Disclaimer: I only own my original ideas and characters.

Un-Betaed.

"I'm taking it slow,

Feeding my flame.

Shuffling the cards of your game.

And just in time,

In the right place,

Suddenly I will play my ace."

Eyes on Fire – Blue Foundation

(Three Years Later)

The sound of a pot boiling brought Alilyn over to check on it. She carefully stirred thehot broth inside and pushed it away from the heat. The bubbles inside started to settle, the brown liquid turning smooth with the strokes of her spoon.

A woman yelled over the noise of dinner preparation.

"Alilyn! Bring the broth over now! Dinner is about to be served!"

"Coming!" Alilyn called back. She picked up the pot and carried it over to the long wooden table where dishes of all sizes were being plated.

A fat woman with gray hair took the pot from Alilyn and poured the broth into a white serving tray holding a whole turkey. The broth covered half the bird, making it look like it was swimming. The woman garnished it with various sprigs of herbs and as soon as she was done, the serving boys whisked it away to the dining room to be eaten by the twenty or so lords and ladies that had gathered to celebrate the birth of a new baby.

After all the food had been taken into the dining room, Alilyn collapsed into a chair and started fanning herself with her hand. She pushed back tendrils of hair that had escaped her bun. The other kitchen girls were sitting down too, resting for a moment before the dirty dishes started to show up and they would have to get back to work.

It was a good job, working in the kitchen of a Lord's home. It paid well and came with living quarters and food. The days may have been long and the people weren't always the easiest to work with, but the fact that she was there meant that Alilyn could save every coin she earned. Once she had earned enough, she would be able to move her cousins into the city, where they could have a better life.

She had almost reached the halfway point of her goal. She was trying to save enough to buy a house for them all to live in but it had been slow going.

The first year after she had left the slums, she hadn't been able to find a job. That had set her back quite a bit. Alilyn had spent that year living on the street, barely managing to keep herself alive, let alone finding enough money to buy a house. Many times throughout that year she had considered just giving up and going back to the slums.

But then Faye's face would flash before her eyes and she knew she couldn't. Faye had given up everything and the least Alilyn could do was find a way to make her sacrifice worth it. Bringing her other cousins into the city and away from the slums would be exactly what Faye would want.

Those thoughts had given her the motivation she needed to push through the hard times. Rather than giving in to her self-pity, Alilyn had buckled down and was determined to make things work.

And then, two months later, she had stumbled into the kitchen of Lord Eoin. He was a wealthy warehouse owner who also happened to be a distant cousin of the king. The head cook had been looking for a kitchen girl to replace one who had left to get married and asked Alilyn if she would be interested in taking the job.

It was probably fate, but to Alilyn, it felt like a victory.

Alilyn had been only too happy to take the job. Her experience working in a warehouse helped greatly, giving her the ability to work long, hot hours and follow instructions with precision. Though following orders reminded her painfully of the life she had left behind, they only stung momentarily, and she submitted to them with a good attitude.

Freedom was more about choice anyway, and she was choosing this job.

Alilyn wasn't afraid of work hard and it didn't take long for the cooks to notice. Within a year, she was head kitchen girl, watching over the group of five others with a sharp and careful eye. She found that she liked it much more than her previous position. Although she was still under the cooks, she relished the fact that she was in charge of the other kitchen girls and was the one who led them through their daily chores.

She didn't realize how much she enjoyed being a leader until she had the chance to be one. Alilyn had always liked taking care of people and being the head kitchen girl meant that she had a whole group of girls to look after as well as the freedom to make choices about what they did.

Alilyn had never had the freedom to choose anything before and now she was surrounded by it.

A slightly older girl with bright red hair brushed roughly by Alilyn to get to another chair. Alilyn ignored her. Rachelle was the girl who had been competing with Alilyn to get the job as head kitchen girl. She had been there longer and had felt like she was the obvious choice. When the cooks had announced that Alilyn would be the new head kitchen girl, Rachelle had been furious.

