Chapter 8 "Chief's Punishment"

Flute. Tigerlily heard the familiar chime among the wind's whistles. She peeled away the oversized plants and branches until she could see the jumping figures of the Lost Boys. The tune, alluring and beautiful, was an old favorite. But a song that was never meant to be used again. She neared the fire, they were dancing and howling in a circle around the roaring flames, clicking sticks together to corresponding to the unspoken rhythm.

She felt the music whirring inside her, telling her arms and legs to participate in the hypnotic dance. But she willed her muscles to resist and use the movement to walk towards the source of it all. Peter stood upon a log, blowing into the pan flute he whittled from the Nevertree years before the Lost Boys arrived. Like her axe, the flute had magical properties. Its music attracted the lonely souls and that was how Peter gathered the Lost Boys from realm to realm. He paused his playing once Tigerlily entered his vision, but the beat continued so not to interrupt the dance.

"I thought you've forgotten us,"

"I was busy," she replied, which was an understatement.

She had been preoccupied with wedding plans. She could not believe her father did this to her, forcing her to marry a man she barely knew, if not barely loved within the upcoming year. Her father had forced her to spend time with her betrothed, thought it wasn't all terrible.

She learned quickly that Rufio was different than what she made him out to be. Upon first gander, she thought he was one of those pompous, brutal baboons she would see trudge around the jungle with their arms hanging limply at their sides- and she was talking about the men in her tribe. Actually, Rufio was sensitive, less masculine than what was expected. Of course, he was well-trained in combat and hunting but his true passion, she discovered, was art. She had seen his charcoal sketches on strips of canvas and was blown away by the portrait of herself, heavily detailed that it was like staring at a reflection.

Eventually her hours spent with Rufio became less mandatory and more voluntary. She enjoyed his company, they were good friends for the time being but she could never see it blossom into love. He, too, didn't want to get married, but he found it important that they befriend each other in order to convince their fathers of their 'love'.

Tigerlily didn't want to tell Peter of her situation, it would only sadden her to think that her time with the Lost Boys would soon be gone after a year. She managed to break free from her tribe long enough to check on how Peter was faring. She never caught wind of how things were. Bae had come to visit her at her village to fill her in on what she missed. She didn't get much details for he only watched the Lost Boys from afar, never joining them.

"Things are different. Much different," he had said.

"What is happening?"

"He's making them play games. Games are much more dangerous than before. Devin got hurt real bad when they played chicken at Gory Geyser. Nearly fried the poor guy, but Peter's getting a laugh out of it, telling him to chin up not so much caring for the burns on his right arm. Tigerlily, I never expect him to be the monster I made him out to be,"

That was what made her come tonight. But from what she could see, the boys appeared happy and joyous. But she scoured for clues, hinting at Peter's deliberation of harming them. There was no doubt in her mind that this had something to do with the voice Peter had been consulting with days ago. She roamed around the fire to examine the boys' faces. Indeed, there were bruises, cuts, and burns- more than battle scars from the usual rough play.

"What have you been doing to them?"

He raised a baiting eyebrow, "What ever do you mean? We've only been playing games that's all," He waltzed to one of the tents and produced a crossbow. Tigerlily despised that contraption, a mockery to the true weapon of accuracy: the bow. It could take a blind person to know how to use a crossbow, but her bow required actual skill.

"We're about to play this fun new game I made. 'Target Practice' I call it,"

"What do you shoot?"

"It's not what. It's who. We take turns shooting an apple off a boy's head. It's real fun watching them flinch. Quite exhilarating," he grinned like he didn't realize the danger and stupidity hidden in that sentence.

"That is dangerous!" she cried, "What if a boy gets injured?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "He wouldn't mind. I would just heal him up with magic if he's close to death anyway,"

She let out a cry of frustration. How could Peter be so dismissive towards the boys' well beings? What had the voice been feeding him?, "Who were you talking to?" she queried heatedly, "the night you beat Fox. In the treehouse, I heard you talking to someone. Who is he? He's been filling your head with these ideas- like it is right to put the boys in harm's way, hasn't he?"

