Jeez, guys, don't hurt yourselves! I have some work to do now that I have a job writing for the Murdery Mystery Company (look them up, they're really cool!). So yes, I'm a published author and playwrite now. Party on, peoples.
Please keep reviewing! Can we get to 55 with this next chapter? I think we can. That...and I won't publish another chapter till we do! MWAHAHAHA. Yes, I'm evil, I know.
Song: Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night
Artist: The Fratellis
When Wendy opened her eyes, she was surrounded by small balls of light. She blinked several times to clear her vision, but nothing changed. The small glowing orbs continued to buzz around. "Where am I?" she asked of no one in particular. One of the small lights turned to her, suddenly taking on the shape of a small human with wings.
"The Fairy Court, you big ninny," the tiny person huffed before dashing off again.
"Well then," Wendy snapped back, brushing her hair out of her eyes and looking around. She was in the center of a fairy ring in at the foot of a tall oak tree, whose branches seemed to stretch out forever in every direction above her. The leaves nearly blocked out the sky. Wendy stood and walked to the edge of the circle of daises, brushing herself off as she went. When she got to the edge, she found, to her great frustration, that she could not exit. "Can anyone let me out of here? Please?"
Wendy was greeted by silence from the fairies that whizzed about, all seeming very busy. Wendy threw herself forward, trying to escape, only to be thrown back to the ground by an invisible force. She stood again, looking around angrily. "Well this is infuriating!"
"Wendy Darling," came a suave voice from behind her. Wendy turned on her heel and came face-to-face with Captain Hook, returned from Mr. Pan to his former pirate-captain glory.
"Captain Hook," Wendy replied, her tone icy. "What are you doing here?"
"Simply on my way to thank Titania for returning me to my former self once more. I'm not sure how I ended up in the human world, but it was nice having a hand again and I wanted to thank her for the favor," Hook nearly purred. Wendy glared at him.
"Well I want to get out of this stupid fairy ring and find my friends! Not to mention my...boyfriend..." Wendy trailed off. Hook took the opportunity to jab at her, knowing that her realization had come too late.
"Oh. You've remembered haven't you? Look at your face, of course you've remembered that Peter didn't love you the last time you were on the island. He didn't even have feelings like he did in the human world," Hook taunted. "Now that we've all returned, will he remember his affection for you? I wonder."
"Captain Hook, what are you doing in my court?" came a high, tinkling interruption. Wendy was grateful for the stop to the taunting, but both she and Hook were both surprised at the fact they could understand the Queen at all. "Oh you humans. Just because the fairies have their own language doesn't mean we aren't fluent in yours."
"I came to thank you for the brief return of my hand to me in the human world," Hook said, bowing deeply and allowing his oily black locks to sweep the ground.
"My pleasure," Titania said, nodding her permission to stand. "You may go. Unless you wish to stay here and hear Miss Darling's verdict."
"It would be my pleasure," Hook smirked. The Queen turned to face Wendy, who was extremely nervous and a little confused.
"You, Wendy Darling, will not be allowed to leave the fairy court until Peter Pan has made an apology and performed the task which I have chosen to prove his worthiness of forgiveness."
"Why?" Wendy asked. "What did he do?"
"You know very well what he did! You were there when he did it!" Titania fumed. The Queen of the Fairies was very easy to upset, it seemed. "He stole our crown jewels and hid them in the forest! You didn't even try to stop him! And now you must pay the price for his crimes. And if he cannot complete the task I set for him, he must follow through on his punishment."
"And what would that be?" Wendy asked, crossing her arms rather indignantly. She'd had some bad experiences with fairies before, and this certainly wasn't helping to change her opinion of the pesky creatures.
"Well I ran across a friend of yours who seems to be rather insistent that Peter be hers..." Titania smiled, summoning a pixie-dust hologram of a smiling brunette girl. "Now that Peter is of the appropriate age and maturity, should he fail, he shall be wed to her immediately."
"Kelsey," Wendy whispered, her hopes suddenly falling. If Peter didn't remember her then he wouldn't come for her and she'd be trapped by the fairies forever. On the other hand, if he did remember and fail Titania's task...he would be married by fairy law to Kelsey and they would remain together, without aging, forever.
"What happens to me if he does fail and marries Kelsey?" Wendy inquired.
"You will be returned to the mainland and your normal, human family in the time period you came from," Titania said, gesturing with her shimmering staff. "Until Peter comes for you, if Peter comes for you, you will remain here in the court. Mustardseed! Moth! Cobweb! Take Wendy to a room of her own and dress her appropriately. The clothes she's wearing just will not do. I can't have such hideous human clothing distracting the members of my court."
"Yes, Your Highness," the three summoned fairies curtsied, ushering Wendy from the daisy circle and into one of the many crevices made by the tree's giant roots. She could hear Hook's laughter echoing behind her as she was pulled along. Beneath the tree was a labyrinth of tunnels formed by the roots, all leading into rooms large and small, many of them made to accommodate humans such as herself. Wendy was surprised by the strength of the three small beings who tugged her along at a reasonable speed towards the end of one such hallway, which appeared to be her room.
When Wendy was securely inside, one of the fairies went to the door and seemed to be muttering something to the ground. Daisies quickly sprung up where the fairy touched and Wendy realized that she was being magically locked in her chamber, just as she was locked in the fairy circle before. The other two girl pixies were rummaging through a wardrobe in the corner and throwing things onto the small bed against the opposing wall, not paying attention to whether or not they landed on the ground. "Thank you for letting me wear these."
