Peter had known Wendy would eventually find her way to the clearing where he had been dragged back from death. Enough of Baelfire's presence was still there that it would draw the star, one way or another.
He didn't even need to wonder if she had it. He knew where the star had come from originally and he knew to whom it would return. And Meissa was predictable, conveniently. She would want someone pure of heart, kind, and good. And who better than the original Truest Believer?
She showed up about a month and a half after he had been brought back to life. He sensed her far off. He flew over and settled beside her as she trudged through the mud. Her steps were slow and shaky and her horse looked haggard. He bent down and caught a glimpse of her face. Pale, gaunt with her golden hair wet and dark plastered to her face. He knew she was cold even though she did not shake. She was in bad shape. He wrinkled his nose. Without Neverland he was weaker, but he was still immortal; she was mortal without Neverland.
It took her a solid hour to sense his presence and then another half hour before she looked up at him. He wondered if she would recognize him at all. She did, however, and she immediately screamed.
Her horse startled next to her and attempted to bolt, but he quickly grabbed the reigns and held the horse in place.
Wendy looked up at him, mouth caught in a silent scream.
"Wendy-bird, so good to see you," he said lightly. He bent down to her level and grinned at her.
She stared at him for a moment more. And then did something that he had not been anticipating. She swung her head forward, knocking him square in the face. Disoriented, he clutched at his bleeding nose. She clearly was not thinking straight. When he looked up he found she had managed to walk a few paces and was now clinging to her horse, trying desperately to stay upright. When he came up beside her, her eyes weren't focused.
Now, he was irritated. He hadn't expected her to be in this condition nor had he expected her immediate reaction to bash his head with hers. He had had quips prepared. He had been looking toward some verbal sparring. Instead, he had a bloody nose.
He gripped her shoulders so she wouldn't smack him with her head again. Her eyes were glassy, but she seemed to be with it enough to yell, "Where is he?" She twisted against him, her arms flailing. Her horse whinnied beside her. "Give him back!" she cried. "What did you do, you bastard?"
Delightful that her first thought was that this was all his fault. He wondered if it was an insult or a compliment.
Frustrated, he barked out, "Stop your fits, you stupid girl. I don't know where your brother is for once." Baelfire had brought him back to life and promptly left. He was less than pleased with his nephew.
She kicked him in the shin. His grip on her shoulders loosened and in a moment, she was trying and failing to get back up on her horse again. He caught her once more and held her close this time. She smelled like rain and the forest. She was uncomfortably warm. He reminded himself that sometimes mortals got fevers.
"Do not lash out," he told her, through gritted teeth. "You forget how powerful I am." He had had just about enough of her for right now. She was incoherent and delirious. Wendy on a good day was testing his nerves, but she was far passed that.
She didn't seem to hear. "Give me my brother back!"
"I don't have him," he said, enunciating every syllable. "If you stop fighting, we might be able to work out a deal." He held her tightly against him, she struggled cursing him, but after a couple moments, she stilled. "Finally, you've calmed yourself." She looked up at him defiantly. She looked even paler than before. "If you let me explain, we can work out a deal that is mutually beneficial. You can get your meddlesome brother back and I can get something I want."
She opened her mouth to protest, but he interrupted her. "I already know you have the star." She looked truly angry with him and this face he recognized. She almost looked like a lucid Wendy, about to lecture him on his amorality. He almost felt comfortable. "Now, if I release you, will you try to run?" She shook her head and he released her. She stumbled back, clutching at her horse.
"Good," he continued, "Now, I can explain to you what is happening. Your foolish brother and the Dark One's little wife went looking for a way to get him back. I don't know why. He's hardly worth the dirt on my shoe. They discovered a very ancient, very dark, very powerful spell to bring him back. It's magic that's even beyond me and that I wouldn't even toy with. Fools." Her eyes had become glassy again and he wasn't entirely sure she was actually seeing him. But he continued, "However, a delightful side effect was they brought me back too!" Her eyes drooped and then she opened them again. "But the price of the spell was another life. As Baelfire was about to give up his life for his father, this green woman, Zelena, I believe came along and offered Rumple a deal. If he gave up his power, she would save Neal. He chose Neal. Daft! So the two became one."
