Without You (Book 2 of The Blue Star) OUAT

Piercing Cry

Chapter 27

*Baelfire*

Light pierced through the leaves hovering overhead; rays of sunshine beaded down onto the iron cage, causing the metal to grow hot. Sweat crept down the back of my neck as I laid there.

Wendy was knotting grass together in her cell, while Cyrus was laying down with his right arm over his dark face. I examined Wendy; her blonde curly hair was messy and greasy from a lack of washing it. Her white gown was caked in mud; scratches ran up her arms. I noticed she also had cuts on her cheeks as well. I wondered how those appeared.

"Wendy," my voice was raspy from dehydration. "Where did all those cuts come from?" I pointed to her arms and face, very curious what her answer might be.

She looked panicked for a moment until her eyes softened and she let out a gentle sigh. Her British accent was like a song as she spoke; "it's not a big deal. When Ivan let me out of the cage so I could wash in the pond, I tried to escape. Very stupid I know now. Ivan saw me run into the forest. I was running for my life—thorns caught my skin and sharp rocks jammed into my feet. I finally tripped and that's how I got this scratch on my face." She lightly traced a deep looking gash on her cheek. "He brought me back to the cages. I was so scared he would do something to me—but he didn't."

I nodded slightly, not wanting her to know the anxiety I had while listening. Ivan, of what I heard, was much like Cale—too much like him. Neverland was bad enough with Peter Pan and Felix, we didn't need another nightmare. If Cale came back, he would bring hell along with him.

I opened my mouth to reply, but instead my words were replaced by a piercing cry which rang out inside the forest; it was high pitched like a female.

My mind instantly raced toward Solstice. Something had happened to her. Panic flooded my chest; it felt like a weight, daring to crush my ribs. My hands flew to the bars of the cage; I shook them violently, trying to rip them apart.

Cyrus got up from his position with a straight face. His expression showed little emotion; i felt as if I was staring at a stone faced statue. I glanced over to Wendy who had thrown the knotted grass from her hand and looked alarmed. Her eyes darted from the forest back to me, as if asking whom the scream belonged too.

I heard shouts in the same direction the shriek came from. It sounded as if a few of the Lost Boys were coming closer our way. Something was wrong. The screams inched closer with the sound echoed by footsteps.

"Get off of me!!" A distant feminine voice commanded.

I finally let go a breath which I didn't know I was holding. My anxiety mellowed; the voice didn't belong to Solstice. Was it wrong to be relieved that it wasn't Sol who the Lost Boys captured?

"Be quiet!!" A moody voice replied back with the same amount of force the girl had.

Suddenly three figures appeared through the brush. Two Lost Boys were on either side of the girl; Ivan and another boy I didn't recognize. The boy's brown hair flopped over his blue eyes which he had to constantly brush it away from his face.

Ivan had a smirk plastered on his face. It widened each time the girl squirmed. Both boys dragged her to an empty cage beside Wendy. They threw her in; she landed on her back with a groan. Ivan slammed the door and snickered; "Home sweet home Bell. Hope you like it here cause' you're going to be here for a long time."

The girl wiped away a small trickle of blood from her lip, which I assumed was given by Ivan. She glared daggers into his eyes; "You better watch your mouth, because one way or another, I'm going to get out of here. And when I do, you're the first person I'm coming after."

Ivan was about to say something, but the other boy cut him off.

"Damn girl."

"Shut it Devin!" Ivan growled at the brown haired boy.

Devin lifted up his hands in his defense; he tried to hide his blooming smile. "Look man you gotta admit she's a spit fire. This gal's the only one who ever stands up to you—well besides Pan and Felix that is."

Ivan slapped Devin in back of the head, causing Devin to yelp; "I said shut up!" Ivan's low growl was almost like a warning; telling the other boy to back off.

Devin just rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Whatever man."

Ivan glared at the girl and spat before turning away back into the forest. We could hear Ivan's rants through the thick brush as he stalked back to camp.

My eyes turned to the girl; her blonde hair was pulled back into a high bun. Her blue eyes were icy and cold.

"What are you looking at?" I heard the girl hiss.

Just then I realized she was talking to me. My eyes met with hers; she was glaring at me. She didn't seem to like the attention I was giving her. I opened my mouth to say something but no words came out; her stare intensified, leaving me wondering if I even should have made eye contact.

"What's the matter?" Toughness stuck to her voice like glue; "hey!" She shouted when I didn't say anything.

"Who the hell are you?" Cyrus spoke before I could.

The girl, who Ivan called Bell, raised her eyebrows at him. Her gaze made Wendy shrink back, even though Bell wasn't looking at her.

"I'll make a deal with you. Tell me your name and I'll tell you mine." Bell replied bluntly without much emotion.

Cyrus's face was still, as if contemplating if he should give her his name. He finally spoke, his eyes never darted away from her; "the name is Cyrus. Your turn. Is your name even Bell? Or is that some nickname Ivan gifted you with?"

The girl smirked. "Bell is the last part of my name. It's TinkerBell."

Cyrus cracked a smile. "TinkerBell? Are you serious?"

Her eyes hardened; "Yes, actually. I'm a fairy."

Cyrus's smile widened with amusement. "Sure you are. Sorry to break it to you, but in order to be a fairy, you need to have wings."

"Hey! My wings were stolen from me because I—" TinkerBell stopped short. Her eyes softened, almost looking sad.

We all noticed her change in demeanor. Wendy and I looked at each other with curiosity. Cyrus stared at her for a moment until finally sighing. He let the subject go and ran his hand through his hair; "Sorry Bell."

"Whatever." Anger stung her voice; we all heard it. She looked away from him and folded her arms across her chest. "Jackass." She muttered.