Tiger Lily (A Peter Pan Fanfic)

Chapter Thirteen

A/N: I made this chapter a bit more...fluffy!

Almost trusting Peter Pan was the last thing I ever expected myself to do. But here I was, basically relying on him to keep me alive. Yesterday I had been almost killed by Pan's rebellious shadow. Had I told him I knew his shadow was the culprit? No. It's not like he needed to know that little detail. If he knew what I knew, we'd be back at square one, and I couldn't risk that. I couldn't risk my passage off the island, either. Not that Pan would go back on his word - but a girl could never be too careful.

As for Pan himself, he'd been rather, well, nice. It had only been twenty four hours, but he'd practically become my shadow. Everywhere I went, he went. He'd drop his important conversations and tasks to escort me somewhere. Not only that, but he didn't complain about it, either. It was actually kind of...nice.

Currently, Pan and I were training once more. With a death threat looming over my head, he wanted me to be as prepared as possible - just in case he disappared for a moment and something happened.

"No, you've got to channel your emotions, love. That's the only way it's going to work." the green-eyed boy explained to me, quirking an eyebrow.

"I'm trying, you git, " I huffed in a teasing tone, "It's not working."

"Well, what memory are you focusing on?" Pan asked, stepping in front of me.

"When my dad gave me my locket." I said simply, playing with the necklace. It felt as if it had been years since that night when he'd given me that birthday present.

Shaking his head, Pan stepped back. "It's not strong enough. You need something with passion. Hatred or love, you've got to pick one."

"That shouldn't be too hard, you've given me plenty of hateful memories." I quipped, grinning at him.

"Just try the spell." Pan sighed, rolling his eyes.

Nodding at him, I concentrated, focusing all of my energy into one place. We were practicing a protection spell, for obvious reasons. It would shield me for a few minutes - making it impossible for any being, magical or not, to grab me against my will.

Still focusing, I thought about my hatred for Pan. How he kept me here, how he tormented Baelfire, my father, and me. I thought about how he tricked boys into coming here, using that music I could never hear.

But it didn't work.

As much as I wanted it to work, it simply didn't. I didn't hate Pan anymore, or the things he did. Yes, they were awful, horrific things, but I'd seen a side of him I never thought I'd see many times. The hatred I wished was there would not come.

Sighing in defeat, I dropped my arms to my sides. "It's not working."

"You can do it, just keep trying."

Rolling my eyes, I focused again.

Come on, there's got to be something, I thought, glaring down at my hands.

Suddenly a memory creeped back from the depths of my mind. A memory I had buried for years. It was a dream, and it was something I didn't want to dwell on. Why dwell on something that wasn't real? But the fact was, that dream filled me with pure, unwavering joy.

I was around eight when I had the dream.

It was so long ago, but I remembered it just as vividly as I did the night it happened when I chose to.

My father had just put me to bed after a very long night. We'd been sailing all day long, making trades. He had got me a little stuffed bear, one that was still tucked away in my trunk on the Jolly Roger, mind you.