Demetri

I get that Hook likes Connor because the kid reminds him of himself at that age but seriously. If he didn't shut up soon I was going to kill him. He wouldn't have to wait for this grand battle with Pan, because I would kill him right here and now. Not only was he saying the most insipid things, (loudly for all Lost Boy kind to hear, I might add) but I am fairly certain that the kid is actually trying to flirt with the Princess. And it was nauseating. No really. I wanted to vomit. Emma, can I carry your pack for you? Emma, explain that cool compass thing again, you sound so smart when you talk about it. Emma, why aren't you using the compass yet? Yeah okay, that last question wasn't something that Conner said, rather it was something I had been thinking a lot lately. Conner was right. Her plan sounded smart. And it wasn't going to work. But no matter my opinion on the matter, she really seemed to believe in it. So why wasn't she trying? I had tried to get Connor to ask her about it, by feeding the question into him and hoping he'd bite, but all he did was get annoyingly grumpy and stick up for the genius of Emma Nolan. Even now while we were on a break he was huddled over her, reaching out and grabbing her-holy shit! No! Connor, what are you doing?

"Connor!" I hollered out gruffly. His face dropped and he reluctantly left her side. I lowered my voice and leaned into his ear. "What the hell are you doing, boy?"

"Showing the Princess how to carve wood." I rolled my eyes.

"You can't just grab at a Princesses hand like that. Are you trying to How do you know how to carve?"

"I watch the Captain do it all the time, don't I?" he sounded almost offended and it was all I could do not to laugh in his face.

"Yes, because watching The Captain carve intricate, tiny, works of art is the same as knowing how to do it yourself without accidently chopping off your own finger, or worse, hers." I glanced back at the Princess who was studying a chunk of fallen brank carefully.

"What exactly was your plan here? Huh? Lend her your knife, sit behind her, wrap your arms around her and make something incredible that she'll always treasure?" His face fell even further.

"How did you-"

"Because that's what any pirate would do with some barmaid lass who dreams of seeing the world and going on an adventure when the furthest they'll travel in their lives is to the nearest wharf to pick up the catch of the day. And sometimes, it works. But you keep this in mind, boy. She isn't a barmaid, she's a princess. That girl has more suitors than the number of people you'll meet in your entire life. Good men. Rich men. Kings, Princes, Wizards, and all manner of folk who actually deserve her. She's been trained from a young age to know who is worth her time and who belongs with the servants and I'll give you one guess to pick out which one of those you are."

"Emma's not like that. She's special." He was right. She was special. She was different. But she also wasn't about to run off with some boy pirate who thought too highly of himself and thought that her apparent beauty was what made her shine. I was trying to let the kid down easy and it seemed to me he just wasn't going to let me.

"Aye. She is different. She'll be your friend. But she isn't about to marry you." He grinned.

"You don't know that!"

"I do. And what's more, that girl over there is already better at wood carving than you'll ever be so your play has turned from pathetic to laughable." I gestured behind him to where I'd caught a glimpse of the Princess laying out a design on the piece in her hands, having already hacked off the unneeded bits. She was moving along at quite the pace and the strokes she was making were well placed, smooth, and even. If this were her first time, even Hook would be impressed.

"Son of a-"

I cut him off before he had time to worry too much. "Don't sweat it, kid. You'll find yourself a girl your speed one of these days."

He glared at me. "Really? I didn't realize that there were available women just running about Neverland."

"Of course there aren't. The good news is it doesn't matter. None of us are getting a bit older here so when we get back, we have twice the dashing tales of heroism without a bit of the aging markers those types of tales can leave behind."

"Whatever. She's into me. And if I can't be with her permanently, I'll have to settle for a short, incredibly romantic fling with the most beautiful woman in the-" It was somewhere around then that I stopped paying attention. I turned back to look at the Princess, instead. What prompted this sudden urge for Arts & Crafts in the middle of a hostile island we were trapped on with a psycho maniac? It was odd. She seemed odd. Special, yes. Smart? Incredibly so. But there was a horde of secrets inside that girl and I had a feeling I wasn't about to be let in on a single one of them. A shame, that. I was curious as hell and the more I thought on it the more I couldn't stand not to know. Why the hell was she carving wood?

Emma

I was bored. So. Terribly. Bored. How awful was that to say? We were on a quest to find a heroic pirate on a cursed island with a psychotic murderer who liked to kidnap children and never let them stop being children not to mention wanted to impregnate me and force me to create this child that he would then use to save his precious torture island. And yet I was bored! It was all that – oh shit. I forgot his name again. That blonde kid's fault. The one who wouldn't shut up, who wouldn't stop asking me questions, who wouldn't stop fawning over me. At first I thought he was joking and it was pretty funny. But now? I wasn't sure. And if this wasn't all a joke then there was something seriously wrong with this kid. Emma, can I carry your pack for you? Emma, explain that cool compass thing again, you sound so smart when you talk about it. You know what would be a better question? Emma, why aren't you using the compass yet? Funny how I had explained my fake-theory about the compasses at least 15 times by now and yet he wasn't the slightest bit curious why I hadn't actually begun. In truth, I hadn't begun because Demetri was always watching me and I couldn't find a time to sneak away and try some spell work. Every time I went to relieve myself in the woods, he gave me 5 minutes until he claimed he would bust through the flora in the direction I had gone in and dragged me back to the group whether I was finished or not. I wasn't about to try him on something like that.

