The Princess & The Lost Boy (Completed)

Chapter 44: I never forgot about you

(Ash's P.O.V.)

I watched as he turned towards me, and I stared straight into his glowing emerald green eyes. He looked exactly the same as the last time I had seen him. Not like that was a surprise. His lips curved up into a small smile as he met my gaze.

"I didn't expect you to find me. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. You're a good tracker."

"What are you doing here, Peter?" I asked, trying my best to compose myself from the shock of seeing him in person.

I couldn't believe he was even here. I would have thought he would have been in Neverland, ordering the lost boys around. Being the King of Neverland. Trying to find the heart of the Truest Believer so that he could stay young forever.

"I came to bring you back to Neverland."

"Who said I even want to go back."

"Of course you do. It's your home."

"Neverland use to be my home for a few years. Camelot has and will always be my home. It is where I belong."

"You don't mean that."

"What else can I say? Do you really expect me to tell you that I'll just abandon my kingdom to go with you to Neverland?"

"Yes! Please, Ash...come with me. Let this go."

"I can't just abandon my people, Peter. I have to stay. Morgana will be coming any day now that she's heard of my coronation-"

"Then come with me! She won't be able to find you if you're on Neverland."

"No. I won't leave them. I will fight to protect this kingdom, just as my father did before me. Even if it means I die in the process. It will be defending the people of Camelot."

"Ash-"

"You would do the same if your lost boys were in danger. You wouldn't just leave them to defend for themselves if you could do something. I'm the Queen. It's my duty to serve the people of Camelot until I die, and that is exactly what I will do if I must."

"Please Ash...let this go. We can start over."

"Even if I wanted to go with you, I can't. I have a duty to my people. Not to the lost boys or you," I paused, allowing him to soak in what I was telling him. "Besides, you could have come after me if you really wanted to. Instead, you chose to stay as far away from me as possible. You forgot about me over the course of three years! And now you just decided to pop up asking me to go back to Neverland with you? I won't do it! You are the one who sent me back here because I gave myself to Rufio and not you? And I regretted it, every second of every day. You gave me up!"

"I never forgot about you! I couldn't stop thinking about you. You're all I ever though about, what I still think about!"

"Then why did you never come for me before I became Queen?" I shouted.

"I had been trying to forget about you, so that you could have a normal life. But I couldn't stop thinking about you. I was letting the camp run by itself pretty much since no one was listening to Felix. I can't think straight unless you're around. You're everything to me."

"You made your choice."

"I'm sorry, Ash. I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did. It was your choice, and now you're going to regret it. Forever. I'd advise you to leave before Leon and Percival come searching for me. If they find out you have magic, I'll have no choice but to order for your execution for having magic. You'll either be hanged or burned, and I don't want that for you or anyone else. That's why I'm going to get rid of that law set by my grandfather."