Grim (A Peter Pan Fanfic)

Chapter 20: The Gold Children

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." –Roald Dahl

***

When Elly wakes up, all she remembers is the snapping sound of the rope. Upon opening her eyes, she realizes she's not in her shelter, but the Lost Boys'. Looking around, the Wayward Women are all there, too, in their own beds. Bubbles is the only one awake.

"What happened?" she asks, apparently surprising Bubbles as she jumps and drops her fiddle and bow.

"Elly!" She moves over to Elly's bed, sitting in front of her with an anxious expression glowing on her features. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, but what happened?" she repeats eagerly. "Did Hook get Peter?"

Bubbles shakes her head. "No, your arrow hit Hook in the abdomen. I'll be surprised if he's still alive. As soon as Hook was maimed, all of his creatures disappeared, just dissolved into thin air. From what I saw, someone threw some gold sparkles at you; it slowed your fall by a lot, so your injuries are only minor. You still hit the ground, but not nearly as hard as you should've."

"Pixie dust," Elly realizes and wonders who threw it.

"Peter is in bad shape, though," Bubbles continues gravely, keeping her voice a whisper so as not to wake the others. "Before Hook could pass out, he stabbed Peter in almost the same spot your arrow hit. It was bad; I watched the whole thing in slow motion; it was awful."

"Will he make it?" Elly asks.

"Hard to say."

"Where is he? I'm going to see him." Elly climbs out of the makeshift cot. She pulls on her boots and sets off down the hall towards Peter's room, ignoring Bubbles' protests that she needs rest. Elly doesn't even bother knocking. Felix is the only one there, watching over Peter's bed like some guardian angel.

"It's bad, Ells," Felix says quietly. "I think he'll make it, but I really don't know. He's fluctuated over the past few hours. Better, worse. I dunno. All we can do is wait for him to wake up."

Felix appears more worried than she is. Elly takes a seat next to him, rubbing his shoulder and telling him to get some sleep. Felix just shakes his head. So they wait together, hoping that the storm will pass. Felix does get some shut eye eventually, telling her to come get him if Peter wakes.

Elly waits, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. She closes her eyes. Peter banished her, intended for her to die on Neverland, and now, she's sitting by his bedside, praying to whatever god is out there that he'll be alright. It's messed up, isn't it? Elly isn't sure. Emotions change, after all. One could say they just started off on the wrong foot. As long as Peter doesn't pull anything like that again, she thinks they'll remain whatever they are.

Elly opens her eyes to the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. The girls are all awake and have come to see her, perhaps to wait with her, perhaps to offer reassurances. Most of their injuries are juvenile, nothing that will slow them down. Cuts and bruises, scrapes and scratches.

"He'll be okay, Deadshot," Menthol says. "If Devin can survive a werewolf bite, Peter can take a swing from Hook."

"Is he a werewolf now?" Joro asks, off topic. Menthol nods solemnly.

"Elly, we came in here to ask you what we should do," Sahara says, steering the conversation back on track.

Elly can only shrug. "I mean, what is there to do? If you're bored, maybe search the island? Make sure other creatures haven't sprung up and started roaming? If I were you, I would call it a day and go back to the shelter, sleep in, eat, recover. You guys deserve it."

Sahara smiles the biggest. Cyanide says, "We'll stay here. Some of the other Lost Boys are in bad shape. We should help them if we can. Maybe after everyone is alright again, we'll find our way to the shelter."

"Do what you feel," Elly says. "You know where I'll be."

They nod and start for the door. Bubbles squeezes Elly's shoulder. "We love you, Ells."

"I know. I love you guys, too. I couldn't've asked for a better group of companions."

"Ditto," Joro says. "See you later."

Once they're gone, Elly turns her head to see Peter's eyes open and a smile on his pale face. He sits up as Elly makes her way over, cringing at the pain but sucking it up until he's upright.

"Girls are so sentimental," he mutters, taking her hand.

Elly raises her eyebrows. "Don't make me give you a speech about feminism right when you've woken up. Guys can be sentimental, too. That's all I'll say." You should've seen Felix earlier. "How do you feel?"

Peter shrugs. "Happens. I'll heal. How bad is it?"

"Felix said you had a mild concussion; the stab wound isn't too deep; it should heal quickly."

Peter plays with the wrappings around his stomach almost absentmindedly. "What about you? I saw you fall."

"Someone threw pixie dust at me," Elly tells him. "It slowed my fall; I'm fine."

Peter smiles. "Felix. He always carries it around. What about Hook? Did you kill him?"

"We don't know. From what I've heard, everyone rushed to get out; I think we just left him. I'd be surprised if he lived. Either way, the creatures are gone. The island is back to normal."

"For now." Peter swings his legs over the side of the bed to kick his shoes off. He sighs. "I'm so tired. Why am I sleepy?"

Elly laughs shortly. "Because Felix gave you a dose of sleeping medicine, and you just fought your heart out for Neverland. Go to sleep. But take these first, for the pain." Peter swallows the three pills without water. "Now sleep."

"Wait." Peter faces Elly, suddenly becoming serious. "We both almost died today, last night, whenever, I don't know what time it is, but my point is that we didn't. And it's because we trained fantastic groups of soldiers to defend this island." His hand finds Elly's cheek. "I'm glad you didn't die, and I'm sorry for giving you the chance to. You'll never go a day without hearing me apologize. But I'm glad we're not enemies anymore." Peter leans in; Elly meets him halfway. She can almost taste the fatigue on his lips and tongue. She pulls away.

"Go to sleep," she repeats, helping him lay down and kissing his forehead. "Felix will be here when you wake up, as well as your shadow. You know where to find me when you need me. On my side of the island."

"This whole island belongs to you, Ells," Peter mutters. "The whole damn thing is yours...I'll see you when my shadow wakes me up, and this time, I'll be ecstatic that he brought you here."