My next plan was to wait until they all fell asleep, only they didn't. Not all of them anyway. They took turns, watching over me and waiting until their shift was up. Then they'd wake someone else and it would begin all over again. Watching over me. Not over the camp or each other, no. there was one person awake who kept an eye out for Lost Boys, and a second who just kept their eyes on me. Like they were my mother's guard. They weren't the guard! They were pirates! Whatever happened to drinking, carousing, and running about acting like idiots? As oxymoronic as that seemed, those things would be incredibly useful right now. But I digress. My point was, that I was incredibly bored, which led me to play with the broken tree brank that must have fallen recently. (Side thought – was it just people who didn't age? Or did plants stay the same age too? And if they did, how where there old trees and young trees? Or did this used to be a normal island and then it became all wibbly wobbly in regards to time and since then no aging of any life, plant or otherwise, occurred on it.) Oh, that's a pretty piece of wood, Emma! You know, it kind of looks like a pony! No it doesn't you simpering idiot. It looks like a bird. Can't you see the wing there? Actually, if you cut that part out, you could make it into a wing! I had no sooner pulled out my knife than he was crouching behind me and offering to teach me to carve. I wasn't trying to carve wood, or make this some spectacular project! I was just board and maybe getting the bird to fly out of his branch with a few cuts from my knife would distract me from his incessant flattery. Luckily Demetri had called him over and I no longer had to listen to him. Less luckily for me, from the way they both kept looking over at me, I was certain that I was the subject of their conversation.

Hours later, we had hiked at least 10 miles and the chunk of wood I had been working on had broken in half. I'd tossed it, but something kept me looking for another piece I could use. It was almost fun, carving away layer by layer until something started forming. "We'll camp here for the night." Demetri's low voice was quiet and calm as he set his pack against a tree and began to look around. We can best defend ourselves against any attacks from Lost Boys if we circle up here, away from any clearings." Lost Boys. Why did they call them that? Because they had been taken from their parents? Because they were lost to their families? It was the obvious answer, and yet I didn't think that was the case. We set up camp and it became clear that Demetri had first watch over me. What was I going to do? If we were going to find Captain Hook, than I was going to need to make this compass around my neck do more than spin uselessly in circles. To do that, I needed to use my magic. To do that, I needed to find a way out of the watchful eyes of this bunch. To do that I needed a plan and – Mother of all Fates. He was falling asleep. Demetri, was falling asleep. Was it possible that my plan might actually work out? This was perfect. Too perfect. Suspiciously perfect. But then again, I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. As soon as I was sure he was really asleep, I stood up and backed out of the camp. I turned on my heel and ran. As soon as I got far enough away, I picked out a tree and started to climb. Thank goodness my dad had let me play in trees as a child and though I hadn't been allowed as often since I had come out, I hadn't forgotten and I soon found myself hidden in the thick branches of the tree comfortable and as safe as I could be on this island.

I held out the Compass and stared at it. Nothing. Come on. I could do this. I closed my eyes and thought back to my teachings. Just let the emotions run through you, Emma. Feel the magic. I could almost hear Regina's voice as she urged me to do better.

Feel it Emma. Feel the object. Feel what it is. Feel what you wish it to be. Feel the Magic, Emma.

That isn't what dad tells me. My eyes flew open. What was he doing in my head! His snarky voice was supposed to stay the hell away! I wasn't supposed to think about him anymore. I wasn't supposed to – I took a deep breath. Baelfire was gone. And if I had any hope of getting out of here, I couldn't let his voice just spring into my head. I had to feel the magic, feel the good. Not the pain. The pain had led me down a road of dark Magic, one I wouldn't be visiting again. Feel the Compass. Feel finding one's heart's desires. Feel the magic. Bring it all together and –

There. It was humming warmly in my hand now. It worked – or at least something had happened. I had done something magical to the compass. Whether or not my intentions had prevailed was still undecided. Well, only one way to find out. I swung out of the tree and landed softly on the fern covered ground. I opened the compass and took a deep breath as I watched it spin around and around. What I want more than anything right now, I thought, is to get back to camp. Back to Demetri, and Cyrus, and Wilhelm, and Charlie, and Evan, and Owen, and even that annoying kid whose name I can never remember. I want to be there. Because being there means finding Captain Hook and finding Hook means finding a way out of Neverland, and finding a way out of this mess means that I can find a way out of the other mess I'm in. I opened one, eye, peaking at the Compass and smiled. It had stopped spinning. And it was pointing back in the direction from whence I came. I think it worked. I think I actually did it.

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