I once again find myself pacing angrily around in my private sanctuary within Hangman's Tree, my frustration threatening to boil over. She is just so irritating.
Card tricks, ha! We'll see whose performing card tricks.
And that smirk! Just thinking about that cocky grin on her face makes me want to hex her. But I have to keep my cool. Hexing her isn't going to improve her already withering opinion of me, and I need her on my side if I'm going to try and convince her to perform the Shift for me.
Every hundred years, the Shift occurs, changing the entire layout of Neverland and renewing the magic that allows all those who call it home to remain young forever. But just like all other forms of magic, especially magic as powerful as the Shift, it comes at a price. If the Shift fails to obtain enough strength to occur, the island will fall into destruction and cease to exist.
And as ruler of Neverland, it is my job to make sure that doesn't happen. This is why every hundred years I am forced to select a new individual to perform the spell needed to enact the Shift. The person I select has to be exceptionally powerful; otherwise they won't be able to successfully perform the spell. This time unfortunately, the only person I could find other than myself who is strong enough to take on this incantation was Catherine.
I know she has the ability to pull it off. I can feel the magic flowing through her every time I get in close proximity to her. She just needs to find a way to strengthen her powers and develop them into something much more reliable than they currently are. That way, the next time she decides to hurl herself over the side of a boat, she'll be able to save herself from getting eaten by a crocodile.
I smirk at the thought, but quickly sober when I think about the task ahead of us. The night of the Shift is vastly approaching, and unfortunately, she has so much to learn before it arrives. I'm starting to worry that I made a grave mistake by bringing her here.
In three weeks' time, the moon will be in perfect position and the Shift will have to begin, with or without a castor. The only problem is that we're running out of time.
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I can feel her eyes following me as I maneuver my way through camp. I try to avoid eye contact as much as possible because her gaze is beginning to unnerve me. If looks could kill, I'm pretty positive that I would have been turned to smoldering ashes long before now. Her anger is completely understandable considering I left her in the middle of a clearing with nothing more than a sneer and a declaration that we would begin her lessons tomorrow. Once again, I failed to specify a time, but right now I don't really care. It serves her right for causing me to boil over.
"You lost it again, didn't you?" a voice asks from behind me.
Sensing his aura and recognizing his voice, I acknowledge my right-hand's presence. "Lost what, Curly?" I ask, feigning ignorance.
"Your temper," he replies calmly.
After a long silence he says, "Well?" and I sigh.
"Yes, Curly, I did," I reply much harsher than I intend.
"You know she's never going to warm up to you if you continue to treat her like you are. And if I know my sister, she won't take kindly to being treated like a pet," he advises, ignoring my sharp tone.
"What do you mean 'like a pet'?" I ask, turning my head slightly to face him.
"Well, you know, things like being forced to come and bend to your will at every beck and call and having to submissively be objected to any criticism you throw her way without comment. She won't subject herself to those kinds of things without a fight. And if you continue treating her that way she will continue to resent you for it. She isn't exactly one who takes to authority," he explains, with a chuckle.
"Yes. I've noticed," I reply, irritated.
He laughs. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that she makes sure you notice."
"What do you think?" I ask suddenly.
"About what, Pan?"
"What kind of approach should I take with her?"
After giving me a surprised look, he answers. "Just start by building her trust. Throughout our lives, Catey has never really had anyone she could truly rely on and I think she'd appreciate having someone other than me that she could lean on for support."
I look back at her and see she has turned her attention to the two boys, Michael and John, who are now sitting on either side of her. Michael is the youngest boy that lives here at age five and is by far the most inquisitive out of all the Lost Boys. I'm not surprised that he is one of the first ones willing to go up and talk to her. But his older brother John is a different story. John is only four years older than Michael, but has never really developed any people skills. He's extremely shy and the only two boys I have ever really seen him have an actual conversation with are his brother and Curly. It comes as quite a shock when I see him conversing freely with Catherine. Also, the fact that he's smiling and laughing along with her after only knowing her for a few minutes further piques my interest.
