Pan's Tiger

Chapter 21: Playing Pan's Game

Hey,
Thanks for reading and the huge amount of support you've given me.
I'm so sorry about the wait, I suddenly found myself laden down with college work. But, hopefully, I will be able to update by Thursday, because I have Wednesday afternoon free😜
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Enjoy,
Annabelle_the_reader
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The night was full of clouds, but rain never approaching and all traces of wind had vanished, leaving a still, bleak night sky. There was a beautiful crescent moon and stars blinking through the blanket of darkness.

And I was beneath them. My legs swung against the wood, jagged branches of the tree, occasionally stinging with the friction and splinters. It didn't bother me, as from this height I could see for miles across the ocean from here. I was sat, or rather balanced, on the top of Peter's thinking tree that overlooked the forests of Neverland.

I had always loved the stars. I remembered watching them from mind and Malcolm's bedroom balcony, standing in the blissful silence, enjoying the moments when our son was asleep.

The stars, I naively believed, were magical. They were so big and my troubles so small when I was with them. But no star can shine without the dark. No matter how big and evil the world seems, no one can shine without it.

I stared up at the clouds and the sky and the stars. Whenever I had a spare moment on the Jewel of the Realms, I would count the stars until I fell asleep gazing at them. I used to pretend that they were the people I missed: my son, my mother, my father, my brother, Malcolm. But I was so busy counting the stars I lost sight of the moon, and thus I lost Oliver; I lost the one person that helped me through everything and showed me the meaning of true friendship.

'Your not afraid of the dark?' Came a husky voice behind me, sending small shivers down my spine. Peter Pan's question dragged me from my daydreams as he glided onto the branch beside me. I shifted my weight slightly, allowing more distance between us. My eyes glanced over at him as his annoyingly gorgeous body.

'Absolutely not, because the stars can only shine when there is the dark.' I reminded him and he chuckled. It wasn't a happy or amused chuckle, but a saddened and grieving chuckle, like he knew exactly what I meant.

~

'Sea monster!' Peter cheered, enthusiastically pointing with his fingers vaguely at the array of shapes formed in the fluffy clouds.

We'd decided to lie down and examine the sky of puffy clouds for shapes, a game to be proven quite challenging. Peter's head was tilted upwards by his left arm, his other hand's fingers laced with mine.

'Yeah.... I guess.' I sighed, tilting my head to and fro, attempting to see his point. I lifted my back from the ground in an attempt to capture a better insight into his declare, but it was in vain. 'Coffee?'

'What?' He spluttered, his eyes searching the clouds until they followed my gaze. 'No way!' He exclaimed, pulling a confused and disapproving expression at me, but still looking drop-dead gorgeous.

'How do you not see a mug of coffee?' I smirked, raising an eyebrow as I turned my head in his direction.

'It's more like a...' Peter paused, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. '...Boat.'

'A boat?' I frowned, honestly unable to see his train of thought, a cup of coffee was so more likely.

'Yep.' He grinned, then laughed at my even more confused expression. 'So we have a sea monster attacking a boat and a cup of coffee.' We both fell about laughing, until Peter suggested a game of "throw the grapes into my mouth".