Hey everybody,

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Hope you all like this chapter! More of Felix/Aura...

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Once upon a Time, just the ideas in my head that I incorporated in this story!

Chapter 20

Felix's POV:

When Aura slumped to the ground, clutching her right side, I could feel my heart twinge in pain, beating with harsh fast palpitations.

'Aura?' I shook her shoulders, but she was lost to me.

It was then that I became fully aware of what had happened only a few seconds ago. So caught up with telling her about my dream, I hadn't been concentrated on my surroundings. Quickly looking up, I recognized the danger. A thick bush of dreamshade. If Aura hadn't pushed me out of the way, I would've walked right in and poisoned myself…

It hit me. The pain in her side was the toxin. While saving me, she'd been scratched by a thorn.

'No, no, no!' I desperately unbuttoned her jacket and ripped her blouse, needing to see if my suspicions were right.

The scrape wasn't deep, but the venom was spreading in thin black veins from her hip to her heart. Her skin was getting paler by the minute; her breathing more labored with every breath. The protective side of my heart took over; I needed to save her. Pan couldn't find out, I had to act fast. There was only one place to go now.

It seemed the poison was taking its time, slowing down, as if it was giving me enough time to rescue her.

To reach Neverpeak Mountain, the Fountain of Youth, would take infinitely too long by foot, but we were in Neverland, a place full of magic…

I always kept a little vial of pixie-dust hidden in my boot, just for any kind of emergency. Sprinkling some dust of Aura and me, I tucked my arms under her knees and around her waist, holding her tightly against my chest as we began to rise from the ground.

It hadn't been my first time flying, but not touching the ground – a certainty that I had been used to all my life – made me queasy. I could feel Aura whimper and shake a couple of times as she was roused back to reality, but it only made me want to reach the destination even faster.

Gently setting her down against a rock, I walked towards the bushes made of innumerable vines of dreamshade, looking past to what they were concealing.

The Fountain of Youth.

The magical properties of the water meant that it could heal any wound, in this case, dreamshade poisoning. But like any magic, it always came with a price.

Remembering Pan's words, I thought of the bushes moving away, so I could get some water from the spring.

Just believe.

Indeed the bushes had made way, and I rushed to the pool of water. Grabbing the closest shell, I dipped it into the cure. In the background, I could hear a wheezing and a faint call for my name.

Aura was covered in sweat, a common symptom of the poisoning, and although she was weak, her eyes were wide with fear.

'It hurts so badly, Felix. What's going to happen?' Tears began to slip down her cheeks, while she gripped her side, her hands shaking as the poison took hold.

'It's going to turn out fine. I have the cure. But there is a price.' It pained me to see her like this, I was supposed to protect her!

But here she was, having ended up protecting me, now lying at the point of Neverpeak Mountain skirting the verge of death.

'This water can heal you, take the pain and poison away. If you drink it, you will be bound to Neverland and you can never leave. But if you don't, you will die…soon.' It was egotistical for me to want her to choose to live, to stay here in Neverland forever, but this was a matter of life and death. But in the end, it was her choice.

'You say it like it's a curse to be here. Felix-' The sickly girl cupped my cheek lovingly.

She was always the strong one when we were alone, always comforting me when it was I who should be doing that.

'I am safe here. I have found my happiness here. I would never want to leave, not when I have found my true love and a family. Why should I leave you?' Her viridian eyes still had the fire in them I had seen the first day.

I handed her the shell with her cure; if she was happy here, then I wasn't going to be the one to stand in the way.

'Because I love you like a brother. And nobody leaves family behind.' She took a sip of the water and suddenly the color returned to her skin, her breathing evened out and her chest, her heart, started to glow.

'The person she truly loves will be the most powerful. We have to keep her hidden. The little angel; she can't fall in love with the wrong person.' Papa started to take precautions, locking doors and using spells to protect the house.

One time, as I walked through town with Aura in my arms, people kept shooting us weird, but curious looks. Nobody had seen a young girl with such long golden hair.

Also, there was an incident where she had fallen and scraped her knee, but she just sat down and looked at the scratch, fully concentrated. In front of my eyes, her chest started to glow and the scrape was gone. Completely healed. Her heart had mended the wound.

Since then, father hadn't allowed us to go outside, in fear someone would find out about the Aura's powers.

The next morning after the 'knee incident', Aura was gone. Someone had kidnapped her. Someone powerful enough to break through the protective spells of Merlin, the all powerful wizard.

Knowing she was in danger and fearing her gift could be misused, papa had set out to find her and left me alone. Nobody left family behind, but father had.

My heart ached, not only for the loss of my father who never really loved me, but also for my two-year old sister who I hadn't spend enough time with and I regretted it. I had lost my family, my loved ones in one day.

Heartbroken, I wandered through the cities close by our house. Slowly, I had turned into the image I remembered of my father. The cold, unfeeling person without a heart. I lived on the outside, but inside I was dying. Every day, I forgot more and more of my past and why I was grieving for someone I couldn't even remember. Until one day, I had heard the flutes of the Pied Piper. It could only be heard by children who were unloved and lost, which I was. Peter Pan offered me a new life, filled with adventures and no regrets. Never having to look back and think about problems. The deal was to go to Neverland as his second Lost Boy, the second in command, forever.

Pan had saved me, I owed him my life. So in return for his gift, I gave him loyalty.

Aura was my sister. My long lost sister. The pieces fit: her long, golden hair, the distinctive eyes and her magical heart. That's why I had felt so protective…my heart had remember the bond of brother and sister, even whilst my mind had forgotten.

Even though my heart told me to tell Aura about my knowledge, I only managed to murmur a different thought. 'Who is your true love, Aura?'

Relieved she was healed, I hugged her in a tight embrace, at the same time I feared her answer.

'It's Peter.' She simply stated, though there was a glint in her eyes.

No, no. This was all wrong. My father's fear of her falling in love with the wrong person had come true. Grabbing her by the shoulders, I stared into her eyes. She looked so similar to the young sister I knew; the golden strands framing her face, and father's eyes.

Why? Over the years I had seen the true side of Peter Pan; he wasn't the adventurous boy full of hope, no, he had turned into a power-hungry, heartless demon.

Suddenly, I connected the dots. I knew of Pan's plan. My loyalty had its end. If he wanted Aura's heart, he would have to go through me first.

Nobody left family behind, you protected your loved ones. Even the ones you had lost.

So, yeah! And subconsciously, Aura read Felix and the Lost Boys the story of Hansel and Gretel, a tale of brother and sister (you see what I did there?)...

I still cannot believe we're at chapter 20! I started writing end of November and look were we are now!

Reviews are always appreciated!

Love you all,

aureaborealis