Chapter 3
Hiding The Truth
Deception is a cruel act… it often has many players on different stages that corrode the soul- Donna. A. Favours
Wendy swallowed a large lump in her throat as the darkness surrounded both Isolde and her wolf Tsilla. Abruptly the darkness dissipated and the sunlight brightened up the beach. Peter was illuminated in a golden glow and instantly Wendy forgot her predicament for the time being and a large smile stretched along her face.
Her chest swelled with happiness and she was hit with the realisation.
'She was in Neverland, she was here to stay'.
She couldn't believe it.
Pure joy launched Wendy forward and she flung her arms around Peter's neck and cried, "Oh Peter, I am so happy to see you, words cannot describe how happy I am." She buried her face into the warmth of Peter's chest and she heard him say, laughing. "Oh of course you would be happy to see me again Wendy."
Wendy lifted her head and smiled warmly up at Peter. He then put his arms around her hesitantly and he said "Are you only visiting us again Wendy?" his voice sounded glum and Wendy said drawing away, "Oh no, no you don't understand Peter, my brothers and I are here to stay, I can be everybody's mother again." The second she uttered the word 'Mother', the pain whip lashed right through her happiness and stung her chest.
Instantly Peter's face was concerned and a hint of pain was evidently clear, "Wendy-."
But before Peter could finish, Wendy interrupted him and said, "No! I really do mean it, Peter, just-", she sighed "something happened and our misfortune bought your sister, Isolde, then said that she needed our help."
Peter's face went dark and he almost snarled, "Probably to feed her parasite your soul." Suddenly an unfathomable look flashed across his face and his mouth clamped shut.
Wendy took a step backwards and gazed at Peter. His green eyes were veiled with a shadowed look and his mouth was set in a rigid straight line. Wendy asked her next question cautiously, "Why do you hate your sister so Peter?"
She saw something register in his eyes and he replied in a flat voice, "Something went wrong."
It was all he said.
He looked to the clear sky and then back to the trees where John and Michael and the Lost Boys stood. By the blank expression on Peter's face, Wendy instantly knew that he didn't recognise her brothers from the first time.
Wendy reprimanded him gently forcing a smile onto her face. "You know John and Michael, Peter, they're my brothers, don't you remember." Wendy was satisfied when she saw the recognition register on Peter's face.
She turned to Michael when she heard his hopeful voice from the trees, "Will we stay here forever Wendy?"
But before the sister could answer, John answered Michael, "of course we are staying here, I wouldn't stay anywhere else unless it was here."
Wendy bit the inside of her lip a worried frown creasing her forehead. The sadness was pooling now, overcastting her bubbling happiness.
"Wendy," her name was voiced softly.
She looked back to Peter and his now solemn face.
"What happened?"
Wendy felt her stomach wrench and her eyes narrowed, "Something went wrong!" she answered abruptly and biting back a ferocious sting of tears, Wendy strode to the trees and Michael asked another question.
"Will that Shadow Girl come back Wendy?"
Wendy didn't have the slightest clue, but a knot of dread twisted in her stomach and it tightened ever so painfully.
Wendy and the boys walked back to the Hideout Tree, she heard Michael exclaim, "This is Nana, she isn't a horse, she is a dog." The Lost Boy Toodles wowed, "That there is one mighty big dog, what's its name?"
John answered in a curt voice, "her name is Nana, she'll take care of us, wont you Nana?"
The dog huffed nervously in response and slowly Wendy lifted her gaze to Peter who was surprisingly walking beside her. She asked, "What is everything without Hook, Peter?"
Peter glanced at her briefly before averting his eyes and said in a distracted voice.
"Very Quiet."
They continued to walk through the forest and Wendy heard the birds high up in the trees call to each other. She looked up for a moment then looked back to Peter before saying, "Peter, whatever I did, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to get you mad."
She then looked back down to her feet and Peter jumped back exclaiming "mad? At you Wendy", he shook his head "I'm not mad at you Wendy; it's my stupid sister I'm mad at."
He said no more and Wendy knew that he wouldn't say anything else if she asked another question about his sister. He was hiding the truth; Wendy knew it and she didn't like it.
She didn't speak again until Slightly pulled on the rope pulling up the trapdoor to the Hideout.
Wendy saw Tinkerbell sitting on a broad leaf of the tree, her usual golden light a shade of red.
All Wendy needed was an annoyed Tinkerbell to top off a problematic day.
Venturing underground Wendy found herself in the cavernous room. She couldn't help but smile when all simultaneously the boys shouted out in glee and all raced in for a massive group hug. Wendy was also pulled into the hug and the brawny Lost Boy Cubby hollered, "We have our Mother back."
"Mother" the Boys chorused cheerily and Wendy couldn't help but laugh.
