"I didn't think of it as lying"

Summary
Trapped in Pandora's box, Peter Pan is released by none other than Wendy. When he asks about Felix, she retells her conversation with the curly-haired Lost Boy back in Neverland...

Wide brown eyes darted all around; lips thrusted heavy, panting breaths out into the breeze. Green Pine trees danced and waved in the wind’s breath. It was a typical, fairly temperate Spring day; the air was neither cold nor hot, the sun neither too bright nor too dim. It wasn’t cold enough to wear a woollen peacoat, but it wasn’t warm enough to don a flimsy cardigan and t-shirt either.

Finally, pounding feet ceased in the middle, directly opposite a fairly steep bank. Once the pupils had observed the woods were completely and utterly empty of human life (except for herself, of course), the honey-brown haired girl with untameable locks attempted to calm her breathing as she lowered her hand holding the small wooden box to the ground. The box stable on the woodland floor, the girl lifted the lid before taking a step back and straightening her spine like the queen she once was. Her eyes stared at the open box, waiting in anticipation as blood red smoke slowly glided out and away from the square box, hopefully carrying someone with it.

Gradually, the last of the thick red smoke abandoned the box before it started to fade.

The girl’s heart picked up pace. It was fading, but there was still no sign of a body; no green, no brown, no skin.

Just as she was beginning to lose hope, believing she’d failed, that she’d failed him, a body did appear – just as the smoke faded to nothing more than a thin sheet of fog. Pale skin like her own, mud-brown hair, forest-green eyes, a mixture of brown, green and grey clothing…

The cloud of red smoke disappeared completely, leaving behind a boy that was just pushing himself up onto his feet from his knees. He looked around, looking slightly baffled, but ready to fight if he needed, until his eyes – eyes that never failed to ensnare – fell upon her. His soulmate, his queen.

“Bird?” he asked with a puzzled, raised eyebrow.

Unable to contain her excitement, her relief that her plan had worked and she was finally able to reunite with him, her king, once more, Wendy bit her lip, nodding furiously before rushing into his arms.

Despite the questions kicking up a storm in his mind, Peter wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her scent. It had been far too long since he’d been able to do that: to hold her. The questions could wait. He wanted to enjoy this moment.

“It’s really you,” she said softly.

Admittedly, not many words were exchanged between them in that moment. But words were not needed. They had been together long enough to know what ran through the other’s mind. Over a century together, to be exact. And both believed their embrace spoke more than a thousand words ever could.

Eventually, they pulled apart, although their hands were still in each other’s grasp. As Wendy looked into his eyes, she understood the questions his green irises spoke as well as the love hers undoubtedly shared with them, and she was more than willing to answer any questions he had.

“What happened, Bird? What happened after-” 

“It all went according to plan, Peter.” 

“To plan?” 

Wendy nodded enthusiastically. 

“What about Felix?” he asked with uncertainty, the memory of his all-too-arrogant self, once again not ensuring his plan was flawless, ripping the heart right from his second-in-command’s, his friend’s, chest and crushing it in his fingertips still too fresh to acknowledge completely. 

The smile faded on her lips. Despite knowing the truth, she knew it was a touchy subject and had to tread lightly. After all, those boys had been more than leader and second-in-command, more than friends, throughout their companionship. They had been brothers.

“It’s a long story, but he’s alive, Peter,” she assured him.

“Wha…how?”

And then it was Wendy’s time to explain. How she had made his plan flawless…

~O~

There the Queen, the Mother of Neverland, the Neverbird, stood, waiting in the dark of the small clearing for her king’s most trusted second-in-command to arrive. It was perfect for a secret meaning; both the evening sky and the ground were shielded from prying eyes by the trees packed in closely together.

All of a sudden, leaves swept in through the gaps in the trees, brushing against the tips and sides of Wendy’s boots: a sign that the King was suspicious, irked, but not aware. She gripped the sides of her lilac cloak tighter. A queen could feel wary, but never show weakness. Especially not when meeting someone with the purpose she had with one of the Lost Boys tonight.  

Finally, her ears twitched to a soft crunch from up ahead. But, her eyes narrowed when a soft amber glow filled the narrow path carved by the trees. He’d brought a torch, foolish boy. Once the boy whose face was hidden in the shadows of his brown cloak reached the clearing, halting directly opposite his queen, he drew back his hood, revealing a boy with silvery-grey eyes and a thin red scar running from the bottom of his right cheek to just above the bridge of his nose. Felix.

“What in Neverland do you think you’re doing?” she hissed. 

“What?” he asked, confused.

She rolled her eyes. 

“The torch. Why did you bring it? I thought I told you this is a secret meeting – do you want to get us caught?” 

“Well, I needed to…” 

Just as Felix weakly attempted to defend himself, Wendy rolled her eyes once more before lifting her hand and flipping it over so her palm faced the sky, making a ball of dim flame ignite in the centre of her palm. 

Dumbfounded, the Lost Boy swiftly put the torch out.

Now they could get down to business.

“I went to a Seer when I left with Peter last week,” Wendy began. “She told me he will rip out your heart in a new land created by a curse – a very powerful, dark one at that – to help him in his quest to save Neverland. So, I have an idea…” She trailed off, lifting her free hand up to Felix, conjuring her idea. A heart. “With a different heart inside you, you can’t die when he rips it out of your chest.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I know Peter. He’ll regret it after, but he has no choice; Neverland thrives off belief and, at this moment in time, the only way to regain that belief is through showing the threat we Neverlanders can pose. I want him to be able to see you there when he is rescued from the prison he’s destined to be trapped in. You’re not just his second-in-command, Felix.”

“Whose heart is that?” he asked curiously. 

“Oh, I had it made with magic. That way, no one gets hurt. So, are you in?”

Felix looked on thoughtfully. It all sounded very mysterious to him, but he could see the truth in what his queen was saying. After all, she had indeed accompanied Pan on one of his errands to another realm. And she always did like to plan ahead of time. So, although still a little doubtful, he gave a reluctant nod.

Once he saw the look in Wendy’s eyes, the clenching of her jaw as she jutted her chin out slightly, he braced himself for the short but intense pain that was about to come. In one quick motion so he’d feel as little pain as possible, Wendy plunged her hand into his chest, wrapped her fingers around his heart and yanked it out of his chest, careful not to squeeze it, and replaced it with the fake heart.

The deed was done. Her own backup plan was in motion.

~O~

Peter just stared, eyes full of bewilderment, admiration and a slight hint of irritation.

Finally, he admitted, “I’m not sure if I’m annoyed you did that behind my back, or proud with what you planned.”

Wendy shrugged. “I did what I thought was best for you, us, Neverland…I never once thought of it as lying. I thought of it as…providing motivation,” she said, mimicking the words he’d spoken when she felt unsure after tricking Henry. He was still a boy, and she was still a mother at heart. 

He smirked, now sure he felt nothing but pride for his queen.

As Peter slid his arm around her shoulders, he asked, “So…where to now, my queen?”

“Neverland,” she declared.

Author’s Note:
So, how did you like this one-shot? I’m sorry the ending’s a little messy, but let me explain: Felix will be meeting them on the way back to Neverland (don’t forget, they still need to find a portal). 

You might have noticed some of the actual OUAT lines and references I snuck in. They just came to me as I was typing.