Keeping Fantasia: The Third Book of the Fantasia Series

Chapter 52: Neverland Misadventures - Running Out of Time

Chapter 52: Neverland Misadventures –  Running Out of Time

(When: Somewhere in Time)

When Jim threw him out, Peter's first reaction was to punch the door down.

That was the fifteen-year-old Peter reaction.

The thirty-three-year-old Peter reaction was to kick the door once, then find Ariel and Silver.

So Peter kicked the door. He stubbed his toe, hopped angrily to Ariel and Silver, relayed Jim's instructions, and then flew to Wendy's nursery window.

There he drifted, complaining about the cold and nursing his toe. By the time Wendy returned to the nursery with her mother, Peter had every intention of whisking her away.

But he didn't. Rather, he couldn't.

Peter never had a mother. Well, he had one once, but he didn't remember her. 

That being said, Peter had decided long ago that it was probably best he never had one. From his limited experience with mothers (i.e. Sarah Hawkins and most recently, Mary Darling), Peter had concluded that mothers were strict and suspicious creatures. They seemed to always get in the way, especially when it came to Wendy.

But when Peter saw Wendy with her mother, his sentiments changed. 

Mary treated her daughter like gold through the simplest, smallest gestures. Entranced, Peter watched them from the window.

Their interaction was brief. Mary tucked Wendy into bed, held her chin, and gently kissed her forehead. They spoke for a little after that, Wendy breathing sleepily into her pillow as Mary brushed her curls. 

Peter couldn't hear what they were saying, but he didn't need to. Mary's message was clear: she would move heaven and earth for her daughter.

Peter was begrudgingly touched.

"You still can't have her lady." Wiping a stubborn tear, Peter glared as Mary dimmed the nursery lamp. "I'm not losing her. Not to Hook, not to you, not to anybody."

The nursery door shut. Mary disappeared, leaving only moonlight inside. Peter assumed she went downstairs to confront Jim. 

Gingerly, Peter pushed the nursery window.

It didn't budge.

Peter frowned. He picked snow from the hinges and tried again.

Still, nothing. Peter pushed with his shoulder. The window gave a little but still didn't open. Something was blocking it from the inside.

Peter scratched his head. Pressing a cheek to the frozen glass, he searched for the source of obstruction. He immediately found it: a latch. Wendy's nursery window was locked.

"Easy fix." Peter snapped an icicle from the roof. Holding it like a bat, he swung it over his shoulder and –

--something below caught his eye. Instinctively Peter flew back, pressing against the window ledge.

Two masked figures were approaching the Darling's front door. Peter leaned forward, trying to get a better view. The figures were tall, male and female, and both were wearing masks.

The woman was wearing a black dragon mask, speckled with green and purple jewels. 

The man was wearing a wooden human face. The wood had been carved into a smirk and caricatured with an eye patch and curly mustache. His mask was grotesque and comical, very much like –

"A pirate!" Peter's insides flipped. He looked to the man's left hand, but it was hidden inside a pocket.

"Guilty by omission." Peter breathed, scampering to the window. Certain the masked man was Captain Hook, he frantically placed both hands on the window, intent on somehow getting Wendy's attention without being heard.

But the window had already been opened. It was only open a crack, but it was enough for Wendy to quietly spy on Peter as he had spied on the masked strangers below.

They stared at each other, both a little startled.

Peter spoke first. "Hullo Wendy."

Wendy smiled like a princess that had just been awoken by her prince. Still peeking from behind the window, she curtsied.

"Hello Peter."

Peter cocked his head. "You know me?" he asked, momentarily forgetting Captain Hook.

"I do." Wendy replied, still shining with excitement. "You're Peter Pan. The boy who can fly. The boy..."

She didn't finish, but Peter would have recognized that blush anywhere. She loved him. Somewhere, deep down, Wendy knew that she loved him.

Peter crouched on the ledge, ears primed for danger. Wendy was infatuated with him, but he still had to gain her trust. She was a sensible little girl and very attached to her family; the likelihood of her flying off with Peter without encouragement was slim.

"You know a lot about me, Wendy lady." Peter placed a hand against the glass, directly across hers. "How do you know so much?"

Wendy touched her head. Fleetingly, her eyes flickered black.

"I dreamt about you." she said, "I dreamt you can fly. I dreamt that you come from a place called Neverland."

Peter inched his hand across the window. "You know about Neverland?"

"Oh yes!" Wendy said. "Neverland is a magical place where people stay young. It's full of wondrous adventures, flying spaceships, and evil pirates. I dreamt that I was captured by Neverland pirates. And..."

Wendy looked up shyly. "You saved me."

Peter curled his fingers around the window frame. Their fingertips touched.

"What else did you dream?" he asked, hoping to rekindle the memories sparking in Wendy's subconscious. 

Again, Wendy's eyes flickered black. 

"I dreamt about a wishing star," Wendy said, shadow working magic brewing in the back of her mind. "I think...I think we flew to a star."

Peter smiled. He interwove the tips of their fingers. 

"Wendy?" he asked. 

Wendy crawled onto the window seat. Their hands slid together. "Yes, Peter?"

Peter lowered. Nose-to-nose, he squeezed her hand. "Come with me! Come to Neverland!"

She caught her breath, stopping herself from accepting. But her eyes danced.

"Neverland?" Wendy looked wistfully at the stars. "But...how do we get there?"

Peter eased Wendy into his arms. "Second star to the right and straight on til –"

Peter didn't finish. 

There was a sudden bang on the front door. It was accompanied by the laughter of Captain Hook.

"Knock, knock! Who's there? Oh glorious evening!" Below, Captain Hook slashed the ribbon decorating the front door. "Tonight Maleficent, the Chosen One dies!"

Maleficent purred through her dragon mask. "Twinkle twinkle little star...find your guardians and ours. Four seasons turn, all are cursed...find the one born on the first!"