Return of the Queen

Chapter 6

But again, isn't love weakness?

And those who love never forget. I was naïve to think I would.

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~Thorn's POV~

"No way," The one-handed bloke standing opposite me said.

"Oh come on, don't you trust me?" I teased.

"I would rather cut off my other arm than trust you. How did you get here anyways?"

"Ships are easy to sneak aboard. Especially one piloted by you." I remarked while I jumped off the tree branch I had been perched on.

"Can we cut the chit chat and get to the point?" Regina said, and I was more than glad to oblige.

I made my way over to the small group dispersed around a bonfire and continued, "What I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted is that we need to work together if we want to achieve anything of any consequence around here."

"We already have a map that will lead us straight to Henry. That's all the consequence I need," Emma commented.

I rolled my eyes, "An empty map. A map which if I recall correctly, lead you into quite the sticky situation earlier."

"That fiasco was your fault," Hook said as he glared at me.

"I saved your asses out there. If it wasn't for me you would all be either dead or dying."

Regina scoffed, "We can take care of ourselves. We don't need your help."

"If that's the case, good luck retrieving Henry on your own."

I shrugged my shoulders and feigned indifference as I turned back towards the forest and started walking away.

"Wait, wait."

I smirked as I heard Mary Margaret's voice behind me.

"Look, she's right. We need all the help we can get around here."

"What do you suggest we do?" David chipped in as I seated myself on a log near the fire.

"Keep trying to find Henry in all the ways that you do best and make sure never to alert Pan of any agreement that we may have had. In the meantime, I'll be tying up some tricky loose ends and making sure that nothing goes wrong with your plans."

"What kind of loose ends?" David inquired.

"Old friends and, of course, some interesting new ones." I smirked internally.

"When you say 'new ones' you don't mean Pan's boys do you?" Hook eyed me skeptically. It surprised me how quickly he had deduced that considering I had always thought him the possessor of the brain of a jellyfish.

"Not all of them. Just the one that counts." I replied as I stared intently into the fire.

"Well if that's what you consider doing to help us, well, I'd rather drown right now."

"Considering? It's already done."

"Then where is he?" Emma asked.

"In transition. It'll take some time to rid him of the poisonous thoughts Pan filled his mind with."

"We don't have time," Regina muttered, but her comment was not given any heed.

"How can you be so sure that he'll help?" David asked.

"Let's just say that we share some common ground, and that common ground is eating him up on the inside."

"How do we know that you're not lying to us? That you aren't one of Pan's lost girls or worse?" Regina asked, making a fireball ignite in the palm of her hand and eyeing me suspiciously.

I blew some air softly over in her direction and made the fireball disappear.

"There are no lost girls on this island. Not anymore." I replied as my face took up a blank expression and I kept my gaze trained on the flames before me.

I then nodded towards Hook who was still standing apart from us. "You can ask your one-handed friend over there if you don't believe me. If there is anyone on this whole island who can help you succeed, it's me."

A moment of silence passed by as Emma looked over to Hook, but he seemed too caught up throwing mental daggers at me.

"What's the catch?" He finally spoke up.

"There is no catch."

"Oh come on, I know you and your little games. There's always something in it for you."

"I'll get what I want when all of you are off this island and Pan is dead. The only way to ensure that that happens is if you all get Henry and go about your merry way back to Storybrooke." I replied as I got up from where I was seated and dusted myself off, hoping that this conversation had not been a complete waste of my time.

"You're not coming back with us to Storybrooke, Skylar?" Mary Margaret asked me.

I ignored her question and made my way back into the forest and out of sight. As I walked away, I could still barely make out Hook's following comment.

"That creature over there isn't Skylar, Mary Margaret. It's something much worse."

"Her name is Thorn and she's the devil herself."

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"It's not like you to form any alliances, Thorn," Tinkerbell commented as I finished climbing up the ladder leading up to the tree house.

"There is too much to do without having to constantly worry about what mess they might get me into. It's much easier this way."

I picked up my flute, took up a seat, and began polishing it. A cold silence reigned on the air for a few moments until Tinkerbell decided to break it.

"You care for them don't you? I never thought I'd see the day."

"And you still haven't seen it. I've learned many things during my time in Storybrooke, but caring was not one of them."

I put my flute aside and looked up towards where she was seated in her white hammock.

"Sometimes having an ally or two doesn't hurt."

I got up and slowly made my way towards the balcony, placing both my hands on the wooden railing. Looking around, I scowled. Darkness. Everywhere. Is this what my island, my home, had come to be?

Not for long, I swear it.

I glanced back towards Tinkerbell who had followed me out and I continued, "Besides, it's not an alliance. It's only a means to an end."

She chuckled and stood next to me, keeping her sights trained on the island. "What could they possibly have to offer you? Besides a headache."

I glanced towards her and slowly shook my head, "Don't you know me at all Tink? I've always wanted what everyone else wanted. The difference is, I want it more."

She turned sharply towards me, "You don't mean-?"

I looked back towards the island and nodded, "They are going to lead me straight towards the heart of the truest believer."

"And once I have it," I paused and wrung my hands into fists.

"I'm going to crush it."