Happy Thoughts || Peter Pan

Chapter 22

Today she would do it. Today, Avery would poison Peter with the sleeping liquid so she could save his island. Neverland would no longer be destroyed and its former inhabitants would regain their home. Poisoning... Poisoning... She shouldn't call it that, she kept telling herself. She was not harming him. It was only temporary and harmless.

She squeezed the vial firmly in her hand and then stowed it away in the pouch she had received from Tigerlily. She took another deep breath and called out to Peter to take her below. 'It promises to be a beautiful day and tonight will be a full moon,' he said as he released her. 'What do you want to do today?'

Avery tilted her head and pressed a hand to her chest. 'You'll let me choose?'

Peter nodded. 'Yes. Today we'll do what you want. Do you want to explore the valley further? Search for animals or still sword fighting again?' He drew his sword and looked at her defiantly. As if she had missed the last step of the stairs, warmth flowed throughout her body as he smiled at her. She gasped and she lowered her eyes for a moment, as if she could no longer bear the intensity of his gaze. How could this boy have so much impact on her? 

'I- I'm going to pick some fruits for breakfast!' she cried, 'after that I'll say what I want.' And away she was. She didn't look to see if he was chasing her, but ran towards the fruit trees beyond. The wind brushing past her head did not seem to be able to cool her down enough. Panting, she leaned against one of the trees. What she wouldn't give to have a icepack for her neck right now.

Above her, fruits dangled among the branches. They looked a bit like mangoes, but softer, like a sponge. And they were deliciously sweet. It almost seemed like she could never pick a bad fruit, but maybe that was the magic of Neverland. She plucked some and took them in her upturned skirt towards the campfire. Peter watched her from the river where he was fishing, as she squeezed the fruit over the stone cups.

'He's escaping, Pan!' she cried, and Peter turned to the river with a jerk, looking for the fish that escaped his hook. That gave her enough time to empty the contents of the vial into his cup. She sighed deeply once as she set his stone cup on the ground and slowly started drinking from hers. Not much later Peter returned with a trout, which he roasted over the fire. Avery had no appetite at all, but she let him. 'I have dessert for you.' She pointed to the cup. 'For after the fish.'

'Delicious!" he said as he spun the fish around over the fire. 'And do you already know what you want to do?'

Shoot... She looked up at the sky thoughtfully. 'And what if I want to do a bit of everything?'

'That's fine with me. Then we'll start with sword practice.'

Avery was too nervous to speak the rest of the time. She ate her fish in silence and when Peter picked up his cup, her heart started beating so loud she was afraid he would hear it. He poured the drink down the back of his throat. Then he looked at her and smiled. 'I've never eaten those fruits like that before.'

She smiled sheepishly and resumed eating her fish. It took a while for the poison to take effect on Peter but when he began to stretch and yawn, she looked back at him from the corner of her eye. The boy put his arms under his head and lay back in the grass with his legs crossed and a satisfied smile. She smiled. Even when he was asleep, he still seemed stubborn.

Avery waited patiently. When his breathing deepened, she crawled over to him. 'Peter?' He did not respond. She poked him in the side, but even then he did not budge. The last drops of her brew dripped from the cup onto the sand. It had worked! And well, too. She just hoped it would work long enough.

Carefully she loosened his pan flute from his hips and kept a close eye on his face the entire time. Imagine if he woke up. Then she could still come up with an excuse that she wanted to practise playing the instrument, but still....

Holding the pan flute in her hands, she cast another glance at his sleeping face. She realised she had never seen him like this before. His deep, calm breathing was almost hypnotic to her. It made her calm herself. There was a blush on his cheeks, warmed by the morning sunlight and she got a distinct feeling looking at his closed eyes. She stroked his cheek with her finger and instinctively withdrew her hand when he suddenly moved and muttered something.

'Avery...'

If it hadn't been her own name, she might not have even understood it, but she heard it loud and clear. All the blood rushed to her cheeks and she stood up at once. She looked at him for a second and then quickly made her way out.