Across A Town Line

Chapter 12: Where Are We?

Ana's POV:

I heard something crack as I landed into the hard, dirt ground. And then several more cracks as I felt four heavy objects fall on top of me. I groaned and prayed that nothing had broken in the fall. I felt the extra weight lift off of my back. "Where the hell are we?"

"Wonderland," came Jefferson's response. I had always dreamed of visiting Wonderland, an old childish wish. I never thought it was actually possible, only visiting it in my dreams. But now I was there, standing on the soil and taking in all of its strange beauty. I was almost too entranced to notice a fourth figure standing in the shadows. Almost.

"Damn," I muttered under my breath as I saw two glowing green eyes staring back at me. "Why are you here Pan?" I asked, frustrated.

"Well, to keep an eye on you, of course," he said devilishly. I remembered how he was working with Zelena, and that bizarre disappointed feeling came back. I shook it off, and looked at my friends and Jefferson instead.

"Now what?"

"We find the White Castle."

"And what about tattle-tale over here?" Nina asked, pointing at Pan. I rolled my eyes and suppressed all of the confusing, bottled up feelings inside me. Thankfully, Jefferson spoke up before I had a chance to erupt.

"Let him come, but tie him up." I expected him to fight, but Nina and Lilibelle were able to bind his hands and cover his eyes without a problem. It seemed like he was giving up, but the smirk that was yet to be wiped off of his face told me otherwise. "This way then," Jefferson motioned to a path to his right. We followed him and walked and walked and walked until the sky was tinged with a blood orange hue that told us it was time to stop for the day.

"Let's set up camp here for tonight," Jefferson said, referring to a clearing in between the thick foliage around us with bright flowers all around. I listened hard for their melody, but was saddened when I didn't hear anything.

"Why aren't the flowers singing? They were always singing," I asked as I gathered materials for a fire. I heard Pan snicker behind me, but decided to ignore him.

"You were the one that made them sing. When you left, they stopped," said the Hatter reproachfully. I sighed sadly. I was slowly coming to terms with my past, but I couldn't help feeling lost and confused when I learned things like that. I was barely accepting the little I knew, and then I'd learn new and baffling information like this. "You could do it again, you know..." he said quietly.

We had finished setting up camp, the fire burning brightly against the starry night sky. Nina and Lilibelle were sleeping, Pan was presumably dozing off, and Jefferson and I were staring intently at the fire.

"Why? Would I do that?"

"Well, to defeat Zelena for one," he must have noticed my disinterested face because he added, "she can do very bad things Ana. You should do it for the people of Storybrooke, if anything." He had gotten me there. It was against my nature to not help people.

"Fine, then how?" I asked dejectedly, and admittedly, a little scared.

"You have to imagine," he said, which caused me to raise my eyebrows. "You have to concentrate on every single detail, how it looks, sounds, feels, smells, even tastes sometimes." This was sounding ridiculous, but he seemed to be convinced.

"I'll try tomorrow," I sighed. "Goodnight Jefferson," I said. I heard him sigh miserably, but decided to ignore it. I slowly drifted off to sleep, the crackling fire my lullaby.

...

Pan's POV:

Silly fools, I thought. As if some rope and a mask were enough to hold me back. I dusted myself off and headed to where Ana was sleeping. I crouched down and tore off a piece of the tan mushroom in front of me. I gently shook her and quickly covered her mouth. I could see the hatred in her eyes as she realized what was happening. It was what I had to do, so why did I feel a twinge of guilt?... Stop it Pan, I commanded myself, and handed her the piece of mushroom.

"Eat it or you'll never see your friends again," I threatened silently, knowing that she wouldn't harm anyone for her own safety. She did as I told her, her hating eyes never leaving my gaze, even when she began shrinking. I picked her up, ignoring her tiny squeaks of protests and put her on my shoulder. "Hold tight love," I said and walked into the night.

A/N: Hi guys! I just want to thank you for so many reads, this is kind of incredible! Anyways, i hope you enjoy! (I'm actually ahead in the story, so updates will be more regular now!) Don't forget to comment and vote. I love you! x