The Heart Of The Truest Believer (OUAT fan-fic)

10 ~ Henry is fading

The annoying bird won't shut up. I try to block it out of my head but it keeps whistling in my ear. That's when I remember where I am.

I sit bolt upright, shivering at the silence around me, and because it's freezing. I look at the tree behind me, which is covered in tiny flowers. I've never seen flowers grow from a tree before. It's fascinating.

"Oi!" There's a noise behind me. I turn around sharply, seeing the boy that shot me with an arrow the day before. I frown.

"What?" I stretch out my legs before slowly climbing to my feet.

"Come this way." He offers no further explanation, or even bothers to turn around to make sure I'm following. Reluctantly, I start to walk after him, admiring the beauty of the forest around me. This is a gorgeous spot.

I can hear shouting, and pretty soon we come into a clearing. What I see makes my blood freeze.

Henry is in the middle of a circle of chanting boys, and he has a crossbow in his hands. "Henry!" My cry clings to my dry throat. The lost boy beside me gives me a glare.

"Sh!"

My heart thuds as Henry lines up the shot - aiming for the apple perched on someone's head. Surely... he can't seriously hope to...

Ziiinnnggg! The arrow flies through the air, but not towards the lost boy, towards Peter Pan.

Way to go, Henry! I think, but my victory is short lived, when Pan grabs the arrow milliseconds before it hits him.

He smirks. I don't hear what he says, because there's a clamour around him as the lost boys crowd around.

I feel a hand grab mine and look down to see Henry smiling up at me. "Well done." I smile and squeeze his hand. "Even if you didn't kill him." The lost boys begin to walk back towards the home tree - or whatever they call it.

Pan falls into step beside Henry and I. "Hungry?" He asks with a grin. Henry still looks a little rattled from his experience.

"No." He says soberly.

"How about an apple?" Pan points to the apple Henry was supposed to shoot down, and produces it with a flourish.

"Uh..." Henry stares at it. "I don't eat apples anymore... it's a family thing."

"Because your family... your grandmother, is Snow White, right?" I forget about Pan for the moment, growing excited. "I'm guessing that's the thing with the poisoned apple. You mean... the fairytales are real? The ones I've read about?"

"Yes!" Henry starts getting excited. Peter bites into the apple, apperantly tuning out to our conversation. "Who are you, anyway, who are you really?"

"I'm not a fairytale character." I laugh. "Well... at least not that I know of. I just have something, apperantly, no one else does."

"What's that?" Henry asks innocently.

I shrug. "Some queen said I have the heart of the truest believer. Whatever that means."

Henry looks proud. "Me too!"

"We're like... heart buddies. But there's one thing that I don't understand. If I can make things happen by believing, why is he still here?" I nod over at Pan.

"Hey!" He looks offended.

Henry stifles a laugh. I think back to this morning. Even if I am kidnapped in a mystical land with no idea what fate awaits me, at least it's better than being home.

"Is Cinderella real, too? And... sleeping beauty? All of the princesses?"

"Of course they are." Henry says with a nod. "My mother is Emma Swan. She's the daughter of Snow White and Prince charming. Rumplestilskin is my grandfather."

"Rumplestilskin?!" I shake my head. "The guy that spins straw into gold?"

"Or the Dark One." Henry continues. "And Regina is the evil Queen."

"Speaking of the evil queen..." I pull the letter out of my jacket. "I don't know what this is, but Cora asked me to give it to Regina."

"Cora?!" Henry grabs the letter and turns it over. As hard as he tries, he can't break the seal. He gives up in frustration. "Darn. Must be sealed with magic. But... how is Cora alive? Mary Margaret sacrificed Cora's life to save Rumplestilskin - therefore she should be dead."

"Magic is a powerful thing, Henry." Pan suddenly speaks up. "That's why we need your help to save it. Imagine what all these peole would be without it? Lost." He suddenly disappears, leaving us alone beside the home tree.

"I wish he'd stop doing that." I say with a frown. "It's kind of creeping me out." I frown. "So, Henry, what do we do for an escape plan?"

"I don't know." Henry shrugs. "I was thinking... trying to catch him off guard, or poisoning him... or something like that."

I laugh. "I don't know Peter Pan that well, but my guess is that if he can catch an arrow set to kill him, trying to catch him off guard will be extremely difficult."

"My family's coming for me." Henry smiles. "You'll see. And they can help you, too. They're coming to rescue us."