────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐂𝐘 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘

────── ★★★ ──────

It didn't take long for the group of teens to get back to Granny's after they were dismissed from school. While Everly, Sam, and Katherine went to change out of their school uniforms, Jackson took one of the empty booths to save them seats. Once his three friends got back down into the diner, the Overland boy went to order them something to eat. As soon as he rejoined them, the four teens started the mountain of homework they were assigned.

Despite being invited to join their study session, Henry sat alone at the counter. Everly ignored her work and stared at her troubled nephew as he pretended to do the assignment in front of him. Ever since Regina began avoiding him, the Mills boy lost the sparkle in his eye. The Purest Heart didn't blame him for it but she was worried for him. She hadn't seen him like this since they were on Neverland.

"So, are you and Jacob buddies now?" Sam asked, making the blonde girl turn her attention away from her nephew to look at him.

"I wouldn't say 'buddies' but we let bygones be bygones," Everly replied before answering one of the problems on her homework, unaware of the curious look Jackson was sending her.

"What exactly happened between you two?" Katherine questioned before the Overland boy's name was called by the server behind the counter, causing the boy in question to get up to get their food.

"Nothing really happened between us. He was a loyal follower of Pan," Everly stated as she thought back to all the times she encountered the taller Overland brother.

"I guess that makes sense," the Scott girl responded before going back to her homework, only to look back up at the blonde girl a second later with a large smirk on her face, "what about you and Jackson?"

The redheaded girl's question caused Everly to freeze before she slowly looked up to meet her friend's mischievous gaze. "What about me and Jackson?"

"Are you serious?" Sam asked with a playful smile on his face after he noticed the confused look on the Jones girl's face, "it's obvious you two had more history than even I know about."

"We were allies on Neverland. That's all it is. Nothing more, nothing less."

The two of them sent Everly unconvinced looks in response before masking them with playful smiles when Jackson came back with a large plate of fries. As Sam, Katherine, and Jackson went back to their homework and ate their food, Everly's mind went back to one of the only people on Neverland she trusted with her life. It had been almost two years since she lost Felix to the boy who never grew up. For some, that would be enough time to move on with their life. They would've started over and found someone else to make them happy. But for Everly, it was far too soon. She wasn't ready to move on...and she didn't think she ever would be.

The Purest Heart was soon dragged out of her thoughts when the bell above the entrance rang. Her attention immediately went toward the sound to see Regina walking in with a stack of comic books in her hand. Everly's eyes followed the Mills woman until she was in the seat next to Henry and placed the books down on the counter in front of him.

"I didn't know which ones you were reading these days," the Jones girl overheard the Evil Queen telling her son as smiles appeared on both of their faces.

"These are awesome!" Henry exclaimed before closing his textbook and looking over at the brunette woman, "much better than algebra. Thanks!"

"Everly," Sam whispered into his sister's ear while gently elbowing her in the side, causing the Jones girl to look over at him with a confused look on her face, "stop eavesdropping and do your schoolwork."

"Fine," was all Everly said in response before looking back down at the paper in front of her. Other than reading, archery, and fighting to survive, eavesdropping was always been one of the Jones girl's favorite hobbies but Sam hated it

But how else was she supposed to survive on Neverland?

────── ★★★ ──────

Everly stayed up in their tree for another couple of hours, enjoying the silence and taking in the scenery. Just as she was about to climb down and head back to the cove, her ears picked up on the sound of Lost Boys coming her way. A wave of panic washed over the Jones girl as she made herself invisible within the leaves. It wasn't long after that when the group appeared in the clearing right below her.

"Pan is getting impatient. He wants that girl back in her cage by sunrise," Jacob told his followers that surrounded him then he let out an irritated grunt, "if we fail, we will be punished, probably with extra training."

"That's where you're wrong, Overland," Felix said as he emerged from the bushes before stopping in front of the group of boys, "Pan wanted you to know that this punishment will be different."

Silence surrounded them as they stared at Pan's right-hand man until Al gathered enough courage to break it. "Different how?"

"If you fail to find Jones, Pan will have one of you put in solitary," the Thorne boy announced before a sinister smirk that Everly hadn't seen in years appeared on his face, "the time will vary depending on his mood."

"How will he decide?" Billy questioned, only to be greeted by silence before a wave of realization washed over him, "he already decided, hasn't he?"

"Unfortunately for one of you, yes. Pan's already decided," the blonde boy responded before his eyes fell on the boy standing the farthest away from him, "it will be Jackson."

Everly's eyes widened the second she heard the boy's name as she replayed the moment he let her go a few days ago in her head. Even though she wished it wasn't him, the Purest Heart always knew. Jackson got along with her a lot better than most of the other Lost Boys. Most wouldn't think that was a big deal, but Pan would do anything to get his Lost Girl back. Even if that meant imprisoning his followers for an undetermined amount of time.

