A/N: There is currently fifty-six favorites and seventy follows for this story -as of the day I'm editing, March 31st, 2016. I'm hoping that by sprucing up this story more people will become interested, but that might just be wishful thinking XD .
Old Intro: There are currently 20 favorites and 30 Alerts for this story! I'm super excited and I can't thank you guys enough! It makes me smile every time I get a notification for this story. I'm really eager to crank out the next few chapters, because I did some thinking (since I've had massive sleep issues for a few days) and there is definitely some good stuff in store! Onto Chapter 11~
A loud crack of thunder shook the sky and rumbled in my chest as lightning turned the sky bright for a few seconds. Peter's eyes were darker than I'd seen them since I'd accused him of being the one who watched me whilst I was unconscious. A low chuckle slipped through his lips as the storm lit his face. His emerald-black eyes were narrowed slightly, his lips twisted in a cruel smirk. I shivered under the deluge, taking in deep gulps of air to steel my nerves. Peter seemed to mull this over, finding my declaration both hilarious and idiotic. "You feel sorry for him?" He prodded, arching a brow.
Pursing my lips, I watched the clouding of our breath. "No one should die like that." I side-stepped the question, not wanting to seal my fate quite yet. "Like I would have..." I latched onto the sudden idea, urging it to grow and my courage along with it. My eyes locked with Peter's, a determined set to them. "If you hadn't stopped it. You made that choice. You chose to save me. So, save him," I nodded over my shoulder to Andrew who had gone under for a moment, battered severely by his former brethren. Peter's face took on an annoyed, uninterested expression as he glowered at me. If I had already crossed the line I decided I might as well go all the way into the fire his glare promised to be my end. "Please. Please, Peter, I'm begging you. Lock him up or banish him, but don't kill him in cold blood. I know you're better than this." I murmured fervently, biting the inside of my lip, apprehensive.
Peter gave a short, callous, bark of laughter. "What makes you so sure, Trinket? I've killed people before, why is this any different?" He grinned, a feral show of teeth, as he shook his head at me.
"Because-" I struggled for words, blinking rainwater out of my eyes, grasping at straws in my argument. "Because you know him. He was loyal to you!" I attempted to stare up at him as intensely as he was peering down at me, but the downpour was ruining any ground I had to stand on by making me look like a drowning alley cat.
"Was," Peter hissed, pouncing on my mistake. "Exactly, Trinket. You've proven my point."
"Just- please! This isn't right! Let this go!" I entreated, holding tight to his hand like a child afraid to get lost in a crowd. I gave it a small squeeze, my breath heaving in my chest from shouting so much.
Peter paused, yanking his hand away like my touch scorched him.
A furrow formed in his brows as he slowly pondered over my request. "Nothing comes without a price, Trinket..." He noted, cocking his head at me. I was shocked. Peter -of all people- was offering me a way out of my half-formed agreement.
Brashly, I nodded, my fingers quivering. "I'll pay it if you save him." I responded quickly so I didn't have time to consider his generous offer or come to my senses. Why I couldn't just be selfish and be glad I was down an enemy is beyond me. It would've been a horrible thing to do, of course; I suppose I wasn't far enough gone from who I had been yet.
Peter took a deep breath, nodding once as he began pushing through the circle that had enveloped Andrew. Lost Boys parted, stumbling out of their leader's way hurriedly. Confusion, reeled in anger, bone-deep loyalty -all of this flashed over the Boys' faces. Without a word, Peter dragged Andrew to his feet by the back of his cloak, hauling him to sit beside the ashes of the fire. A curious silence followed as Peter kneeled in front of him, smirking and whispering softly. I strained my ears to catch the conversation, cautious, as I edged closer.
"I don't want her help." Andrew seethed, blood trickling into his eye from a gash on his forehead. He blinked it away without a second thought, already too accustomed to the bloodshed on Neverland.
"But she gave it. You were ready to have Killian murder her -quite gruesomely I recall-, and she was still willing to risk her life for yours." Peter murmured thoughtfully.
"Bleeding heart's what she is." Andrew spat it as if it was the worst thing to be -considering the twisted way Neverland was run, that was probably true. "Why didn't you just kill me when you found out?" Andrew insisted weakly, leaning on the sitting-log entirely, his venom leaving him to be replaced by fear.
A grin flashed over Peter's face. "Well, because I ne-" A voice behind me broke my concentration, their hand wrenching my arm back. I yelped in surprise, a burst of pain shooting across my back and shoulder. This was the same arm that had been impaled by a Lost Boy and Andrew once before.
