Neverland (snowbaz)

The Cunning Spirit of a Pirate

It's quiet on the rocky shore of Cannibal Cove and it's the kind of quiet that Penny needs to wrap her mind around everything that happened. The guilt is eating her alive, especially knowing that she dumped that all on Simon without sticking around to help him cope with it. Her plan was to tell at him at some point when things had hit a lull and Simon was bored and had the time to process and deal with all of it, but she can't change things now. He needed to know, anyway. It'll be for the best, or so she tells herself. 

What's bothering her the most, though, is that Simon seems to believe that Baz will stay in Neverland forever. She adores Simon and she might be a bit jealous of Baz since Simon hasn't paid her any attention since Baz arrived, but she thought it would be fine because Baz would just be a temporary visitor. He will be a temporary visitor. She knows that. It breaks her heart that Simon doesn't, though. That he's so naive as to think that Baz will leave his life and family behind to fight pirates with Simon for the rest of his life. What worries her most about that part of it is that she's afraid that Simon won't let Baz leave. Or maybe that Baz will tell Simon he wants to go and that Simon will get upset and refuse to return him to London. It scares her, frankly, what Simon is capable of when he's emotional. He's always let his emotions guide him which is fine for a sword fight or for deciding what to do with the day, but it's why he never belonged in London. Because people, normal people, steer clear of Simon when they can. Maybe they sense that his emotions are too great and that his heart is different from their own. Or maybe they feel that hunger in him––the same hunger that drove his father to kill his mother. 

No. Penny feels guilty for even thinking that Simon could end up like his father. She brought him to Neverland to shield him from the bad. To protect him from just that. Fairies have some magic. Enough magic for them to be able to channel it into a crystal ball or some suitable, reflective surface and see some of the possibilities of the future. And Penny used that knowledge to find Simon that night and save him from what he could become. She lied to him then. She's lied to him constantly. Because she didn't feel his pain––she saw what his pain could turn him into. And she didn't know him but she wanted to save him from himself. 

So she sits on the rocky shore of Cannibal Cove thinking about how she would do anything to get Simon to see that Baz won't stay. And she's so deep in thought that she doesn't realize that Mr. Mage is approaching him, his ridiculous cloth hat in hand. And she barely registers what's happening in time to let out a scream. And Mr. Mage has her trapped in his hat and he's carrying her away from Cannibal Cove and the rocky shoreline and from her thoughts of how she can protect Simon Snow. 

When she's released from Mr. Mage's disgusting, foul-smelling hat, she notes that she's in Captain Humdrum's cabins aboard his ship. She's placed onto a table in front of the captain who stares at her with an uncomfortable, forced smile. She wonders what she's doing here. What he wants from her. 

"Well, Miss Bunce," he says, still smiling at her. "I've decided to leave the island."

She raises an eyebrow at him. At first, she doesn't want to believe him. She's not foolish enough to believe him without any evidence. 

He seems to recognize her suspicion. His tortured, pale blue eyes glisten in the dim candle light and he lets his smile fall. Thankfully. It was unsettling. "Haven't you heard? Simon Snow defeated me yesterday. I think he was just trying to impress his...guest, but nonetheless, he defeated me. He only let me live if I promised to leave forever. And I am nothing if not a man of me word. Right, Mr. Mage?"

Mr. Mage sets down his bottle of rum with a smile. "Uh, yes, cap'n. Always!"

Captain Humdrum nods to him as if this will prove some point for Penny. "And that's why I asked you over here, Miss Bunce. To tell Simon I bear him no ill will. Oh, Snow has his faults to be sure, like bringing that boy to the island, for instance. Dangerous business, that."