On that second oh-so-very-fateful night in Wendy Darlings' life, the night that saw her return to Neverland, she had argued unsuccessfully with her father at dinner. The debate had been a familiar one-the topic-Wendy's desire to attend university. Her fathers position the same as always. The difference in that evening's outcome had been her fathers' lack of his normal patronizing politeness. Apparently he had finally shown his true colors on the subject.

" I have heard enough of this rubbish Wendy and I will not listen to it again!"

He had slammed his fork down on the table as he spoke, rattling the other items on the dining table.

"I do not want to hear the name of one more university taking female students on. You are not attending any of them this fall, not next fall, not any fall!"

Her father's hands had both been clenched into tight fists at this point. His face was nearing a very alarming shade of red.

"I do not know what kind false encouragement your mother may have given you-" he glared at his wife

" But I assure you, Wendy, you are not going-ever-because my mind will not be changed."

He pushed his chair away from the table then and stood.

"The idea of any decent young lady wasting her time like that is- it's ridiculous and unnatural. Remove the idea from your head and do not speak of it ever again. My stomach has soured I'll be in my study."

As he moved towards the doorway, he stopped and turned around.

"And don't anyone disturb me." He said gruffly.

Her mother hadn't put her fork down during her fathers' outburst. She continued to pretend to be interested in her meal, not looking up from her plate. This had made Wendy's anger boil over towards her mother.

"I'm glad you can't even look at me. Now I know you were lying when you said he was 'coming around'. Well Mother, it isn't over. I'm not going to forget it. So why don't you think up some nice lies to tell him now-maybe you can get him to believe I'm coming around. He ought to like that!"

She, too, had left the room then. Climbing the stairs, Wendy wondered what her mother could be think as she sat at the empty table. Alone, because her brothers' educations were all deemed important enough for them to be away at the 'right' schools.

Entering her own room, Wendy chose to sit down in the chair by the window. She had hopes that the view and the evening air could calm her racing pulse. The view from the chair showed her London at twilight. Gas lamps were beginning to brighten the streets and glow in the windows of neighboring houses. It was atypical, semi-hazy kind of night, but it was also made a little brighter by the rising full moon.

Wendy could hear the familiar rumbling of carriage wheels on cobblestones. She closed her eyes and was soothed by their gentle rhythm.

"What am I going to do? "She thought as she opened her eyes.

"He really means it. He's not going to change his mind. And in two years I'll be married to some stupid bore who'll be impressed by my menu planning skills…Married…"

She hadn't managed to spend more than a few minutes with any man before her skin felt like it was crawling with-well with something foul .Her parents had recently tortured her by leaving her alone in the parlor with a 'special' dinner guest. When her father had told her he'd like her to wear her newest dress at dinner-well that was a giveaway that the 'special guest' was meant for her.

This one's name had been Edgar, and sitting across from him Wendy couldn't help but think his nose was the longest she had ever seen. At dinner he had discussed Horses. He spoke at length of the prizes won by the ones owned by his family. He then moved on to other prizewinners-and why his families were superior to them. Next topic was how important competing at the proper events was.

At dinner she had managed to smile politely a few times-apparently enough to encourage the longwinded Edgar.

When her father had suggested she show their guest to the parlor-she had, but then she walked right back out. Her father had immediately pushed her back though the doorway, whispering to her to try and be 'charming'.

Wendy hadn't felt like being charming. In fact she had felt a little wicked. Her father had later described her actions as vulgar. She had merely chosen to change the topic of conversation from horses to the treatment of the women recently arrested and imprisoned after a rally for women's' voting rights. Her father had intervened when he heard her begin on hunger strikes and the indignity of force feedings.

Her father stopped bring home The Evening Times after that. Both her parents agreed that the paper was 'too disturbing' for a young lady to be reading. They felt she should be exposed to the fine arts, classical literature and music- but not current events.

So he had stopped bring home the paper, pity that hadn't stopped the world from existing outside this house…

Wendy wondered if her parents actually thought she could be happy with the plans they were making for her. The 'right' clothes, the 'right' social events, the 'right' everything. It was all her father thought about. And she kept stepping outside those boundaries her father had for her. Like the boundaries of what were correct and polite topics for conversation. Like not wearing a corset. Like reading 'radical' literature.

But sitting in her chair that evening she didn't know that any of that would lead her to Neverland again.

Her parent's house was quiet. All three of its inhabitants in separate rooms, silent with their own thoughts. Wendy leaned forward and placed her elbows on the deep windowsill, resting her chin in her hands.

"Of all that out there- what can I possibly claim for me? What can I ever do while my father still owns me?"

She wondered how long it would be before she gave up….

"I just can't stand it. I just can't stand it. I want to be out there-in the world and I'm not allowed. And it's not because I'm not old enough-it's because I'm a girl. I'm going to be a lady. Ugh! It's so unfair. I just want to be…free. I don't know…I just hate it here…."

Her thoughts rambled on along those lines for what seemed like a very long time as the sky went from dusky gray to deep midnight blue.

A very faint, cool breeze drifted in through the open window.

" Free like the breeze. Nobody tells it where to go, and it's free to travel where it likes."

She could remember the breeze tickling the soles of her feet…she hadn't thought of that in years. The memory brought with it a surprisingly painful ache deep in her chest.

"It's been so long…"she whispered

She sat back up in the chair and laid her head against the soft velvet fabric. Her eyelids felt too heavy to fight with and she lowered them. As she drifted off, a peaceful expression replaced the tense one that had held her face. It was thoughts of Neverland and that long ago adventure that sent to sleep.

So it was that she couldn't know that the voice that came to wake her hadn't come through her bedroom door, but her window….