PART 3: CHAPTER 2:
After all these years, the one thing I had learned about Master Peter suffered from intense paranoia, this irrational fear made him angry, volatile, ready to snap at a moment's notice. Even though he was the king of the island, even though he was in control of absolutely everything that happened here, he still believed that someone was out to get him that someone was looking for him that someone would eventually hunt him down and remove him from his throne.
No one ever knew who this person was, who was the giant threat, for all I knew the fear was all in his head, after all in the time that I had been stuck on this island there had never been any threat. Nonetheless, Master Peter acted as if there was, and he carted us around the island, never staying to long in one place, always moving the camp from hell and high water, it was a process we repeated every couple of weeks.
This camp, located at the northern tip of the island, it was more sophisticated, and more developed, larger than the previous ones. Master Peter made us work hard, when he had us set up this camp, made us make it as appealing as possible, something he had never cared to do before. I was almost positive it had everything to do with the special guest we were expecting tonight.
The camp was located in a small clearing surrounded an array of fauna and flora, it was prime hunting ground, and while in reality we didn't need to hunt, it was a pastime that brought many of us great comfort, on the northern side of the camp housed the sleeping quarters, hollow trees that served as shelters from the rain, the southern side housed all of our weapons; our play things, Master Peter called them. Right smack in the middle, at the heart of the camp, there was a large roaring fire pit, providing warmth and comfort, next to the large fire there was a small stone stove that was used to cook our catch of the day.
The familiar scent of burning flesh filled the air, as leftovers from yesterday's hunt were being reheated for what would be our breakfast. I took in the familiar scent, and smiled slightly proud to have been the one who caught giant cat that had been turned into our meal.
On this island, we were only allowed two meals a day, one at the beginning of the day and one at the end. Master Peter didn't want us to spend time doing things that he didn't consider necessary, apparently good nutrition wasn't a necessity in his mind.
I walked over to our makeshift kitchen and crouched down next to Felix, who was tending to our meal.
"Morning," I whispered looking into the pit, letting the heat from the fire warm my cold bones,
"Morning," he whispered back a shadow of a smile grazing his ragged features, "How did you sleep?" I shrugged cocking my head to the side slightly,
"You?" I asked looking back towards the fire,
"Same as always," he said softly poking the meat with a stick,
"So very little," I said, he chuckled giving me a half smile, I smelled the meat beginning to burn and I reached over to grab the stick he was poking the meat with. "Do you want me to do it?"
"If you want," he replied handing me the stick,
"Good," I whispered dropping it on the floor, "You've always been terrible at this," he chuckled again. I grabbed the burning meat with my bare hand and flipped it over, my hand sizzled as the scorching meat came in contact with my bare hand, he hissed grabbing my enclosed fist quickly,
"What are you doing?" he asked, "Are you daft?" I took my hand back and opened it, showing him that there was no burn, nothing to worry about,
"It doesn't hurt me," I said softly, "Hasn't for a long time," he grabbed my hand back caressing the burn carefully with his thumb,
"How?"
"Come with me," I replied, "Don't worry about the food, it still has some time left," he nodded and walked with me towards the well on the eastern side of camp, I pulled up a bucket of cool drinking water,
"What are you doing?" he asked,
"Just look," I whispered taking a ladle, filling it to the brink and pouring it over my burnt hand, the injured skin bubbled for a minute, I took a cloth and wiped the water off, exposing a freshly healed hand.
"How?" he asked again, I smiled softly,
"Magic," I whispered,
"I thought…"
"He couldn't take it all away," I replied, he nodded reaching out to touch my hand softly, I smiled again, before taking my hand back, "Come on," I whispered, "Master Peter will be pissed if we burn the meat, again," he nodded and we walked back to the pit, we sat down in front of it waiting for the meat to finish cooking,
"I still don't understand," he said softly, "How is it possible?"
"How is anything on this island possible," I replied,
"True," he said softly, we sat in silence for a moment, none of us wanting to say anything: as there wasn't really anything to say. After years and years together on this island, after all the pain, the suffering, the broken bones and burnt skin, the destroyed psyches, and nightmares, Felix and I had developed a special type of relationship, A relationship that truly had no name, that had no limit.
After being together for over a century, we had developed a love like no other. A love unique onto itself, a love that no one else knew, our feelings for each other were not romantic in any sense of the word, and while Felix was a very attractive man, there was no sexual attraction there. However, our feeling surpassed that of a friend or even a family member, there really was no name for what we felt for each other.
It was the purest form of love, the truest, because there was no hidden agenda, no ulterior motive, we didn't try to change one another, manipulate each other, only accept and love each other for who we were. On an island where everyone looked out for themselves, our relationship was a breath of fresh air, it was the only good thing I had on this island, one that I would protect with every fiber of my being until the day I died.
