Checkmate

29. Dancing on my own

That night, Neal and I called it a night without dinner, the two of us too exhausted to do anything but sleep. For once, my dreams were calm, as if my heightened mood had affected them to match.

Instead of reliving the trauma of the island as a nightmare, I was once again running on the island, the trees parting for me as they had done so many times before. I ran past the waterfall and the camp, the native's land, and the caves, finding myself running the entire length of the island before it slowly turned into a road.

I ran through Storybrooke and slap bang into Thomas' back, realising him to have caught me before slamming into the ground. I woke as I gasped into his eyes, seeing the wall behind them, and a giant crack running through the middle.

It wasn't necessarily a nightmare, but it was enough to give me pause as I awoke that Saturday morning, catching myself staring at the blank paper and the pen Emma had given me. When I slowly inched myself out of bed and towards the pen, the story of Pan on the edge of my mind, the pen seemed to shiver as it floated up and frantically scribbled on the empty page.

I released a breathy laugh as I watched the words forming; the story coming to life before my eyes. With the pen and my magic doing the work, I did the only thing I could think of doing. I trained.

Snow was eager to assist with my archery, and she seemed impressed with my ability to hit almost every target she threw my way. David joined us on Saturday afternoon, having spent the morning sharpening a blade for me. We battled slowly at first, our swords barely echoing the collisions, until eventually the clangs and crashes could be heard through the forest.

Once again, using my surroundings to fight, I relied only on myself, my magic pushed back. David appeared impressed by my skill, and I surprised myself by how easy the movements had become. Those five years on the island really shining through, despite my week of wallowing in self-pity.

Neal joined us as the sun began to set, Snow and I recollecting how to make arrows as I had damaged most of the ones we made that morning. Neal confessed how he had tried to talk to his father regarding the conversations I had seen in Felix's mind. But the man had given some excuse and hobbled away, having given no information, much to Neal's frustration.

Wordlessly, David handed over his sword to the man and gestured to me. Neal, clearly unwilling to fight me, still stood his ground as I stood and twisted my sword over my hand in an action that seemed to worry him. I raised a single eyebrow in curiosity, making the entire ordeal worse. The man unable to move.

"I was like him, wasn't I?" Neal nodded and instead I took a step back in retreat, giving the man the space to either advance or flee, the option open to him.

"It just means I know I can't hurt you," he admitted quietly, raising his blade to signal his readiness. I smirked and gestured to him, a signal to advance.

Like me and David, our initial hits began slowly, no audible sound as our swords touched. I found myself more than once, correcting Neal's posture and hold, a teaching action that felt normal, as if I had taught others. Before the fight could get faster, I raised my hand to pause and thought about teaching, resisting the urge to fight the buzz of the bees, their buzzing quieter now my dam was at breaking point.

"Everything okay?" Snow asked quietly as I slowed my breathing.

"I think..." I began, feeling and seeing the memories come to me, the boys hanging onto my every word as they adjusted their footwork and positions. "I trained the lost boys," I admitted, opening my eyes in time to see Neal's face turn from one of confusion to visible disbelief.

"Well, it is a sign of a good leader when they choose actions over words," Snow said proudly. I mulled over her words as I gestured to Neal to continue, the two of us a little faster than before, fighting until the sun had set beyond the horizon, casting a pink glow across the sky. "A pink sky," Snow gasped. "Tomorrow will be a good weather day."