Innocence (OUAT/Peter Pan)

Chapter 31: Through the Sleepless Night

HELLO!! I am back and so excited I am starting a four-day weekend!! Woot! Lots of writing and skiing and SLEEPING! And yes, I have already had a ton of sugar...what, it's the day before Valentine's Day and I have no boyfriend/crush/etc., don't judge me! I actually am not a huge fan of this holiday...before I start a rant, I have to post this fairly quickly cuz I don't have a lot of time but as always:

Multmedia in external link (I'm  VERY slowly putting stuff up on it)

SHOUT-OUT TO MY GIRLY VANESSA5836 (I think I got the number right....)

I don't know who to dedicate this to...hmmm...it's not my proudest, plus I should have a contest of some kind...HERE! Whoever comments coolest contest I can do (within reason of course) will get the next chapter dedicated to them, and then I'll start the contest and each winner gets a chapter and I think you get the idea:)

Long note...eh, long chapter. I am actually surprised at myself at this length.

Vote! Read! Comment! Buy the London Eye! Not necessarily in that order if you choose, but I love your comments so much you guys are so wonderful and beautiful and amazing and I love you all so much! *group hug* enjoy:)

ELLE’S POV

For a moment that felt like hours, Elle just stood still, facing the shaky circle of tents, the large fire pit in the middle and the few smaller ones off to the sides. The few broken or unnecessary weapons and animal bodies lying about, abandoned when the sailors came and he ordered their slaughter. Her eyes seemed to take it all in with sharper focus, the colors were brighter, the lines of every twig, leaf, and scrap clearer. She dragged air through her throat, held it until it hurt, then let it rush out.

            Moving deliberately, Elle ducked into Felix’s tent and stuffed three daggers and two hunting knives into her sash, retying it tightly to hold them and ignoring the sting as the burnt skin on her shoulder stretched with her movements.. Felix would be annoyed, but so what. He could make more, and she needed them. She slung the spare quiver of arrows he had across her back and her own bow over her shoulder.

            Stumbling out of the tent and to the edge of the campsite, Elle spun around and hesitated, breathe caught in her throat. Her fingers reached up and clutched at the pendant on her necklace, tucked safely under the fabric of her dress. What was she doing? These were her brothers….who Pan would use against her. She spun and sprinted, transporting mid-stride.

            She reappeared in front of a particularly tall tree in the middle of the island. The exact one she and Felix had camped under, had climbed to the top off. Adjusting her weapons, she climbed as quickly as she could, forcing herself to concentrate solely on the rough bark beneath her fingers until she was perched just a few branches from the top, hidden but with perfect visibility of the island, of her home. She curled her legs into her arms and tilted her head, so that she could see the island but her hair fell around her shoulders and face. Ice seemed to build around her heart, and her hair glowed brightly. Elle didn’t know why it did, but she didn’t really care so long as he stayed away.

            She should have known better. She did know better, once. Every person only wanted power, Peter Pan was absolutely no exception. Elle snorted, he was the bloody rule itself. He ruled an island for eternity, what made her anything more than another tool for power. Still, Elle felt more pain for this betrayal than she had for any other. Perhaps because he was the first to make her truly believe she was more, that she had freedom, that she was cared for by a family. Her brothers were just something for him to use to make her obey him. Just as the tower had been for the mistress. Another prison.