Hey everybody,
a new chapter just for you! Hope you like it! Pan/Aura reunion!
Something nice to read before you all start hating me next chapter :)
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Once upon a Time, just the crazy ideas in my head that I incorporated into this story!
Chapter 46:
Aura's POV:
Holding up a necklace with a locket, my mother said, 'This will remind you where you come from.'
What I was currently holding in my hand was indeed the necklace my mother had given to me right before the Evil Queen ripped her heart out. I had always interpreted her words wrong, thinking the locket was a remembrance of home, the cottage I had grown up. But it brought back so much more than that.
It brought back memories I had lost during my time in Neverland; even those with Felix before I was kidnapped. I saw images of a man with a long white beard, and a baby girl with abnormally long hair; a memory of me scraping my knee and healing the wound with my heart.
My heart…something that used to work.
'Wait. You know each other?' Emma looked at us in confusion, I could hear the hint of jealousy in her tone.
'Aye, love. I met Aura in the Enchanted Forest, before the Curse,' he clarified.
'So...are you like, Rapunzel?' She gestured to my long golden hair.
'I think..how did Neal put it? The character is based off of me.'
'Well, I used to be Snow White in the Enchanted Forest, but now I'm Mary Margaret. And this is David, Prince Charming.' I stared at the dark-haired woman, my mouth wide open.
This was the person I looked up to when I was just a child, standing right in front of me. She was my childhood heroine.
'People, we can continue talking and chit-chatting, but I think it would be best if we left this area before Lost Boys or Pan come here.' Shuddering at the mention of his name, I followed the rest of the group as they set out towards the jungle.
'So, why were you in the Echo Caves?' Mary Margaret asked me as she lit the fire at their small camp where they told me they had stayed often.
'Pan locked me up there. I...um..my heart has special powers; it can heal people, but the person I give my heart to will be very powerful. So after he used me, he discarded me.'
'You poor thing! We're trying to find a way off the island…we can take you with us! You can start a new life in Storybrooke.' Smiling at the idea, I thought that maybe I could convince them to take Felix, where he would have the chance at freedom.
That got me thinking. I wasn't in the Echo Caves anymore, but most likely would be traveling with this group. How would my brother find me?
After everyone had settled down around the fire, this feeling of panic and guilt began to build inside of me. Panic because I couldn't contact my brother whatsoever, and guilt because I owed one of my companions a very sincere apology.
Walking over to Hook, I reached out to touch his shoulder and motioned him to follow me into the jungle, away from the rest. Deeming the place where I stood as safe from earshot as possible, I began.
'Killian, I...thank you for bringing the necklace back to me. For still keeping it after all I've done. I feel terrible for what I did to you. I would do anything to go back in time and change my ways; stay in the Enchanted Forest. I should have listened to you. I must have…I must have broken your heart.'
Silently, he held brought me into an embrace as I started to let soft whimpers escape.
'If it can be broken, that means it still works,' he whispered.
My heart was damaged. And I was broken.
'Are you happy? Did you find someone else that makes you happy?'
'I was devastated. I had lost you to the demon. After you flew away with that boy, I searched for your cottage and found the necklace and compass. I managed to find a way back to Neverland, but Pan had told me you had died of Dreamshade poisoning. I just gave up, and went back to my plan of avenging Milah's death. Then...I did find someone.' He pulled out the compass from a satchel and handed it to me.
That needle wouldn't never point to the north, or any direction; only to the person you needed the most at the moment. At the second, the needle pointed towards the campsite behind us.
'It's Emma, isn't it? Not that I'm jealous or anything.' I noticed the longing look in his eyes; the stolen glances to the blond-haired woman.
He only nodded. 'You know, I thought you were the one. I did feel a spark when I touched you, or when we kissed. But I guess it was never meant to happen.' He reminisced, not looking me in the eye.
'Pan is my True Love.' It was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
'I'm sorry, Aura.' He looked up, shooting me a sympathizing look.
'I am, too, but I can't change it. I stopped loving him, which is a good thing.' I thought.
