AN: this is gonna be pretty long guys, so if you dont want to read my ramblings, you can scroll! I'm just answering a question!(: kittyhawk09 asked how I came up with the story.. and it's actually not that great of a tale, but i'll tell you anyway! (cause i have no life, of course). no, but really, I just dont think my mind works like everyone elses. When I'm in class, I'll think something like "what if the door was just kicked in and one of the kids in my class was a super hero and I got swept up in the middle of a fight sequence?" or something ridiculous like that (it hasnt happened yet, sadly). Another thing that influences what I write is MUSIC! It may be weird, but every single song I listen to, I make a plot, and characters, and situations for the characters all while listening to a song- it might not even be related to the song in the least! (for example, my Infernal Devices fanfic was entirely inspired by Pierce The Veil's "A Flair For The Dramatic" album while I was on vacation in Washington DC- weird, I know, just go with it!) You can usually tell what my fanfic's inspirational music was by the title of my stories! (ex. my Infernal Devices story is called "chemical kids, mechanical brides", and this is called "mad world", i.e. Mad World by Gary Jules). If you've heard the song, you'll know it has nothing to do, really, with my story at all! But while I was listening to the song, I was sitting on the floor of my room writing my other Peter Pan fanfic, "Away We Go", and my thoughts with the story just took on a completely different turn. Instead I started picturing the world of Neverland as a sunless place gripped with war and dictated by a good generation gone bad. Scenes of a dark prince and a small town girl thrown together in a world that they both desperately want to leave for different reasons sprang into my head. Needless to say, the hopelessness of the situation kind of freaked me out.. I always have happy endings to my stories, and even now, this far into the story (and also a sequel in the making!) I really have no idea how everything will end, who will live, who will die, who will ultimately be happy- maybe no one will be! As scary a thought as it was, I was really loving where my mind was going with it. Once I posted the chapter for Away We Go, I immediately began hashing this story out, and was pretty impressed by how loved it was! I honestly thought you all were going to hate how dark it is and think me a freak. All of this love is really surprising and a bit touching (why do I have all of this FEELING?! jk!) so to answer your question in the longest Author's Note I have EVER written, there you go! I hope this helps you guys try to get inside of my head more! What you think of my little brain (I might name him Tommy, not sure yet) is up to you entirely! Anyway, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!(:

Kinsley was the one to leave.

I woke the next morning from a dreamless sleep and wandered to the dining room where there were plates laid out for our breakfast. I noticed her plate missing from the table. Daphne and Gabrielle said nothing as I sat and looked at my plate of eggs and waffles. Cassius didn't join us for the meal.

I sit now in my room, staring at my reflection dully in the mirror as Alice fusses around me. I am wearing jeans today and a sweater. I asked Alice repeatedly to just leave my hair be, but she insists. She twirls it expertly into a braided mess on top of my head, a concentrated look about her face. I watch her for a few more moments before saying, "How did you come to Neverland?"

She looks surprised, but keeps her focus on my hair. "I was taken here a very long time ago."

"By Peter?" I ask.

She smiles slightly. "Not the one you know."

I furrow my brow and think that over. "So you're old," I guess.

She laughs and works her deft little fingers through my hair. "I don't look it, do I?"

She doesn't. If I have to guess, I would put her at nine, maybe ten. "Aren't you lonely?"

Now her fingers pause. She meets my gaze in the mirror, an odd look on her face, as if she has only just considered that fact. "I didn't used to be," she says so quietly that I barely hear it.

"What changed? Did your friends leave?"

She shook her head and began working on my hair again, snapping back into focus. "I suppose you could say that, yes."

"Why can't you give me a straight-up answer?" I ask, staring at her in the mirror until she meets my gaze once more.

She is silent. At last she heaves a great sigh and says. "No, she hasn't left."

"Who hasn't left?"

"Mary," she says, giving me a knowing look. "My sister."

I am running. Through this house made of glittering gold and splendor that so beautifully hides the horror beneath the walls. I want out, I want out, I want-

I round the corner and collide into someone, falling backwards and hitting the ground painfully. I stare up at Cassius, who looks bowled over to see me in such a hurry. "Going somewhere?" he asks, holding out a hand to help me up.

