The Old King ~OUAT Panfiction (Book 3)

Old Temptations

            Fluttering her eyes open, Anne sleepily took in the sun bathing through the tree house windows. She realized she hadn't felt so good in a long time. Not only had that felt like the best sleep, she was still in Neverland. Last night wasn't a dream after all. Rolling over to expect Pan there, she saw her fifteen year old self staring straight back at her. Startled, Anne hurried out of bed. "What the hell??" Her fifteen year old self sat up, wordless as she gazed with expressionless eyes. The real Anne took a few steps back. "Stay right there, whatever the hell you are."

Her fifteen year old self giggled, before she spoke up. "We're finally back," were her first words. "We're finally back," she repeated.

The real Anne stared, horrified, before her fifteen year old self sprang up and ran toward her. Screaming, Anne shot up from her bed. Utterly confused, she peered around to take in her surroundings. "It was just a dream," she muttered to herself, "just a dream," she repeated, before being startled by the sounds of someone messing with the tree house door. Pushing it open, Pan climbed inside with a plate of food and dropped it behind him.

"Morning," he spoke, laying the plate onto the bed, "eat up and get ready, 'cause you're going to meet the other boys."

Anne just stared at him, still freaked out by her dream. Taking notice of this, Pan's brows pulled together curiously. Moving the plate aside, he sat down in front of her. "What's wrong, Anne?"

She glanced away from him. "What do you mean, I'm fine," she lied, taking her plate with a thumb and forefinger, until Pan softly grabbed her wrist.

"You're lying, I can tell," he interjected.

"I just...uh..just uh," she tried to find words, until she let go of the plate and pulled her wrist free, "have you ever.." this time, she met his eyes, "dreamt of yourself. Like, talking to you and everything?"

Peter's brows once more knitted together, a humored grin on his lips. "Of course not, why, did you?"

The girl guiltily bit her lip, eyes falling away again. "I might have," she confessed. "It's been a strange few days," she went on.

"Hey," Pan began, slipping a hand onto her cheek and gazed adoringly at her, "two Annes doesn't sound that bad an idea to me."

"No, you don't understand. This was weird." She pulled his hand away and climbed out of bed. Gazing out a window, she tried to find some contentment in the glittering, strangely vibrant morning. This brought her to the question she meant to ask yesterday, but had forgotten. Pan had came up behind her, and she caught his faint reflection in the glass. "The way I remembered Neverland was...dark and gray, and now that I'm back, it looks like a fairytale. Why?"

"Well that's another thing about being Neverland's new keeper, Anne. Despite how fast the days go since this is an island for the dreamers, the weather depends on my feelings. For instance, when I'm upset, it's cloudy. When I'm content, it's sunny. When I'm mad it storms," he leaned in to whisper into her ear, "determined...just imagine." He grinned softly. This somewhat bothered Anne. She missed the old him, the secretive, dark him. It had caused her troubles, but it was so dangerously attractive.

"Why are you being so..." she turned to look at him, trying to find the right word. He waited, watching her. "So...considerate of me, I suppose." She couldn't find a better way to describe it.

This partially offended Pan. "Well would you like to be locked up in a cage, Anne? I don't think so. I may be different, but I.." he backed her against a wall, "still want you," he purred with a seductive look in his eye. This made Anne's breath halt. Perhaps those words meant more than what they used to, to her. They were a reminder that he was still so possessive. "The only difference now is that I already have what I fought for," he went on, slowly smirking. Backing off, he allowed her room to breathe. There was a cockiness coming off of him now, something Anne was naturally bound to defy. But she didn't, not this time when she was yearning for it.