Once Upon A Time - Pans Daughter //English//

--- chapter 1 ---

- 15 years before Emilie is born -

I walk through the jungle of Neverland, being careful not to stumble over any roots. I've been trying to get out of this cursed jungle for what feels like three hours now, but it seems like I'm going in circles. My "wonderful" brother Killian just left me behind, and on top of that, it's the anniversary of our brother Liam's death, who died from a deadly poison called "dreamshade". Just the thought of it brings tears to my eyes and down my cheeks. At the time of Liam's death, I was just a little child of 7 years old, and now I'm 16, and I have no idea how I'm going to cope without my beloved brother. Slowly, I'm getting more lost in this huge jungle, and I start crying even more. Tears stream down my face, and because I can only see blurred, I stop. I sink down to a tree behind me and let my emotions run free. Unbeknownst to me, someone is watching and approaching until I hear footsteps and look up from the ground. A boy about my age stands about 2 meters away from me, looking at me questioningly. I get up from the ground, looking at him somewhat frightened.

"W...Who are you?" I try to sound more confident, but I fail. The boy starts to grin and comes closer to me. "I'm Peter, Peter Pan. And you, my love, now belong to me." As he says this, he points to me and then to himself. He starts to grin even wider and whistles loudly once. Apparently, we're not the only ones here, as several figures emerge from the shadows of the trees. They gather around me and the boy, and I'm getting more and more frightened. I gather all my courage and look at the boy. "I belong to no one but me, and I never will!" He just laughs and comes even closer to me. His grin has disappeared, and he stands right in front of me. Only now do I realize that he's about half a head taller than me, and his light brown-green eyes look at me seriously. His light brown hair looks so fluffy, and I would love to run my fingers through it. What am I thinking? I look at the ground and hope he'll leave, but instead of backing away, he comes even closer, so I can feel his breath on my face. "We'll see about that... Kaja Jones." How does he know my name? I look up from the ground and see his face very close to mine. I look into his eyes. "H...How do you know my name?" He starts grinning again and puts one hand on my cheek and the other on my hip. "I know everything about you, my dear. I know everything about the people who enter this island. So remember my words. I know when someone enters Neverland, leaves, and when something happens here. And maybe I should mention that no one can leave Neverland without my permission. So don't try to escape or hide."

I hope so much that he's lying, but his expression shows me that it's the truth. I can tell when someone is lying, and he definitely isn't. "Why would I want to flee from here? I have nothing left to lose anyway." I feel a little more confident, and he raises one of his eyebrows. Pan moves away from me a bit and leans against the tree behind him. "One of my brothers is dead, and the other one left me here and sailed away." I look around and see that it's only boys standing here. He grins at me and raises his eyebrow again. Did I mention that it looks very attractive? What am I thinking? Shame on you, Kaja. Bad girl. "Actually, I'm not really into girls coming to Neverland. But I'll make an exception for you. I allow you to live with us and join us. We're kind of like a family. If you have no one else to care for you, you can stay here and live with us. Everyone here takes care of everyone." Pan comes closer to me again and only stops when our toes almost touch. "So, will you honor us and join us?" I think about it. A new family? A fresh start? Why not? Pan holds out his hand, which I accept. Oh my God, his hand is huge. But not only huge. No, also rough. Wait, are those...? Indeed, you can see his veins. Oh God, how attractive can he be? What am I thinking again? "If it's okay with everyone, I would like to join you." Some of the boys start cheering and come towards us. The others, on the other hand, stay where they are and don't make a sound. "I don't think they'll mind." He looks deep into my eyes, and I feel like he's looking into my soul. I look at the ground. "Then I would say, back to camp." He puts his hand on my back and leads me through the jungle.