Straight On Til Morning

Chapter Four: The Curse of the Darlings

Hades smiled enigmatically at me, which was kind of frightening, as he had the sort of face that wasn't good for smiles.

"You, my dear, are in fact, the only one who can kill him. You're a Darling." He spoke as though this cleared up everything, but in fact, it only left me more confused. Perhaps he sensed my confusion, because he continued. "Alas, the curse of the Darlings is not my story to tell. You'll have to see your own family about that one. But believe me when I say that you and Pan go way back. Now, if you have no other questions, let us move on."

"Wait." Hunter spoke up for the first time. "If my brother's soul has been taken like you said, then how is it he's still breathing? Why isn't he a vegetable or something?"

"Ah yes, that. Well, contrary to popular belief, humans do not come with souls at birth. Souls come later, when humans begin to know the difference between right and wrong, and can thereby choose for themselves what their soul will look like. It usually happens around the age of 5 or so. The human body becomes adapted to their soul rather quickly, and if it is taken from them, they will revert to the state they were in before they first received it. The loss of a soul is too much for the mind to handle otherwise." Hades looked down his nose at Hunter, and an emotion somewhat like pity, passed quickly over his fine features.

"So what's next for us?" I asked after an awkward pause.

"For you, Olivia, you will need to see your family and learn as much about your history as you can. Then, tomorrow evening at midnight, I will send transport to take you to Pan's realm. We call it The Land of Nevers, because most who venture there of late, will never return. In your realm, I believe it's known simply as Neverland."

"What kind of transport are you sending me?" I couldn't help but ask, even though my mind was filling in the blanks of the familiar story that I thought I knew so well, and dread was pooling in my stomach.

Hades chuckled slightly at my obvious trepidation. "I'm sending you a ferryman of sort. He can get you in, and hopefully out of Pan's realm without trouble."

"He wouldn't happen to have a hook for a hand, would he?" I sighed tiredly.

Hades looked surprised. "No, why would one ask that? His name is Charon- perhaps you've studied him?."

"Yeah, well, in this 'realm', the only ferryman type in Pan's story is called Captain Hook. And he's supposed to be the bad guy. You're certain he won't harm me?"

"Of course not." Hades looked affronted. "I wish you no harm, Olivia Darling. You are my only hope."

"I'm going with her." Hunter spoke up again, staring up at Hades determinedly.

"Very well. I can't be bothered to stop you. But if you hinder Olivia's mission in any way, I will stop you, understood?"

Hunter nodded.

"I shall tell the captain to expect 2 passengers tomorrow evening. You must leave the lost one here; travel in Pan's realm will only aggravate his condition. The captain will find you wherever you may be tomorrow at midnight." Hades bent and placed something in my palm. "Until the next time we meet."

Then he was gone, in another swirl of black dust. Hunter looked at me, and I looked down at my hand. Hades had given me 2 small coins, that I supposed were for us to pay Hook.

"What do we do now?" He asked.

"Now, we go see my mom. She must know something about the curse, and we can get her to keep an eye on Harlan for us."