Hello everyone... again I own nothing.
To my Autumn readers, it's on a ridge break just so I can get to the midseason finale with APG.. well those who have seen it obviously know why.
Averianna awoke in her four poster bed, it was a week until her fourteenth birthday but more importantly, it was Baelfire's birthday. She descended her tower to an awaiting breakfast, but no father, as she expected. Her father had been in mood swings these past few weeks, Averianna was turning the same age her brother was when he left, and even though he didn't admit it, he was frightened that Averianna would leave him as well.
After she ate her breakfast, she ascended to her father's potion's tower, carrying a tea tray. Knowing he wouldn't eat all day, but he would at least have tea, and that was something. She pushed open the heavy door of his work room and she saw his eyes flash cold, expecting it to be someone in need of a deal, they softened when he registered the figure in his tower as his daughter. "Good morning Princess."
"Good morning Papa, I brought you tea." She saw he had already lit a candle. She sat the tray down and went and touched Bae's shawl that was next to the candle. "You'll be home soon brother. Happy Birthday." She whispered. "Any luck on how to get there yet Papa?"
"No my dearest, I have check every spell and even curses. Nothing is powerful enough." He looked sadly with his tired eyes at his daughter.
"It's alright Papa. I have hope you'll find a way, when it's meant to be. And when you do, we will bring big brother home." Averianna looked at the mass of books he jade collected in the tower. "Shall I return these to the library?"
"If you please dearest. Thank you." He said, smiling when she collected all the books by magic.
"I'll bring you tea around lunchtime Papa." She nodded, leaving. When she arrived in her library, she looked in all the books before putting them away. She noticed all the sections of revenge were all untouched. She began flipping through, and saw one similar to what they wanted, but not exactly strong enough. The false ruler curse. Can take and transport and make a mew kingdom. Make one a monarch, and those who are chosen a slave to that monarch's desires. It had a steep price, but it wasn't strong enough. Averianna shut the book and threw it, sighing. She wished she could just rewrite curses, but there was no way to do that. "Was there?" she whispered to herself. She tapped her nails anxiously on the wooden arm of the reading chair. She wondered if she could rewrite this curse to make it have the power she needed it to. She sat there for a long time, curled up next to the fire, she must have fallen asleep because she was Neverland. She had been coming to Neverland for the better part of four year, she was use to the feeling of nodding off and waking up in this strange place.
"Hello Averianna." Pan said with his normal vigor.
"Oh.. Hello Peter, I must have nodded off in the library. I'm sorry to be so rushed, I need to get back."
"Why so urgent?" he asked laughing.
"I… I can't explain. I just do." She sat with her eyes closed. "Wake up… come on… wake up." Then she felt the usual pull of waking up.
"Wait you can't leave yet…" Pan said annoyed.
"Sorry Peter." And she woke up. Her father was standing over her. "I missed lunch… didn't I?"
"Yes. I came in to check on you. And I found my little princess curled up asleep. " his lip twitched into a smile, she knew that is all she would get today.
"Papa... can I ask you something?" she said getting up and walking with him.
"Of course."
"Can you rewrite or even combine curses?" she asked.
"Why do you want to know that? None offense to you, but that is very grown up stuff Princess." He said, looking a little shocked.
"I was just curious. I mean, using the same curses over and over again… it wouldn't work."
"You're right. It is possible to change curses, but the price get steeper and the magic gets darker, harder to set." He said.
"Can you write a curse, that you can't cast yourself?"
"I don't see why one would do that." He said, still giving his daughter the strangest of looks.
"Well… one could manipulate the curse to their own specification. But one doesn't have to pay the price, so manipulate the curse and the world around you." Averianna shrugged.
"That would work, but it's never been done before. And like I told you, that is powerful, powerful magic." Her father said as they reached his tower, he opened the door and there was tea and little scones and finger foods.
"I know." Averianna said taking her seat, she knew then that she would have to do it. She was going to rewrite that curse, and have to mold someone to cast it for her.
"Any more magical questions? I have to say, I am a bit glad you have taken to actually studying the art instead of winging it on natural ability." Her father said.