XXX
"So the two became one." Pan's words had lost most of their meaning. Wendy was able to catch every third or fourth word. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, the reason why the star didn't work finally made sense, but not at the moment. Pan swam in and out of her vision. Her mind had drifted back again to the mossy forest floor and how inviting it looked. She had stopped moving now and all she could think about was sleep. She had expended all her energy trying to fight off Pan, to no avail.
All her concentration was now devoted to keeping herself upright. For someone reason, she had a nagging thought that sleeping on the forest floor was not a good idea. She did not know why though. Soon, Pan's voice trailed off. She looked up blearily and saw that he looked displeased. It was a look she recognized. He wanted more attention.
"Bird, are you listening?" She swayed on her feet. She felt her hand trying to reach for Ash's saddle, but nothing happened.
She opened her mouth to try to explain to him that all she wanted to do was sleep, but she lost her concentration and began to topple over. Pan caught her, keeping her upright. He tilted her chin up to look at him. "Wendy, you are as pale as a sheet! And your lips are blue!" He said it like she was an interesting specimen at the zoo. She didn't have enough energy to react.
Her head was heavy and so were all her limbs. She leaned into Pan, letting him take on her weight. She heard him grumbling, but was too tired to care. He scooped her up and and placed her on Ash. For a moment, she was on Ash and felt as if she might fall. But quickly, Pan swung up behind her. He draped his cape over her. His body heat began to seep into her. It was at this point that she really started to realize how cold she was.
"Mortals!" she heard him grumble to himself. "So fragile and useless." If they were on Neverland, she would have made an immediate retort. Instead, she pulled his cape closer. She began to hear a steady thumping sound. It was comforting. She realized it was Pan's heart.
"I didn't even know you had a one," she told him. She heard him asking her what she was going on about, but she felt herself slipping into sleep. This wasn't moss, but she guessed it was most certainly warmer than the forest floor would have been.
The ride seemed to take forever. Although she was warmer, the ride jostled her and made her head hurt. All of her ached. She wanted to tell Pan to slow down, but the words wouldn't come. Her lips felt stiff and her brain was frozen. She couldn't recall why she had been out in the cold.
Eventually, the pace slowed and she began to hear voices and murmurs, golden light glowed at the edge of her vision. She felt Pan shift and she protested at him removing her source of heat. Seconds later, she was back in his arms. She no longer needed to protest.
The world was blurry and yellow. Nothing made sense. She felt significantly warmer. The world spelled delicious, of cinnamon and clove and honey.
"She… hypothermia…" The words all drifted around her, none of them holding any real meaning. "Help… wife… please…" She heard the jingle of keys and a warm, old woman's voice. Then everything faded to black.
XXX
Wendy first became aware of the singing before she even opened her eyes. It was the low hum of an older woman going about her work. For a moment, she thought she was back in London, listening to the servant women go about their chores. But she quickly realized that world was decades and galaxies away. Blinking, she found herself in what felt like the softest, warmest bed ever.
She began to pull herself up, blinking in the light. She was in a room at what appeared to be an inn. She was in a queen sized bed and there was a woman at the foot of her bed, folding what appeared to be her clothes. Looking down, she found she was in a nightgown. Her mind was still slow and she tried to piece together what had happened.
"Oh, dearie, don't get up too fast," said the woman. She had greying brown hair and a warm, plump face. Her presence was like a balm to Wendy. She came to Wendy's bedside and eased her back into the pillows. "You were very sick. You need to keep up your strength."
"Where…" Wendy trailed off. Her mouth was dry and her voice croaked when she spoke. The woman handed her a glass of water that she gulped down.
Thinking she knew what Wendy was trying to ask, the woman said, "Your husband is out right now, getting you some broth."
Wendy choked on her water. "What?" She clutched the glass of water and realized there was now a gold band on her ring finger. She froze, looking at it.
"Yes, oh, I forget his name. Patrick? Paul?"
"Peter?" It was the first time she had uttered his name in this universe. She had hoped to never say it again. The name brought back the memories from the night before: Pan materializing beside her in the forest, not finding Bae, finding out he was in danger, the cold, the sound of Pan's heart. She connected the dots. Pan must have brought her to the inn under the pretence that they were married. Best to avoid prying eyes. She recalled John's warning again that it was dangerous for a woman to travel alone. He hadn't mentioned about how dangerous it was to travel with an immortal, magical being.
