A/N: Sorry for the long wait. A thank you to the new followers is in order, since they reminded me that there are people reading this and want to continue doing that.
It was quiet. Too quiet. He often enjoyed the silent moments, but what he had been enjoying a few hours earlier was inifinitely better. Her screams. Pan had listened to them like one would listen to an exquisite concert of classical music. It relaxed him, excited him and entranced him. Slowly the 'music' had died down and then there was the silence. He closed his eyes to imagine what she might look like right now. Broken and bruised no doubt. He decided that, seeing was better than imagining and so he exited his room to check on the little torn up fairy.
In the kitchen on the cold tiled floors he could make out a tiny heap of girl. There was some blood that had spilled onto the normally spotless surface. Any normal human being would feel the need to rush over and help or comfort the poor girl. But Pan was not a normal human being.
He got down on one knee and rolled her over onto her back by the arm. An arm that was covered in black and blue marks. Her uniform was torn, as was her lip. The blood on her forehead had dried up, some strands of hair stuck to it. He carressed the bruises on her face, causing a stir within her. She opened her eyes.
"Stand up."
If she had had the energy she would have scoffed at him incredulously.
"I..can't," she barely whispered.
"Yes, you can. Don't make me do it for you."
Excrutiatingly slow Liv propped herself up on her palms, breathing heavily. Her blouse fell off her shoulder. With the front ripped to pieces her chest was exposed to him. It looked like not an inch of the former fairy was spared. Which was good since she didn't deserve to be spared in any way. Foolishly she tried to regain some of her dignity by closing her blouse. But with only one hand to support her now, she tumbled over into Pan's lap.
Normally she would cringe or cower away from any kind of contact with him, but she simply hadn't the strength to do so anymore. Deep inside, she even dared to hope for a bit of comfort from him. Pan, however, felt himself grow impatient and aggravated. In one slow and controlled motion he took a handful of her hair, lifting her head.
"You stand up right now, or I will drag you up."
Despite knowing all that she did about Pan, his uncaring words and cold disposition still managed to shock her. How could he be so heartless. Couldn't he see that she needed help?
A small but stringent tug on her scalp kicked her muscles into gear. Clumsily she scrambled to her feet. Legs wobbly and garments shredded. Pan looked her up and down. The boys had had quite a party. Her appearance suggested she had been ripped apart by a bunch of bears and then got thrown under a bus for good measure.
"Well... what do you have to say for yourself?" he began.
A long silence followed. Olivia stared back at him as if trying to decipher whether she had somehow landed in a dream of sorts. Was he really asking her to explain herself? Was this actually happening, or had she passed out a few hours ago, now dreaming up absurdities?
"I... uh..."
Pan strided over to her, letting a finger trace the marks on her arms.
"Does that hurt?" he inquired in a hushed tone.
"Yes."
"Does it now?" He viciously pressed down on her bruised flesh. Liv hissed, clenching her teeth together.
"Hm," he continued with a deranged grin, "you do realise you could've avoided all this don't you? Maybe if you stopped dressing in such revealing outfits-"
This was a step too far for Olivia. How dare he put this on her. "But, you make me wear-"
"You brought this on yourself, Greene," he lowered his voice, cutting off her excuses. "Constantly parading yourself around in that short skirt. Bending over just enough to tease the boys with you curves, giving them just a taste of what's underneath. Making them crave more. Trying desperatedly to get their attention, well you got it and now you want to complain about it?"
Liv's mouth dropped and she couldn't utter another sylable.
Pan almost laughed out loud at the defeated expression on her face. He enjoyed making her blame herself for what happened. She was so easy to play.
"Perhaps, I should just let you go. If I can't even trust you around my friends..."
"No! I... I need this job. Please, I'll stay away from them. I promise."
Pan walked around her, pretending to give the matter some serious thought.
"Alright, I'm willing to give you another chance. Don't ever let me catch you provoking them again, do you hear me?"
"Yes of course, thank you."
"Oh and clean up before you leave," he ordered before he left the room.
Olivia's head was swirling with emotions and thoughts that were impossible to seperate from each other. To say that she was somewhat catatonic would be a fair assessment. Mindlessly she shuffled over to the cupboard, grabbed a rag, a bucket and some gloves and started to clean the floor of her own blood. She stared at the drops...
