1. Son of thieves

Peter Lake's first theft was committed obliviously. He stole a model boat.

He broke through a box of glass with his chubby baby hands and drifted toward the shores of America among blankets of cloth. Through the cold, in a stolen vessel. A stolen ticket. A stolen chance.

His parents facilitated the theft. They must have. How else would he have broken that glass? He was merely the cause of the theft. Whether or not he actually executed the theft was the true question. But what was undeniable was that his parents stole because of him. He was the reason behind their crime. They took a ship. A mirror of a ship.

It made sense to him.

They taught him to steal before they taught him to crawl. They taught him to lie before they taught him to talk. He swam before he walked. Before he ran, he rocked on the water.

He didn't remember them. Didn't remember their eyes. Their faces. Their clothes. He couldn't have possibly remembered them. He just knew they were thieves.

That awareness always nibbled at him from the back of his neck. Like a spider. He was born to be a thief. He was the son of thieves. Blood of their blood.

The chilly breeze dug nails into his neck and the skin under his eyes. He gasped and the whiteness of his breath melted into the clouds on the sky. Peter Lake was running. Sailing among waves of frosty silver. The snow gave in under his feet. He was gliding along a sea of winter, across the city.

Fleeing the sharks.

Author's Note: Since this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, I'm going slowly and taking my time. I considered doing LOTM fanfiction but a) I would not like to compete with NotMarge, cause she is THE UncasXAlice fanfic writer, and b) I decided that my first fanfic should tackle a subject that I don't feel as passionate about as LOTM. Maybe I never even write LOTM fanfiction. I just don't feel like it. So I chose a different topic that interests me: and that is the movie "Winter's Tale." This film is heavily underrated and I've grown fond of it these past few months, so here is a Peter Lake POV piece in its honor.

Just so you know, I'm taking this with no hurry, so I don't know when I'll upload. I'm very active on my Instagram (_elevenofspades), I'm currently working on an original story that I'm publishing weekly on Webtoon Canvas ("The Strange Tale of Moss Grave", please check it out if you want), and just began my college classes, so this is a little experiment I'm doing just for the fun of it. Hope you enjoy it!

Edit: This is Blanca from "the future" (February 4, 2022 - I have published Chapter 50 of this story today).

So much has happened since I post this first Author's Note. And by that I mean... "Winter's Tale" is, without a doubt, my favorite movie at the moment. I legitimately adore writing this story. It just brings me joy.

I appreciate everyone who checks out my story. It means the world to me.

But even if you don't read my fanfiction, please, please watch "Winter's Tale". It was a disaster from the moment it premiered. Critics destroyed it, audiences didn't watch it, and people just... forgot about it. I watched it once in 2014, and, suddenly, six years later, I remembered it. And it came slow at first. I thought about it. I acknowledged it. I regarded it as something I liked, but not something I loved.

Now, in 2022, eight years after the release of "Winter's Tale", I consider it my favorite movie. Because it may be flawed, and ridiculous, and cheesy at times, but... everything about it makes me happy. Or happier, when I need it. Its message. Its characters. Its music. Its visuals.

I feel awful for how this movie was treated. And so, I am determined to single-handedly bring it the justice it deserves XD

Again, if you are a reader of mine and/or if you want to keep going, thank you. I hope I make it worth your while.

But even if you don't read, just, please, consider watching "Winter's Tale." I promise, you won't regret it.

That's all for now. Thank you for being here.