Chapter 12 'The Past Lets Go'
The peaks of the towering pines circled around the midnight moon. In a secluded clearing outside of Storybrooke, Tigerlily had set up an area to clean up her combat skills. She found a some store mannequins in the dumpster and fashioned a bow and a set of new arrows. The orange glow casted by the five torches she shoved into the dirt created more than enough light to make her targets visible. Her makeshift practice dummies were hammered into the ground, forming half a circle.
She raised her new bow to her face and stretched the string to as far as her cheek to test its elasticity. Upon letting it go felt little vibration. It was taut, but not to an extent where she couldn't pull an arrow back on it. Satisfied, she notched an arrow. Though she tripled checked the weapon to make sure it was suitable, it didn't feel right to pick up a bow that wasn't her mother's. She had left it behind in Neverland, along with her axe.
Releasing it, the arrow flew to the heart of the mannequin. Tigerlily quickly launched another, falling into a rapid rhythm. One by one the arrows shot through the air in intervals lasting two seconds towards the four dummies, each hitting its intended target. Soon her twenty four arrows were already launched, each dummy sporting a six arrows to the heart, the brain, or the eyes.
She flicked the arrow aside and grabbed a set of throwing knives from the ground. She treated this practice as though she was being attacked by the enemy. Her whole body was on the edge, adrenaline fueling her motions as she went. She spun around, letting loose of three blades at the first dummy. Then, she took one knife and charged towards the second dummy. She slashed at it before finishing off with a mighty jab in the abdomen. She tore off the head of the third, leaving her the fourth and final one.
Panting, Tigerlily took the dummy by the neck and dragged it away from the others. This one mannequin was never harmed, no scratches or marks indicating any sort of abuse. She wanted to keep it that way. The dynamic changed. It was strange to her, having to preserve this one after destroying the others. Maybe it was because most of her life she had murdered. Killing came easy for her since there wasn't much to lose if you fail. Healing, trying to save one's life- she had tried that once and it only ended with blood on her hands.
She shut her eyes and lifted her hands so the palms faced up. With shaky hands, she unfurled her fingers and tried to concentrate summoning the Light. The effects of the potion dosage she took before the curse had worn off that afternoon and she was now about to try and control her ability like Rumplestiltskin suggested. The Light came quick. Without cracking an eye open, Tigerlily felt the familiar tingle running through her hands and knew the orbs of light had returned to haunt her. She had gotten this far before, but the true test was to actually get it to perform its true purpose.
She forced her eyes to open, the light glowed brighter and brighter. The dummy was 3 feet away from her. Her focus was now on the inanimate object, she concentrated on its shadow, the slim shape hiding behind. Exhaling she thrusted her palms towards it. A beam of white shot from her hands. The Light covered the shadow in a warm glow.
Had she done it?
She willed the Light to stop. Seconds passed but the light didn't diminish, it continued to stream towards its target. Panicked, she tried shaking her hands as if it would disrupt the flow of energy. It did nothing but intensifying the light. It grew and grew ever more blinding, forcing Tigerlily to close her eyes once more.
"Stop! Stop!" she cried desperately.
"Tigerlily!" she swore she heard a voice coming from the forest. Oh no. Someone was going to get hurt from her powers again. If that wasn't enough motivation to put out the Light, then what was? Tigerlily dug deep into her memory, bringing back the emotions she felt when that accident occur. The horror, the guilt- the screams. She could hear the same scream from before, no longer in her mind but it had manifested into reality.
She concentrated on that. The screams the victim let out when exposed harshly to the Light. She vowed never to hear such an agonizing noise come out of a human again. It was high pitched, scratching against her ears. Never again, she repeated. Never again. She wanted to cry from the pain running through her body, but she realized she needed it to cut off the connection to her powers.
Then it stopped. The tingling sensation from her hands ceased, leaving her with slightly pink hands. It had drained her and Tigerlily now felt dizzy. She staggered onto the forest floor, clutching her head.
Rushing footsteps came to her aid. Tiny arms lifted her torso off the ground and tried to shake her awake. But it was too late, she already blacked out.
Orange. The blackness behind her eyelids brightened. Tigerlily cracked one eye open and saw she was bathed in sunlight. It was a dream, that she was well aware of. But where was she? She spread her arms out and touched the fleecy fabric pooled around her whilst she tilted her head at the light originating from a hole in the palm woven ceiling. To her astonishment, she realized she was back in the treehouse, back in her native clothes. Her minded drifted from Storybrooke and returned to Neverland.
