"In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins."
- Ulysses S. Grant
PETER'S POV:
"Lilith, are you ready to go? They're waiting for us."
I watch her shoulders go up and down in a deep breath, and then she takes out her sword and faces me, "I'm ready."
I hold out my hand to her and she takes it. It's warm, and kind of sweaty. I guess I can't blame her. There's a lot at stake here tonight. The lives of practically everyone she's met on Neverland are hanging in the balance. Together we jump into the air and fly in the trees to the front of the armada.
I look over at her, the wind whipping her hair around her face, "Everything will be fine. We'll find the mermaid, they'll help us defeat the pirates... again, and then we'll find Alina. It's simple. No one will get hurt."
She bites her lip, "I hope not."
I remember her encounter with The Fates and cannot possibly imagine how frightened she must be. I try to reassure her, "You said what you saw doesn't necessarily happen in this reality, right? So it won't, and definitely not tonight."
Lilith shakes her head slightly, "I just can't shake this feeling that something bad is gonna happen."
I chuckle, "It is."
Her head turns to me, shock on her face.
"To the pirates." I smile.
She grins back, and together we fly through the dark tree tops until we reach the break of rocks.
We land quietly on the cold stones. The instructions for the armada are to remain hidden until I whistle a note that they would recognize. This way, Lilith and I can attempt to rescue Alina on our own with out being noticed, thus saving lives and energy. Or, at least that's the plan. Who knows what will actually happen.
The pale moonlight casts blue shadows around us. Lilith and I quietly peak from behind a set of tall boulders.
"That's Smee's tent." I whisper, pointing to a tent much larger than the rest of them.
She nods, her sword pressed against the rock, "We just need to sneak inside without being noticed. That's gonna be-"
I quickly slam my hand across her mouth. She fights back for a moment, until I point to our source of trouble. A large, pointy-nosed pirate staggers his way past us- a dangerous looking blade in his hand. Once he's gone, I remove my hand from Lilith's mouth and she takes a deep breath.
"Thanks." She whispers, looking over her shoulder at me.
I nod, "Let's try getting over there."
After checking that the coast was clear, Lilith and I silently floated our way over the rocks and behind other hiding places. We flew to three places before Smee's tent was the next one. Our backs were pressed up against the barrels we were hiding behind. We hardly took a breath, listening for a sign of anyone inside. And we heard it.
"I'm tellin ya, little pixie. When yer Kulethe friend gets here, she's gonna have a big surprise." Smee bellowed, laughing wildly at the end. One look at Lilith and I could tell she was practically steaming.
"Oh, yes" He continued, "Quite the surprise. A fairy with no wings? Ha! I'd say you'll be just a sad, little misfit then. Like me. I bet that'll get yer Kulethe plenty mad."
I felt Lilith spring into action beside me before I had a chance to react.
"Lilith, no." I hissed, but it was too late. She burst into the tent at full speed, eyes blazing and sword extended in front of her.
"You'll die before your hand reaches a blade!" She spat at him.
I flew in behind her and was just as surprised as her face was revealing.
Alina was no where in the tent. The flickering light we saw from outside was a mere illusion; created by an old candle. Instead of Alina, we saw Smee, sitting with his legs up on the table and a pistol pointed at the both of us.
He grinned when we walked in.
"Well if it isn't our honored guests. We've been expecting you. Both of you."
I noticed a waver in Lilith's voice as she asked, "Where is Alina? If you've harmed a single hair on her head I swear I'm-"
"What? What're you gonna do, huh, girly?" He chuckled, "Slash me in half with that sword of yours? No. I don't think so. I'm the one in charge here. I've got the pistol."
"Where is she?" Lilith asked, her sword trembling.
Smee repositioned his hold on the pistol, "She's fine for now. I stuck her in a jar and tossed her to the mermaids. They sure loved their shiny, new toy. Better hope they haven't figured out how to open it yet."
He broke out into another fit of maniacal laughter. This seemed to push Lilith over her fears, because she lunged out at Smee. His laughter stopped as he lifted the lock on the pistol and fired a shot.
The sound echoed in my ears, and all I heard was ringing. The tent filled with smoke and when I caught a glimpse of Lilith on the ground I felt my heart plummet into my stomach.
"Lilith!" I gasped as I dropped my sword and flew over to her. As I put my hands on her back she sat up, clutching her arm. Her face twisted as she moved her fingers aside and we could see a bleeding gash where the bullet narrowly grazed her skin.
Smee's laughter bounced off the tent walls as the doors opened up and a hoard of his men came rushing in. All at once, they pointed their weapons at us. Swords, guns, daggers... you name it. I think one guy even had a grenade.
I put one arm under Lilith's and helped her stand. She clutched her bleeding arm with one hand and held her sword in the other. I, stupidly, dropped mine and it was now being used by the pirate with a grotesque nose. The irony.
Smee stood up and walked towards us like a predator looking down on his prey. He had us right where he wanted us. This whole thing was a trap - and we fell for it.
"You thought it'd be that easy? That you could sink our ship and that'd be the last of us?" He held his arms open, "Look at us. We survive. We survive everything. You wanna know why, boyo? Because we're men."
He started pacing in front of us, and now I felt myself getting angry.