"Oh, yes! That's his name! What a charming young man! So caring," she gushed. Wendy had to stop herself from scoffing. Pan was charming, but everything else she had said was wildly inaccurate. Perhaps, he cared about whatever he wanted for her, but that was it. Wendy found herself having to feign interest as the woman, who called herself Mother Goose, continued, "He was in such a panic for you when you came in. He was very concerned. I can tell he cares for you greatly." It was becoming obvious Pan had just charmed her thoroughly. Again, probably to avoid prying eyes.
Just then the door opened.
XXX
When Peter opened the door, he found Wendy sitting up in bed, clutching a glass of water. She glared at him and he immediately knew she had regained her wits. The Wendy he had picked up in the forest was not fun to deal with.
Mother Goose sat next to the bed. The old woman had been easy to charm. He had been a little rusty, just coming back from the dead, but his old tricks and his smile worked well still. He had been pleased.
He feigned a concerned face and walked over to Wendy, placing the soup on the bedside table, he gave her a kiss on the forehead. He was really testing his luck and half-expected her to push him away and blow the whole charade. Instead, she sat, mute, staring at him. "Thank heavens, you're up at last! I was so worried!" He was really enjoying himself. He could see Wendy holding back a retort. This was the most fun he had had in ages!
Wendy turned a tight smile to Mother Goose. She smiled at the two, evidently pleased to see their love and affection for one another, although Peter was giving a much better performance than Wendy. She patted Wendy on the hand and excused herself, waddling out of the room.
Immediately, Wendy turned to him. "Really? Married?"
The look on her face was just so satisfying he had to laugh. He kicked off his boots and flopped onto the bed right next to her. He put his hands under his head and sprawled.
"I thought it was very funny," he told her. He craned his neck to see her unimpressed look. He wondered briefly if she might poor the hot soup on him. "Come now, Wendy, we can't attract attention. I don't want people to know I'm back just yet and think of the heart attacks people would have if they found out a young man and woman were travelling together, unmarried."
"A young man? I thought you'd always be a boy." She glared at him.
His jaw tightens. "Yes, well, death has aged me."
"Good." He let the silence fall. He could see a slight curve to her mouth. She was proud of herself for upsetting him. They sat in the silence for a while. They didn't usually have these on Neverland. He liked to talk and she was a good conversation partner. He didn't like to be without the attention.
Eventually, she reached over and took a sip of the soup. She closed her eyes for a moment, evidently savouring it. After a pause, she asked, "Was the ring really necessarily though?"
He feigned hurt. "I made those myself! With my very own magic. I slaved away and my own wife doesn't appreciate her wedding ring." He laughed. She just stared at him. "Don't worry, bird. We're matching." He held up his hand and waggled his finger at her, showing off his matching gold band.
Another silence. He couldn't tolerate these anymore. He sat up and turned to face her. "Now that you're bedridden, we can discuss our deal," he told her. "What say you?"
She rolled her eyes. "I don't remember what you proposed."
Now, it was his turn for him to roll his eyes. "Oh yes. The hypothermia, sleep-deprivation and hunger. Not a great combination." She glared at him, but he ignored it and he continued, "Sometimes, I forget how fragile you mortals are."
"You were a mortal!"
He scoffed. "Yes, four hundred years ago. And you know better than anyone that I like to try to forget that time." He didn't mention that it did truly unnerve him to see her like that. He did not care to wonder why.
"Anyway, let's review," he began. "You have the star and I would like that star. I will, in return for the star, help you find Baelfire." A simplified version of his plan, omitting one huge detail, but fairly accurate nonetheless.
"I have the star. It can help me find Neal. I don't need your help," she said. Stubborn to a fault. Classic Wendy Darling.
"Yes, the star has been so helpful. It's almost as if you didn't almost just die while wandering the woods," he told her. She raised her chin defiantly. "In the state he's in right now, you can't find Baelfire with that star. Do you know why it keeps flickering on and off?" He ignored the look of surprise on her face. "I know much more than I let on, Wendy. That star is not working because for long stretches of time, there is no Baelfire. He gets absorbed into his father and it is only his father who remains, so then the star goes out. When Baelfire gets the upper hand, the star shines. But in its state, it won't lead you to Bae. The reason it brought you to that field was because that was the last place Baelfire really was. If you continue on this way, it'll just keep leading you in circles. If you let me help you, I can find Baelfire and even find a spell to separate him and his father."
"And then you want the star?"
"Naturally."
"And then you're going to create another Neverland?"
