Second Star to the Right

Chapter Sixteen: Nightmares

"When night fell, that's when all of the children started to miss their parents. And they cried really hard."

~Wendy Darling, Once Upon A Time

Chapter Sixteen: Nightmares

Baelfire was having a nightmare. 

He was in complete darkness. He frantically turned around in a circle, but could see no light. Out of the darkness, a figure emerged: a shadow, floating in midair with sinister eyes that illuminated the room he was in. Baelfire was afraid, and couldn't move as the shadow just stared into his eyes. 

"Bae!" Wendy's voice cried out. "Bae! Help me!"

"Wendy!" Baelfire yelled. He turned and saw Wendy, with her hair tied back into a bow and her dress blowing in the wind that wasn't there. Bae ran towards her, but the shadow got to Wendy first. A dagger appeared in the shadow's hand, engraved with the word "Rumplestiltskin". The shadow lifted it's arm up, about to strike Wendy and then....

Baelfire woke up to someone entering the nursery. He jerked up, but was relieved to see Wendy. 

"It's all right." Her voice said softly. "It's just me." Baelfire felt like a weight had lifted off of his chest. She was safe. 

"I'd thougt I'd never see you again." Baelfire smiled. She was back. Magic didn't ruin this family. 

"How long was I gone?" Wendy asked. She walked into the room, and looked around, as if the place was unfamiliar to her. 

"Just...the night." Baelfire answered. He watched Wendy, and realized that something had changed. Her voice had lost the sense of wonder that it once held. It was sad, and lost. Baelfire didn't know how to describe it. 

"It felt like so much longer." Wendy said, and walked to her bed and sat down. Baelfire sat down beside her. 

"So," Baelfire began cautiously, "What was it like over there?" Wendy looked at him. 

"It's an island," Wendy answered, "where there are no grownups to tell you what to do." Wendy almost smiled. "But there are mermaids and fairies and all sorts of mystical creatures." She paused. Wendy looked like she tried to smile, but failed. 

"Then, why did you return?" Baelfire asked. Wendy looked down. 

"Because," she swallowed. Wendy was fighting back tears. "There's a reason it's called Neverland. Because once you set foot on its soil, the shadow never lets you leave." Wendy refused to say the name of the true ruler of the island. 

"How did you escape?" Baelfire asked after yet another long pause. Wendy's eyes teared up. 

"He let me go." She said. "Because he didn't want me." Wendy only took a second to remember the terrible plan Pan had in store. "He wanted a boy." Wendy said, looking at her sleeping brothers. "He's coming back tonight to take one of my brothers in my place." It was really hard to get that out without crying for Wendy. She didn't want them to fall into the same trap that she had. 

"You said magic was bad, and you were right, Bae." She said, letting a tear fall. "It's going to destroy my family."

"No." Bae said quickly. "I won't let anything bad happen to you or this family." Baelfire promised. Without another word, Wendy gave him a look that told him she was grateful. Bae grabbed her hand, and thought of a way to save the Darlings. 

*********

That night, Mrs. Darling tucked each child into bed and kissed them on the head. 

"Good night, my treasures." She said, and took one last glance at her children, all four of them, and closed the door. When her footsteps could no longer be heard, Bae jumped out of bed.