Neverland

Chapter 31

I swooped in through Kate's window. She wasn't in her room, but it was only a matter of time, as I could feel her making her way to the treehouse. I only hoped that Tinkerbelle wouldn't come in first. Anxious, I sat down cross legged on her bed and awaited her entrance.

After about five minutes the door swung open, and she walked in, stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of me. I stood up. "Peter..." She nodded at me. Her guard was up, and it hurt to know she had shielded herself against me, but it was all for the better, and after what I'd done I couldn't blame her for wanting to protect herself.

"It's time to go." I said formally, crossing over to her. "Yeah.. Yeah I figured that..." She took a deep breath. "Can I at least say goodbye to Tink?" She asked. I hesitated. If anyone would put up a fight against Kate's leaving it was that pesky fairy. I just couldn't risk it. "I don't think that's a good idea." I said firmly. The coldness in my voice surprised even me. She frowned. "Tinkerbelle... She's my best friend. Please, can I just see her one last time?" I stood my ground. "I'm sorry Kate, but I can't allow it. It's easier this way anyways. If you like, you can leave her a note." Kate hesitated, and opened her mouth to argue, but then seemed to think better of it. She shut her mouth and nodded, closing her eyes and screwing up her face in concentration as she wrote out a letter in her mind. It appeared on the dresser to our right, and she glanced sadly the piece of paper covered in an untidy looping scrawl.

Without another word, I took her arm and steadied her as I flew to the beach where the ship was waiting. We touched down on the deck and I studied her. I was surprised at how steady she seemed. When we used to fly together she was always ready to kiss the ground when we landed, but she didn't seem at all bothered by it now. She noticed my puzzled expression and explained stiffly, "I found a way to face my fear. It's not so bad anymore.

"So," I said, getting on with the inevitable, "you have a choice of any world, and any time. Where do you want to go?"

She pondered this. "I'd like to go to the Enchanted Forest." I didn't question her choice. "As you wish," I said, waving my hand towards the sails, which immediately filled with wind, and lifted the boat out of the water and into the air. She walked over to the edge of the boat and watched as Neverland faded away from us. "I'd go below and get some rest," I told her, "It's going to be a long journey."

Kate's POV

I walked below deck, surprised at the fact that my eyes were completely void of any threat of tears. I supposed that that was simply the shock and surrealism of everything that was going on. I found a room below with a large bed, and window that looked out at the sea racing beneath the boat. The glass was cold against my nose when I pressed it to the smooth surface of the window, but it was good to have some feeling in this numb bubble that had enveloped me. Flopping back onto the bed, my eyes closed, but my mind raced. Was I ready for life in the Enchanted Forest? For life without Peter Pan? These questions littered my mind, and I found no rest that night. Instead, I watched as the stars and moon replaced the sun.

When the moon was high, and the stars bright, I stole away from my room, and out onto the deck. The sky above me was perfectly clear, and I saw more constellations than I had in my entire life. As I looked up in the sky, examining the patterns in the stars, a voice spoke from behind me.

"You know, I met Orion once," said Peter as he walked towards me, "tough guy, but a terrible ego." I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't quite suppress the smile that crept up from inside. "Sounds like someone else I know," I whispered. This banter was so usual, so comfortably, and yet foreign and strange. It was like going back to an old school from years ago, where everything's changed but the teachers are all the same.

We stood side by side under the stars, not daring to touch, and yet my fingers longed to be wrapped around his. My shoulders ached for his arms, and I closed my eyes, letting the sounds of the ocean below soothe my anxiety. I don't know how long we stood there before I felt the warmth of his rough, hand brush across my much smaller one, and my eyes flew open, watching as he slowly closed his hand around mine. We were like five year-olds, timidly approaching the most innocent form of human affection. And then suddenly, I was pressed against his chest, his arms around me, and mine clinging to him for dear life. It was like I had been drowning, and had resurfaced. I could breath again.

The dawn crept up like a silent thief, intruding on our embrace, and with it came the spot of land on the horizon, growing larger and larger by the second. I looked up from my rest on Peter's chest as the warm pink light of the sunrise spread across the boat. Slowly, and silently we drew apart. Watching as we approached the shore.

"Well... Here we are. The Enchanted Forest. Just like you asked." The boat had touched down on the water and bobbed peacefully by the deserted dock. It was right in between the time when the fishermen would have gone out, and the other shipmen would come in to work. Peter and I walked down the gangway, and stopped on the dock. "Here," said Peter. He took my hand, pressing into my palm something smooth. As I examined it, I found it to be a small, wooden whistle. "If you're ever in danger, blow this, and I'll come find you." Then he looked out to the forest, " if you go through the trees, just there, there's a road. Do you see where they thin out?" I followed his pointing hand with my gaze, and nodded, seeing where the density of the woods lightened considerably. Follow the road, and stay to the right. Take the fourth path on the right that goes off the road, and follow it till you reach a small house. There you'll find an old woman, or possibly her granddaughter, who goes by Red. Tell them that you've arrived here with no recollection of your past, and that you have no money or accommodations. They'll take you in. You can trust them. They're known to be kindhearted.

I slipped the leather chord of the whistle over my head. "Can't you come with me?" I asked, a bit overwhelmed with the tasks ahead.

He shook his head, "I'm not welcome in this land. The sooner I leave the better... For all of us."

I sighed, "Well then... I guess this is good bye," and I turned to leave."

"What? Don't I get a good bye kiss?" His voice rang out behind me. I looked back at him to see some of he old mischief back in his eyes, and yet, he still looked sad. "I thought you had to go? What happened to, 'the sooner I leave the better'?" He smiled at my teasing, and whispered, "you always have something to say, don't you?" And with that he closed the gap between us, and gave me one last, perfect lingering kiss, that took my breath away. But while the breath had left me, something else had taken its place.

Hope.

And I set off towards the trees.