'Should've accepted my offer when you had the chance Liv.'
Shards of broken glass clattered loudly when she tossed them in the bin.
'Why would you dress this way if you didn't want me to just take it?'
Her coat buttoned up. Hiding the remnants of her uniform.
'Stop denying that you want me.'
One last look... Like it never happened. The door closed heavily behind her. Olivia turned her key in the lock. There. It was done. She had safely locked the bad away. Trapped in this house. It couldn't follow her home.
Home.
Suddenly a tremendous desire to pull the covers over her head in her own safe, warm bed came over her. She started running. She wanted as much distance between her and the manor as possible. She was never going back.
Luckily it was already dark. Not a lot of people in the streets. That was good, she didn't need anyone seeing her in this state. Especially not Marina. Then Olivia remembered her friend telling her she had a night shift. That was a relief. As Liv rounded the last corner to her house she collided head on with a body. She let out a piercing shriek, pressing her back into the brick wall of her building.
"Look where you're going you stupid..." the man started, but fell silent again at the sight of the girl.
He knew this girl. She worked for Pan, like he once had. Only not quite in the same capacity. His eyes widened upon seeing the bruises, but he didn't reach out to her.
"Liv?"
"Leave me alone," Liv gasped and took off, up the stairs to her appartment.
The man watched her go. Whatever had happened to her, it surely was regretable, but she wasn't his problem. And he wasn't about to get involved in hers. He had enough of his own to worry about.
Today was going to be a wonderful day, he could feel it. Walking down the stairs to make himself some breakfast, Pan could hear voices in the kitchen. There were two people, talking. A bit early for the boys to come visit...
But there were no boys, only two females. Pan raised an eyebrow curiously. Her uniform was replaced by jeans and an unappealing sweater of sorts. Olivia was pressed tightly against Mrs. Potts chest who seemed to turn quite protective of the little fairy once she had sighted Peter in the doorway.
The surprise at the maid's presence was hardly concealed. After last night, he fully expected not to see her for at least a week. Truth was, he really wouldn't have cared less if she had decided to stay home, because he had much more exciting prospects today. Today, he was meeting with Belle. His son's little sweetheart.
"Where's your uniform?" he announced his presence loudly by posing this question.
Olivia flew from her chair. "I uh.. well you told me not t-"
Pan rolled his eyes. Apparently this curse had not only made her weak, but stupid as well.
"Did I? I recall no such thing. You'll wear the uniform as required. No exceptions."
"But-"
"Just do as I say Greene," he all but growled at her.
Mrs. Potts had had about enough of the boy's poor treatment of his maid. Abruptly she rose to her feet and marched over to where Peter was standing. She came to a halt right in front of him.
"Yes?" he challenged. Something in his tone of voice caused her to back down quickly. She didn't know, however, that merely attempting to speak up on Olivia's behalf would cost her.
Arriving at the library, Pan entered calling out Belle's name. No doubt she was hiding again. One of his favourite games to be sure, but today he was in the mood for an entirely different game. Besides, didn't she know he would always find her. Sure enough, a minute later he found her in a corner, sitting in a chair with book. So entranced in her own little world.
Only when he announced his presence vocally did she give a start.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you come in," her rather redundant explanation sounded.
"You ready?" Pan asked her with an amused twinkle in his eye.
"Uh, ready? For what?"
"We're going out, remember?"
Belle let her head hang. She had been dreading this day ever since she had agreed to it, that much was clear.
"Right..."
Pan stretched out his hand to her. "Come on, you'll be fine. I'll protect you."
Little did Belle know, the one she would need protecting from was him. They walked along the streets together, Belle continuously looking around, feeling very nervous and Pan trying his hardest to make small talk with her. Searching for things he could use in the future, to blackmail her, or Rumple with.
He took her to Granny's Diner. Nice and crowded. That would make her feel on edge and turn to him for assurance, comfort and protection. She'd open up to him, because he'd be the only one she trusts.
Upon entering, he immediately caught sight of her. How could he not, her vibrant red hair was detectable from miles away. The mermaid. The one who had aided the saviour and her followers by acquiring that box. The box that had almost trapped him, nearly costing him his victory. She was Tink's friend.
Pan observed her closely, wondering if the two had spoken yet since last night. Seeing as the girl flashed him a polite smile when he led Belle over to one of the booths, he assessed they hadn't. Not even a moment after he sat down he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Who's this then Peter?"
