Peter Pan Imagines (Once Upon a Time)

Caught Between Threads

The night is getting to you again. You've felt it in the recent months, or even in the recent years, this all-encompassing wave of grief for a family you never had, but it seems to hit especially hard once the sun goes down. None of this is really your fault, of course, and there's nothing you can do about it, but still. There is something horrid in knowing that your mother was the Evil Queen Regina, a woman who could handle any spell or challenge that came her way except her own daughter.

You suppose you should be grateful that you're not dead. She tried to leave you that way, anyway, had her guard leave you out in the Enchanted Forest unprotected the day you were born. You ended up surviving by pure coincidence, taken home by a farmer and his wife who didn't really want another mouth to feed but could use a strong set of hands when you grew up. To this day, you don't know if you're glad they found you or not. Perhaps it would have been better to fade into that forest as an infant, to let the dark greens and murky shadows take you away.

Now, however, you don't have that choice. Whatever glimmer of appreciation the farmers may have had upon seeing you for the first time has quickly faded. They thought they were getting a workhand they wouldn't have to pay, but instead, they got a witch.

You are, after all, still your mother's daughter, even if you don't know how that's supposed to shape you. You've been careful to keep your magic under control, but it just adds another set of chains tying you down. You don't know how your mother felt when she looked at you for the first time, but it must have been something like how you feel now, as if she knew then and there that she would never have an ounce of freedom again.

Tonight, you escape the cluttered, cramped farmhouse and retreat to the very edge of the farm, where the carefully cultivated rows of crops meet the wild, untamed forest. You stare into its depths as if expecting to see someone staring back at you, yet it still comes as quite a shock when you do.

You blink hard, but when you open your eyes again, the boy is still there. Now, he's smirking as if pleased that he's startled you. He glances around, then gestures for you to follow him into the woods. It's a terrible idea, certainly, but you do it anyway.

The boy is waiting just a few yards within the limits of the forest, leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree. In the shadows of the night, his eyes seem just as sharp a green as the grass beneath your feet.

"You came," he says almost proudly, "I wasn't sure if you would."

You fold your arms across your chest. You may be talking with him, but that doesn't mean that you have to trust him.

"I was curious. It's not every day that you find some strange boy in the woods."

His smile deepens, although you're not sure that what you said was a compliment. "I have a question for you. Do you know who I am?"

You tilt your head to the side, considering this. "Seeing as you've gone out of your way to ask me, I'm assuming it's someone important."

The boy chuckles. "I'd certainly like to think so, yes."

You raise a brow at his comment. "I don't know. Who are you?"

The boy leans idly back against the tree. "You're not even going to try and guess? I have to say, I'm disappointed."

You narrow your eyes at him. "Why do you care? You don't even know me."

The boy grins, and his teeth flash in the moonlight like blades. "Ah, but I do. Your name is Y/N L/N, and you live here with people who aren't your true parents. Your real mother is Queen Regina, and you've inherited her magic. I can keep going, if you like."

You back away from him. "Whoever you are, I'd suggest that you leave me alone. I don't know what you want with me, but you aren't going to get it."

The boy rolls his eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you, obviously. If I wanted you hurt, you'd be dead."