Grim (A Peter Pan Fanfic)

Chapter 15: The Riddle

"That's how it is with legends. The greater they sound, the more must've got left out." –Tim Thorp

***

            "Come again?" Bubbles asks. "He's waking things up?"

            Peter nods, putting his flute away. "Gather everyone. They all need to hear this."

            Once all of the Lost Boys and the Wayward Women (excluding Devin and Menthol) are in the living area, Peter starts the tale.

            "Before Neverland was Neverland, it was a prison. Creatures from all over were sent here to recompense for their wrongs. Most of them died here; none of them made it off. One of the sorcerers that was sentenced here cast a spell on the island. It called for a dream sleep that would last until someone came around at the right time to wake them. It would be a time when they were needed; a time that they could escape their past lives of felony. Hook's shadow is that someone, and he needs them to get rid of us. We're in the way of their future."

            "Why doesn't Hook just grow a pair and come fight us himself?" Sahara snaps. Some of the boys cheer; Elly feels herself smirk.

            "That's how villains operate," Joro says. "They get others to do their dirty work for them."

            "I've fought Hook before," Peter reveals. "He wants the island to himself, so he wants to make sure he doesn't die in battle."

            "He's going down either way," Felix exclaims. This earns more cheering from both sides.

            "Wait, what kind of creatures are sleeping here?" Elly asks, a slightly nervous expression spreading across her face. "Are we talking, like, fairytale-fairytale?"

            Peter shrugs and nods. "Normal, fairytale creatures. You know: vampires, werewolves, redcaps, sorcerers, witches, demigods, sirens, and just about any other one."

            "Great. I doubt that eighteen of us is going to be enough to fight however many of them there are," Cyanide says. 

            "Where exactly are these creatures? As in, where will they be when they wake up?" Bubbles asks as she absentmindedly fiddles with her staff.

            "Wherever they fell asleep. The island absorbed them underground after a while, but they'll reappear right where they were," Peter explains.

            "So we need to hurry," Felix adds, "before Hook can wake up something even more dangerous than a werewolf."

            "How long do you think we have?" Elly asks Peter.

            "I'd say a week. Maybe ten days."

            Elly nods. "From now on, none of my girls leave this place alone or unarmed. Understood?" The Wayward Women agree.

            "Same goes for the Lost Boys," Peter says.

            Menthol returns from upstairs.

            "How is he?" one of the Lost Boys asks.

            "Fine," she says. "Completely passed out, but he'll make it."

            "Will he be a werewolf?" Peter asks seriously.

            "We can't know until the next full moon," Menthol replies.

            Anxious silence ensues until Elly says, "I don't feel comfortable letting you leave here in the dark with a werewolf running around. You can stay until morning. There should be enough room if you all double up. Any door that is open is free to take."

            They all nod, muttering thanks. Elly goes to the kitchen for a glass of water. She feels a headache coming and hopes it's because of slight dehydration. Gazing out the window, she sees the ocean crashing around the island. What other dangers lie out there waiting? Will they even survive the one that's looming over their heads? She's always believed in fairytales, but now that she has to be the protagonist and conquer a world of her own, she's not sure it'll be as easy as the books make it seem.

            "Have you ever been homesick?" a voice asks.

            Elly turns her head. Peter sits at the island in the center, waiting for an answer. She turns back to the window. "Every day."

            Peter stands and shoves his hands in his pockets, moving forward to share her gaze. "It's my fault. I banished you. I should've sent you back."

            "If you'd've done that, I wouldn't have saved those other girls from their disenchanting lives," Elly says quietly. "I wouldn't've become who I am today if it wasn't for you. I'd still be the weak, ignorant girl I was back in Romania, who thought that she was better than everyone else. I'm glad to have changed."

            "If all of this blows over, and we all live, I promise to let you go," Peter says. "Or at least visit. Whatever you choose, I'll help you."

            Elly notices that she's not the only one who's changed. Peter went from an arrogant, selfish kid with the ambition to crush her group to a more mature, leadership-oriented guy, who understands that she's homesick despite never feeling it himself. Elly can only hope that he stays this way.

            Elly starts to leave, but before she does, she leans in and kisses Peter's cheek softly, squeezing his hand once before going to her room for what will probably be her last goodnight's sleep.