Falling. She felt as if she was falling. Her dreams had never been this vivid before. Most of the time she didn't remember them. They were too vague to remember. Every now and then she caught glimpses but not enough to put the puzzle together. This time she remembered, which was miracle in and of itself.
She had been out dancing with her friends, having fun at a Disney themed party. They'd had too many nights where they'd done things like this. Their conversations ranged from childish fantasies to more adult themes. They were barely eighteen but they were there. So their conversation at the party had been on the childish side as they discussed their favorite Disney movies. That had been a long conversation considering there were six of them.
After the party had dispersed, she had gone home and cleaned off all the makeup from the costume. She had gone as Jasmine considering she had the exotic look down. Her black hair fell way past her shoulders and her eyes were a peculiar shade of grey. Everyone thought she was from the Middle East but she wasn't. Her parents might have been but she didn't remember. They had died when she was ten.
After cleaning up and putting her costume away, she had gotten ready for bed. It had called to her even as she had been dancing to "Beauty and the Beast". She had fallen asleep almost immediately, perfectly happy to let sleep claim her. Then she was falling.
She landed in a heap on the ground, scratching her knees and elbows. She jumped up and looked around. This was not Chicago. She turned in a circle to see if she could find a way out. Surrounded by foliage, she saw only one path and she was standing on it. She looked one way then the other. There was nothing that could tell her where she was.
A wind caught the leaves, making them rustle. She shivered. She was in shorts and a tank top because she had been in a warm apartment in her warm bed. Now she was in the middle of the woods freezing her tail off. Plus she was barefoot. She had to find a place to get warm. If not, hypothermia would set in then she would really be screwed.
She started down the path, hyper aware that things would be living in the woods. She moved as quickly as possible. Not knowing a place made a person paranoid. She also had nothing to defend herself with. She had taken fencing in high school and had excelled at it. She kept it up even after the class had ended. There was nothing here for her to do anything.
She was about a quarter of a mile from where she had started when movement to her left made her stop. Those weren't animal footfalls. No, far from it. They were human, or semblance of human. She stopped, knowing that was the last thing she needed to do. Fear was kicking in. She didn't know what else to do.
More footfalls followed the others. The bushes started to rattle. She could hear whooping. The voices were male. There were at least six of them, maybe more. She had no idea because all of a sudden the sounds merged into one loud one.
The bushes to her immediate left erupted. She bit back a scream, knowing there was a possibility it would only entice them more. When she turned to face her stalker, she came face to face with a tall boy. His face was covered by his hood but she could see his eyes. They were cold but filled with something else.
"Look, boys, a woman," he said as he walked around her. She didn't follow his path, but she could feel his breath on her neck. "How the hell did you get here?"
"I would tell you but I don't know what here is," she replied.
The boy smiled. "What's your name?"
"Dahlia."
"Hello, Dahlia. We haven't had a woman here since Wendy."
"What do you want from me?"
"We want to know how you got here."
"I don't know how I got here. One minute I'm asleep in my bed and the next I'm here. I can't tell you anything other than that."
Felix stopped in front of her, his face close to hers that she could feel his breath once again. "I don't believe you."
"Believe what you want. It's the truth."
He laughed. "Boys."
He stepped back as the boys with him surrounded her. They all started talking at once and poking at her with fingers, arrows, spears, and sticks. She held still and let them do as they wished. If they were going to do anything to her, they would have done it by now. She couldn't fight all of them if she wanted to live and get back home.
Her eyes met Felix's. He seemed pleased with himself. He thought that he could get her to talk. She was good at keeping secrets. There was no way she was going to say anything to him. She had no idea how she had gotten there so there was nothing she could tell him. To get his face out of her head, she closed her eyes.
"That's enough."
Her eyes snapped open and she looked up at the newcomer. He was young but older than some of the boys. He had sandy blond hair and bluish eyes. She stared at him as she tried to place him. He wasn't wearing a cloak like the rest of them. Then again he didn't need it. He exuded strength. No one was going to mess with him.
"What are you doing? What have I told you about antagonizing our guests," he said as he walked by Felix.
"It's a girl. She just dropped in on us," Felix replied.