"I'll make you regret coming here and stealing the job that was supposed to be mine," she had sneered after the announcement had been made. "You better watch your back."

Alilyn had just ignored the outburst, although the other girls tried to warn her that Rachelle was not to be trifled with.

"Be careful," Leah, a dark-haired girl around Bridget's age, had whispered. "Rachelle will stop at nothing to get back at you. She is the most spiteful person I know."

"I'm not worried." Alilyn had shrugged. "She can't do anything to me. I've got nothing here that matters to me that she could use against me. I'm the last person she would want to mess with."

Leah had looked unsure, glancing back at Rachelle with a worried look.

"I wouldn't put it past her to find the one thing that does matter to you," she had responded. "She's doesn't let go easily."

"I'd like to see her try." Alilyn had turned to look at Rachelle and gave the glaring girl a determined look.

It didn't matter what Leah told her about Rachelle or what the older girl threatened to do, Alilyn wouldn't be scared off. She had put up with her father for years; Rachelle was nothing compared to him. If Rachelle thought she could intimidate Alilyn with empty threats and dark looks, the older girl was in for a shock.

Alilyn was not going to back down – she had no reason to.

Besides, it wasn't like I meant to take Rachelle's spot.

She had just worked to the best of her abilities. If the cooks thought she was the better choice because she more efficient, what was that to her? She wasn't going to turn them down.

If she was honest with herself though, a small part of her did rather enjoy getting the job over Rachelle. The older girl's attitude was always horrible and no one liked her very much. Alilyn couldn't imagine how bad things would be if she had been put in charge. Some people were just not meant to be leaders.

Of course, Rachelle had only gotten worse after she'd been passed over. She set out to do little things that would hurt Alilyn, purposely ruining things the younger girl made to try and get the cooks to come down on her. Alilyn was careful, but it happened, and sometimes she would have to remake whatever it was in a hurry to avoid getting punished.

But it was okay because Alilyn knew the other kitchen girls were behind her. They had her back, and there were more of them than there were of Rachelle. She knew Rachelle wouldn't be able to do anything too awful with all of them close by.

That was the advantage of being a good leader: the girls under her were loyal. Alilyn gave thanks for them every day.

The sound of serving boys rushing back in with dirty dishes snapped Alilyn out of her reverie. She and the other kitchen girls groaned and stood up, taking the dishes from the boys and carrying them to the basins that were filled with hot, soapy water.

Bending over, Alilyn took to scrubbing the remains of food off of the fancy dishes. Since she was the head kitchen girl, she was in charge of cleaning the silver and crystal items. It was a bit intimidating, holding such priceless pieces in her hands and knowing that if one were damaged, the fault would be hers.

While the other girls were busy with china plates and platters, Alilyn was tasked with washing, drying, and then polishing the silverware. Polishing the intricate family silver was especially tiring. After washing each piece, she spent what felt like hours trying to get the spoons, forks, and knives to gleam in the candlelight.

She was almost done polishing each silver piece when Rachelle came into the small storage room where the dishes were kept. Alilyn glanced up at her, wondering if she was about to get another threat from the older girl or maybe a rant full of complaints.

Both were possible. Both had happened before.

"Daisy needs your help with the roast pig," Rachelle muttered, her eyes downcast. "I can finish in here for you. I was trained to polish the silver after all."

Alilyn ignored the jab in her words.

She hated the thought of giving the silver to Rachelle. She wished it could have been anyone else to come take the job from her. Unfortunately, Rachelle was right. She really was the only other kitchen girl with the knowledge of how to polish silver correctly.

Besides, Alilyn needed to go help Daisy. She was the head kitchen girl after all; it was her job to make sure everything went smoothly and everyone had a helping hand when they needed it.

"All right," she relented, standing up and letting Rachelle take her seat. "I already put away most of the silverware, so you'll just have to finish these last couple of pieces and then put them away with the rest."

Rachelle nodded and sat down, pulling the tray holding the silver, the polish, and the rag into her lap. She stared at it for a moment before speaking again, her voice low.

"I'm going to quit."

