𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 ⎈ 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘯

Chapter 11: The True Beginning

Rowan POV:

𝐏𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄 to his word. He went to go get food, but he didn't come to deliver it.

As the flaps to Pan's tent were drawn back, I expected to see him returning with food. But my expectations weren't met. A Lost Boy emerged with a plate of food-- the same lost boy who I had saved from Pan all those weeks ago.

The boy had short brown hair and large, brown, doe eyes. His featured proved just how innocently young he truly was. He couldn't have been more than 10. His eyes were glued to the floor as he handed me my plate.

I smiled at him and took it.

"Thank you," I ducked down lightly, trying to catch his gaze.

He made eye contact with me briefly and nodded a little. He returned his gaze to the floor, turned on his heel and quickly walked towards the door.

"Wait," I accidentally shouted, desperate for another person's company.

He jumped at my volume and urgency, but he stopped. He turned and looked at me fearfully. Seeing the look in his eye sent a sharp pain into my chest.

"I'm sorry," I softened my tone. "I didn't mean to frighten you. Why don't you eat with me?"

He thought on it for a moment but he shook his head, focusing further on the floor.

I sighed, recalling that Peter had told the boys not to talk to me. I cursed him silently for the millionth time since I had come to this island.

"I know you're only being obedient to Peter's order, but I can promise you that you are safe with me." I attempted to sooth the poor boy.

He shook his head, still refusing to look at me.

My eyebrows drew together. "You don't believe me?"

He shook his head once more and crossed his arms over his chest, retreating within himself further than I thought he could.

I sighed once more, realizing that it was pointless. His fear of the King of Neverland outweighed his curiosity of me. After what I saw last night, I couldn't really blame him.

"Can you at least tell me your name?" I asked as gently as I could.

He put some thought into my request before he spoke in the smallest, most pure voices I had ever heard.

"Finn."

I smiled. "Nice to meet you, Finn. I'm Rowan."

He looked up briefly, looking at me as if he were trying to decipher a code in front of him. His attention then went back to the floor and he returned to his previous form of communication: nodding.

Just after that he quickly left the tent leaving me alone with my food.

As I watched the flaps of Pan's tent, I pondered the trap that Pan had the boys in.

They're so afraid of him that they're losing their innocence and childhood.

Before I came to Neverland, I had heard story upon story of how it was a place of fun, play, and eternal youth. After I arrived, I found it to be the opposite.

I wondered how Neverland got that reputation, when in fact, it was the stark opposite. I don't doubt that there used to be fun here. Pan's almost bipolar fluidity between emotions revealed to me that there used to be a fun, mischievous, adventuresome, youthful Peter Pan at one time. Now, there's mostly a cruel, sadistic, jaded, calloused, vain Peter Pan left. I've seen his other side come out a few times, but those moments were brief and fleeting.