Through the happiness of the Boys Wendy looked up and saw Peter standing a little distance away. His eyes were glowing and his mouth was quirked to the side.
Wendy stepped through the crowd of boys a smile gracing her lips.
Peter held out his hand and reaching out Wendy placed her hand in his. He pulled her forward gently and leant forward to whisper in her ear.
"With me, you'll never have to worry again."
Wendy took this in and the happiness started to well in her chest again. Peter smiled at her and Wendy stepped in to be embraced by the boy.
She and Peter chuckled when Toodles asked in a hopeful voice, "So are we a family now?" Wendy turned around and said trying to sound happy and determined, "Family? Of course we are a family."
Everybody cheered and Wendy swore she saw the sunlight intensify. Peter drew her close again and his whispering voice made Wendy's spine tingle.
"Thankyou Wendy."
"I can't believe it" she snarled, Isolde hit her fist against a gnarled tree leaving a large dent in the wood. She paced along the abandoned shore of Skull Rock contemplating her options.
Damn the sunlight.
Damn Peter Pan
Her brother had ruined her life and he continued to force her to life hell over and over. She paced along the barren shore and from the depths of her soul Tsilla whispered, "You haven't failed Isolde, you haven't given up."
Isolde snorted roughly, "Yet."
She threw her arms up in distress, "Tsilla I don't know how long I can keep that up, I'm not that dependable."
"You're trying" Tsilla whispered.
Isolde sighed heavily a felt the crushing heaviness descend upon her. She was tired and didn't know how much longer she would hold out. Her starlight was fading.
She had to act fast.
Using the shadows, Isolde launched herself into the sky gripping a bright crystal that was around her neck.
"Ok" she whispered, "One more time, ok I can do this." She swallowed back the internal darkness making her ill and Tsilla whispered, "I got you Isolde, let's go."
Isolde took off into the fog and lightly smiled when Tsilla said in a proud voice, "That's my girl."
Wendy ran through the forest, the boys somewhere behind her as she hid.
The racoon twins had sparked a game of hide and seek and everybody had gotten into the spirit. Wendy ran through the foliage and into the dappled sunlit forest clearing.
She stopped and heard a rustle through the brush. There was a flutter of shadows and Wendy saw wolfish red eyes melt into the darkness.
Biting her tongue painfully, Wendy stepped back through the clearing and hesitantly called out, "hello?"
She was greeted by silence.
Fear gripped her and she called out again, "Hello is anybody there?"
She squealed in shock and nearly fell over when there was a rustle from the canopy and Peter landed in front of her with a cocky grin on his face.
"Found you Wendy."
When he saw his worried, pale face his features grew concerned.
"Are you alright Wendy?" he stepped forward and his incredibly warm hands gripped Wendy's upper arms and his green eyes bored into Wendy's blue and Wendy stuttered out, her eyes flitting to the shadowy parts of the trees, Tinkerbell fell in front of Peter, chiming frantically. Adding to Peter's already bad mood, he said to Wendy almost harshly, "Don't do anything stupid Wendy, please, I will be back, I promise."
At that Peter launched himself into the sky with Tink in pursuit.
Not a moment after he left there were a series of crashes and yells. The Boys appeared and the Racoon Twins shook their heads simultaneously, one said, "All Peter does is worry about his sister, ever since Captain Hook died, Peter lost all his fun."
The second twin nodded, "he almost acts like an adult." The Lost Boys pulled faces of disgust and pushing his glasses up John asked, "What did his sister do?"
The faces dropped and Nibbs said sadly, "Peter loved Isolde, you could never see a brother and sister love like that, they never fought or argued."
Slightly looked to Cubby and the Bear-Boy nodded, "Peter never really told us how he and Isolde got to Neverland, Tinkerbell doesn't like Isolde, she treated her worse than she did you Wendy."
Wendy wrung her fingers together and asked, "So what happened between them."
Finally smart-alec Toodles spoke in a sullen voice, "we don't know, there was a fight at the Kensington Gardens that night, we didn't see but Isolde done something to betray Peter and that was it, she went funny after that."
Wendy looked to the sky and saw the blue sky through the gaps in the canopy.
Isolde was mad, she wanted Wendy and Wendy wasn't sure whether or not Isolde wanted to snatch her soul. Peter had said she was evil and Peter never lied did he? Wendy had that doubtful feeling that the boy she adored could be hiding the truth.
She was torn
Wendy looked back to the Boys and trying to keep her rampid thoughts and emotions in check Wendy shrugged and asked, "Well how about we do something to keep our minds off things?"
The day just seemed to get worse and worse.
Toodles smiled lightly and added rather thoughtfully, "We could go down to the Pirate Cove and look for treasure?" Everyone nodded, treasure scouting it was, they had to do something didn't they?
