Long Lost | Once Upon a Time (REWRITING)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Dark Hollow

After they had all arrived at camp, everyone went off in their own directions. While Grace walked over towards her cot, everyone else either headed for the fire or their own sleeping arrangements, most likely to rest up before they would be going back out again that night. Slowly, the girl trekked over towards the makeshift bed, knowing that if she were to tag along with anything later on, she would need to at least rest her eyes for some amount of time. She had already begun to strip any and all weapons from her body when she heard a noise from the wooded area beside her. She furrowed her brows together in confusion, her hands immediately freezing in what they were doing before she slowly made her way over towards the origin of the noise. She wasn't sure what to describe the sound as, perhaps a child laughing.

Now, Grace knew that wasn't necessarily a good sign, especially when being on Neverland, and she began to question herself as to why she was going after it, though that didn't stop her curiosity from being piqued as her feet just kept on moving. Finally, she stood before a bush. Something told Grace that the noise had originated just from behind the bush and so without hesitating, she quickly parted the branches away from each other, only to see a little girl roughly a foot under her own height. Grace frowned as she looked down at her, the girl not even appearing to have acknowledged her presence. She had the same features as her own, what with the dark brown hair and pale skin. Only after she began to analyze the girl did she finally face the teen and Grace immediately regretted looking into her deep, soulless eyes.

The ice blue orbs appeared to be looking straight through Grace. She wondered if the girl could even see her, though her next words proved that she did.

"Come with me!"

Her light chant echoed through her ears before the girl suddenly turned and began to run in the opposite direction. Something pulled Grace from within, causing her to quickly chase after her. It were almost as if she was somehow connected to the girl, her appearance alone immediately setting Grace in a trance. Her giggles were the only thing she heard as she rammed through any bushes or branches that stood in her way. Though no matter how far she ran, Grace just couldn't catch up. It were as if they were both running down a long hallway, a hallway of which was never ending. The chase went on for as long as she could remember until finally, she stopped. And when the girl stopped, Grace did as well.

She was out of breath from the run as she took in all the air around her. The girl didn't turn around, only kept her back towards Grace as said girl tried to regain herself. Finally, after a moment of just standing there, the child turned on her heels. Only then did she realize that she was barefoot, her feet covered in dirt and other muck found on the forest floors.

"Come closer!" She called out as she motioned towards Grace with her hand, using an inching expression to show that she wanted Grace to join her. She wasn't sure what to do, though after hearing her say it a second time, she finally picked her feet up off the ground and slowly made her way over towards her. "Come on! Closer!"

Finally after walking right up to the girl and standing before her, she giggled before turning and bolting away. Grace frowned as she watched after her, feeling as if a part of her had just left her body. She just continued to stare at the spot the child had occupied just moments ago when suddenly, a hand found its way onto her shoulder and quickly pulled Grace back. She gasped at the feeling as her head whipped around to face the culprit, only to realize that it had been Pan. She had to keep from screeching and instead took multiple steps away from the boy, though she didn't get very far. Before she knew it, she had backed directly into a tree. She tried to move away though soon realized that she had been bound to the tree by a thick rope. She struggled against the restraints, them wearing into her arms as if they'd been on her this entire time.