A breeze pricked the back of her neck, causing her muscles to tense and shiver. Her hands went to rub away at the goosebumps forming on her arms. Instantly, she felt comfort in the warmth her fingers provided. But opening her eyes, she realized her hands were hovering over her elbow, having not touched her skin yet. But she felt a sense of heat there. Finally closing the gap, she didn't feel her velvety skin but a large calloused hand that had a light grip on her arm.
Tigerlily didn't react. She knew she was safe. She traced the lines along the hand, recognizing its touch. Soon after, a husky voice whispered into her ear.
"Tigerlily," Turning to the other side, she was met by startling emerald eyes. Peter Pan lay beside her on the bed, watching her intensely.
"I'm not really here, she murmured, "You're not here either."
"But you want me to be," His eyes took in her short sleeves and his expression softened into concern, "You must be cold." Before Tigerlily could respond Peter inched closer and pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on her shoulder. She could feel him press a kiss on the top of her head.
It was too real. But he couldn't be there.
Out of habit, she shifted her head so she could nuzzle her face into Peter's, their noses brushing against each other. He smiled, something he would have done when she did that, "Oh how I've missed you, Tigerlily."
With a cautious move of her hand, she stroked the side of his face. A wave of emotion hit her just then and she remembered the last time she did this. Her fingers had grazed his cheek before clamping onto his collar, moments before he disappeared from her forever, carried away in the blue abyss.
It was too much for her. For a moment she had let herself indulge into her mind's tricks. For a moment, she believed Peter was with her. She wrenched herself away from his hold and shot out of the bed. The guilt was eating away at her.
"You're doing it again, you know," she heard him say. She didn't know how much longer this would last. She didn't know how long she would last. She wanted to use her fists, not her words. No human being could send her on the edge as well as Peter did. And he didn't have to try. With one rooted stare, she was suddenly disarmed.
"Pushing me away," Sadness dripped from his voice. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "What have I done wrong?"
He had yet to understand why she had done the things she did, "Had the last 5 centuries escape your mind? During quests and battles, I've been able to dodge every sword and creature. Yet, you treated me like some fragile damsel that could shatter any moment,"
"I wanted you to be safe,"
He sounded sincere, but Tigerlily knew better, "Oh save it! Eyes everywhere but on me, shoe shuffling- you're not selling it therefore I'm not buying it,"Peter wasn't the only one who could read people's facial expressions. She had been with him too long to be easily tricked.
"Fooling you wasn't my intention. I've forgotten how stubborn you are, Tigerlily. Even now, I'm trying to protect you. If you knew the truth, he will know. And he will be out to get you,"
She whirled around, now worried, "Who?"
"Take a wild guess,"
"Ombra," A nod from his confirmed it, "You said he took over. Meaning Neverland?"
A pregnant pause followed, leading Tigerlily to believe that was what happened. Maybe that was why Peter didn't want her to come back. Neverland had grown darker. "This is my fault, you know. He wouldn't have risen to power if I had done what I was supposed to do," She blamed herself for the events leading up to her departure from Neverland, leading up to...Peter's death.
"You could never forgive me. For not telling you the truth about Rufio and I, for being so scared of this," she gestured to the space between them, hinting their relationship, " that I ran away. A-And that gotten you killed!"
She wasn't aware that she was shaking until Peter set his hands on her shoulders, "But its not in my place to forgive you. You bear the burden of your actions. You won't let yourself forget it, but it must be you to have mercy on yourself,"
"But if it were. Would you forgive me?
A twinkle in his eyes said it all, "You could never scare me away, Tiger."
"Do you have to go?"
"No. I'm afraid you're being pulled out your dreamstate. Please, listen to me," he accompanied it with an eyebrow raise to say 'Seriously, just this once', "Don't let the weight of your bad actions hurt you anymore. Let go of your past and it will let go of you. And heed my last warning, stay away from Neverland!" Her hands slipped out of Peter's as a force tugged at her, taking her out of her dream.
The top half of her body shot up from the couch with her arms still outstretched towards Peter. Her fingers clawed at the open air, but she was already awake. She took in sight of her new surroundings. Lavish furniture, immaculate walls- affluent living she reckoned. Her head throbbed and her insides felt like they were blended into an undesirable smoothie- she was not in the state to receive any more she got one anyway.
