"Sarina! Hold on! I've got you!"
The shadow held tight, and showed no sign of giving up on dragging Sarina out the window. She fought to stay in the room, grasping at the edge of the window with one hand, the other wrapped around her brother's hand. Even though she was older than him by three years, his grip was incredibly strong. Sarina was petite, her small frame only weighing just over ninety pounds, and while she did her best to cling to her brother, her hand faltered and slipped, stopping as her brother curled the tips of his fingers to catch hers.
"No! James! It's no use! But I promise that I'll find my way back to you!"
Just as Sarina said this, she let her hand go limp. James ran forward, but by the time he got to the edge of the windowsill, it was too late. Sarina was being carried higher into the air by the shadow, and when it's glowing eyes turned to look at James, he shuddered. He swore under his breath, and mentally promised he would find a way to save his sister.
Peter Pan sat patiently waiting for this new 'lost girl' to awake, and was intrigued to see a girl, as this was the first time in a very long time that there had been a visit from a young girl to Neverland. She looked about sixteen, but unlike the other kids that were brought to Neverland, she was wearing casual clothing, instead of a nightgown or pajamas. She came from the same world as Henry, the boy who was supposed to bring back magic to the realm. He wasn't immediately aware she had begun to wake, until he heard a soft moan from where she was lying.
"You're awake, I was beginning to think you were going to sleep for days," he said, making sure to add a slight smirk at the end of his words. She sat up much too fast at his words, instantly regretting it when she felt a sharp pain in her temples, and she felt her body tense at the pain. The boy in front of her stared at her with a smirk. Who is he? Why is he staring at me? Was all she could think.
"Where am I? Who are you?!" Sarina practically yelled, though she did so in a manner as to keep it between them for the time being.
"My dear," the boy smiled and stood up, holding out his hand for her to take, "we're in Neverland. My name is Peter. Peter Pan."
Sarina scoffed quietly, not finding it amusing in the slightest. This boy, who looked no older than seventeen, claimed to be Peter Pan, the boy from her childhood fairy tales. Peter Pan was a just that, a fairy tale. He didn't exist, nor did the little green fairy, Tinker Bell. She turned her head away from him, crossing her arms as she did so.
"Peter Pan is a child's fairy tale, nothing more. Neverland doesn't exist. You really thought I'd fall for that, huh? Mind games? Well, I can tell you right now that it won't work on me," Sarina turned her head to him once more and put on the most intimidating face she possibly could, and added, "now, if you don't tell me who you really are, and where we really are, then you can say goodbye to the chance of me not shooting you in the face."
The boy in front of her, his hand still outstretched, couldn't help but burst out laughing at her seriousness. Her face made her look adorable, which isn't something he was used to, and that coupled with her threat, made him laugh harder.
Sarina stared at him with her angry, intimidating look still plastered on her face. She couldn't help but feel frustrated, as she was in an unfamiliar place with a strange boy, and she still felt uneasy about the whole situation, even though he hadn't made any attempt to hurt her. She shifted her body, and kept her arms crossed, though she tried to let herself relax a bit. The boy had calmed down after a few moments, and once he had straightened himself again, he smiled and stuck out his hand once more.
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, because I've told you the truth. My name really is Peter Pan, and we really are in Neverland. And I would advise against shooting me in the face, as I have very quick reflexes and I doubt you'd be able to handle the consequences."
The smile on his face was still there as he said this, and Sarina noticed that he seemed to be trying to lighten the mood. She sighed, uncrossed her arms, and took his hand. He only smiled more and pulled her to her feet seemingly without any effort at all. Granted, she was small, but he wasn't much bigger than she was, and it seemed odd to her. She pushed that thought back, however, and forced herself to put on a small smile.
