A/n: Putting different twists on already-used character backgrounds is my thing, get used to it.

I wasn't normal, even for a person living in a kingdom where magic was normal. Being the child of a Queen was hard enough. Being the forgotten child of the Evil Queen, cursed by Cora, was a whole other thing. When Regina and Daniel had been in love, they'd had a child. When Cora had found out she flipped, cursing the child, killing Daniel, and making Regina forget. Making everyone forget. She vowed that if I ever attempted to tell my mother who I was, then she would find me and kill me. Honestly, with the curse I had, I wouldn't mind dying.

What was my curse? To wander my days as an echo, only repeating what someone has said before me. For example, if someone were to say, "I went to the Enchanted Forest the other day and I got lost," I can only say those words. It makes communication very difficult. I could write normally, and had even learned a way to sign what I wanted, but people assumed I couldn't hear and when I spoke, they rebuffed me, thinking I was a fraud.

I was homeless and poor and starving, sneaking around the streets and doing what I had to in order to survive. Stealing, killing, casting minor spells... Yeah. I'd kind of taught myself magic, just with what felt right and things I needed. The magic was weak and exhausted me extensively, but I could cure most illnesses or make someone forget one word I said or if I passed by or if they suspected something, I could mix it up so they lost interest. I could teleport things or make my bag bottomless so I had endless storage space. I could summon things from that bag so they weren't lost in the eternal space forever.

Small things like that.

What went wrong is when Evil Queen Regina caught me using magic.

Like any other day, I was in the market and the apple cart man wasn't paying attention. I focused on an apple for a long time then blinked. It disappeared from the pile and reappeared in my hand. I smiled. I turned to leave and... there was the queen. I stared at her a long time before she finally got over her shock, glaring at me. "How do you know magic?" She demanded.

My body shook, I was so terrified of her. What if I slipped up? What if she saw herself and David in me? What if Cora killed me just because I was seen with the Queen? I hadn't seen her since I was seven. That was when she had threatened me. Because of my curse I also aged slowly so I appeared about thirteen even though I believe I was older. Hey I don't know how long I'd been alive.

Worse thoughts started to swirl through my life. What if the Evil Queen killed me because I didn't talk? Or because I only repeated after her? What if- "Speak," she demanded.

My mouth worked but I looked at her hopelessly. "Speak," I echoed weakly.

Her face twisted. "Are you mocking me?" She growled. I shook my head horribly hard and fast, eyes wide and fists clenched on the apple. She looked down to see my hands holding the apple and she seemed to see something. Her eyes softened for a second. "Do you like apples?" She asked.

I paused and then nodded slowly. "Like apples."

She looked at me closely. "Do I... Know you?" My eyes went wide and I shook my head again fervently. "Do I scare you, child?" She asked. Another hesitation. Another slow nod. That seemed to please her a bit. "Good. Now answer me. How do you know magic?" I couldn't answer her. I simply shrugged. "Who taught you?" She asked. I pointed to myself. "You taught... Yourself?" I nodded. I bit my lip. I could see her mind working, trying to decide what to do with me. I had to get out of here. I hadn't totally mastered the ability to disappear and reappear myself, but I'd have to try. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists, imagining my home in the woods. I shook as I said the spell in my head and flinched as I felt the magic flow through me. Purple smoke engulfed me and I was launched into chaos, landing on my butt in the woods, my leg broken and "HEY!" echoing in my head.

She would be out for me now. I was doomed.

My leg burned as I sighed and moved to my tent. My hands hovered, heeling my leg with the last of my energy. Then I collapsed into my little nook in the tent I'd been parking in for quite some time now. I closed me eyes, thinking. My thoughts were the only times I could use my own words and be free. I wish I could escape. Escape this life. Escape this curse. Escape this world. I wish I could go somewhere where I could have fun and be the child I think I am. I never got to be a child... I wish I could go to sleep and wake up somewhere magical where I could be free from Cora and the Queen. Where I could be free from Daniel and the horrible things his decision to be with Regina brought me. I wish to be free, most of all, from how I felt.

I just felt so...

I pulled my knees to my chest, burying my head and sobbing.

Lost.

My eyes flew open as I heard a swish and I looked up, scared. The sun was down and every shadow seemed to move and bend, racing at me. I knew it wasn't real, I was simply afraid of the dark. Cora hid in shadows, she always had. Ever since she'd been popping in and out of shadows when I was younger to haunt me and torture me, I'd been afraid of when a Shadow grew and surrounded me. She could come up at any second... A yelp escaped me and I flinched when an actual shadow did jump out. I stared at it, terrified.

I can take you somewhere you can be happy. I can take you somewhere where being Lost is okay. I can take you to freedom. It offered me it's black, shadowy hand and I stared at it. I knew I shouldn't. It could hurt me.

Really though, if it killed me, well, oh well. I placed my hand in the shadowy one and it flew into the air, pulling me along. We raced through the air and I blinked, unsure whether I wanted to close my eyes or not, fearing falling into the darkness around me. All I saw was the moon- everything else blurred, forming weird shaped and haunting figures. Close your eyes and don't open them until I say. I did as I was told.

