Lost In The Heart Of Neverland

Chapter Thirteen

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder. Rubbing my face, I slowly opened my eyes to see Pan staring down at me. I sat up quick and looked around, taking in my surroundings. Yep it looked pretty much the same as it had last night. The pelts hanging from the ceiling were mainly wolf and squirrel coats, but there were a few fox skins as well - red and gray. A deer skin lay on the end of the bed.
"Well now, Aya; looks to me like you fell asleep after all."
"Why wouldn't I have?" I asked.
"You did tell Baelfire that you weren't going to be able to sleep. Guess you were wrong."
"What, were you listening at the door? That's a little bit creepy."
"No need. I know everything that goes on here on the island," he informed me. "It would do you good to remember that."

Great.

"Come on, now. Get up. This is the only time you will sleep in. If it happens again, there will be consequences." Walking over to the desk, Pan grabbed a stack of clothes off of the top, and dropped them on the bed next to me.
"This is what you will be wearing from now on. You'll get an extra set in a few days. After you change, give the clothes you're wearing now to Baelfire. He'll take care of them."
Looking at the clothes, confused, I asked, "What's he going to do with them?"
"It never hurts to have extra fuel for the bonfire."
"What? He's just going to burn my clothes? Why can't I just keep these? Then you won't have to bother with getting me more."
"The clothes you have now are from your old life. They are from a life you were always meant to forget. They don't belong here. Get rid of them."
"But-"
"I gave you an order. I expect you to follow it."
I sighed and started unlacing my brand new boots I hadn't bothered to remove the night before.
"Yes, Pan."
"That's better," he said. "I'll let you change. After you've delivered the old clothes to Baelfire, come to my tent and I'll give you your new boots. Have you ever walked outside barefoot?" he inquired.
I smiled a little and looked at him with a slightly smug expression. "All the time."
"Good," He said as he walked away, then added, "Watch out for the thorns." And with that, he was gone. Like, literally. He just disappeared.
I sighed as I pulled my boots off, trying to figure out how to accept my new life. Pan wasn't exactly kind, and I had a feeling that life here wasn't exactly going to be easy, but it was a thousand times better than the life I had back home. If you could call it that. It was more like a place to stay until a chance at a real life came along.
The shirt Pan gave me was tan, and the pants were black. And tight. Like, really tight. Listen, I don't wear pants. It's a conviction I have. I don't judge or dislike other girls for wearing pants, but I just don't feel comfortable doing so myself. Feel free to argue with me later. Just let me finish my story.
I put my old skirt back on and tied the cloak around my shoulders. I took the braids out of my hair as I walked outside, letting the tent flap fall behind me.
The area was moderately quiet, with only a few boys walking around camp. The others must have been out hunting or something. I looked around at all the tents and wondered wich one was Pan's. I spotted Baelfire coming out of the building I had assumed to be the weaponry the night before, and I walked over to him. He spotted me just as he was shutting the door, and he smiled brightly, making me feel a little less anxious.
"Hi, Aya. Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah, I actually did. When did I fall asleep?"
"About two minutes into the story I was telling you about my first time throwing knives. Guess you were a little more tired than you thought."
"I guess," I laughed. "Hey, I'm supposed to give you these old clothes."
"Oh, okay." He looked at my skirt and screwed up his face a little. "What abut the skirt? Pan expects his rules to be followed. If he gave you something to wear, he expects you to wear it."
"Yeah, I know. I just need to talk to Pan about something first. Hey, can you tell me where his tent is?"
Baelfire looked a little worried, but he took my old clothes and pointed me in the right direction.
                                                                                                          
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"Pan?" I looked around the gigantic tent, searching for a human form in the dim light. "Hello?" There were a lot of interesting objects in his tent - very specifically shaped seashells, knives that looked professionally crafted, even a few books. The bedpost was branches woven together to look like a wolf.
It all looked so enchanting. I was amazed and enthralled. I walked over to the cedar chest that sat at the foot of the bed and picked up the book that lay on top of it.

Plants: Secrets, Remedies, Poisons

"Interesting reading material," I mumbled.
"I happen to quite enjoy it."
I jumped, almost dropping the book.
"You gave me a heart attack," I complained as I set the book back in it's place.
"If you hadn't been snooping around, you wouldn't have had a reason to be jumpy, now would you?"
Pan walked over and picked up the book, then placed it on the bed. Sitting down on the cedar chest, he looked me up and down. He looked disappointed - agrivated.
"I gave you very specific instructions, Aya. Tell me, why the confusion?"
"There was no confusion," I said.
"No confusion?" He repeated. "I gave you new clothes to wear, and you seem to have held on to one particular item. Now, I thought that if you kept something, it would have been the boots. So, why, may I ask, are you not grateful for what I have given you?"
"Pan, you know as well as I do that it has nothing to do with appreciation. I just don't wear pants."
"Why not?" he asked.
"I just don't like the way they fit, okay? They are too tight. I don't like them. It's a personal conviction, if you know what that means. Besides, I've worn skirts for most of my life. I can do anything in a skirt that I can do in pants. I just have to be creative sometimes."
He eyed me, but nodded his head. "Okay. I'll give you a skirt if you'd like. I suppose you did okay in one last night, considering everything you did. It seems it could be just another challenge for you. Challenges are good." Standing up, he walked over to a box in the corner and pulled out an article of clothing. He gave it to me, but held onto it when I tried to take it. I met his eyes and raised my eyebrows in question. "Are you going to give it to me, or is this a game of Tug of War?"
"I know you're hiding something, Aya. You may have what you call 'personal convictions' about what you wear, but I know fear and discomfort when I see it. There's something you're not telling me."
Pulling the skirt out of his hands, I stepped back and smirked, trying to mask the terror of him finding out.
"I thought that you said you know everything."
"I said I know everything that goes on on the Island. However, I don't know everything about your past. But I will."