Awake | OUAT (Peter Pan / Robbie Kay)

Chapter 1

I was surrounded by darkness. Nothingness, to be more precise. For a moment, it felt as though all my senses were paralyzed. I was falling, but not in the sense of having fallen from a great height. It was the feeling of falling while you're asleep and then suddenly jerking yourself awake. There was a flash of light and suddenly I could feel again.

My eyes shot open as I took in a sharp and exaggerated breath. I had awoken, but somewhere unfamiliar. The ground I laid on was damp and cold. I grasped handfuls of earth in my palms and allowed the soil to crumble between my fingers. An array of tropical trees clouded the night sky. They were a lush green. The kind of green that you only see in photographs. The trees swayed lazily, as the breeze tousled their leaves. The sky was littered with more stars than I had ever seen before. It was other worldly, beautiful. There were two stars that stuck out more prominently than the others. One was rather large and shined brighter that the rest. The second was placed a little bit below and to the right of the first. While slightly smaller, the second star shined almost as brightly as the first. 

I turned to my side, as the sound of a music pipe had caught my attention. The jungle filled my ears with an array of noises, from the whistle of the wind to the ocean waves crashing violently on shore. Despite this stimulation, my ears acutely tuned into the sound of the pipe's music. The melody was mesmerizing, almost hypnotic. Before I could decide to pursue the source of the sound, I felt my body put itself on it's feet. 

It was an odd feeling, but somehow this place felt so unfamiliar but like home at the same time. Unfamiliar in the sense of never having been in the midst of any sort of jungle before. Familiar in the way that I felt connected to wherever I was. I wasn't alarmed by my surroundings. I was at peace. 

I continued to walk through the dark jungle, carefully following the sound of the pipe. The damp earth packed itself to my bare feet and the wind flowed through my messy blonde hair. As I pushed onward, I tried to make sense of how I ended up in such a place. I argued to myself that this was simply a dream. The idea didn't sound too far off from reality. I was familiar with being lucid while asleep, but this was different. My surroundings were too vivid to be just a dream. But wherever this place was, it wasn't part of the world that I was familiar with. There was a quality that I couldn't describe. It was just something that needed to be felt. 

In the distance, a small wavering light began to form through the mess of trees. There were figures that moved erratically around the glowing light. As I approached, I slowed my pace and hid myself behind a bush. The light was a large fire that moved violently as the wind blew. The figures were mostly hooded or masked and danced expressively around the fire. They held batons that they hit together to make a sort of tribal rhythm. Occasionally they would shout and holler incomprehensible noises into the darkness. 

One of the figures stood out among the rest. He was not hooded or masked. He was dressed in emerald green, but his shoulders were adorned with a deep red cloak that tied at the front. He was noticeably taller than most of the other figures and had messy brown hair that gently swept itself across the top of his forehead. His lips were pressed gently to the pipe which played the sweet melody that drew me in. I only caught quick glimpses of his eyes. They were a piercing shade of green. The same unimaginable green of the trees. He moved steadily between the hooded figures that danced in circles around the fire. It was clear that he was the leader of whoever these people were. The alpha. 

I took in the scene before me, unsure of what to do next. But before I could make a decision, the choice was already made for me. The sweet music of the pipe had abruptly stopped and so did the shouts of the hooded figures. The silence was deafening, aside from the low crackle of the fire. I felt the figures staring right at the shrub I was crouched behind. There was a moment of quiet before a harsh voice spoke. 

"Come out," the voice commanded. It was the piper.

My heartbeat quickened, but I obliged to his request. I stood upright and faced the figures before me. They were no longer hooded or masked, which allowed me to better examine their features. One was around the same height as the piper. He was lanky with narrow features and dirty blonde hair that was decorated with a brown feather. His right hand firmly gripped a large club. Beside him was a slightly shorter boy with dark features. His eyes were a muddy brown and his hair darker than midnight. He had a thin scar pressed into his left cheek. I averted my eyes to the next boy quickly, attempting not to stare at the scar for too long. This one must have been the youngest. He was smaller than the rest and appeared much more innocent. Behind him were two more boys that seemed identical. They both had curly dark brown hair and steel grey eyes. They were of average height and build. The only noticeable difference between the two was their demeanor. Without saying a word, I could tell that one was an optimist while the other was a pessimist. It was like yin and yang. 

Despite the clear physical differences between the boys that stood before me, they all held the same expressions. One of shock and confusion. I wasn't sure how to proceed.

"A girl?" the boy with dark features questioned, but he wasn't acknowledged. 

"Come forward," the piper commanded again. His eyes were steady on mine and I obliged to holding his gaze. 

I approached the group of boys, but kept a measurable amount of distance between them and myself. If this was a dream, then I had nothing to fear. But this couldn't be a dream, and yet I felt fearless. I breathed in deeply, letting my chest smoothly rise and fall. I would let the piper lead.

"Name?" he spits.

"Luna," I announce. The boys begin to whisper amongst themselves, but the piper quickly addresses them.

"Quiet," he snaps. They obey. He returns his attention to me. "Full name?"

"Luna Cameron. Who are you?" I question.

"Pan," he responds roughly.

"Full name?" I ask daringly. Within the blink of an eye, the piper had disappeared and reappeared directly in front of me. He firmly gripped my chin with his hand and examined my features. I didn't flinch or attempt to break away from him. The piper's eyes were even more ravenous than I noticed before. He tilted his head, adjusting his gaze from my rosey pink lips to my pale blue eyes. His lips curled into the slightest hint of a smirk.

"You will call me Pan," he sharply states. He lets go of my chin, but does not ease his gaze.

"Fine," I agree with a small smile and raised brows. 

Pan examined my features for a moment longer, lightly biting his lower lip while doing so. I mirrored his movements and took his presence in as fully as I could before he turned and walked back towards the other boys.

"Rufio," Pan barked. The boy with dark features perked up. "You're in charge of the girl. Lay it all out for her."

"Yes Pan," Rufio complied. I wasn't too keen on spending time alone with a strange boy in such an unfamiliar place, but it didn't seem like I had any other options. 

"The rest of you," Pan addressed the others, "off to bed." There was a low groan amongst the boys, but Pan was quick to silence them. "Now," he commanded. The boys walked off into the lush green forest, and were soon out of sight. 

Pan turned and addressed Rufio one last time. "Make sure she stays out of trouble," he said while keeping his eyes on me. What was that supposed to mean? I wanted to question him, but Pan was gone before I had the chance to open my mouth. Instead, I let out a deep sigh and switched my focus to Rufio. 

"Is he always that intense?" I asked, cracking a smile. 

"Yeah," Rufio laughed lightly. "Pan can be a lot to handle, but he always has our best interest in mind."

I look to Rufio and nod in amusement. There was something about Pan's presence that both drew me in and frustrated me at the same time. I wasn't sure of what it was exactly, but that was something to figure out later. "So are you going to tell me what all this is?" I asked, gesturing to the jungle surrounding us.

"Those were Pan's orders, so yes," he agreed.