"Didn't your mommy tell you it was rude to eavesdrop?" Felix crooned, smiling wickedly. I ripped my hand away from him, curling my lip in disgust. As much as Felix seemed to drop helpful hints, he was a brute -and an emotionless one. (I know now that I shouldn't have been so hateful towards him for being loyal, but he reminded me too much of someone I chose to forget.)
"Didn't yours teach you not to grab at a lady?" I swiped my hand on my soaked cargoes as if to remove his touch, pelted by the downpour. My hair had become odd clumps, stringing around my face messily.
Felix shook his head, shrugging one brawny shoulder, my harsh tone having no effect on his demeanor whatsoever. "You aren't exactly a proper lady, Bree..." Felix deadpanned, giving me a squinting glance. After a moment of consideration, he peered up at the rolling, inky sky. "You know, Bree, it hasn't rained here in centuries. Not since the first toy of Pan's cried her first tears." I forced my face to remain neutral. It wouldn't do to have Felix clued into how revolted I was by his best friend's history of kidnap and torture, how scared I was to become another knot in the rope. Felix grinned at me, making the scar across the right side of his face and the bridge of his nose stand out. "You must be special. Any magic in your family, Bree?"
I frowned slightly, my throat sore from hollering at Peter. I shook my head slowly, mentally sorting through what I knew of my family. I furrowed my brow in concentration, trying to recall anything about my relatives. I knew I must of had more than my immediate family; I couldn't conjure up a name or face that was anything but Luke, Mother and Father. But surely Mother had told me stories...? Had I just assumed there was more of them somewhere? My frown deepened, causing Felix to laugh brightly. I stared at the ground as if there might be something there, searching while it dawned on me that I knew nothing of anyone in my family outside of my immediate kin.
Felix shrugged again, his somehow-pleasant laugh rippling through the hushed campsite. "Just something to think on while you wait." He commented, sounding utterly chipper; it made my head spin. Was there magic in my blood? Was that the reason the island had affected me so strongly upon my arrival? I bit my lip, perturbed, when a sudden screech of pain resounded behind me. Whirling on my heel, I stared at the scene before me, hoping the scrawny child from earlier couldn't see.
Peter had quite literally torn Andrew's heart out of his chest. It was pulsing in Peter's hand, a slightly dark shade of pinkish-red. It looked like glass to me, unreal, yet as Peter squeezed it Andrew let out a loud gasp of agony. The boy's words echoed in my head. Bleeding heart... With a malevolent smirk, the heart disappeared. Andrew fought to catch his breath only moments before Peter lit the fire with a wave of his hand, stalking towards Felix and I. With a small nod in my direction, Felix retreated to sit on his rock beside the flames, twisting his club in the dirt across the sea of orange and red from the spectacle. Without a seconds notice, Peter was drawing me to stand over the trembling teenager.
I glanced at Peter questioningly as he took a hold of my hand from behind, his breath stirring the hair near my ear. I swallowed thickly, my back tense. I badly wanted to wriggle out of the way, but Peter's grip was iron clad as he set my hand on Andrew's back, curling my fingers. A cold like none other stretched across my arm; not even the storm could rival it. Andrew let out a bloodcurdling yowl of pain as Peter quickly dragged me away, keeping my fist clenched tight around the shadow. A loud thump echoed about the clearing as his body fell to the ground. My breath caught in my throat as Peter slowly unfurled my hand, his voice whispering in my ear, as smooth as the stone he had tossed. "Everything has a price." Shadow darted down from the sky, scooping up the Andrew-shaped blob of see-through darkness and fleeing into the sky to hide till his master called once more.
That was the first time I had killed, and it had been caused by my own stupidity. Unable to help the tears that began to trail down my face, mingling with the precipitation, I felt the beginnings of a sob wrack my body. My palm muffled my mouth as incoherent words of grief tumbled out, words of anguish, words of utter hate. Peter brushed my damp, ebony hair away from my neck, taking a deep inhale of the scent I had accumulated over the near two weeks I had been on the island: clean sweat, the rusty tang of blood, the rich greens of the forest, and the softly churned fragrance of the dirt mingling with the delicate scent of the beach. I flinched against my own will; his arm lazily held me still from one side. His nose brushed along my neck as he lifted his head enough to graze the shell of my ear with his lips. "Shame that. Tink will be so ruffled that she missed a good show." A small whimper fell from my mouth as I stared at Andrew's limp form through blurry eyes. Softly, a short chuckle tickled my face and filled my nose with his wild, mixed scent of bamboo, blood, dirt, and a sort of toxic yet sweet, floral scent. "There is no escaping Neverland." He repeated, smirking in my ear.
