Angel (Peter Pan Fanfic)

The Cage and the Cold

A loud gasp filled the void of numb silence that surrounded Lyla as her eyes shot open. She moved into sitting position, hugging her knees as terror still consumed her from yet another nightmare. It was the same one she had last night.

Lyla Amaranth quickly distracted herself from her fear by taking in her environment. She had woken up to dim sunlight filtered through ample foliage. Lyla guessed it must've been by the way the diluted soft light barely penetrated the forest and dappled the ground. It gave the emerald green forest around her a cool, ethereal sort of mist of light. It bothered teenage girl quite a bit that it was so dark all the time in Neverland, but at times like this, she found it quite beautiful. But it still bothered her.

It also bothered the teen girl that something so beautiful could be so dangerous. That the forest looked so beautiful and other-worldly yet inside it held nasty plants and creatures that could kill her violently. Creatures like like Michael. Creatures like Pan... he bothered her to no end. The way that he could be so charming and boyish but the slightest of mishaps would cause that composure to slip and reveal what he truly was. A demon.

Lyla turned her attention back to her situation. She scowled, remembering that she was nestled high in a makeshift bamboo cage for 'attempting to escape'. The teen kicked herself over that. How could she have been so stupid? She knew that Pan was aware of everything the island and that running to get away from her nightmares would surely look like an escape attempt. I'm such an idiot...

The sun rose and set and Lyla didn't see a single person that day. Night had fallen and no one brought her food or water and she was beginning to feel very light headed and weak. Not to mention sore as she saw the after effects of Pan's rage form dark purple bruises on her wrists and arms. Monster... she thought as she hissed in pain from pressing on one of the bruises. The girl also had a collection of scrapes and cuts that stung from last night along with incredibly bloody and beaten feet from running in the forest.And combine those with her previous somewhat fading bruises from Michael... All together, Lyla was in bad shape and she blamed Pan, but mostly herself.

Throughout the day Lyla swore she tried 100 different ways to get out of her wretched cage but nothing worked and she was forced to give up. It was probably sealed with magic. With nothing to do, the girl just had to sit in her cage and think. While she could never be bored with her imagination, it was a dangerous thing for Lyla to have nothing to do but be left alone with her thoughts. Most of the time she was able to distract herself from her self-destructive mind, but when she couldn't...... well an onslaught of depression, anxiety, self-doubt, etc. would begin to creep in.

This is exactly what was happening. Lyla leaned her back and head against the side of the cage peering outside of her cage, but unable to see anything in the pitch black night. She couldn't force herself to sleep just yet, knowing that she would suffer through another nightmare. Alone with her thoughts, the melancholy and sorrow began seep in along with a familiar, heavy weight in her chest. Lyla couldn't control the dark thoughts and emotions that washed over and settled like a bad taste stuck to the roof of your mouth. She looked at her life... how she'd always been alone, abandoned by her father, unloved by her always drunk mother, never fitting in with the other children, never feeling wanted, important, or loved. A barrage of similar thoughts continued to make Lyla's head ache. Maybe I really am a lost girl...

But Lyla had known that for a while. When it had gotten too bad at a few points she'd almost given up. But she always had just a sliver hope. Hope that maybe soon she'll find something life-fulfilling. Something that made her happy. Something that didn't make her dread waking up everyday and dread falling asleep. She had held onto that hope and through all the years she had searched, she still hadn't found a thing. She was still a poor little Lost girl, afraid and alone with no one to care about her.