Peter Pan bewildered me.
Was he my protector or was he my enemy?
As we climbed uphill to one of the large traps that had been set, I prayed that rain would come and wash away the sweat and humid atmosphere that the forest and sun had created.
"You forgot where you set it, didn't you?" Caspar asked Owen.
"It's up here somewhere, I promise."
I promise.
Practically the only words that fell from Owen's mouth, and most of the time they were untruthful and hardly kept.
Through the trees about ten paces, stood a cage like trap with no floor, lowered against the ground and trapping something lying lifeless inside. "Is that it?" I pointed.
Their eyes averted to where my finger pointed. "Yes! Look at that big hog, Peter!" Liam exclaimed excitedly, running to get a better look at the animal in the cage.
We followed close behind him, peaking in through the metal bars.
"It looks dead." Roux concluded, peering at the furry beast in disgust.
"It doesn't smell dead." Nolan said. "Though it does smell quite badly."
We stood looking at it for a few seconds before Caspar went around to the other side of the tree and pulled the rope that hung over a branch like a pulley, lifting the cage back up into the tree.
The large pig jolted up suddenly, recognizing it's freedom and began sprinting.
"Grab it!" Caspar yelled, preparing his arrow.
I darted for the hog but fell into the ground, only catching hold of it's back leg as it dragged me behind it.
It squealed as my hands found it's way around its stomach, the boys laughter erupted from behind me. "Hold on, Meadow!"
Though I weighed the pig down, it was much stronger than I was as it pulled me along the dirty path, my hands clinging to it with white knuckles. A scream fled from my lips and my heart beat faster.
The boys ran after me in attempts to stop the pig.
"Shoot it!" Roux yelled.
"Don't shoot at it! You might hit her!" Nolan responded.
Caspar appeared around a tree, blocking the path of the pig and tossing one of the burlap bags over the head of the hog, stopping it in its tracks.
I let go of it, landing in the dirt as Caspar straddled the struggling screaming hog and tied it's legs together with rope.
Roux and Nolan still laughed and Peter couldn't hide his smile.
"How was the ride?" Caspar inquired, out of breath and chuckling.
"Can I try, Peter?!" Liam asked, giggling.
I stood up, brushing the dust from my stained clothing and noticing the red bruises starting to form on my hips and stomach. I laughed and caught my breath. "I can't believe I actually did that."
"It's a wonder you held on that long." Owen said, shaking his head.
Pride came over me and a genuine smile spread across my face. Not to mention that I had made Peter smile as well.
"That was excellent, Meadow." Caspar said, patting my back rather forcefully almost knocking over my still shaking body.
"I have to admit, I honestly didn't think you had that in you." Peter said, pulling his lips together in attempts to hide his smile but failing instantly.
"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