XXX
"And then you're going to create another Neverland?" she asked.
He looked at her, almost surprised. He feigned hurt. "Do you not know me, Wendy? What else do you think I would do?"
"I'm not letting you create another Neverland!" she said, immediately, without thinking.
"Then you won't find Baelfire. I'm okay with that," he told her flippantly. His face was cool and neutral, with that far away look that she hated so much.
Perhaps, she could break off the deal at the end. If Gold was there, he might be able to fight off Pan, kill him again. Gold was slippery and slimy, wholly untrustworthy, but he would most certainly defend Neal. She considered it for a moment.
"Don't even try and think of breaking off the deal at the last moment," he said. "I've had your family under my thumb for a hundred years. Don't think for one second that I wouldn't squash them." It infuriated her that he could read her so well.
She chewed at her lip, considering. Meissa had given her the star expressly so that it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. For her to make this deal, she would have to make a conscious decision to allow it to fall into said wrong hands. With the star, he could wreak more havoc, hurt more people.
But she thought of Baelfire, a brother she had had back for a barely a year. She thought of him tied to his father, in pain and agony for eternity, alone. She thought of her other brothers and the grief they would feel, losing him all over again. She had lived alone too long to give this up.
She knew that without Pan she wasn't going to find Baelfire. That much had become evident with her last little mishap. She was out of money, tired and aching, in a foreign land, miles away from anyone she knew and trusted. She was alone.
It was now or never to take this deal. She would have to find away to make it work out for the best.
"Fine," she said. Pan reached out his hand across the bed. She took it. It was cool and smooth to the touch, familiar.
"We have ourselves a deal then," Pan said. He sounded far too pleased with himself.
XXX
It was far too early when she was woken up by the door being creaked open and then slammed shut. She groaned and rolled over, burying herself in the blankets. About an hour later, the same thing happened and it was followed by a flurry of impatient footsteps and the rustling of papers. Forcing her eyes open, she found Pan at the desk by the window, hunched over the desk with an excessive amount of papers and maps.
It was late in the night when she finally convinced Pan to order a cot up to the room. She would not have him lying in the same bed as her. He insisted that to keep up the act of husband and wife as to not draw attention to themselves they only needed one bed. So, she insisted that she would leave with the star and make sure it was destroyed. After that, he acquiesced.
She propped herself up on her elbows. "What are you doing up so early?" She had never known Pan to be up before noon on Neverland. He stayed up late and woke up even later, just like the naughty child he wanted to be. She had savoured those early morning hours without him.
"The cot was uncomfortable," was his response.
"I don't care."
A silence hung for a few moments. It was strange. Pan on the island filled every silence with all his wonderings and thoughts. He couldn't seem to stand the silence. Maybe it was to hide from his thoughts, maybe he just liked the sound of his voice. Whatever the reason, Pan could now be silent for a little while, which is quite grown-up of him. She supposed death really had aged him.
At length, he said, "I needed supplies."
"Where did you get the supplies?" She paused and thought. "How did you pay for them? How did you even pay for this room?" She had been almost all out of money. Her few coins would not have gotten them this room. And she suspected that when you came back from the dead, your wallet didn't follow.
"You needn't worry about that," he told her brusquely. He still hadn't even looked up from the papers.
"I'll worry about what I like." Childish and stubborn, perhaps, but it felt good to say it.
"You don't really think your brothers were the only contacts I had in other realms, do you? You know I travelled quite often between them to get new Lost Boys. I set up stashes of money and maps and necessities with those loyal to me," he explained. She glared at the back of his head.
Although, he had gone out for the maps, he had evidently forgotten new clothes and other necessities. He was still wearing the same clothes he had been wearing when he died. They were wrinkled from sleeping in them and covered in mud from the tussle in the woods. Pan was never particularly put-together, but he was never dishevelled like this.
"My brothers were never loyal to you," she told him. It was taking a lot of energy to have this conversation. Her head was beginning to hurt and her stomach gnawed on itself.
"No, but they were to you," he said without missing a beat. "An annoying family trait, but sometimes, quite useful." She rolled her eyes. She actually prided herself on her Darling loyalty. It had been what kept them all alive this past century.
Sighing, she settled back down onto the pillows and looked out the window. It was still so early that the sun had not risen and the whole sky was a promising royal blue. However, she could see the trees, black against the sky, being swept by a strong wind across the horizon. It must have been bitterly cold outside. Although spring was approaching, she had been travelling north and just like on Earth, the farther north she went, the colder it got.
