────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟖
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘

────── ★★★ ──────

The two sisters shared a confused look before they followed Killian into the outskirts of the village and to a close line. Everly just stared at the articles of clothing for a long moment before she glanced over at the pirate captain to find him staring back at her expectantly. Realization finally dawns on the Jones girl after she looked over herself and Emma. They weren't wearing clothes that were around during this time and stuck out like sore thumbs.

Emma let out a long sigh and went to grab some things from the line before going behind a large tree stump to change. Everly didn't move from her place and didn't plan to until she felt the raven-haired man's eyes on her. When she looked over at him, she found him smiling down at her before he gestured over toward the clothesline. "Aren't you going to take something?"

"They aren't really my style," Everly stated then she saw a pleading look appear on his face, "I'm not wearing a dress, Killian. When have you ever seen me in a dress?"

"You're gonna have to wear it or else we're gonna get caught."

Everly let out a sigh and rolled her eyes at the man before she walked over to take some clothes from the line. Once she had enough in her arms, she went behind the tree stump with Emma. When she got there, her sister was no longer wearing her jeans and red leather jacket. Instead, she was dressed in a red floor-length skirt with a white blouse and a brown corset on top.

"I hate this," Emma told her sister as she wrapped a brown cloak around her shoulders.

"I know how you feel."

"Let's see it, Swan!" Killian called out, causing the Savior to let out another sigh before she went out to show the pirate captain her Enchanted Forest attire.

Everly wasn't happy with her new outfit in the slightest. She discarded her comfortable clothing and replaced it with a light brown floor-length skirt with a white blouse and a brown corset over it. The Jones girl also managed to grab a dark red cloak to cover the outfit as much as possible.

"Come on, Evie, we don't have all day," Killian called out to her, making the irritation she was feeling double.

Reluctantly, Everly came out from behind the stump and stood in front of Killian and Emma. She instantly sent Killian a scowl after he got this look on his face like he was about to start cracking up. "Not a word, Killian."

"Is it bad to say that you've never looked this much like a girl?" the pirate captain questioned without even attempting to contain his laughter.

"I'm never gonna complain about leather ever again," Everly muttered under her breath as she pulled her hood over her head before they headed towards the trail.

────── ★★★ ──────

"How can you trust the person who killed your brother?" Everly questioned as she continued to stare at the emotionless Lost Boy sitting next to her.

"I don't trust the person who killed my brother."

"You trust Pan with every bone in your body."

"Pan didn't kill him," Felix stated without taking his eyes off the flames in front of him.

Silence surrounded the pair for what felt like an eternity before the Thorne boy finally looked up to meet the Lost Girl's eyes. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment then the blonde boy let out a long sigh and continued speaking.

"Pan didn't order him to be killed, that wasn't even how the game was supposed to end. My brother even won. But the Lost Boy who lost...he was furious...so he killed Fletcher."

Once he spoke his brother's name, Felix broke eye contact with Everly and looked back down at the ground before he whipped away a single tear.

"The boy who killed him will get what he deserves. Pan promised I would get my revenge."

"Are you going to tell me who it is?" Everly questioned, only to receive silence in response from the boy next to her before she moved to sit in front of him and met his gaze once again, "who is he, Felix?"

"His name's Griff."

────── ★★★ ──────

After walking for what felt like hours, the trio finally got to the trail and started to walk on it. Just as they thought they were finally making some progress on their journey home, they came to a stop at the sight of a fallen tree blocking their path. Before anyone could say a word, the sound of horses' hooves pounding against the dirt road greeted their ears.

"Could be the Queen again," Killian told the sisters as he grabbed their arms and dragged them off the trail.

The three of them rushed through the forest before they hid a log right as a pure-white carriage and its knights stopped at the tree. The guards get off their horses to examine the damage before the carriage door opened to reveal a familiar man stepping out. "Is that-"

"You're father," Killian cut Emma off as she and Everly continued to stare at the charming prince, "we should go."

The Jones girl just stared at the Nolan man for a long moment before she remembered the next part of the story. A small smile appeared on her face as she looked up into the trees to find Snow White waiting to steal from the carriage. Unlike the story, however, the sound of a branch snapping from behind Everly cut through the silence that surrounded them.

The woman in the trees instantly looked towards the source of the sound before she fell from the tree and to the grassy earth below. Confusion flowed through the Jones girl's veins as she looked back at Emma to see a broken branch in her hand. Everly just stared at her sister for a long moment before she looked back over to where their mother was, only to be greeted by the surrounding trees.

