The Lost Girl (once upon a time Peter Pan fanfic)

20 - Determined

Emma P.O.V

"What do you mean she's gone?! How is that even possible?" shouted Regina. Snow had gone to check on Anna after Henry returned, only to discover that she wasn't in the cabin. "She can't have jumped overboard - we would have seen her!"

"If you don't believe me go and look for yourself. She's not there." replied Snow calmly, but with a slight edge of concern in her voice. She turned to face Henry, "Did she mention anything suspicious to you at all? Maybe hinting at what she was going to do?"

"She just said that he didn't deserve to die. She knew he was evil but she thought death was too harsh. She said that she knew she was wrong, but nothing would change her mind."

"How does she think she's going to save him anyway? We all saw him die." I asked. Surely there wasn't a way to revive the dead.

Hook turned to me, "The fountain of youth. It's a stream in Neverland which contains water with magical healing properties. It can heal even the most fatal of wounds, but the magic only works in Neverland. That's how Anna's scar has returned, if you noticed."

"Mom, can't you use magic to see where she went?" asked Henry, facing Regina.

"I might be able to, but I'll need an item of hers. Did she leave anything in the cabin?"

"I'll go and check, though I'm unsure" said David, turning around towards the door. Anna didn't arrive with any belongings, so it's highly unlikely that she would have left anything behind, but I still hoped for the best. The guilt I'd feel if anything happened to her would be overwhelming.

Anna reminded me of myself in many ways. If only she'd stop to listen to us for a second, we could maybe get her to understand that she is loved - by us. I still couldn't shake the guilt of even considering abandoning her when Henry was in danger. She may have seemed though, but she was still only young, and it was our job to protect her. I couldn't let her get hurt anymore.

xxx

David eventually returned from the cabin holding an old bandage. "I'm not sure if this counts, but this is what Snow used to clean up her head wound when the magic wore off."

"We can only hope" said Regina, taking the bandage, "Now, let's see where that girl went..."

Laying the bandage down, Regina held her hand out and swiftly circled it with her wrist, casting a faint glow across the wooden plank it was resting on. "So far so good," she muttered to herself, before pulling out a small hand mirror from her pocket, "now for the moment of truth."

She once again made a swishing motion with her hand around the mirror. We all waited anxiously for her to tell us what was happening. She stared, fixated on the mirror, a concerned look spreading across her face.

"I'm not just going to stand here like a bloody fool. Tell us what's happening!" said Hook impatiently.

She finally looked up from the mirror, and the look on her face sent a wave of uncertainty throughout the whole group. "I hope you were't too attached to that girl," she proclaimed, "because we're never going to get her back."

"What do you mean?!" gushed Snow fearfully, "What did you see?!"

"As it turns out, we didn't kill all of Pan-"

"Stop speaking in riddles and tell us!" shouted Hook, who was growing increasingly impatient.

"It's his shadow. It's flying her back - back to Neverland."

And with those simple words, the realization that we would never see Anna again dawned on us all...

Anna P.O.V

The excitement of flying was something I could never get used to. The wind swept through my hair as I soared over the sea, getting higher and higher only to swoop down and fly up again. The shadow's hand was indistinguishable from Peter's. If I closed my eyes, it would feel like I was flying with him again on that first night...

I felt guilty about leaving the group unannounced, but they would be fine without me. I had to save Peter - if not for him, then for me. I couldn't live with myself knowing he was dead. I just had to hope that it wasn't too late for the water to work. 

Peter was evil. I knew that. But if it were just him and me on the island, we could be happy for the rest of our lives - staying young and energetic the entire time.  We could both be happy.

xxx

After the longest time, we finally swooped down of the sand at the edge of Neverland. I had no idea which way Peter was, and when I turned around to ask the shadow, it was gone. I didn't have time to waste, however, so without thinking I began to run.

"Peter!?" I shouted, before realizing how much of a waste of time that was. It hurt to think that he was just laying on the ground alone. It hurt even more to think that he was really dead. The scene of Hook plunging his sword through his stomach burned in the back of my mind, forcing my legs to move even faster, and my eyes threatened to spill tears down my cheeks.

I had no idea where I was going, and the thought that I'd made a huge mistake hid in the back of my mind. No, this is for the best. I'll be happy with Peter when I find him. If I find him...

xxx

Just as I was about to give up, I noticed something strange on the ground. I slowly crouched down to examine the mark, when i realized exactly what it was. Blood. My blood. This was the trail Emma used to find me at Peter's camp. I'm coming Peter! I'm so close now!

My feet wanted to give up on me, but my heart forced my to keep going. Peter was only a few steps away. I began to recognize each tree I passed. I was so close now. Finally, I emerged from the trees into a clearing...

There Peter lay, his gaping wound still glaring at me. I ran towards him and dropped down next to him, pressing my hand to his cheek.

"I love you," I whispered, "we're going to be together Peter, I promise. I'll make this all better."

I still had to find the infamous fountain of youth, but I knew in my heart that he would guide me.

You're not going to die Peter. We'll be together.

A/N

Sorry if this chapter isn't very good or doesn't make sense at points - truth is that I'm incredibly tired, but I don't want to get into the habit of not writing because it's not fair to the people who read this. Thank you all for reading so far! ♥