The whipping air through my hair and clothes and in my ears was constant for a long time. Then suddenly something changed. The pine smell became fainter and fainter until it went away then my nose slowly filled more and more with the scent of the... Ocean? We slowed down and began descending. My feet finally touched down on something soft and squishy, and I sunk a little as my weight settled. I have to leave you now. But someone will come to get you soon. You may open your eyes, my dear. Goodbye.

I opened my eyes to see I was on a beach. To my left was jungle and to my right was ocean and underneath me was wet, mushy sand. I suddenly felt horrible fear as I was left in an unfamiliar place, in the dark, at night, alone. I felt the icky emotion consume me and I started shaking. "You okay, Love?" I jumped and my head snapped around to see a figure covered in shadow at the edge of the jungle. His voice was male and accented and he looked only a little taller than me but that was all I could see.

My arms wrapped over my chest defensively and I eased backward, the quiet waves lapping at my heels as if the ocean wanted to reassure me. "Okay?" I told him weakly, shaking my head side to side.

His body shifted a bit and I think he tiled his head. "Well. What's your problem?" I shrugged. I couldn't explain I was afraid of the dark with the the words he'd given me. "Hm... Whatever it is, you've landed on my island and I don't know who you are. And... You're a girl..."

My eyebrow rose. "Girl," I agreed carefully. Why did he say it like that was a weird thing? Girls were all over the Enchanted Forrest. Then I thought about the ocean and the jungle, and a thought crossed my mind. Maybe I wasn't in the Enchanted Forrest. But then, where was I?

His tone turned a bit darker. "Why have you come to NeverLand?"

My face grew serious and I squared my shoulders to hide my fear but I was confused about something he'd said. "NeverLand?"

"That's where we are," he pointed out like I should know. Perhaps, to him, I'd simply appeared here. To him, I should know. Maybe he suspected me to be an invader. Perhaps I was. Hm.

I nodded, processing. "We are?" I asked, pointing to him, asking who he was.

Somehow he understood. "I'm Peter Pan. Welcome to NeverLand." He seemed unsure, but his curiosity won over his suspicion. "Come with me, will you?" His head shifted, motioning behind him and my lips pursed but I nodded.

His tone didn't leave room to argue anyway. "Will," I agreed. He offered me his hand and I realize the boy in shadow looked the same as the shadow from earlier, except when his arm hit the moonlight, his skin was tan and not shadowy black. This boy must be the owner of the shadow. Yet they weren't attached, and the shadow seemed to have a mind of its own. Interesting.

Without knowing the consequences, I took his hand and followed his lead. Without realizing, I began it all. Without trying, I doomed myself and my future.

---

I must have been in NeverLand for a long time.

Pan and the Lost boys had warmed up to me quite nicely and Pan seemed to admire my ease with sneakiness, stealth, and admired my small talent with magic. He'd been helping me work on it, making it better. I'd become very close to Pan as we spent a lot of time together, learning magic and honing my skills with weapons and having him test my "street rat" skills.

I believe that I'd come to realize that Pan was evil on some level, but I didn't mind. My mother was evil. My grandmother was very evil. Everyone around me had only ever used me for something. I'd never really had a good person acquaint themselves with me, so I was used to it and it didn't bother me. On the upside, he was very good looking. Above it all, there was a sort of kindness towards me. Not the type I'd seen between friends or family back in the Enchanted Forrest, but still a stark difference from how he interacted with everyone else. Additionally, I was drawn to his slyness and cleverness. He always had a plan, always had a game, and he always won. Pan never failed. Ever.

One day I found myself faced with a decision that would change everything.

I was out in the woods, hunting food for tonight. I drew my bow back when I felt a knife to my throat. "Put the bow down." Thinking it was another of Pan's games, I did as he told me immediately, letting the string relax and then letting it fall to the floor. "Now. I'm going to ask you a question and you're going to answer it." The voice was accented like Pan's but deeper, huskier, more dangerous. I realized that this had nothing to do with Pan. This was Hook. Someone who'd I only heard about, but who I could identify with surprising ease. His hands were rougher, his body bigger, his voice deeper. He was not a Lost Boy; he was a man. A pirate.

"Question?" I asked carefully, my mind reeling, trying to decide on what to do.

The dagger - actually, I bet it was the Captain's Hook - dug just deeper, threatening me with its proximity. "Yes. Where is Pan's camp?"

I blinked. "Pan's camp?"

Hook scoffed. "Answer." I could only stand there, unable to answer his question and unwilling. "Die or answer it," he spat aggressively.

My face set and I stood straight. "Die," I growled.

Hook huffed angrily. "Fine. Your funeral." The hook pulled back and my eyes closed slowly, waiting for the point to end my life. I felt a sting at the side of my neck then someone grabbed my arm and I opened my eyes, looking over to see Felix. He looked at me urgently. "Run," he ordered.

My feet set and I immediately took off, his hand falling from mine as we took off through the woods, not even slowing until we were crashing into Pan's camp with racing hearts and labored breaths. "Where is he?" Pan screamed. "Where's Hook?" He was tearing past us and I sat silently, trying to catch my breath.