I ignore it and scramble to my feet, using the upward momentum to slam him into the wall behind him. He looks so surprised to be the one slammed into a wall instead of the one slamming people into walls that any other time I would have loved to know that it is me that sprang this much emotion from him.

"She has a sister," I say viciously.

He is trying hard to wipe the emotion from his face- and failing. "Who?"

"Alice!" I almost cry. "She has a twin sister, who is out there alone in Neverland"

Now his face is as blank as a clean canvas. "And?" he prompts.

"It isn't fair!" I shout.

"Take a look around, Soph!" he yells and I take a startled step backward. "What do you see in this world that's fair?!"

I stare at him a moment in utter disbelief. He is right; nothing in this world is even close to fair.

I shove him and he falls back against the wall before I turn and walk away.

I meander through the trees at a brisk pace, wanting to calm down my racing heart. Maybe if I can find the underground pub that Cassius had taken me to, I will find Mary again. I try to retrace the steps that I had taken when we were being chased, thinking back to every detail during the run: my lungs filling with fiery air, Cassius' hand in mine, the sound of his voice as he said my name...

I expel a breath and kick a stone out of my way. It's hopeless. I remember next to nothing of the chase.

And that's when I hear the screams. I turn and search the area, but see no one. The silent is now deathly quiet and the hairs on my arms rise with the threat of danger. Someone is in trouble in these woods. Someone needs my help.

The screaming starts up again, this time much louder, and I am sprinting toward the source of the noise.

I finally come into a clearing in the woods and see the small blonde girl that helped me when I first woke up. It's her.

Mary.

She is curled into a protective ball and there are men in armored looking gray suits holding baton looking weapons in their hands. They laugh as she trembles and raise their weapons for another blow.

Without thinking, I race through the clearing and throw my arms around the girl's small body. She feels like a bundle of bones and hair curled against my chest. They immediately throw me off of her, but I fight my way out of their grip and shield her body once more. "Stop!" I cry.

Their laughing only increases. "And what do we have here?" one of them says. His helmet prevents me from seeing his face, but his voice sounds hoarse and deep. "Another blonde? Perfect."

"Batting practice was getting boring with just one blonde," the second agrees. His voice is much higher pitched.

"I was thinking of beating her in a completely different way," the first one says, and my grip on Mary tightens. I fear the small girl is already rendered unconscious and won't be able to run away when I tell her to.

I take a deep breath and look at the soldiers. "How dare you! She's just a girl; don't hurt her."

"If you want us to use you instead, Blondie, we sure will," the first man says with a hard laugh. His hand grabs my wrist and twists with such strength that I have to bite my tongue to hold in a scream. I can feel the small bones under my skin screaming in agony and fight against him as he pulls me toward him.

"I wouldn't."

We all whirl to see Cassius standing there. His eyes only meet mine briefly before returning to the armed men.

The man holding my wrist smiles, I see as I look up under his helmet. He has dark stubble running along his jaw. "Cassius. Come to join the fun? We've just come across two blondes. This one is putting up a fight-" he jerks my arm and I cry out- "but I'll subdue her."

Cassius' mouth is a hard line. He is not happy. "Actually," he says, voice low and deadly, "I've come to get my wife, if you don't mind." His eyes zero in on the grip he has on me.

His hand immediately falls from me, as if I'd burned him, and he takes a step from me as I fall to the ground. "I had no idea she was a Bride, Cassius."

Cassius is crouching beside me in an instant. "Did you bother to look at her?" he asks. He obviously means the fact that I am much cleaner than the limp girl beside me, my clothes much nicer.

He grabs my arm so swiftly that I wince before his skin touches mine, but he is so gentle handling my injury that I barely feel his hand at all. He inspects the bruises that are starting to bloom like a bracelet on my skin and looks into my eyes. His golden-fire irises are surprisingly gentle, with a protective edge. "Only you," he breathes, "would turn me against my own men."

