Set Your Sails...to Neverland || Peter Pan, OUAT

Prologue

I climb up the mast of our ship - The Ocean Ghost . I can climb anything, whether it's a tree, building, rock, mountain, cliff and any ship. My leather boots are worn and moulded to my feet; I've done this so many times, it's like routine. I jump into the crow's nest and look around the edge of the ship.

"Do you see anything?" My mother yells up from the deck.

"Not at the moment!" I yell back.

I clip my cape on, to stop the chill in the air biting at me. I pull out the telescope and scan around - nothing seems to be around at the moment. I lean on the edge of the crow's nest and look out at the open ocean and breathe in the salt air. I have no idea where we're going, because my parents are surprising me, but I know about this area. We have to be careful, because if we aren't, we might not make it to see tomorrow. There have been stories - true or not, I don't know - about something that completely obliterates pirate ships, taking the passengers with them. No ships have ever been found, and no pieces have ever been recovered. As I circle round, an island appears through the sea mist and low-hanging clouds. Is that where we're heading?

Something dark moves in the water, catching my attention in my peripheral; I place the telescope on the floor and climb to the very top and look out. For a brief moment, I think it's just my panicked mind playing tricks on me, but there's something down there, waiting.

I jump across to the main sail rope and slide down it. I run to my father. "We need to turn this ship around. Now." I say urgently.

"We won't be able to, we're going too fast. We're more likely to crash the ship than to change course. I can't do it," he replies.

"You don't understand! If we don't turn the ship around now, we are all going to die!" I yell.

In a split second, the sky darkens and there's a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning. The ship groans and starts to rock slightly.

"No..." I whisper.

I grab my bow and arrows; I feel something moving underneath the ship. I run and jump onto the edge. I squint and see the shadow of something gigantic.

"Everybody get in the middle of the ship and stay there!" I shout to the crew and jump down. "Grab anything you can, and get ready!"

It's silent. My heart thumps in fear and anticipation. I breathe heavily, my eyes darting back and forth with an arrow drawn. Before anyone can react, a scream pierces the air. I spin on my heel and see one of the crew members being pulled away by a huge tentacle, and before I can shoot, he's gone. A shriek deafens us, and an innumerable amount of tentacles rise from the water, like a cage around our ship. I fire my arrows as fast as I can, trying to damage the monster as much as possible. The storm picks up, throwing the ship around; rain pours down, waves crash, thunder rumbles and lightning blinds us. I pull up my hood, and continue to fire. Three more crew members are gone now, and I only have two arrows left.

I hear a scream from behind me; I turn around and see my mother in the grasp of a tentacle, I shoot both arrows into it and she falls onto the deck with a thump. I run over, and help her up.

"Thank you..." she pants.

The storm rages on with waves crashing over the edge of our ship on to the deck, making it nearly impossible to stand properly. The ship rocks from side to side and over each wave. I pull out my sword, and swing down, cutting the end of the tentacle about to pick me up clean off. It pulls away quickly and disappears. The ship bucks violently as a tentacle bursts through the floorboards, rising above us, and everyone hits the deck; as the ship rocks wildly, I'm thrown around like a rag doll. It's impossible to stand. I look up to see my mother and father clinging onto each other. I drag myself towards them, narrowly avoiding the tentacles searching for it's next prey.

"You have to save yourself!" My mother yells over the storm.

"No! I'm not leaving you two!" I shout back.

My mother moves and holds my hands, which are gripping a hole in the deck, "Listen to me! You have to jump off and swim towards the land! If you don't, no one will ever know what happened here and more people will die! You have to go!" She shouts, "Please do this, for us! For the sake of saving other pirates, good or bad! We'll distract the beast, but you have to go!"

I hesitate, my eyes flicking between my parents, then nod.

"We love you! Be brave! Never stop being who you are because of what has happened today!" My father shouts, "...and keep a whether eye on the horizon."

I look back and forth at them one final time, smiling sadly, and shout, "I love you too!"

I let go of their hands, and let the water pull me to the edge of the ship; I hit the side violently, knocking the wind out of me. I fight it, and pull myself up and on to the edge of the ship. I hold on to a rope, and look back at my mother and father, who are fighting together. I turn to face the water - the ocean is violent, the bottom invisible. I steady my feet, and jump.

The water tosses me around, but I keep swimming because if I don't, I will drown, or be taken by the monster. I swim straight on until I feel it become easier to reach the surface. I break through the waves and suck in as much oxygen as possible. I turn around and what I see breaks my heart. The monster has its tentacles firmly wrapped around my ship, with no intention of letting go. There's a loud crack, and my ship snaps in half, and then slowly crumbles, disappearing into the abyss.

I'm stuck in place, treading water, eyes widen, trying to keep my breath in control, in shock at how quickly I'd lost my entire life in just a matter of seconds. I scream in anger, thrashing my arms around. I force composure, but it's too late. A shadow looms over me as a giant wave builds and hurtles towards me. I only manage to take a short breath, but not enough to sustain the amount of time I'm underwater for; I fight my way up to the top and take another gulp of air only to be taken under again. I spin and flip around, and I try to swim up, but I'm not strong enough.

I feel a thud on the back of my head,  and everything goes black.

A/N I hope you liked this first bit! I have been aching to get this story into words but I didn't have a clear plan in my head just yet, so I waited until I had more ideas.

Let it begin!

Merry Christmas!