The Warrior of Neverland

Unbalanced

Her lungs ached from running through the dark forest. Her hands were burning from where they'd slid against the vines. She'd never experienced these kinds of pains, and she shouldn't have. Not in Neverland.

Her heart was still racing when she came to a stop outside the Hollow. She peered through the bushes first, not wanting to burst in uninvited.

"Please talk to me, Pan," she muttered to herself. She saw light and movement inside the tree and knew the Lost Boys were there. Well, it was now or never. She stiffened, preparing herself for his anger, and stormed up to the door. She didn't bother to knock but threw it open and stepped inside, looking down into the room.

Several of the Lost Boys looked up at her. Slightly stepped forward.

"Chief," he greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Pan?"

Slightly looked around at the other boys. "He's with Wendy. They're on the ship." Tigerlily must've looked confused, because Slightly continued, "You know, the pirate ship. They're taking it out to sea at first light."

Tigerlily did a quick count and saw that only a handful of the Lost Boys were here. "What do you mean taking it to sea?"

"Just that," Slightly said, shrugging. "Wendy wanted to travel across the Neverland ocean, and Peter thought it was a splendid idea."

"Are you all going with them?"

"Not all of us." Slightly grabbed his hunting bag and his bow. "Curly wants to go, though, don't you Curly?"

Curly jumped up, smiling. "Ay, miss, I think Wendy's idea is perfect! She's lovely."

Tigerlily nodded slowly. "Do you think so?" She turned back to Slightly. "Slightly, do you know how the pirates got here? Didn't they travel across the Neverland ocean?"

"Of course not!" Slightly exclaimed, almost offended at the very idea. "Pirates would never be allowed to roam these waters without Pan knowing it. They came from the second star."

Tigerlily's fears were confirmed. She still didn't understand why everything was going so wrong if the pirates weren't the enemy that the prophecy spoke of, but at least Hyacinth's words made sense. Tigerlily rubbed her forehead.

"Do you know the prophecy?"

She looked up at Slightly.

His eyes were wide with curiosity. "Pan said you knew the prophecy, but he wouldn't tell us what it was."

"Oh. Yes, I know it." She sat down on the step by the door and waited as all the boys gathered around her. They loved stories, she knew, so she wouldn't start without them. "The prophecy has been handed down to us from those who came before, those we can't even remember, before the Lost Boys, before the tribe, before any of the fairies. It was almost lost to memory, and only the oldest and wisest knew the story, but the prophecy was stronger than any mind. The fairies keep it in existence, and the queen herself told it to me."

"What does it say?" the twins shouted together.

"It says, when seaborne enemies come to Neverland and try our defenses, a daughter of Neverland will rise, and call together her army, and defeat the enemy forever!"

"A battle!" Nibs exclaimed. "Will she call the Lost Boys to her army?"

Tigerlily stood. "I don't know."

"I wonder if Pan knows who the enemy is," Slightly said. "He knows everything that breathes on those seas."

Seas. Pan.

Seaborne enemy...

Tigerlily's eyes widened. Pan would be out on the open seas tomorrow morning.

With her.

"I have to warn him," she said. She pivoted and bolted from the tree before any of the Lost Boys could stop her. The light of the moon was the only thing to guide her. She ignored the ache in her lungs as she raced through the forest, over the river, and into the jungle, but before she'd reached the lagoon she tripped on a tree root and tumbled to the ground.

She rolled head over heels, pain exploding in her body wherever it hit, and she grunted and groaned until she finally came to a stop.

For a second she didn't want to move. She lay on her back, staring at stars through the leafy canopy, testing her fingers to see if they were still working. Sure enough, they did. She tried her arms. Her legs. She was able to sit up without hurting too badly, but there was a cut on her arm bleeding.

She'd have to have Hyacinth fix it for her when she got back. But she remembered Hyacinth's pale face, and wondered if the apprentice would have to be the one to do it.

Tigerlily grimaced as she pushed to her feet. Hyacinth, the fairies, the aches and pains. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. If they couldn't fix it, what would happen to Neverland?

She tried to run, but her legs wobbled beneath her, and she didn't trust herself to do it. The cut on her arm throbbed. She paused for a minute, leaning against a tree. Catching her breath.

Everything hurt so badly. And she was so, so tired. But Pan... and the prophecy...

She took a deep breath.

She had to sleep. It was strange to her, that she needed it. That she couldn't continue without it. But she forced herself to accept it, and limped back in the direction of her camp. As soon as she broke the trees, Cloud was running over to her.

"Chief! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, before remembering that she really wasn't fine. She raised her arm, and Cloud gasped at the cut.

"Come on. We'll take you to the medicine tent."

"How is Hyacinth?" Tigerlily asked as Cloud pulled her arm over her shoulders, helping her to into the camp.

Cloud didn't say anything. "It might be a minute before they can fix your arm," she said. "There are a lot of people waiting for medicine."

Tigerlily's pain increased, but not in her arm. In her heart. She set her jaw and put one foot after the other. She had to find a way to fix this. And soon.