"That's the difference between us, really. You're a bunch of stupid, immature children and we're men. We have the skills for life that you haven't learned, and for that reason you'll always fall for my tricks. You want to hear my plan? No? Well you're going to here it anyway." He cleared his throat, "Number one - bring back a decoy ship with lots a gold to trick you idiots into coming on board."
The pirates around him snickered.
"Number two - capture a Lost Boy to use as yet another bait. I'll admit this part of the plan got a bit complicated but, I'd say it worked out pretty nice in the end. I get to kill Peter Pan and the Kulethe at the same time."
Smee stopped pacing and stood in front of us, "Number three - get Pan and his little girlyfriend to come to Mermaid Lagoon with the fairy as bait, and kill them both when they get here."
The pirates all clicked their pistols and laughed. Smee pushed his glasses up his sweaty nose and leaned in close to Lilith. He used a chubby hand to caress the side of her face, and she cringed. I removed my arm from under Lilith and used them to force the disgusting pirate out of her face, but before I could do much I had three other pirates holding me back. I kicked and squirmed in their arms but got no where. My feet scrapped against the rock as I struggled. I saw that her sword had been taken away from her and one extremely large, extremely bearded man held her in place.
"Don't touch her!" I grunted as I tried elbowing my captors.
Lilith averted her eyes and clenched her fists together as Smee traced a slimy finger down her jaw.
"STOP IT!" I screamed.
He turned his head to me and grinned, "It's amazing how much you care for this one, Pan. You rescue her, show her this magical place, teach her to fly, and assist her in this failed rescue attempt. Why, I'd almost say it's as if... it's as if..."
Smee looked back at Lilith, and then to me. I felt my nostrils flaring and knew my face was red with anger.
"It's as if..." He said again, like he was just realizing it for the first time, "You love her."
I froze for a second. It felt like every one of my body parts had simultaneously decided to stop working, except for my ears. I couldn't fight any more, I couldn't talk back. All I could do was listen, and feel my heart hammering in my chest as Smee spoke.
He took my silence as some type of confirmation, and his eyes widened, "You do love her. But, does she love you back?"
Lilith had turned her head towards me, and when Smee looked to her for an answer she cast her head down. He took a gruff hand and grabbed her cheeks, forcing her head up. I felt my stamina return and I squirmed again as he touched her. Smee tilted her head to face him and leaned in to examine her closer. She tried moving her head away and wriggling in the large man's grasp, but all she managed to do was look at me.
Her eyes were tired, but I saw the fight behind them. They locked onto mine and I saw the desperation behind them. She wanted to save her fairy. She wanted to keep everyone safe. She didn't want anyone to get hurt. I could see how much of herself she was willing to sacrifice to protect the people she loved, and I felt it tearing at my heart. How could one person be so courageous? How could one person be filled with so much love, and still have room to embrace new people every day? I'd never understand. Girls are complicated creatures in general, but Lilith was like an intricate puzzle wrapped in a detailed maze: impossible to solve, but equally impossible to give up on.
"By the second star," Smee exclaimed, "She does."
Smee violently removed his hands from her cheeks and she cast her head down again, panting. He walked away from her and stood a few feet away, looking flabbergasted.
"Oh deary, you know he doesn't really love you, right? He's incapable of it. It's not in his genes. For goodness sake, boy, haven't you learned your lesson yet? You brought that Wendy girl here but she left ya because ya couldn't love her back. And here you go, finding another bonnie lass to destroy all because you are too selfish to leave things be."
He whistled between his teeth, "And they say I'm bad? You're the one who intercepts in girls' lives, makes them fall in love with you, and then abandons them. That's just cruel. And you don't seem to care at all."
Lilith writhed as Smee brushed a hair out of her face, "You think he would ever give up all of this for you? He'd decide to grow up and leave Neverland... for you? Well I hate to be the one to break it to you, girly, but he won't. He never will. Because He can't love." Smee faces me as I struggle to get at him, "He's just a stupid boy. A stupid boy incapable of loving anyone but himself. And that's exactly how he's gonna die. By himself."
Smee walks over to me, pistol in hand, and places the tip on my forehead. He leans over and grins in my face, exposing his yellowed teeth, as he relishes in this moment.
"There's something you overlooked in this whole 'plan' of yours." Lilith calmly says, standing tall.
Smee moves the pistol from my face and scratches the side of his head, "Is that so?"
Lilith nods, a devious smile on her cheeks, "Something that's going to ruin you."
Smee rests his hands on his large belly and bounces on his toes, "And what's that?"
Lilith meets my eye and grins, knowing I understand what she means, "Peter isn't by himself."
I shape my lips to form the right note, and blow the whistle tone loudly threw my lips, signaling the armada that it was time to attack.
A/N: ITS BEEN 2 WEEKS SINCE I UPDATED I AM SO SORRY YOU GUYS!!!!! Ive been away on a fantastic vacation so it's been difficult to write but I promise to not let this happen ever again!
I know this chapter isn't too exciting but the next one is just so action-packed and crazy that I figured I had to divide it up otherwise your heads would explode from how shocking it is ;)
Please let me know what you thought!!
5 comments for the next chapter :*