The Princess & The Lost Boy (Completed)

Chapter 23: Heart of the truest believer

(Peter Pan’s P.O.V.)

     “Alright, so you understand what you have to do?” I pressed, placing an arm around her shoulder and guiding her back to the camp.

     The plan was simple. When the time came, I would create an illusion, making Wendy look like Ash to everyone but me while Ash was taken to a hiding spot. That way no one would be able to find her, and try to kill her. I would leave Wendy with a couple of boys, the younger boys, who could be easily overpowered by anyone with magic to guard her.

     In the mean time, the boys and I would be out going to defend as many of the army as possible. Wendy would get captured by the fairies and taken hostage. Clarion would give me one last chance to send her home myself. I would refuse to make it more believable, and Wendy would either be sent back home either way or would die. Then I would get rid of the fairies and the mermaids who conspired against me once and for all.

     I had already warned Wendy that if she even breathed a word of this to anyone, even during her capture, her brothers would suffer. That was her greatest weakness besides Baelfire. Her little brothers, John and Michael Darling. She was more scared for her brothers well-being than hers. It was quite inspirational. Her dedication to protecting her brothers. It just wasn’t enough to make me want to save her if she did indeed was about die. The only one worth saving in my mind was Ash.

     She was everything to me. She always has been since she was young. When she left Neverland, I had no doubt that she took a piece of me with her. The part of me that actually contained a heart and could care for someone. Her arrival was one of the best things that could have ever happened. I finally had my Ash back, but it wasn’t the same as before. I couldn’t deny that.

     She had grown up. She had been so determined to rule her kingdom when it was her time, and in doing so, she forgot about me in the process. About everything that occurred in her dreams, when I came to take her away to Neverland, when she finally stayed until she was taken from me. She had no recollection of what occurred during her time here.

     I just couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. As a child, she had learned just about everything about Neverland. Except for the parts that I kept hidden from her. The fact that I had a son that I abandoned for youth. I needed the heart of the truest believer in order to be young forever. Clarion and I had actually been together for a short while until Ash came along and stole my breath away.

     Oh how furious Clarion had been when my entire world had started to revolve around whatever Ash asked for or didn’t ask for. My attention had no longer been focused on Clarion and that drove her nuts. Especially since she felt I owed her because she thought that she was the one who “put me in the position I had”. No matter how many times I had explained to her that the original entity of this island, my shadow, and I had merged as one. Therefore, making me the most powerful being on Neverland. Any abilities I already had from Neverland’s magic joined with the shadow’s made me unbeatable.

     Ash did deserve to know about Neverland, not that she didn’t already know. Her memories were coming back already, warning me that she would remember secrets that I didn’t want her to remember. There wasn’t any way to block them either with how fast they had started. She would find out all the bad things I had done while she was here and with her determination to uncover everything about Neverland, she would know what I did in the time she was gone.

     “Pan? Pan?”

     I snapped out of my thoughts to see Wendy looking at me as I realized we were already at my camp.

     “What?”

     “Nothing, just that I understand what I need to do in order to protect my brothers. I won’t jeopardize your plan.”