I Dream of Disney (Volume II)

Magic Always Comes at a Price [OUAT Peter Pan x Reader] Part IV

Part IV - The Price of Becoming One of Them

The first hours at Pan's camp passed as uneventfully as the ensuing hours would: though the grounds belonged to Peter Pan and his barest whim could bring tumult and turmoil, there was a fine line between belonging to him and being apart. The Lost Boys raged with all of their endless zest around the three central campfires which burned like pyres, around which games were played, feasts prepared and fights orchestrated. 

The two outcasts, Henry and (Y/n), were separated from the disorder of the Lost Boys, entangled in their variations of dangerous competitions, most of which, disturbingly, involved activities that would result in chipped teeth, scabbed elbows, bruising eyes and streams of blood. 

"You're sure?" Henry's voice was low with caution, "They're really on the island."

"How do you think I got here?" (Y/n) replied softly, "We came on the Jol-," She paused, her throat cracking with pain, " on the ship. All of us. Your moms, Snow, David and the pirate."

Her teeth clenched over the word.

There was a sudden chant that startled them as they both realised that the cries were directed to them. Gazing over the disorder of limbs, roughhousing and brawling bodies, there was a bristling crowd gathered around one of the boys. His cheeks were speckled faintly with freckles, his cheeks were curved boyishly and his dark hair fell around his head in a horrid tangle, but he didn't seem to mind. Slightly-slanted eyes bared down on her, unmistakably, from the distance as he called out to her.

"Hey, you. Pirate," The boy's voice challenged, "Come over here."

Wary, the girl glanced back at Henry - his thin face pinched with a pleading expression - before she shifted to her feet and strode to their cluster. Though she didn't turn, she knew that Henry followed on her heels. Ever since the failed attempt to escape, there had been a bond formed between the two of them. The crowd of boys were arranged in a rough circle around several climbing ropes. The hair on the back of her neck seemed to crackle with something like foreboding when she came to a step in front of them.

"Since you're one of us now," The boy did nothing to hide the mockery in his tone, he might as well have been flapping his arms around him like a goose for all the sincerity in his voice, "You're not excused from our games. You see this," He swung his head at the ropes in a loose gesture, "this is a climbing rope."

"Is it really?" (Y/n) remarked coldly, "I would never have guessed."

"I don't know what you pirates do in your spare time," The boy continued heedlessly, "but in Pan's camp, we have contests. It's simple. All you have to do is climb the rope faster than the rest of us and ring that bell up there."

Her gaze followed his extended limb far above into the canopy. The boy spoke the truth. At the very tops of the climbing rope was a platform, very narrow and seemingly not sturdy. From that rickety platform, there existed another feeble rope that leads to a, higher still, dangling bell. When her gaze returned to the face of the arrogant boy, his hazel eyes were glinting.

"So," The boy mused, "you up for it, "Lost Girl?" "

"Don't call me that," (Y/n)'s voice was tense, "Why are you doing this?"

"It's just for a bit of fun," The boy shrugged innocently, "You'll see. We'll go easy on you since it's your first climb," He promised, "C'mon."

(Y/n) considered for a moment, but then she knew: this had Pan written all over it.

Extending his hand, he made his challenge. Studying the grubby fingertips, chewed nails and scuffed palms, (Y/n) felt a twinge of disgust when she accepted his hand and shook it once, solemnly.