"As much as I want to yell at you for lying to me and kidnapping me, I won't. For now. My name is Sarina, figured you should know, since you told me who you claim to be," Sarina kept her eyes locked with his, and her smile faded away, "but know that if you try to hurt me or make any attempt on my brother's life, I will rip you apart, and make sure that whatever animals are here have a nice snack on your remains."
"Fair enough, though you needn't worry about your brother, he isn't here, and I have no intention of bringing him here, nor do I plan to hurt anyone," he kept ahold of her hand, gently tugging her towards a path, "I promise. Now, come with me, I'll show you where you'll be staying."
"Wait! What about my backpack? All my stuff-"
"Will be here, and once I get you to where we're going, I will make sure it's brought to you. I promise, it's the least I can do for 'kidnapping' you."
Sarina raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She only nodded slightly, and the boy smiled and pulled her along, leading them through the jungle. Sarina stumbled along the path, overgrowth hitting her in the face at times. She used her free hand to shield her face, though a few moments after she had put her hand up, the leaves seemed to move out of the way, making space for the two of them to walk. She glanced up at him long enough to see him turn his head back to see ahead.
What happened? Did he do that?! No, I'm going crazy. No one can just make leaves move out of the way... Right? Sarina was ripped out of her thoughts once more when she had realized they had stopped walking, and gasped while she took in their surroundings.
There they were, in the middle of a clearing, but instead of trees all the way around it, there was a stone wall with a small waterfall cascading down it, flowing into a pool of water at the bottom with white and pink lilies floating on the surface. Across from the waterfall was a beautiful two story log cabin, with a balcony overlooking the pool. There was a little garden to the side, which looked like it was being regularly taken care of. The grass was an emerald green color, even in the dim moonlight, and there was a small bench next to the cabin, facing the waterfall, though angled slightly to the left.
"What is this place? It's beautiful!" Sarina exclaimed, absentmindedly walking over to the pool, kneeling down to dip her fingertips in the cool water. She heard Peter chuckle slightly behind her, and she couldn't help but feel almost happy in that moment. She glanced up at him, and saw that he was caressing the stone wall, almost as if he was studying it to figure out a puzzle.
"This is where I occasionally go when I need to be alone. It's the only real building on this island, and it's now where you'll be staying," Peter looked over at her and gave her a small smile, "now come, I'll show you to your room."
Sarina stood and nodded slowly, and silently followed him to the steps, being careful not to trip. He grasped the doorknob, twisted it, and pushed open the door, gesturing for Sarina to go first. After a moment of hesitation, she slipped past him and entered the door, glancing around at the darkened room. She felt herself walk forward slightly, and only realized she was completely inside when she heard Peter shuffle in behind her and heard the door squeak shut.
"Here, let me light things up, don't want you tripping up the stairs or anything, now, do we?"
The next thing Sarina saw, was the boy in front of her, somehow creating a ball of fire in the palm of his hand, and when he threw it at the fireplace, she gasped, watching the fireplace light itself and then the room became lit, the light bouncing around on the walls. She saw Peter, the light hitting his smiling face in a way that made her shiver. He looked devilishly handsome, and mischievous in a way that she thought wasn't possible. He didn't really look evil from what she had seen of him, but in that moment, she imagined the teenage version of Satan would look just like him.
"H-how did you do that?! What was that?!" Sarina clamped her hand on her mouth before she could say any more, but then moved it out of the way just enough to say, "You really are Peter Pan."
Peter shifted slightly and leaned against the door, his lips twitching upward in a smile once again.
"That's me."
"You're... Peter friggin' Pan! You're real... Unless I'm dreaming, or dead, and this is just my personal greeting to Heaven."
"Little one, this is quite real, I assure you. Though, you're right on that last part, Neverland is Heaven to most kids, they don't have any rules to follow, and can do whatever they please. There are no adults here, and no one can tell us what to do. The only one who has any authority here is me. But I usually don't get involved in anything unless it's extremely necessary."