She stood there, breathing heavily after proclaiming her thoughts. Peter processed her words and gave it some thought. Then, he brought Tigerlily to the compound's edge where the fire's light couldn't touch them,

"Boys!" he shouted, disrupting the festive vibe as the Lost Boys stopped their dancing and looked to their leader, "Tigerlily here hasn't met our guest of honor yet, has she?" They shook their heads but they shared the same smug look Peter had, which made Tigerlily take a wary step back. They banged their sticks on the ground, recreating the rhythm from their dance before. Devin, stood out like a sore thumb in the group, not as excited as his brothers.

Peter glanced over his shoulder, "Come on out. Don't be shy," he coaxed. Tigerlily braced herself for a figure to emerge from the dark behind him, but no one did. Instead, Peter gave a shudder and rolled his shoulders, similar to how Tinkerbell summons her wings. She saw him shed his shadow, separating himself from the silhouette voluntarily, until there were two. But what made this so remarkable was Peter was still standing, he was still breathing. She thought once a shadow has been separated from its owner, the owner dies. Somehow, Peter found a way to sustain his life while being kept apart from his shadow.

"Tigerlily meet Ombra," The shadow appeared suddenly next to her. Her breath hitch and she went into survival mode. Peter stayed calm, his body language showed it wasn't a threat, but that didn't quell Tigerlily's bad feeling about the shadow. Her bare arms experienced a chill and she found herself backing away into the jungles, running away from Peter's new friend. The last thing she remembered before taking off, was the luminous pair of white eyes.

Katherine Nolan was missing.

Lily didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified by that news. She was happy to know that the focus wasn't on her anymore. But what she didn't like was her teacher getting negative attention nowadays. Her and David's affair had put her on the radar, pinning either her or David for Katherine's disappearance. Never there had been more drama in Storybrooke than the crap Miss Blanchard went through.

The constant gossiping and accusations must have been too much for her, for Lily, Paige, and Henry entered their classroom one morning finding Sister Astrid subbing for Miss Blanchard. Class began without a hitch, but as the lesson drew on the group of friends discussed what might have happened to their beloved teacher in whispers.

"She got arrested last night," Henry said. .

Both Paige and Lily stared at him in bewilderment, "For what?"

"Katherine's dead. They think Mary Margaret killed her,"

"No," Paige refused to believe it, "No. Miss Blanchard wouldn't do that. She's the sweetest person in all of Storybrooke,"

"Geez, thanks Paige," Henry grumbled.

"Oh, you know what I mean,"

Lily stayed silent, watching the two interact. They were leaning too far from their chairs just to whisper to each other, like personal space didn't mean anything to either of them. They were constantly smiling and laughing. Lily thought Paige's bold decision of dropping her popular friends was a smart move, otherwise she wouldn't have started to hang out with Henry more. She really liked him, and Lily could tell Henry liked her back.

But back to the matter of Miss Blanchard...she, a murderer? No. That wasn't right at all. But with the affair, she had more of a motive than anybody else. She and David could have been together, out in public for the town to see, content- but that wouldn't happen unless Katherine was out of the picture.

She opened her mouth to put in her two cents on the conversation when Sheriff Swan's fist rapped against the door before entering slowly, "Hey, is it okay if I take Lily out of class. Police business,"

Sister Astrid nodded timidly. Henry and Paige shot a worried look Lily's way, but she assured them she didn't do anything wrong. And with that, Lily picked up her backpack and followed the Sheriff to Mother Superior's office. Coming inside, she saw Mother Superior, her foster parents, and Mayor Mills inside.

Cautiously, Lily brought herself to sit next to the Tailors, staring at the Mayor standing behind the seated Mother Superior. Her eyes stone cold, known to be the most striking and frightening thing about her and her maroon stained lips were set in a thin line, clearly unamused. But then again, when has she ever been? She was radiating a sense of evil which unnerved Lily.