The three of them continued to sit behind the log as David and his knights examined the fallen tree. It wasn't long before a panicked look appeared on the prince's face then he rushed back to the carriage. Everly watched him exchange a few words with the woman sitting inside before he joined her in the carriage and they continued on their way. As soon as the group of knights and the carriage vanished from sight, Killian got to his feet and walked back to the trail with the sisters following after him.

"You know that thing about small changes having big consequences," Emma said, drawing the pirate captain's attention to her while Everly continued to stare at the Savior with an unamused expression on her face, "what about big changes?"

"Well, what did we do?" Killian questioned, only to be greeted by silence from the Swan woman before his eyes landed on the girl standing next to her.

"That bandit was Snow White," the Jones girl explained as soon as she saw the pirate's attention land on her, "this was the moment our parents first met."

"And because of us, now they didn't," the raven-haired man stated as his eyes flashed between the sisters.

"Us?"

────── ★★★ ──────

A few months passed since Felix told her about his past and his brother's fate. Everly still couldn't believe that he didn't blame Pan one bit for what happened. It was his choice to make the boys play his games and his choice about what happened after. Everything that happened on Neverland was because of him.

Everly found herself alone in the training hollow working on my archery for the first time since she arrived on Neverland. It was peaceful and reminded her of a time before she was trapped on the nightmare of an island. That was until Jackson came rushing in and ruined the moment.

"Pan wants everyone back at camp."

"Why?" Everly asked without a hint of concern in her voice as she released another arrow.

"I don't know," Jackson confessed while his eyes scanned over the girl before he cleared his throat and continued, "all he said was that it's important."

A small sigh passed over the Lost Girl's lips before she sent the brown-eyed boy a small nod. Jackson watched Everly as she grabbed her things before the two of them walked back to camp.

When they reached their destination, every Lost Boy sat around the clearing and waited for Pan to return. Confusion flowed through Everly's veins as she walked through camp while listening to the many conversations occurring before sitting down between Baelfire and Felix. Just as she was about to ask the second-in-command of the Lost Boys what was going on, Pan entered the camp and drew everyone's attention to him.

"I have some disappointing news that I know will upset one, if not all, of you," the leader of the Lost Ones announced then he paused to glance over at Felix with slight worry in his eyes, "a prisoner has escaped from solitary."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Lost Girl's blood ran cold before she glanced up at Felix. Everly instantly saw the anger on his face as his hand clutched his club so tight that his knuckles turned a ghostly white. When she looked back at Pan, she found him staring back at her before he cleared his throat and continued addressing his followers.

"We need to hunt down Griff and get him back to solitary immediately!"

────── ★★★ ──────

After walking through the Enchanted Forest for so long that her feet began to hurt, the three of them came to a stop at a cliff with a clear view of a dark-looking castle. Everly held back a groan at how far away their destination was before she sat down on a boulder to give her feet a break from the shoes she was forced to wear.

"Look ahead," Killian told them while keeping his eyes glued to the palace in the distance, "the Dark One's castle."

"Little more imposing than the pawnshop," Emma scoffed before letting out a sigh and looking up to meet Killian's gaze, "so what do we do now? Knock on the door and introduce ourselves?"

"And who might you be?" At the sound of the imp's voice, the trio turned around to see Rumpelstiltskin standing behind them with a smirk on his face. Everly just stared at the man for a long moment while trying to hide the hatred building up inside of her before Emma took a small step closer to him.

"We need your help," the Savior told him, drawing the man's attention to her before a slightly confused look formed on his face.

"And why would I help you?"

"Because if you don't, you'll never see your son again," Everly stated, earning annoyed looks from her sister and the pirate as she stepped forward to face the man who took her first mother figure away from her.

"And what do you know of my son?"

"His name is Baelfire. You're planning to enact a curse in hopes of reuniting with him."

"And who told you that?" the Dark One questioned as his snake-like eyes studied her for a moment before he continued speaking, "what are you, some kind of witch?"

"No, I'm not a witch," the Purest Heart continued before she gestured towards Emma, who was watching their exchange from a few yards away, "she's the one that breaks the Curse so that you can find him. She's the product of true love."

"Well, that's speculation," Rumplestiltskin responded then he gestured to himself while keeping the expressionless look on his face, "part of my plans. But I haven't done it."

"You will. And you will succeed."

"If that's true, then that means-"

"We're from the future, mate," Killian interrupted without even attempting to hide the disdain in his voice.

"But time travel hasn't been done, mate," the Dark One retaliates in a slightly more agitated tone.

"Yeah, well, someone's cracked that code," Emma stated before letting out a sigh and looking up to meet Rumplestiltskin's blank gaze, "we need your help."