Abruptly, he unwound his arm from my shaking form, gesturing for a few Lost Boys to take away Andrew's body flippantly. I dropped to my knees, digging my nails into the slightly muddy dirt surrounding me. Heavy sobs tore through me as I released all of my pent up fears; a rough scream shredded my voice as I rocked back and forth slowly. The sky stayed pitch-black even as the storm slowly began to recede. I felt more frigid than I thought possible. My entire being was encased in ice and it bled into my bones and core.
It was my fault... Peter was right. I was the reason Andrew was dead...
It wasn't long before Alexander wander over, tilting his head as he stared at me. His quiet voice startled me out of my swirling thoughts. "Are you just going to sit there in the mud all night?" When I shrugged, remaining silent, he tried another tactic. "Are you going to let Pan hold this over your head?" My gaze traveled to his face, hollow.
"I can't beat him, Alex. I can't win." Contempt for myself filled my voice. I was going to die here just as Andrew prophesied. I tried to imagine it: winning. What did it mean? Going home? Or staying alive? Did it mean killing Peter? I wasn't sure anymore, because no matter what he had done, some wretched part of me couldn't hate Peter Pan. Some part of me didn't want to leave the island and grow up. I hated that side of my soul with a burning passion.
"He's just going to keep torturing you till you don't surprise him anymore, you know. Till he gets bored." With venom I did not think he had, Alexander leaned closer. "He'll tear your heart out and rip off your shadow, just like he did to my sister." Giving me one last sweeping stare, he mumbled. "I didn't think you'd give up like the rest did. 'Suppose I was wrong." I pushed myself to my feet, stumbling to catch up on my numb legs.
"I'm trying the best I can!" I snapped, surprised at how weak I sounded, even to my own ears.
"Are you?" Alex countered, whipping around in a flurry of his cloak. "Are you trying to stay alive, Bree, or did you give up the second you started begging?" I felt the hurt on my face as soon as he spoke. "Yeah, I heard you. You think there's something good in him, but there isn't. He's just like Tinkerbell. All he cares about is his stupid games." Alexander's voice shook as he darted off into the woods, leaving me to stare at the spot where he went through the underbrush with wide eyes.
Propelled into thought by his declaration, I slumped down on a log by the fire. There was minimal damage to my pants from the dirt, surprisingly, just a few splotches that needed drying and maybe a run-over with water. My hands were splattered with dirt, underneath my nails black from the sediment. Mechanically, I plucked a stick off the ground, using it to clean out the mess while I tossed around the questions in my head.
What game did Peter and this Tinkerbell play that involved killing people? Why did everyone think I wanted to stay on Neverland? I was just as much of a prisoner as they! A small voice in the back of my head laughed at that statement. Why would I want to leave when the person I loved -who also wanted to kill me- was here? I twirled the stick in my hands as a distraction, watching the Boys begin their dance for another night. A few played games around the clearing instead. Rope climbing, archery, sparring and fencing were popular. If you listened hard you could hear them playing Hide and Seek in the jungle. It made the hairs on my arm stand up when I heard them hunting. Sometimes it was game, sometimes it was each other.
Peter had long since disappeared, the song wafting through the clearing by magic. I stared at the roaring flames, occasionally sweeping the camp for any sign of the King of Neverland. Still on guard, I stuck one end of my branch in the fire after having peeled off all the bark. It took a few seconds before it caught, but then it glowed like a large candle. Smiling faintly, I blew it out, tracing my name on the rocks surrounding the blaze with the charcoal. The heat was almost unbearable this close, and I marveled at how Felix constantly sat so near with his cloak on. A hand landed on my shoulder, startling me into discarding the wood into the fire. Frowning, I turned to see Peter, a smirk playing at his lips.
"Come on," He urged like he hadn't just forced me to murder his Lost Boy earlier. "I want to show you something." Distrustful, I stood, my fingertips sliding over my thighs as I stretched. Halfway through twisting my arms outwards behind my back in a luxurious elongating of my spine, Peter latched onto my wrist, tugging me off balance towards the trees while simultaneously ceasing my stretches. I yelped in surprise, stumbling to keep even with his long, confident stride. The scenery battled with my thoughts for my focus, making me vulnerable to sneakily raised roots and the like. If Peter hadn't threw an arm out to stop me I would've gone tumbling down the abrupt hill. "Look." He whispered, pulling me down behind a bush and nodding towards the open area beyond.
I took a deep breath, surveying the clearing with a studious eye. Obviously there was something special here he wanted me to notice on my own. At the far corner was a patch of small, dark purple and red blossoms. From that far away I couldn't see the thorns dripping inky poison. A doe was slowly wandering into the open, nibbling at the grass as she went. The edges of my mouth rose into a soft grin; from the corner of my eye I could see Peter switching between watching myself and the deer.