Alilyn blinked, surprised at her confession.

"Why?" She asked.

Rachelle shrugged. "I don't like playing second fiddle. I want to go somewhere where I can be the head kitchen girl or even a cook. This job is a dead-end for me with you here and I want something better."

Alilyn twisted her apron, feeling a slight stab of regret. True, it's not like she purposefully set out to take Rachelle's job and the girl truly was a pain to work with, but she was still someone who was just trying to survive. And as Alilyn knew all too well what that felt like, she couldn't help but sympathize and wish things could have been different.

"I understand that." She cleared her throat. "Good luck, Rachelle. I hope you find what you're looking for."

Rachelle glanced up and for a moment they just looked at each other. There was confusion in Rachelle's eyes. And, if Alilyn wasn't going crazy, there was some guilt there too. But as soon as Alilyn noticed it, Rachelle looked back down at the silver and the moment was over.

"Thanks," she muttered and began to furiously polish.

Alilyn hesitated for just a second before leaving Rachelle to the silver, walking into the kitchen and finding Daisy standing in front of a massive pig, a bowl of spices in her hand.

"I need someone to help me rub it down one more time," she said when she saw Alilyn. "Tessa helped me last time but now she's helping Heather get things cut for breakfast tomorrow and I tried to ask Rachelle but she refused to help me, as usual. Do you mind giving me a hand?"

"Not at all." Alilyn washed the polish off her hands, then dipped them into the bowl of herbs. She and Daisy were able to rub-down the pig quickly before hanging it back over the spit where it would slowly roast until lunch the next day.

As Alilyn was walking around and checking on the other girls in the kitchen, she saw Rachelle come back from the polishing room and disappear into the room where they all slept. She came out a few minutes later with a bag in her hand. Rachelle approached the head cook and Alilyn moved closer so she could hear what was being said.

"Rachelle?" The head cook, Gracelyn, raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you with something?"

Rachelle glanced at Alilyn then looked back at Gracelyn.

"I'm quitting."

Gracelyn looked surprised. "Can I ask why?"

"This isn't the place for me." Rachelle shrugged. "I've gotten as far as I will here and if I'm going to do something more, something better, then I need to do it somewhere else."

Gracelyn shrugged.

"If that's how you feel, I can't stop you," the older woman said. "I'm sorry to see you go."

"No, you're not." Rachelle smiled bitterly, then turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Gracelyn glanced at Alilyn.

"At least now you won't have to worry about her," she said.

Alilyn stared at the door Rachelle disappeared through, unable to believe the other girl was really gone.

"I guess not."

After everything Rachelle had put Alilyn and the other kitchen girls through, it seemed so anticlimactic that she would just pick up and leave with barely a word. Alilyn couldn't shake the feeling that it seemed like Rachelle had given up too easily, especially with the way everyone had warned her about the redhead's temper.

But what could Rachelle do if she wasn't there?

Alilyn breathed out the breath she didn't realize she was holding and turned back to the kitchen to finish the rest of her duties.

After the kitchen was cleaned up and everything was put away for the night, Alilyn went into the sleeping room with the rest of the kitchen girls. She sat down on her bed and took a deep breath, letting her shoulders relax. It was a long, hard job, but she was thankful she had it. She genuinely enjoyed it, and she especially loved the money she was able to save. With her room and board covered, every coin she earned could go toward a better home for her family.

Alilyn reached under her pillow, her fingers searching for the leather bag that she kept under there. It held every coin she'd saved over the last year and a half. Alilyn had developed the habit of counting it every night. Knowing exactly how much she had and exactly how much she had left to go was like a security blanket, it gave her the peace she needed in order to sleep. Counting the money had become a reminder for her to stay focused on what really mattered: her family.

Plus, to be honest, she couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of having her own money for once in her life. This was hers. No one else had access to it and no one else could make choices about what happened to it.

It was hers alone to manage.

After years of living under her father's strict control, there was something heady about finally have a little bit of control all to herself.

