5: Lies and Games

Jack was the enemy. He lied to me. He rose to his feet and stood beside Felix, "Jessica, I must say you are quite daring."

"You lied to me," I say enraged. 

"You let your guard down," Peter smirked, "That made this game so easy."

He frowned slightly, "Though I must say that I was not expecting you to push me off a cliff or resuscitate me. Thank you for that, love."

I raised my arm to stab him with my dagger when he caught my wrist. I gritted my teeth as he was revealing his true strength.

"You think that you can defeat me? I'm the ruler of the island. Only I have a say on who leaves and who comes." 

The force on my wrist grew painful and I was forced to release the dagger. Now weaponless, I was at his mercy. I bodychecked his body away from me. The demon just smiled. The Lost Boys took a step closer when Peter raised a hand to them. 

"But Pan-" Felix begins to argue.

"Where's your sense of adventure, Felix?" Peter asked his second in command, "I want to see more of this spitfire before I get bored."

The Lost Boys stepped back as I clenched my fists. I would show him that I wasn't a weakling. He casually moved his hands out to his side, "You've got fire, I like fire. Why don't you show me more of your spitfire attitude?"

I refused to move from my position knowing that was what he wanted. He smirked at that, "Aren't you going to make a move, love? What happened to your fiery rage?"

I knew my face was turning red with each of his taunts. Talk about a rock in a hard place, I thought to myself. I felt strands of my hair blow past me and reacted my body lost feeling as a hand struck the back of my neck. I fell into the devil's arms and I could feel Pan's smirk on me. 

"Love," he whispered in my ear, "I'm the one in charge."

He spoke again to his Lost Boys, but his voice grew too faint to decipher any words as I surrendered to the darkness. 

"Wake up," a distant voice called out, "Are you okay? Can you open your eyes?"

I opened it and was blinded by the lights. When the light receded, I found myself to be lying in a hospital bed. A blonde woman with hazel eyes was looking back at her with concern. It was a foreign feeling. 

My head turned to the side, "Where am I?"

"You're at the hospital," the woman answered, "In Storybrooke, Maine."

"Storybrooke?" I say quietly to myself. 

"One of the crew members of a passing ship from London found you floating just off the harbour from here. You are lucky to be alive."

I sat up in the bed, "The last thing I remember was being in London."

The blonde's eyes widened in disbelief, "That is quite the journey you must have had. Your parents must be worried about you."

For some reason, her words struck me as odd. My heart hurt at the thought and a frown appeared on my face as I turned my head to the side bitterly, "No one is worried for me. I'm an orphan."

The blonde's eyes softened at my words as I rendered her speechless. A raven-haired woman entered the hospital room followed by a little boy. I felt like cowering in her presence. This lady had some sort of power to her and her influence could be felt throughout the entire hospital. 

"Ms. Swan," the black-haired woman entered the hospital room with a boy behind her. 

The boy looked at me with big and curious eyes. He had short brown hair and a friendly face. 

"What is your name?" He asked me.

"Jessica Mallory," I smiled back.

"Nice to meet you," Henry said, "My name is Henry."

"So this is the newest arrival to town," The raven-haired woman said, "My name is Regina Mills. I am the mayor of this town."

I silently nodded my head, not wanting to anger this woman. She looked as though she was capable of ending my life. I turned my attention to Henry who held my hand, "When you can leave the hospital, I plan on showing you around town. That way, you won't ever be lost."

A smile formed on my face, "I'll hold you to that promise, Henry."

Henry nodded his head and Emma checked the clock, "Unfortunately, I have to take care of other business in town. When you are discharged, be sure to stop by the Sheriff's office."

My eyes widened in fear of the place, "I'm not in any trouble, am I?"

Emma's face fills with concern, "No, of course you aren't. I just need to ask you a few questions about how you ended up here as the Deputy Sheriff."

Slowly, I let her words sink in. Finally, I nodded my head, "Okay, that seems fine."

"Great," Emma smiled, "I'll see you later, kid."

Henry nodded his head and Regina excused herself to tend to mayor duties. This left Henry and me in the hospital room. 

"This will be so much fun," Henry said to her, "It will be like having a little sister."

His words made me curious.

"Do you not have one?"

Henry frowned and shook his head, "Nope, I'm an only child."

I broke in a small smile, "Same here, buddy. I don't have any siblings. Hey Henry, what is in your arms?"

The small boy looked down to acknowledge the book her was holding, "This is a fairytale book. Do you want to know the best part?"

"What is it?" I asked him. 

"Everything in this book is real," Henry said excitedly, "The people living in this town are from this book."

I was speechless. The mere thought of fairytale beings being real sounded ridiculous, but I somehow knew saying that would shatter this boy's spirit. I returned a smile, "Really?"

