Regina marched through the crowd and we all watched her go. People cleared for her way, afraid to anger her.

"I'm going to go after her." Hook muttered in Emma's ear.

"Hook, you can't! She's dangerous like this. Here she has all her power!" Emma looked at him, worried.

They said other things, but it all became muted to me. I looked out into the crowd after Regina had left. Faces of hundreds starred back at me with wonder, awe, and respect. I looked over at all of them. Nobody said anything, not I, and not them. Slowly, one by one, they all bowed for me. My jaw dropped and I became surprised. I turned in shock to look at my group. Emma smiled at me, still excited of the feat I had accomplished, but Mary Margaret turned white in the face and threw a concerned look in Mr. Gold's direction.

Curious, I was going to ask what was wrong, but Hook brushed by my shoulder, and I remembered Regina.

"Hook! Wait." When he paused and looked over his shoulder, I continued, "Let me go to her. I upset her in the first place, I need to mend what I have done."

He shrugged his shoulders and walked backed to Emma, "I've never seen anyone so eager to please The Evil Queen," he sneered.

"Then go find a mirror, pirate." I replied calmly.

I began to walk away, towards Regina's lonely path. Again, people parted ways, and watched me walk by. Emma shouted for me to be careful, and I nodded my head without looking back. A voice rang out amongst the crowd,

"Lily!" A lady screeched.

I heard footsteps from behind me, approaching fast, and turned around, tense. In front of me, a little girl pulled on my leather pants with her tiny hand. I smiled, relieved, and knelt down to be eye level with her.

"I bwought a fwower 'or you." She pulled her other hand from behind her back and held a crumpled flower in my face.

I smiled at her and looked at the deep purple flower. I took it from her tiny hand and tucked it in my hair above my ear. "Thank you, darling."

Her mother came and stood behind the girl, "Lily, I told you to stay!"

"Sorry, mama." The girl reached up to her mother who picked her up, placing her upon a hip. "Don't you think she's a pretty princess, Mommy, don't you?" Her mother quietly laughed and smiled kindly at me, and turned away, walking back into the crowd.

I turned away and continued after Regina.

Finally finding her, I quietly made my way to the clearing. She had gone back to the woods and was sitting by the creek, alone and sad. I could her sniffling over and over. Her hair covered most of her face. Regina's back was bent over and she had been crying, it was easy to tell. In front of me, sat a lady who was broken and bent. She had not heard me, yet, and I watched. A shiny flash of gold drew my eyes down to her hands. In a tight grasp she held a plain, golden ring. She caressed it against her face and whimpered. A sob broke out in the silence and I pitied her. What has she been through?

Clearing my voice, she whipped her head around to see me. She quickly tucked the golden piece into her pocket and fixed her hair. Her eyes were bloodshot and red from crying, but she glared at me through them. "I didn't think anyone would care to come after me." She snarled menacingly. I didn't reply, but instead walked over to sit by her; not close, but not far away either.

"I care, your little boy cares, Hook cares, Emma cares, and so does David and Mary Margaret," I said quietly, "You just don't want to see it because you're afraid to believe it. You like your darkness because it's what's comforting. You're afraid to look weak. But it's okay, I get it. We're afraid of the unknown. Because we're comfortable in stability. Anything past this normality, even the extraordinary, is frightening. However, I believe anyone has the strength to be courageous." I looked over to Regina, "You, Regina, are extraordinary. I know things happened between you and your mother, but no matter what she said, don't let her decide your fate. You can change, I know you can."

Regina looked at me in silence and turned her head. I saw a tear roll down her cheek and looked away to give her privacy. I reached up for my necklace. "The only thing I have of my mother," I began, "is this." I pulled my necklace out from my shirt, the sun bounced off the rubies and it shined beautifully in the light.

Regina looked over and gasped. She began to say something, but we heard footsteps and looked around. When Emma cautiously came out of the trees into the clearing, I tucked my necklace safely back under my shirt.

She looked between us, concerned and worried. "The group sent me to come get you guys. We found a tavern that is letting us stay for the night. It'll be getting dark soon, so we better go get settled in," she insisted.

Regina wiped her eyes quickly, "Miss Swan, you don't tell me what to do."

I looked over to Regina and rolled my eyes, "Well, I'm going with Emma, so you can come too, or sit here feeling sorry for yourself."

Regina looked at me, but didn't say anything. She slowly rose, but continued to hold eye contact the whole time. It looked like she wanted to ask something, but she never did. Geez, she's acting really weird. I turned and followed Emma's footsteps, and as she held branches away from my face, I smiled up at her. She kindly smiled down and put her hand on the small of my back, leading me out of the woods.