"Help? You need my help? Then answer me one question," Rumpelstiltskin responded then he let out one of his signature laughs as he took a few steps closer to Emma with determination in his eyes, "do I find my son?"

As soon as his question met her ears, Everly tightly shut her eyes and listened to the silence around her. The Jones girl unconsciously took a few steps back to stand next to Killian while keeping her attention anywhere but the Dark One. Their silence instantly irritated Rumplestiltskin and he took a step closer to stand directly in front of Emma. "Answer me!"

"Yes," Emma responded before glancing away for a second then she looked back up to meet his gaze.

"Bae. I find Bae," the Dark Ones muttered just loud enough for them to hear as his smile slowly returned to his face, "How? Wait, don't tell me. If I succeeded, I don't want anything in my head that might throw it off."

"It might already kinda be thrown off," Emma stated, causing the man's grin to fade before it was replaced with annoyance once again.

"You've changed things. What've you done?"

Emma glanced back at the two pirates behind her and they just stared at each other for a long moment. When she finally turned back to face the Dark One, all emotion faded from her face before she opened her mouth to speak. "We interrupted my parents meeting."

Once the words left her mouth, Rumplestiltskin's eyes widened to the size of small planets as he glanced between the three of them. It wasn't long after that when a cloud of red smoke surrounded them before they found themselves in the Dark One's castle. Everly took in every inch of the place she never wanted to visit as they followed after Rumplestiltskin through the halls. Silence surrounded them as they continued to walk for an abnormal amount of time until they reached one of the main rooms of the palace.

"Thank you, Mr...Rumplestiltskin, for believing us," Emma told the powerful man as the three of them followed him into the large room, "I know that time travel is hard to swallow."

Before the Dark One could respond, the sound of footsteps cut through the halls. Confusion flowed through every inch of Everly's body, knowing that Katherine shouldn't be here for another year, as she turned in the direction of the noise to see Belle walking towards them.

"Oh. Rumplestiltskin, you're back," the brunette woman said as she stopped a few feet away from them while her eyes studied the newcomers in the room, "do you, uh...do you need anything?"

"Belle," Emma greeted, causing the woman in question to look at her with an extremely confused look on her face.

"Sorry, do...do we know each other?"

"Sorry, no. The Dark One told us about you," Everly told the woman in an attempt to cover up Emma's mistake.

"Did he?"

"No," Rumpelstiltskin stated after taking a few steps forward to stand next to the Jones girl, "go away and read a book. Or whatever it is you like to do." He hesitated for a moment as he looked at the girl next to him with disgust written all over his face before his attention fell back on Belle. "And take this one with you."

────── ★★★ ──────

"I can't believe I got stuck with the newbie, who is also a girl, to help catch the boy who killed my brother," Felix complained as he and Everly trekked through Neverland's forest in search of the escaped Lost Boy.

"It's not my fault Pan partnered us together," the Lost Girl retaliated while adjusting her grip around the bow in her hand.

"Can you even shoot that thing?"

"The better question is will I?"

The Thorne boy rolled his eyes in response before they continued through the trees. It wasn't much longer before Everly noticed something blue attached to a low-hanging tree branch. Her eyes met Felix's for a moment before she went towards it to discover a torn piece of cloth. Felix grabbed the cloth from her hand and gestured in the direction of the disturbed branches and bushes.

After walking for a while, Everly turned her head away from the boy by her side for a second to see if there was anything else disturbed. Her ears instantly picked up on the sound of leaves crunching before she turned back around to find herself alone in the woods.

"Felix," Everly quietly called out while her eyes scanned her surroundings for any sign of the Lost Boy, "Felix."

The only response she received was the sound of rustling in the bushes. Chills ran up her spine as she turned towards the noise with an arrow loaded onto her bow.

"Knock it off, Felix, this isn't funny. Come out."

Everly's entire body became stone as a boy who she'd never seen before came out from his hiding spot. His brown hair almost reached his hazel eyes that were studying every inch of her. He was about the same height as Felix and towered over her as he stepped toward her, making her feel like she was just a small child.

"Pan's finally letting girls on the island?" the boy chuckled before he noticed the confusion mixed with the hint of fear in Everly's eyes, "oh! I apologize for my rudeness. My name's Griff. It's a pleasure to meet you."

────── ★★★ ──────

"Evie! Let's go!"

"Bye, Belle," Everly said to the brunette woman as she placed the book she was reading back on the shelf after hearing Killian call out to her.

She sent the former princess one last smile before she walked down the winding staircase to meet with Emma and Killian in the hall. Once she joined them in the foyer, the three of them exited the castle without even glancing back.

