Sunset on Neverland

Chapter 9

Hook and I returned all the stolen items to the people on the island. Cinderella was ecstatic, and so was Aladdin. Snow White realized that she could go back and get her prince.

The princesses invited me for tea today. So I went over to their little hut on the edge of the island and knocked at their door.

"Zoe, darling!" Cinderella greeted me with a great big hug.

"How do you do," Snow White curtsied and then joined in on the hug.

"Hi guys," I greeted, and we all sat down on the table on their porch.

"Tea?" Cinderella asked.

I nodded and the princess poured her tea in my cup. We proceeded to relax and talk about everything that's happened.

"Snow and I just wanted to thank you again, for bringing back my shoe and for letting us know the truth." Cinderella said in between bites of her finger sandwiches.

"No problem," I answered, sipping my tea.

"We're sorry that you didn't get to achieve what you wanted to," Snow said between sips of her tea.

"Oh no, it's fine. It's been an adventure," I replied.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Snow asked.

"Are you going to go back to the 'other world'?" Cinderella added.

"I can't go back. The only one who really knows the way is Peter, and Hook can't make the ship fly without him. And you know how Peter is currently. He can't even fly himself. Besides I like it here," I responded.

Cinderella widened her eyes and smiled. "That's right! You and Hook have a thing!"

The princesses proceeded to giggle.

"How is everything going between you and the crook of the seas?" Snow questioned.

I chuckled. "Everything is amazing. I really like him. He's one of the most amazing people I know. He's not a bad guy, like everyone makes him out to be."

Snow sighed happily,"That sounds lovely."

"You guys seem really happy together," Cinderella added on. "Everyone's finding their princes."

We all nodded and giggled.

It was late in the afternoon when Hook came by the hut.

"Good afternoon, ladies," he greeted.

I ran up to him and hugged him. In return he kissed me.

"Hello Hook," Cinderella greeted.

Snow dipped her head in greeting and hook bowed back.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to be stealing Zoe away from you ladies." He smirked and put his arm around me.

"Of course you have to take one of the few people we actually like," Cinderella said as she rolled her eyes.

"I only steal treasure," he grinned and pecked me on the cheek. I blushed in response.

We started walking away after Hook called out a "have a good evening," to the princesses I've come to know.

Hook held my hand as we walked along the shore. Waves licked our feet. The cold water sent shivers through my body with every step.

The scene seemed all too familiar. The clear water, the white sand, and the seagulls crying in the distance. The only difference is that the yellow/pink tint of the sunset painted Neverland.

"This is beautiful," I murmured as I stared out into the ocean.

Half of the sun was visible over the horizon. The strong light reflected over the waves in the distance. I don't have any other way to describe how I felt than, calm.

"It really is beautiful. There's nothing like a sunset on Neverland. But it's not as beautiful as you." Hook said as he put his hand up to my cheek. We had stopped to enjoy the scenery.

Hook and I just stared at each other. Over the past days I had gotten to know my pirate better than myself. I loved being with him, and I know he loved being with me. I could feel it.

I stared into his deep turquoise eyes, capturing every feeling I felt for him reflected back at me. And I guess for the first time in this whole adventure, I felt closure. I was comfortable, ready, for something.

"I love you."

Hook took the words right out of my mouth.

"I love you," I said as my voice almost broke, the calmness slipping away.

"Sit." Hook demanded.

I did as I was told and he joined me and kissed me. I felt like it was the last time I was going to feel his lips on mine, the last time I was going to see those sea-blue eyes. I looked back at the sunset. Calm rose over me once more.

Once we broke apart I just breathed in, smelling the sea, grasping the sand and staring out into the ocean.

"I wanted to show you something." Hook said as he pulled out a black frame from his pirate coat.

"I feel like you arrived here to accomplish something. And that was to figure out was the hell was going on with Wendy. Although she's an evil lady, she's done something good. She's brought us together."

I tightened my grasp on the sand.

"I feel like you need to see her. Maybe you'll get some sort of comfort off of it."

I put my head on Hooks shoulder and prepared for Wendy to finally face me.

Hook turned over the picture frame. The girl that met me was not what I expected. I was put into shock. I could see her golden locks through the black and white photo I could see the familiar gray eyes staring into me. My heart tightened, my arms buckled. I stared at Hook and his eyes one more time. And before I what felt like my heart stopping, I took one last look at the sunset on Neverland.

Except I wasn't dead. And it didn't smell like ocean anymore.