Storm clouds covered the skyline over Neverland, turning the once aquamarine sea that surrounded the island, into an endless dark depth. The turbulent waves crashed into the sandy shore, rough gusts of wind making the layers of sand slide, clusters of seashells cackling as they were shattered against the rocks. Further up the beach, the looming palm trees wavered, their leaves shaking violently.
But the stormy weather was the least of Jefferson's worries as he hurtled through the jungle's labyrinth of palm trees that forced him to constantly change direction. Escaping alive was only made less possible by the lost boy death-traps that were hidden underneath the undergrowth. A little further ahead, he could see Elizabeth, her hair streaming out behind her as she ducked, twisted and turned through the jungle. The lost boys had stopped trying to hide, and he could hear their pounding footsteps growing ever closer: Jefferson knew he and Elizabeth were at a disadvantage compared to Pan's minions, who could navigate the island far better than they could. Glancing back, he could see Felix, leading the group, rounding the corner behind them. Jefferson turned his head, hoping to see a glimpse of the beach and almost landed on Elizabeth.
"Why the hell have you stopped?"
"I'm stuck!" Elizabeth replied, desperately tugging at the lock of hair that had wound around a thick branch.
She was too distracted to notice the thick vines that had begun to wind around her feet, and Jefferson quickly cast the counter spell before pulling out his dagger and sliced the tip of Elizabeth's hair. Taking her hand, he pushed her forward as they began to run again. There was no chance to talk; his only focus was on getting out of jungle alive. Beside him, Elizabeth let out short, sharp breaths and Jefferson could feel her pulling against him as she slowed.
Elizabeth had only been his assistant for a fortnight, and since the episode at the market, the majority of their heists had been completely successful- she wasn't prepared for the physical strain of Neverland and its inhabitant's security measures.
"C'mon, we're almost there, I promise," Jefferson urged, giving Elizabeth's hand a reassuring squeeze.
She nodded and her pace began to increase again. Suddenly, Jefferson could feel grains of sand mixed into the undergrowth beneath his feet. Through the trees was the outline of the rocky sea and Jefferson felt himself smiling.
'We've made it.'
His celebratory thoughts were cut short as the pair was forced to come to a halt by the lost boys that had sprung out from the foliage. Circling around, Jefferson realised they were surrounded, the lost boys all pointing their spears and wooden swords threateningly towards them. Jefferson turned to face the beach again and found he was staring straight at one of hooded lost boys.
Stepping forward, the figure removed their hood to reveal themselves as Pan himself, a cold grin gracing his boyish features.
"Jefferson, I thought you'd have enough sense not to come back here," Pan said. As he spoke, the circle of lost boys drew one step closer, suddenly seizing them both.
Jefferson writhed against the ropes that the lost boys hastily tied around his hands, though there were too many to resist as they grabbed hold of him. Only mere metres away, the remaining lost boys had bound Elizabeth.
Pan spun on his heel, turning his attention to Elizabeth, though Jefferson could see his leering smile as his eyes slowly trailed down her, "You know, it's been a while since we've had any females on the island. What's your name?"
Elizabeth didn't answer; her face pale with fear as she shrank away from Pan.
"Leave her alone!" Jefferson yelled, struggling against the lost boy's grip.
Pan looked back at Jefferson, his sinister grin silencing Jefferson, who began to slide his fingers beneath the rope for his dagger as the lost boys watched their leader. Around them, the storm seemed to have silenced. Pan turned back to Elizabeth as though Jefferson had never spoken.
"I said, what's your name?"
He pressed his own dagger to Elizabeth's neck and she opened her mouth, the terror in her eyes replaced with disgust as she spat: "Elizabeth."
"Elizabeth," Pan crooned, keeping the dagger taut against her skin, "Feisty, I see, though I ought to expect that of the girlfriend of a well renowned portal jumper and thief."
Pan turned back to Jefferson, looking from him to Elizabeth, his grin intensifying.
"Give me back what you've stolen."
"I haven't stolen anything," Jefferson lied, "I just wanted to show Elizabeth Neverland."
"Liar," hissed Pan, pressing the dagger in Elizabeth's neck so tightly that beads of blood began to trickle onto the end.
Elizabeth remained silent, her pain shown only in the tears that welled up in her eyes. Jefferson glanced across at her, willing her not to give the item up to Pan.
"Just give it to me," Pan said, still speaking to Jefferson, "or Elizabeth dies."
