Panic

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two

            “Hello Lilianna,” Peter said, giving the beautiful little fairy a bow.  “A pleasure to see you, as always.”

            “And you flatter me, as always,” Lilianna said with a graceful nod of her head.  “And this must be,” she said, trailing off as she looked at me.

            “Wendy Darling,” I said, giving a slight curtsey. 

            “Oh, darling, there isn’t a reason to give me any sort of formal greeting,” she said in a warm voice.  “Peter’s just dramatic.”  I smiled a bit, and she gave me smile in return before turning back to Peter.  “So, what can I do for you this time?”

            “See, Lilianna,” Peter began.

            “Oh dear, it’s something big isn’t it,” she said.

            “How’d you know?” I asked.

            “I’m a fairy, darling,” she said sweetly.  “I know nearly everything.”

            “So do you even need us to explain the situation?” I asked.

            “I know nearly everything,” she said.  “The key word there was ‘nearly’.  Please continue Peter.”

            “See, Lilianna,” Peter resumed, “we have a formidable enemy in Neverland.  One that can only be defeated by a blade made of gold mixed with pixie dust.”

            “Ah, yes,” Lilianna said.  “You have to fight a shadow.  Fonce?”

            “Yes,” Peter said.

            Lilianna snapped her tiny fingers.  “I knew I shouldn’t have let you two stay separate,” she said.  “But it was the only way you two could find the boys who needed you.”

            “Wait, I don’t understand,” I said.  “Why did Peter and Fonce have to be created separately?”

            “Peter and Fonce were created separately so that they could never be controlled by the other,” Lilianna explained.  “It’s a genius idea, except whoever decided to make it that way didn’t think that one of them might go rogue.”

            “What do you mean, never be controlled by the other?” I asked.

            “Wendy, now isn’t the time,” Peter murmured.

            “Oh, shut it Pan,” Lilianna said with a wave of her hand.  “If Wendy wants to learn about you, she is more than welcome.  To answer your questions, darling, Peter was going to rule over an island for eternity.  Whether you know it or not, your shadow can manipulate your decisions, and you can reject your shadow’s manipulations.”

            “But we’re connected,” I said, confused.

            “Yes, but your shadow decides when you should die, when you should wake up, when you should go to sleep, when you need to eat, when you should sit down, when you should stand up, who you should talk to, and so on,” Lilianna said.

            “No,” I said, perplexed.  “Something called science determines all these things.”

            Lilianna laughed, a tinkling sound.  “Silly humans, always trying to find an explanation for everything,” she said.  “They are so desperate, they’ve created a new concept.  You see, where I’m from, we all knew magic was the underlying source of life.”