"Hello, Lily," greeted Mother Superior, "I bet you're wondering why you're here."

"What did I do?" she asked.

"As you know, Katherine Nolan had been missing for a week now. And when we thought we could never find the answers to where she went, the Sheriff had a rather shocking find-"

Mayor Mills cut her off, coming right off the bat, "We found her heart in a box,"

"Please tell me, that's a metaphor," Mr. Tailor said.

"Miss Blanchard's fingerprints were found on the lid," Sheriff Swan added in, "I arrested her for murder last night," her tone wavered. She obviously didn't like having to put her friend/ roommate in jail.

"But what am I doing here? Why did you call me?"

"We found something else in that box," Regina threw down a plastic bag, the evidence found in the crime scene. Through the translucence, Lily's treasured necklace could be seen enclosed, "Is this or is this not your necklace?"

Baffled, Lily tried to summon the words but her own shock prevented her. She lost that necklace some time ago, but now she knew it had been stolen just to frame her, "Y-Yes," she sputtered finally, "but how it ended up in the box is beyond me." She was telling the truth, but Mayor Mills wasn't buying it.

"We think Mary Margaret had an accomplice,"

"You think it's me? I would never kill somebody. I'm a kid!"

"Your record speaks against you," The Mayor countered, "You're considered a public menace after that act of 'self defense',"

Lily couldn't listen to her any longer. She turned to her foster parents, "Do you think I would do it?"

"Lily, we believe you. It's just that Sheriff Swan is going to take you to the station for some questioning. We'll get you out soon. I promise," How could they be so understanding after she was suspected for murder? Mrs. Tailor held her hand, rubbing small circles on her knuckles in a soothing motion. She did until Sheriff Swan took Lily out of the office and into the patrol car.

The last thing Lily saw before being driven away was August, staring at her while on his motorcycle across the street. With his gloved hand he did some sort of wave then moved his hand away from his chest as if presenting something. Without thinking, Lily mimicked the same motion and then added a word she never used before, "Wingapo (Hello)"

"What did you say?" The Sheriff asked from the driver's seat, "It sounded like a different language,"

"Wingapo," Lily said in a trance, "It means 'hello',"

"Where did you learn that?"

Lily racked her brain for what possessed her to say a foreign word. She stared out the window once more but August wasn't there anymore, "I don't know."

Tigerlily sat crossed legged. Her head tilted back to feel the wind against her face. She breathed in the air at its finest. The smell of pine mixed with seawater brought her peace. It was moments like this when she could feel all aspects of nature, like the roaring of the Neversea and the fire crackling at Pirate Cove. All was where it should be, just the way Tigerlily liked it.

Tonight was the one night she could break free from the suffocation of wedding preparations. The usual occasions when Tigerlily would perform this ritual she was in total solitude, the one thing she didn't have to include Peter.

This was where she went to get away from both her village and the Lost Boys, which was unlikely. She had never shown anybody else the clearing before. It turned out she didn't have to. Peter chased after her, leaving Ombra and the Lost Boys behind.

"Hello," he said, trying to speak in her native tongue, "Do you want me to leave?" His pronunciation was terrible, but she understood.

She said nothing, arching her posture to appear dignified. She closed her eyes and let her mind break apart and scatter throughout the many wonders of Neverland, "Yes. You are trespassing on my tranquility."

"Oh face it Tiger, you can never be peaceful here,"

"'If you believe, you can achieve anything'. Your words, remember?"

He crept forward, "Please, talk to me," he pleaded in a miniscule voice, differing from his usual pompous tone, "Is it because of Ombra? Look, he has shown me amazing things, telling me how to tap into the island for more magic. I doubt the fairies know how. Watch," He closed his eyes and moved his hands in a circular motion, then suddenly lightning crackled and droplets of water fell from the sky. A heavy rain cannonaded across the island, soaking everything.

