Grow Up

Twelve

Peter immediately teleported himself and Gardenia back to camp. The poor girl was shivering to no end, in shock. She struggled to breathe, too, as all she could feel was a fiery sensation on her back, thigh, and chest. Peter felt worried.

"What happened to Mother?" Tootles asked once he saw her condition in Peter's arms. His squeaky voice caused every Lost Boy to turn around, seeing the girl twitching.

"Those bloody mermaids reeled her in," Peter spat. The mermaids knew to never mess with anything that belonged to him. Couldn't they not smell his scent on her? It aggravated him.

"Pan... " A Lost Boy, Calum, pointed at her. "She's gotten scratched. I can see the blue around the cuts."

"What?" Peter showed a hint of concern in his voice. His demonic look disappeared completely. Without another word, he poofed himself away again. This time in his treehouse. In the wide area where it was quiet.

Gardenia was set down on Peter's bed. She was still struggling to breathe, finding each breath harder. "It... h-hurts." She mustered out, barely audible.

"I know, Little Flower. Hold on, it'll be okay." Peter was acting nice. A trait no one knew existed. He was showing kindness as he grabbed the bottle that said Xaralix written across it. Underneath it said Mermaid Xaralixcin. It was the anecdote for the mermaid's venom that was hidden in their nails.

Peter poured some on a rag, hoping it wasn't too late for Gardenia to heal. He went straight for the noticeable ones on her chest. He was about to remove the torn shirt for better access at the wound, but she panicked. She grabbed his wrist in her delusional state, shouting at him.

"Don't you touch me! Don't! Please!" She kept her eyes closed, hissing in pain.

"Flower, I need to take it off so I can properly remove the venom. Do you want to die?" His tone switched back to a chilling one.

Gardenia whimpered. She couldn't stand the thought of a boy seeing her topless. Even if she was wearing a bra. She couldn't stand the thought. But Peter gave it a second try. He pried off the damp shirt, it sticking to Gardenia's body. She was still shivering, water dripping from her hair and soaking the bedding.

This time, Gardenia let him remove her shirt. She had her eyes clamped shut, wincing in pain from the movement. "This is... your fault... Peter."

"Don't speak," he demanded. He dabbed the rag on her chest wounds. The Xaralix caused it to sting, and once again Gardenia seethed. She arched her back, but that made the scratches on her back burn. She couldn't help but let out a yelp.

"Where are the other ones?" Peter asked.

"My leg and back." She stammered, finally opening her eyes. "Why does this hurt so much?" She whined.

Peter slowly rolled her onto her stomach so he could have access to her back. Gardenia let out more painful sounds while doing so.

"Mermaids have a type of venom in their teeth and nails called Xaralixcin. In this case, they seemed to have clawed at you pretty decently," Peter explained. "You can't see it, but around the open wounds, there's a shiny blue outline. That is their venom. It seeps inside the cuts, slowly destroying the inside of the body. Their venom, though, is strong. Making the wounds hurt more. They got deep, and I'm hoping we're not too late."

Gardenia breathed hard. Her tears were mixed in with the droplets of water still dripping down her skin. Peter, on the other hand, saw the wound on her leg. It was on her thigh, meaning he would have to remove her pants as well.

"Um, Gardenia?" He asked, actually saying her name. "I need to remove your trousers--"

"No! I'd rather die! I'm already emb-embarrassed that you've seen my topless--argh--you are not... seeing me pan-pants-less, too!" She stuttered, struggling to get words out.

"Hush, you've nothing to be embarrassed about. It's nothing I haven't seen before, relax." He replied sharply, voice cold.

Just like with her top, Peter slowly approached her bottoms. He slid them off, making sure she wouldn't become too exposed. He moved the wounded limb further from the other, spreading her legs. Gardenia once again winced in pain. Peter applied the Xaralix one last time, dabbing and rubbing until the sparkle of blue mermaid venom was gone.

"Rest my Little Flower," Peter hushed.

Before leaving her, he made a deep red dust appear in his left hand. He gently blew the dust over her body, then respectfully covered her with his comforter. And for some odd reason, Peter felt the sudden need to kiss her on the forehead. But he didn't.