Edited ✔️✔️
So, how's your day/night going?
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Chapter 2
Mia woke up with a shooting pain in both her back and neck, causing her limbs to be stiff and shaky. Her fingers and feet tingled uncomfortably with sleep and she could feel dried drool coating her lips. Without thinking twice, she tried to stretch her arms over head but instead found herself hissing in pain when her hands banged against something hard.
Eyes flying open wide, she saw bars made of bamboo that surrounded her from every direction. Mia jumped out of shock, now fully awake, and winced when her head hit the top of the cage. Her jerky movements caused her confinement to swing back and forth since it was only tied above ground by two large ropes connected to a thick tree limb.
"Ow!" she cried as the pain started to pound against her skull and she pressed her hands against the bamboo walls as if that would make the cage stop its swinging. As the world around her spun, her stomach churned angrily, threatening to spew up her dinner.
"She's awake!"
Mia, through her dizziness, nausea, and pain, managed to turn her head quite slowly and saw a boy with black hair and dark eyes staring at her with a frown. Freckles covered his temples, nose, and chin with a deep, ugly, horizontal scar across his face which polluted his sun kissed skin.
"W-who are you?" she said in almost a whisper, confused and terrified for her life.
"What?" the boy snapped and chuckled mockingly when he noticed the distraught look on her face. "Can't hear you, Darling."
"Who are you?" Mia asked slower his time, emphasizing on every word, but not raising her voice. The last thing she needed was for him to be angry.
"Jake," he answered gruffly before he turned his body slightly away from her, signaling he didn't want to talk anymore.
Mia noticed his unusual attire. He wore a soiled shirt that had both of the sleeves ripped off, ripped black paints tucked into a pair of brown work boots, and a sweatshirt tied around his waist. It wasn't long before Mia noticed something metal, sharp and glistening, tucked away in his pants with a wooden handle. A knife.
She hid in the far corner of the cage that was in the shade of the tree branches, protecting her from the sun's glare and the farthest away from the strange boy, Jake. Like a child, she whimpered and tucked her head between her legs, wrapping her arms around her knees. Mia thought her heart would fly out of her chest because of how hard and fast it was beating.
Minutes passed as her anxiety got worse and as the jungle she was in grew eerily quiet. Sweat rolled down both sides of her face and she could taste the saltiness on her lips. She didn't dare to look up when the unforgettable sound emerged of Jake sharpening what she supposed was his dagger.
Footsteps walking quickly and with a purpose against the ground suddenly could be heard coming nearer and nearer by each passing second.
Mia's head shot up and again she hit her head, cursing at the restrictive cage and the pain it had caused. She held her breath as a strange boy came into view and tried her best to see him through the small gaps of the cage.
Never in her life had Mia thought she'd ever describe a male as beautiful. But there he was in all his glory, absolutely beautiful with curly hair glistening like pure gold in the sunlight.
His square face was complimented by a strong jaw and cheekbones that touched the heavens. With big, light grey eyes, he reminded her of a wild wolf that could never be tamed. The mysterious boy wore an outfit of dark green and black that was covered with dirt and torn at the knees. He couldn't have been older than eighteen but his cold, stern expression made him appear much older.
Mia knew he was one not to be messed with at the sudden change of attitude in Jake. By the expression in the beautiful stranger's eyes and the pure dominance radiating off of him, she could tell that it would be easy for him to make anyone grovel at his feet begging for mercy.
"Open the cage," the boy ordered Jake, not taking his eyes off her which had her audibly gulping in fear. She could've sworn his lips quirked.
Without hesitation Jake quickly ran over and started to tend to the lock to her cage with a large key. The door opened wide, making more sunlight come in and make black spots appear in Mia's vision from its brightness. It took her by surprise.
Stiff with fear and feeling like a cornered animal, she decided to stay in the way back of the cage in the shadows of the tree, where they couldn't reach her. Besides, her body wouldn't move even if she tried.
"Come on out, Darling," the boy in green said with softness, much different from his composure before. "We won't hurt you."
Mia knew she looked stupid shaking in fear, hiding in the way back like a frightened animal would. But she could care less. This boy—both of them—frightened her and all she wanted to do was be back in Anna's room with Peter Pan playing on the TV. I wish Anna was here, Mia told to herself. She'd know what to do. Mia didn't even want to imagine the raging panic her best friend must've felt waking up and seeing her missing.
"I'm sorry you were put in a cage. This is punishment for not staying awake like my note told you." The boy in green's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she looked at him weirdly.
He's crazy, she thought, as the note she had found underneath the pillow in Anna's room appeared in her memory. There was no way he could've known about that note unless he was being truthful about being the one who wrote it. But if he wrote it then that meant... No.
"We don't have all the time in the twelve realms," the boy said now sounded annoyed. Mia knew his kind act was wearing off. "Now come out so that we can see that pretty face of yours." Now he just sounded mocking.
Mia slowly crawled out with her head hung low and her hair covering her face the entire time. The boy roughly grabbed her bicep and pulled her the rest of the way out, making her yelp out in surprise and land her feet awkwardly on the uneven ground. His grey eyes met her blue ones and he smirked when he saw her obvious fear of him.
"You really are a beauty," he remarked, caressing her right cheek.