Peter's trail on his sister went dead.
Isolde was up to no good, she was here to destroy Wendy he was sure. Isolde was high up on the jealousy rank, higher than Tink. If Isolde was unhappy, she was hell-bent on making Peter unhappy as well.
Below him, Peter saw the Indian village; maybe the elders or even the shaman could help him get rid of his sister.
He descended into the mainland clearing and gathering area and saw Tigerlily come out of her Teepee.
Her face brightened at the sight of him.
Peter held his hands up in greetings and the chieftain's daughter approached him.
"Hello Peter" she said in her soft, shy tone, "What brings you to the village?" Peter dropped his hands and said in a solemn voice, "Isolde is back and I fear she has been eaten up by the darkness, she wants everybody to suffer, can your Grandmother get any ideas?"
At the very mention of the name 'Isolde' Tigerlily nodded and gestured Peter forward. "My Grandmother is wise, she could help you."
The village elder and shaman greeted the pair with a nod of the head. Peter went into the tent and said, "Elder, you might have some answers that could help me see what Isolde wants?"
'Grandmother' nodded.
Being the shaman, Grandmother knew ancient magic that helped her speak to the spirits. She was very wise and Peter respected her very much.
The Elder prepared a small fire in her tent and put in some small sticks. The flames were orange and crackling. Then she grabbed a small pouch from her belts underneath her furs and sprinkled some sparkling dust into the fire.
Suddenly the flames went a vivid blue and green.
Grandmother started a low eerie chant and the smoke billowing started to take shapes and forms.
Peter saw Isolde and that damned parasite that had literally eaten his sister's heart and soul away. More shapes appeared and from the fire a fox leapt out and a smoky shadow of a large snake coiled around Peter and Tigerlily. A wolf howled in pain and a flurry of flames an owl and a raven flew out of the smoke hole of the tent.
Suddenly the fire grew large and Tigerlily screamed as a tiger jumped from the fire and launched at Peter. The force knocked him back flat on his back on the dust and furs. Peter felt momentarily panicked and as he sat up he heard Isolde's voice cry out in pain and grief, calling for somebody until her smoky silhouette was eaten. Revealing a haunting laugh and vivid glowing red eyes.
There were cries and dying yells through the fire, the cries of children.
Peter was struck with a foreboding thought.
Isolde was going to bring dangerous animals to Neverland and have them kill his Lost Boys and Wendy.
Peter felt his heart thunder in his chest.
Isolde was looking for a weakness and she had found it.
Peter got to his feet abruptly and the illusions vanished. Tigerlily sounded frightened, "You're going to stop her, right Peter?"
She didn't get an answer as Peter ran from the tent.
She looked to her Grandmother who was shaking her head. All she said was.
"Isolde needs her brothers help."
She fell through the small cave gasping. Her chest was collapsing and the tears stung her eyes.
She fell into a heap and Tsilla said, "A few more hours Isolde, hold on. He would know that you are trying to help." She nodded, fisting her hands in the silver cave dust, "I'm coming Emery, please hold out and keep them safe." Tears stung her eyes and she felt the gentle pressure of Tsilla misting out.
"Oh I miss him Tsilla" she whispered, "I miss them all so much, I have to go back now."
"No!" Tsilla barked, "Isolde, Emery can handle himself and manage the others, you need to get the leverage so you can set us all free."
Isolde sighed, "Well I wish Peter would just stand still and heed me out."
Tsilla sighed as well, "he is like you Isolde, an idiot could pick that you two are brother and sister."
As dusk fell over Neverland, Wendy and the boys ventured back to the tree. Toodles and Slightly lit the small candles decorated around the gathering and bedding areas.
John and Michael sat on the large fur rug in the centre and were checking small gem shards they had found in Pirate Cove.
Ever since Captain Hook died, his crew vanished along with the ship, The Jolly Roger. None of them had been seen since.
Ever since that had happened, the biggest treasure load had disappeared leaving small gems, silver and golds.
John had a sliver of ruby and held it to the light, it glinted and Michael held out one gold coin. It had been the best find of all the scout.
The Lost Boys gathered around and sat down in a huddle and Nana, gaining more and more confidence went over and flopped down beside the Boys with her tongue lolling out.
Toodles reached over and petted her head tentatively and Michael said, "Nana wont hurt you she is very friendly."
Nibbs and Cubby reached over and patted her and Nana almost groaned and rolled over. The boys laughed and rolled over each other. It was a boy and dog heap.
Wendy sat back against the bed and watched the boys play with Nana. Though she was happy, a million other emotions twisted in her stomach. She felt guilty, remorse and even regret. There was even deep fear, fearing that Isolde would take out her revenge at being betrayed.