We knew that not everyone would be ok with our relationship, not everyone would be ok with the bond that we had grown to share, and because of that for the entirety of our relationship, we had kept it hidden from the world. Master Peter would not stand for such a mutiny, we were supposed to love him the most, to respect him the most, and to worship him as if he was a god, my relationship with Felix threatened that notion. If Master Peter were to find out, it would surely mean our death, and not a quick one at that, we would suffer until the very last moment, and with the power that demon possessed he could keep us alive for centuries if he wanted to. Consequently, we hid it, we hid it with every fiber of our being, we were careful, meticulous, and we made sure no one about the bond we shared. To the rest of the world Felix was my lieutenant, my boss, I answered to him and he disciplined me whenever he saw fit, "Rosalie?" he asked snapping me out of my daze,
"Hmm," I replied looking up,
"Where were you?" he asked softly, "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," I whispered looking back down,
"I don't believe you," he replied and I looked down, "Tell me,"
"It's nothing," I murmured,
"Are you sure?" he asked, I nodded looking back towards fire and he sighed, "It's peaceful, isn't it?
"Won't be after tonight," I replied,
"Hmm?" he asked,
"Did you hear?" I asked,
"Hear what?" he replied
"About the boy?" I said looking down at my hands,
"Yes, I heard," Felix, replied softly,
"He has the heart," I said softly, "the heart we've been searching for, for so long,"
"I know,"
"Master Peter is going to kill him, isn't he?" I asked my voice no louder than a mouse. No matter how much time I had spent on this island, no matter how much the island hardened me, the idea of an innocent boy, a powerful boy, a boy with a bright future, dreams, goals, aspirations, being massacred so that Master Felix could gain more power, cheat aging and in turn cheat death sickened me to my core. I couldn't bare the thought of a little boy losing everything for such a demon. Felix heard the disgust in my voice and hissed, grabbing my hair roughly so that my head was almost on his shoulder, his lips near my ear,
"What Pan does or does or does not do is none of your business," he growled, "You best not question him, you know what'll happen if you do," I nodded feverishly, "Good," he said letting me go,
"I'm sorry," I whispered, looking over at him, he sighed and caressed my face gently,
"Don't be stupid Rosalie," he said, "We work for Pan, and we take his word as fact," I nodded, "Is the food ready?" I looked over to the stove and nodded, removing the food, placing it on a cooling rack near the fire so that it would remain warm but not overcook. "Good," he said, "I'll get Pan, you wake the boys," I nodded, he got up patting me on the back gently, "We have to be smart Rosa," he said using the pet name he bestowed upon me that only he could use, before leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I knew that Felix's loyalty would always lie with Master Peter, no matter how much he cared for me, no matter how much he loved me; he would always be loyal to the Devil himself. Felix had been here far to long for it to be any other way. I got up, wiped the dirt off my pants, and took a deep breath, calming my raging nerves. I walked towards the northern edge of camp and picked up a large stick that lay next to a ginormous gong. I beat the gong, once, twice, three times to signal the start to the day, waking the boys from their slumber, so that they could join the land of the living.
One by one, Neverland's slaves rose from their torpor and walked over to the pit so that they could be fed. They stood in a perfect line, their bowls and spoons extended in front of them, like an army of ants waiting for their meal.
Master Peter returned from the jungle with Felix on his heels, he walked to the front of the line, his lips bared in a sadistic smile,
"Thank you Rosalie," he said planting a messy kiss on my lips,
"You're welcome sir," I said nodding as I handed him the best cut of meat with a slice of bread, he smiled and walked over to a log, we all waited patiently for him to take a bite of his meal, if he didn't enjoy the food, we weren't allowed to eat that day. He took a deep breath savoring the meat that Felix and I had carefully prepared, he paused and my breath caught in my throat preparing for the beating that was about to ensue if Master Peter didn't like what was in his mouth. He bared his teeth and smiled nodding, singling his approval, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, Felix took his food next nodding at me slightly, I swallowed my anxiety and began to serve the herd of slaves waiting for their meal.
In this world, a pecking order was very much in place, Master Peter was our lord, our king if you will, he always ate first, always had the best cut of meat, the best tools, the best everything. He was the Master and we were the slaves. Felix his second in command, was right behind him on the totem pole, a Beta to his Alpha.
The rest of the boys fell in line in their respective ranks raging from oldest to youngest, then at the very end of the pole was me, Rosalie the slave bitch, the toy, the plaything, it didn't matter that I was one of the best trackers and hunters on this island, it didn't matter that I was one of the most valuable, Master Peter made sure I knew that I was worth nothing compared to the rest of his army.
I wasn't the worst off; there was someone below me, someone who suffered more than me, someone who wasn't allowed to see the light of day, someone who truly was a prisoner on this island; a little girl who lived in a cage high above the ground. A little girl who once had hopes and dreams, who once had a family, who had a home and a good heart, a little girl named Wendy.
Once all the boys had eaten, once all the boys had had their fill, I was allowed to leave my post at the stove, I filled two plates of food with whatever scraps were left, and walked over to where Master Peter was sitting,
"Sir," I whispered, "May I?" He looked me up and down, his rough hand reaching to touch my cheek, his nails digging into my skin,
"Your heart is your weakness," he whispered, I looked down at the ground, "It will be the death of you here," I nodded,
"Felix!" Master Peter called; Felix stood and walked over to us,
"Sir?"
"Take little Rose to the cage," he growled, "Let her feed the animal,"
