I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE ONCE UPON A TIME CHARACTERS EXCEPT ELLIE AND CHARLIE.

*spoiler alert*

In this story Peter Pan is NOT Rumpelstiltskin's father. But they are related and have a complicated history.

Also, THIS STORY DOES NOT FOLLOW THE STORYLINE OF OUAT AFTER THE FIRST FEW EPISODES. BUT MAY CONTAIN SOME PARTS.

I hope you guys enjoy!

*flashback*
I woke to the sound of a crash in my brothers room, the thin walls providing little of a noise barrier. Pushing my woolen sheets aside, I sat up and deftly jumped from my bed onto the cold stone floor. Hesitantly I made my way across to my door and out towards Felix's room. Hearing noises from my brothers room wasn't uncommon at night, but usually it was the thump of daggers landing in the wall. This was different.

I pushed on Felix's door and it creaked open to show my brothers tall frame hastily cramming clothes and supplies into a leather shoulder bag.

"Felix?" I asked, hovering uncertainly in the doorway. Felix whipped around at the sound of his name and stared in shock at me. Another emotion crossed his face as he looked at me. Guilt, I thought, but I didn't understand why.

"Ellie! What are you doing up? You should be sleeping. " he questioned me, his voice deep and low, trying not to wake the others in the house. His eyes shifted between me and the bag still laying on his bed.

"I heard a crash, I just wanted to see if you were okay." I replied, looking down at the candle holder that was laying sideways across the room. When I turned back to Felix, he wouldn't meet my eyes and I saw another flash of guilt as he finally turned to look at me. It was then I started to realize the strangeness of this moment.

"Felix, why are you packing a bag?" I asked him, my voice starting to quaver as I looked up at him and true worry set in. I knew he wasn't happy here, Momma and Papa weren't always nice to him, but he wouldn't leave me and Charlie, would he? Tears started to burn the back of my eyes as I continued to stare up at him.

"Hey, hey, hey," Felix coaxed as he knelt down in front of me and gently wiped a tear away from my cheek. "I'm just preparing to go hunting with papa tomorrow okay? I'll be back before you know it." He continued as he pulled me into an embrace, cradling the back of my head as he hugged me tightly to his chest.

I nodded and sniffled as I pulled away from him, but the tears kept falling. I don't know why but I felt anxious, like I wouldn't be seeing Felix again for a long time. "You be careful okay? Make sure you and Papa stay out of trouble."

A small smile began to play at Felix's lips as he hugged me tightly again. He probably found it amusing that his 9 year old sister was bossing him around while she stood there in her nighty. But I couldn't help myself.

"You make sure you look after Charlie tomorrow okay, Ellie?" He whispered in my ear. And I swear I heard his breath hitch. Then he released me and gently shoved me back to my room, before closing his door again.

"I promise," I whispered back as I gazed at the closed door, before returning to my bed and moving into a restless sleep.
*end flashback*

Of course, Felix lied to me, and if I ever do see him again I'll probably punch him in the face. After spending the last roughly 80 years alone with nothing to do but stew on my thoughts, you could say I had a bit of a grudge on my older brother. I remember walking into the kitchen that morning to hugs and kisses from my mother as I searched for a decent looking apple in the fruit bowl. That was when my little brother came bounding in. He was 7 at the time, so two years younger then me. All three of us children had different combinations of the same physical characteristics.

Me and Felix with our blonde hair (although mine was a lighter tone with natural streaks) and Felix and Charlie with the same brownish eye colour (the brown eyes really did go well with Charlies dark brown, straight hair). I'd always been jealous of their eyes. Mine were a dull grey, nothing interesting.

Charlie clamored into the wooden chair next to me and stared up at our mother. "Mommy, where's Felix?" He asked, I passed him a pear that he gratefully sank his teeth into before replying.

"Felix and Papa are going hunting today." I told him as i returned to my apple.

"What?" Came a deep voice behind me and I turned to see my papa walking through the door with a basket of bread.

The following minutes were some of the worst in my life. Running to Felix's room and shoving the door open to reveal a blank room and an open window. The door had barely banged into the wall before I was already out of the front door, screaming Felix's name.

Of course, no answer greeted me. And so my new life began. And God was it crappy.

The first year was okay, only Felix gone and momma depressed. But then father died, killed by Rumpelstiltskin, my mother told us. It was only years after that Rumpelstiltskin told me why my father died. Because he couldn't afford my mommas treatment anymore, so he killed him.

It only took a few months after papa died for my mother to lose it. And she left, without even a goodbye. So it was just me and my 8 year old brother. But don't worry, I managed. 'Look after Charlie', Felix had told me. And I did, for years. And then that night happened. When I was 15 and Charlie was 13. And after that it all changed.

I'd lost Charlie, and I'd broken my promise. Not that I cared too much about not obeying Felix, he didn't deserve my loyalty. But that wasn't the point. When I woke, I searched everywhere for Charlie, but he was gone.

So I left, with nothing but a terrible ache in my heart. And I searched for momma, in the hopes of sharing my loss. But THAT didn't work out. All it did was get me caught, and give me quite a few scars.

Until HE came. Rumpelstiltskin, talking about me having a great purpose in years to come. And he froze me. And so I lay there, in a dreary secluded cave, for almost 80 years, with nothing to do but think about what I'd lost. Quite a lot of thinking for me.

I lost count of how long I'd been trapped after the first 3 years. So I had no clue as to how much time had passed, until last night. When it happened.

I sat there, remembering the night I lost Charlie, the screams, me telling him to run, contact of a blade with my skin, when I heard something. Like the sound of a whirlpool, or waterfall, i hear the creaks of sails and the sound of orders being given. It sounds like a ship. That was when the tingling started. It started like little pinches across my body, but then rapidly increased until it felt like my skin was on fire. I tried to scream, but of course, I couldn't move a muscle, so I lay in agony unable to move. Until I could. And I let out a gut-wrenching cry as my insides turned to fire and my vision blurred. Vaguely I noticed my arms begin to flail and my legs kicking before the pain reached an ultimate peak, and stopped.

My body went limp as I digested what had just happened, I can move, I thought wondrously, as my fingers clawed at the stone beneath me. I can move again, I repeated in my head, and it became a mantra as tears slid down my cheeks.

Then, of course, I did the only thing that seemed reasonable after being frozen in time for however many years.

I slept.

And my, was it good.