Wendy never knew that she could think of so many things in a span of a few minutes. Her chest rattled as she took in deep nervous breaths.
How could so many things go wrong in one day? She didn't know what to think. It even made the Peter Pan, The boy that never grew up, act like an adult, as if he had grown up without Wendy realising.
He had never grown up in her stories.
She hugged her knees to her chest and let her long dark locks cascade down her face and spill down her legs. Her chest started to hurt and fog clouded her mind, it swirled in her head and a soft voice whispered, "nothing is as it seems Wendy."
She jumped suddenly, is if somebody had whispered that right into her ear. She had swore that somebody had been beside her.
She sat up straight and the Boys were still playing on the furs.
She yelped when Peter suddenly appeared, Wendy saw a glimpse of the sky, it was still dusk.
Frowning in puzzlement she asked, "Why isn't it dark out?"
Peter scowled and shook his head and the Racoon twins said together, "It doesn't get dark in Neverland, it hasn't gotten dark in a long time."
Peter shot them a death stare and they both quietened down averting Peter's cold gaze. Wendy was still befuddled. She didn't even get an answer.
She saw Tinkerbell hovering with a tiny scowl on her face and even she was shaking her head.
Peter left the bedding chamber and walked to the adjoining room. Everybody stared after him sadly and Wendy decided to walk after him and get some answers.
Something was going on.
Peter was leaning against the large tree root that snaked down the earth. He looked tired and worried and he tried to look away when he saw Wendy approach.
Sighing, Wendy strode up to him and put her hands on his face, forcing him to look in her eye.
"Peter", she started sighing, "What on earth is happening? This isn't the Peter Pan I know."
Her gaze was full of sorrow and Peter said softly "I'm sorry Wendy." There was an expression that Wendy didn't recognise in Peter's eyes and she said, "You have to tell me what Isolde did Peter, maybe if we just give her the help she wants she will leave us alone." Suddenly Peter's eyes sparked with fury and he snapped, "I'm not becoming food for her 'pet'. Nor am I going to give Neverland up without a fight."
His mouth clamped shut again and Wendy whispered feeling the sting of tears, "I don't know why you don't trust me Peter." She let go of his face and her hands were caught by Peter's as she dropped them.
She looked at him and he whispered, "you shouldn't worry about my problems Wendy, when everything goes away and all is good again we will all have fun again."
A smile graced his lips and he leant forward gently and kissed Wendy on the cheek. It was quick but soft and when he pulled away he had a cocky smirk on his face.
"Had to try it" he snickered and Wendy felt her ears and her cheeks go flaming hot.
Without letting go of her hands Peter pulled her back into the bed chamber were. He whispered in her ear, "I think I may need a story Wendy."
"Stupid, pitiful, weak, my brother is getting foolish, I will get that 'Wendy' girl tonight. No more fooling around."
Wendy told the real story of Cinderella. As she got swept up into the magic of story telling, Wendy noticed the dreamy, tired expressions of her boys. Peter sat up insisting he keep an eye out. He noticed everybody getting tired and said for everybody to go to sleep.
Nobody protested, as Wendy got ready for bed she walked to where Peter was. He glanced down at her and she said softly, "goodnight Peter."
Through a small gap between the earth and the tree, Wendy saw the light sky. No darkness had fallen, it was dusk. The sun had stopped at the horizon, frozen in place.
How long had that been happening for?
Wendy crawled over John and settled in next to Michael and Nana at her feet. She was tired, very much so. She sent one last glance to Peter, who happened to be also glancing her way. He sent a soothing grin, "I'll keep an eye out Wendy, "go to sleep." Wendy obliged and shut her eyes, a smile on her lips.
"Ok Tsilla, I'm going in."
Wendy woke in a cold sweat.
She sat upright in her bed and through the dim light she saw all the boys sprawled all out on each other.
Wendy's eyes sought out Peter and smiled when she saw the slouched silhouette of the boy still upon the tree branch.
He had fallen asleep.
Wendy couldn't blame him, Peter had been worrying for to much and needed to rest.
Wendy lied back down, content on listening to the nocturnal world outside. She almost dozed off when she heard a deathly whisper in her ear, "make one noise or we will slit your throat."
Wendy saw shadows coiling around her arm and out of the corner of her eye, Wendy saw a glint of purple steel.
Isolde and Tsilla had gotten her.
The girl wrapped Wendy in shadows and hissed "If you want answers Wendy, you will help me."
A low chuckle was heard in her head, "You're coming with us Wendy, whether you like it or not. You are coming to the Netherworld."
Ok everyone, if you liked that please leave some comments and feedback on how you like the story.. I will update more regularly when I see that people like my story.. Until then you will find me on 'Silhouettes'
Peace out
