Never

Chapter Seventeen

When Lily awoke, the sky was the color of ice, the air somewhat colder than the usual Neverland temperature. She still hadn't adjusted to sleeping without Peter's warmth wrapped around her, but she'd managed to get in a decent night's sleep. More than anything, she missed Peter's laugh, and even the comfort she found in his scent on his discarded clothes wasn't enough for her. It shocked her how inseparable she and her Peter had become over the past few months, how painful it was to be away from him. Distractions were in order today, so Lily decided to go to the lagoon and take a bath. She did love the water, and anything was better than sitting alone at home and waiting for her meeting with Baelfire. 

When she reached the lagoon, steam was rising off the water and dissolving into low hanging clouds above it, a warm mist that kept Lily warm as she undressed, leaving even her slip on the rocks as she slipped into the water. The water was the precise green of Peter's eyes, so Lily closed her own as she basked in the icy sunlight, floating on her back. She pretended the way the water wrapped around her was Peter's arms, and the idea was strangely comforting.

Every second that she was there brought her closer to her real distraction, but every second was also a reminder of the moments she'd spent with Pan there, wrapped in his embrace that first time, or twirling in the water splashing and laughing on the sunny afternoons that had filled her life since she'd let Peter in. 

When the skin of Lily's coffee-colored fingertips had crumpled from hydration, she pulled herself out of the water, laying her slim body out on a warm, sunny rock to dry. She decided to let her eyes rest for a moment, and moments turned into a soft, fuzzy nap on her stomach, naked in the sun, and for a moment everything was right again. 

The sun in Tiger Lily's eyes dissolved into a warm dream in which Pan's arms were all she knew and she was wrapped a warm cloud. Their mouths moved together until everything shattered apart again and again. Everything was warm and bright until suddenly the cloud broke apart and Lily's skin went cold and she fell back to earth, reaching for him.

Her eyes snapped open, and the first thing she took note of was the dark sky. Drops of rain dotted her cheeks, and she bolted up, her body colder than before, and leapt to her clothes to wrap herself in them. Once she was clothed, she took off at top speed, sprinting to reach her rendez-vous with Baelfire. 

She stopped suddenly when she reached the cliff overlooking Skull Rock, and reached out to grab a tree to keep herself from careening off over the edge with her momentum. She caught her breath, leaning forwards to put her hands on her knees as she peered around. 

No Baelfire. 

"Fuck," she breathed quietly. Once her voice and breathing evened out, she called out again. "Baelfire? Where are you? Am I too late?"

There was no answer, and Lily plopped down to land on her butt in the dirt. She sighed, brushing the back of her hand across her forehead to wipe off the beads of sweat that had collected there. She wasn't usually this exhausted after a run, but the sprint itself had been a good distraction and she was so eager to see Baelfire. She hated being alone, hadn't had the time to get adjusted to it since her departure from the orphanage. 

"Shit," she cursed quietly, leaning against the tree, tilting her head back in exasperation. The rain quickened, thick raindrops slapping onto her head, the sky's tears pouring dow her face. Now she was going to be alone in the night with no relief from her solitude. 

And then she heard it. 

A scratchy chuckle sounded from somewhere behind her, and Lily leapt to her feet, turning around, her hand grasping at her belt for her sword, but it was back at home, she'd left it in the scabbard laid across her cot. 

Whirling around, she saw him, standing tall and proud, the angle of his eyebrows somehow angrier than when she'd last seen him all those weeks and months ago. Killian Jones seemed rougher, somehow even more dangerous. His sword was already drawn, and Lily's call for help died in her throat as she threw herself backwards away from his lunge towards her. 

Lily's breath hitched, and she jerked out of the way of his blade as he advanced. He was bigger than she was, however, and when he reached forward there was only so far she could move between his hands and the edge of the cliff, so she tried to duck under the pirate's arm, smacking straight into his chest. 

He laughed a vicious laugh, snatching her, and his pirates, his comrades stepped out of their hiding places, swords in their hands. Smee, the first mate smacked his club into his chubby hand, guffawing stupidly as Lily struggled. 

"Baelfire!" she shouted out, snarling as she tried to pull away from her captor. "Bae, help me!"

Somehow this was funny to Killian, who threw his head back, cackling. His throat was exposed and Lily threw out a hand to try and snatch at his neck, her fingernails reaching to try and slice him apart, but he restrained her once again. 

Tears leaked out of the edges of his eyes as he guffawed, holding her tight to him. "H-hear that, Smee?" he asked. "She thinks-" he laughed harder. "She thinks Baelfire is going to help her!"

"How is that funny?" snarled Lily, still struggling hard against him. 

"Come on out," said Hook. 

At first Lily wasn't quite sure who he was talking to, but then a small figure moved out of the shadow of the trees, the rain matting his hair to his head and into his eyes. The boy she'd come to know over the past few days had... it couldn't be true. 

"C'mere, son," said Hook, wrapping his free arm around the boy's shoulders. 

He'd betrayed her.