"Pan told me that if you don't bring Every back to camp, you will be put in solitary for one week...and you know how long that is on Neverland," Felix continued speaking while the younger Overland brother stared at him with wide eyes.

As soon as the Thorne boy finished his announcement, the group of Lost Boys went back to looking for the former Lost Girl. Everly listened to them until their footsteps were inaudible before she looked down at Felix, only to find him staring right back at her. The smirk on his face instantly transformed into a sincere smile as he started climbing the tree. It wasn't long after that when the two of them sat side by side on a branch while staring out at the treetops in front of them.

"You aren't going to let Pan hurt Jackson, are you?" the Jones girl asked, breaking the silence that surrounded them and drawing the Thorne boy's attention toward her.

"Why does it matter?" he responded with an eyebrow quirked.

"Well, I don't think any of the Lost Boys deserve what Pan does to them," Everly stated while Felix continued to stare at her with a blank expression on his face, "I also ran into Jackson the other day. Instead of taking me back to Pan, like he probably should've, he let me go. He shouldn't be locked up."

"I can't protect everyone," was all the Thorne boy said before he saw the look on the former Lost Girl's face and let out a long sigh, "he's a strong kid and I'm sure Jacob will either talk Pan out of it or offer to take his place."

"I guess," Everly responded before finally looking away from the leaves in front of her to meet Felix's serious gaze, "why are you looking at me like that?"

"I can't protect everyone but I will protect you," he declared while the girl in front of him stared at him with slightly parted lips, "I need to make sure the brightest thing on this island is protected. You're like a ray of sunshine...that's a good nickname."

"What? Brightest thing?" Everly mocked with a playful smile on her face, earning a small nudge in the side from Felix before he continued speaking.

"Sunshine...because you bring light to a dark place like Neverland. You give some of the Lost Boys hope that, in the future, Pan could be defeated."

As soon as he finished speaking, the smile on Everly's face faded and was replaced by a curious look in her eyes. "Which Lost Boys?"

"Al, Billy, Jackson, Jacob-"

"Jacob? You can't be serious," the Jones girl scoffed while Felix continued to stare at her with a smile on his face.

"I was surprised when I found that out, too," the Thorne boy told her without losing the smile on his face, "there's also one more that I know of."

"Who?"

"Me."

────── ★★★ ──────

About a half hour had passed since Regina's conversation with Henry and the four teens were still gathered around the table working on their homework. Everly's brain was on overdrive as she dragged her pencil over the paper. As she wrote her English essay, the Purest Heart silently planned her revenge on Killian for agreeing to send her to school. The amount of homework they had to complete was almost as bad as the training she had to endure while being a Lost Girl on Neverland. It made Everly wonder why Katherine was so excited about school in the first place.

Not long after the blonde girl finished the last sentence of her essay when the diner door rapidly opened. The sound of the ringing bell caused Everly to look up to find Robin walking into the diner with a determined look on his face.

"Regina," the Merry Man called out after spotting the woman in question sitting at the counter with her con, "can we talk?"

The Mills woman glanced back at Henry with a somewhat forced smile on her face. After looking back at the Hood man, Regina let out a soft sigh before getting off the stool and walking over to him. "What are you doing here?"

Robin hesitated for a moment while glancing over at Everly without thinking. As soon as their eyes met, the Jones girl sent him a look in an attempt to stop him from doing anything foolish. But when he turned his full attention back to Regina, the Purest Heart knew it was far too late.

"It's Marian. Something's happened to her," the brunette man explained, causing the forced smile to disappear from the Evil Queen's face, "I'm sorry, I didn't know who else to turn to. I need your help." The leader of the Merry Man paused before looking over at the four teens sitting at the table across from him. "All of your help."

None of the teens hesitated to gather all their things and shove them into their bags. It wasn't long after that when they got to their feet and followed Robin and Regina out of the diner. No one said a word as they raced down the street towards the Mayor's office, most unaware of what they were walking into. When they finally arrived at their destination, Everly was shocked by the sight in front of her.

David had a took in his hand as he worked on making a fire in the office's fireplace while Mary Margaret stood in the center of the room with Neal in her arms. But what really surprised Everly was the sight of Marian unconscious on the sofa with her fingers interlocked over her chest.

"How's she doing?" Robin asked as he walked across the room to stand by his wife's side.

"Not good," David responded after turning his attention away from the fire to look at the woman on the couch, "she's getting colder."

As soon as Robin reached Marian's side, he got down on his knees on the floor beside her. While Regina walked around the sofa to stand on the other side and Henry went to stand by Mary Margaret, Everly, Sam, Katherine, and Jackson remained in the doorway. It wasn't long after that when the Purest Heart found herself looking over at Jackson, only to find him staring at Marian with no emotion in his eyes.