"They're old, though," one of the fairies said, spinning around as Wendy picked up a dress from the floor. It was pure white and embroidered with swirling green leafy patterns around the bodice and neckline. Wendy was impressed with the workmanship.
"Old, sure. But they're so beautiful and wonderfully embroidered," Wendy smiled. Mustardseed blushed a deep red, her whole glowing aura changing colors.
"I made that one myself when I was just learning to sew," she said. "It's inspired by the human world's history. A period known as the renaissance."
"Then I owe you for the beautiful dress I intend to wear," Wendy replied, curtseying herself. The fairy buzzed in a happy circle, the others joining her. Cobweb landed on Wendy's shoulder.
"You're much nicer than the other girl. She didn't like the clothes we gave her," the small creature sighed.
"She's used to always having the best in the human world. But I like dressing up and changing things around. Speaking of changing...would you mind doing my hair up like yours?" Wendy asked Moth, whose hair was done in up in a beautifully intricate braided bun. The three fairies nodded, helping Wendy into the dress and sitting her down at the vanity.
"You're the nicest prisoner we've ever had to take care of," the three fairies chimed in unison.
"Well you're being so nice, how could I not return the favor?" Wendy returned. The fairies blushed together and finished doing Wendy's hair. When they were finished, they all curtsied to each other (including Wendy) before the three small girls turned back into little balls of light and zoomed from the room with great haste. Wendy admired her new appearance in the mirror. She looked regal for a fairy prisoner. Almost as if they had no right to her. But then she saw the Queen standing behind her in the reflection, and she turned to face Titania.
"Your Highness," she greeted the small but imperious woman.
"Miss Darling. I have just finished making a rather interesting deal with my new friend Captain Hook," Titania smiled darkly.
"What kind of deal would that be?" Wendy asked.
"Should Peter fail the task, he will not only marry Kelsey, but you will be given to Hook," Titania replied, her silver eyes narrowed.
Wendy was at a complete loss for words, staring in horror at the triumphant face of the Fairy Queen.
And while that had been happening in the fairy court, the Lost Boys and Peter Pan had been searching the island for Wendy and trying to remember how to fly. Only Peter had done so nearly effortlessly. "Wendy!?" Peter called, sweeping just above the treetops in search of the girl he'd come to love. Yes, even in Neverland Peter's feelings had grown towards her. He thought that with the return to his home his feelings would ebb away and die shortly...but they persisted. The frantic beating of his heart was reminder enough that the object of his affections was currently lost to him. "Wendy, where are you?"
"I know where she is!" came a jingling voice. Peter froze, hovering in midair.
"Tink?"
"Hullo, Peter!" Tink chimed. She was so happy to see him that her glow became intensely bright and Peter had to squint to keep from being blinded.
"Tink! I missed you while I was away!" Peter lied. He hadn't remembered her at all. But then, he hadn't remembered any of it, so who could blame him?
"Well now that you're back, we can go on adventures together again," Tink chirped happily, her bells ringing out over the Neverland forest.
"I have to find Wendy first so she can go clean up the Home Underground," Peter said, trying to sound like he was mad at Wendy. He was very aware of Tink's easy jealousy towards the girl. "The silly mother has run off again and I can't find her."
"Well of course you can't, silly ass," Tink rang, "She's being held prisoner in the fairy court! Titania wants to see you! But then we can go an adventures together!"
Without another word, Peter flew off at full speed towards the fairy court. Titania wouldn't be easy to forgive him and he knew some difficulty lay ahead in retrieving his one true love. He alighted on the ground in front of the throne and bowed, his eyes never leaving Titania's silvery ones. She smirked and gestured for him to rise.
"I see that you have figured out where your precious Wendy has been hidden," Titania laughed.
"Yes, and I'm here to demand her back," Peter stated, reaching for the dagger at his hip before realizing it wasn't there.
"Now, now, Peter, we both have something the other wants," the Queen reprimanded. "I have Wendy and you hid the crown jewels. If you return them to me within the next two days, I will spare your precious Wendy and return her to you."
"And if I can't remember where they are?" Peter asked, having forgotten completely where he had hidden them.
"Should you fail to return them to me by the third day, you will wed by fairy law a girl of my choice," Titania said. Peter laughed.
"Wendy is the only girl on this island!"
"So you think. But your magic brought with you one other girl who is so very desperate to have you," Titania spoke, "Miss Kelsey will have you as a husband should you fail. And Wendy will be given to Captain Hook as retribution for his missing hand."
"You have no right to do anything with Wendy!" Peter fumed, darting up into the air on instinct. When the Queen gave him a challenging glare, he floated back to the ground.
"Do you accept my terms, Peter Pan?"
"Yes, Titania. I accept your terms on the promise that no harm will come to Wendy in the meantime," Peter bowed. Titania nodded.
"You have two days, Peter. Do not fail."
Peter threw himself into the air, catching a current and allowing it to drag him off toward the forest. He didn't have a lot of time to cover the entirety of his old home. He often forgot things, but this was one time he truly wished he hadn't.
"Now," Titania said, turning to Captain Hook, who had come out from his hiding place. "I have the jewels. We recovered them shortly after banishing Pan to the human world."
"Then why did you send him on this quest?" Hook asked.
"To teach him a lesson," Titania replied. "He cannot do these things to people and constantly expect to get away with it simply because he is Peter Pan. You will take these jewels and hide them in your ship under lock and key and guard and do not let him get them. He will marry Kelsey and you will have Wendy if you follow my instructions."
"Yes, Your Highness," the Captain agreed, bowing and taking the small chest. "It will be done as you have requested."
"Now go, Captain, before he suspects something."