Jefferson came through the doorway, holding a washcloth, "Good, you're up,"
Tigerlily was too burned out to run away from the madman. She didn't so much flinch when he pressed the back of his hand against her forehead to check her temperature, "You're experiencing fatigue, probably due to stress or overexertion of strength. He assessed her condition with questionable background knowledge. Since when did he became a doctor?
"I can't say I like being brought into your house unconscious, but at least you're hospitable," The Hatter grimaced.
After treating a few scraps on her arms from the fall, he left the room and came back with her weapons she had used in the clearing, "I recommend you don't play with your toys for a while. And for the record, you owe me two now, Tigerlily,"
The Hatter wasn't the most generous man, so for him to have helped her not once but twice was equaled to finding the same speckled frog. The first time he helped her was in the Enchanted Forest. She wasn't there for more than an hour and she managed to get caught and forced into a slave auction. Jefferson was among the crowd of bidders at the time and had taken pity on her. He helped her escape before she was auctioned off and owed him for that ever since.
"I'm down on cash already. Couldn't have bought you over with the highest bid anyway," he had said before letting her go into the woods. She promised to return the favor in kind, but the Hatter had yet to cash it in.
"Thank you," Tigerlily sat up on the couch but she couldn't will her legs to move, "For getting me out of the forest."
"I didn't bring you here," Jefferson said, causing her to tense up. Then who did?
Footsteps shuffling from the hallway reached her ears and the pint-sized believer scuttled into the living room, "You're alive!"
Henry crashed into her and gave her a huge hug, knocking the wind out of her, "Of course she is. I healed her." Jefferson told Henry, "This kid was out and about in the woods when he saw a bright light coming from a clearing. He dragged you around the forest, looking for help. I was out for a drive when I saw you two,"
"Sorry," Henry said sheepishly, "You were heavy. Oh, I called Gramps and he'll come and get us soon." Tigerlily wanted to ask him what exactly he saw in the clearing but thought against it when she heard a knock on the door.
Jefferson rose from his chair, "That must be the prince." he said, not too thrilled.
Tigerlily and Henry joined Jefferson to answer the door. He opened it but who they expected was accompanied with someone they didn't. There was a crossed David and by his side was a bleary-eyed Grace.
"Papa?"
The Hatter stumbled back, initially rattled by his daughter's presence. He didn't want her to see him like this, to see him after so many years. David pulled Henry outside to lecture him on not to sneak out and to also leave Jefferson to catch up with Grace.
Tigerlily stood anchored to the hardwood floors, looking at the Hatter expectedly. She wanted him to say something along the lines of 'I'm sorry' or 'I know I shouldn't have left you'. She wanted him to say what she had said to Peter in her dream because he would stand up straighter, having had that weight lifted from him. Nothing would be able to stop him from pursuing a future with his daughter.
"Grace, I-" The girl didn't need an apology. She ran in and pulled her father into a long awaited embrace. The tears swelled in Jefferson's eyes. He couldn't believe it. How could she forgive him? After he abandoned her?
"I just miss you so much, Papa,"
"You deserved better," His voice broke off, "So much better."
Tigerlily swallowed down the lump in her throat. This resembled so much like her dream and to witness it unfold from this perspective, urged her to follow Peter's wishes.
Let go of the past, so it will let go of you.
Moments later, Grace stepped away from her father and acknowledged Henry's presence. She stooped down and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you for bringing me back to my father,"
"N-No problem. Glad I could help," Henry said, face turning red.
"Hey David," Tigerlily cutted in, "Just take Henry back. I'm fine here."
"Are you sure?" She nodded and sent them off. David went ahead to his truck while Henry lingered to give a shy wave to Grace. Then Tigerlily soundlessly guided Grace into the house and invited her to sit on the stairs with her.
"Oh Tigerlily. Thank you,"
The princess shook her head, "It wasn't me. It was Henry. He must have called David to pick you up and bring you over here," Then it dawned to her that it was Henry's plan all along. He was in the eastern woods, the area Jefferson's house was in.
"But nevertheless, you reunited family. Now we're together, the three of us,"
"Three? What are you saying Grace?"
"Papa wants me to live with him. And I told him that you are my sister and that you should live here too."
