Chapter 4: Healing Hands

It had been several days since Wren's encounter with the deadly spirit of the man who tried to hurt and kill her, and this was taking a toll on poor Wren's body. Wren was tired all the time and was very paranoid, almost fidgety, about having another attack in her sleep or while she was doing daily routines. Yes, Felix was there to guard her if anything happened, but the burden was taking a toll on the poor man too because he had to watch Wren endure pain, knowing he couldn't help her or inflict the pain onto himself.

After several days of watching Wren's internal battle, Felix couldn't take it anymore and decided to confront Peter himself, even though he knew his actions could cost him some respect from his master. Felix marched right over to the smaller teen and demanded, "Where's your shadow? It's not doing its job because Wren is still having nightmares and attacks."

"These sort of things take time, my dear Felix. When my shadow finds the spirit of the man, we'll kill it, simple as that."

"Well, work faster!"

"Pardon me?"

"You heard me! I said 'work faster' because I can't take it anymore! Wren has gone through too much pain and I fear for her life and safety. If only I could inflict it onto myself, then I could...I could maybe shoulder the pain for her..." Felix retorted before he slumped down onto a tree stump and bowed his head in shame.

Peter looked at the tired, concerned young man with worry before he knelt down to Felix and smirked, "I'll find and kill that spirit, even if I have to overturn the island to do so, but it will take time so please be patient. I know it's taking a toll on you two and I know you're worried for her, but this is a battle she'll have to face alone...Trust me when I say this: She will heal from this experience, and with your help, she'll forget about the man and the terrible things he did to her."

"Understood..."

"You love her very much, don't you?" Peter asked as he put a gentle, fatherly shoulder on Felix's shoulder. Felix grabbed the hand and looked towards his and Wren's shared tent as he answered, "Most times, even more than myself..."

"Then, hold onto her as much as possible for as long as you can. You'll never know how precious someone is to you until you lose them for good...Good luck, Felix."

"Understood and thank you, Master..."

"Hey, where's the sense of adventure if you have nothing to fight for?" Peter smirked before a shout was heard, "Injured boy! Injured boy!"

Wren woke up from her slumber, rubbing her eyes and exiting her and Felix's tent as she heard the shout too. Peter and Felix turned to see Flint carrying a younger Lost Boy in his arms as the boy winced in pain. Peter tried to inspect the wound but couldn't find the source as he questioned, "Flint, what happened?"

"We were scouting and the boy was struck by a snake, a poisonous one. I tried to get him back to us in time, maybe to save him." Flint answered as Peter stared at the wound. Although he had had some medical knowledge previous to Neverland, he didn't quite know how to cure the Boy of a snake bite. In other words, this boy was doomed.

Sensing Peter's distress, Wren stepped in, as tired as she was, "I have medical knowledge. I can help you heal him."

"Wren, you must be tired so please return to sleep. I'll figure it out."

"You don't remember how to heal him, therefore, you need my help. I've helped women deliver children with much less knowledge and sleep than this, so I'll help. I've treated this before." Wren explained as Peter let her take over. Wren inspected the wound on the boy's ankle and muttered aloud, "This wound looks like it was caused by a 'death adder,' meaning the poison is fatal even with one bite, meaning the paralysis will be minor now but will shut down his organs within six hours if not treated right away..."

"Can you help him?" Flint asked as Wren nodded, "Yes, I've done this before. I just need a few items...Peter, are there any medical herbs or plants on Neverland?"

"There's a poisonous plant called 'Dreamshade' here, but I also know of a plant called 'White Lilianda.' It has healing properties."

"Go fetch some for me, please...Flint, get some clean rags and bowls. Felix, go pick some berries and fetch some water for me. I need these items immediately." Wren explained as one of the boys stepped in, "Do you need anything to numb his pain? We have some bark on the island that we use to numb pain."

"Yes, please get it for me. We'll definitely need it." Wren murmured to herself as Peter, Felix, and Flint ran off to fetch the items. Wren stared at the injured boy (the boy who hits Henry with his staff in season 3, episode 49) as she asked, "What's your name?"

"D-Devin..." The boy gasped as Wren smiled and cupped Devin's cheek, smiling at him as she whispered, "Well, Devin, I'm gonna help get this poison out of you, no matter what. I'm gonna save you, okay?"

"O-Okay..." Devin winced as he tried to endure the pain. At last, Peter and the others had brought the supplies and Wren got right to work. Wren first mixed up the berries with the white flowers Peter brought to make a sweet-tasting medicine before she crushed up the tree bark and made Devin ingest it with water to wash it down. Then, while Devin was numbed momentarily, she used a small knife to make an incision in his wound in order to remove the poison orally. As the incision was made, Devin spasmed, causing Wren to almost drop her knife as she panicked, "Hold him down, I need to make the incision to help him!"

Felix, Flint, Peter, and another Boy quickly sprung into action as they restrained Devin and used their body weight to keep the boy from squirming. Wren continued making the incision until she completed her task and started sucking Devin's ankle, spitting out the poison into a clean bowl little by little as she went. The Boys watched in awe at how calm yet determined Wren was in this situation, carefully watching Wren so that they could learn a thing or two from her.