"Austin..." Pan acknowledged the boy's presence with a sigh, "this is Belle. She works at the library. Belle, this is Austin. He is leaving, aren't you?"
Austin looked dismayed. As soon as he saw the beautiful woman enter the diner, he resolved to know more about her, but Peter was selfishly keeping her to himself. No fair. He had never questioned Peter's decisions though and he wasn't about to start now. He'd fill him in on the particulars of this chick soon enough anyway.
"Alright, alright... bye beauty," Austin said, departing with a wink. Her big frightened eyes and slightly rosey cheeks made it that much harder to give up chase. Nonetheless, Austin complied with his friend's wishes and returned to his table, where the boys inquired animatedly about the girl Peter brought with him.
"Who the hell is she? I've never seen her around before," Carver hissed with a high degree of suspicion in his tone.
"Yeah, she's seriously fine," Nevan piped up.
The twins, however, raised their eyebrows in unison. "What's up with Peter not sharing the goods?"
"Relax boys." Austin put his hands up to calm them down. "Plenty of fish in the sea for us," he claimed, eyeing Marina from head to toe.
Carver followed his gaze. "Hey, get your own fish. That one is mine."
Back at the counter, Marina noticed a bunch of stares coming from the group in the back. She groaned and threw her head back. "Oh no. "
Ruby chuckled, "You okay? Want me to handle it?" she gestured towards the boys who were obnoxiously trying to get a waitress over to serve them.
Marina took a moment to gather herself and then said, "No, I'll do it. It's just that, I was so looking forward to a quiet day."
Ruby shot her a dashingly knowing smile. "None of those around here."
"Marina, lovely to see you today," Austin purred at her.
"Austin, I wish I could say the same, but alas, I can't," she retorted giving him an overtly fake cheerful smile. "What'll it be?" she continued in a businesslike tone. She could feel Peter's eyes on her. What was up with him today? He'd been monitoring her the second he stepped inside. Already having more boys to deal with than she'd like, she chose to ignore him all together.
Not really paying attention much, Marina squealed when she felt a hand curl around her wrist and pull her down on Austin's lap. He trapped her there with his arm, which was wrapped firmly around her waist.
"How about a slice of what's under that skirt of yours," he breathed in her ear.
"Not if you were the last guy on earth," Marina hissed back and struggled out of his grasp. The boys laughed as she nearly stumbled to the gound in doing so. A tiny gasp sounded from Peter's booth. Belle had witnessed the whole scene and clasped her hand over her mouth.
"Look, are you gonna order something, or are you just gonna be a jerk the whole time? Cause if-"
"Now is that any way to talk to your customers, sweetheart," Carver spoke up. Not a hint of humour in his voice or expression.
Marina rested her eyes on him. Out of all of them, Carver was the one she was intimidated by the most. He had a thing for her and that was not something he hid well. Nor was it something to be especially thrilled about. More than once had he tried to 'persuade' her to go out with him and each time she had barely escaped him.
Now, Austin, was just a sleaze, but Carver, was truly dangerous. You did not want to get in an argument with him. Everybody knew that.
Rather unexpectedly he made a move to get to her, but she stepped back and mumbled something about getting them their drinks.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Ruby looked her friend over with worry.
"I'll be fine..."
"Let's get 'em their orders fast huh, hopefully they'll get bored and leave soon."
Unfortunately for both women that tactic proved futile. Many drinks, burgers, fries and innuendo's later Marina planted herself in one of the barstools at the counter with a big sigh, resting her head on her arms in front of her. Just an hour or so and it would be closing time. Austin and his little gang were finally gone, the only ones still there were Peter and that new girl Marina had come to know as Belle.
The door opened which stirred Marina out of her brief moment of rest. Her heart skipped a beat, because the person who had come through it was none other than Killian Jones. A man she had admired from afar for quite some time now. To her surprise he took a seat right next to her. She flashed him her brightest smile, but she needn't have bothered, for he did not even look at her. In fact he didn't seem all that happy to be there.
"You're looking a little down."
There was no response. Feeling a little stupid and uncertain of what else to say, she simply asked for his order. He asked her for the strongest drink they had and when she handed it to him, he finally looked her in the eye.
"Thank you, lass."