Dizgaia ~ The Dreamfinder's Daughter

Chapter 24 ~ The Chieftess of Neverland

Mia heard the sound of crashing waves and the call of a gull. There was a soft, steady thump, as though of hooves across sand.

All the pretty little horses, she thought dreamily.

She could feel herself rocking gently, as though in rhythm to the sounds, and the warmth of a body pressing up against her from behind. Her head lolled against a bare torso. Was it Peter? She tried to say his name, but her tongue felt like a rock in her mouth. She was just so sleepy. 

The sound of hushed voices speaking in a language she didn't recognize pulled her from her doze. When she opened her eyes, she first saw the waves crashing against the rocky shore, the sea foam glistening in the silvery moonlight. There were two people on horseback, one to her left, and one ahead of her. That's when Mia realized she, too, was sitting astride a horse with her wrists bound in front of her. A pair of brown arms encased her on either side, holding the reigns of the horse upon which she sat.

Alarmed but still a bit delirious, Mia tilted her head to gaze up at the person who sat behind her. He was a Brave, a tribal warrior – tall, strong, bare-chested, and stony-faced. When he saw her gazing up at him, a slight smirk crossed his face. This small show of amiability did nothing to ease Mia's fears, and she let out a scream. The man behind her covered her mouth with his hand, muffling her cries. Mia bit his finger and he released her, barking something in a language Mia didn't understand. But she knew a curse when she heard one.

The rider in front turned her horse and came galloping back towards them. The rider was a woman, whom Mia only now realized was Tiger Lily herself. She gave a sharp order in her native tongue and the man tied a cloth around Mia's mouth.

"MMPH!" Mia protested, but it was no use. Her cries were muffled.

"My apologies, Storyteller," said Tiger Lily as she guided her horse alongside the Brave's. "But we must keep you quiet. I have no intentions of losing this time." With that, she clicked her tongue and her horse sped up, taking the lead once more across the dark beach.

The journey along the nighttime beach on horseback might have been enjoyable, even romantic, if it were under other circumstances. Mia had exhausted herself with trying to make loud enough noise to permeate the cloth over her mouth. She had little success, and finally gave up. Why would Tiger Lily and her tribe kidnap her? What had she ever done to them?

I'm the flag, she thought miserably.

But she was beginning to wonder just how much of a game  this truly was.

They guided their horses beyond the beach and into a region of the island Mia had not yet explored. They traveled along a narrow mountain pass, one which looked like it could be treacherous to the inexperienced traveler. The horses had to walk single-file to get through. Mia tried not to look down to her left where a sheer drop off the side of the mountain awaited any who leaned too far in that direction. And she desperately hoped that a potential rockslide did not await them from the cliffs above. Were it not for the light of the full moon (the moon was always full on Neverland, as far as Mia could tell), they could not have seen well enough to guide their horses through such a path at night.

After what felt like an eternity, they rounded the cliff face and started up a winding dirt path to the northwestern-most tip of the island. Here, the horses were once more able to walk side by side as Tiger Lily continued to lead the way until they finally arrived at the natives' village. The camp was surrounded on all sides by an immense wall of logs, set vertically side by side, their tips carved to a point. The natives' village was heavily fortified, a wise idea when your natural enemy was pirates; though Mia feared it boded ill for her.