Tigerlily was taken back, "Grace...you've nothing but generous. You gave me a home, your friendship. I can't repay you enough. I will only be intruding. Besides, our sisterhood isn't based on blood. I don't see why Jefferson could just take me in,"
"It's because we're square now," Jefferson had closed the front door and went to sit beside Grace on the stairs, "Owe me two? Forget it. Taking care of my daughter is worth more than any favors. She told me the great lengths you went to protect her in the Enchanted Forest and I can't think of anyone better to stay with us,"
"Will you tie me up again?"
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"
Tigerlily shook her head and the three of them shared a bit of a laugh.
"But, I can't," she said, "Listen, Grace...I've cheated you. I haven't told you anything about my past life. And now, I'm ready to tell you everything. Tell both of you my story,"
Grace smiled comfortingly, "You can tell us. It's okay,"
Here it goes, Tigerlily thought. She had built this wall that warded off anyone who wanted to to care for her. She had so many secrets and worried that Grace would never look at her in the way she was right now. But by asking her father to let her live with them was a huge gesture- she was so touched. And if they were to be a family, then there shouldn't be any secrets. She must have nothing to hide.
And that night, Tigerlily sat the Hatters down and told them her story. With each detail, each event, the past began to lose its tight grip on her idle heart.
Not long after Tigerlily left, an welcomed visitor made its way into Peter's subconcsious.
"Nice try," Peter's blood ran cold at the grating voice. Pivoting slowly, he saw Ombra leering at him. He invaded his subconscious, the last territory, "You won't be able to protect her."
"Not much for respecting privacy, are you?" Even though he knew what this meant for him, Peter kept the atmosphere light. He preferred not to be afraid just to spite his enemies. It was quite funny.
"Continue to claim my body as your host. Keep snaking into each nerve until my mind is vacant. But you can never take away my will. What Peter Pan wants, he gets," He reminded the Shadow because lately he had forgotten who he had taken over, "I've delayed the transformation for 30 years. I could do it for all eternity if it means to get you away from her."
"I could see your mentality weakening through time. Five minutes of contact must have taken you all the power you saved. Careful planning- for nothing. You see, I know where she is,"
"Listen here you pile of floating nothing, " His tone was calm, but it held fiery conviction, "It may be night when you leave, but when you arrive to her realm it might be a scorching hot, sunny day. Fried like an egg, you'll be and your careful planning would be just as dead. Her location is useless if you don't have passage,"
"You're not the only one I've been controlling. I control every shadow, of every land. I could seize them now simultaneously-"
"-if you're up to your full power. Which you're not,"
"Not yet. But for now. You'll do as I say. This is your last day of control," The air grew chill. Outside, Peter could see darkness enveloping the island and soon the treehouse. The only sense of light inside of him was being put out. Now that Ombra was in subconscious, he had all of him. He would lose control for good. Something switched in Peter's emotions. A foreign shock was shooting up in his spine. Much to his horror, it was fear. True fear.
"Interesting," Ombra mused, "She refused to believe you're alive." Peter recognized that too. He had mentioned that he was using his subconscious to contact her, but that tidbit of information must have slipped her mind he figured. The entire conversation, she treated him as a ghost coming back to haunt her for her mistakes.
"To her, I drowned 30 years ago. I'm only a phantom,"
Soon, the wind picked up and swirled dust and dirt inside the treehouse paving way for the dark. Peter fell to his knees, trying to grapple onto the floorboards for dear life. He felt himself being washed away and couldn't stop it, "Where would he go? There was no place left to escape from Ombra's power over his body. He closed his eyes and the creeping darkness claimed him.
"Welcome to the darkness, Peter. It's where you belong,"
A/N: Yeah, so she thinks he died. Gonna explain that later. You see, Tigerlily would go back to Neverland if Peter was alive. She figured she could save him. I had to fix some of the page breaks in past chapters. Major time jump next chapter. All I can say...it's Hook centric. He may or may not make an appearance in Storybrooke. (*wink wink he so is!) And we'll get to see how Peter finds out about the marriage. I know some of my heads up for the next chapter haven't been quite right, but I assure you this is the definite direction I'm going in. I want to get Tigerlily to Neverland as soon as possible.
And to SlayGal27, that is an incredible idea. And I was actually thinking of making the sequel from Peter's POV. I already have ideas on how the sequel is going to play out. But it depends on the readers.
What do you think the Light does?
*~Pan Never Fails~*