I Trusted You (Peter Pan)

Chapter 8

A/N: Finally, we find out how Peter and Rumpel know each other in this version of the tale.

Cassandra beat against the drum with her palms, the hollow thumps in time with the other drummers. She watched Darrel as he hopped to the rhythm, pulling faces that brought rise to giggles from the younger boys who tried to mimic his actions.

The appearance of three figures caught her eye. Her hands slowed as she observed Peter carrying a 'sleeping' Wendy through the clearing, Henry at his heels. They passed through the throng without a second glance from the excitable dancers. The boys simply twirling out the way of their leader, continuing to move in time to the thundering beat.

"Andie!" Cassandra's gaze shot from where the trio had disappeared through the bushes, to Darrel's teasing grin. He was stood still, panting as he caught his breath. "Call that a tune?" He nodded to her hands that now lay still on the skin of the instrument.

"Is that a challenge?" She piped up and the music fell silent.

"Damn right it is." He narrowed his eyes. The small crowd watched in anticipation, eyes glued to the girl eyeing the drum in her lap.

BANG!

Cassandra smacked the instrument once, its sound leaving the atmosphere tenser than before.

BANG!

She did so again. This time following with another beat. And another. Each slam became faster and faster and soon a quiet patter grew in the background as the other drummers joined in. Darrel began to dance, jumping from foot to foot. As the tempo continued to increase, Darrel's movements rapidly turned jagged and haphazard. Waving his arms in the air and twisting in circles when he leaped. The thing about Darrel, his face never became pink. When he was tired, his complexion transitioned suddenly from pale white to a red more vibrant than his hair. Soon, he had turned that very colour, yet still he didn't give in. The beats almost seemed to slur into one and it wasn't until Peter marched back into the clearing that Cassandra decided to wrap up their game.

She hit the drum three times in quick succession with both hands to signal to the others. On the third beat, all sounds stopped instantaneously. You could have heard a pin drop if it weren't for the heaving breaths of a shattered Darrel who had now collapsed to the floor.

"My brothers!" Peter began as he came to a halt in the centre of the group, Henry at his tail. "Tonight, the dream of Neverland will awaken from its slumber." The triumph in his tone did not go unnoticed amongst the Lost Boys, and they listened eagerly, hungry for what he had to share. "Tonight, the heart of the truest believer shall fulfil its destiny, and with it our destiny... Tonight, Henry saves magic!"

A chorus of hoots and cheers sprung to life, immersing the clearing in noise. Yet, as Cassandra sat there, she had never felt like more of an outsider.

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"Peter!" A small voice echoed through the trees, reaching a figure camouflaged against the bark. Peter sat at the base of a tree, amongst the autumn leaves heaped on the soil. He admired their multitude of colours: coppery browns, dull yellows, vivid crimsons. At the sound of his friend, he lifted his scruffy head, idly watching as the miniature form scurried through the woods searching for him. Peter whistled and chuckled at how sharply Rumpel's head shot towards him. The child's eyes widened with relief as he spotted the mud-caked boy and he sprinted across the crisp layer of leaves.

"Peter. I can't find him!" The strong accent twanged, filled with panic.

"Who?" He asked in a bored manner, already knowing who Rumpel was referring to.