I noticed the closer the animal got to the bush, the more eager Peter seemed, and it worried me. He narrowed his eyes, and when I looked at him he shook his head, nodding to the clearing again. Shifting to a more comfortable crouch, I stared as a spear flew and nearly impaled the doe. The animal leaped into the bush of flowers, standing shakily before falling to the ground and twitching, covered in thin, dark scratches. I gasped at the gruesome scene, grabbing Peter's arm without thinking when the spear hit the ground. The animal was dead before the Lost Boys even came into view. A chorus of chuckles and jeers trickled across the field to us as they started to drag the deer off to skin it. "That's what Dreamshade does." Peter supplied, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. After waiting to make sure the Boys were really gone, Peter grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the bush.
"What is it?" I inquired, swallowing nervously. "A poison?" Peter nodded, smiling slightly.
"Very good. We coat our arrows in this, so even if we miss the heart we still win. Your friend, Alexander, he's the best at aiming. One of my most loyal Lost Boys besides Felix." Peter supplied cheerfully, tilting his head slightly, gauging my reaction before we started off again. I didn't have time to ponder why Alex's loyalty would be something I would react to before I was struggling to work my way past the dense foliage. "You'll have to learn to notice it if you ever hope to be safe outside the camp. Look for the flowers, watch out for the thorns -and especially, learn the smell. It's a better warning than the rest, because there is a multitude of thorny florals on my island." He called, casting glances over his shoulder every minute or two to ensure I hadn't fallen too far behind. I nodded, realizing that the scent was the same one I couldn't identify on him earlier. It was sweet and flowery but had a bitter edge that made your nose wrinkle.
I couldn't tell where we were headed, but I was thoroughly irritated with the copse of roots tangling my feet up every few paces. As I worked to dislodge a particularly stubborn vine, Peter turned around and surprised me by waiting patiently. Growling when I was finally free, I took a few quick strides without watching and the toe of my boot caught under a gnarled thicket. I threw my hands down to brace myself, but it was unnecessary, as Peter caught me easily, helping me to my feet. I felt the heat rising to my cheeks as I mumbled my thanks. The emerald of his eyes was considerably lighter now, almost teasing as he smirked at me. "Don't walk much, do you, Trinket?"
I scowled at him, trying to take my arms back. "No, I simply run most of the day. There's a demon who enjoys setting his dogs loose on me." Peter smile darkened slightly, but he continued to play along, humming softly as if this was news to him.
Jumpy, I tried to twist my hands out of his. "Interesting. There's a little panther in these woods that keeps breaking my rules. My dogs enjoy chasing her. What a coincidence..." My heart began hammering in my chest as his fingers tightened.
With a jolt, I realized I had never explored the West and North side of the island -the side we were on. I'd barely gone East, and the beach was to the South. What other dangers were hidden on Neverland? "Really?" I nodded, my gaze darting around nervously in search of hiding Lost Boys. "Strange coincidence... What happens to this- this panther? Does she live?" I prompted, giving up on my hands for the moment when he began to press his nails dangerously close to a vein that had become visible under my skin thanks to the pressure he was applying to my wrists.
Peter's features became thoughtful as he watched me. "I'm not so sure. She's very skittish, so perhaps. If she can keep running, maybe she'll outsmart the dogs, though it bores me to give chase so often. The definition of insanity is repeating an action and expecting different results, you know. I've won the hunt each time so far. It makes me wonder as to why she keeps running." He paused to wet his lips, watching me with growing curiosity. "However, I'm not certain I'm done with the panther, not quite yet. She's proven very intriguing as of late." I nodded slowly, my eyes snapping to his.
I took a deep breath, a cold finger of fear snaking its way up my spine. "You're going to kill me, aren't you?" I breathed bluntly. He looked slightly taken aback, annoyed with my abrupt end of our small game. His brow furrowed and he wet his lips again as he thought of an answer. "Aren't you?" I demanded, arching my eyebrows, telling myself I wasn't afraid.
Peter sighed softly, taking my face in his hands. He stared at me, running his thumb over my cheek slowly. I felt like prey that had been cornered by its hunter. He smirked softly, watching my eyes widen as he brushed his mouth across mine gingerly. "Oh, Trinket, of course I am." Peter crooned.
A/N: From here on out Pan is going to be gradually less nice to Bree, and she's probably going to get hurt... a lot. Being an evil author is fun. :) I hope you guys like this chapter! I love you all, thank you for reading! Bluemoon, over and out~