Neverland: Forsaken Dreamscape (Peter Pan Version)

Chapter Three

**Today is the day - June 17th and the release of the Forsaken Dreamscape Deluxe Edition! - which includes this version, of course. It's currently avaialble through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, iBooks, and Kobo - also in print through Amazon and Creatspace!

To celebrate, here's another of the old chapters to get you started. For more info on where you can get the rest of this book, please visit my blog: 

http://projectnevermor.wordpress.com/2014/06/17/forsaken-dreamscape-deluxe-release-and-book-3-announcement/

Chapter Three

1

He could have left me with a bit more advice, Wendy thought to herself. For instance, he could have at least directed her past the burning forest full of smoke which made her lungs feel heavy, but instead he had left her to wander about on her own–in circles, she was sure–for the better part of an hour before the trees began to thin and become scattered trunks alive only with glowing embers, and she had decided that she was finally out of the woods.

Perhaps he hasn’t changed that much after all. I would have thought that growing up a bit might have done him some good.

But she forgave him.

Past the charred forest, the lagoon rested. The air grew damper as she approached the wetter lands, but it was a welcome change from the smell of smoke. The lagoon was a wide section of dark water, and while it should have been shallow by definition, there was no way to tell that it was. Many rocks stood out in the water–some cut to be flat; some jutting–keeping the water from rolling out into tributaries.

All around the edge of the water, up until the point where it passed off into the open ocean, natural obstacles blocked the path, so it was quickly evident to her that she would not be able to make her way around the edge of it. The only way that she would be able to pass by was to take the stepping stones across the middle and pray that she did not lose her footing. The water was fairly still, safe from the ocean waves, but she didn’t like water, never had, and the fog did not make things better.

I could, perhaps, fly across it, she considered as she stood in the weeds, touching the bag of dust that was folded into the belt of her gown, but she wondered if this could be considered a good use for what she had. She might need to use the dust later in an emergency to save her life, so she guessed that using it during her first challenge would be a mistake.

Oh, but I DO hate water!

Taking in a deep breath and gathering her nerve, the girl in the pale gown stepped off the bank and down onto the nearest rock.

The rocks had their share of algae and Wendy had not always been the most graceful–always to Peter’s amusement. She remembered this place all too well: this was where the mermaids had lived. She remembered them–wretched, pretty beasts. They had tried to drown her out of jealousy. It was strange how so many women had tried to kill her only for the sake of Peter, when, really, she supposed she had been no threat. These mermaids though… She didn’t want to know what exactly they’d become in the corruption. They had always been so beautiful, yet their hatred for her had been great. Perhaps Peter had been better off going along by himself, for he was right. He would not be able to protect her, and his way may have been made more dangerous just to have her with him.

She jumped onto the next rock, feeling her feet slipping a bit from the algae-covered surface. She didn’t much like the thought of falling into the murky water. She wasn’t sure how well she could swim. She hadn’t been in such a long while–that was, if she didn’t count those couple of times she’d almost drowned while her nurse was bathing her at the asylum.