"Whatever is wrong with winging it?" she asked playfully offended.
"You could get hurt, or worse, killed. So, anymore?"
"Yes." She said to him. "For revenge spells and curses, what kind of revenge is needed?"
"It depends what kind of revenge the magic needs from you." Her father said, pouring her tea.
"The magic needs?" she took a sip. "It sounds like you mean to tell me that magic is alive, somehow feeding."
"It is, in a way. It's connected to why there is always price. There is a fuel, and there is something to be let go, to start it over. Like a fire. It needs both kindling and breath." He explained her. "The kindling is the price, something that is burned and never to be the same, a sacrifice as it were. But emotions, like revenge or grief that is the breath."
"Like hope and belief..." Avery spoke.
"Well, that is fairy magic. But, yes… essentially. Say, a man stole a hog, the hog farmer may want to curse that man and his future generations. But something like one missing hog from a hog farmer, there won't be enough breath to do something like that, the price would be too steep, especially over one pig. Maybe turning the thief into a pig, or even a truth curse so he could never steal again… that is small enough, it could be done. Is this all making sense little love?" he asked her.
"Yes I think so. Say the price for a larger curse would be to lose a child, his name son, no man would trade a namesake for a pig… so it had to be balanced." Averianna said.
"Exactly right. You are very intelligent." They finished their lunch, and whilst her father's back was turned, Averianna swiped a blank curse scroll from his bundles. As she turned to leave she asked her father one last question.
"Have you ever written a curse before? From scratch?"
"Yes, small ones. Good thing about them, the curse will reject a written price, until it is big enough." He chuckled.
"I assume you'll be up here tonight?" she said.
"Yes."
"I bid you goodnight then father." She smiled, as she walked down the stairs, looking at the scroll in her hand. Soon, there will be no more birthdays with father grieved, they will have Bae. She spend the rest of the day and night scouring the books in her library. Looking at different curses, and ingredients and their potential properties. She isolated the transporting ingredient in the false ruler curse. When she multiplied that the price needed to grow, bread and butterfly wings mixed with dragon stone and some blood from makers isolated the casting, her pricked her finger and dropped on the parchment, she was okay with being under a curse for a while, then she found what would still give her control when she found someone to cast it, mermaid's tear. That will be difficult but she was willing to find it. The price was next. The parchment rejected everything. From blood to first born child to all children… no it needed to be darker. It needed to be a price that had to come with the amount of vengeance this would take. The sun was rising, and reluctantly Averianna shut her eyes. She awoke in Neverland, Peter was still unhappy about her running away.
"You're back."
"Yes…" she said quietly,
"You seem tired,"
"I am.. I can just feel the magic just draining out of me." She said truthfully.
"What is doing that?" he asked sweetly, Pan put an arm around her and she leaned into him.
"I decided to take on actual magic training. My father said 'winging it' was too dangerous. I may not always be able to protect myself."
"Ahh.. yes, because the world is cruel, and wicked. You know.. I could protect you. You could stay here." He said to her.
"Actually." Averianna sighed. "I think this is my last night in Neverland."
"What?" Peter shot up. "Why?"
"I am dealing in powerful stuff… I need to grow up sometime."
"No you don't. " he said forcefully.
"Peter… I'm sorry, you are the truest and loyal friend I have ever had, and I love you. But sometimes, you need to give things up. Even if it's the things that you love most. I won't be back to Neverland Peter, I have to grow up." Then Averianna gasped in realization.
"Averianna?"
"What you love most… I'm sorry, but goodbye Peter." And she woke up with a gasp. "The heart of the thing you love most." She rushed to scribble it down on the parchment, and the paper accepted the ink. The price was high enough, she left the rest blank, only time would tell when it was finished, and as the day dawned, the real work began. First to find ingredients, then twist fate, finish the curse, then find someone with nothing left in their heart but vengeance.
To those who have watched the mid season... tf right?! Ahh... so excited to write the chapter. But yes..
That is how the curse started... and when Avery decided to grow up and leave Neverland.
Sometimes Avery is/was too smart for her own good.