From Your Tower ➛ OUAT

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Are you ready?" Hook yells to his shipmates. There is a step above the rest of the crew, where he and Gothel were currently standing on. It was almost theoretical for saying that they are higher in power than the crew is.

The difference was, Hook cared about his men. The only person Gothel cared about was herself.

Hidden in the woods next to the ship was Nibs and the twins. They listened well and good, as they were instructed to do for the next days.

"Today, we avenge our fallen."

The men in the ship cheered.

There was only one that did not.

His name was Patrick, and he had been working with the lost boys ever since one of them had saved him the day he was attacked by a bird of a island. He only worked as a spy.

Patrick knew that it was not right for so many men to go up against eight. He had planned since the beginning to go with the Peter once the time came.

"Kill anyone on Peter Pan's side. But keep the girl and Peter and bring them to me alive." Hook grins mischievously. "I have different plans for them."

The twins glance at each other, then to Nibs. None of them fully knew what to do.

"We have to go warn the others." Nibs finally speaks up intelligently.

And the twins nod. They are gone from the premises in seconds, running back to the hideout.

❧

"What happens after you die?" Rapunzel randomly asks.

"Don't ask that." Peter scolds.

There was finally a break. It has been six hours that Peter has taught her every single different way to fight. Sword, fist, bow and arrow, she is beginning to have the directions she can go with fighting imprinted into her mind. But, then again, that was probably the point.

"No, it's not because I think I will. I'm wondering what is happening with everyone who has died. Are they still on this earth, or is there a place for them to go? What does it feel like when you die?"

"I don't know." He shrugs, drinking some water from a canteen. "I've never died before." He laughs, holding it out for her to take.

She takes it and drinks some of the cold liquid. "I'm not saying I want to die now, but when I do die, I imagine it will be exciting. After I die I will finally figure out how it is to die."

"Well, you won't know, for you will be dead."

She rolls her eyes and throws the canteen back at him, and he catches it without trouble. "I'm serious."

"Is what you're saying that you can't wait for your death?"

"No." She quickly says. "No, not that I can't wait for it. Just, when it comes... I'll be ready."

"You are sixteen, Rapunzel. Don't be ready."

"I think that's a lot of the reason why I wanted to die that night." She ignores him. "I wanted an adventure. I wanted to know what it would be like."

He's quiet for a few seconds. He's over thinking what she just said. "Do you regret that you didn't die that night?"

Rapunzel's eyes widen. "No, of course not. Why would I?"

"Everything you are going through is because of me. You're living this terrible life because of me." He sits down on the wooden bench next to her and hangs his head down low. "I had no right to bring you into this life. You wanted an adventure, not a nightmare."

"You gave me more of an adventure than I would have wanted." Rapunzel replies honestly. "When you caught me that night, I met you. You took me away from the life that I was running from originally."

"Into a life ten times worse."

"It would be," She agrees with a sigh. "If you weren't in it."

Peter shuts his eyes and keeps them closed tightly. "Please don't justify this."

"How many times have we gone over this, Peter? I don't care about the bad things that's here. I know everything will be okay as long as I'm with you."

"As incredibly sappy as that is," He smiles.

"I love you."

"I-"

"Peter!" The lost boys all come barreling over, eyes wide in frantic.

"Is it starting?" He asks them.

None of them answer. All they do is nod quickly.

And that is how Rapunzel knew.

The war is starting.