My heart pounds rapidly as I study the boy in front of me. Nothing about him seems evil. In fact, he almost seems kind. I must be staring so I appear apprehensive because he cocks his head at me in a quizzical fashion.
"Why do you look so intimidated?" he almost laughs.
"I'm not," I lie. "I guess I wasn't expecting you to be so...young."
"Well I am!" he stretches out his arms as if showing himself off to me.
I try and contain a laugh as I watch him do this; he acts so childlike and nonchalant. How could he be evil?
"So, Peter...Peter Pan I mean. Why exactly am I here?"
"Oh please, call me Peter!" he grins.
"Alright, Peter. Why am I here?"
He puffs up his chest dramatically; he is fully prepared to answer.
"My shadow is drawn to children who are lonely," he begins, walking towards one of the stumps surrounding the fire and sitting down on it. "It brings them here to me where they won't be lonely anymore."
Inside of me, I know it makes perfect sense. I am lonely, and I have always been. But I can't admit that to him.
"Well I wasn't lonely! I was perfectly happy back at home."
"Then explain to me how you got here." A large smirk spreads across his face.
There is no way to deny it anymore.
"Come with me," he instructs. "It's time you met the Lost Boys!"
He reaches he hand out to me and I take it, more willingly than caution allows. I find it to be warm and strong. Protective even. As he leads me down yet another endless trail, I shudder at the idea of more Lost Boys.
Will their faces be riddled with scars like Felix's? Or maybe they simply won't speak, similar to the other two boys who assisted Felix in bringing me here.
Then there is what has been puzzling me the most:
Why did Hook tell me that Peter Pan - I mean, Peter - is evil? And also that he could, and presumably would, kill me? Everything I have seen of him has been kind and friendly, surely nowhere close to villainous.
We then break through a barricade of trees and come upon a second clearing, though it is smaller than the previous one.
What both clearings have in common, however, are the fire pits. This fire sits in the center of the space, and is lit, with a group of fifteen to twenty boys circled around it. They speak loudly, shouting over one another and cutting sentences off with their own individual phrases.
"Boys!" Peter yells.
To my surprise, they all stop immediately and turn to face us, completely silent.
"This is Lyv. She is new to Neverland and I expect you to treat her with...affection."
I smile and wave at the boys, but I am welcomed with skeptical glares. Could the situation become any more unpleasant?
"You know that she isn't the first girl who has come here. But I am positive she will be the only one of them to earn the title of a Lost Girl!" Peter states excitedly.
He places his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to him, which unexplainably sends a wave of anxious "butterflies" throughout every part of me.
In spite of this friendly gesture, I step away quickly when I hear muffled grunts from the Lost Boys, many of whom are now clenching their fists.
Like Hook said, Pan is their leader, and I am quite sure they do not relish the idea of being replaced. Especially by a girl.
All of the boys instantly go back to their banter, acting as if my introduction had never occured. Felix, however, makes his way over to Peter and I.
"Pan, I need to talk to you."
His continuous monotone nature shocks me.
"What is it Felix?" I hear Peter ask as the two walk several feet away, beyond reasonable hearing distance.
Normally I would be able to eavesdrop, but with the shrieks and yells of the Lost Boys, it is impossible.
Again I stand alone, kicking my foot back and forth in the dirt and the dust. Peter seems very irritated with whatever Felix needed to tell him, considering that his face is contorted into a piercing scowl.
On the other side of the conversation, Scar-Face doesn't hesitate to signal over to me every time he opens his mouth to speak. Now I know what he wanted to talk to Peter about.
It looks like Neverland may be a dangerous place after all.
YOU ARE READING
Lost Girl: Peter Pan/Once Upon a Time
FanfictionIf you were lonely and without a friend, would you leave your home with a mysterious shadow? Lyv decided that, yes, she would. She never guessed that she would end up in Neverland, and with a warning to protect her, fall in love with the boy that...
