Checkmate

21. Not lost, just hidden

I awoke the next morning on the couch nestled under a pile of warm blankets to the smell of pancakes and syrup. I hummed after inhaling the scent deeply, revelling in the memories of making pancakes with my mother every Shrove Tuesday. The scent that wafted from the kitchenette seemed to drag me over the room. And as quick as a flash, I was standing next to the stove as Snow effortlessly made the sensationally fluffy creations.

A few minutes after I awoke, a knock at the door brought two more breakfast guests as we all sat to eat. I looked between Regina, Emma and Snow, the awkward tension thick enough to cut with a knife. But they seemed to swallow it all for the boy that had ended up with whipped cream somehow on his nose. I bit my lip as the question I so yearned to ask rested on my tongue.

"Spit it out, kid," Emma said, breaking the silence and causing me to whip my head towards her. "You got a question." I nodded. "Is it about us?" I shook my head.

"You can ask us anything," Snow said softly as Regina tilted her head, her eyes fixed on me.

I gulped, hoping I could choose the right words. "I know we are in America, Maine, right?" Snow nodded, urging me on. "Is there any way I could make a call to London? To my mother?"

I pulled out my locket from under my shirt that still smelt of the Neverland Forest and opened it. I was grateful the picture of my mother was still intact. But next to her in the slot sat a picture of me and my father, a picture I had no memory of taking but was grateful to see. I looked up at Snow, aware that Emma was peeking over my shoulder.

"Your mom and dad?" She asked, a mouthful of half chewed pancake in her mouth. I nodded, turning the locket around to show the rest of the family.

"I have to save Neverland. But my mother, I'm sure, missed me while I was gone. Even if it was for a few days.... or even a little longer. I just, I want her to know that I'm safe."

"Your mom, I am sure, would really appreciate that," Regina said, her hand stroking the top of Henry's head. "I know I would be lost without Henry."

Snow held her coffee two handed and brought it to her lips. "We all would." She took a sip as I closed my locket with a last look at the pictures.

Emma pulled out a notepad and began to write. "How old are you, kid?"

"Mother and I celebrated my seventeenth birthday before the shadow took me back to Neverland. But I don't know whether a week has passed or whether it was longer, so I can't really say for sure."

Henry's head whipped up, his attention finally leaving his breakfast. "So, you're school age?" His eyes lit up as I nodded.

Emma hummed as Henry made his way back into his dwindling stack of pancakes. She tapped a few times on her phone and scribbled a few words on the notepad. "Okay, so, as the sheriff, I'll make you a deal?" I winced at the thought of a deal, remembering my one with Pan, but refused to show my discomfort. "You go to school, get an education, and then after school, you come and help me in the station with a bit of paperwork to earn some cash."

"And that will pay for the call?"

Emma sighed. "Long distance is a nightmare. Plus, we have to locate her first. She may have moved house or..." Emma didn't finish her sentence, but I knew what she was hinting at. I nodded slowly. "I tell you what, come with me today and we will see what we can do." I smiled politely, my thoughts still on the rest of her unspoken sentence.

Henry and Snow rushed off to school and Regina to her office, leaving David to clear up breakfast as Emma ushered me out of the door after the mayor. As we neared the bottom of the stairs, Regina watched me as I came down and, with a wave of her hand, my outfit changed.