Neverland, Wiser Than Us All

The Girl of All Work

On this particular morning the warm wind chuckled, and Neverland felt very pleased with itself. Its Peter was everything the star had hoped. Wiser and more loving than any 17 year old before. Proving himself worthy of the title Prince of Neverland. Neverland smiled to itself. Its Peter called himself the king, but there was a lot more involved in that title than the boy realized. And the star, wiser than us all, knew about kings.
But, seeing more than us all, Neverland saw that Captain Hook roamed closer to the shore, and was solid more often than ever before. Yes, it was time to bring Peter closer to becoming a man.
Peter Pan was uncharacteristically disgruntled at being woken so early in the morning. His two smallest boys had nightmares, and he had one in each arm, and had been rocking them for hours. Finally they had quieted and Peter's head dropped against the wall behind him. So when the tinkle of bells reached his ears, he was very carefully pretending he didn't hear it.
The warm breeze chuckled its bells slightly and blew harder over his nose and through his hair. Peter Pan grunted and turned away. Causing the star to pulse the rising sun slightly in amusement. Neverland called in reinforcements.
Birds flew up to the roof of the treehouse and started squawking, not singing, loudly. The elephants called, his dragon moaned loudly at being disturbed. Hedgehogs and groundhogs came to chirrup at the door. Bears gathered at the base of the tree and called out to him, the growl of a panther following suit. Horses neighed and Nessies bellowed.
Peter opened his eyes and glared at the door, and then up to the sky, "Fine, I'm awake!" though he said it in his softest voice. The creatures outside quieted but those at his door glared in at him. The 2,040 year old boy chuckled softly, laying his youngest boys on the ground, and placing a blanket over each of them. He kissed each on the forehead, and stretched long and hard. Cracking more than a 17 year old should.
Miraculously his boys had slept through the noise, and he rolled his eyes lovingly, thinking "Ah, to be young again." smiling at his own joke.
Pan turned toward the door again, his eyes now twinkling, none of the small crawling and slithering animals having moved. Peter laughed quietly again, "At ease." He said, saluting them. None of the animals eased or seemed amused. "I'm up, I'm up. Don't get your fur in knots. I'm coming."
He stepped carefully over the mess of small animals, and looked around him. He threw up his hands in exasperation. Below him were bears, and large cats, trolls, gnomes, horses, and all manner of large mammals. There was even a very young fawn. All looking up at him disapprovingly. Peter put his fists on his hips, returning their stern looks. "This is ridiculous! I was just sleeping! I am allowed to sleep. You don't hear me coming to wake you up from well deserved rest!" He then turned his eyes to the sky, trying to keep his stern look. But as the breeze tickled his face and he felt the love of the early morning sun on his cheeks, he smiled softly. "Alright, you win." He sighed, but gave the sky one last smile before looking down.
"You're lucky the King," the breeze blew sternly, correcting him. Peter batted at it playfully, "Alright, Prince," He emphasized the word, "Is feeling lenient today. Or else you would all be in serious trouble." None of the animals seemed very intimidated.
Peter's eyes twinkled and he hopped down a couple branches and landed on a horse's back, nudging him forward with his toes. The horse gave him one last stern look before walking forward slowly. Little Bell's call became more urgent.
As they walked, the animals of the forest followed behind. "Oh come on!" Peter huffed. "I'm going, see?"
The animals no longer looked stern, however, but curious. The trolls, gnomes and other creatures of legend joined them, following in this very solemn assembly. It unsettled Peter a little bit, but mostly he was curious. He could feel it too, something was about to happen. This early morning in Neverland felt significant.
When they reached the glade where the pool was, Peter dismounted and walked forward, the animals only following a few steps in before stopping. Little Bell floated towards Peter from above the pool and bobbed a soft hello, with the even softer tinkle of bells. The 2,040 year old boy nodded back.
All was still. Peter waited patiently for a while, but, being who he was, began to fidget a bit. He looked up to the sky, and for a lack of a better idea, said softly, "I'm ready now."
The warm wind ruffled his hair lightly, and he walked to the edge of the pool. The wind changed direction and rippled the glass surface of the water. Peter held his breath, as nothing appeared at first.
Then, there she was. She was...beautiful. That's all Peter could think as his jaw went slightly slack. She had large blue eyes, and a pointed chin. Her skin was pale, but had the pink flush of hard work. Her hair reached to her hip bones, and was slightly curled. Her hair, he couldn't look away, it was shimmering blond, with just a kiss of strawberry red.
"Yes, your grace." Peter had never heard any sound so beautiful, it was a low bell, so sure of itself. "I'm sorry, ma'am. There was an accident in the kitchen, it will be..." Crack! The back of a hand connected with the girl's face.
