Second Star to the Right

Chapter Four: Baelfire

"Magic destroyed my family."

~Baelfire, "Once Upon A Time", Episode 2x21

Chapter Four: Baelfire

Wendy plummeted toward the water. 

"Happy thought!" Pan yelled. Wendy thought quickly about her brothers, John and Michael. She closed her eyes and pictured their faces. Wendy stopped falling just inches from the water. She opened her eyes, and saw that she was floating in mid air. 

"Peter, I did it!" She yelled up to him, and flew into the air. She swirled around a few times and Pan grabbed her hand. 

"I knew you could," he smiled, then quickley turned away. "I should get you home, it is getting late." Pan said, then pulled Wendy back down to the cliff. They landed softly on the ground.  

"I don't want to go home. I want to stay here.There is no magic in London." Wendy protested, and pulled away from Pan. She walked to the edge of the cliff, and prepared to fly again. Pan gripped her arm and yanked her around. Wendy gasped. 

"You can't stay here. The island is dangerous." Pan said as he glared into her eyes. "There is so much that you don't know." Wendy tried to get away, but Pan wouldn't let go. Wendy sighed. 

"Promise me this," She began, "I'll go home if you send the shadow to bring me back tomorrow night, and every night afterwards." Pan hesitated. If he agreed, he could continue to test her. Also, something about her intrigued him. He had never met someone like her before. 

"Fine. Not every night, but at the least once a week." Pan offered. He released Wendy's arm, and she rubbed where he had left a mark. Pan stuck out his hand to shake. "Do we have a deal, Wendy Darling?" 

"Deal." Wendy agreed and shook his hand. Pan smirked. "Wait a second, how do I know that you aren't lying to me?" Pan rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small metal thimble. 

"Here, my lucky charm. I'll be needing it back, so I'll have to see you again." He said. Wendy nodded and took the thimble. She clutched on to it with all of her might.

"SHADOW!" Pan yelled. The wind blew and Wendy's hair flew back. The shadow grabbed Wendy's hand and lifted her into the air. Pan waved as Wendy flew off into the sky. 

Something rustled behind Pan and walked into the clearing. Pan didn't turn around or flinch. 

"Hello, Felix," Pan greeted as the hooded figure walked up behind him. "Did you see anything you like?" Pan laughed. 

"What are you doing, Pan? You can't bring her back." Felix replied.

"You don't believe she's the one we're looking for?" Pan asked, still looking into the sky.

"I have my doubts," Felix replied, then began to walk away. He stopped just before the tree line. "I just want to make sure that your head is in the right place, Pan." Then, Felix disappeared into the darkness. 

 *********

Wendy awoke the next morning while John and Michael were still sleeping. She didn't want to wake them up, so she decided to get ready and see if her parents were awake. Wendy picked out her favorite dress, and brushed out her long hair. She finished it off with a white bow, the same color as her dress. She laced up her shoes, and merrily walked down the stairs, without a care in the world. 

Suddenly, the events of the previous night hit her. She remembered nearly drowning, the confrontation with the mermaid, meeting the lost boys, and flying. Most of all, she remembered Peter Pan. 

It couldn't have been a dream. It had felt so real. Her feet were sore from running, and before she washed herself, she was covered in dirt. Wendy had to find proof, though. She turned up the stairs and tip toed back into the nursery. Michael and John were still sleeping. Wendy quietly walked over to her bed and reached under her pillow. 

Her hand touched something small, cold, and metallic. Wendy pulled out a thimble, and smiled to herself. She still had it. Wendy placed it back under her pillow for safe keeping. 

Suddenly, she heard someone walking downstairs. She decided that it was her parents, so she walked back down the stairs and towards the parlor. She stopped abruptly outside of her parents' door. Her dad was snoring. She opened the door just a crack, and peeked in. Her parents were sound asleep. Wendy closed the door.

"It's just the maid." Wendy whispered to herself. No, that couldn't be. It was Sunday. The servants had Sunday off. Nana barked. Wendy ran into the parlor, grabbed a small statue, and faced her intruder.

*********

A young boy rummaged through the garbage outside of the Darling's house. It was ealry in the morning, but the sun was shining brightly. A smell reached the boy's nose, and he greedily reached further into the trash can. His hand pulled out a rotten apple core, and sadly tossed it aside. 

The boy looked around the busy London street. Suddenly, he noticed that the first floor window of the Darling's house was wide open. He looked left, then right. Once the coast was clear, the boy sprinted across the street and jumped through the window. 

The house was huge, and elegant. The boy took a moment to look around, and then he smelled food. Not just any food, he smelled bread. It was probably still warm. The boy ran straight towards the table at the end of the room, and stared at the platter with three loaves of freshly baked bread in front of him. He couldn't resist. Baelfire dug his hands in and ate like a savage.

Right then, the dog that had been hiding under the table jumped out and barked at the boy. 

"STOP!" A young girl yelled at him as she gripped a small stature. "Who are you? What do you want?" She asked, ready to attack. 

"P-please, I don't mean any harm; I was just-" The boy pointed to the bread, and stopped talking. He had been caught. The girl looked at his sad and tired face. He was dirty, and looked like he had been living on the streets. 

"Oh," the girl said, lowering the statue. "You're hungry." She walked over to the table and put down the statue. She picked up the tray and held it out to the boy. "Here, have as much as you'd like." She said, and stared into the boy's eyes. She could tell that he was lonely, and wouldn't hurt her. He was just about the same age. 

"Really?" The boy asked.

"Well, I'm not about to let you starve to death," she laughed. She smiled at the boy. "What's your name?"

"Bae." 

"Bae?" the girl paused. "How unusual..." She looked at the boy again. "I'm Wendy, Wendy Darling."  Bae smiled at her. 

"Thank you, Wendy," Bae said. He still had not taken another bite. Wendy laughed again.

"Well, Bae, are you going to let this go cold?" Bae laughed and shook his head. Wendy went into the kitchen and grabbed an old rice sack. She placed the loves of bread inside, along with a few apples. She tied the bag off, then returned to the parlor. 

"Here you go." Wendy handed Bae the bag. Bae took it and thanked her again. He began to leave, and stepped out the window. Wendy walked over to the window and watched him walk away. "Bae!" She yelled out the window, then climbed out and ran after him. She caught him in the middle of the street. 

"Yes, Wendy?" Bae asked, looking into her eyes.

"Will I ever see you again?" Wendy asked. 

"Maybe," Bae grinned, and then ran away. Wendy watched him run until he disappeared into the crowd.