Alilyn's thoughts shattered when her hands came up empty. Reaching beneath her pillow, she felt a slice of panic when, once again, they felt nothing. She grabbed the pillow and lifted it up, her bag of coins nowhere to be seen. Alilyn ran a hand under her blanket and then jumped to the floor, peering under the bed, to see if maybe it had fallen to the floor.

"Is something wrong?" Leah asked, looking over from her own bed.

"I can't find my bag of coins!" Alilyn said, unable to keep the panic from seeping into her voice. "I can't find it anywhere!"

She went through the pattern again: under her pillow, under her blanket, under her bed. But once again, nothing showed up. The other girls all gathered around her bed to try and help her look, but no one could find it. It was as if the bag had vanished into thin air.

"I don't understand," Alilyn muttered, rubbing her forehead. "It was here last night…"

Suddenly, her mind flashed through a series of images: Rachelle swearing she'd have her revenge, Rachelle complaining that there was nowhere for her to go with Alilyn there, Rachelle giving her a guilty look, Rachelle leaving without any warning.

"You don't think…," Leah started and Alilyn could tell she had come to the same realization.

Alilyn wanted to deny it. She wanted to tell Leah that it was impossible, that no one could be that cruel. Rachelle knew Alilyn had been saving that money for her family. The older girl had known how important it was to Alilyn. No matter how mad she may have been, there was no way she would have taken Alilyn's money.

Alilyn's mind raced to find another explanation, to try and denounce the cruelty Rachelle would have to have, the amount of hate she must have had to feel, to take the money Alilyn had been saving for her family.

But there was no other explanation.

A heavy feeling of hopelessness started to sink into Alilyn's heart and tears filled her eyes. She collapsed onto the ground, hands in her lap, trying to come to terms with what the loss of that bag meant.

She would have to start over. Completely. The whole year and a half she had spent working were wasted.

Alilyn was back to square one.

She wanted to throw herself on her bed and cry for days. She wanted to block out the world and its cruelties. She wanted to feel sorry for herself and the life she had been given.

What had she done to deserve this? What about her inspired so much hate in another person? Why was she the one who was constantly having to struggle to achieve even the smallest fragment of happiness?

What does the universe have against me?

There wasn't time for her to wallow in her despair, however. Minutes after Leah had spoken, Gracelyn rushed into the room, her face pale.

"Alilyn," she whispered, her eyes wide. "Did you polish the silver tonight?"

Alilyn swallowed back her tears and tried to focus on the question she was being asked. Did she polish the silver? Of course she did. She always polished the silver.

"Yes, of course," she answered, confused. "Why do you ask?"

"When the butler was checking to make sure everything was in its place before locking the closet for the night, he noticed that two spoons were missing!"

Alilyn frowned in surprise.

"That's impossible!" She shook her head. "He must be mistaken. They were all there when I…"

Then she stopped.

They had all been there when she had given them over to Rachelle, sitting on the case, waiting to be polished. The only person who had contact with them after she had left to help Daisy was Rachelle, who was supposed to polish them and then put them up.

If two spoons were missing, it meant they had disappeared into the pockets of the person who had last handled them: Rachelle.

"Rachelle," Alilyn breathed.

"What?" Gracelyn asked.

"Rachelle came in right as I was finishing up," she explained. "She told me Daisy needed help with the pig. Since she knew how to do it, I let her take over and went to help Daisy She must have taken the spoons with her. My bag of coins is gone too."

Gracelyn covered her mouth in shock. "No! She didn't!"

Alilyn shrugged helplessly. "It's the only explanation that makes sense."

Gracelyn sighed.

"I'll tell the butler," she said. "But he's already sent for two guards to search this room. I'll try to explain what happened when they don't find the spoons. Maybe if they're fast enough, the guards can still catch her."

Alilyn held back a scoff.

She wanted to believe that the guards would be able to catch Rachelle, but she knew better. Rachelle was gone. Alilyn knew the older girl had grown up in this part of town, the daughter of a maid. If anyone could disappear into the winding streets and large noble houses, it would be Rachelle.