The tavern we were staying at wasn't the best. It was run down and dirty. I was pretty upset with it actually. I'd rather be back in my cold, stone tower.

It was decided between us that Hook and Charming were to share a room. Emma, Mary Margaret, and I had one. And Regina and Mr. Gold each got their own rooms. I was going to stay with Regina, but when she ordered a room for one, it was really clear she did not want any company. Now, I was helping Emma make the beds. There were two per room and her and Mary Margaret were going to share one, as I had the other. We pulled the sheets back and sat down on the bed, resting.

"Was Regina okay?"

I looked at Emma who sounded genuinely concerned, but only shrugged my shoulders.

She sighed loudly, "Well, I'm going to go to bed now. You don't have to, but don't stay up the whole night, we'll be moving along tomorrow."

I nodded my head and walked over to the window. A tree branch slid lightly along the glass, causing a ruff scrapping noise and I cringed. Mary Margaret came over to me and told me goodnight. I returned her bidding, and turned back to the starry night, but she took a step back toward me, "Alex? Do you have any recollection of your mother?"

I didn't look at her when I shook my head no, but could feel her eyes penetrating my back. Finally, she moved away and fell asleep next to Emma.

Tap tap tap. Tap. Tap. Tap tap tap. My eyes snapped open, panicky and scarred. All I could see was darkness. I looked around, but I could still hear Emma and Mary Margaret breathing softly, steadily. Tap. Tap. It was coming from the window. My head whipped around in the bed, but I couldn't see anything but the tree branch in the window. It must just be the tree, I thought. But when I began to look away, I saw a silhouetted hand. Tap. Tap. I gasped and drew the sheets over my head. Afraid, I squeezed my eyes shut. But it continued and I peeked out over the white cover. Tap. Tap. Tap. Slowly, I sat up in bed and watched the window. Surely, if they meant any harm, they wouldn't be trying to make noise. Right? Slowly, I climbed out of bed. With adrenaline coursing through my body, I quietly made my way to the window. The tapping had stopped and silence was screaming. With my hands shaking, I grasped the window latch and unlocked it. I stood there frozen as the hand pushed on the outside, opening the window. Satisfied that the window was open, the silhouette drew back into the darkness of the tree's shadow.

"Hello?" My voice shook very badly, and I was almost in tears.

The shadows returned my greeting, "You shouldn't unlock your windows to a stranger, princess."

"Who are you?"

"It's me, silly!" A voice whispered back. I saw a flash of white; a smile, and I grew excited!

"You!" I squeaked out. It was the mysterious boy from the woods. Emma moaned and rolled over because of my outburst, and I mentally kicked myself for being so loud, "You!" I repeated quieter.

Another smile was flashed in the darkness, and a quiet laugh answered me. "You're just lucky it was only me, Alexandria, and not some masterminded villain."

"I suppose."

"Why did you lie?"

I became confused, "What do you mean?"

"You lied to me. You agreed you had no parents."

"And I don't," I replied, cautiously.

"How can you lie to my face like that? I thought we were friends!" His voice turned whiny and upset.

"Look, boy, I don't have any parents. My father is dead, I was told. And my mother didn't want me."

He didn't answer me for a while. But finally, "We cant be friends anymore."

"Fine."

"I'm only a friend to the kids who need one."

Growing agitated I replied, "You're not making any sense, kid."

"I'm only friends with lost kids. Even if you claim you have no mother, I know otherwise. She's come back to you. We can't be friends anymore."

I grew tired with his childish horseplay, "Good, I don't want to be friends with a freak like you. Go play with your lost friends."

With that, I shut the windows, causing the glass panes to rattle. Emma rolled back over, moaning, but now awake, "Are you, okay?"

"Yea, I just needed some fresh air. . . Emma? Where are we?"

She looked confused for a moment, ". . . Neverland."

"Oh." I climbed back over and crawled into bed. As I was pulling my sheets around myself, the realization caught me off guard. Lost friends. Lost boys. Missing parents. Disliked adults. Mysterious. Sly. Aware of orphans. Oh my gosh. I sat up in bed, slick with sweat, and gasped.

Peter Pan.

**What do you all think?! Are you surprised by the appearance of Peter Pan?! Please leave comments, I enjoy reading all of them!(: Any advice, questions, concerns, ideas? Drop them below! I would like a few comments before I post next chapter! So please be patient, thank you! Also, if you have any constructive criticism, I would love that too!** XOXO