I Trusted You (Peter Pan)

Prologue

The air was still and quiet as he sat in the shadows, his back against the rough tree. Deep in thought, he waited for the boy. He chuckled grimly at the frustrating turn of events. Everything had been planned- perfectly arranged. Unfortunately, the Evil Queen had to go and mess it all up.

He sensed the blond's presence before he even heard the snap of twigs. But that was nothing, he could sense everything on the island. It was only a small slither of the power he held. And yet...

He was brought out of his thoughts as the crunch of leaves came to a halt.

"You called." Felix's voice drawled, awaiting instructions from his leader. His frame remaining rigid, Pan's eyes flickered to his follower. In the eyes of the boy, Pan could plainly see the loyalty Felix felt towards him. A surge of pride built within him as he noted the utmost respect evident on the Lost Boy's features.

"It's about the boy." Pan scowled.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific." To any other, the Lost Boy's face would have appeared to remain blank. Pan however, after having known the boy for decades, could easily detect the hint of a smirk on Felix's lips.

"Don't toy with me Felix, you know who I mean." The leader snarled, his face contorting into one of rage. Normally, Pan's expression would strike fear into those unfortunate enough to witness it. The blond boy was an exception to this for his smirk only grew.

"My apologies," Felix said, insincerity laced his voice. "Go on."

"Regina kept him." His words were quiet; his tone was dark and furious. Pan was livid and even Felix, who was normally immune to Pan's wrath, sensed this and suddenly felt on edge.

Pan's whole demeanour radiated the stress he felt: his shoulders were hunched; his posture was tense; anger rolled off him in waves. This hadn't happened before. Usually he was in complete control, yet at that moment, he was at loss for what to do. This perplexing puzzle gave rise to the worry that maybe Peter Pan could experience defeat. Maybe Peter Pan could fail.

Horrified that such a doubt of his power had entered his mind, Pan stomped it down with disgust. This was why he had called Felix. The one person he trusted most in the world. Sometimes, Felix managed to see things even Pan was blind to. He could see paths that even Pan did not know he could take.

"And we still have the girl?" At last Felix broke the silence. Pan rapidly lifted his gaze from where it had mindlessly watched the soil beneath him. He knew that look on Felix's face. It wasn't an expression of concern or dread, but rather assurance. Pan suspected that Felix had a plan, a plan that would only be possible if he gave Felix the response he was waiting for.

"Yes." The single syllable came out steady and slow. His lack of understanding irked him. He didn't have the vaguest idea what the Lost Boy had in mind. He raced through the possibilities, wanting to figure out what he himself had missed. What advantage could the girl possibly give them?

"What exactly did you have in mind for her?" Felix asked, feigning naivety to Pan's lack of a plan.

Shooting him the darkest look he could muster, Pan growled. "Do you need me to say it, Felix?" He stood up from the ground so as to almost reach the height of the boy in front of him. "I don't know. You hear me?" He snarled in the boy's face. "I don't know! It doesn't matter what we do with her anyway, all we need is the boy and he's gone!"

Before Felix could response, Pan felt it. His shadow had returned to the island. And it had brought someone with it. It had brought her.

"Michael and John have sent her here, so I could decide what to do with her." He sneered, not liking how clueless he felt.

"Couldn't we use her?" Felix asked as Pan's shadow swooped into the clearing, with a child in its arms. "To find the boy I mean."

"Blood magic? Quite risky don't you think," Pan took the baby from the shadow's arms and into his own, "with the boy being guarded by the Evil Queen."

"Not quite what I had in mind." Pan didn't even bother to look up at Felix as the blond spoke. He watched the sleeping child in his arms. She looked so peaceful, wrapped in her soft pink blanket, her face holding the innocence only a new-born could possess. She was completely oblivious to the destruction in the world. She had no understanding of how frustrating Pan found her existence; how frustrated Pan was that he was stuck with her and not her brother.

Seeing he wasn't going to receive a response, Felix continued. "I was referring to the prophecy." That caught Pan's attention. The boy's head shot up, his eyes wide.

"What about it? She has nothing to do with it." Furrowing his eyebrows in irritation, Pan's mind sifted through the details of the prophecy. The descendant of Snow White would lead them to the heart of the Truest Believer. That had been the Swan girl, she'd given birth to the one they needed. They already knew the Truest Believer would be a boy and so, the twin sister played no part in this story. She was irrelevant. An extra piece in the game- discarded so easily, without it making a blind bit of difference to anyone.

"Technically, the Swan girl didn't lead us to the boy, since we never got a hold on him." Felix droned, his voice monotone. "Which would mean the prophecy was false..."

"No." Pan cut in harshly. "The prophecy has to be right." Felix smiled at that, Pan was nearing the correct solution. All he needed was a little nudge in the right direction.

"So, maybe the Swan girl wasn't the right descendant?" Pan looked to him baffled, but Felix didn't spare him a glance. "The prophecy referred to a descendant of Snow White-"

"It never said a direct descendant." Pan gasped, finally comprehending what Felix had been getting at. Grinning at his leader, the Lost Boy nodded.

"The prophecy was misinterpreted." Felix's face returned to its usual blank state as he looked to the child in Pan's arms. A feeling of victory brewed within Pan. He could still have the boy, all he needed was-

"How?" At Felix's inquisitive gaze, the leader expanded on his query. "How could she help us? We've already established blood magic is out of the question."

"I think you know the answer to that."

Pan began to pace around the clearing, subconsciously rocking the child slightly as to not wake her up. The gears in his head turned, whizzing through ideas. The girl will lead them to the boy. But how? She was a baby, what could a baby possibly do for them- oh...

Having solved the final problem, Pan stopped in his tracks and turned slowly to see the mischievous grin on Felix's face.

"She needs to be older." He had figured it out, Peter Pan the boy who never grew up. Of course he had been oblivious to the answer. Why would his mind ever wander to the benefits age could bring? "She needs to go to a realm where time moves faster." He spat, repulsed by the concept.

"And luckily we have a being that can travel realms right here." Felix added eyeing the shadow hovering on the edge of the clearing. He was proud he had helped the boy he looked up to the most- after all, what greater privilege was there than to serve Peter Pan himself?

Pan's expression turned dark and malicious as success was finally within his grasp. How had he doubted his own abilities? It was impossible for things to not go his way. He held out his arms and the shadow took the child from him.

"Watch over her." He commanded the shadow. "She's no use to me dead."

"When should she be brought back?" Its eerie voice asked.

"I need her old enough to search for her brother on her own." He met the eyes of the shadow straight on, he did not back down, why would he? The shadow was his, there was no reason to fear it. He owned it. He was in control.

The shadow gave a single nod and rose higher from the jungle floor. Pan watched as it flew away; a speck of pink amongst a dark smudge, travelling across Neverland's moonlit sky. A venomous smirk grew on his face, his eyes filled with the desperate want- the desperate need- for power. Everlasting power that would grant him eternal youth. Power that would at last be his, after this final victory.

"The board is set. Let the game begin."