Pan's Game || OUAT Fanfic || EDITED VERSION

Chapter 49; Think Lovely Thoughts

"Our pasts may shape us, but it doesn't define who we become."

~ Alyson Noël, Dark Flame

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Alice's P.O.V

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    Baelfire brings his hands back, pulling the oars with him as he does so. The boat moves slowly, but steadily towards the menacing Skull Rock. I can see light coming from inside the eyes of skull. I cran my neck to get a better look at the opening, hoping to catch a glimpse of Peter or Henry, but all I see is more rock. Rumpelstiltskin is the first to step off the boat, followed by Regina, then the others.

    "These are Henry's shoes," Emma points out, gesturing at the footprints in the sand. "Wendy was right. They are here."
    Something seems off to me, there's no way Peter would leave the entrance to this place unguarded. I'm the first to notice the fine line drawn in the sand. I open my mouth to warn Emma of the obvious trap but she rushes forward before I manage to get the word out.

    "Wait! It's a—"
    She rams into the invisible wall with a thud. She's flung into the air and falls face down in the sand.
    "Trap. . ."
    Emma grunts.

    Baelfire rushes to her side. "Are you okay?"

    "I think so," she replies, standing up.

    "What was that?" Baelfire asks his father.
    "Pan cast a protection spell," Rumple answers.
    "There has to be a way to break it," Regina says, summoning a fireball in her hand.
    "Um, Regina, I don't think that's a good idea," I say.
    She ignores me, throwing the fireball at the invisible wall.

    The fireball hits the wall, ricocheting off it just like Emma did a few seconds ago.
    "Woah!" all of us exclaim, ducking.
    "Careful with that!" Baelfire warns.

    "Yeah," I snap. "Watch it."

    The Dark One gives us a look like he expected that. "Try all you want but Pan's magic is too powerful."
    "At least for you," he adds, pointing at Regina.

    She glares at him, but the expression disappears as he walks past the invisible wall, remaining unfazed. "Wha—"

    "How did you do that?" Emma asks.
    "The spell is designed to keep anyone who casts a shadow from entering," The Dark One explains.
    Realisation washes over Baelfire at his father's words. "And you don't have one. You were telling the truth about ripping your shadow off."

    "And Pan knows it," Rumple says. "That's why he cast the spell he did. This isn't about keeping you out, it's about drawing me in. He knows I won't give up the chance to finsih what I came here to do."
    Baelfire gapes at him. "You really did come here to save Henry."

    "I gave you my trust with that box," Rumple says, pointing at Pandora's box. "Now I need you to give it back."
    Baelfire extends his hand out to give his father, but Regina snatches it from his before he can do so. "Hey!"
    Regina gives Rumpelstiltskin a look as she walks up to him. "You better come through, Gold. Or I'll make whatever Pan has planned for you look like child's play. You understand me?"

    The older man smiles, taking the box from her. "Well a simple "good luck" would've sufficed."
    We watch in anticipation as he makes his way up the stairs.
    "So what are we supposed to do now?" Regina asks.
    "What about the spell my father used to rip off his shadow?" Baelfire asks.

    "You think if I knew how to do that, I wouldn't have done it already?" Regina replies.
    "The moon," Emma says, looking up at the moon though a hole in the ceiling.
    "The moon?" Regina asks, following her line of sight.
    "The moon is what causes our shadows, right? What if there was a way to block it out using magic?"