I Trusted You (Peter Pan)

Chapter 4

A/N: Bit of confrontation with Rumpel coming up (no surprise there), along with how Cassie finally ended up in Neverland...

The sound of drums pounded and the whoops of the Lost Boys rang out. Pan was fiddling with the set of pipes in his hands. He twirled them as he thought deeply about his next plan of action. Emma was slowly tearing apart, it wouldn't be long before she broke down completely. Henry would not be leaving with her. Neither would Andie. Hopefully getting almost killed by her daughter, would have finally solidified in the Saviour's head that Andie was his. She was not leaving Neverland. Now it was only Henry that he need worry about. Of course, Pan wasn't truly worried about how the game would play out. He knew he would win, he always did. But Henry's thoughts, his belief, were important components in the plan. He needed to ensure that Henry was clay in his hands before moving forward.

Pan's gaze drifted upwards and focused on the boy with his back turned to the celebration. Well that wouldn't do. Pushing himself to his feet, he made his way to Henry who sat all alone.

"You don't want to join in the celebration, Henry?" He queried as he sat down opposite.

"Nothing to celebrate." Henry responded numbly. The boy was almost there, almost at the stage when he'd give up hope of rescue. Soon, Henry would accept he was a Lost Boy.

"Nothing to celebrate?" Pan said sarcastically and chuckled. "Henry, this whole party is to celebrate you." A brief smile flashed on Henry's face. Quickly, the small boy regained his composure.

"Why does Cassandra hate me?" Henry's abrupt change in topic caught Pan off guard. He looked to Henry and saw how miserable he appeared. Evidently the small boy wasn't used to being disliked.

"Well put yourself in her shoes." Pan said, effortlessly recovering from his flustered state. "She never had a mother, the closest she ever had to one was a woman whom she loathed terribly for reasons that aren't mine to tell.

"Now take you," Pan continued. "You have not just one but two mothers. Both of which you believe, with a great ferocity, will save you." Henry's face dropped and Pan was glad he was getting through to the boy. "Andie's home is here, she knows the truth about parents and their priorities. The fact that her own brother would choose that life over her...well, it's heart-breaking wouldn't you say?"

"She thinks our mom abandoned her." Henry stated, his tone heavy.

"Well didn't she? You should know Henry, she abandoned you too."

"My mom didn't abandon me. Neither of them ever would. They'll come back for me, and for Cassandra." Henry said stubbornly. It seemed he was fixed on the idea that his parent's love would prevail. Pan however, could detect the slight cracks in his demeanour, deep down Henry was scared.

"Cassandra used to be like you, you know. When she was just a little girl. She learnt the hard way that sometimes, no matter how much you want something, you can't change the truth."

Henry was silent, taking in Pan's words. Pan watched Henry for a moment before he remembered the pipes and held them up.

"There's one thing that always cheered your sister up when I first met her. A little song." Holding the pipes to his lips, Pan blew into the tubes and out it came the music that all the Lost Boys could hear. Henry suddenly looked confused.

"Sorry, I can't hear anything." He said completely unaware of the implications of his words. Pan felt his calm mask slip. This was surprising information. Even after everything he just told Henry, he still clung to the hope that he was right about his family. Pan was irked at his own carelessness. He should have foreseen this, of course the Truest Believer would require more patience than that.