Where Shadows Lie (Once Upon A Time)

Peter grabbed a Lost Boy by the collar, and slammed him against a tree, hitting his head. Hard.
"Do not tell me lies!", growled Peter furiously. "Did you betray me?" Power radiated from him in waves.
"Did you?" His voice was dangerously low. "Did you lead the pirates to us?"
The Lost Boy looked terrified, but tried not to show it. He squared his jaw.
"Yes." he sneered. "Yes I did."

Those were the last words he ever said.
For Peter, blackened eyes blazing, snapped his neck, and drove his fangs into his throat.

Hiding in the bushes, Wendy swallowed a scream, and ran away, away from the monster and his prey.

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Eventually, after running blindly for who knows how long, she stumbled upon a large rock. She had been here before. The thought was just another note to the mind-wrecking melody that was her thoughts.

Peter was a vampire. And she had just witnessed him murder someone.
Surely no one deserved that fate? She knew the memory would haunt her for the rest of her days. The snap when Peter broke his neck. . . It was all too much.
At the other side of the rock, grew a hoard of thick ivy. Something about the shape of it caught her attention. Was it the way it snaked up along the rock, in a sort of pattern? There was a knot of ivy in front of her. It almost looked like a doorhandle. She tried it, and yes, it swung open. She didn't know how a door made out of rock were possible, but there it was.

Inside, the rock was hollow. It looked like a sort of workshop. Long counters lined the sides, littered with drawings and notes. Diagrams were pinned on the walls, and several tools, and bits of different hardware metals and materials were strewn about everywhere. A makeshift bed lay in one corner, and there were two armchairs in front of a fireplace.
At a workdesk, writing furiously, frowning deeply in concentration, was Neal; one of the Lost Boys.

He looked up panicky as she came in, then relaxed slightly.
"Oh hello, Wendy. Thought it was Pan."

"What is this place?", asked Wendy, scanning the room.

"Don't tell Peter about this will you? I 'm not supposed to. . ." Then he frowned. "Here, sit down. You look like you've seen a ghost."

He got out a cantine and offered it to her. "Here. Drink this."

Wendy drank the water gratefully. She felt better instantly. "What is this?", she asked. "It's not normal water, is it?"

"It's the water from the spring up by Dead Man's Peak. It has healing powers."

"Why, thank you.", she said. "I needed that. It's Peter. He murdered one of the Lost Boys. He's not who you think he is, what you think he is. . ."

"Wendy, calm down.", said Neal soothingly. "I know. I know what he is. I've seen him like that too."

"You have? Why didn't any one tell me?", she sobbed.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you. I haven't been here that long, but Pan, he's bad. That's why I'm here, in this hideout, and not dancing along to his cursed flute like the rest of them."

"I always knew he was bad.", said Wendy, her voice low and sullen, almost a whisper. "I just. I just always thought there was good in him. I saw it. And now. . . I just don't know if it's possible anymore. And that poor boy. . ." Her voice trailed off. A pause followed.

At last Neal broke it. "He wasn't always like this. Killian would tell you."

"What do you mean?"

Neal sighed. "When I came to Neverland, on the run from my father, I thought Peter was my friend. He was different then. But gradually, he's gotten darker. And I fear he'll get darker still. So I'm leaving."

"Leaving Neverland?", asked Wendy.

"For good."

"But how? So that's what all these calculations are. That's why you're here. You're trying to escape!"

"Only problem is how. And I think I've found the key."

"What is it?"

"Pan's shadow!" He spoke with a wild enthusiasm. He stood up, and lit a candle.

"That makes sense.", said Wendy, nodding. "It was the shadow that brought me here in the first place. So the shadow belongs to Peter? But how do we get it to-?"

"That's what I've been trying to find out. But hey, look."

He had put the candle in half a coconut shell, and now put the on top. Wendy noticed it had holes punctured in it, so the light spilled through in a pattern.
She looked up.
The ceiling was alive with tiny glowing lights.
Stars.
"It's a map!", exclaimed Wendy.

"Yes.", said Neal. "This is the way home. Just to catch the shadow."

"We'll find a way.", said Wendy. "I believe it."

Wendy couldn't stay for much longer.
"I must be going. Peter will be wondering where I am. And we don't want him finding this place."

"Good luck to you then.", said Neal with meaning.

"Same to you. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. If Peter wanted me dead, he would have done it already."

"That doesn't sound very promising."

"It's hard to promise anything in Neverland. Well, I'm not afraid of him Neal. I'll be okay."

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Neal's not my real name. My father's still out there looking for me, so I call myself Neal. I don't want to be found. But just so you know, my real name's Baelfire."

"I'm sorry, Baelfire.", said Wendy. "I won't tell anyone."

They said their goodbyes, and she made her way back to camp. It was late evening, and the forest was dark and gloomy, the shadows closing in.
She was almost at camp, when a tall, slender figure emerged from the shadows. Wendy froze. It was Peter.

"The shadows betray you because they serve me. No point trying to run.", he said. "You know I'll catch you."

"So you really are as dark as what they say.", said Wendy.

"No." He a grinned nefarious white-toothed grin. "I'm much worse."
Wendy backed away, slowly.

"You fear me now.", he deadpanned. "You should. But I'm still the same. Since the day you came. I've been dead for a very long time."

"You're alive to me."

"I'm sorry.", he said sadly. "But they killed me long ago."

"I saw you today.", said Wendy. "When you killed him."

Peter frowned. "You were supposed to. I knew you were there."

Wendy shook her head in distraught. "But Peter, why?"

"I needed you to fear me. You needed to see what I was capable of. You're not like the boys, they don't see me for who I really am."

"Are you going to kill me too?", asked Wendy.

Peter looked wretched. "If I did, I don't know how I'd live with myself. But I needed to warn you. I could lose control one day--there's even been times when I almost did." Peter looked away.

"This life is a curse for you, isn't it?"

He raised his head. His expression was one of years of pain. "I burn in the sun, that's the real killer. This cursed life. . . It has it's advantages, yes. But I don't even have a soul. I'm a monster. I'm damned. You have every right to hate me."

"I always doubted you were human. But I must admit, vampire never crossed my mind. And I don't hate you. Or fear you."

Peter chuckled mirthlessly. "You are either extremely faithful or extremely foolish."

"You taught me to have faith.", she said. "Why is it so hard for you to teach yourself?"

"Because it's the truth!", he snapped.

Wendy's voice was barely a whisper. "Felix said you were scared of me. Why? Is that even true?"

"Yes.", said Peter. "Because I tell you things I can't even tell myself,"