Peter watched from a distance as the lost boys sang and danced around the blazing fire before them. It was a sight that he was use to seeing every night sense the first night he brought them to his island, though some had been here longer than others. He had taken them straight from their homes. Some were orphans and didn't really have much of a home to leave in the first place, and some were just boys who felt abandoned or misunderstood.
He called his boys 'lost'. They were just as much lost in spirit as they were to the world – the world they had once called home.
This was their home now, they were happy here with him. They had no responsibilities here. They could do whatever they wanted... just so long as they didn't forget to whom they were loyal to.
They danced now to the music - the music coming from his own lips. The wooden pipe he blew let loose an eerily beautiful sound that was both full of wonder and sorrow. It seemed to mesmerize the boys, almost controlling them with its melody.
The music rose higher and higher making the boys leap and dances all the more wilder. They spun around the fire, holding onto their cloaks on either side and flinging them at an arc around themselves as they did.
Pan smiled.
It was a wolfish smile, almost evil. His eyes burned with it as he watch his lost boys.
They were howling and hooting, their bare feet flying away from the earth and hitting it again with a puff of dry dirt. Their faces were painted in colors of black, white and red, designed in colorful patterns down their noses, cheeks and foreheads. Their bodies were covered in only dark colors such as black or hunter green, each had an equally dark cloak with an over-large hood to go with it. Most of the cloaks reached past their knees and was what they used as a make-shift blanket at night when it got cold out.
It was rarely ever cold though. Such as tonight, it was quite warm out, not even the slightest hint of a breeze.
There was no real need of a fire. But, Peter loved fire. He loved to watch it dance and lash out at the people who dared to go near it. He loved how one could lose themselves in it just by starring into the flames. It could consume you without ever touching your skin.
Louder
He made the music grow louder now, and with it the boys voices. They howled at the moon, and occasionally one would chance jumping over the flames, coming away unburned. Never harmed were these boys, that was one of the many things he loved about Never Land. One of the things.
There wasn't a single cloud in the sky tonight. They danced under the light of the moon and the stars, beating sticks together and hollering at the top of their lungs. Tonight was the night of the full moon, it shined its sliver light over the boys, casting a ghostly glow on their faces, shadowing their eyes from sight, making them look like two black pits in their skulls.
Peter couldn't have said how long he had been playing his music for, it could have been hours, it could have been days. Time wasn't really something that one kept track of here.
And why should they?
If one stayed the same age for their entire lives, then what did it matter that another day passed them by? They would never grow up, they would never go to school, they would never have children of their own.
They would never die...
The honor of being one of his lost boys meant eternal life. That was his gift to them. Their lives would forever belong to him.
He smiled at them as they danced, deciding that he wished to join in on their fun.
Setting his pipe down and bringing the music to a halt, he got up from the giant rock that he had been resting on and walked the short distance to the fire.
All of the boys immediately stopped what they were doing, frozen in place, and turned to look at him as he approached.
Peter wore no cloak, only a rugged dark-green shirt and matching pants that cut off at the knee, and like his boys he was barefoot. His feet were covered in dry dirt mixed with wet mud.
When he reached the fire the light it gave off reflected in his eyes, making them look as if they themselves where on fire. He smiled darkly at all of them, locking in with every gaze that came his way.
"How about a little game?" he said.
There was a low rumble of laughter and chatter that went through the crowd.
"Oi, Felix!"
Everyone looked over to Felix now who was sitting on the ground a few feet from the fire, almost completely consumed by the darkness from the surrounding trees. He had his hood pulled up, carefully hiding his face from the others as he played with a small dagger, twiddling it between his fingers.
At Pan's call, he sighed and got stiffly to his feet. As if reading his mind he walked right over to a short stump that sat next to him, and from it retrieved a longbow and quiver full of razor sharp arrows.
Everyone knew that the bow belonged to Pan and there for never laid a finger on it. Felix however, was well known to be his second in command and so was the only one who was graced with that honor. And no one ever said a word about it.
Genitally, Felix carried the bow with both hands, the quiver slung over his shoulder and handed both items to Pan one at a time. Pan first lifted the quiver over his head so that it crossed over his chest from his left shoulder to his right hip, the arrows dropping to rest in their holder against his back, and took the bow in his left hand. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a large, glistening red apple that didn't have a single flaw to it. He handed that over to Felix with a grin and the audience began to chatter excitedly. They were ready for a show.
"Right. Felix, stand just there, by that tree," said Pan pointing to a rather large tree a good twenty feet in front of him.