Felix got to his feet, catching the brunette boy's arm briefly. "Pan. Her neck," he alerted. I touched where the pain had been earlier and my hand came away bloody. As the adrenaline faded, I got shaky. I looked up at Pan to see his eyes widen with fear, the anger leaving as he realized I was probably about to die. I tried to get up but fell and immediately he was there to catch me as I slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

-

The sunlight was muted as I woke up in my tent.

I touched my neck to feel no marking there. I sighed and sat up, rubbing my eyes and looking around. It was dead quiet in the tent. It was eerie. I went outside to see no one around and I shook my head, simply going into the woods to go to my special spot and think. It was a cliff overlooking the ocean and I sat on the edge, letting my legs dangle and sway slightly in the soft breeze. I put my elbows on my knees and my eyes against my palms, thinking through all my feelings. I did this often, needing to think through things quite regularly.

I feel no pain yet I was cut. The cut was from Hook's dagger - Or maybe his hook, since either is an option. But, no, his hook would have been more convenient. His hand was on my shoulder and it would have been impossible m for his hook to balance a dagger. His hook, then. But now it was gone, no matter what weapons Hook had used. Pan must have used magic to heal the cut...

Pan. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. I seemed to be doing that a lot. Getting frustrated and sighing heavily and rubbing my face in some way. It made me feel better somehow.

Pan.

I'm in love with Pan, I know that.

I'd realized the other day when Pan had come back after being missing unexplainably for what I assumed was about three weeks' time. There'd been a panic and Felix and I worked our asses off to take charge and keep the Boys calm, but we were just as panicked. In that time I almost went insane. So many days without Pan made me a mess every night. In the day I was the strong second in command to Felix, but at night I was a complete mess. Pan was different when he came back too. He seemed to hover towards me when he was bored or just... in general. I'd developed a habit of sneaking out when I got nightmares and doing my thinking, but when Pan came back, he told me to come to him when I needed to get out. Something about nighttime being too dangerous for me to be alone. Somehow he'd found out about my sneaking out and why I did it.

He'd been a little clingy too. If I had to go out to hunt or do anything, Pan was always griping about it. This was the first time I'd gone without an escort. Now I'd never get the alone time I needed when I got away from camp to hunt or get fire wood. Now I'd never get time to think.

"What are you doing out here?" Came a familiar voice. I groaned. Pan. "What's the matter with you?" He walked over, sitting next to me.

My eyes rolled and I rubbed my forehead. "You," I told him bluntly. I couldn't sugar coat it, I didn't have the words.

He scoffed. "Me? What did I do?"

My eyes closed tightly. "Me," I whispered in pain. I'd come to love him and while I enjoyed him touching me in a protective way, with his hand on my shoulder or around my hip, never being alone was something I hated.

There was a long quiet. "I wish you had more words. Then maybe you could explain," Pan complained softly. I'd explained my curse to everyone. As there wasn't much paper here - or writing utensils - It had taken a very long time, but they knew everything eventually.

"More words," I agreed grimly.

He paused, looking out over the dark see and the stars in the sky. "All curses can be broken, you know."

My eyes shot up and I spun in my sitting position to look at him. "Broken?" I asked, startled.

Pan's eyes looked outward, avoiding looking at me. "Yeah. By a true love's kiss." That was when he looked at me. Our gazes locked and his eyes flicked down below my eyes so fast I wasn't sure I didn't imagine it. I felt myself leaning, my eyes slowly falling to his lips. My mind muddled with his breath against my face. My breathing became choppy. A hand was placed just below my neck, keeping me back. My eyes shot to Pan's. He was... Laughing. He stood, waking away a bit. He turned to me. "You didn't actually think I loved you?" He asked me. Looking into my lap, I felt sick. There was a rip in my chest, like it had hacked open. There was a pain there, like someone was squeezing my heart. I felt torn and broken and raw but my outside stayed neutral, something I'd trained years to master. I stood, shaking my head. Pan cocked an eyebrow. "Were you messing around?"

Not meeting his eyes, I nodded. "Messing around," I agreed evenly.

Another pause. "Oh." He seemed to be taken aback. For a spilt second pain flecked through his eyes. "You're not in love with me?" The proud ass. He's upset that not every girl will fall in love with him...

I don't know about every girl. But I am. "Not," I whispered, unable to lie so fully to Pan like that about something that was such a strong feeling. I began walking, head high. As I passed him, I felt a hand hook around my arm, his finger shooting out to wrap around my elbow and stop me. I turned in surprise to have his lips meet mine. I felt something in me rise and I pressed against him. His hands gripped around my waist and I twisted my hands into his hair. He sucked in a breath and slowly leaned back, eyes fluttering open. He looked at me, speechless.

We both stood quietly until it registered. Shakily, I smiled. "I love you," I whispered. "So much."

His face broke out in a half-startled smile. "You spoke. Really, actually, with your own words."

My hand rose to touch his face. "Then you love me too." There was a very long quiet where Pan's eyes hardened and I knew things were about to take a drastic difference. The boy with the cold heart, selfish intentions, and set ideas was in love. This changed everything.