Hook's Daughter

Apple A Day

Happy (late obviously) thanksgiving! I'm so thankful for my wonderful readers and all your votes and comments. LOVE YOU ALL!!!! <3

Only a couple hours in Neverland felt like a long time. Which is rather ironic when you think about the fact that the islands magic keeps you young so it should seem less than it is. I guess it was still the kind of thick tension that I felt between everyone. Except probably Felix. He had been my very best friend before, and now he was the same. Like I had never left. Devin was the same too. I guess I was the one who changed. Maybe that was true. Maybe I have changed since I was last here. It didn't really feel like it. Even though I didn't feel like I quite fitted in, everything was so...comfortable. Like the feeling you get when you arrive home after being away for a while.
The same day I got to Neverland, I had not seen Pan yet. I wasn't really minding honestly, I knew I'd see him eventually. As a matter of fact, I had a feeling it would be more of a problem to avoid him than to see him. Just as I predicted, I did run into him soon. I did not really want to. After what had happened last time I was here, I was quite irritated at him.
"Our lost girl is back," Pan said. His very first words to me since I got back.
"Hmm, yeah. Look at that. Guess I'm rather good at finding my way back when people get rid of me."
"And she still has her fire. I like fire."
We were in the woods. No lost boys around. I was supposed to be hunting, but gave up on that shortly after beginning. Pan has magic. He can conjure up some food for the lost boys if they're hungry enough.
"If I had fire you'd be burnt," I replied. "I see you hold grudges."
"Grudges?! How the bloody hell is this a grudge and not a...oh God I don't know! A grudge is usually about something pointless. Something that doesn't matter but can be made a big deal out of. What you bloody did does not deserve a grudge."
"Hmm, I guess you would know all about pointless grudges." Pan paused,
"I hear your dad is here."
"What? How do you know that?"
"I know everything that happens on this island, Ashton."
"Why do I have a feeling you think he's not going to be here for long? What the hell is your plan with Henry anyways. Because if you think you're harming him in any way, you're so bloody wrong."
"I don't want to hurt him," Pan said. "I want to help him. To help everyone. And I will. Whether you help or not."
"Is that a threat?"
"Think of it as an offer I hope you decline. I have a feeling this trip to Neverland will be quite an adventure for you."
"And why is that?"
"There's just something...magical...in the air."
"Magical?" I said.
"Yes, something is different about you, Ashton. I know you feel it too. It will be be quite interesting to see how your visit here goes."
"I have a feeling it won't be satisfactory to you," I said. "I'm not playing any more of your pointless games, Pan. I'm done with that."
"I don't need a game. You've set the chessboard for yourself."
"What the bloody hell does that me-"
Pan disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"One of these days I'm going to figure out how to stop someone from doing that," I muttered and slowly made my way back to the camp.
••••
When I did get back, Henry was sleeping underneath a tree. I sat down on a tree stump and buried my head in my hands.
"Hey," I heard a voice. Devin was standing over me.
"Hey," I replied, scooting over some so he could also sit down. He did, saying,
"Did you miss Neverland? Honestly?"
I looked at him,
"Yes. I did. No matter where I was before this, Neverland was my home for so long. It's never going to not be a special place for me," I told Devin.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that."
I smiled. Looking at him, he was so trusting. He should not be. I have a secret that I can't even tell him, yet he still trusts me. I lied to him, left him. It would be so much easier just to tell him what happened.
"Devin, I need to tell you something."
"What is it?" He asked.
"When I sai-" I didn't have the chance to finish because one of the Lost Boys made a cuckoo sound, waking up Henry. Henry was thrown an apple by Pan and everything went crazy as all the boys crowded around. I couldn't tell Devin what I wanted to with everyone so close. With Pan so close.
"Wake up," Pan said.
Henry sat up. "I don't like apples," he said.
"Who doesn't like apples?" Pan asked.
"It's a family thing."
Pan smiles. "Don't worry," he crouched down so that he was eye level with Henry, "They're not for eating. It's for a kind of game. A really fun game." He pointed a cross bow. "I call it target practice."
Pan took an arrow that Felix held out and dipped it in a bottle.
"What's that?" Henry asked curiously.
"Dreamshade. A nasty poison. I've heard a story about a man who once shot an apple off his son's head with arrow," Pan said, pausing while he readied the cross bow. "Let's find out if this is possible."
"If you're shooting the apple," Henry said, "what's the poison for?"
"A motivation not to miss," Pan replied. "Felix, get over here."
"Is Felix good?" Henry stuttered slightly. "Is his aim good?"
"Doesn't matter, you're the one doing the shooting."
"I don't want to," Henry told Pan.
"Shoot. Shoot. Shoot," many of the Lost Boys chanted.
"You won't hit him," Pan said to Henry, "trust yourself. Go on. It's exhilarating."
Felix placed the apple on the top of his head and smirked.
"Shoot. Shoot," the Lost Boys continued to chant.
Henry pulled the crossbow up to eye level to ready his aim. At the last moment, he jerked his arm to the side and pointed it at Pan before pulling the trigger. Pan caught the arrow with ease while it flew towards him in midair.
"Told you it was exhilarating. Come on, I want to show you something."