The boss of these boys waved his hand and they backpedaled. He walked up to her. Dahlia dropped her gaze to stare at his feet. He was dressed like them, in light and dark greens. He had a flute dangling from his right hip. She wracked her brain as she tried to figure out where she had heard something like this.
"What's your name?" he asked.
She noted that he had a British accent. It took her a second to look up, but he was patient. When she looked up at him, he tilted his head slightly.
"I'm Peter," he said, prompting. "And you are?"
"Dahlia," she replied.
He nodded. "Why didn't one of you give her a cloak? It's freezing tonight." He motioned at one of the boys. Immediately he unhooked it and handed it over. Peter took it and wrapped it around her shoulders. "What were you doing out here like that?"
"I was asleep then I woke up here." She grabbed the edges of the cloak and held it tightly around her. "Where am I?"
"You are in Neverland. I don't know how you got here. Usually only the shadow can bring people here."
"Neverland?"
Then it hit her. She looked up at him once again. He had turned away from her. She grabbed his shoulder and forced him to look at her. Sparks jumped from her hand to his shoulder. They both stared at it for a minute then looked at each other. Dahlia stepped back as the boys went to protect their leader.
"If this is Neverland, then that makes you Peter Pan," she said.
Peter looked up from his shoulder and smiled. "You've heard of me."
"Every child has heard of Peter Pan. It's one of our most precious childhood stories."
"You'll find the stories are the farthest thing from the truth. Come. We'll find you some clothes. You're going to freeze if you stay in the clothes you have on now."
He didn't wait around for her to argue. He strode through the foliage. A couple of the Lost Boys, that's technically what they were called, followed him. Felix gave her a vicious shove. She turned and glared at him but followed the path the others had taken.
Peter was all too aware of the effect the girl was having on the Lost Boys already. It had been a little bit since they had seen a female in general. He hadn't had one in his camp in a long time, but he'd seen them. That's what happened when you traveled all over the place. He believed her when she said she didn't know how she got to Neverland. He hadn't sent his shadow out to fetch anyone new so he had no idea how she had gotten there. She could have come through a portal. Though they were rare, they weren't unheard of.
He strode into the encampment and past the others. They offered him welcome then turned to stare at the newcomer. Oh, yeah. Dahlia was going to be a big hit around this place for a very long while. He walked over to one of the many chests and rummaged through it. The smallest person they had was Devin. He pulled out a pair of pants that would be tight on anyone else, a vest and a cloak. He handed them to her.
"Put these on. They should keep you warm tonight. We'll find you a bunk as well. I don't think you'd want to sleep in the same room as boys," he said.
Dahlia snorted. "I grew up in a co-ed orphanage that didn't have enough funding to give boys and girls separate rooms. I think I can handle it. And I won't get cold. I'm hot-natured. I have to be cold to sleep."
Peter stared at her. Then Felix started laughing and the Pied Piper diverted his eyes. He handed Dahlia the clothes then motioned for her to follow him. There was a little cove around the bend. It was away from the others' sleeping areas but it was close to his in case something happened.
He stopped by the cove and motioned to the opening. Dahlia looked at him then walked in. There was a little open area that blocked off the main part so no one would see in. It was big enough for her to stand and walk around in. She looked at the guys who had followed her. They were too curious for their own good.
"I'm keeping the second cloak for the night," she said.
Peter shrugged. "Go ahead. We have plenty. We'll figure out how to get you home later. Tomorrow the boys are going to want to know why you're here, as am I."
"I don't know why I'm here. Get used to it."
"Good night."
Felix caught up to Peter as he walked towards his own cove. He grabbed the Pied Piper by the shoulder and spun him around. Peter looked up at him, eyebrows going up in question. No one touched him like that. He waited for his right-hand man to say something.
"We can't let her stay. She has to go back," he said. "The prophecy says that a girl from another world will come to Neverland and still your heart. You cannot let her remain here after tonight."
"Don't you think I know that?" he snapped. "Don't you think I have the prophecy committed to memory? I know exactly what will happen. We will get her out of here as soon as possible. Neverland will fall if she doesn't leave. I know this."
"Yet she's here."
"I can't very well send her away in the middle of the night. She came here from her own bed. I don't know what else to do other than give her some place to sleep."
Felix glared at him as he went to his own cove to hide out. He swung his gaze to the cove just down the path. She was going to be the end of this place whether she knew it or not.