Set Your Sails...to Neverland || Peter Pan, OUAT

Chapter 9 - An Opportune Moment

~ Davina

I look over my shoulder to see the pleased expression on his face as he looks down at the boy trying to get his breathing back to normal.

"You know him?" I state.

"Possibly," Pan replies and walks over to the other side of our new guest, squatting down next to him, studying his face. "You remember me, don't you Baelfire?" Pan asks.

Baelfire rolls over and looks up, eyes flicking between the two of us, "No, who are you?"

Pan sighs in frustration and then waves his hand over the boy. "You should remember now," he says and stands.

Baelfire frowns, and then his eyes widen in realisation; he gets up on his knees and faces Pan. I can already see this going wrong. Baelfire looks ready to fight, but with a wave of Pan's hand, he's unconscious. Luckily, I manage to catch him before he hits the ground again.

Pan clicks his fingers before giving out his orders. "Boys, pick him and put him up in the cage," and the Lost Boys pull him from my arms and drag him away.

"Is this really necessary?" I ask, gesturing to the poor boy.

"I could do worse if you want me to," he replies. "But I doubt that."

"I give up," I say, throwing my arms up in frustration; I turn on my heel, leaving his presence. It's the only thing I can do to stop myself from throttling him.

How can Pan have the audacity to do this to people? How can he find it okay to hurt and tear these boys away from a perfectly normal life? Why does he do this?

I come to an open area in the forest, where a pool of water is situated, which glitters as the sun shines down on it. I remove my boots and my sword from my hip to sit down on the edge of the pool, letting my feet soak in the water. It's warm, and the sun radiates its heat, making my skin tingle. I close my eyes and drop my head back as I calm myself down. I breathe in the fresh air and just enjoy the environment for a little while, my feet swirling in the water. After a few moments, when calm has finally settled in, I open my eyes, take my feet out and lean on my side, looking in the water at my reflection. There's some bruising on my forehead from my cliff diving incident that looks worse than it feels, still a deep purple. My hair is limp, eyes tired. Not that I'm surprised with everything that's happened in the time I've been here. Sea monsters, imprisonment, forest runs, sword fights, cliff diving, mysterious boys arriving by Shadow-post. No wonder I look dishevelled. I splash some of the water on my face in a weak attempt to freshen myself up, but it doesn't work. I lower my hands in again, but pull away abruptly, seeing something move in the water. I quickly jump into a crouch, removing my sword from the scabbard and pointing it into the water as I watch. The shadow moves again, so I inch away from the edge. All of a sudden, the water breaks and splashes over the edge and onto the dirt where I was just relaxing. A head appears...it's a girl.

"Hello," she greets with a smile. Then I see what flicks up behind her.

A mermaid. I've dealt with many of them while sailing, and they've attacked my ship. I bring the point of my sword to her throat. Her eyes widen and she looks down the glistening metal under her chin.

"What are you doing here? Are you going to do something to me? Kill me like all of your other mermaid friends?" I ask, pushing the sword into her neck.

She starts to giggle and then pushes the sword away as she shakes her head, "No no no no no. I'm a different kind of mermaid. They're sirens," she says.

"What do you mean?"

"The 'mermaids' that attack ships are sirens - they lure you in with their voice, taking on mermaid forms and kill people. I could never do that in my life. I'm...just a mermaid," she explains.