Neal had explained this to her. He had explained the lay of the land. He had mapped out all of it for her. Where she and her brothers had lived for a short time was farm country: warm in the summer, mild in the spring and fall, and snowy, but tolerable in the winter. The earth was perfect for growing, and streams and rivers weaved through the whole area. Just south was the castle and kingdom of the Charmings's, which bordered a salty sea that connected to unknown foreign lands. To the North were the mountains. They were craggy, cold and unforgiving. Neal had explained that his father liked these areas for their remoteness and isolation, and so that was why many of his estates were there. He kept the castle in the farm county for Neal, in hopes that he would come back to a warm home. The northern mountains fell quickly away to another sea, colder and much more turbulent and tumultuous than the one that was in the south. She suspected that would be where they were headed.
"So do you have money now?" she asked.
"Yes. Another perk of the deal. You've really lucked out, bird." She would not have described her situation that way.
"If you have money, you should get some new clothes. You look awful," she said. For the first time that day, Pan looked at her. He turned to look at her over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. His mouth was set in a firm line and she was reminded how much he had aged. His hair was much darker, his jaw stronger, shoulders broader. He had circles under his eyes and had a shadow of stubble on his face. His eyes were different- not that icy, pale, inhuman blue that they had been before. They were a darker blue now, and it unnerved her less than before to have him look at her. He had always had the distinct look of a seventeen year old, but now he looked about twenty.
He didn't respond to her comment. Instead, he said, "I've no idea what your plan was. The fact that you stretched your money this long is impressive, but there's no way you would have lasted another week." She sniffed. She didn't care for his criticism. "I have enough for the two of us now. We won't be back for a while."
She felt her heart drop. "How long?"
"A couple months, at least," he said.
"A couple months! I can't be away from my family that long! They need me," she protested. He looked at her, unmoved. She felt like striking at him and his apparent indifference. "I don't want to be around you that long."
"Oh, the feeling is mutual."
She felt like picking a fight. He was infuriating. Back from the dead and just as callous as ever. She had enjoyed her life when he hadn't been in existence. She had taken his absence for granted. She hadn't realized how good she had had it until he materialized beside her. She felt like screaming. Of course Pan had been dragged back from the dead. She would never be rid of him.
History was repeating itself. Here she was again, enlisting Pan's help to save Baelfire. Except now she was older and knew well enough that it was a terrible idea. Supposedly. But she had no other options. The star was useless and she did not know this word. She needed Pan, as much as she hated to admit it.
She sighed. Could she not keep running into a benevolent, magical being instead? Perhaps one who was kind and didn't have an evil plan up his sleeve?
"You should write a letter, tell your brothers that you won't be back for a while," he told her. With a final flourish of papers, he stood up and sat beside her on the bed. She shifted over, leaving a foot long gap between them. He either didn't notice or pretended not to.
He laid out the map and pointed. "This is where we are." His finger traced up a little ways north, to an area littered with lakes. "And this is where we're going."
"And what is there? What exactly is your plan?"
Pan huffed, almost exasperated that he needed to let her in on his plan. "Gold will go to one of his estates to lick his wounds and live out his days in agony. He's given up the knife that controls him. He just needs to stay far away from everyone. So, he's gone to one of his many estates." She quirked an eyebrow at him, questioningly. "I've kept tabs on him over the centuries, I know where they all are."
"It would be easier if you had had a better relationship with him, perhaps," she said. She couldn't resist a jab. She was furious with himself, herself… the entire situation.
"Yes, family therapy. That's what would have fixed all this." It wasn't the reaction she had been hoping for.
There was beat.
"But you can't find the mansions without having been to the first one." It came out as more of a question than a statement.
He waved it away. "It doesn't matter to those who are as powerful as him." She felt like telling him that she doubted he was as powerful as Gold, but she had been disappointed by her last jab. "Anyway, the plan is to check each of his properties for a way to get the two separated - Gold's collected a lot of writings on magic- and to find the two in the first place. We're leaving in two days. It will require a lot of riding-"
"I can do it," she said, interrupting him. Pan just stared at her, mouth in a firm line and his eyes steely. She glared right back, hoping she looked just as serious and fearsome as he did, though she suspected it didn't have the same effect. "I survived you, after all."