After several minutes, Wren spit out the last of the poison before she crushed up the rest of the flowers into a paste, applying the white paste to Devin's ankle before she wrapped it up in gauze. Afterwards, Wren placed a drop of the poison into the berry and flower drink, making a sort of antidote with the three components before handing it to Devin to drink, to remove any poison that was still in his blood stream. Devin looked at the concoction and refused to drink it, complaining, "I won't drink it! Haven't I been through enough torture today?!"

"Devin, please drink it!" Wren pleaded as Felix stepped forward, "Don't be a baby, Dev. Look," Felix shouted as he sipped the berry drink, "It doesn't taste that bad. Now, drink it or I'll pummel you with my club."

"Devin, just drink it." Flint suggested as Peter smirked, "Devin, where's your sense of adventure? Just drink it, or are you really a Lost Boy?"

"Devin, please drink it. I wouldn't want your condition to get worse...Please, do it for me." Wren pleaded again with 'puppy-dog' eyes before Devin melted, "FINE! I'll drink it for me, not any of you, got it?" Devin placed the glass to his lips and drank, throwing the cup down as he released a sigh of relief, savoring the tasty drink while everyone took a breather. Flint led Devin back to his tent to rest while Wren cleaned up her mess, taking any dirty rags and such down to the river to wash them while Flint, Felix, and Peter followed.

Never in their lives had they seen a girl with that much medical knowledge, and this amazed the boys. Maybe it was a good idea to find Wren, maybe Felix finding her was a good thing for this group. Wren began washing rags in the river as the three boys helped her, Peter asking the innocent girl, "How did you learn to do that? That was so amazing, you were amazing!"

Wren smiled and blushed before she answered, "My mother was a nurse, or medicine woman, before she had me and she met my father in battle. He got injured and she saved him, so he married her and had me...Father learned medicine from Mom and then, they both taught me everything I needed to know before they..."

Felix became concerned as Wren stopped, so he questioned, "Before they what?"

Wren shook her head before she explained, "The spirit that tried to kill me killed my parents when he was still a man, then he took me because he lusted for me...He's always lusted for me since I was very little and has always wanted to marry me so I'll always be his...However, I don't love him nor do I want to love him."

"I don't blame you. I mean, how could you love someone who just wants to have complete control over you? It's a good thing we found you in time." Flint smiled as Wren nodded, "Yes, or else my innocence would be gone...That's what the man always wanted, and when Felix found me, that's what he was trying to take. Innocence is not something you just take by force, you know; it's given to the one that you love the most, the one who will be your mate forever, and we were definitely not mates...That's how men are back in London, I guess."

"You're from London?" Peter asked as Wren nodded, "Yes, why?"

"My shadow visits that place often. It's a place with no magic, right?"

"No, there is magic there, but no one will dare to look for it because most people there think it's evil. Magic to children and people like me are things like hope, faith, and true belief, and that always gives us something to fight for."

"And what's your sense of adventure? What do you fight for?"

"A brighter future than the dark past I had growing up...A future with a husband and children in a loving home, who love and accept me no matter what. That's what I hope for." Wren answered as she resumed her chores. Felix felt bad for this young woman as he listened to her story, his heart breaking as the words left her mouth. As soon as the chores were done, the four headed back to camp to dine together, dance, and sing before heading to sleep.

The routine for night hours were like normal, the only difference in this night from other nights was that Wren was given a new song request after Peter had played his pipes to allow Wren and the Boys to dance. This time, Felix chose the song as Wren nodded in agreement, smiling at his request before she whispered the song to Peter so he could prepare to play his pipes. Wren took a deep breath to calm her nerves and fill up her lung 'tanks' before she sang,

(Credit to Vienna Tang):

"Little child, be not afraid
though rain pounds harshly against the glass
like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger
I am here tonight

little child, be not afraid
though thunder explodes and lightning flash
illuminates your tear-stained face
I am here tonight

(Chorus)
And someday you'll know
that nature is so
the same rain that draws you near me
falls on rivers and land
on forests and sand
makes the beautiful world that you'll see
in the morning

little child, be not afraid
though storm clouds mask your beloved moon
and its candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams
I am here tonight

little child, be not afraid
though wind makes creatures of our trees
and their branches to hands, they're not real, understand
and I am here tonight

(Chorus, then 4 measures of music)

for you know, once even I was a
little child, and I was afraid
but a gentle someone always came
to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears
and to give a kiss goodnight

well now I am grown
and these years have shown
that rain's a part of how life goes
but it's dark and it's late
so I'll hold you and wait
'til your frightened eyes do close

and I hope that you'll know
that nature is so
the same rain that draws you near me
falls on rivers and land
on forests and sand
makes the beautiful world that you'll see
in the morning

everything's fine in the morning
the rain'll be gone in the morning
but I'll still be here in the morning..."

Wren bowed once again as the Boys cheered, hooted, and made lots of noise to show that they were excited and proud to hear Wren's voice and see her smile once again. As the night died down, everyone headed to their tents to hear Wren's soothing voice in their heads and to get a good night's rest. Surprisingly, the spirit never struck the camp nor did it strike Wren, but both Wren and Felix still worried about the spirit's dark presence. Felix hosted another Moonlight Vigil for Wren while Flint hosted one for Devin. As sleep started to take over Felix as he watched the sleeping Wren, Felix stroked Wren's cheek and applied a chaste kiss to her beautiful forehead before he fell asleep, wrapping a protective arm around her until morning...

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