The Monster Inside Peter Pan (ouat)//(Robbie Kay)

Chapter Thirty

28th day in Neverland

"So how are your lessons with Jake going?" Pan asked me as I seated myself, his expression unreadable.

"They- they're going okay I guess. I'm not that good with swords but I finally got the hang of archery and I'm doing great with hand to hand combat." I said quickly, looking at him, deep into those mesmerizing emerald green eyes, but they were blocked out by a wall to cut off any emotion, and for the first time, I didn't look at him with hate or resentment, just with curiosity. In the long nights where I couldn't find sleep, I'd had a lot of time to think. I'd finally accepted that I was staying here in Neverland, and there obviously was more to Pan than what met the eye, so here I was, willing to give him another chance.

He interrupted my thoughts, speaking. "Good, tomorrow you'll help them with the fortifications then. As for today," he said as he crossed his arms and squinted slightly at me, calculating. "I'll be teaching you the theory, some more background information, because the emotions aren't the only things needed to cast a spell, you need to understand how it works, agreed?"

I nodded, before saying, "I have a question."

"What a surprise," he said sarcastically.

"I don't understand why I have magical powers. Like, why me? I've never learned how to use magic before, I'd never even knew I could do magic before coming here on Neverland, so why am I able to do magic when no one in my family could?"

I looked at him and he shrugged, "I've only heard of a unique case like yours in ancient spell books," he started, "but it isn't possible..." He added more to himself, his eyes becoming unfocused.

"What is?" I asked eagerly.

He stared out the window, lost in thought. He stayed there, immobile, for so long that I started to doubt he'd ever answer, when he said, "There is a legend, that says that once in a blue moon, a child is born with the heart of the truest believer. The owner of that heart, would be able to perform magic in Neverland like any other spellcaster, no matter their blood heritage. Although it isn't possible that you are the owner of that heart."

"Why not?"

"Because the next owner of the heart of the truest believe is destined to be a boy."

"And how do you know that?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I have my reasons, that I have no inclination to share with you." He said coldly. "Now can we pass on to another subject?"

I wanted to argue and learn as much as I could on the heart of the truest believer but getting Pan in a bad mood in the beginning of the lesson wouldn't be a good idea so I simply nodded. I didn't want it to go like yesterday had.

"Good. So, I briefly mentioned earlier that Neverland is a timeless place, but- Yes?" He asked, amused, "Would you like to say something?"

"But how does it work?" I blurted out. This was something that had deeply troubled me sometimes, "What does 'time stands still' actually mean? Because if time is frozen, how are we able to move? Or if time stands still, how is the blood circulating in our veins, our skin regrowing back and mending itself, but we don't age? How does it work?"

He chuckled, "Simple really, it's magic." I opened my mouth to tell him that that didn't explain anything but he held up a hand to silence me. "You see, time is a man-made concept, therefore saying that a place is timeless doesn't make sense. Timeless is just a word we use to explain that people don't grow old here. But you are right, everything else works like in normal realms; our injuries mend, our blood flows, our digestive systems still works in cycles, we are not frozen in place, our mind works and thinks properly. The only thing that changes is that we never grow old."