The Ring

Chapter 32

Jaz's P.O.V.

"Peter, go home." I plead with him for at least the hundredth time. He looks up at me from the table in my tent with tired eyes. "Consider it an order." I say trying to replicate the authority voice my father used to use when peter was being stubborn. I sounded no where near as powerful or frightening as he did, but Peter finally gave in.

"Fine. But I'll be back at sunrise." He says with a sigh and finally stops hovering over the map laying on the table. He stretches his arms above his head and lets out a yawn. He crosses the room toward the door, but before he can leave I lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Peter... this will work." I say with more confidence than I feel.

"I know." His voice is low and raspy, but the seriousness behind it almost frightened me. I nod, taking my hand off him, and he flies out the door.

I never I thought I'd see the day Peter Pan would grow up.

Whether anybody would like to admit it or not, it finally happened. He may not be an old man with a beard and glasses, but Peter Pan was no longer a kid. Before his little death act, Peter had spent more time strategizing and thinking things through than playing. He was constantly worried about the Boys, and was actually making smart decisions, as opposed to the reckless ones he had been making since I met him. Not to mention he caught up to Zee and I. We were all the same age, but we aged faster than he did due to the magic the fairies had used to keep him young. But now He was almost as tall as me, his voice was deeper, he was stronger, more mature. He was no longer the lanky little blonde kid I had grown up with. Who ran around in a pair of shorts made of leaves and was always caked in dirt. Now he and the Boys wore clothes that the women of the tribe had made them, and he actually tries to stay clean.

Not to mention the changes in the Boys since Peter changed. They're still reckless, but anyone can tell that they're a little more cautious now. I think seeing the toll of them constantly getting kidnapped and hurt took on Peter.

I walk over to the table and lean over it, carefully examining the map again. The map was of the lagoon and the land surrounding it. It was an extremely detailed illustration of our plan for attacking the ship tomorrow. Peter had been staring at it for hours, wanting to make sure every single detail was right, and I'm pretty sure he memorized the entire thing: Where everyone was at what time and what they were supposed to be doing. This was a long time coming, and we were all ready. Ready to put an end to Hook once and for all, ready for peace to be restored to Neverland. But we were just as nervous as we were ready. Hook had been around since before I was born. In fact, I think even before my father was born. Nobody was left on the island, except the fairy queen, that could remember how Hook even got here.

Hook had affected the lives of everyone in Neverland. As children, we're taught to stay clear of the beaches, and we are not to leave the camp when the pirates are on land, for the fear that Hook and his crew might snatch us, which has happened before. It never ends well.

The fairies have it worse though. There is nothing more curious than a young fairy, so they aren't allowed to even leave the Hollow until a certain age. Hook is obsessed with magic. If there's anything he wants more than Peter's head on a plate, it's fairy dust. And he'll do anything to get it. However, up until he attacked the Hollow, he's never been able to get close enough to it. But that didn't stop him. He's kidnapped and killed countless fairies, most of them young ones who had snuck away from the safety of the Hollow. He would try to get them to betray Neverland and give him fairy dust, but every single one of them refused. Most people believe that you can simply catch a fairy, shake its tiny body over your head, and fairy dust will just pour out over you, which is how Hook is said to have killed some of his earlier victims. This is not the case. Fairies can only give their dust if they are willing to.