Sarina practically squealed, with both excitement and curiosity. She had always loved the stories she was told as a child, where her parents would read the story of a fairy tale character to her and her brother before bed. Her favorite had always been Peter Pan. She loved the thought of flying, and the villainous Captain Hook. However, when she recalled her parents reading it to her, she couldn't help but wonder.
"So, why am I here? I'm not really a kid anymore, and I've never been here before, but all the stories I remember reading said that the kids who came here were lost."
"They are. Everyone here is only here because they felt lost in the real world. Some were without parents, some had no friends, some just wanted freedom that they couldn't have with their parents. And here, they can be free, to do whatever it is that their hearts desire, and they don't ever age. Some of these kids, including me, are much older than they look. My shadow takes those that feel lost, and brings them here. I only know when kids arrive, not why. The question is, why did my shadow take you? Why do you feel lost?"
Peter pushed himself away from the door, gave her a quick glance as he walked past her, and ascended the stairs to the second floor, leaving Sarina standing alone at the bottom of the stairs. She wondered, why did she feel lost? Did she actually feel that way, or was he just trying to manipulate her into thinking that? Was he just playing mind games with her? She couldn't tell, but just when she was about to start going into deep-thinking mode, Peter called down to her.
"You coming up, or do I have to magically poof you up here?"
Sarina managed to snap herself out of it. I'll worry about it later, I suppose it's probably late. She turned on her heels, grasped the railing, and slowly made her way up the steps.
"Can you actually do that, make me poof up there?" Sarina asked, coming up the steps.
"If I wanted to, of course. It's not something that I'd do for just anyone, however," Peter gestured toward a door at the end of a dark hallway, and grabbed her hand, "This way, your room is down the hall here. I forgot to ask, how old are you?"
Sarina gave him a questioning glance. Peter saw this, and immediately spoke.
"I meant nothing by it, but I'm curious. You needn't answer if you don't wish to."
"No, no, it's alright," Sarina shook her head, and gave him a halfhearted smile, "I'm just not used to people asking me that, is all. I'm seventeen."
Peter smiled and tugged her gently down the hallway, stopping at the door and pushing it open, once again gesturing for her to go ahead of him. Sarina brushed past him and into the moonlit room, going over to the window and peering out over the treetops. She glanced over at Peter, watching as he lit a candle that was sitting on the nightstand. She smiled to herself, more than to him. She had so many questions, but she was tired, though she didn't know why. She settled on asking him the one thing that was the most important in her mind.
"Why am I here?"
"Pardon?" Peter looked at her, confused.
"Why do you think I'm here? In Neverland? Why did your shadow take me from my brother?"
"That's something you'll have to figure out on your own, Sarina. Even I don't know that. Now," Peter said, moving towards the door again, "there should be something in the dresser that you'll be able to wear tonight. I'll have the rest of your things here by morning, but I must check on the boys back at camp. Get some rest, my dear, and I'll see you tomorrow morning."
Sarina nodded and smiled, and after Peter had shut the door, she tugged the top drawer of the dresser open, and dug through until she found a nightgown that was her size. She slipped into the silky nightgown, after taking at least five minutes to peel off her skinny jeans, and set the clothes she had been wearing on the chair opposite the bed. She threw back the covers of the bed, and climbed in, and after making sure she had blown out the candle, she pulled the covers up over her arms, and drifted off into a restful sleep.
Hey! So this is my first real fanfic ever, so be nice, though constructive criticism is appreciated. Also, I've decided that any chapters that have possible triggers in them, will have warnings before the chapter, though you shouldn't see these for a while. I'm sorry that this chapter is so short, but I promise I won't put too many of those in this story, I just needed something to start this out, otherwise I probably would never have uploaded it. :3 Please leave reviews and enjoy, and I'm going to be hopefully updating at least once every month, if possible. No promises, but I'll do my best! As soon as I'm done with school I'll be able to update more often, so there's that to look forward to! :D Thank you for reading, and please enjoy! :)
