HELLO EVERYONE! WARNING! This chapter is MUCH longer then my previous ones =) Enjoy!
CHAPTER FOUR
As soon as our mothers saw us walking towards them they met us half-way.
"Ann what happened to your dress?" Mother asked me giving me a stern look.
"Wendy and I were sitting beneath the tree over there because all of the benches were taking. I'm sorry mother. I didn't think it would be so bad." I replied as innocently as I could. Thankfully she bought it as did Wendy's mother, Mary, and we were let off with a light scolding.
"Mother. May Wendy spend the night at our house?" I asked hopefully clutching Wendy's hand as she asked her mother at the same time.
"Well…I don't know…" My mother hesitated looking over at Mary, Wendy's mother who exchanged a hesitant glance with her. I knew one more push would get them to agree,
"Please mother? I've never had a friend stay the night before and Wendy won't be staying up here for very much longer. And were the same size so she can fit all of my clothes." I said making my eyes as big as I could and slightly pouting my lower lip.
"Well..it's okay with me as long as Mary agrees." Mother said, I couldn't stop the huge smile that took over my face.
"Thank you mother!" I said happily before turning to Wendy's mother who looked between Wendy and me for a few seconds before giving in.
"Okay, okay. As long as you promise to behave." Mary said give Wendy a look that Wendy caught and gave a serious nod to.
"I promise mother." Wendy replied before she turned to me and we gave a quiet squeal and hugged tightly. We pulled apart when we heard our mothers chuckling.
"They look just like us when we were younger." Mary said to my mother as they watched us with smiles.
"That they do." Mother replied.
"Okay first I'll show you around the house…" I said as Wendy and I walked ahead of our mothers as we walked back to the café where our driver's were waiting for us, however as soon as we were a couple of steps ahead of our mothers I lowered my voice,
"Can you teach me how to sword fight? I can show you the defense moves that I know to." I whispered.
"Sure." Wendy agreed.
Before we got into the car, Wendy hugged her mother good-bye.
"Now listen Ann. I want you on your best behavior. Mary has agreed that Wendy could stay over for the next week and will be coming over tomorrow with clothes for her. Mary is a friend of mine from Saint Anna's school for Young Ladies and I would like her to think well of me and my daughter." Mother said.
"Yes mother." I replied in my best tone of voice looking every bit of the proper young lady she always wanted me to be.
The ride home was a bit hard for me as I wanted to talk to Wendy about her adventure and Peter Pan and Tinkerbell and everything else however I knew my mother was keeping a close eye on me so I was on my best behavior.
As soon as we got home I volunteered to show Wendy around the house and mother agreed sending us along while she went to the living room.
Knowing that I really should show Wendy around since she was going to be staying over for the next week I took her around the house. With that finally out of the way I took her outside and showed her the secret house that papa had built with me out in the woods.
"Come on, the steps are inside." I told Wendy, opening the hidden door in the tree's base.
I saw the surprise and amazement on Wendy's face as she walked into the tree base, as she climbed up the ladder I shut the door behind me and walked up behind her.
As soon as we got inside the cabin in the top of the tree, I grabbed two of the several wooden swords I had along the cabin walls.
"Here." I said handing Wendy one and immediately she began to show me how to sword fight.
The week past quickly in a cycle of waking up early, showing Wendy self-defense moves, eating breakfast, getting a bath, dressing for the day, walking around outside with Wendy talking about her adventures with Peter and the Lost Boys and her brothers, eating lunch, going to the secret cabin in the woods and practicing sword fighting, sneaking into the house and changing clothes for tea, eating a piece of desert and drinking tea while we sat in the living room pretending to be proper young women under my mother's watchful eye, walking the grounds also under my mother's watchful eye, then changing again for supper before finally changing for bed and reading from papa's book of scary ghost stories.
Before I knew it I was waving goodbye to Wendy as she left with her mother to go back to their home in London. However before I had time to start pouting in depression at the loss of my first real friend mother told me some good news.
"Ann since you and Wendy have grown so close. Mary and I decided that while your papa and I go to Europe to visit your Grandmother Sarah, you would stay over at Wendy's." Mother said.
Immediately I jumped up and down before lunging forward and giving mother a tight hug,
"Thank you mother! Thank you!" I cried happily before turning and running inside to start deciding what I wanted to take with me to Wendy's house.
"Ann slow down! Your papa won't be home for another few weeks." Mother called up the stairs after me.
After that the day's just couldn't pass quickly enough for me, mother got so fed up with me and my behavior she had me start taking several different lessons a day to keep me occupied. Right after breakfast there was piano practice for two hours, then painting for two hours, then thirty minutes break, then lunch, then sewing for two hours, poetry reading for an hour, then I helped Zoe make supper. After supper I wrote a letter to Wendy and then was sent off to bed.
TIME SKIP TO OUTSIDE OF THE DARLING HOUSE IN LONDON, ENGLAND:
"Now remember to behave!" Mother scolded me lightly before giving me a hug.
"I will mother." I replied before pulling back and giving papa a hug as well before heading up the steps and going inside the Darling house. As soon as I entered the house I was directed to my room so I could freshen up if I wanted to. I was put into the guest room across the hall from Wendy's room where she had been moved two months before she had stayed over at my place. Apparently her parents thought it was high-time a young lady have her own room.
That night Wendy and I snuck into the nursery where the boy's were and Wendy began to tell the story of Peter Pan and Captain Hook, while John, Michel and I started to act it out. We had just got to the part where I as Peter was about to chop off John, who was playing Captain Hook's hand, when the window to the nursery which had been left open by the boys and Wendy in hope that Peter would come back was filled with the figure of a twelve year old boy and a small creature that appeared to be glowing.
I was the first one to see them and stared in amazement.
"Are you Peter Pan?" I asked.