Tiger Lily (A Peter Pan Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty

Panting, I placed my hands over my knees, taking several deep breaths.

I'd been running around the jungle for hours now, and the sun had begun to go down already.

Usually, I'd be good at navigating my way through dense, hot jungles...but it was almost as if the island wanted me to be lost...or maybe I was just going crazy.

"No, no...I passed that tree already." I muttered to myself, raking a hand through my dirty and tangled hair.

A soft chuckle came from behind me, and I whirled around, my eyes wide and alert and my hand on the hilt of my sword.

Standing in front of me was a boy around my age, donned in tattered dark green clothes, brown leather boots covering his feet and leather cuffs on his wrists.

His vibrant green eyes held an amused but mystical stare as he quirked an eyebrow at me, his head tilted slightly to the side. "Lost are you, love?"

"Who are you?" I growled, unsheathing my sword and aiming it at his throat.

The boy clenched his jaw and looked past me. Seeming to keep his temper in check, he turned back to me, "You shouldn't be here. This is no place for a girl."

"I asked you a question." I snapped, not missing a beat.

Giving me a half-smirk, the green eyed boy answered, "I'm Peter. Peter Pan."

Looking him up and down I returned his smirk, though my grip on my sword never faulted, "I thought you'd be taller."

"Fiery little thing, aren't you?" he quipped, stepping toward me.

Tightening the grip on my sword once more, I scowled at him, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"What are you going to do, love? Poke me?" Pan laughed, flashing me a grin.

"Have to say, Pan, you're kind of disappointing. The way people described you...I would've thought you'd be more menacing." I mused, pursing my lips.

Two can play at this game, I thought, narrowing my eyes.

"Easy, love. Wouldn't want to hurt yourself, would you?" he asked, his voice light as he stepped toward me again, his hands raised in surrender.

Rushing at him, I shoved him against the nearest tree, pressing my blade to his throat as I shot him the deadliest glare I could muster.

"I don't know what game you think you're playing, love, " I hissed, "but I know that you're not going to win."

"And why's that?" he asked, his hot breath fanning against the side of my face as he tilted his head back against the tree.

Smirking, I replied, "Because you don't know me."

The boy chuckled lightly, staring intensely at me with those deep green eyes. "And you don't know me either, love."

All of a sudden, he was no longer pinned against the tree, but standing next to it, his arms folded over his chest as his eyes held an amused, condescending gaze.

"How did you do that?" I demanded, staring at him half in anger, half in awe.

"This is Neverland, love. Anything's possible." Pan gave me a smirk, stepping toward me ever-so-slightly.

His mere presence sent shivers down my spine. From the way he stood to the confident smirk on his lips, he held an air of power and mystery that egged me on.

"Enough talk. Where's Henry?" I said, clenching my jaw tightly.

Pan had had his fun; I'd let him play his games. But now it was my turn to control the match.

"And why would I tell you that, love?" he asked, his green eyes flashing with amusement as he tilted his head.

"Because if you don't..." I murmured, stepping towards him so my lips were next to his ear, "I'll kill you."

Taking a few steps backwards, I watched a slow smile creep up onto his lips as Pan eyed me with an unreadable expression playing in his eyes. He quirked and eyebrow at me and said, "I'd take you more seriously if you were just a bit taller."

With a snarl on my face, I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly, "Do you really want to go through this again?"

As Pan opened his mouth to respond, there was a loud "whoosh" and I looked up to see a dark...shadow-like thing swooping down from the sky. Directly. Towards. Me.

Completely mesmerized by the thing's ominous, glowing eyes, I stood, frozen.

And that's when Pan snapped me out of my thoughts.

"I'm afraid I'm going to cut our chat short, love. Don't worry. We'll meet again." he said, his voice stone cold.

I turned my head just in time to see the green-eyed boy wave his hand, a cloud of black smoke enveloping me, leaving me disoriented.

Once the smoke cleared, Pan was no longer there, and neither was the shadow. In fact, I was in a completely different place.

Hearing a rustle from the bushes behind me, I whirled around, relief flooding through my veins when I saw the familiar face of my father.

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over this bloody island for you!" he demanded, taking me into a tight hug.

"I just...took a walk, that's all." I replied, deciding it best to not mention my encounter with one of the greatest villains of all time.

He quirked a black eyebrow at me in suspicion, but didn't press the issue as Emma and the others came emerging out of the foliage, sweaty and tired-looking.

"Lily? When did you get back?" Emma asked, wiping sweat from her brow.

"A few moments ago. I didn't mean to scare you all. I just felt...useless." I replied bashfully.

"Useless? How could you ever be useless?" Mary Margaret replied, offering me a kind smile.

"I've never been to Neverland and I'm the only kid in the group, that's all." I said, biting my lip.

"You may be a kid, but you're definitely not useless." Emma said, giving my arm a quick squeeze.

Nodding, I smiled, "Thanks, everyone. Now...are we any closer to getting Henry?"

"Actually..." my dad began, and I listened closely, feeling somewhat better about my place in the group.

~*~*~*~

Back at Pan's camp, the green-eyed boy paced back and forth in front of a blazing fire, shadows dancing across his face as he pondered the day's events.

"She hasn't changed after all this time, Felix." he said, his usually confident voice now perplexed.

"What are your orders, Pan?" Felix responded, his face passive as he listened to Pan speak.

"No contact yet. We can't get close to her. Just make sure my shadow gets nowhere near her. Do you understand?" Pan asked, coming to a stop, looking at Felix with challenging green eyes.

"Of course, Pan."

~*~*~*~

A/N: This chapter is quite short, I know. However, PAN IS FINALLY IN IT! I really enjoyed writing the interaction between Lily and Pan for the "first time", and I hope you enjoyed reading it. As for Lily's little emotional breakdown in this chapter, try to understand that it was because of lack of sleep, exhaustion, etc. I am aware it seemed a bit out of place, but I believe it helps with her character growth.

Please don't hesitate to leave comments, I love reading them!