Peter Pan: The Land Beyond

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Set her free

It only takes me a day to find the perfect tree for my hideout. Much like the one from Neverland, I build into a large tree with thick branches that stretch skyward and a canopy that shades the ground. After weeks of carving, there are rooms upon rooms to place all the great treasures I will find on my new adventures. But with the spacious rooms, I am left feeling lonely again. However, this feeling doesn't last long. As Tink flies around my head, she quickly reminds me of the dirty, ragged boys of the streets of the human city – lost and forgotten- as I have been. There can be new Lost Boys and I wouldn't have to be alone.

But I want more than just the Lost Boys. I want her. The girl from the Elven city whose eyes are so green that gemstones would not outshine. Often, I find myself flying back to the city of the Elves, hiding amongst the thick canopies and avoiding the eyesight of the guards that patrol the bridges, grounds, and branches. I catch sight of her dancing around the middle of the city, the bonfire lit as many frolic around its massive shape. I've seen a smile much like hers before. A mother's smile. A smile that is so faint in my memory.

At night, she's easy to find because she sings lullabies in a language I don't know, by her window of a large building. The room she is in is small but with many elegant fixtures. The words she sings are always smooth and flow around me like a dream. I could fall asleep listening to her.

I want to take her away. Fly her back to the hideout and keep her there, like I did Wendy. But it wouldn't be easy taking her from her home with all the guards that surround the city. So, by day I went to the human cities where I'd find the Lost Boys amongst the crowds of decently dressed citizens. The ones I found are just as lost and forgotten as the Lost Boys before them. It doesn't take much to convince them to follow me. I lead them out of the city and into the wilderness where I lead them home. Home to the hideout. No one will care if they are gone. No one, except for me. And during the days we'd go on small adventures through the forests and mountains of the island, exploring the dark, damp caves and finding a few treasures here and there.

The boys fill me with pride and joy, but I can't help but still feel empty. The only time I feel at peace is at night. For months and months, I go back to the city in the trees. Under the protection of darkness, when the flower lights are put out and the trees are shrouded with thick shadows. I search for her amongst the buildings. In her room, I find her.

The girl with green eyes.

Resting on a branch above her window, I listen to her sing. The memories of Wendy, her husband, and their child, get lost in the far back of my mind and I finally feel the strength I had lost long ago.

Tinkerbell often came with me to her window, but she kept hidden, otherwise, her glow would alert the elven girl or the guards that walk amongst the forest city. The little faerie would sometimes dance to the songs the girl sang as if she understood the language she spoke. It made me wonder, for I knew the language of the faeries but not of the elven folk. Sometimes I'd fall asleep to her singing, her voice lulling the nightmares away and giving me a restful night.

There is no denying it, she'd be the perfect mother for my new Lost Boys, but my heart aches. I, Peter Pan, am afraid to bring her to them – that she may leave just as Wendy did.

I sit on the branch where we often fall asleep and stare up at the stars through the small gaps in the canopy. We listen in silence. Her room is empty tonight. Only the light from the candles burning the shadows away from the crevices is the only life in the still room.

An irritated sigh leaves my lips. I want to investigate, but the guards would catch me the second I fly from the branches. From what I have learned, the elven girl is the city's Elder's daughter. She is my age and enjoys telling and reading stories, but her stories were often spoken in her native tongue, leaving me clueless but my heart fluttering in my chest hearing the soothing words dance about.

There is a slam below us. I duck my head down through a flurry of leaves above her window to peek into her room. The elven girl storms in with her tiny fists at her sides. An expression we never saw on her face before strongly unfolds, anger.

Tink and I glance at one another before we hear a voice that catches us off guard. A tall man walks into the room with his hands together in front of him. "Now, Lahona, this is for the better for you and the clan." He sighs before continuing, "Marion is a good hunter and has led his clan into great prosperity. You two marrying will allow our clans to finally unite."

"But I do not love him." She speaks softly even with anger pumping in her. "I do not even know him." Her fists begin to shake, her body following in their actions.

I forget how to breathe; she is to be married to another man? Taken from me when I haven't even met her in person. My heart begins to hurt, burning and aching. I want to yell no, but I restrain myself, not wanting to be caught. My lips curl and my eyes feel heavy. A sting bears in them as tears well up in the corners.

"Lahona, you don't have a choice, I already agreed. Think about the clan, there is no one here you wish to be with and no one I am willing to give your hand to. You will marry Marion." He threatens, but with only silence coming from his daughter. He leaves her alone in her bedroom and closes the door behind him.

Falling to her knees, her fists slam into the ground as her long hair falls around her like a black waterfall. I want to reach out to her, to take her away just like I did with Wendy. But she might fear and hate humans like the rest of her people.

I lean back up and sit against the trunk of the tree, biting my lower lip to fight off the tears. "Oh, Tink, what are we going to do?" I know what I want to do. I want to fly to her father and slay him on the spot. Then she wouldn't have to get married.

She doesn't sing tonight and it takes a couple of hours before she falls asleep on her bed near the window. She fell asleep crying, asking herself over and over again why she has to live in chains. I watch the guards below impatiently. When they disperse to switch positions, I leap from the branch down to the window sill, landing silently in the darkness of her room.

I stop all movement. Catching Tinkerbell with my fist to prevent her from making any more noise when Lahona shifts in her bed. She rolls over and goes quiet. I release Tink and step onto the cold wood floor. Making my way to her bedside, as quietly as I possibly can, I watch her sleep. Her breathing is hard to hear and I have to look down at her chest to see if it's rising and falling.

I reach out to her, gently moving a lock of black hair from her sleeping face. Images of a man sleeping next to her flash in my mind, and I stumble back, my hand grasping the handle of my sword. The image disappears when I look back at her.

My heart is still beating as quickly as faerie wings. I don't want to lose another. I don't want to be alone with just the boys. I need her to be there, to be a mother to them and me.

"Tink, keep watch," I whisper. Our eyes meet for a second and it is all it takes for my friend to know what my plan is. She flits over to the window sill and watches for guards. I'm glad she doesn't hate Lahona as she did Wendy. I am not sure why. Maybe she got over her jealousy after she saw what happened to me after Wendy left.

I look down at my hands, they are stained with dirt. Maybe I shouldn't take her? I don't want to get her dirty and I don't want to wake her. My eyes scan over her slumbering face. She looks so peaceful even with the trails left from tears running down her cheeks. I will be taking her from all her problems.

Shrugging, I bury my hands underneath her thin form. Lifting her is easy, she is lighter than I imagined, but as I press her against my chest, she begins to move.

I stiffen; my eyes wide and watching her as she shuffles in my arms, wrapping her own around my neck and catching me off guard. My heart races again but not from pain. Heat warms up my face. After a few seconds pass, and she doesn't budge anymore, I look over to Tink. My little faerie friend waves for me to follow her as she leaps out the window and flies off. I don't question it, I reach the window and lift through the canopies as carefully as I can, and up into the sky.