Henry nodded his head, "Yes, think, Jess. Every story you have ever read is real. All these people were placed under the Evil Queen's curse and have no memory of who they are. I plan on breaking the curse and I need your help. What do you say?"

I closed my eyes, "Of course, I'll help you, Henry. On one condition..."

"What is it?"

"I want you to read me a story from your book."

"Sure thing," Henry  took a seat beside her, "Which story do you want to hear first?"

"Let's start where every story starts, the beginning," I suggest. 

Henry opens to the first page and begins to read, "Once upon a time..."

"The beginning, huh," I spoke aloud and opened my eyes. 

Instead of the sprawling jungle around me, I find myself in the warmth of a tent. As I lay down there, I could not get the memory out of my mind. It had been buried deep within my subconscious. 

"You're finally up," I hear a British accent say. 

My body tensed as I stared into the green eyes of the demon himself. Pan. He was sitting on the bed and his face was hovering over my own. He smirked, "It is a shame, I was going to wake you up like the prince and sleeping beauty."

I turn my head to the side, "Would that not be counterintuitive? Especially since you are the wicked fiend who caused me to face this slumber."

His arms caged me in and fear flowed through my body. I might have pushed one too many buttons. 

"Most people would be dead," Peter glared, "You got fire."

"If you don't let me go, you're going to get burned," I say dryly, "After all, I only leave ashes in my wake."

My words were haunting as I thought about my broken and shattered past. From what I was able to recall, I felt a deep loathing and loneliness. Peter just laughed at my words, "I play with fire. I enjoy stoking the flames until they eventually flicker out. Seeing it die just brings me excitement as it means that I am the victor."

"You lied to me," I clenched my fists.

Peter stood, "This a game Jessica Mallory. And I play to win."

"That does not explain why I am here," I frown. 

"Love," Peter raised his arms, "If you don't already know, this is Neverland."

I sat up, "That tells me nothing. The stories depict Neverland as an island full of dreams, not nightmares."

"Don't believe everything you read," Peter remarks, "They have a habit of bending the truth to sound appealing."

"Cut the semantics," I looked into his mesmerizing green eyes, "You went through a lot of trouble to get me here. Why is that?"

Peter danced around me, "Where would the fun be in giving you all the answers? That wouldn't be fair."

"I think you threw fairness out the window when you stabbed me in the back," I said through gritted teeth. 

"Still holding onto the past, you're no friend," Peter shrugged his shoulders, "You're no fun. I guess you could say you are a side project to me."

"A side project?" I repeated and felt my annoyance lacing my words. 

"Indeed," Peter said, taking my chin in his hand, "I am searching for something, something important. I think you might be a key figure in finding it."

"I'm not doing your dirty work," I refused, "I'm not your slave."

"There may be no Kings in Neverland," Peter chuckled, "Only me. And my will is absolute. If I request something, I will get it."

"You sound more like a spoiled brat," I mutter under my breath.

The next thing I knew, Peter's hand was wrapped around my throat and he tried to choke me. His green eyes were furious and threatening. I was also angry. Too angry to think rationally. So I did the best next thing. Peter stumbled back and wiped my saliva off his face. 

"You little-"

"Na-uh," I crossed my arms feeling the power in the situation switch, "You wish to end the game before it even begins? What a poor sport you are."

If this were a cartoon, Pan would have smoke bellowing out his ears. My taunts were affecting him more than he would let on. His next words were low and threatening.

"Do you have a death wish?"

I looked at him bored, "Depends. if it will spice up this game."

I knew he wouldn't kill me just yet. Not until I gave him whatever he wanted from me. Peter ignored me and headed for the door. I tried to follow him. Keyword... Tried. I face-planted on the ground before I could get to the entrance to the tent. Peter smirked and casually spoke, "I guess you didn't notice the chain."

My eyes travelled to my ankle which had a silver chain that connected to the bedpost. I shook my foot and heard the rattling. My green eyes settled on Peter's with a renewed fire, "Why am I in chains?"

"Chain," Peter corrected me, "I didn't think you needed more than one chain to hold you down."

I went to punch that mug grin off his face when he caught my hand.

"I wouldn't try that, love," he says dangerously. 

With one arm, he pushed me back on the bed. He placed his hands in his pocket, "Unfortunately, I have no use of you at this moment in time. Feel free to enjoy all the luxuries this upgraded prison has to offer."

He let out a dark laugh before exiting. Once he was gone, I punched the pillow I slept on in anger. None of his words made any sense. What was I doing here and even if I knew, why would I help him? A few hours passed and in that time I managed to remove the chain around my ankle. I caught sight of the dagger Tink gave me and armed myself. I reached my hand towards the entrance with a tense face. I didn't know what would be waiting for me. It could be empty or with poisoned-tipped arrows and other weapons just waiting to end my life. With one final breath, I faced the beast. 

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