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────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟐
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐙𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓

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"What do you mean 'let me handle it?'" Everly questioned while staring at Jacob with shock in her eyes after using her shield to block more of Jackson's attacks, "why don't you want my help?"

"Because your magic will hurt him," Jacob told her before catching one of his brother's ice beams and firing it back at him, "just let me handle this."

Once again, Everly just stared at him with mixed emotions in her eyes. She didn't like the fact that she was being cast aside after being attacked by the youngest Overland. On the other hand, she was growing tired from holding up her shield for so long. But she would never reveal that to Jacob. "Your brother just attacked me for no reason at all. Unless you give me an actual answer, I'm not backing down."

"We're your guardians, Everly, not your friends. That means we don't need to explain ourselves to you," the Overland boy responded without bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"You do if you don't want me to back down."

"Are you serious right now?" Jacob questioned with a hint of anger in his eyes, causing Everly to fall silent for a moment. When the Overland boy saw the seriousness in her eyes and her lack of movement, he let out a long sigh. "The Snow Queen did something to him. He doesn't know what he's doing. Please, just let me handle this."

The Jones girl kept her eyes glued to him while she let all the information sink in. Despite the desperation in his eyes, Everly was having a hard time believing that the Snow Queen was able to mess with Jackson's mind. And yet, she also knew that the boy she met on Neverland would never turn his back on her, even if that meant risking his own life. So after letting out a long sigh, Everly took a step back and sent Jacob a small nod in response.

The Overland boy sent Everly a grateful smile before it was quickly replaced by a determination. Jacob stared across the clearing in silence until he finally opened his mouth to speak. "Jackson! You need to calm down right now or else you're going to give us all frostbite."

The Purest Heart just stood and watched the brothers' battle take place while keeping the shield up in front of her. It wasn't long after that when she remembered the conversation she had with Killian before she came, making her pull out her phone to check the time. Her blood ran cold when she saw that it had almost been thirty minutes, which meant he could show up at any moment. A small wave of panic washed over Everly as she scrolled through the contacts until she found her sister's name.

"Hey, Emma," the Jones girl greeted as soon as the ringing stopped, only to receive an irritated sigh in response before Everly continued speaking, "before you say anything, I'll explain later. Right now, I need to talk to Killian. Is he there?"

The Jones girl was greeted by silence for what felt like an eternity before a familiar filled her ears. "Are you okay, Evie?"

"I'm fine," Everly responded, ignoring the slight headache that began to slowly form, "a lot's happened but Jacob's here with me. You don't need to worry. He'll keep me safe."

"I will always worry, that's my job," Killian declared before hesitating for a moment and letting out a sigh, "but knowing Jacob's there with you is good enough for now. Stay safe."

"I will."

After ending the call, Everly focused her attention back on the battle that was happening in front of her. Jacob seemed to be handling himself just fine while Jackson looked exhausted. A few more minutes passed when her headache grew worse and a wave of nausea washed over her. It didn't take her long to realize that she had been using her magic for way too long, especially since this was all new to her. A shakey breath passed over her lips as she let her shield disappear into thin air. However, as soon as it was gone, something hit Everly square in the chest, causing her to stumble back as a sharp pain began to form. Her body felt like it was made of ice as she collapsed to the floor. She kept her eyes glued to the treetops before the world around her faded away.

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"I can't stop you?" Felix questioned after he and Everly just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity to see who was going to make the next move.

"No, you can't," Everly responded with determination in her voice as her mind raced with all the things Pan had done since she arrived on Neverland.

The next thing the Jones girl knew, Felix pushed her up against the tree behind her. Before she could even think, the Thorne boy placed his arm against her chest, keeping her from breaking free of his grasp. Everly just stared at him in shock before she began struggling to get free, even though she knew it was no use. That lasted for another moment before she glared at the boy in front of her. "Let me go, Felix. I need to do this."

"No, you don't. You don't have your head back on straight," Felix responded as he continued to stare at Everly with a blank look on his face, "you're gonna get yourself killed...and I can't lose you."

All the emotion within the former Lost Girl faded as she stared up at Felix. His blank look was instantly replaced by a concerned one as he studied every inch of her face. It didn't take a genius to know he was right, she wasn't thinking straight. There was something inside her that snapped after witnessing what happened to Al. But somehow Felix repaired that and made her see the truth. She was being foolish.

"Well done, Felix," a new voice said, causing both of them to stiffen and their faces to fall emotionless. Neither of them moved for a moment before turning their attention towards the sound to find Pan standing across the clearing. The King of Neverland just stared at them for a long moment before a wicked grin appeared on his face. "Let's take her home."

It wasn't long before Everly found her hands tightly bound behind her by a very reluctant Felix, who was doing his best to hide his true emotions. Once he was finished with the last knot, the Thorne boy forced Everly to walk behind Pan. He held her arms behind her so she couldn't make a run for it, no matter how much he wanted Everly to do just that. Felix knew that if they kept the Jones girl at the Lost Boys' camp, she wasn't going to last long. After all, she was the sole reason the boys were being forced to look for her all day, every day and the reason why some were being punished.