For a split second, time seemed to stand still in the clearing: Pan faced Jefferson, not realising it was Elizabeth who clutched what they'd stolen, the lost boys were poised, keeping Jefferson and Elizabeth restrained. There wasn't a sound- apart from the slightest whisper of movement that sailed through the trees.
The arrow hit the tree directly behind Elizabeth, landing just above her head. She let out a scream, though the lost boys seemed far more startled, immediately releasing the pair and grabbing their weapons. More arrows shot out of the jungle, though the lost boys could see no sign of their attacker, helplessly ducking and dodging the arrows whilst thrusting their weapons at thin air. In the confusion, Jefferson ran through the crossfire to Elizabeth, protectively wrapping his arms around her to shield her.
Although the arrows didn't seem to be aimed at them, he couldn't see a way of sneaking to the beach without one of them getting hit. They remained pressed against the tree and Jefferson searched through the suddenly smaller amount of lost boys. There were still a few lost boys trying to fight their attacker, though few had fallen, and Jefferson saw a few had escaped into the depths of the jungle: including a slightly taller figure who he suspected was Pan. Eventually, all the remaining lost boys had been hit and were fast asleep at their feet. Jefferson made to move when another figure emerged from the trees: someone he was relieved to see.
"You've got to be more careful!" Baelfire scolded, carefully stepping over the slumbering lost boys, "without me you'd both be dead!"
"I know, I know, you think I wanted to bring Elizabeth here? Look, we can talk later- can we please get out of here before Pan's cronies wake up?"
Baelfire nodded and he led them out onto the beach, Jefferson keeping an arm wrapped around Elizabeth's back. They followed Baelfire along the beach to a set of caves hidden beneath the cliffs. Baelfire ushered them into the nearest cave, kicking a stray twig towards the remains of a fire and smoothing out the heap of blankets for them to sit on.
"Nice touch by the way, dipping the arrow heads in poppy seeds," Jefferson said, attempting a laugh, though Baelfire remained unimpressed.
"Seriously, why are you here? You knew Pan would've had his eye on you the second you stepped foot on this island. Last time you got lucky because you swam onto the beach, but portal jumping directly into the jungle..."
"We just wanted to steal the item as fast as possible; it was the last thing to steal on our list for the dark one before getting the rest of the day off," Jefferson explained, "you have still got it, haven't you Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth gave a weak nod, sliding a small bottle filled with a dark inky substance out from her dress pocket, her eyes closed as she rested the back of her head against the cave wall. The cut on her neck was still bleeding, and feeling guilty for not noticing sooner, Jefferson raised his hand to heal it.
"No magic!" Baelfire snapped, grabbing Jefferson's hand, "Pan'll find you in seconds!"
Sighing, Baelfire tore off the edge of the blanket he was sat on and went to the entrance of the cave. A few droplets of water trickled onto the cloth and he returned into the cave, examining the cut before pressing the cloth to Elizabeth's neck.
"It doesn't look poisoned, just keep the cloth against your neck, you'll be fine in a minute or two."
"Thank-you," Elizabeth murmured, and Baelfire gave a wry smile.
"Here, let me do it," Jefferson said and his own fingers replaced Balefire's. His free hand tenderly brushed the jagged lock of hair he'd cut out of Elizabeth's face.
"So you must be Elizabeth," Baelfire said, "I didn't quite catch your name whilst I was preparing the arrows, but Jefferson's told me all about you."
"Has he?" Elizabeth asked; her wan cheek colouring.
"Yeah: he told me he loved you and seeing you together, that's quite clear. There aren't many people that Jefferson would use magic for, if it wasn't for personal gain, isn't that right Jefferson?"
"Hm?" Jefferson murmured, not fully paying attention. Baelfire gave a loud cough and Jefferson looked up from studying the bottle that they'd stolen.
"This is squid ink," he said slowly, his forehead creased, "I could have quite easily got this off the black market, we had no need to come here at all…I risked all our lives for nothing!"
"That's not true, I got to meet your girlfriend," Baelfire said, his smile fading at the frustrated look on Jefferson's face.
Elizabeth pulled out a piece of parchment and began to unroll it, "If Rumplestiltskin-"
"Call him the dark one," Baelfire interrupted, the firmness in his voice causing Elizabeth to hesitate,
"If Rumple-the dark one knew you could get it off the black market, why did he specifically tell us to go here?"