Mia felt herself blush, taken by surprise since she'd never been complimented by a guy before, and looked away from his piercing eyes that seemed to dig into her soul. She mentally scolded herself for reacting in such a way towards a guy like him, no matter how wrongly attractive he was. Gulping, she looked anywhere but his eyes.
He grabbed her chin, not too rough but not gently either, and forced her to look back at him directly in the eyes as if he knew what she was doing.
"You're so small."
He was right. She had to crane her neck just to look at his face.
"I'm guessing you're about five foot one." He gazed her up and down. "Maybe just five foot."
Mia felt embarrassed. She was always very sensitive about her height. People always teased her about it and called her all sorts of horrible names that haunted her throughout middle school. One day a boy taunted her with her awful nickname and got physical until Anna stood up to him and punched him in the face. Anna got a suspension but no one teased Mia ever again. After the incident, Anna and Mia got to know each other better and grew to be inseparable friends.
Mia missed Anna already.
"I like it."
She looked back up into his eyes that looked so sincere—the complete opposite of what they were when Mia first saw him. Still, she stayed cautious.
"I'm not very tall myself, you see and I like being the dominant one."
His words sent shivers down her spine as he whispered the last sentence in her ear.
The boy smirked, obviously amused. "What is your name, Darling?"
"M-Mia," she finally managed out between stutters.
"What's your full first name?" he asked like it was obvious.
Mia was taken aback by his statement. How'd he know...?
"Amalia," she answered. [Pronounced: um-AAl-yuh]
"A pretty name for a pretty girl," he purred, making her ears turn red at his tone. "I'm Peter. Peter Pan."
That's when she snapped out of it. There's no such thing, she thought and slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized she accidentally said it aloud.
'Peter' gave her a look of confusion. "I would've thought that being a Darling you would've been more... acceptable of magic. But we can work on that. After all, we do have all of eternity." He chuckled darkly, crossing his arms over his chest cockily.
"What are you talking about?" Mia asked, finally bringing her hand down from her mouth. The forest had gone quiet again.
"You are a descendant of Wendy aren't you?" Peter said, squinting his eyes as he looked her up and down.
Mia scrunched her eyebrows and shook her head, no. She took a step back and felt her headache returning with the world spinning around her.
His eyes met hers again and he searched them to see if she was lying. When he found she wasn't, Peter let out an animalistic growl and his whole demeanor changed into what it was before. "You must be kidding me!" He punched a nearby tree, sending pieces of woods flying, and Mia jumped back in terror at his outburst.
Somehow Jake had managed to sneak off right before Peter threw his little outburst as if he'd predicted it happening. Mia guessed that this wasn't the first time something like that had happened.
"Just take me home," she whimpered and covered her head with her arms.
"I can't," 'Peter' growled, putting his head in his hands while trying to calm his breathing.
"Why not?"
"Because I can only go to your part of your realm when the stars are out and perfectly aligned with earth," Peter groaned.
"Well, how long will it take for 'the stars to align'?" Mia asked quoting with her fingers.
"A month," was his dull reply, void of all emotion like he'd wasted them all in his burst of anger.
"What?!" Mia shrieked. "That can't be right!"
"The second star on the right is magical but it runs on a sort of clock just like any lunar or solar cycle. It only shows over each realm of the twelve kingdoms once a month," Peter explained, staring at the ground as if he was in deep thought. "It circles around each realm for three days and then switches. While you were asleep, the earth's third day ended, so it should be over Wonderland right now if you'd rather go there and quarrel with the Heart Queen." His words were laced with sarcasm.
Mia sat down, and leaned against a tree, shaking her head. "This can't be happening. This isn't Neverland." She rubbed her temples and kept repeating that phrase to herself over and over.
"Well, of course it is!" Peter exclaimed, rolling his eyes and looking at Mia like she was the crazy one. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"Because Neverland isn't real," Mia sighed. "There's no such thing as magic, mermaids, pixie dust, and there are definitely no such thing as f-"
Peter's hand slammed against her mouth. "Finish that sentence and you'll be just as dead as the fairy you kill."
Mia's wide eyes met his grey ones that shot daggers at her.
He pulled his hand away and she immediately brought her hand to where his was. Tears stung her eyes and pain surged through out her face, coming from her now purple bruised jaw.
Peter's eyes softened when he noticed the tears brim her eyes but then went back to his icy cold glare. "It's just a bruise. I could've done worse."
Mia tried to move her jaw and cringed as the pain increased when she did. Mia could've sworn she heard a popping noise. She checked with her tongue for any loose teeth. Thankfully she didn't have any.
"I want to go home," Mia hiccuped and tried to swallow the lump in her throat.
"You will in a month," Peter spat.
"Peter, please-"
"You do not have the privilege to call me that. You may call me Pan or else I'll make sure your jaw breaks the next time," Pan said, before storming away to where he came from, leaving Mia alone and very much afraid.
Mia shook and finally let the tears spill that she'd been holding back. Her sobs echoed off the trees as if they were now mocking her too. Her body shook with each heartbreaking sob and her back slid slowly down the tree until she was sitting on the ground, wishing somehow she would appear back in Anna's room.
Mia knew that she had to get home. Wherever she was, Neverland or not, she was going to get home. Before in a month's time. With or without Pan's help.
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Another chapter finished. I honestly don't know if this is any good... If you could leave feedback I'd really appreciate it! :)
Thanks for reading.
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