"Isn't this great? I can control the weather, help with the harvest. Hell, I'll make an abundance of food!"

Tigerlily tried not to mind this, especially since he wanted to put his power to good use. But how long would it take until he focused on his own needs, his personal gain? He was becoming obsessed with his newfound power. Why did it mean so much to him? Ombra could have planted an idea in his head. She didn't trust a Shadow.

"How could you befriend something that had tried to kill you?"

Peter scoffed, "Did the last 500 years escape your mind? We met exactly the same way! Yet, here we are,"

But that was different. At least, she wasn't a part of a supernatural race of demonic creatures, "He is changing you. You put the boys in danger with your silly games, making you use your powers constantly, when you very well know magic is depleting!" she chided through the rain.

Peter crossed his arms and refuted indignantly, "I haven't changed. Those games are fun and the boys don't mind. They're tough. Besides, Ombra is not someone to fear. He's helping me get those pirates off this island for good," He rubbed his chin, "You know what, there's something else. Something else that's bothering you and it's not Ombra. You can tell me. Through thick and thin, remember?"

He read her actions well. Tigerlily's mind pieced back together, now thinking about the wedding. After the marriage was done and dealt with, her duties would be surrounding her tribe and her tribe only. She wouldn't be allowed to leave her village to play with the Lost Boys. That meant she could never see Peter anymore. His companionship had been a gift to her. When people viewed her as merely a girl, he saw her as his equal, someone as clever and swift as he (maybe even more so, if he could admit it). Their games that eased her mind from her overbearing father and demanding responsibilities, would forever be lost to her if she married Rufio.

Peter sensed her trouble then laid on the mud, an elbow propped up his head as he rested on his side. He was going to wait her out, but Tigerlily didn't count on him to stick around long, being the impatient person he was and the fact that the rain was pelting harder than it was before. He seemed to be staring at something. Minutes passed by in silence before Tigerlily realized it was her he was staring at. She withdrew from her meditation to return the stare but with more confusion than analysis.

"What is it?" she asked, now wanting to know what was on his mind. Instead of receiving a proper response, a shrug was all she received from the boy.

"Oh nothing," his focus switched to the sky, where he concentrated on making the raindrops glow a soft shade of blue.

"Tell me," she commanded.

He smiled slyly, "Not if you tell me what's on your mind."

"How about you use your new magic and make me?"

"I would never dare use magic on you, Tigerlily. Besides, I have another way of making you talk," his hands dropped to his sides after successfully creating an illusion of falling stars within the rain.

Tigerlily jumped up from her spot and stared down Peter with her legs bent. He promptly copied her movements, rising from the ground the way a lion does after a long slumber- with majesty. Now this was the Peter she knew, not the one Bae spoke of, "There's only one way to settle this."

It had been a regular occurrence where Peter and Tigerlily would wrestle the truth from one another. She was fairly strong and could last an hour long match against Peter. The fight would end with messy results. A bloody nose or a broken arm...the cost for an answer. But Tigerlily didn't want to tell Peter about Rufio, worried about how he would take it. She ought to make sure she win this wrestling match to keep her from mentioning the wedding.

"I will get you to talk," Tigerlily growled playfully.

Peter gave an amused smile and shook his head, sealing the deal, "You're not going to make me."

Those words triggered the first chokehold. Tigerlily had grabbed the boy's head and pushed him forcibly down in the now muddy terrain. Then Peter latched onto her legs, tripping her. They were tangled in each other's limbs seconds later. Rolling around in the mud, dodging and throwing punches at each other all in the name of fun and challenge. Soon, it came to the point where Peter emerged dominant, having ended up over Tigerlily after a roll near a willow tree.

"I remain victorious! You're losing your touch, Tigerlily. Haven't gotten soft on me have you?" He joked, water dripping from the tip of his nose. Both their hair was lathered in mud and their faces streaked with the rain, "Like I say, the softest of fruit bruise easily."

