don't understand..."
"Lila..." Ace stood and ran his fingers through his hair looking slightly distressed. "OK...I know about the Dark One. You told me. Why is it so hard for you to talk to me?"
"I barely know you. Do you know how hard it was for me to talk about it in the library? I broke, Ace." Lila's voice raised from a whisper, causing Charlie to stir in the bed. "I have spent so much time trying to forget about my life, about everything that's gone wrong. But then I stop and realize...everything in my life has been wrong. Death, injuries, destruction...it follows me where ever I go. So forgive me for wanting to put that behind me."
Lila clenched her fists tightly, attempting to get her breathing under control. Charlie sat up straight, his eyes flickering between the two of them.
"What's going on? Lila..."
"It's fine, Charlie." Ace turned to the boy, going over to tuck him in.
"No...something's wrong with Lila." He looked over Ace's shoulder towards Lila, who was now shaking.
Ace let go of Charlie and ran over to her. "Lila, let it out. Come on, you'll feel better. Just tell me what's wrong."
Lila doubled over, her vision blurring. "No...no...I have to get out of here. I..I..." She raced towards the door, stumbling out into the hallway. Her hands fumbled with the handle of the door leading outside until she successfully opened it, feeling the early morning air on her face. She made it about three hundred feet away from the inn before collapsing, curling into a ball. The only shape she could make out was a silhouette of Ace reaching for her.
"Get back!" She gasped. Ace quickly pulled back, his eyes wide open in fear. Lila's skin radiated heat, every molecule burned as long forgotten magic pushed its way to the surface.
"No...Please." Lila whimpered, sobbing into the ground while trying to roll onto her back. Ace stood a good distance away.
"Lila you're..." Suddenly he cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling. "Lila let it out."
"No..." Lila moaned.
"Lila...I think holding it in is killing you. Please...let it out."
"No...this...isn't...happening...again."
"Again? Wait...this has happened before?"
Though she couldn't answer out loud, Lila thought of her first experience with magic, as a scared little girl surrounded by Peter Pan and his lost boys.
Lila felt the tears in her eyes as she raised her hands to the sky and screamed, letting years of anguish flow from her hands in form of blue flames while her body levitated a few inches off the ground. She could feel her body loosening with each pulse, her vision clearing. Even though she only screamed for a few seconds the flames didn't stop, lighting up the night sky. Finally, after about five minutes, the flames stopped and she dropped to the ground, her body sore yet light, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her eyes drooped as Ace kneeled by her side, pulling her head in his lap.
"Lila...Lila are you alright?"
Lila lifted her head slightly, exhaustion sweeping over her. She whispered, her throat sore.
"We...we have to go. Someone must have heard or seen that. Ace...Ace I..."
Ace shook his head and put his arms under her legs and head, sweeping her into his arms as gently as he could. She leaned against his shoulder, tears slipping out of her eyes as he carried her towards the door where Charlie stood confused.
"Shh." Ace whispered. "It's OK...Everything is going to be OK."
So I have a big plan for Lila's magic. Explaining it, her using it, everything. I'm just trying really hard not to rush it. I'm also trying to improve my writing, so if my writing style changes slightly that's why. Thanks for reading. :)