The Cheshire Cat (A OUAT love story)

Chapter Four-Lost Girl

A/N: Theme songs for Peter Pan and The Cheshire Cat

___________

One year later

Her paws pounded the ground rhythmically, like the beat of a drum as she weaved through the trees with a surprising amount of agility for such a large animal. Her jet black fur gleamed in the bright sunlight, as if its owner had reached out and wrapped the darkness around her like a cloak or a blanket. The animal's muscles rippled underneath it, bunching up only to stretch again. Grey eyes shone in the place of green or amber, marking the black jaguar as different from any other. Finally, spotting the stag she'd been hunting, the wild animal came to a halt and began to pad forward on silent feet. The deer lowered its head to graze, magnificent antlers brushing the long grass, completely oblivious to the predator that crept closer and closer. When she was only a few feet away, the black jaguar crouched, waiting for the right moment to pounce. The stag rose its proud head again, chewing thoughtfully, and the big cat was on it in a split second, sinking her powerful teeth into her prey's skull, right between its ears. The deer soon collapsed to the floor, whining pitifully, and the jaguar soon put it out of its misery with the strongest bite of all big cats. This animal was the real ruler of the jungle, though had been placed as lesser than the lion. 

Of course, she could have simply wished for whatever she wanted instead of going through all the work of hunting prey. But Cheshire always loved a good chase. 

By the time she'd finished her meal and got back to her treehouse on the other side of the island, night had already fallen; she was usually much quicker, but the voices in her head were arguing again. Bandit was suggesting that they stopped living on their own and join the Lost Boys. After all, from what they knew of Pan, he should never be underestimated if you had any common sense (that actually wasn't very common at all). He would be able to look after them and defend them if his boys tried anything. 

Onyx, however, argued that one girl couldn't fight all of Pan's companions and that he sometimes left to be on his own. She also pointed out that neither of them talked when something bad happened to them, so the boy king would never know. 

The reserved attitude of all three parts of Cheshire had come into being when she'd still loved Anwir, son of Crook. Yes, Crook the butcher who had been a cowardly bully. Anwir had sworn that he was different, but Anwir had been a liar.

When Cheshire's parents had died, Anwir, her best friend who she'd had since birth, had begged his father to take her in. Crook had grumbled and complained about it, but grudgingly allowed her to stay in his house, provided she obeyed his every order. Cheshire hadn't really minded; she knew that there was nowhere for her to go if she ran away, and so she did everything she could to avoid the butcher's sharp temper. But there was something wrong, something that stopped a relatively comfortable life from being achieved; Cheshire and Anwir had never thought of each other as their sibling. Their relationship, from a very young age, would either be best friends or lovers. And, like most people, they fell in love. Or, at least, one of them did. Cheshire fell for Anwir, who was good-looking even at seven years old. There was just one problem. Crook. The orphan refused to give her friend a chance in love because she was sure he'd turn out just like his father. Anwir had begged and pleaded, promising her that he had no intention of what she had been suggesting. Finally, Cheshire had relented and the two were soon boyfriend and girlfriend. At first, everything was fine. Perfect, actually. The lovers enjoyed spending time with each other anyway, and no date was difficult to arrange, as they both knew the other like the back of their hands.