Caged • Robbie Kay/Peter Pan •

Chapter Sixteen

"I think that was the last trap. Are we heading back now?" Caspar asked Peter.

"Someone needs to butcher the hog before I can cook it." Nolan said, gesturing toward the squirming animal that would soon be suffocated by the bag around its head.

"We're done, then. Owen, you'll butcher it when we get back, understood?" Peter commanded, leading us back to the path. Caspar and Nolan carried the large pig and followed Peter down the hill.

"Yes, Peter."

As we trudged along tiredly back to the tents, the sound of thunder erupted above the trees. Dark clouds covered the sky and threatened to release a storm over Neverland.

"Will we get before it starts raining?" I asked.

Peter examined the sky, his green eyes darting above the forest as the pale light reflected against them. "We should, if we don't encounter any interruptions."

We passed the training tent and came up behind Peter's tent shortly after, just as the rain started dripping from the vast sky of blue and grey pastel.

Nolan and Caspar dropped the pig and Owen dragged it to the center of the clearing to skin and clean it.

The rest of the boys went inside Peter's tent to the dining room, Nolan holding the wooden door open for me as I glanced behind me at Owen, crouched down by the hog as the rain began to fall faster.

"You coming in, Meadow?" Nolan questioned.

"In a minute." I responded, grinning as if to thank him for holding the door open, and then pacing over to Owen who sat alone.

I untied my cloak and put it over his shoulders and head to shield him from the rain.

Obviously surprised by the gesture, he glanced up at me then averted his eyes back to the dead hog, turning it over and running a dagger along its stomach.

"Thank you." he said simply.

"You're welcome." I responded.

I watched him pull away the furry skin, my stomach turning and my nose crinkling in disgust.

"You should go inside before you get drenched. You don't have any other clothes to change into." Owen said, swallowing and keeping his eyes fixated on the trail of his knife.

"I feel like I owe you something, though I no longer have the desire to see you the way I did last night." I stated, appreciating the refreshing feeling of the water trailing down my skin.

"You don't owe me anything, Meadow. I let my own desires come before you and by doing so, I hurt you." he argued, looking up at me with his dark eyes and mellow expression.

I stood silent for a minute. "I'm not sure what there is to say."

"Then maybe you should leave. Thank you for your concern, but I'm quite finished talking about it." he brushed me off without looking at me and handed me my soaked cloak.

I didn't dare argue with him as I returned to Peter's tent, leaving him alone once more as my heart felt like it would crumble at any moment.

•••

After Nolan had cooked the pork inside, we sat around the table, the sound of the rain beating against the hut and the conversation evidently more alive than it was four days ago.

Owen sat across from me, a fake smile playing on his lips to hide his pain as he listened to others and perhaps, I was doing the same thing.

"It smells a lot better than it did when we found it." Caspar told Nolan, a small chuckle falling from his lips.

"Don't remind me." Nolan replied, checking on the ham in the oven.

"Roux, get the bottle of brandy from the cellar, would you?" Caspar told Roux.

He nodded and lifted the plank to get to the underground pantry.

"What do we need brandy for?" I asked, never having tasted the stuff.

"Why not?" he responded as Roux returned from the cellar and lowered the hatch.

Caspar filled everyone's glasses with the strong alcohol and raised his above his head, his eyes meeting mine. "To Meadow, the bravest hog-rider in Neverland!"

I laughed at Caspar's excuse to drink the brandy, and hesitantly sipped the liquid, the bitter taste burning my throat, though it wasn't an unpleasant sensation.

Peter scoffed and shook his head before swallowing the glass of brandy, clearly amused.

The steaming ham was set on the table along with assorted vegetables and dried fruit and everyone piled the mouth watering meal onto their wooden plates, manners hardly a concern as they messily indulged into the food.

As I sat at the table, I was unsure if it had been my favorite day in Neverland or the most heartbreaking one.

It was definitely bittersweet, seeing the smiling faces of Liam, Caspar and even Peter, but every time I glanced at Owen, I was reminded of the painful part of the day.

So after dinner ended and the rain had died down, I excused myself from the table and said goodnight to everyone before exiting the tent.

I opened the door to mine and closed the door behind me, falling on my bed before broken-heartedly falling desperately and painfully apart..

•••

A/N

So I'm happy with the chapter!

I hoped you guys liked it and we'll see what happens next!!

I love you guys so much and I was scrolling along through the Robbie fanfiction and I saw Caged in the top 50 in Robbie-fics!

This chapter is dedicated to my lovely friend and reader Jessica, for letting my use her wifi to publish this lol k bye

Love love love