Angel (Peter Pan Fanfic)

Lyla

**7 year old Lyla Amaranth wept over her mothers cold, lifeless body. She heard a mad man's tinkling laugh in the background. She hated that man. The man with the leathery skin of a crocodile and wild eyes like a snake. As she cried in sorrow, she tuned out her father and his conversation with the crocodile.

"What a noisy little thing," Rumplestilskin mocked, "why does she care I killed her mother? The woman was a whore," The Dark One laughed manically and crooned," 🎶Miranda Amaranth was a whore, anything that wasn't alcohol was a bore. Had a child she didn't ask for, now she's dead on that floor 🎶,"

Insane cackling chorused through the small home, backed up by Lyla's sobs. Lyla's father, Kieran Amaranth, sighed irately,"Yes, yes, you've done what you came for, now what's this about my daughter being -- 'special'?" Kieran spat out the term daughter, leaving a dry, disgusting taste in his mouth.

"Well you see dearie, I want to offer you a deal. Abandon that pesky crying thing over there before she turns 9, and I'll give you this magic bean you so desire hmmm?" Rumplestilskin proposed.

Kieran's face stretched in a sinister manner, elated at this deal and what it would mean for his success. Plus he'd wanted to get rid of his brat years ago. And his whore wife. This day kept getting better and better for him.

"Obviously I accept. But why? What could you possibly gain from this?" Kieran questioned. His shifty, calculating eyes analyzed the beast in front of him. The deal seemed too perfect and therefore completely unreliable.

"Can't tell you that dearie, but I can give you a hint! It has everything to do with that little star shaped mark on her collarbone there," The Dark One gave a non-answer that only served to confuse Kieran more, but he shrugged it off. The child wasn't his problem anymore.          
"So," the crocodile's voice chimed," Do we have a deal?" Rumplestilskin then procured a long contract and a feathered pen. Kieran signed the contract without hesitation, and left, the magic bean in his pocket**

Lyla Amaranth was dancing across the tops of slate roofs of an unknown kingdom in the Enchanted Forest. The frosty night air was biting at her heels like a vicious dog pursuing a frightened cat. That cat in this instance, though not at all frightened, being Lyla. Lyla twirled and frolicked, relishing in another victory, her nimble feet navigating the loose, slippery tiles. The thief meandered between the slate tile roofs of some village marketplace.

In her left hand she clutched her prize from Snow White's wedding, a bag full of rare blood rubies the size of eggs. Things of beauty those rubies were and damn expensive too, reminding her exactly why she never paid for anything. Those jewels would fetch Lyla a pretty penny with a few treasure obsessed pirates for sure. Tomorrow, she intended to head to the dock and sell to the highest bidder. But what to do with the money?

Lyla wrestled between a few ideas and eventually came to a decision. She didn't have much use for tons of money when she didn't keep much and only ever had to feed herself. Thus she would do what she normally did, head back to the kingdom of the Evil Queen and donate the spoils. The Evil Queen was an absolute tyrant and demanded the most outrageous taxes from her poor, starving citizens. The common people and villagers were squandering in poverty and death in the wake of the destruction Regina wrought. Lyla felt responsible in a way to help out the only way she knew how. The 17 year-old may have been a bandit, but she was pure of heart and had a glow of innocence about her.

She slid down the slanted roof of a cobbler's shop and leapt to the hard dirt-packed ground with undeniable cat- like grace, she thought to herself: This is getting far to easy for my liking...

The young girl missed the thrill of the chase. Not that stealing wasn't just as much fun. In Lyla's mind, nothing compared to the adrenaline rush she got whenever she nicked something precious with her sticky fingers. However, it was just so much more exciting when you've got someone trailing behind you. It was so much more exhilarating to know there was someone breathing down your neck, attempting to trip you up. Someone trying to get back what they've lost.