The Captive (First Book in the Neverland Bound Series)

Chapter 10 (Peter)

As the week progresses, I begin to get the feeling that Cat is gradually warming up to me. I can still feel her resentment towards me, and it's understandable that she feels this way considering I haven't exactly been the nicest to her. What I don't understand is why her feelings of resentment are so strong. She tries to hide it, but whenever I get close to her or touch her, she goes rigid as if she's preparing for an attack. There have only been a few moments when she has let her guard down enough that I got to see her smile. And not a fake one she has plastered on for other people's benefit. It's a genuine smile that goes all the way to her eyes, causing them to shine bright like sapphires in the dark of night.

I silently watch her as she performs the protection spell for what feels like the hundredth time today. We have come to this same little clearing multiple times over the past few days for her to practice, and each day she improves. She has excelled far faster than I originally thought she would have, and no longer needs to raise her hands to direct her magic. She does still have to close her eyes to envision her happy memory though, but will eventually be able to perform the spell without needing to concentrate so hard.

I begin to wonder what her happy memory is. According to Curly, Cat's life has been full of disappointments, which explains why she struggles recalling happy memories to fuel her magic. I wish she trusted me enough to share her own story with me, but I know I should just be patient and wait until she's ready to open up.  Besides, its not like I've known her that long.

"How was that?" she asks, bringing me back out of my thoughts.

"Perfect," I say rewarding her with a smile. "I want you to do it one more time before we head back. This time though, I want you to try it without closing your eyes."

Her smile fades as she says, "I don't think I'm ready for that yet, Pan."

For a moment, I stand there in shocked silence. That was the first time she has ever been so honest about something with me without it coming out as sarcastic or overly blunt.

"Well, you'll never know if you never try. Besides, you're already able to do it without raising your hands. If you can do that already, you can surely do it without too much concentration," I say, and smirk at her with the hope that she missed my slight moment of silent shock.

She flashes me a little smirk of her own and I know she caught it.  I sigh exasperatedly and after a moment, she follows suit. "Alright. I'll try," she concedes, albeit reluctantly.

She takes a deep breath and I can see her envisioning the wall again inside her head.

"Just look at me. Don't close your eyes," I direct.

Her eyes lock onto mine and before we both know it, a shimmering veil passes between us and her protection spell is in place. A wide grin spreads across her face as she realizes she has successfully pulled it off, and I smile back.

"I told you," I say.

"Yes, yes you did," she replies as the veil disappears. "So what are you going to teach me next?"

Her eagerness causes me to laugh. "Nothing else today. You look drained enough as it is."

She frowns at this and I chuckle. "Don't worry though. That only makes what's coming tomorrow even more special," I say. I then walk past her in the direction of camp and she hurries slightly to catch up with me.

After a moment of silence, she speaks. "I wanted to thank you. You know, for teaching me," she says, looking straight ahead of us.

"It is my pleasure, milady," I tease and she smiles thinly.

"I mean it, Peter," she says, glancing up at me. My breath catches when she calls me by my first name. It's rare when any one calls me that, and it always seems to knock me off guard. Even more so with her since she's normally so tense around me.