'You know, love, you still have a very special place in my heart. I still do care for you, like an older brother would.' Hook took my hand and gave it a gentle, comforting squeeze.
'That makes me happy, Killian. I'd like us to be friends. Here, take the compass; I think it will be of more use to you than me.' Handing him the device, I wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace.
'Let's head back to camp,' he said after some time.
'You go ahead, I just need a moment alone.'
'Okay, love. Come back quickly, we don't know if there are any Lost Boys around here.'
Watching Killian leave back to where Neal and the rest where, I waited till he was out of sight and sprinted towards the Echo Caves, the place of my imprisonment for a 100 years.
I wasn't going back for the bad memories. Or the feeling of the cold stones or the darkness, sucking all light in.
I wasn't going back for the young, hopeful girl with a special heart, no - she was broken, damaged.
Dead.
I wasn't going back for the diary, a remnant of the sickly ghost with an empty heart.
I wasn't sure why I was going back, why I was returning to the place of my confinement. There was some kind of pull, something drawing me to that spot I had spent most of my life, unliving and unageing.
It was like I was in a trance, I wasn't in control of my body anymore. My mind was still registering what was happening around me, but it couldn't tell my hands to stop touching the stone walls of the cave, or my legs to stop walking on the stone floor of the cave.
Then, as the path led to a clearing, to where the bed stood on a lone island, disconnected from the rest, I stopped.
Pan was walking around the bed, circling the used pillows and sheets; signs that I had lived here, that were still warm, because I had still laid there only an hour ago. He proceeded to knock over the piles of books and plates I had left behind, screaming questions into seeming nothingness as he did so. His temper tantrum vanished as he caught sight of my many diaries- during a hundred years there were many pages to fill. All the while I stood there quietly, holding my breath; watching him.
Skimming over the pages, I saw a tear escape from his eye; a rare sight. 'What have I done to her? I love her; and now she is dead.' He spoke to some unseen entity of the Cave, offering his darkest secret.
He wasn't lying or making up something, because the ground shook once more, a long rock bridge materialized, connecting the stone island to the outer sides once more. He thought I was dead. He had shown some emotion, as evidenced by the sadness and despair in his voice. And most important of all, he had confessed he loved me.
Not that I could say I loved him back.
'Pan?' I let out a soft whisper, now in control of my body.
He turned to me, his skin turning the color of a ghastly white, like my nightgown. The still lit torch illuminated the hollows under his eyes; I wondered how many restless nights he had gone through. Taking small steps, he walked over to me gingerly, his faint grey eyes still wide in shock, and I believe I saw a glint of hope. Maybe even happiness.
I didn't run away, I didn't want to, but I should have. This was a monster, someone to be feared. But at the moment, he looked like a boy who was just lost and hurt and...
Pan cupped my cheek gently, as if I wasn't real and he wanted to reassure himself that I was there. That I was with him physically, not a dead ghost as he expected. I felt myself lean into his touch, loving the tingling sensation on my skin when he caressed my cheek. Why was my body betraying me this way? Why was he doing this to me? He shouldn't have been making me feel all weird and conflicted…I was resolved. I didn't love him.
His eyes screamed joy, the edges of his mouth turning upwards to a contagious smile. 'Aura?' I caught myself nodding.
Suddenly, the innocent look transformed into a wild one, a fire burning in his eyes. We weren't in the Echo Caves anymore, but in a tree house. His tree house.
And without a warning, he crashed his lips into mine.
So..yeah...the Echo Caves scene was what actually made me want to write this fanfiction, I was reading When One Day is Equal A Thousand Years by YouSaid back in November and an idea came to mind...
Dear YouSaid,
it has taken me 45 chapters, 60207 words to get to this scene; a scene I had imagined for Indigo and Peter. They will always be my first fanfiction otp. I am not sure if this scene has turned out the right way, but to me, it is perfect. I would like to thank you for your inspiration, your enthusiasm and kindness, I could have not written this fanfiction without you.
xoxo your #1 fan
Reviews are always appreciated!
Love you all,
aureaborealis