To her credit, the girl didn't fall. She didn't drop the tray she was holding either. The hand had been wearing a ring, and there was a cut on her cheek, a welt starting to swell underneath. The beautiful girl dropped her eyes and bowed slightly.
The scene zoomed out so they could see a large stone room, draped in luxurious fabric. There was a woman only a few years older than the girl crossing her arms, staring down her nose at her, a twisted grin on her face. Peter's gut wrenched. Recognizing that look from the many the Nandia and the people in his village had given him.
Peter's anger filled his heart, and the cold wind started to swirl around him as he glared at the cruel woman in the pool. To hurt anyone, yet alone this girl, was a sin! Then shivering once, he started to take deep breaths to calm his heart. This settled the wind for the time being.
The girl spoke, and Peter's attention was again fully drawn to her. "Does her majesty still want her breakfast?" The dark-haired woman didn't answer, but turned away, staring out a large window. The beautiful girl bobbed in a curtsy once, and, never rising from her bow, backed quickly out of the room.
Safely in a stone hallway, the girl transferred the tray to one arm, and touched her cheek gingerly with two fingers. She hissed when her fingers made contact. She felt the same spot from the inside of her cheek with her tongue, she wiped the blood that came away with the corner of a stained and filthy dress. Then she shrugged her shoulders, plastered a smile on her face, and hurried down the hall.
He learned that her name was Wendy. She seemed to be a girl of all work. Running around what he learned was called a castle, scrubbing and tidying until her cheeks were enchantingly flushed. When Peter noticed things like this Little Bell would chime at him teasingly, and he'd just smirk at the ball, returning to look at the pool.
He watched her all day. Just watched her. He had almost forgotten that girls existed. Sometimes when he came to the pool to learn of a new boy, he would see screaming mothers, but they were nothing but nightmarish. And this girl was beautiful. At first all he looked at was her hair, but as she laughed, her eyes sparkled, and her mind and comebacks were quick he saw much more than that. When she would counter a remark from the kitchen staff, she would smirk good naturedly. Peter was immediately a fan of her large mouth that smiled lopsidedly, pleased with herself. It was moment like this where his mouth would go slack again.
She would sneak extras to the children in the kitchen, which earned her a ladle to the back of the head, but wouldn't stop her from winking. She would secretly cradle them when they cried, and sang lullabies to a much cleaner and better dressed boy, nodding off to sleep in the library. Peter wished she could come here and love his boys.
She was capable and hard working. When she spoke people listened, but she didn't delegate to be lazy. Those above her spat on her and threw her clothes to wash.
Neverland glowed warmly, pleased with itself that it had made this selection, and that its Peter was so smitten. But Neverland, wiser than us all, new that it would be so.
The animals and creatures of Neverland had gathered tightly around the pool to see this girl, as many had never seen a girl before. They watched intently for quite some time, but one by one they went back to their daily routines, leaving only Peter, completely entranced by the pool.
Mostly, though, it seemed that the girl's job was to tend to the woman who had struck her. She was cruel and unforgiving. Speaking only to demand or deride. Wendy dressed her, and fetched whatever her whims desired. She also stood in the corner silently, ready to attend, when a gentleman came to call.
Peter was repulsed by his greasy, balding hair, and his equally greasy and disgenuine manner. His words to the powerful woman, a Princess, Peter learned from this conversation, were only meant to flatter and mislead. The dark haired princess was swept off her feet. Her ego and her trust in the man growing with every word. They also spoke of some sort of trade. A portion of land for something the princess possessed. A sale that was coming soon. Though they didn't mention any dates.
The Prince of Neverland also noticed that every time the greasy man's eyes were not on the princess, they were on Wendy. His tongue flicking across disgusting teeth every time she shifted or made the mistake of looking up. Wendy stared hard at the floor.
"Wendy!" Wendy's head shot up as the princess called for her. "I must change for dinner now."
"Yes, Your Majesty." And the two left the room. Wendy catching one more predatory look on the Duke's face before they left the room.
As night fell in Neverland, it also fell in the world of men. Peter was still watching Wendy, though more casually. Now he was on his back with both hands behind his head, staring at the sky. He just listened as she hummed while finishing up some mending.
All of a sudden, Little Bell appeared above him, interrupting his daydream. She chimed and Peter sat up, interested. As he watched she floated over the water, and flew in quick tight circles above the pool, dropping her light on the vision of Wendy.
Peter immediately perked up. Standing and rubbing his hands together. Little Bell flew to hover above his shoulder. He looked at the other balls of light, and said, "Alright, who's coming with us to bring Wendy to Neverland?" He smirked as he said it, picturing her swooning at the sight of him, begging him to take her in his arms and fly her away from that dreadful place.
To his surprise, none of the lights volunteered. Instead Little Bell chimed cheerfully, and swirled above his head, dropping her light. Peter rose into the air quickly and dashed into the night quicker than he ever had before.