"She looks like what Anna looked like," he whispered just loud enough for his friends to hear him while keeping everyone else in the dark.

His words caused Everly to look over at Sam and Katherine, just to find their eyes already on her. She then gestured for them to follow her before the four of them went out into the hall. After the Jones girl made sure the door was closed behind her, she turned around to face the perplexed-looking Jackson. "What are you talking about? What happened to Anna?"

The Overland boy hesitated for a moment as he stared at the three people standing in front of him. His eyes scanned over them as if assessing if he could trust him with his story. It wasn't long after that when he let out a long sigh and opened his mouth to speak. "When Anna found Jacob and me after her search for Elsa, she told us Elsa accidentally hit her heart with her magic. We tried to help her, but there was nothing we could do. Only an act of true love could save her. Anna thawed out because she saved Elsa."

"Telling my life story?" a new voice asked, causing everyone to turn around to find Elsa, Emma, and Killian walking toward them.

"They needed to know," Jackson responds, earning confused looks from the three adults.

"What happened?" Emma questioned as she, Killian, and Elsa walked into the Mayor's office followed by Everly, Sam, Katherine, and Jackson.

As soon as Regina saw Elsa enter the room, a somewhat dark formed in her eyes. The Evil Queen just stared at the blonde woman for a moment before opening her mouth to speak." Perhaps you should ask your new friend. After all, it was her monster that attacked Marian."

"Well, to be fair, we did provoke the beast," Killian defended in a somewhat embarrassed tone as everyone looked over at Elsa.

"This isn't my magic," Elsa declared with a hint of fear in her eyes while gesturing towards Marian, "someone else did this."

"Oh and we're supposed to trust you?" Regina questioned without even attempting to hide the venom in her voice.

"You can trust me. If she says it was someone else, it was," Emma retaliated while taking a small step in front of the blonde woman standing next to her.

An awkward silence filled the room as Emma and Regina stared at each other with indescribable looks in their eyes. Everly began to shift back and forth on her feet, growing uncomfortable in the stillness of the room. It wasn't long after that when Henry took a small step forward to address both of his mothers. "So how do we break the spell?"

"The only way to cure a freezing spell is an act of true love," Jackson stated after seeing the uncertainty in Elsa's eyes.

"True love's kiss," Regina muttered under her breath at the same moment Robin looked over at the raven-haired woman standing next to him. Everly felt her heart break at the sight of the regret and confusion in the leader of the Merry Men's eyes. It wasn't long after that when he let out a long sigh.

"Alright then, there's no time to lose," the Hood man said after breaking his gaze away from Regina to stare at his wife. Silence filled the Mayor's office as everyone watched Robin kneel down next to the sofa. The Evil Queen instantly looked away after watching Robin place his hand on Marian's cheek. He just stared at the woman on the sofa for a moment longer before leaning in and kissing her, only for nothing to happen. "What's wrong?"

"Why isn't it working?" Everly whispered to Jackson while keeping her eyes glued to the panicked Robin.

"I don't know," the Overland boy responded, not bothering to hide the confusion in his voice.

"Every curse is different," Regina explained to the frantic Merry Man as she pushed past him to examine the unconscious Marian, "I need more time to study this one."

"I'm gonna go find whoever did this before it happens again," Emma announced before turning around and heading toward the door.

"Well, I hope you're bringing backup," Regina called out, causing the Swan woman to stop in her tracks and turn back around to face the Mills woman.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, between the snow monster and the cave-in," Regina answered without even attempting to hide the annoyance in her voice. Emma simply rolled her eyes in response before the Evil Queen continued speaking. "Seems like the Savior needs saving these days."

"I think you're bitter and you're taking it out on the wrong person," Emma retaliated, making everyone look over at her in shock after hearing the anger in her voice, "I'll be fine. I can handle myself."

The Swan woman didn't wait for a response as she spun around and walked out of the room. Killian was quick to follow after her, most likely to try to convince her to take him along. Everly didn't move as she watched Elsa pull Jackson aside to have a private conversation, leaving the Jones girl alone with her thoughts, which was never a good thing. It wasn't long after that when she felt a presence by her side, causing her to look over to find Sam staring back at her with an emotionless look on his face.

"What are you thinking?"

"Why would you think I'm thinking something?" the Purest Heart questioned, only for the blonde boy to roll his eyes in response right as Katherine appeared by his side.

"Thinking face," Katherine answered while gesturing toward the familiar look on Everly's face.

After rolling her eyes at her friends, the blonde girl turned her attention back to the distressed man standing beside his frozen wife. Everly kept her attention on him for a long moment before finally looking back at Sam and Katherine. "I think we can figure out who did this."

"How?" Sam asked with confusion in his eyes and an eyebrow quirked.

"By figuring out what she did today."

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────── ★★★ ──────