The Return (Once Upon a Time sequel)

Chapter 20

~Jade~

I had been sitting in my cabin all afternoon. Thinking, wondering....I couldn't believe my mother was finally here!! She had finally found a way to come safe Alek and me! But unfortunately, she was now in Peter's hands, something which concerned me deeply. What if he confronted her or hurt her?

Oh if he ever lay a hand upon her I would kill him!!!

Anger and anxiousness started to boil up inside of me at the thought of my mother sitting helplessly before that monster. That monster who has been holding me captive for so long. That monster who froced me to do stuff so that I could "survive" on this stupid island made out of dreams! The monster who made me fight!!

A knock on my door snapped my attention back to reality. I cleared my throat and blinked my tears away.

"Come in!" I croaked out, weakly.

The door opened slowly and in came my mother.

"Mom!" I called out to her and opened my arms to engulf her like a toddler.

"Jadey!" She replied and rushed towards my bed, hugging me tightly.

We stayed like that for what felt like forever. I took in her scent and smiled to myself. She felt like home. My mother gently stroked my hair and I opened my eyes, only for them to land on the horror in human form.

"What are you doing here?" I spat as I pulled away from my mother, glaring at Peter.

He stood in the door opening, staring at us in thought. His features hardened slightly at the tone of my voice but he let it go.
My mother turned around and sighed.

"You didn't treat her with respect? She's the only girl on Neverland and on campus and you still couldn't treat her properly?" My mother spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but you know how I act around girls. You went through the same thing, Grace." Peter stood up for himself.

My mother shook her head but a grin spread across her face as she walked towards him, grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him. I noticed Peter squeezing her hand and the both of them shared a moment of eye contact.
Confusion was the only thing I felt and I needed answers as soon as possible.

"You went through the same thing? What does he mean mom? And how does Peter know your name? And why are you so gentle all of a sudden? What is going on?" The questions flew out of my mouth as I could not seem to stop.

I had been keeping my mouth shut all afternoon. No one visited me, only Alek and that was only once. Nate had disappeared completely and Felix wasn't guarding my door in case I needed something. Everything had changed completely in a matter of minutes, if they even existed on this island.

My mother glanced at Peter once more, this time, concern was painted on both their faces. My mom looked down while walking to the edge of my bed. She sat down and made eye contact with me, sadness and worry flickered in her eyes. Her hand hadn't let go off Peter, who was standing two feet away from me.

"Jade. Peter and I have to tell you something really important." My mother started.

I glanced at Peter who seemed to avoid eye contact with me. So I focused back on my mother.

"Okay..." I carefully replied.

I could see my mother squeez Peter's hand encouragingly from the corner of my eye but I ignored the bothering feeling it gave me.

"It's about your father." My mom announced and I felt my eyes widen.

I let the words sink in for a second and gulped.

"M-My father? What does dad have to do with any of this?" I stammered.

"Everything." She replied.

Silence filled the cabin as I tried to expect the unexpected, but what could I do? I didn't know what was going to happen next.

"Jade, your mother and I....we have a long story behind us that we can never forget. Grace has..." Peter's voice was shaky as he spoke up for the first time since my mother shut us out from the rest of the camp.

"Grace has been here before. Long before you were born. She was taken by my shadow too you know." He managed to say.

I glanced at my mom who stared at me with tears in her eyes. An eery feeling took over me.

"I was brought here and met Peter and the Lost Boys. I couldn't believe what was happening in the beginning, I couldn't process the fact I was in a world of which you only hear of in stories. I had grown up in the real world, with grandma Monica and grandpa David, unlike you." My mother chimmed in.

"I wanted to return home so badly in the beginning, I tried every possible way that could lead me to the real world but it didn't work. But the longer I stayed on Neverland, the longer I started to adapt to everything here. The Lost Boys, the fairies, the mermaids and pirates. And I slowly, fell in love with your father, who I met here. On Neverland." She added.

I felt my chest tighten and my breath hitched in my throat. My father lived on Neverland? What if he could still live here? What if I had met him and I hadn't noticed? But...who could it be? A fairy? An oger? A pirate? A mermaid? There were so many options. It could be anyone.

"My father lived on Neverland?" I asked, not believing what I just heard.

"He still lives on Neverland, Jade. And he's so sorry for not noticing you earlier." Peter spoke up.

I looked up at him and noticed tears in his eyes.

And that's when my heart stopped.

Things around me started spinning as I realized the truth that had been standing in front of me all along. I had been so eager to find my dad all these years and Peter keeping me from my hometown made me feel as if I would never be able to continue my search for my father. And yet I had been looking in the wrong place all this time. My mother...she knew where my father was and kept it as a secret from me all those years!! She had to suffer, she had to put up with my problematic little self and my curiousness about my father. When he had been here, all this time.

"Y-You....you are my father?" I asked, but it came out more as a statement.

Peter smiled slightly, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Hello my daughter." He said.

I let out a weird noise as my heart shattered to a thousand pieces. Tears started rolling down my cheeks as I looked from my mother to my...father. My hand covered my mouth as I sobbed, not believing that I had been so blind all this time. The eyes, the braveness, the big mouth and the stubborness. The ability to stand up for what I cared and the fighting that I secretly had in me. They all led to one person.

And that person was Peter Pan.