Keeping Fantasia: The Third Book of the Fantasia Series

Chapter 18: Neverland Misadventures - Two for Tea

Chapter 18: Neverland Misadventures – Two for Tea

(When: 12ish Years Ago)

Gwendolyn Mary Moria Pan was a little girl very much like her mother.

Originally.

In time, Gwendolyn would shed her mother's coat and grow more into Peter's, but as a little girl, Gwendolyn was a perfect little lady. She loved the color pink; she loved minding her manners; she loved wearing dresses; she loved pretend fairy wings; she loved delighting in all the lovely things that a little princess loves.

Jon (on the other hand) was Jim to a tee. He thought the fairy wings and princess makeovers were stupid. However (unlike Jim) Jon was intolerant to Gwendolyn's fantasies. 

Consequently, Jon and Gwendolyn fought like cats and dogs.

This really aggravated Jim. He could not understand why their children always fought, and he did not buy Ariel's explanation that "Gwendolyn and Jon were like brother and sister" and "brothers and sisters are suppose to fight." Jim argued that growing up "like brother and sister" should unite the children. Ergo "Jon and Gwendolyn should be best friends."

"Yeahhhhhh." Peter had laughed. "That code-among-comrades crap only works when kids aren't related. Trust me; I was raised in an orphanage, so I know. The unrelated kids liked each other. But the brothers and sisters fought all the time. Remember Nani and Lilo? Sisters? Aw man, those two went at it like cage fighters!"

"Peter is right."  Wendy had tried to explain further. "Jim you were an only child, so it's difficult for you to understand, but Ariel is right. Siblings are supposed to fight. It's inevitable."

"Inevitable?" Jim had scoffed. "That's ridiculous."

"No it's not. I have two brothers and Ariel has six sisters. Haven't you ever heard of sibling rivalry?"

"I guess..."

"Well there you have it. Brothers and sisters fight, just like Gwendolyn and Jon. It's perfectly normal."

Jim had still been unconvinced. "Wendy you get along great with Michael and John. And Ariel, you used to hang out with your sisters all the time, right?"

"It's a weird dynamic." Ariel had admitted. "Sometimes I wanted to pull my sisters' hair out. But five minutes later we'd all be meeting at The Snuggly Duckling for an epic karaoke night. Siblings are like that. They're either saving your life or ruining it. I guess you could say siblings are the ultimate frenemies."

"Don't worry too much Jim." Wendy had patted his shoulder. "And don't take it personally. Jon and Gwendolyn are only being children. I'm sure someday they'll be the best of friends. They just need to grow up. So have faith that you're a good father...and...be patient."

Nope. Jim didn't want to be patient. He was a good father god damn it! So why couldn't their children just be good kids and get along!? After all, he and Wendy were best friends: Jim expected their children to be best friends as well.

"Gwendolyn is half Peter I guess." Jim mused one day as he searched the ship for Wendy. It was a clear, starry morning (yes, mornings were starry in space), and Jim needed Wendy's help.

It had been three years since Queen Illysa's alleged Jolly Roger sighting, but Captain Hook could not be found. They were running out of leads.