Both Baelfire and Jefferson looked down at the parchment, which listed all the items Rumplestiltskin had requested to be stolen. At the very bottom read: 'Squid ink-Neverland'
Baelfire glanced over at Jefferson, who averted his gaze to looking at Elizabeth, who continued,
"I mean, if he knew how dangerous it was…why would he send us here, surely he wouldn't want Pan to kill us?"
"Not us," Jefferson said softly, "you."
"The dark one isn't exactly the most compassionate of people: if he knows of your relationship, he's definitely going to want to destroy anything that could lead his prized portal jumper astray," Baelfire explained grimly.
"We've just got to tread carefully, okay?" Peeling the cloth from Elizabeth's neck, Jefferson placed a kiss on Elizabeth's lips, much to Balefire's disgust.
"Go and kiss in some other realm," he cried, "somewhere where you're safe!"
"Baelfire's right- we should leave Neverland before we endanger him or ourselves," Elizabeth agreed, tentatively feeling the clotted cut on her neck before rising.
Jefferson followed suit, ruffling Baelfire's hair with a teasing smile before clicking his fingers. A large hamper appeared, lined with a fresh blanket that contained a collection of fruit, vegetables, chicken breast, darts and kindling to thank Baelfire.
"Don't do that," Baelfire huffed, attempting to mask his gratitude, "papa…the dark one always did that. Made things appear."
Elizabeth gave Jefferson a questioning look, though she didn't say anything about Baelfire's obvious slip, instead announcing,
"We better be off, but I hope we can see you soon, perhaps somewhere a little safer than here?"
"Sure," Baelfire replied doubtfully, already eyeing the chicken breast that was perched on a pile of grapes.
"Let's leave him to it," she whispered to Jefferson, smiling up at him as she linked her hand with his.
They left the cave and went back out onto the beach, which no longer resembled the scene of a shipwreck but an idyllic paradise. Gentle waves lapped onto the golden sand and for a moment Elizabeth gazed out into the sea rather dreamily, and Jefferson quickly spun the hat before she could persuade him to risk taking a dip in the sea.
"You know," he called to her over the gush of the spinning hat, "being my assistant is pretty dangerous- I warned you I had many enemies. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Waiting for her answer, Jefferson recalled Regina's words, that someday Elizabeth would want a life involving a family, rather than adventures in his hat.
Seeing his concerned look, Elizabeth gave a small laugh, smiling across at him as she prepared to jump, "Of course I want to keep portal-jumping. Always, I promise."
When Elizabeth and Jefferson arrived back in the enchanted forest, the warm weather of Neverland seemed to have followed them. The forest seemed to be bathed in sunshine, though nothing could brighten the thoughts that Jefferson was brooding as they walked to Rumplestiltskin's castle.
The knowledge that Rumplestiltslin had tried to kill Elizabeth troubled him, as well as his employer's sly subtlety was troubling him. Jefferson had always been conscious that Rumplestiltskin could hardly be trusted, yet after years of working for him, Jefferson had almost felt as though he knew Rumplestiltskin: or at least better than most who made deals with him. For some reason, having this belief being doubted unsettled Jefferson.
Reaching the castle grounds, Jefferson swore to himself to keep an particularly vigilant eye on Elizabeth whilst they were portal jumping, to prevent her being endangered again, and on their employer too.
Elizabeth looked at him when they reached the door and he could see the hesitation in her eyes. She was willing him to go through first: the revelation of Rumplestiltskin's intentions had unsettled her too. With considerably less vigour than usual, Jefferson pushed open the door and entered into the hallway.
"Ah, I see the portal jumper has returned," Rumplestiltskin announced, rising from his seat at the spinning wheel with a flourish.
Elizabeth followed behind Jefferson, and Rumplestiltskin did not notice her until she stepped out from behind him.
"And his assistant," the imp added.
'I swear he looked disappointed,' Jefferson thought, dispelling the silence that had fallen over them by producing the requested items from his satchel.
He set them down on the table, and Rumplestiltskin studied each one, finally arriving on the squid ink.
"Got that from Neverland," Jefferson said, giving his employer a rather pointed look.
"Did you now?" The imp asked, sounding rather surprised by the news, though Jefferson was wary to let down his guard,
"You risked your life, not to mention your assistant's, to get me fresh squid ink from Neverland rather than stale ink from the black market, which would have kept you both perfectly safe. I am impressed."
"You make it sound like a test," Jefferson said.
