Lynn woke up feeling cold, sore and completely disorientated. Someone had put a blanket over her. Her memories returned to her in a rush. She'd been shoved into this room after she'd met the leader. She sat up, stretching her limbs slowly. Looking around she saw a group of people gathered round a fireplace. Strange, the room had been empty when she first came. She got up and walked towards the welcoming sight of a blazing fire, craving the warmth. She took a seat at the edge of the fireside and stretched her hands out towards it. They were drinking some sort of hot beverage, which they silently passed a mug of to Lynn. She sipped the scalding hot liquid, sneaking glances at the people surrounding the fire. They were all girls. And they all seemed to be the same age as her too, give or take a few years in the case of some. In Lynn's experience this wasn't always a positive thing. But if this was to be her new home she might as well get acquainted with it's other occupants.
She took a deep breath and turned to girl nearest to her.
"I'm Lynn Darling from England, pleased to make your acquaintance."
The girl laughed merrily putting her hand in Lynn's, "I'm Maria Salvador, from Spain. Pleased to meet you too."
"Ada Stroffman, Germany," piped up the girl next to her.
"Lille and Colette Duchamp, France."
"Sonia Grigoriev. Russia." And finally-
"Penelope Cavender," smiled the redhead, "I'm from England too."
Lynn smiled in return, pleased at how things were going so far. Rarely did she encounter such open kindness in the people she met.
"So… where are we exactly?" she asked a little more confidently.
"He calls it Neverland," said one of the twins, "Also known as the Isle of Darkness. I'm Lille by the way," she added.
"The guy who rules it, the one you met, is known as the King of Shadows, or the Dark Prince," put in Colette.
Lynn's eyes widened. That youth was a king? …Or prince? An island? How long had she been unconscious?
"You're saying that young man up there…but how did I get here?"
"We'd better start from the beginning," said Maria, seeing her puzzled face.
The dark haired Russian spoke up first. "Native to this island is a gem of astonishing power. It is the source of the Prince's magical abilities."
"The boys he employs are probably the first children he stole, subservient thanks to the gem earrings he makes them wear. We don't know much else about him. But we do know that there are mines somewhere around here. You can hear the underground rumbling at night, " said Ada.
"So that's where my brothers have gone probably," murmured Lynn to herself.
"Yes. We've never seen them personally coz the Prince keeps a guard on us 24/7. Makes sneaking out impossible," said Penelope.
"Why aren't we in the mines then?"
"Ah. Well, we're basically the Prince's primary form of entertainment. You'll see what I mean," she laughed.
After they had finished talking she helped the girls tidy everything away and they settled down to sleep. Lynn thought about all that she'd learnt so far. According to the girls, she had to help do laundry, clean the rooms, cook the food and gather firewood. Completely forgetting the Prince and the problems he might present, Lynn wrinkled her nose in distaste at the thought of doing such lowly chores. Back at home she hardly had to clean herself let alone anything else. She sighed inwardly as she lay on her bed, listening to the even breathing of the five other girls. They'd all been here for periods ranging from 3 months to a year. She didn't know how she'd survive.
One thing that struck her as being odd about the situation was that though they professed to have long given up hope of returning to their families, none of them seemed altogether unhappy at the prospect. In fact, for a bunch of young girls that were technically prisoners, they were positively upbeat. She couldn't fathom it. They all maintained that life here wasn't all that bad once you got used to it, and you hardly ever came in contact with the Prince. Then again, she didn't really know what sort of homes they had all come from. She tossed restlessly in bed, unable to sleep.
What had happened to her brothers? Although all the other girls assured her that the Prince as they called him, wasn't a man of violence, she could not forget the menace in his eyes nor the ferocity of his glare. Were her brothers safe? Were they even in the same place as her? She still found it hard to believe she was on an island, miles away from England. Magical abilities, she scoffed. Who was this Dark Prince? What stopped anyone from leaving this accursed place? So many questions with so few answers.
Finally exhausted and with her head spinning, she fell asleep. Her thoughts still revolving around her brothers who were nowhere in sight and a mysterious black-clad youth with inexplicable power.
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A/N: Fastest I've ever posted a story -_-;