The Old King ~OUAT Panfiction (Book 3)

Distractions

 Laying down on the bed in the treehouse, Anne slept almost soundly in the vast darkness of her unconscious mind. Then, the darkness morphed into an image. She was in the forest, but it was different. Branches were bizarrely disfigured and the leaves of trees and bushes were grey, lifeless, and somehow still living. She heard no birds, only the buzzing of insects. There was an aroma in the air. Pungent and nauseating enough that she could taste it. Death. She heard something scuttle across the ground and gasped, startled by the sight of a small black crab bolting over to join the others. There was a small entanglement of the same black crabs, appearing to be ripping apart something small with their claws and chowing down.

Hesitantly, Anne drew near, facial features contorting in disgust when she peered down. A half eaten bird lay there with large, beady black eyes. Its feathers were a sheen grey, almost pale blue and far too beautiful to be lost in such a haunting and decaying place. Then, its head snapped in Anne's direction and it squawked out loudly.

The lost girl loudly gasped and stumbling back, screaming.

Then, Anne shot awake, sitting up and panted heavily. Crying out when a warm hand grabbed her shoulder, her eyes darted in the direction of Pan. He sat there beside her with a large, concerned gaze. Reality crawled back to Anne and she hastily got up from the bed to move away from him. She turned her back on him and wrapped her arms around herself. Her cheeks darkened and she silently attempted to catch her breath. "Did you have a nightmare?" He spoke. The lost girl intensely ignored him, lips tightly compressing.

Pan could sense her discomfort and frowned knowingly. "Well, it's gone now." He stood up and approached her, floorboards creaking under his shoes and Anne's shoulder snapped back when he went to touch her again. She met his eyes again and swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Don't...please don't," she pleaded silently and moved away from him again.

Pan's frown deepened. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, okay?? I don't even want to be near you right now, so just leave me alone," she commanded him, then went to grabbed the handle on the door in the floor. But it was locked. She cursed.

"I don't appreciate the cold shoulder, Anne," he scoffed.

She glanced toward him again, more so glaring and stood up fully. "Well I don't appreciate the fact that you decided to take advantage of me last night," she accused him.

Pan's brows raised, high and he couldn't help but bust out laughing. "I took advantage of you? Now that's a little bit unfair, don't you think?" He retorted, winking for emphasis and drew close. Anne backed away slowly with an astonished look on her face for such audacity.

"Not really, considering the circumstances. It was your stupid pipe song, wasn't it?"

"My pipes can beguile the minds of boys that feel unloved and lost, not get someone to sleep with me," he breathed, narrowing his eyes. Anne cringed at the phrase, 'sleep with me'. "If you didn't like it, we can try it again -- or perhaps, a third time after that. I've heard that it's a charm." A snarky smirk ghosted his lips and his eyes flickered with mischief. He halted in his step.

Anne expressed sheer disgust, at first, then shook her head. "Last night was a mistake, Pan. I wasn't in my right mind, okay? I was still distracted by -- "

"Chester's demise?" Pan pervaded. "I think we were all a little distracted by his inevitable fate."

"Exactly, and that's all it was last night, was another distraction," Anne replied sympathetically.

Just then, Pan grabbed her and crushed his lips to hers in a defying kiss of anguish, grabbing her wrists that went up to reject his body. She couldn't resist the enveloping warmth of his lips and her mind was bewitched, returning the kiss. She laid her hands flat on his chest, gripping his shoulders and urged him back, shoving him onto the bed. A breathless grin stretched to the size of Pan's cheeks and he was swiftly welcomed by another kiss and she climbed onto his lap. His hands found her hips and she slid her fingers into his hair. Then they slid back and she grabbed his shoulders again, breaking the closeness of their lips. "No, no we can't do this," she sighed, attempting to climb off of Pan, when she stopped herself.

Once again, she reconnected their lips, desire tingling there and she moaned with need. Pan laid back, her leaning on top of him and she groaned, once again detaching their lips. "I can't--"

"It's alright," he prodded breathlessly, slipping his hands up her ribcage.

"No, no, Pan, I'm not going to do this," she asserted, climbing off of him and resisted his physical pull. The piper sighed and fell back down on the bed, covering his lips and rolled his eyes in frustration. Then, he shot back up and sat her on the bed.

"I'm just about sick of you being hot one minute, then cold the next," he spat and stood up. "You need to figure out what the hell you want because I can't keep doing this with you. You're so damn stubborn that it's becoming unattractively annoying," he countered. "Why can't you just accept the fact that we have feelings for eachother??"

"I do accept it, Peter -- but --"

"But?! No, you need to stop trying to come up with every reason to resist me! Why do you do this to us?? Do you enjoy our fighting?! Because I'm just about fed up -- "

"Then tell your boys about us!" She demanded, shooting up in front of him.

Pan glared at her. "No!!"

"Yes!!" She exclaimed.

Pan exhaled with exasperation and loudly groaned, turning away from her. "You are entirely insatiable!"

"And you are entirely arrogant!" Anne shouted.

"Oh shut up," he scoffed, exhausted and once again, rolled his eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me," Anne hissed in disbelief, crossing her arms.

"You're so hot when you defy me," Pan breathed with a widening grin. Then, he went to kiss her again, when she used her hand to push his face to the side.

"I have to tell you something," she confessed, lowering her hand. He met her eyes with darkening hues of concern.

"What is it?" He inquired.

Anne hesitated. "I've been seeing this..thing -- well, myself. It's been talking to me, I guess. I don't know if I've just been hallucinating, or...if she's actually there."

"Wait a minute, you've been seeing yourself, like in a reflection?" Pan narrowed his eyes.

"Sorta, but she's younger than me. She mocks me. This morning, for instance, she blamed me for that little boy's death -- but that's impossible because I haven't been anywhere near him," she protested.

"Slow down, Anne. When did you first start seeing her?" He pressed.

"When I jumped off that cliff to get away from you and Chester, she was underwater, just staring at me...it was so haunting, so..unsettling," she sighed.

"I've seen it too. A couple nights ago, I saw myself as well, but I looked the way I did when I was under the shadow's curse," Pan confessed. "He wanted to hurt you, but I thought it was a nightmare."

Goosebumps rose across the surface of Anne's skin and the color drained from her face. "What could this mean? Where are they coming from??"

"I'm not sure," he replied, contemplating and caressing his chin. "Perhaps we could ask the mermaids?" He proposed.

Anne nodded in agreement. "Should we go now?" She suggested, raising her brows.

"Not now, we'll go tonight when they're out," he confirmed.