Hey everybody,

so it's happening. Pan is in the Enchanted Forest. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Sadly,I do not own Once upon a Time, just the ideas in my head that I incorporated in this story!

Chapter 10

I was standing in a weird room. More like a dungeon, with one door and a barred window, letting in the last rays of sunshine for the day.

All of a sudden someone shoved me to the ground, making me chafe my knees on the cold stone floor as I cried out in pain.

The attacker grabbed me by the hair and pulled me up, causing me to grimace in agony.

The person let go of my hair, but proceeded to grab me by the throat, effectively cutting off any air flow to my windpipe, and pinning me against the wall. For the first time I got a good look at my assaulter; it was a man with no face, except for glowing eyes.

'Such a pretty little girl, with a pretty little heart. Oh, the price of magic.' His tone was menacing, sending a chill through my spine.

He dropped me to the floor and took the first blow to my ribcage, kicking me hard. I was curled up on the floor, each infliction ten times worse than the last. The figure seemed to have an unending supply of voracity when it came to harming me, coming at me again and again. The pain was nothing like I had ever felt before, my body on fire; bruised and swollen and unable to move.

I lost count of the minutes, but after a while, the man abruptly stopped and left, leaving me to rot on the floor. I didn't have the strength to try to get up, so I just lay there, thinking of those magical, gleaming eyes.

The sound of flutes lulled me to sleep, making me drift into unconsciousness and slip into a state of complete numbness.

Hook's POV:

The tavern was already full, something I wasn't expecting. Now really, it wasn't even midday and men were getting drunk, but I wasn't one to judge, if I knew their stories, I'd most likely do that, too.

In the back I could see the familiar red hat. Just the man I was looking for.

'Oh, Smee! Glad I found you here.' The man jumped up as I patted him on the back.

Why was he even part of my crew? He was afraid of mice, and the dark and of countless other things.

'Need me to find something for you, Captain?' Right, that's why.

'Matter of fact, yes. I know you specialize in hard to obtain objects, but I think you can handle this. I need you to find a girl. Today.'

His eyes closed, indicating he was already making up some sort of plan.

'I'll need the name,' He stated, his eyes still closed.

Before I could answer, I overheard the conversation two knights sitting next to us were having.

'...I heard that the girl is quite special. A new pawn for the Evil Queen's way to victory.'

'But she escaped, remember? Fast, that bloody thing.'

'Well, someone saw Aura walking into that witches cottage yesterday and contacted the Queen, they're on their way to find her right now.'

She was still here? There was not much time left. I interrupted the conversation, asking for the witch's name.

'I do not need to answer your questions, eavesdropper. You're nothing but a pirate, why do you care?' The knight closest to me asked disdainfully.

'Well, knight, you see this hook? How about having two instead of hands? Should be quite funny, trying to fight with two hooks and a sword on the battlefield. Or you just tell me the name.' I grabbed him by the collar and whispered into his ear.

The man nodded, completely terrified. 'Mother Gothel, the witch's name..' I quickly spun around, having heard just what I needed and gestured for Smee to follow me out.

'Mother Gothel's Cottage. We have to hurry.'

'Let's go, Captain.'

Aura's POV:

My eyes opened slowly, fearing I was still in my dream, on the cold hard floor in the dungeon. I shuddered at the thought.

But I sighed in relief when I opened my eyes and saw that I was still in the cottage, lying in my mother's bed. Sitting up, I noticed many bruises on my arms. They hadn't been there before, not when I came home.

Gently tracing the different scars and examining the color of the various bruises, I wondered how I got them. Was it possible they were from the dream?

I lifted my nightgown to see how injured my chest was. Normally, bruises were blue and purple, but my chest was almost black. I got out of bed and walked towards the mirror.

I barely recognized my face. One of my eyes was a mottled blue, my nose was crooked but the blood around it had dried up. My hair was tangled and messy, and my upper lip was swelling.

But I didn't feel any pain. Was something wrong with me? Where did I get all this? I thought of yesterday, coming home and cleaning up. Reading mother's notes and falling asleep.

Heal. Hurt. Change. Fate's design. Save. Lost. Bring. Back.

I opened my eyes again and gasped in shock as I saw how my bruises were vanishing, the scars fading away, but more importantly, my heart was glowing.

'It is time.' I heard a soft familiar voice.

The sound of the flutes from my dreams set me in a trance, I started walking to the door and outside, always following the music – everything else a haze.

Sunbeams shone on my face and warmed my skin. My feet wandered along the dewy grass. I breathed the fresh morning air.

Abruptly the music stopped, as did I. Leaning casually against a tree with a pan flute in his hand, there was Peter Pan.

'My, you look even more beautiful in person,' He stated and strode with confidence in his steps towards me.

'You really are an angel.' His hand gently cupped my face and I felt the sensation on my tingling cheeks.

'Ready to never grow up?' His boyish grin made my heart flutter as I nodded absent-mindedly.

'Wait!' I heard a desperate voice and spun around, annoyed someone had disturbed my time with Peter, to see who it was.

My heart dropped when I saw Hook, accompanied by a rather round man with a red hat.

Peter gripped my waist possessively, restraining me from running to Hook.

'Please Aura, do not leave with this demon. I..we could find someplace else. We could be together. I know it all seems rushed, but I love you, and I want to be with you till the end of my days. When we kissed, I knew for sure.' Hook declared and stared at me with his piercing blue eyes, waiting for a response.

'Think of all the joy you'll find when you leave this world behind. Isn't going to Neverland what you wanted? To dance with Indians, sing with mermaids, hunt with the Lost Boys and never grow up? To be safe, with me?' Peter spoke softly into my ear and let go of my waist just as a voice called out.

'Release the girl.' I recognized the Evil Queen's voice and shivered unintentionally.

What was going to happen to me? My eyes darted to the triangle of faces.

Peter Pan. Hook. The Evil Queen.

'Forget them, forget them all. Come with me, where you'll never have to worry about anything again.'

'Aura, please. I know you feel something, too. We can both be happy and safe.'

'Dear child, I'm not going to kill you, not like your mother. If you just comply, things will be much easier.'

Weighing my options, I didn't need to think long before turning to the boy beside me and nodding, trusting Peter to bring me to safety, to Neverland.

Peter took my hand and in the other he held green-glowing dust.

'Do you believe?'

'Yes.' And the next second, we were flying.

I would never forget the look of heartbreak and betrayal on Hook's face.

So yeah, I finally reached my goal of writing more than 900 words per chapter! And I have a feeling my writing skills have gotten better, thanks to all the reviews and my beta-reader (YouSaid), I really want to hug each and every one of you physically, but because that's not possible, I'm just hugging my laptop...

Love you all and enjoy your holidays,

aureaborealis

P.S Reviews are always appreciated!