When they finally walked into the campground, the Lost Boys' attention turned to them. Everly scanned over the differing emotions on each of the boys' faces before her eyes landed on Jackson and Jacob. She was surprised to find them staring at her with concern in their eyes before they looked to the ground. It was as if they were trying to hide the defeat in their eyes.

"What are you going to do with her?" Wyatt asked, drawing Everly's attention back to the situation at hand.

Pan just stared at the blonde girl for a long moment, as if to build up the anticipation in his Lost Boys. It wasn't long after that when the smirk on his face grew. "I'll be questioning her in my treehouse."

No one said a word as Pan continued to walk through the clearing with Everly and Felix walking close behind him. It wasn't long before they reached the treehouse, the one place in the Lost Boys' camp where no one was allowed to go without permission. Everly just stared at the ladder in front of her, trying to figure out how she was going to climb it with her arms bound behind her. However, that question was soon answered when she was surrounded by a cloud of green smoke. When it cleared, Everly found herself sitting in the treehouse alone with Peter Pan.

"Long time no see, Jones," Pan broke through the awkward silence as circled around Everly like a predator did with their prey.

"Not long enough," the Jones girl muttered under her breath, earning an eye roll from the boy in front of her.

"I have only one question," the leader of the Lost Boys stated, only to receive silence in response before he continued speaking, "how did you get out of that cage?"

Everly hesitated as she stared at Pan. A million thoughts ran through her head before they focused back on that day. Despite trying her best to come up with some believable story "It fell."

"Strike one. How did you get out?"

"The wind knocked it down."

"Strike two."

"You don't even know, so how do you know I'm lying?" Everly hissed as she glared up at Pan, who continued to smirk down at her.

The next thing the Jones girl knew, Pan appeared inches away from her face. Silence surrounded them as she stared into his anger-filled eyes before he broke it. "Because I saw the rope was cut. A Lost Boy freed you and he needs to be punished."

A wave of fear washed over Everly, making her speak before a full thought could even go through her head. "Too bad you already punished him."

Pan took a step back and just stared at her as if trying to figure out of she was telling the truth or not. "It was Al?"

"What are you going to do with me?" the Jones girl questioned in an attempt to change the subject.

The leader of the Lost Boys didn't respond right away, making Everly even more nervous than before. She sat as still as a stone while his eyes scanned over her. It felt as though he was looking straight into her soul. What felt like an eternity passed before his facial features changed, causing chills to run throughout the Jones girl's body. After staring at Pan's smirk for a moment longer, Everly let out a shaky sigh before closing her eyes and preparing herself for the worst. But nothing happened. Everly waited for a moment longer before slowly opening her eyes to find Pan extremely close to her once again.

"Don't you worry, Little Lost Girl," the brunette boy told Everly as the grin on his face grew larger than humanly possible, "I'm gonna let you go."

The Jones girl just stared at him with shock in her eyes while trying to figure out what game he was playing, only to fail. She kept her eyes glued to him for a moment longer before opening her mouth to speak. "Why would you do that?"

"It's a simple explanation, really," Pan responded after getting to his feet to stand over her, making him feel like he had even more power over her, "I realized that you can't get off this island...at least, not without Baelfire and his 'amazing' plan. And even though I should keep you at the camp, I know you'll just cause trouble for everyone."

Everly continued to study him for a moment longer before she noticed the gleam in his eyes that she'd grown to hate. "There's something else."

"You really are a smart one," the leader of the Lost Boys mocked after letting out a chuckle, "I'm planning on telling the Lost Boys that you escaped again. That will keep the game going and give them something to do." Pan paused for a moment as he squatted back down to that he and Everly were at eye level once again. "Plus, sending you back out there would mean you're living your worst nightmare...being alone."

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Everly woke up with a gasp as she sat up so fast that her head began to spin. Once her vision cleared, she found herself back at the Sheriff's Station. A strange feeling washed over her after she realized everyone was staring at her with concerned looks on their faces. It wasn't long after that when she focused her attention on the Overland brothers, who were sitting in chairs across from her. "What happened?"

Jacob let out a long sigh as he looked over at his brother, who was looking at the floor with a guilty look on his face. "I'll let Jackson explain."

Everly just stared at Jackson, who continued to avoid her gaze. That lasted for a moment longer before the Jones girl let out a long sigh. "You know what. I don't wanna know. I'm just glad it's over."

Jackson's head snapped up before he just stared at the girl in front of him. The Purest Heart couldn't help but laugh at the shock in his eyes, causing the Overland boy to smile in response. That only lasted for a moment longer before he turned his attention to everyone else surrounding them. "So, what's gonna happen now?"

"We're gonna give you two options," Emma declared while everyone else continued to watch the scene unfold with mixed emotions in their eyes, "either you tell us what the Snow Queen's plan is or you'll be locked up."

"Emma!" Everly exclaimed, completely surprised by her sister's choice of words.

"It's fine," Jackson sighed, drawing everyone's attention back to him before he continued speaking, "she's casting the Spell of Shattered Sight. It's designed to make everyone turn on each other...like she made me turn on you."

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