Chapter 11: Daystar and Telemain Learn a Bitter Truth
We came to another clearing with a large rock. "This is it," the Dark One said.
"Where we will find Henry? Meet Peter Pan?"
He just looked at me. "This is where we'll make camp. Help me gather firewood, magician."
I started doing what he asked, but I said rather indignantly, "I do have a name, you know."
"Of that, I have no doubt, but just how important is it?"
"I only mean if we are going to work together for an extensive length of time, it would probably be most expedient for you to call me by my moniker and not my profession."
"What did I tell you about five-dollar words?"
I sighed. "I can't ask questions. I can't speak in my preferred vocabulary. You just don't want me to talk at all, do you?"
"Now you're catching on."
I should have saw that coming. So I worked in silence. Once we had a pile of wood, he ignited it with a fireball. He walked up to the rock where a huge shadow was cast. I stood with him, but he shooed me back. He held up his hand, and the shadow froze. Then he took out the dagger, the one I heard about that controls him. I did not know it was in his own possession. Then, while grimacing in pain, he sliced the shadow off his feet, and it floated freely. I walked back up. "Do you need to do the same to me?"
He just shushed me and held the dagger out to the shadow by the hilt. "You know what to do; hide it in the place where it cannot be found." The shadow took the dagger and flew away. I had no idea what that was about, and I knew he wouldn't tell me. He sat on the rock and started staring at that doll.
"Should I . . . find us food?" I asked.
"You may," he said. "There are some berry bushes. Take the red ones. I'll get us meat later."
I nodded and went into the forest. I found the bush he spoke of and picked a good crop of red berries. I found a container in one of my pockets that could hold them. Then I headed back to camp, but the Dark One was gone. "Dark One?" Then I thought if I wanted him to call me by his name, I should act in kind. "Rumpelstiltskin?"
"Magician!" he called. I followed his voice and ran to his side. "What do you see there?" He pointed in front of him.
"Where?" I asked.
"Right here, in front of me!"
"I . . . don't see anything."
"There's no one here?"
"No."
There was a bit of a pause. "Oh," he answered. "Oh, I see. Yes."
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Would you go back to camp? I need to be alone . . . with my thoughts, for a little while."
"Are you sure? I . . ."
"You'll be alright. I won't go far."
So I went back to camp, and I was alone with my own thoughts. I thought about Morwen and my son, wondering what life was like for them, wondering what the Dark One had in store for me, wondering when this would all be over.
Then, suddenly, I wasn't alone.
"Why are you here?"
I looked up, and there was a young man with sandy hair and blue eyes, wearing tattered, earthy clothes, sitting next to me.
"Peter Pan, I presume," I said.
"Correct, as usual," he answered with a sneer. He got up. "And you are . . . what is it, Telegraph, Television, Telephone?"
"Telemain."
"Telemain. Alright, can I call you TM for short?"
"I suppose you could. You know, the Dark One is only a stone's throw away."
"I'll deal with him later. I wanted to talk to you. See, I've been watching everyone else: Emma, Regina, Snow White, Charming, Hook of course, even Daystar and his father, but you're the only one I can't quite figure out."
"Well, don't feel too bad. I get that a lot. Few people truly understand me. I have a habit of talking over people's heads. That's just how I am."
"But the Dark One understands you."
"I suppose he does. We're in the same line of work, after all, in a manner of speaking." I got an idea and stood. "Look, this whole thing with Henry, is it a game?"
He looked at me with interest. "What do you mean by that?"
"I remember it a little from your story that one of your favorite games is Kidnapping. So, is it like, you give us clues, then we'll find Henry, you and the Lost Boys will say, 'Hey, that was fun! Let's play again,' and then you'll let him go, and then we'll kidnap one of the Lost Boys and take him back to Storybrooke, and then you'll try to find him?"
He snickered. "Well, that does sound entertaining. The answer to your first question is yes; I do consider it a game, but no, I have no plans of ever letting Henry go."
I sighed and sat back down. "I was hoping it would be that simple. I just want this to be over. I want to go home."
"Well, you're out of luck, TM. No one ever leaves Neverland without my permission, and I don't just go handing that out."
"Then how do I get it?" I said standing up and looking straight into his eyes. "I don't think you'd ever understand. Just before I left Storybrooke, the most wonderful thing in my life happened. It made me happier than I ever felt before. I only had a few seconds to enjoy it before the Dark One whisked me away to this nightmare island! Seriously, does the sun every shine here? Is it night 24/7?"
"Well, that just brings me back to my first question—Why are you here?"
I sighed again. "The Dark One want me to do something for him. He won't tell me what, but he did say if I did it, he would give everything I have ever desired. Which I find a little ironic now since he made me leave it."
"I know what he wants."
"How could you? He won't tell me; he won't tell anyone!"
"Didn't he tell you about the prophecy?"
"What prophecy?"
"About his fate. You should ask him."
"He won't let me. He made me agree to not ask questions."
"Of course he did." Pan started pacing. "He doesn't want you to know what he wants you to do because he knows when you hear it, you won't be able to do it, because you're not like him. You power comes from benevolence, so you're kind. Your heart is open. Sure, you have knowledge of magic, but you have not let it corrupt you. You would never hurt another soul. You would never be lured by its power so far that you would abandon the people you love." But he stopped and looked at me. "Oh wait, but that's what you just did. You left your wife and newborn baby on a mysterious trip with a magic man with the promise of getting all you want."