Tigerlily grunted, blinking away the rain from her eyes. She raised her filthy fist to punch the smugness from her opponent's face when suddenly the air between them changed. The playful atmosphere seemed to disappear as Peter's grin did. He resumed staring at Tigerlily like he had before. His eyes swirled with different emotions that were unlike him, fear and hesitation. She tried to register what was happening but she couldn't. She focused on Peter, searching for what caused him to act like this.

"Peter?"

"Don't move," he whispered. Without much of a warning, Peter closed the space between him and Tigerlily. His lips placed a gentle kiss on hers. Tigerlily was brought by surprise. She forgot what she wanted to say about Ombra, her engagement to Rufio, leaving the Lost Boys, since she lost the game after all. But she never experienced anything like this.

She didn't know whether or not to be angry at Peter or scared, though she felt a flicker of bliss from the exchange. Her emotions swirled in an undecipherable bunch, churning her stomach in the process, rattling her heart. The kiss lasted for seconds, though it seemed longer for Tigerlily.

Peter pulled away and the rain ceased. He refused to look at Tigerlily in the eyes, his hands shaking and his cheeks reddening. He shook his head, like he did after beating Fox. Did he not mean to do this either? Didn't mean to kiss her? She figured it had been the work of Ombra who influenced Peter. But Ombra was elsewhere, this was truly Peter's choice. Tigerlily hastily rose and tried to speak with him, but the boy backed away from her. He took to the cloudy skies, without saying goodbye.

"So, Lillian Rebecca Jacobs," Sheriff Swan slid into the chair of the interrogation room. She had retrieved Lily's record from the filing cabinet. On the way to question the suspect, she skimmed through it...or at least some of it. A few papers were missing, a gap between a transfer. Key information that would have cleared this case up was crossed out in black sharpie.

She knew this was the work of either Graham or Regina, but the Mayor couldn't break into the files even with Sydney's help. So if it was Graham, then why did he go through the trouble to hide certain aspects of Lily's record? Propping her hands on the table, she began, "what's your relation to Mrs. Nolan?"

On the opposite side of the table sat Lily, arms crossed, ""She used to be my foster parent," As she confessed this, the Sheriff shuffled through the file once more and found a letter from social services regarding the placement of Lily in _'s care. The name was inked out, but it was dated during the gap. One piece of the puzzle solved.

"Has there been any problems between you two?" There they hit a bump in the road.

Lily hesitated, "Nothing to report."

"Really?" Swan leaned forward, "You're friends with Henry, aren't you?" Lily opened her mouth to clarify she wasn't that good friends with him but decided against it and let her continue, "He must have told you my super power."

"Your lie detector,"

"So you know that I'm not buying that 'nothing' for a second," The Sheriff sensed the discomfort in Lily from the way she was shaking in her seat, "Look, it's hard to talk about what happens in a foster home. But you need to come clean if you want to get out of here soon,"

"Either way, I'll still be stuck here. What I say is going to be used against me," she retorted.

"Please, for Mary Margaret,"

"You want to know so badly?" Lily yelled, "Since David disappeared from her life, Katherine became a wreck. She would drink too much and…" she didn't need to go on. Covering her cheek with her oversized sleeve, she recounted a horrible memory.

"One night, I was cooking dinner. She...she burned me on the wrist." Then, she rolled down her sleeve and tore off the bracelets to reveal a burn about 2 inches wide.

The Sheriff remained silent, appalled that Katherine was the kind to go on a drunken rampage. Her heart went out to this girl, having too experienced people like this during her time in the system, "Katherine came at me and I kept trying to get away. And I guess we caused quite a loud noise, loud enough for the neighbors to call the police. Graham took me out of that house later that night and put me with the Tailors the next day,"

Clasping the bracelets back on her wrists, Lily sighed, "So I guess I do have a motive for killing her. "Most of the foster homes I've been in were terrible, but being in Katherine's care was the worst this that could ever happen to me."

