"Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace." –Eugene O'Neill
***
Peter could not be more dismayed. The Lost Boys absolutely suck at archery.
"Keep your bow straight!" Peter yells. "Tilting won't get you anywhere." Out of the ten targets he made on the trees, only Devin has been able to hit one. And he hit the outermost ring. "Break!"
The Lost Boys depart. Peter takes a bow up for himself and shoots the arrow, hitting the middle dead on. He smirks. That shipment for him had come today. The arrows are the best in the business with a two hundred yard range and titanium heads. With whip-cracking leadership, Peter will make the Lost Boys the best archers in the universe.
"I wonder if that girl is dead," someone says. Peter frowns; Elly Ender is a usual topic of interest to the Lost Boys, even after all this time. It annoys him astronomically.
Devin scoffs. "There's no way she could've lived. Let's just hope we don't stumble on her body one day. That'd be messy."
"We've never banished someone before, though," Felix points out. "She could've made it."
Peter laughs and joins the conversation. "The only way she could've made it is if she had conviction. I only talked to her for five minutes, and I knew that was something she lacked. She's dead, boys; and I don't care. The next one to bring her up gets a beating."
***
Magic is the only thing that is giving Elly trouble on this island. She has it, but she can't control it. Yet. She tries every day. She won't give up. Getting her shadow off her heels is the closest to magic she's gotten. As for making things grow or levitate, she's basically a novice. She's managed to learn that magic takes concentration and faith in herself, but she's still missing some elements.
Unfortunately, there's no one who can teach her, not even one of the merchants. No one knows magic except for Pan and the Lost Boys, who she can't exactly ask for help unless she wants to be hung. The thought of seeing any of them again makes Elly nervous. Would they kill her just for surviving? Knowing Pan and seeing his nonchalant display of his murders when she first got here, she's willing to bet on it. That's why she reaches this conclusion: if they find her again, so be it, but she will not go gallivanting over to their side willingly.
A crashing noise and the rustling of leaves catches Elly's attention. The water she'd been manipulating drops, and she spins on the spot, drawing her bow and aiming it at the moving bush. Muffled swearing emerges from the damp leaves.
She lowers her weapon upon seeing that her shadow has returned. That means it brought someone; that also means it dropped that someone.
Elly approaches the bush, still alert, and reaches it just as a girl steps out. She looks disheveled and lost, much like Elly imagined she looked on her first day of Neverland. The girl sports short, blonde, pixie hair with deep green eyes and a very wide smile. Her tan tank top matches green cargo shorts and brown combat boots. She looks explorer ready.
"Where am I?" Her voice is calm, as if she appears on random islands for a living.
"Neverland," Elly says with a smile. "Welcome."
The girl's eyes widen even more. "Neverland! I thought it was a myth! Sweet!"
"I'm Elly Ender," Elly says, extending her hand for the girl to take.
"They call me Joy Hyatt," she replies, taking Elly's hand, "but I prefer Bubbles."
"That's fitting," Elly responds, then notices something in her hand. "What's that?"
Bubbles raises the instrument in her hand. "I'm a fiddler. I grabbed it before I came with your shadow. Yes, I came willingly. I've read up on Neverland; I know how the transportation tends to work."
Elly grins. She had specifically instructed her shadow to only take those willing to come. No one would be forced to come, and no one would be expected to stay after Elly explains her plans. "Fiddle away. But first, I have a proposition for you."
Bubbles squeals. "Five minutes here, and someone's already recruiting me! What you got?"
"On the other side of this island, there's a boy—man—creature—person by the name of Peter Pan. He has a crew of boys called the Lost Boys. I don't want to take them down or anything, but I want a team of my own. You game?"
"Definitely!" Bubbles gets very excited, rushing up to Elly and shaking her shoulders. "That sounds so amazing! I've been island hopping with my family all my life, but now I get to do something new! Yes! Let's do it. Do you have a base?"
"I have a shelter, and it's pretty top-notch. I think it'll do." Elly starts off towards her treehouse shelter, and Bubbles follows enthusiastically.
"Am I the first member?" she asks.
"Yep," Elly replies.
"Sweet! Let's take these boys down."
Elly stops. "That's not the point of this. I just want to show him that I survived, and that he's not the only one who can assemble a team and flourish. That, and it's been a year since I've talked to anyone besides merchants. It gets lonely."
"That's even better," Bubbles says.
"I'm not rushing to see him or anything, either. Whenever we meet again, I think he'll be unpleasantly surprised." Elly smirks. "You said you've lived on an island before?"
"My whole life!" Bubbles exclaims. "But I love it. It's always a great experience."
"Does that mean you're familiar with simple island-living techniques? Making fires, getting game, storing food, finding water, all that?"
"Hell yes," Bubbles says with a clap. "I live for it. And if a day comes where we have to fight for our side of the island, I'll be ready."
Only then does Elly notice the staff strapped to her back. "I think we'll make a great team."
"I hope so! But I think we might want some more recruits..."
Elly nods. "My shadow is on it."
Bubbles toys around with her fiddle as they stop at the base of the tree that holds Elly's shelter. "Is this Pan guy dangerous?"
"Only if he catches you. Otherwise, he's nothing but an arrogant child."
YOU ARE READING
Grim (A Peter Pan Fanfic)
FanfictionNo one on Neverland is permitted to leave, even someone as repulsing to the Lost Boys as a girl. So Elly is going to have to survive the island that bites back...and then some. Hook is planning his most deadly strike yet; will the Lost Boys and Elly...