"Well, it wasn't what I . . . hey, how did you know-?"
"How about this? I will tell you what he wants from you, if," he then pulled out from behind his back a crossbow and put it into my hands, then stood back, "you shoot me."
"But that's not logical. How can you tell me anything if I shoot you?" He only looked at me. "Oh, right. I really got to stop doing that."
"Now, let's get to it, then. Off you go."
But I was already putting it down. "I'm not going to shoot you. I'll find out what he wants at his time. I can be patient."
"Very well. I'll up the ante. I'll give you what you really want—passage off the island. You'll be reunited with your loving wife and darling son, and you can forget about the Dark One's request. It's not your problem. All you have to do is take your best shot."
Suddenly, I saw the crossbow was back in my hands. I didn't so quickly put it down. I thought about what he said. Would I ever get this chance again? Just how are we getting home otherwise?
"Go on. Show me what you made of, TM."
But how can I hurt someone? I never did something like that. The worst I've ever done was melt a few wizards, but they revived.
"Can you even do it? Are you even going to try?"
It went on like this for a while. He kept goading me, and I kept thinking of my wife and son, debating what I should do. I finally decided I was going to put it down and walk away when it somehow dislodged. Pan caught the arrow in midair; it would have hit his shoulder. I quickly said, "Forgive me! I wasn't intending to fire; that was—"
But he was already taking back his crossbow. "I was wrong about you, TM. You're just like him."
"No, I'm not. I . . . well, how do I get back?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention—I was only going to give you passage to Storybrooke if you hit me."
"Well, that wouldn't be fair if you were just going to catch it like that."
"Who said I was fair? Well, the good news is you'll be able to do the Dark One's task without any trouble."
"Why are you . . . what makes you so certain?"
His face twisted into that devious smirk as he met my gaze. "He wants you to kill him."
He was right; upon hearing it, I did not want to do it. I was immediately struck with fear, and I looked toward the direction the Dark One left, but I couldn't see him. Then I looked beside me toward Pan, but he was gone.
There wasn't much organization in Cavern Wherever, but it seemed like most of the swords were together. "Careful, Son, you don't want to get cut." But mostly what we did was pick up a sword, and saying, "Nope," and tossing it aside. We weren't necessarily looking at the swords, just feeling how they were reacting to the magic. We both knew we'd know our sword when we found it.
But then I picked up a hilt, but it wasn't to a sword. It was a dagger, and it made me pause. "Father, look at this." I showed him the knife. "It has his name you-know-who's name on it. Well, not 'You-Know-Who,' but . . . Herman."
He picked it up and looked it over. "This is the fabled dagger of the Dark One. Whoever holds it controls him. I had no idea it got lost."
"Well, it kinda make sense. He sure hasn't been acting like he's been in anyone's control."
"True."
"Do you think he'll want it back?"
"Oh, he'll want it back. I think a better question is should we give it back to him. We probably should leave it here. The Dark One is dangerous, controlled or not. Now, come on. We still not even halfway through."
So he continued with his sorting, but I decided to put the dagger in my belt. If I lost something with my name on it, I'd want it back.
It was about an hour before he returned. "Good walk?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Not as good as I hoped, but fine. It's time to rest."
I nodded. "I agree."
He looked at me. "There's something on your mind."
So I asked him, "Do you think I'm like you?"
"That statement sounded like it had a question mark at the end," he answered tauntingly. "That wasn't part of our deal."
"But it's not really about your task. I was starting to think about it. I've been working with magic a long time. I feel like it's not affecting me as it has you. I don't want it to corrupt me in the same way, no offense."
"None taken." But he still sighed. "Look, one of the main reasons I asked for you is specifically because you're not like me, and that's all I'll say now."
"Very well."
"You may sleep first. I'll keep watch."
I searched through one of my pockets and took out a tiny mattress. "Engorgio," I said, and it became larger, and I lied down. Yet my mind was still on the topic. I propped up on my elbows and looked at the Dark One. "I only came here with you because Daystar wanted to come, and Morwen gave me permission."
"I believe you."
"No matter what you promised, I am not abandoning my family. I would never do that."
He paused for a moment and looked off pensively. "You say that now, but—"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" I lied back down and turned away. How could he even suggest that? The love I feel for Morwen and my son is stronger than any magic I have ever encountered. I'd never give it up. Never.
We were coming to the end of the pile, but we could tell that these aren't it. "Well, I'm just about to give up, Father," I said.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I think it's as we thought all along; it's still in the Enchanted Forest."
"So I guess we should join the others and search for Henry. Do you think we'll be much help out there?"
"If anything else, we can be another pair of eyes. I think if we just get used to the conditions, we'll be able to manage."
But as we came to the mouth of the cave, the guardian appeared again. "Where are you going?" he demanded.
"As I said, sir, we didn't want to take your time. We can't find our sword, so we will be on our way."
But he continued to hold up his hand and stand in our way. "And I told you there will be consequences. All that is in Cavern Wherever is lost forever and is never found again."
"So, you're saying that why we can't find it?" I asked.
He stared hard at me. "I'm saying you are now lost, and you can never be allowed to leave this cavern."