Sheriff Swan got up from her seat and opened the door, refusing to make eye contact with Lily. She didn't want to see the tears forming in her eyes. When Lily described her story, she couldn't help but think about her own unspeakable experiences. One day, she was going to talk about them like Lily had. But for right now, she had to bottle it inside. She commended Lily for recalling, she was brave enough to do so.

"Where have you been?" The Chief asked his daughter once returning from her clearing. The rainstorm ended after Peter left her. Since the kiss, she couldn't concentrate- stuck in a daze she didn't want to leave anytime soon. Her steps were lighter, she stood up straighter, and her mouth tugged into a small smile. What was this feeling? This warm feeling that could either be the cause of sleeping near the fire or being bitten by a poisonous bug. She yearned to put a name on it, define it.

She ambled past her father, towards her tent which is to the right of the fire pit, "Out for a walk,"

"No. You are lying to me," The Chief forced Tigerlily to face him.. His dark eyes glowered at her with spite that didn't belong to a father's eyes. She could never bring herself to ask him why he did this to her, but she knew deep in her heart that her father didn't love her. It had been her fault her mother died.

She had arrived at the wrong place at the wrong time, and for that her father didn't need to give her the love he had given her mother. As part of their custom, when a person dies, her people applied white paint onto their face to mourn the dead. Her father never removed the white streak brushed upon his cheek. He continued to mourn. He continued to blame her.

"You were with Pan,"

Tigerlily refused to meet his gaze, but asked softly, "Why must you hate him so?"

"He is a danger to our tribe. All Lost Boys are danger,"

Now that wasn't were countless of times when the Lost Boys had saved her village from peril. She knew her father wasn't talking about recent events involving Peter's change in behavior because this disdain for the Lost Boys originated years ago for reasons unknown to her, "Peter helps us. How is he danger?,"

"He makes you weak! A ruler should never be weak," Weak? "I forbid you to see him again." He domineered then stalked off, thinking he reached his point. But Tigerlily said something that made him stop in his tracks.

"No, father! I will not!" She couldn't restrain herself from disobeying any longer. She didn't wish to be treated like a bird in a cage. She needed the Lost Boys just as much as they needed her, "He is my friend. They are my friends!"

"You are to be married. You will have no need of friends. You will have no time for friends,"

"But I am happy with them, father," Tigerlily said then gasped. There was a name to that pleasant feeling she carried on the way home. Happiness, "Do you not care about my happiness, father?"

The Chief didn't answer. Instead, he seized Tigerlily by the wrist and yanked her to the fire and with a quick, rigid movement, he dropped her wrist over the flames, roasting it. She cried out, loud for the village to hear but no one objected to the punishment, not unless they wanted the same fate.

Her skin reddened like any carcass she would have cooked, the smoke swirling and branching until the smell of burning flesh overwhelmed her nose. She couldn't escape from her father's strong hold and then she realized she had to stop making noise. It was undignified for her to emit her screams of agony. She was currently more embarrassing her father than herself. She bit down on her tongue and tightened her lips to keep from showing signs of discomfort. Then the Chief let go.

Tigerlily held her wrist to her eyes, her fingers unable to touch the burn without hurting. She glared at her father, who was unpulsed by his actions,"Happiness is a far-fetched dream! I do not need you to be happy, I need you to be present, I need you to rule," His calloused fingers wrapped around her wrist once more, the pain more excruciating than before as he squeezed it, "Do not disobey me."

A/N: Geez Chief! I know you guys were getting impatient so I threw the kiss in there. You're welcome. The curse will break next chapter, just to answer Kira Tsumi's question. And we'll see how Tigerlily deals with Ombra. Any ideas on what game Peter and the Lost Boys could play in the next chapter? Because Rufio will be making another appearance, this time tagging along with Tigerlily to see the Lost Boys in order to protect her from her father's wrath again.

How do you think Peter will react to Rufio being around? What will happen when Lily wakes up from the curse?

Stay tuned!