Disclaimer, I do not Once Upon a Time or it's characters.
Robin opened her eyes. It was still dark outside of her window but she couldn't go back to sleep. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was already four in the morning so she figured she would just get up now. She walked over to her window and pushed her windows open. The wind pushed into her room making her hair fly everywhere and her nightgown wrap around her slim figure. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air, a smile painting her face. She was on the top floor so she stepped out and onto the roof. She sat for a while just looking at the town below just thinking.
She crawled back into her room and shut her windows and turned back around but when her back was towards the wall she felt the breeze push into her. She turned around and was surprised to see that her windows were open. She walked back and stuck her head out of her window and looked around. She didn't see anything for a while until she saw something move behind one of the house's fireplaces. She figured it was just a bird and shut her windows again, this time making sure to lock them.
She made her way downstairs quietly so as not to wake her family and put on the kettle. She made a cup of tea and sat down by the fireplace. Something caught her eye through another window so she walked up to it and looked out. At first she didn't see anything but then she looked down the road and in the light of a street lamp she saw the shadow of a boy, but couldn't find the boy it belonged to. She was about to go out and investigate when she heard someone behind her. She turned around, started, but only was her little sister Abby.
"Robin? What are you doing?" She asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes.
"I couldn't sleep. Don't worry, go back to sleep."
"I can't."
"Alright." Robin set down her tea and walked over to Abby. "How about I read a story to you." Abby nodded and followed her sister upstairs. Abby grabbed a book and handed it to Robin.
"Here, read this one." Robin looked at the cover.
"The Adventures of Peter Pan." She looked up. "But we've already read this a hundred times."
"I know but it's my favorite." Robin sighed and sat down on a chair near the bed. And opened the book to a random page.
"Once upon a time there was a boy. He saved boys from their awful lives and brought them to his home. He lived on a magical island called Neverland."
Abby's eyes lit up with excitement.
"He called the boys he saved his lost boys and he protected them against all the terrors of the world. His name was Peter Pan. Pan was a kind boy who loved everyone and never hurt a soul. He and his lost boys fought the evil pirate Captain Hook." She looked up and saw that Abby had already fallen fast asleep. She smiled and set the book down. She heard something outside the window again and she ran to catch the culprit. But she didn't find anything.
"Hello?" She asked into the darkness but no one responded. "What is going on?" She saw that the sun was rising and shut the windows. She got to her room and was about to change her clothes when she saw her window. It wasn't open and she didn't see anything but she still had a weird feeling about what had happened earlier, so she closed the shades.
She slipped off her silk nightgown and got out her change of clothes. She opened the closet and her eyes fell on a dress in the corner. Today was the debutante ball where she would be presented to her community. She hated this. Sure she actually liked the idea of dancing around in a big dress but she thought the idea of the ceremony was sexist and objectifying. She would walk out in a dress with a boy and dance around. She would be looked at like a doll or a trophy. Once the ceremony was over she would be 'available' for boys to marry her. No matter how much she hated the idea she knew what her parents' response would be. It would be the same response as always. No. So she sighed and grabbed the white dress and put it on. It was a boring dress that was tight fighting at the top and very fluffy at the bottom.
"Wow." She heard someone say behind her. She turned around to see her mother standing to the doorway. "You look just like I did at my ball." Robin smiled. No matter how much she hated the whole thing she did like that it made her mom happy. "Turn around." Robin did that and faced herself in the mirror. Her mom came up behind her and touched her hair. She grabbed a hair tie and put her hair up. She brought her hair into a bun and put her hands on her shoulder.
"Thank you."
"You look beautiful." She stood there for a while longer. "Come on. We should be going." Robin turned around confused.
"But it's so early still and the party isn't until late."
"Yes but it is far away and we still have to get ready. It will take all day. It isn't just a dance." Robin was still confused but went just the same. She stepped into the passenger seat of the car. They drove off and Robin was left to her thoughts.
"Come on, we need to get you to your room." They checked in and were directed up some stairs. They got into a small room and set down their bags. For the rest of the day they did makeup and met people. She met a lot of girls, mostly older, in very similar white dresses with pounds of makeup on. She was only 17 and most of the others were older than her.
Soon it was dark out again and was pushed into a room with girls in white and boys in black. She walked up to one of the boys, her escort.
"Hey Jackson." She hugged him. They weren't dating but she wasn't dating anyone so they were going as friends.
"Are you ready?" Robin nodded.
"As ready as I'll ever be I guess."
"Good because you're up next." Robin was pushed into a line. Between other girls.
"Robin Hunt." Robin stepped out in front of the crowd of people. Thomas was waiting just outside to take her hand. They stepped up and waited for everyone else to be called. When everyone was standing on the stage the music started to play. She grabbed onto Thomas' shoulder and he put his hand on her waist. With the other hand they intertwined fingers. She looked into his eyes and gave her a reassuring look. They were in the middle of the dance when there was some commotion near the doors and a rather large man stepped forward in front of the stage.
"Oh no." Robin said under her breath.
"Hey, look at you. My little princess is all grown up." He lifted his hand that held a bottle of cheap schnapps and gestured towards Robin. She moved away from Thomas and towards the man.
"Dad, it's ok. Please go home."
"And miss all of the excitement. No way." He stumbled around until he found her mom. "You let her do this? Be paraded around in front of a bunch of horny men who just can't wait to get their dirty hands all over her."
"Dad stop!" Everyone around them had turned silent.
"No. This isn't what you wanted. You had independence and a future."
"Michal, you know that's not what this is. It's just a party now, not us selling our daughter."
"Oh stop fooling yourself Jesica. Yes it is, they just hid it better. It's all your fault that Robin isn't happy." He smashed the bottle into a wall near her face. Robin jumped in front of her mom.
"Dad! STOP! It's not her fault. It's yours. You have never been there for me. You say you want me to be happy but you left us. Mom has to work all the time and I take care of all your other kids. This will make her happy so I'm doing it!"
"How dare you talk to me like that after everything I have done for you." He slapped her with the back of his hand and her head snapped to the side. Gasps were heard throughout the crowd. She touched her cheek and felt blood dripping from a cut. Her dad looked shocked.
"Oh sweety, I am so sorry." He reached for her but she grabbed his hand and pulled away.
"Don't touch me." She grabbed her dress and ran up to her room. She collapsed onto the bed and cried for a long time.
After a few minutes she couldn't cry anymore. She went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a clown. She laughed a little at her reflection before taking a washcloth to her face. When she looked back she smiled. She always thought she looked better without makeup. She had soft, healthy skin that seemed to glow a little and long dark eyelashes that framed her dark blue eyes. Her black hair usually framed her face in a messy manner but now was tied up.
She walked out and was about to get out of her dress and her uncomfortable shoes when the window flew open. She walked up to it angrily and stuck her head out.
"Alright. Who are you!?" She yelled into the darkness. If anyone had heard her they would think she was crazy. "I am sick of this game you have been playing with me! I'm not sure how you do it but stop opening my damn windows or lurking outside of them!" No one answered her. "I have had a really bad day and this is not helping!"
"Oh I've heard." A smooth voice came from behind her. She spun around but she didn't see anything. She stepped backwards but something grabbed her mouth. She reached for the hand but it wasn't there. She couldn't feel anything but air. She couldn't breath and slowly her vision became dark and blurry before she passed out.