Rumplestiltskin gave a small grin, a manic twinkle in his eyes,
"Oh it was dearie: and you passed."
"He didn't actually," Elizabeth said, "I told him after we'd stolen an item, which realm we'd need to go to next, and I don't think Jefferson had fully realised what we'd stolen, otherwise we would have got it from the black market, and not been chased by hooded lunatics."
Rumplestiltskin tutted loudly and sighed, "Pan and his lost boys."
Elizabeth cleared her throat and continued,
"So, you weren't trying to kill me?"
"Kill you?" Rumplestiltskin gave a high-pitched giggle, "why on earth would I want to do that? You two are quite the team, you've stolen me more things in a fortnight than Jefferson could get in a month, and more difficult things too. Nobody else in any realm has thieves that compare to you. So no, I don't intend on killing you- not when you have...so much ahead of you."
Elizabeth gave a grateful nod and thanked Rumplestiltskin for his compliments, though Jefferson could see her brows had furrowed as she tried to decipher his cryptic, and prophetic, ending.
Rumplestiltskin pulled off a long length of golden thread and passed it Jefferson,
"For surviving Neverland, and I'd recommend you two make the most of this glorious weather during your afternoon off."
"You haven't given us the whole afternoon off in over a week," Jefferson said suspiciously as he stuffed the last of the thread into his satchel.
"Well there is nothing more you two can do for me at present, and your success in obtaining the squid ink has put me in a rather generous mood," Rumplestiltskin replied, his expression darkening as a loud bang sounded from the potions room, "although Regina may test that."
For a moment Jefferson lingered, and Rumplestiltskin waved his hand,
"Go on. At the very least you both need to rest. Neverland can be very tiring, especially if Pan is after you."
Jefferson gave a curt nod, Elizabeth gently tugging his hand, and he followed her out of the castle and into the blinding sunlight.
"I still don't trust him," Jefferson said, "that thing, about your future..." He shook his head, unable to put into words his unease.
"I know, but we can worry about that later. We've got the whole afternoon to ourselves, and after Neverland, I fancy some quiet," Elizabeth said.
"Can I race you home?" Jefferson asked, grinning as Elizabeth gave a begrudging nod, "whoever loses has to make rice pudding for after dinner and wash up."
"Well I can't lose then: my rice pudding was an absolute disaster, it almost obliterated the kitchen."
"You'll just have to take it out sooner," Jefferson called, already onto the path outside the castle.
Elizabeth darted after him, eager to catch up with Jefferson. She tore down through the woodland after him, following him along an obscure path that led out nearby their house. Jefferson had managed to maintain a lead, though just as he reached the gate, Elizabeth's arms wound around his sides from behind.
"Don't...you...dare," she cried, straining to hold him back, her fingers prising his away from reaching the gate and claiming victory.
Jefferson whirled around, held in Elizabeth's arms. He was close enough to her to see the flecks of gold among the hazel in her eyes. Unable to resist smiling one of the Cheshire cat's infamous smiles, he kissed her. As Elizabeth leant in, something seemed to click inside of him: every thought, every doubt vanished. Breaking away, Elizabeth coyly smiled back before going onto her tiptoes, so that they were almost eye to eye, and whispered,
"I win."
Looking over his shoulder, Jefferson saw that Elizabeth has pushed him against the gate, though her hands prevented him from touching the gate.
"But I can wash up- I wasn't too bad at that," Elizabeth added, taking his hands and pulling him through the gate.
"Sure: just try not to flood the sink," teased Jefferson, recalling Elizabeth's futile attempts at turn off the kitchen taps.
"I won't, hopefully. I know you probably want to get up to more exciting things, but can I get started on the back garden? Right now it's all just overgrown bushes and weeds."
"Of course. I suppose you'll work up an appetite, do you want me cook something up to go with the rice pudding?"
"I still haven't got over the chicken pie from the other night!" Elizabeth laughed, shaking her head with a sigh, "we're like a proper family: you cooking, me gardening! Speaking of which..."
Elizabeth let go of his hands before disappearing behind a large honeysuckle bush, leaving Jefferson staring after her. Her mention of a family resonated with Regina's warning. But Elizabeth's happiness, combined with a fatal mix of lazy, honeysuckle-scented summer air, made it impossible for Jefferson to find the strength of mind to cast doubt on their portal-jumping future.
'Elizabeth's right- we can worry about the future some other time.'