The Princess & The Lost Boy (Completed)

Chapter 22: The Mermaid

(Ashlynn’s P.O.V.)

     “Damn it, Peter. Where are you?” I muttered to myself. I had already been pacing in front of the bed for possibly a half an hour. Why hasn’t he come back yet? He should be back by now. Especially with his ability to teleport anywhere on this bloody island. It couldn't have taken that long to convince the fairies and mermaids to back off.

     I turned towards the dark oak desk that taunted me because I couldn’t get the stupid drawers to open to find out what was inside. Peter wouldn’t have locked them if he didn’t have something in there he didn’t want me to know about. There had to be secrets about Neverland. Secrets he didn’t want me to know because he thought he was protecting me. Secrets I had to find out about no matter what the consequences would be for defying Peter after he told me that I can’t know.

     I understood what Peter meant. He didn’t want me to get hurt by the enemies he had because of secrets they couldn’t know about. And me knowing them would put me in danger. Yet why did I feel as if he didn’t trust me as much as he should? What was the point of asking me to stay here and be by his side if he couldn’t tell me things about him and this island no one else knew about. He was still trying to order me around, saying that it would be best if I didn’t find out.

     But, I was also right when I told him that those secrets could also protect me. His enemies wouldn’t try to kill me if they needed me alive to reveal secrets about Peter that I would never tell. I needed to know what he was hiding from me if I was going to stay here. He couldn’t protect me forever, no matter how much he tried. There would always be danger lurking in Neverland. I knew that, but it was harder to know what kind of danger if he didn’t tell me.

     I spun around to face the door of the tree house when I heard a scream from outside. I raced over to the door and opened it to look outside. Maybe Peter was bluffing when he told me he had put a boundary spell, to make me think that it was impossible to leave.

     “Please work,” I murmured as I lifted a hand to make sure that there really was no spell.

     “And where do you think you’re going, love?” a familiar British voice said, causing me to turn around to see Peter.

     “Away from you!” I shouted, spinning back around to walk outside when he grabbed my arm, yanking me back towards him until he placed both of his hands on my arms.

     “Come on Ash, don’t act like that.”

     “Don’t act like what exactly, Peter? You left me in here because you wanted to apparently protect me! When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I’m very much capable of taking care of myself on this bloody island!” I yelled at him.

     “Ash, I’m only doing this because I care for you. My enemies will use you against me because of how I feel for you. If I’m keeping anything from you, please believe me when I tell you it’s for your own good,” he said looking sincere.

     “You’re the one who wanted me to stay here. On Neverland. To be by your side. What’s the point if you’re never going to trust me enough to tell me the mysteries that Neverland holds?”

     “Why are you so persistent to know?”

     “Because I care about you Peter! But I can’t help you if I don’t know what this island holds in store for us. You can tell me anything.”

     “I’ve told you all that you have to know. There are dangerous things on this island that you can’t protect yourself against. There are horrible things I’ve done that you could not even begin to imagine. Everything I’ve done and am doing is all part of something bigger that has to be done. You just can’t know about it.” He smiled at me as he brushed some of my hair behind my ear.