He regards the two men, now standing awkwardly a few feet away from us. "Don't ever," he says in a tone so seriously deadly that goosebumps roll up my arms, "lay a hand on one of my Brides again, or I will have you hanged from the nearest tree. Understand?"

The two back away quickly. "Yes, sir," they mumble repeatedly until they are out of hearing range.

Cassius goes back to inspecting my wrist as I stare at him. "How did you know-" I begin.

"I didnt," he answers before I finish. He looks up at me with raised eyebrows. "But you're lucky I found you."

I tug my hand gently from his grip, not breaking eye contact. "Thank you," I say, before turning and hurrying over to where Mary lay still on the ground.

I brush her tangled blonde hair from her face and shake my head. "She doesn't deserve this."

"It's the law," Cassius says quietly, coming to kneel on the ground next to me.

I look at him. "What is? Little girls starving half to death?"

He gives me such a measured look that I work my brain, trying to understand the hidden meaning his look is telling me, but come up with nothing. "No siblings. Especially twins. She should have died a very long time ago."

I look down at her, heartbroken. She couldn't help who she was born as. "That's why Alice was allowed to stay?"

Cassius says nothing, merely looks down at Mary with a casual look on his face. "Let's take her home," he says.

I look at him sharply, thinking that he means to take her home with us, but he is already on his feet and headed in the opposite direction from the House. I quickly scoop the small girl into my arms and hurry after Cassius' retreating form.

We walk through the trees in silence, but I don't mind. My mind is reeling with thoughts. No siblings. Especially twins. I wonder why? Why would that even become an issue in this world?

I stumble, the weight of the unconscious girl I am holding is causing my arms to burn with the effort of staying upright. "Where are we going?" I ask.

Cassius silently takes Mary from my arms without breaking stride. "I've already told you; we're taking her home."

"How do you know where she lives?" I challenge.

"It's where all the lost boys live. It's the only place they'll survive."

"Which is where?"

"It's connected to the pub we were at the other day. I know the person that takes care of all of them." His face is carefully controlled of any emotion.

"That's nice of him," I say. "Are you two close?"

His mouth twitches. "You could say that," is all he says.

"Is he the same person you were looking for at the pub?" I ask.

"Jules," is all he gives as an answer.

I open my mouth to say more, but Mary groans.

Cassius stops walking and watches her as she comes-to in his arms. When she does, she stares first at me with wide eyes and then at Cassius, who is holding her like a small child. "Good morning," he says pleasantly.

She screams and throws herself out of his arms, scooting away from the both of us.

"Goodness, you're like a howler monkey." Cassius looks like he's either very amused or disgusted.

"We wont hurt you, Mary," I say calmly. "We just want to take you home."

"What happened to those men?" Mary asks, looking from me to Cassius and back.

"Gone," Cassius says, his look now only holds amusement.

She looks relieved. "Good," she breathes. She looks at Cassius wryly. "You'll probably have to explain everything to Jules, you know."

He doesn't look pleased. "I'm aware, thank you, Mary."

She smiles. "This should be fun, then."

I furrow my brow, looking between them. "Wait," I say. "You two know each other?"

Mary looks me up and down before turning back to Cassius. "You don't tell her much, do you?"

Cassius doesn't look ashamed in the least. "I see no need to."

"We'll have to catch her up on a lot when she wins, then."

He looks taken aback by that. My eyes widen as I see his cheeks redden. "It's a good thing you like to hear the sound of your own voice," he says with a calm smile.

"Catch me up on what?" I ask. "What is going on?"

Mary walks up and takes my hand. "Come on," she says, "let's walk."

To my utter surprise, Cassius slides his hand into my other hand, linking his fingers with mine. "Yes," he says, "let's."

AN: Thanks for reading guys! This is super long, so I apologize!/: But before you leave, I have one little request! Can you guys let me know (in a PM or in a review) if you'd rather have one very long continuous story or have this story with a cliffy and a sequel? I'm debating which I should do and would like to know what my readers want! You guys are the ones that matter, after all! Thank you for the love! Till next time!(: