Stolen {Peter Pan • Once Upon A Time}

7

Today is my 3rd day as a Lost Boy.

I've shed my polka dot pajamas, besides the piece that stays in my hair to keep my braid. Now I wear what the rest of them wear, with my own spin because I'm a girl. Pan told me I could wear whatever I dreamt of, as long as it followed the "Lost Boys Dress Code". I certainly couldn't go sneaking around the forest in polka dots. I'd get another wolf.

Now I wear a dark brown t-shirt, leather pants that lace up instead of buttons (with an elastic waist, I'm not crazy, I just wanted to show power), brown lace up combat boots, and a dark forest green cloak. I also have a woven light brown bag that Felix grudgingly showed me how to do.

Being the only girl had its ups and downs and I was still trying to get used to it. Keeping up with them was difficult, I thought my father had showed me too many survival skills, I should've listened to him more.

I had no idea how my family was. I wanted to know. I thought about them a lot. I wondered if they had called the police yet to say I'm missing. I wondered if my brother had told them what happened. I wondered if my parents believed him. All these thoughts bothered me, it began to consume me I didn't want to forget them like so many of the boys had.

Pan told me I had to. That this was my new family. Here with the lost boys. And my wolf of course. Pan said I can't keep it but I did anyway. What's he going to do? Kill me? I might as well already be dead if this was my life eternally.

I am yet to name her, my wolf. I don't want to do something like fluffy, or snowball. I want to do something for her eyes. They are a radiant green like the auras in the sky.

Neverland is so much closer to the sky then Earth was. The stars are a hundred times brighter. My dad taught me a lot about the sky. I tried to remember the names and meanings of the things in the sky. The words I liked were Luna and Nova. I turned towards her ears, I was laying my head on her back, we've developed a lot of trust.

"Luna... Nova..." I whispered trying to see which she might respond to, so that she could pick. "Luna.... Nova.." she lifted her head then. Looking at me with her green eyes, they flashed an image of a star nova, I knew she chose the right name.

"Nova, you like that one?" I asked she looked at me, I took that as a yes. "Me too, Nova it is then."

"Rise and shine boys!" I heard the familiar voice coming from outside my hut. I was offered a tree house because I am a girl, I would have to live alone, but I wanted Nova in my room and she's not particularly the best tree climber.

I got up from my bed, the difference now is that I don't have to care about what I look like. Now without hair accessories, makeup, a change of clothes and any other luxuries were no longer a worry. It saves a whole lot of time. It didn't matter what I looked like. I brushed a hand through my hair while walking to the door.

The smell of meat cooking was in the air the moment I opened the door. I groggily walked towards the middle of camp. I bumped into one of the boys, Brick I think he called himself. Some of the boys had weird names for themselves, given to them by something stupid they did. You prayed you never got one. Brick, was very clumsy and would always bump into people.

"Sorry, I'm still a little tired." I said, yawning.

"That's alright, the first week is always the hardest for our newcomers." he gave me a small smile, "You'll get used to the schedule in a few days."

He walked away then, walking towards where the rest of the boys gathered with their breakfast. This was the worst part about Neverland. The boys were not very accepting of me. Some were, or they could be cordial one-on-one but once the crowd was together they avoided me like the plague.

I really hadn't talked to anyone. When Pan gave me the run down I just tried to stay quiet and do what I was told as well as I could. It's been a hard adjustment to just not caring about what we do, and leaving my past behind. I don't think that's something you can do in a total of 5 days here. I was never as lost as these other boys were.

I sat down on a log near the fire burning. It was strangely cold this morning. I pulled my cloak tighter around my body and observed the scene around me. I haven't been able to accept that I'm a lost boy yet, although I must've earned it by now.

"Good morning." I didn't have to look to know it was Pan that sat down beside me. He handed me a plate of food, "Eat up, girl. It'll be a day of traveling today."

"Traveling?" I asked.

"Traveling, moving, putting one foot in front of the other with your stuff on your back. Whatever you want to call it." he said, "You're one of us now, remember? You travel with us."

"Oh, yeah." I said, staring at my food. I suddenly got this weird feeling in my stomach when he said "One of us."

"Wait, what about my hut?" I asked.

"I'll make you a new one." He rolled his eyes as if that was a stupid question to ask. "We have to move camps because there is a storm coming. It's not safe for us to stay here. Especially you in that hut." I nodded.

"When are you going to tell us your name?" he asked after a silence

"When I feel like I can trust you guys." I said.

"We're your family, you can trust us. You were the one who tried so hard to join us. I'd like to stop calling you 'girl'." he said, he had a point. He seemed truly frustrated.

"You may be family, but being family doesn't guarantee trust. None of the boys seem happy I'm here, or to even want to talk to me. Like I'm the god damn plague! If they did maybe they would know that I'm capable of everything they are. That doesn't seem worthy of my trust." I said, probably a little louder than I should have because a few boys saw me as I got a little riled up.

"You get what you give, you're not giving anything, so you aren't getting anything." Pan stood up to meet my face, "Not everything is handed to you on a silver platter, Princess." He again, had a point but I was never one to expect anything from anyone. I was stubborn, yes, but ignorant? Selfish? no. That wasn't even what pissed me off the most, it was that he called me a name in such a demeaning way.

"You did not just call me Princess." I narrowed my eyes at him and turned back towards my hut.

"Sorry Princess, I didn't know what else to call you!" He called after me as I opened the door to my hut. I wanted to give up and tell him my name, but I knew that was probably exactly what he wanted.

"Knock on the door when we leave." I said quietly from my door. Trying to keep my sanity.

I saw the way Nova looked at me when I came in, it was like she understood. Gosh I love this wolf, she's my only friend right now.

"You know I can't give up now, right?" I asked her, she dropped her head.