Felix obeyed, a calm smirk spreading across his lips, taking slow, sure steps. He stopped when he reached the spot indicated and pivoted dramatically on his heels.
"Now, how about a little target practice, huh boys?" yelled Peter Pan, scanning the crowd before him.
They all started hollering and hooting again, cracking their sticks together and jumping up and down excitedly.
"Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot," they all chanted as one.
Even Felix joined in on the chanting, his permanent smirk still plastered on his face. His heart was beating very fast, not from fear as one might expect, but from exhilaration – excitement.
Anyways, Peter Pan never fails.
Pan let them have their fun for a while, walking around with his bow clutched tightly in his hand, waving it around like a trophy. They went wild.
Deciding that enough was enough, in one fluid movement he spun quickly on his heels, pulling a single arrow from his quiver as he did, fitting the notch securely into the bow, and shot it right for Felix's head.
It nicked him as it hit the apple, causing a small steam of blood to trickle down the side of his face.
The apple hit a tree a few feet behind him and stuck there, its juices trickling down and mixing with the boys blood.
There was a small murmur of surprise and a few gasps from the people around him, shocked that he didn't hit it dead center as he always did. He never missed, even by the tiniest bit.
After the slight pause though, they erupted in applause as he lifted his bow back into the air. He gave them a little bow, leaving the apple where it was.
Felix walked calmly over to him and gave him a playful smack on the back.
"Nice shot," he said.
"Alright Felix?"
"Please, I've taken worse than this. You must have just been off tonight – you could shoot a grape off my head no problem."
"Don't give me any ideas," said Pan, slapping him back.
They left the others to their fun and together walked away from the ruckus, sitting down under a nearby tree.
"You didn't seem to be having very much fun there," said Pan after a while.
"Fun isn't really my thing," he replied, reclining back with his arms behind his head and legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossing one over the other.
Pan knew this very well of Felix. It often confused him. He knew that he could hear the music, knew that he was just as lost as the other boys, yet it seemed to have no effect on him.
"Well, you should try it sometime. Who knows, you might even find that you like it."
He didn't answer – just closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the warm night air.
Pan had often caught Felix visiting the 'girl' Wendy that they kept locked up in a cage that hung from a tree deep in the woods, and had even seen him giving her extra food that was not permitted to prisoners. He wondered if that
was where his thoughts took him when everyone else was having fun without him.
He could not have that though. If there was something going on between him and Wendy then he had to stop it. It would not do for his companion and most trusted ali to turn on him.
Pan would allow his boys to do just about anything they pleased while on his island - but treason? Treason was not one of them.
He looked over at his second now and noticed the almost troubled look on his face as he held his eyes closed, and knew that once again he was deep in thought. He wished that he could read his mind and find out where it took him.
"Felix? Is there something troubling you?"
Felix's eyes popped right open and they shot over to the side to look at Pan's face, a startled look gracing his features. But, Pan's face was hidden by shadows, where neither the light of the fire nor moon could reach it.
"What makes you ask that?"
He could see the silhouette of Pan's head turn away from him and look to the stars. He was now able to see a hint of his expression, it almost looked sad, maybe even disappointed.
"My shadow tells me he's coming," he whispered.
"Who's coming?"
"Why, the truest believer of course. And when he comes, I need to know that I have you on my side. There's a storm coming and I'm going to need you now more than ever. Do I have you on my side Felix? Can I depend on you to have my back?"
"Always."
"Good," it was firm.
They both signed loudly then in synchronization, smiling after they did, though they couldn't see each others faces.
"You're a good man Felix, I know you'll never cross me."
If Pan could see his face right know, he would see a very dark expression cross it.
"I know I can count on you."
And with that he got up and walked away, leaving Felix in the dark, alone.
There was something more that he wanted to say, he could feel it. Pan knew something, he always did. Not a single thing could be kept from him. He was never one to be left in the dark. Not on his island.
He knew that he couldn't keep this from him forever. He knew it from the start. But, he needed this. He hated the feeling of loneliness that hung over his head like a dark cloud day in and day out. He hated being lost.
This secret had the potential to swallow him whole. He had no clue what Pan would do to him if- when he found out – if he didn't already know, and was now planning on what he should do with him.
Pan didn't "miss" tonight when he shot that arrow, Felix could see it in his eyes. He meant to nick him with it. Not enough to be fatal, but just enough to leave mark. Just enough to cause him pain.
Pan would find out. After all...
Peter Pan never fails.
A/N: I hope you guys liked the story! Let me know if you want me to continue with it, and maybe even reveal what it is that Felix is hiding from Pan...