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

Chapter 58; True Love Is Rare

"Being able to put someone else's happiness before yours... That speaks loudly. That's love; in the most pure, beautiful and painful way."

~ r.i

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Alice's P.O.V

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    "Are you sure, Alice?" Ray asks.
    "You don't have to do this alone," Lewis adds.
    "I'm sure, guys," I say. "And don't worry about me, Mr Gold will be with me the entire time."
    Will nods, knowing that there's no way he'll be able to change my mind now.
    "But so help me, if he lays a finger on your, I'll-"

    "I'll be fine, Ray," I assure him, placing his hands in mine. "Peter would never hurt me."
    "How can you be sure?" Lewis asks. "He abducted Cassie. For all we know, he could've used Cassie's heart as the final ingredient for the curse."
    "He'd never do that to me," I say.
    "But how can you be sure?" Will asks, speaking up for the first time in two hours.

    "I can't," I admit. "Peter knows all of my weakness, all I can do is to trust him not to use them against me."
    "You really love him, don't you?" Ray asks, sadly.
    "I do. I love him so much it hurts."
    "Let's go," Will whispers to Lewis, linking his arm with him. "We're intruding their moment."
    Lewis nods mutely, walking out the door to the front section of the shop.

    Ray removes his hands from mine, caressing my cheek. "If I could be anything I wanted; I would be the one that you love."
    "I didn't mean to lead you on, you know that right?" I ask him, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
    "It doesn't matter," he replies. "What matter is that you love him and that he makes you happy. He does make you happy, right?"

    I nod. "Very happy."
    "Then, I'm alright with that," Ray tells me. "Love is a condition where the happiness of another person is essential to your own. If he makes you happy, I'll find a way to live with it. I won't move on, but I'll be content with my life as long as you're happy."
    "I'm sorry for breaking your heart," I say, my voice faltering. "You trusted me with it... And I broke it."

    Ray leans down, gently kissing me on the forehead. "Ni ke yi da puo wo de xin. Xi huan de hua ke yi da sui yi qian ci. Wo de xin zhi shu yu ni de, zhi you ni neng da sui."
    "What does that mean?" I ask him.
    He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "It means, "You can break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway"."

    "Wo ai ni," he whispers.
    I want to ask him what does that means but Emma, Gold and Mary Margaret walk into the room before I get the chance to.
    "I'd hate to interrupt this touching conversation but I have to get ready for the spell that will bring Henry and Pan back to their own bodies, so excuse me," Mr Gold says to us.

    Ray takes a step back, letting him pass. "Right. Well, I'm going to join Lewis and my brother outside. Is it too late to change your mind about you wanting to be alone with Pan when he gets back to his own body.?"
    I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek. "Don't worry, he won't hurt me."
    "Stay safe," he says.
    I smile. "I always am."

    Ray glances back at me one last time before padding out the room as Belle, Henry and Regina walk in. The smile is wipped off Henry's face when he sees the look etched on my mine.
    "Alice, are you alright?" he asks, sitting down on the bed with his mothers.
    I force myself to smile. "I'm fine. I'm just... Anxious to talk to Peter again."

    I glance at Emma as she walks over to Henry.
    "You doing okay, kid?" she asks
    "Yeah," Henry replies. "Just ready to be me again.
   Emma nods, understandingly. My eyes dart to Mr Gold who's flipping through a spell book.
    "Not much longer now, Henry," he announces, turning a page." Not much longer."