Happy Thoughts || Peter Pan

Chapter 38

Avery ignorantly followed the fairies. The disstress she could read on their faces turned her stomach in a knot. What were the fairues so worried about? And what was "the heart"? When she looked sideways at Peter and saw the serious look on his face, she realised that she was really the only one who had no idea what was going on. Peter knew. Why didn't anyone tell her what this was about?

They followed the trunk and roots of the tree. Many an fairy immediately stopped working and bowed to the Queen or watched them as they flew past. They followed what appeared to be a river of fairydust that sprung from between the roots of the huge tree, and Avery realised that somehow that fairy dust flowed through the core of the tree, all the way down to the roots where it emerged into a river. Further on, at the very base of the tree, she saw some kind of watermill, where the fairy dust was being moved by the wheel.

The fairies landed in front of the open port and Avery followed them inside. It was semi-dark inside the mill, but the amount of fairydust provided enough illumination, so many lamps were outbid. She looked up, at the giant spinning honeycomb behind the counter. Its golden light shone through the room. Fairies flew to and fro, removing green bags from the honeycombs, while on the other side fairies were just putting them in. They seemed to be coming from down below. 

Bags of fairydust, she realised. This is where fairydust was prepared for use and shipment. This is where Terance works! Looking further down, she saw the process in action. How the dust went through a mill and with the help of fairies and animals went from larger flower bags to small packages. It was incredibly interesting.

'Queen Clarion, whence this visit?" asked a stout elf with - somehow -  a very Scottish accent from behind the counter, as he hurriedly tried to work the clutter on it aside. He rubbed tensely under his large nose, under which a brown moustache joined his sideburns.

'We unfortunately come with great concerns, Fairy Gary,' Queen Clarion sighed. Her voice sounded calm, but a barely noticeable raised octave betrayed her worries. She looked back at Avery. 'Perhaps you heard about the child who came from the Mainland?'

The elf smiled until his red apple cheeks became visible. 'Very much so.'

'Her excellent ability to observe has unfortunately led us to a terrible conclusion. We suspect that The Captain is looking for The Heart of Neverland.'

His smile immediately dropped from its face. 'That-that-that would be terrible!' he sputtered, looking at Avery with wide eyes. The other fairies around him stopped working and followed his gaze, as Fairy Gary spoke again. 'Dear child, please tell me you're making a mistake.'

Avery shook her head. She frowned deeply. 'I would like it to be different too, but...-' She looked at Queen Clarion. 'Can someone tell me what exactly 'The Heart' is?'

As the elf paced through the air, ranting about Neverland's damnation, Queen Clarion turned to her. 'I think an explanation is in order.'

Lyria snapped her fingers, causing fairydust to spring from her fingertips. 'It is the source of faith,' she said softly. The fairydust swirled through the air, until it suddenly became figures and Avery looked at a floating, golden replica of Neverland. Lyria continued. 'Neverland is a land of dreams, faith and trust created by children's stories.' She swept through the dust with her hand, causing it to swirl up and turn into the shape of children, which Avery could swear she could hear laughter in the wind. 'Tales of fairies, mermaids, pirates, Indians and Peter Pan. The magic of these stories, these dreams and wishes of children are Neverland's energy source. It ensures that the island exists as it does now and that we can live here normally in peace.'

'Like in The Neverending Story,' she said impulsively, but waved away her remark when she noticed that no one shared her recognition. 'Where is it located?' Lyria's wonderful story almost made her feel as if she was brutally interrupting her school teacher, but Lyria smiled. With a swing of her arm, the images disappeared like snow in the sun again and she opened her hand, where a bright orb appeared in the palm. 'We are the centre of the island, Avery, our tree is connected to the powerful core that gives us all our fairydust. It has been told that this source could grant all wishes, for with such faith all dreams come true. If it were to be taken away from Neverland, so does the children's faith and nothing will remain of Neverland.' She closed her hand and the orb disappeared.

'That would be terrible!' she cried, 'He must not succeed.' The very idea that the fairies would run out of fairydust, the tree would die and children ... Children would never again know what fantasy is. She looked at the Queen. 'Please tell me you have made up your mind, majesty. We cannot wait for Jacob to make his move.' She quickly realised the insolence with which she had spoken and looked at the Queen apologetically. 'My apologies, highness, I got carried away for a moment.'

Queen Clarion smiled and calmly placed a hand under her chin, which she lifted with tenderness so that Avery could do nothing but admire her beauty up close. 'You are a brave child,' she spoke encouragingly. 'Neverland is in good hands with you.' She turned to her ministers and Terence. 'The tide has turned. With the new information that has come to light, we are left with no option but to fight.'

Avery looked up at the queen, glowing, and felt her heart racing like crazy. She was relieved that the queen had made the right choice, even though the coming days were going to be the toughest ever.

'Peter Pan, we wish your presence in planning a strategy to save our fairies,' the autumn minister spoke in a calm tone. He seemed nervous but determined.

Peter nodded and bowed deeply. 'I will not let you down. I will protect the fairykingdom and its subjects with all my might. Jacob's tyranny will soon come to an end.'