"Where are we going?" Everly asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that surrounded them as they crossed the drawbridge.

"To find my past self," Killian stated before falling back into silence, leaving the Jones girl even more confused than before.

────── ★★★ ──────

After traveling for hours and catching rides from a few people along the way, the three of them finally made it to the coast. They walked along the docks until they reached a rundown pub before Killian led the sisters inside. The trio sat down at a table in the corner of the room and watched Killian's past self drinking and flirting with five surrounding women.

"That was what you did before you found me?" Everly asked with a hint of disgust in her voice as she watched the captain of the Jolly Roger.

"What can I say...taking you in steered me to the right path," the raven-haired man responded with a sly grin before he looked back at his past self.

"Is this even a good idea?" Emma asked, drawing the two pirate's attention towards her to find her staring at them with uncertainty in her eyes, "what about preserving the future?"

"It'll be fine," Killian told her then glanced back at himself before letting out a long sigh, "given what I'm drinking, if I remember anything, I'll simply blame the rum."

"Just keep him occupied and make sure he doesn't return to the Jolly Roger," Everly told her while keeping her attention anywhere but on her adoptive father's past self.

"Okay," Emma said under her breath before she started untying her corset.

A small smile appeared on Everly's face after she realized what her sister was doing while Killian continued to stare at himself. Out of the corner of her eye, the Jones girl watched the pirate turn back towards her before a look of disbelief took over his features.

"What...what are you doing?"

"Making sure he stays occupied," the Savior explained as a small smirk slowly appeared on her face, "shouldn't be difficult. You and I both know I'm his type."  

While Emma walked off toward past-Killian, Everly got to her feet to follow the raven-haired man at her side, only for him to hold his hand out in front of her. The Jones girl just stared up at the man in confusion before he let out a small sigh. "Stay here. We'll come back when the plan's done."

"Are you kidding? I'm coming with you."

"Evie, we're in enough trouble already. I don't need your 'free spirit' getting us into more."

"If you haven't noticed, Emma's the one who started this whole thing," Everly retaliated while crossing her arms over her chest and looking up at the man with a quirked eyebrow.

"Just stay here."

"Fine. But you owe me one."

────── ★★★ ──────

Griff started to circle Everly like a predator sizing up its prey while the latter continued to aim her arrow at his chest. Her eyes stayed glued to him as she tried to stop the fear that was coursing through her veins from showing. It wasn't long before a smile formed on the former Lost Boy's face that matched the taunting look in his eyes.

"So, you know Felix?" the brunette boy asked, only to receive nothing but silence from the girl in front of him as she kept her attention on him, "did he tell you what I did to his brother?"

"Why does it matter?" Everly retaliated while she continued to follow his figure with her arrow.

"I'm just trying to get to know the person I'm up against," Griff said while keeping the grin plastered to his face, "you are trying to take me off the playing board because Pan ordered you to, after all."

"I'm not gonna do anything to you unless you make a move...and I don't take orders from Pan."

"No matter what you say, you're still one of his lapdogs."

Before the Lost Girl could respond, Griff made a move towards her and made Everly release her arrow, only for it to just miss him. It wasn't long before the Jones girl was locked in battle with a boy who was twice her size but had no sense of combat skill.

However, even though Everly was clearly more strategic than he was, Griff was able to use his size against her and pin her to the ground. The grin on the brunette boy's face did nothing but grow as she pulled out a dagger and held it at her neck.

"This is what Felix gets for taking my position as Pan's right-hand."

"What does killing me have to do with Felix?" Everly questioned in an attempt to buy herself some time in hopes that one of the Lost Boys would find her.

"Because if he told you about Frankie then he cares about you."

"Fletcher."

Griff let out a small chuckle as she studied Everly for what felt like an eternity before he whispered into her ear. "I knew he told you about his brother."

The Jones girl closed her eyes and silently cursed her own stupidity while preparing herself for her fate. Just as she thought her life was about to end, she felt Griff's weight disappear from on top of her. A shaky breath passed over her lips as Everly slowly opened her eyes to find Felix looming over her.

The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before the Lost Boy stuck his hand out and helped her up. As soon as she was back on her feet, Everly looked over at Griff's motionless body lying face down in the dirt a few feet away from them.

"What did you do?" the Lost Girl asked as she looked away from the former Lost Boy and up at Felix.

"Hit him in the head with my club," he explained before his eyes finally met her concerned one, "he's alive...Pan wants him alive."

────── ★★★ ──────

Everly's daydream was interrupted when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. A small sigh passed over her lips as she looked to see Killian and Emma staring down at her.

"Took you two long enough."

────── ★★★ ──────

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