Who is the girl behind the scales anyway? And why is it that she blatantly refuses to let me in?
I watch her, intrigued. No one has ever been able to reach John like that after only a couple of minutes. It normally takes months, sometimes years, for people to gain his trust.
I then watch in awe as the other boys begin to congregate around her as if she's one of them. Some look upon her with curiosity while the majority smiles at her in acceptance. No one has ever made that kind of impression on the boys so quickly and, secretly, I'm a bit jealous.
"Besides," Curly continues a mischievous smile on his face. "It might be nice to have someone as intuitive as her around. Even if she is a girl."
He then brushes past me to join the group of boys surrounding Catherine, and I'm left alone again with my thoughts.
After a moment, I grin. Yes, I think to myself, I guess she probably is a good addition to our lovely band of misfits.
After a while, my curiosity gets the best of me and I edge a little closer to where all the boys are gathered around the bonfire to find out what is so interesting. As I listen, I begin to realize that she is telling them a story.
"That's when he appeared through the mist. The evil Captain Hook now stood before the boys with a frightful sneer on his face as his rather large crew gathered behind him.
"'What are ye doin' with me treasure?' he asked menacingly.
"Little Michael bravely answered the captain. 'We were sent to find this treasure for our treasure hunt!' he declared.
"'Oh? Did ye now? Well, mark my words lads this is the last treasure hunt you will have!' Hook shouted and called out for his men to attack.
"The boys put up a valiant fight, but they were largely outnumbered by Hook's crew."
"But then Peter came and saved us all!" Michael yells excitedly, interrupting Catherine.
Some of the boys turn and glare at him while others attempt to shush him. "Let her finish!" Damian and Pierce snap at him in unison. Michael's ears begin to turn red and Catherine laughs. It's such a sweet sound that I find it hard to contain the small smile that tugs at the corners of my mouth.
She continues, "But Michael is right, you know. Because just as all hope seemed lost, Peter Pan did arrive. He challenged Hook to a duel and as the two enemies fought, the battle began to turn deadly. Both seemed to be evenly matched, but then Hook managed to knock the dagger from Peter's hand."
All the boys gasp in unison, but Catherine keeps her smile in check. "'Give up, boy,' Hook says to Peter.
"'Never!' he stubbornly replies.
"Hook laughs and lifts his sword above Peter's head. 'Say good-bye, Peter Pan,' he says.
"It was then that Pan brought his knees up to his chest and kicked Hook in the gut, sending him flying across the deck. 'Good-bye!' Pan called to Hook.
"Pan and the boys then took the opportunity to escape along with the treasure and Hook has been searching for it ever since," she finishes with a dramatic flourish.
All the boys cheer at the ending and I feel bad when I speak up to say, "Alright, you all have had your bedtime story. It's off to bed with you."
They all begin to groan when Catherine speaks up, "Now boys, if this is the reaction we are going to get every night I tell a story, I'm going to stop telling them."
This gets their attention and they all dash off to their tents. Some mumble a hurried "Good night" but most of them just sprint to their tents without another word. Catherine then stands to go as well and before I know what I'm doing I take hold of her arm. I feel her body go rigid and I internally wince. She then turns to me with guarded curiosity and I my mind goes blank as to what I was going to say.
"Do you need something, Pan?" she asks quietly.
I nervously clear my throat and swallow. "Um... No. Actually, I just wanted to let you know that your lessons will start shortly after breakfast."
"Oh," she says sounding almost disappointed. I find myself gazing at her full red lips that are practically begging to be kissed. We start edging closer together, our breaths beginning to intermingle. She then blinks a couple of times and takes a step back.
She gives me a cold look and says, "See you after breakfast then."
"Yeah," I say coming back to my senses.
"Good night, Peter," she says stonily and stalks toward the tent she shares with Curly.
"Good night," I reply as she ducks into her tent.
When I finally get into my own tent, I lie down and stare up at the ceiling. The last thing I see before sleep drags me under is a vision of Catherine, her piercing blue eyes gazing intently into mine.