James: A Tale of a Captain

Chapter 1, Orphaned

It wasn't always this way between Pan and I. We used to be friends. Never Land has a strange effect on people. I wasn't always this way. Nobody knows this but I was also an orphan. Peter and I aren't even from Never Land. We're from London like the Darlings were. Our story starts out in an orphanage.

Peter and I were as thick as thieves. We had lived there our whole lives. We were like brothers, aside from my actual brother George. We were a team and we had a fourth member. Her name was Mary. She had blonde hair with blue eyes. We all stuck together and often snuck away from the orphanage. None of us ever got adopted. Mary was one of the prettiest girls at the orphanage. I had black hair and brown eyes just like George. Peter had red hair with brown eyes. We were all afraid that we were going to be kicked out of the orphanage when we got old enough. Peter and I were 13. George was 12. Mary was 11.

We were running out of time. One night we all decided to sneak out of our rooms and sleep in the main area. It was February and winter was about to turn to spring. While George and Peter got into a pillow fight Mary watched out the window. No matter how old we got, we refused to grow up. Especially Peter. I walked up to her and noticed how the light bounced off of her hair, "Will you ever stop watching the sky?"
"Oh James. Don't you ever wonder what's up there?"
"Sometimes."
"I like to imagine that there's a whole island up there. Second star to the right."
"I suppose fairies would live there."
"I think they're the ones who change the seasons. One night it's all snow and then the next flowers bloom everywhere."
"Sometimes I don't think you three will ever grow up."
"Mary! Are you watching through that old window again?"
"I don't want to miss it!"
"James, is she trying to catch the fairies changing the seasons again?"
"Shut up George."
"After you do, Peter."
"We saw it, I swear."
"Sure you did, Mary." George replied. Peter and Mary had stayed up one night after George and I fell asleep. That night they swore that they had seen summer turn to fall in mere minutes. Little lights swirled in the air as the seasons changed. They claimed it was fairies. George was very skeptical. I guess a part of me wanted to believe it was true.

That night Peter and George fell asleep. They had worn themselves out from their pillow fight. Mary and I stayed at the window. Maybe someday I would find a place to belong. I never let anyone know how much I wanted an actual family. George and I don't remember what happened to our parents. Peter and Mary don't know what happened to theirs either.

Mary watched out the window. She was watching carefully. It was as if she was looking for something. She looked half asleep. I grabbed a blanket and put it over her. If she wasn't so determined she would fall asleep right then and there next to me. Then she jolted awake, "Look. It's starting!"
"What is?"
"The fairies. Watch." she explained. That's when I saw little swirling lights. The winter was fading quickly. Flowers bloomed from nowhere. It was real. That's when I saw something from the corner of my eye.

It was a flash of light. Mary got up and chased after it. The light was right in front of my broken alarm clock. I grabbed a jar. In one swoop I caught it. Once the lid was on I poked holes in the jar. I could hear jingling. Almost like a bell.

Whatever it was, it was trying to get out. Then I heard ticking. It was coming from the clock. It was fixed. This little light had fixed it. It was the strangest thing. Then I looked in the jar. Mary looked closer too. That's when we saw a little blonde woman, in a green dress, with pointed ears, and wings. Mary took the jar from my hand, "It's a fairy! James we caught a fairy!"
"Mary, be quiet. You'll wake up the whole orphanage."
"Sorry."
"Well I suppose I should thank you little lady. You fixed my clock."
"We need to show Peter and George."
"Not yet. What's the fairy doing?"
"I think she's trying to talk to us."
"Is that what all the jingling is about?"
"Seems like it."
"I guess you can hold on to her for now. You were the one who knew she would show up."
"Really James?"
"Yes. You need more friends than just the three of us."
"Maybe I could learn how to speak to her."
"Go to bed Mary. I'll take care of Peter and George."
"Good night James."
"Good night Mary, and good night little fairy." I replied. Mary walked off to her room. I grabbed George first and got him into his top bunk. I was used to this process. Then I grabbed Peter and put him in his bed.

I remember how my alarm clock got broken to begin with. It was Peter's fault. He got tired of the alarm waking him up too early. He was so annoyed by it that he threw it across the room and it hit the wall. George wasn't a big fan of it either but it did its job. The look on Peter's face in the morning would be priceless.