The guards would never be able to find her. She would sell the spoons, pocket the coins she got from them along with the ones she stole from Alilyn, and become just another one of the many young women searching for a job.

The thought made Alilyn sick to her stomach.

The butler and two guards rushed into the room, startling everyone within it. The girls all backed up against the wall and were silent as the two guards worked their way through the room, going through all the measly possessions present. They turned over the mattresses, pulled away blankets and pillows, and riffled through clothes and personal items.

Heather came up clean. Then Daisy. Then Tessa. Then Rachelle's empty space. They searched Leah's and then moved to Alilyn's. As they went through her things, Alilyn wondered if Gracelyn would be able to explain the story to the butler in a way that will put the blame off of them and onto the person who really deserved it. Alilyn didn't want any of the other girls to get fired just because she was dumb enough to let Rachelle have the opportunity to steal the spoons.

And she was desperately hoping her job wouldn't be in jeopardy because of it either.

"Found them," one of the guards announced, pulling the spoons out from where they had been tucked into the bottom of Alilyn's flipped mattress. It had never occurred to her to flip over the mattress while looking for her coins and she desperately wished she had.

The room went silent as everyone stared at the spoons in shock.

For a moment, Alilyn didn't realize what they meant. She knew she didn't steal the spoons, so how did they get there? Then her brain clicked into gear and she realized what had happened. Rachelle had stolen the spoons and then stashed them on the underside of Alilyn's mattress when she had come in to gather her things, stealing Alilyn's coins while she was at it.

It wasn't enough for Rachelle to leave her with nothing. No, the older girl had to also make sure that Alilyn had no chance of getting it back.

Alilyn's stomach felt like it was full of lead. She stared at the spoons, frozen in place, knowing exactly what was about to happen to her. She was going to go to jail. And if she ended up in jail, she would have no chance to help her family. She was going to die there, alone, with the knowledge that she couldn't help out the people who needed her the most.

In that second, Alilyn hated Rachelle more than she could ever remember hating anybody. Never in her life had Alilyn ever been so angry. If the other girl had still been in the room, Alilyn was sure she would have tried to claw her eyes out. How could she have possibly done this to Alilyn?

Was taking the position of head kitchen girl really a sin worthy of death? Because death was exactly what Alilyn was going to get. She may not know much about what life was like in the city, but she knew for a fact that once someone went into the prison, they did not come back out.

"Whose bed is this?" The butler demanded.

Leah unconsciously glanced at Alilyn and the guards turned to stare at her.

For a brief moment, no one did anything and Alilyn knew it was the only hesitation she was going to get. She had to leave.

Without waiting to see if Gracelyn could talk them out of arresting her, Alilyn ran. She dashed out of the room and straight out of the kitchen into the alley behind it. The guards yelled at her to stop, but she ignored them.

She was not going to die in jail for something she didn't do. She was not going to let that happen.

The guards chased after her and Alilyn did her best to lose them in the winding streets. Only a few minutes passed before she knew she wouldn't be able to outrun them, but she continued to press on. She couldn't give up. She would never be able to forgive herself if she didn't at least try her very best to stay free. At this point, she had nothing left to lose.

She ducked past a row of small shops before hitting a dead end. She pulled up, panting, before turning around and trying to find somewhere to hide before the guards trapped her. But it was no use. Within seconds, both of the guards found her.

"Thought you could escape, huh?" The first guard taunted. "Think again, sweetheart. In this city, thieves are punished for their crimes. All that's ahead for you is jail."

"Please," Alilyn begged, out of options and realizing there was nowhere for her to go. "I didn't do it, I swear! Someone else stole the spoons and made it look like I did! Please, you have to believe me, I'm innocent!"

The first guard snorted and the second guard rolled his eyes.

"You know how many times we hear that?" The second one said. "None of you are ever innocent. You're all a bunch of greedy slum rats and you should have thought about what would happen to you before you stole those spoons."

