Straight On Til Morning

Chapter 7: Birthright

My mom placed the box gently down on the table.

“This is Olivia’s birthright. Hopefully it’ll help.”

She eased the lid open, and both Hunter and I leaned forward to get a closer look.

Inside were a strange assortment of items. An acorn threaded on a piece of leather cording next to a rusting thimble. Leaves, feathers, and seashells littered the bottom of the box. A bottle of dirt lay tucked in the corner. Sitting in the middle of all the strange debris, was the pièce de résistance- a crude, seemingly handmade stone and wood dagger.

“What is all this junk?” I couldn’t help but ask.

None of this seemed very helpful. I had hoped my birthright might be something more along the lines of a guidebook to killing Pan or something. Apparently, I got dirt, and a rather horribly made dagger.

“All of these things came from Neverland, Olivia. Don’t you remember the acorn and thimble kiss from Barrie’s version of the story? That bit was close to the truth at least.”

“No, mom! I don’t remember these things- don’t you remember in high school when we were asked to read Peter Pan, you protested and made my teacher assign me a different book? I had to write a ten page research paper on Pilgrim’s Progress! I didn’t even see the Disney movie until I was 16- and even then, I hid it from you. I always thought you thought it was evil or something, but that didn’t really make sense. Now, I guess I know better.”

“Oh.” My mom crumpled for a moment, looking heartbroken for me, which in turn, made me feel heartbroken and helpless too. “I’m so sorry, honey. I was only trying to keep you safe.”

“I know, Mom. I’m sorry too. But we can’t change the past. So let’s move on to the present. Tell us what all this stuff is, and how you think it can help us defeat Pan.” I reached across the table and briefly squeezed her hand.

My mom closed her eyes for a moment, as though trying to remember something long forgotten. She waved her hands over the box, deciding which item to pull out first. She started with the small glass bottle of dirt.

“This is pixie dust.”

“Looks like regular dust, are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure. See the faint sparkles? Once you have it back in Neverland again, you should be able to use it just fine- as long as you believe. I was always told that it can be used for lots of things. But since there’s so little, I would suggest only using it in a dire emergency. And don’t befriend the pixies; they’re sneaky little spies.”

Next, she pulled out the acorn and the thimble. “These were symbolic of the first kiss shared between Wendy and Pan. When Wendy fled the island, she stole the thimble that she had traded for an acorn from Pan. They exchanged them when they kissed. Pan thought she was going to stay with him until she died, or he tired of her, as all his other mortal women did, but Wendy saw his true nature and ran. Her great love for her family is what allowed her to return home, and I want you to take these, and remember I will be waiting here for you. As will Harlan.” She paused to catch her breath for a moment, before pulling out the dagger.

“This is Pan’s own dagger. Wendy stole it, thinking to protect herself if he came after her. As far as I know, she never needed to. He bided his time, all the while growing more childish and  intolerant. Now, it’s my suspicion that this dagger may be the only thing that can kill Pan. I don’t know that for sure, but the Greeks seemed to like that sort of irony. It’s worth a shot, unless you get knowledge of a surefire way from someone else.”

She passed the items over into my waiting hands. I slipped the acorn around my neck, and handed the thimble and pixie dust to Hunter to keep safe. I hefted the weight of the dagger in my hand and wondered if I could really do this. I had no choice in the matter though; one way or another, I was going to restore my boyfriend’s soul. I had to do this.