The Warrior of Neverland

Prophecy

She stalked from the tent before Hyacinth could stop her and pushed through the throng of her people, straight to Wendy.

"Tigerlily!" Pan said, seeing her approach. "The pirates are gone for-" He cut off suddenly when Tigerlily grabbed Wendy by the shoulders and threw her to the ground. Wendy shrieked. Pan jumped over, pulled Tigerlily away by the elbow before she could jump on top of her and fight. "Calm down, Chief! Tigerlily- what's wrong with you?"

Tigerlily jerked away from Peter Pan's grip and pointed accusingly at Wendy. "Your Wendy is changing something here. She's upsetting the balance of the island!"

Pan looked oddly at Tigerlily. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Something's come to Neverland. And it's not just her."

"The pirates are gone, Tigerlily," he said, and there was a note in his voice Tigerlily hadn't heard before. Anger. "We defeated them. I killed Hook myself."

Tigerlily straightened her shoulders and looked Pan in the eyes. "Then why is time passing?"

He didn't have an answer, but his glare was cold. He grabbed Wendy's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come on," he said. "It's obvious we're not welcome here anymore."

"I mean to have a word with you," Tigerlily said.

Pan cocked his eyebrow. "I'll see you when I feel so inclined. G'day, Chief." They shot into the air and disappeared over the treetops. Tigerlily curled up her fists, but didn't chase them. If Pan wouldn't talk to her, there was nothing she could do about it.

"Chief," Sequoia called, coming through the dissipating crowd to her. "What was that all about?"

"Something's wrong in Neverland," she said. "Call the council."

Sequoia bobbed his head and ran off. Tigerlily didn't move from where she was, trying to organize her thoughts. Pan had killed the pirate captain? She started moving to the cliff, seeing if she could spot the lagoon. If he had killed the pirate, why did things feel so wrong? The prophecy should have been fulfilled now. The island should have been filled with basi and viya, but Tigerlily felt far from peaceful.

And everything pointed to that London girl. She crossed her arms, angry just thinking about her. She didn't even know how to use a sword. She was in every way inferior to Tigerlily, and yet Peter took her under his wing and praised her like she was a fairy queen.

The jealousy was overshadowed by a feeling of sadness and smallness, and Tigerlily's eyes watered. She knew they were tears, but she was surprised by them all the same. She'd only cried once or twice in all her days, and never because of sadness. She wiped one tear away and stared at it glistening on her fingertip, shocked and amazed by it.

"Chief! Chief, come quickly!"

Tigerlily looked over her shoulder at Raven, one of the council members. Her dark skin, darker than anyone else in the tribe, glowed in light of the setting sun.

"What is it, Raven?"

"It's Hyacinth." Raven's eyes were filled with... what was it? Concern? Worry? Whatever it was, it was something that shouldn't have been in the camp, and it made Tigerlily very uneasy. She bolted to follow Raven back to Hyacinth's tent.

A group of people were around the entrance, but they parted to let their chief through. Tigerlily ducked through the flap and her breath caught. Hyacinth was on the cot, pale and still. Her eyes traveled slowly across the room to Tigerlily, taking a second to focus.

"What's wrong?" Tigerlily breathed.

Raven crouched next to the bed, where one of Hyacinth's apprentices sat, and looked up at Tigerlily. "We don't know. She can hardly move or speak."

"Did something happen?"

"No, Chief," the apprentice said, shaking her head. "I was right here. All of a sudden she moaned and fell to her knees."

Tigerlily's heart tightened in her chest, and she dropped next to Hyacinth's cot. "Hyacinth," she whispered. "Please say something."

Hyacinth's gaze slowly came to rest on Tigerlily. She opened her mouth, and it took a second, but she spoke, her voice raspy and quiet. "The... prophecy..."

"Should I go tell the fairy queen?" Raven asked.

Tigerlily waved them away urgently. "No- just- get out, leave the tent for a minute. Leave me alone with her."

Raven and the apprentice quickly exited, leaving Tigerlily with the old medicine woman.

Old. Tigerlily tenderly ran her fingers across one of Hyacinth's long braids. There were streaks of grey in the black now, streaks that hadn't been there a few days ago. Tigerlily didn't understand time, not the way Pan did, but she knew enough. This was a result of time, too much time.

"The... pirates..." Hyacinth tried again.

Tigerlily leaned closer. "The pirates? Don't worry, Hyacinth, Pan took care of them. The pirates aren't here anymore."

"The pirates... aren't our enemy," she rasped. "The foe from the prophecy... they're not pirates."

Tigerlily scrunched her brow together, concerned and confused. "What do you mean? The prophecy says seaborne enemies."

Hyacinth raised her hand, pointing upwards. "They didn't come from the sea." She coughed weakly. "They came... from the sky."

Tigerlily looked up at the tip of the tent, where a sliver of evening light came through. The sky? But the pirates had a ship. They couldn't have come from the sky. She looked down at Hyacinth, but the woman's eyes had closed. Her hand had fallen limply to her side.

Tigerlily's stomach twisted. She pushed to her feet and backed away, staring at Hyacinth's still form. Tigerlily wasn't sure if she would ever open her eyes again. She swallowed, but her throat was dry and papery, and she ducked out of the tent.

Raven and the apprentice were waiting outside the flap. The apprentice was twisting her hands together.

"Tend to her," Tigerlily said. The apprentice ducked back inside.

"What did she say?" Raven asked.

Tigerlily glanced at her, but couldn't form sentences. She had questions, but normally she'd go to Hyacinth, the woman of wisdom, to get answers. Either that or Pan, but Pan wasn't going to talk to her. The fairy queen might know something.

"I need to speak to the Fairy Queen."

Raven bobbed her head and left Tigerlily, but only a minute later she returned, her face sullen.

"None of the fairies will see us," she said. "They're in mourning."

Tigerlily's eyes snapped up. "Mourning? For what?"

"For who, Chief," Raven answered sadly. "Five of their people have... have died."

That knot in her stomach reappeared. Her breathing quickened and became almost frantic. Tigerlily didn't know what to do. She was the chief, she was supposed to know what to do in times like these, but all of a sudden, she was trapped in her own mind.

Before she even knew what she was doing, she raced towards the jungle, leaving Raven calling after her.