The first guard grabbed Alilyn's wrist. She tried to yank away but the second one was close behind, grabbing a hold of her shoulders and keeping her still. Trembling from the adrenaline leaving her system, Alilyn tried to relax. She knew fighting them would only hurt her more in the long run.

They tied her hands together and then pushed her out in front of them, urging her to walk first out of the alley.

Alilyn was about to step out of the alley when the wind started to pick up. Dust and leaves swirled around her and the temperature noticeably dropped. The lantern on the alley wall blew out with a whoosh and the alley was plunged into darkness. Alilyn froze as one of the guards jerked on her rope, forcing her to stop.

Everything was quiet.

Then, in front of her, the wind started to blow harder, taking on the ghostly shape of a man. Alilyn screamed and jerked back into the guards, both of them yelling and trying to pull out their swords. The form waved its inky black hands and the guards fell down on either side of Alilyn.

She wasn't sure if they were dead or sleeping, but whatever happened to them sent a cold shiver of fear down her spine. The form approached her and she backed up as far as she could before she hit the wall at the back of the alley, forcing her to stop.

The form continued to move towards her. Alilyn screamed again and crouched down against the wall, holding her hands out in front of her in a vain attempt to save herself from the creature.

Out of all the ways she had imagined herself dying, this was certainly not one of them. Magic, while very prevalent in her world, was something she had never taken seriously. Magic was something that happened to people in villages who angered a witch or to lost travelers who stumbled upon a warlock in the woods.

It didn't happen in the city to girls like her. It just didn't.

Alilyn closed her eyes tightly and prepared herself for whatever was going to happen next. Falling into old, familiar habits, she braced for a blow, but it never came. Instead, the rope that bound her hands together vanished and she was able to pull them apart.

Hesitantly, she looked up at the creature. It had stopped a few feet in front of her and didn't appear to be coming any closer to her. Instead, it just stared at her with glowing, yellow eyes.

The guards started to stir and Alilyn glanced at them in fear before looking back towards the creature. She still had no idea what it wanted or why it had saved her from the guards.

It held out a single misty hand, its eyes never leaving her face.

Come, it whispered, its voice like sandpaper.

Alilyn realized she was going to have to make a choice.

She could go with it to wherever it wanted to take her or she could stay and go with the guards to jail. She knew that if she stayed with the guards, she would spend the rest of her life in a cell, but at least she would be alive. If she went with the thing in front of her, however, she had no idea what might happen to her.

Alilyn's mind was suddenly flooded with horror stories of people who had gotten into magic without knowing the price. The stories always seemed to end in the death and destruction of the person who agreed to the magic as a way of paying for their greed.

If she accepted, if she went with the magical being in front of her, she would probably die.

Alilyn glanced at the guards one more time before taking hold of the form's surprisingly solid hand and letting it pull her away.

Magic was her only chance, however risky, to make things better and she would never forgive herself if she didn't at least try.

A/N And so for all of you wondering how the hell Alilyn managed to get to Neverland…this is how! Ta da! Not to sound too proud of my own stuff, but I really like the way Alilyn finds herself on Neverland. I think Once Upon a Time does a great job of pushing characters to the edge of their ropes to see what kind of choices they make and I wanted to do that here. Neverland is a desperate place and someone has to be pretty desperate to agree to end up there. Even if Alilyn has no real idea what she's agreeing to, she doesn't have a lot of options anymore and has to take this chance.

I also weirdly had a lot of fun creating a mean character like Rachelle? I don't know, I feel like we all wish we could be that petty sometimes (even though we aren't cuz we're decent people) and it was fun letting Rachelle do whatever terrible things she wanted. What can I say, sometimes people just suck.

Next chapter Alilyn will arrive on Neverland and explore the place a bit. She's not going to immediately figure out why she was brought there or what the creature wants, but she'll be closer. Also, in case you're wondering, no Peter does not make an appearance next chapter. At least, not really? It's kinda complicated but you're going to have to wait ONE MORE chapter before you get them meeting. Sorry!

Once again, lots of love to my readers! You guys make this worth it!

Until next time!

~Sunshine