Hello sweet fellows! I'm back and I bring trouble...! Ready for some revelations?! There you go! Enjoy and tell me what you think of it, and also what you think is going to be said, done, felt and revealed in the next chapters !
When she woke up in the morning, Rachel felt as though she had spent the entire week drinking vodka. A lot of vodka. Her mouth felt dry and tasted terrible. She sat and passed her hands on her face, trying to shake it up for a bit and failed at brushing her wild hair with her fingers only. They were just too messy, and surprisingly still a bit wet from her bath the night before. She didn't quite remember at what point she had come back to her room but she really didn't mind much.
Rachel yawned, eyes still closed, slowly coming to her senses. The warm rays of the sun were caressing her left arm, peaking through the small window on the wall. The girl stayed still, enjoying the unexpected heat.
This is when she noticed something was up.
She opened her eyes and an intensely bright light burnt her retinas, causing her to close her eyelids in a second. She waited for her eyes to adjust and then, slowly, let the light in. It was weird at first, witnessing daylight again, but she was definitely the one less used to darkness on the whole island, and so she smiled so big she felt her ears rise high on each side of her head. This feeling made her even happier and she was soon to giggle by herself on the undone sheets of her bed. The giggle slowly gained power and from there Rachel burst into laughter. The sun was shining and she probably had something to do with it. Pan would be mad.
She dressed up, and feeling lighter than ever, she jumped down the ladder... to find each and everyone of the Lost Boys wandering about. Most of them walked aimlessly. Some, on the contrary, were sat on the floor, eyeing the sun with disbelief. And there, perched high in his tree, back turned from her, Pan was standing, facing the newly born heat.
As soon as she set foot on the dirt, the boy turned around and gazed at her, sensing her awake by some strange sixth sense he had. But instead of the rage she was expecting to see in his black pupils, all she saw was deep relief. He jumped down the tree and gracefully landed before walking towards her. The closer he got, the bigger he smiled, and before she could move, he took her in his arms and hugged her so tight she had her breath taken away. The pair stayed this way for what seemed like awfully long minutes to Rachel, although it was only seconds to Pan. When he finally let her go, she took a step back, shaky. Pan kept smiling at her like he was living the best day of his life, thanks to her.
"Isn't it wonderful, Tink? Everything is finally going back to normal! I never thought forcing your into your original self would make such changes. I mean, I knew you would wake up confused and maybe hating this place more than before but I guess it was worth it!"
Rachel was astounded.
"I'm sorry?" she said.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Ron smiling at her.
"We're all so glad to have you back Rach... Sorry. Tinkerbell. It was kinda long without you here."
One by one, each one of the boys came to greet her, except for Al who apparently had no idea what was going on. Pretty much like her actually. He stood there, frowning at the scene before him, his arms useless by his sides.
"I need explanations." Rachel managed to let out between the fifth and sixth hug. "Intensely detailed explanations."
Pan took her hand in his and simply said: "Follow me."
And they were off, making their way through the dense forest. Rachel remembered this path to be the cave's where Pan had taken her the day before.
"Are we training again today?" she asked. Pan looked at her while continuing his fast walking.
"Something like that. Things have changed since yesterday and you need to fully understand what."
Rachel had not been so confused in her whole life. The only visible change was the fact that the sun was back, and so, the natural cycle of day and night. What part she had played in this, she did not know, but maybe she was about to discover it.
Pan and her entered the dark corridor and quicker than the last time, got to the tree. Pan stopped a few meters from the small lake and looked at her.
"Look at your reflection. But please, whatever you do, don't freak out."
Rachel smirked at him. Things were being really odd. Pan was way too polite for her to peacefully apprehend what she might see in this stupid puddle. But she did take a step closer to the sparkling water. And another, until she kneeled and looked into it.
The weather was not the only thing that had changed overnight: so had she.
The first detail that hit her was her hair colour. She was now light blonde with long flowing hair, that she had shorter and darker before. Her eyes had stayed the same altogether, but maybe were they less round? Her face was also slimmer and a shade paler than she had ever had it. She stayed silent. Had some crazy plastic surgeon operated her while she slept? Was she still asleep and all of this was a dream? What the fuck was going on here ?
She looked over her shoulder to Pan who was staring at her, waiting for her reaction.
"I feel like you are involved with all of these changes." she stated. "I believe I have the right to know why and how?"
Instead of answering her, Pan looked up to the tree and on an impulsiveness of his right foot, flew to the branch hiding the hole. There he waved at her and motioned her to join him. Rachel started climbing the tree for the second time and was also faster than the day before, her feet were more assured for they knew the right path. She felt so much lighter, and as a gentle wind made her hair whirl around her, Rachel felt herself lose balance. However she did not fall, her light body followed the path of the wind, and trying to keep herself steady to avoid spinning, she finally landed next to Pan who reached out for her and brought her back next to him with the force of his arms. Apparently leaving the grasp of the wind was harder than entering it. Rachel decided not to question what had just happened. Things had been out of hand the moment she had set foot on this island, she couldn't keep freaking out at every weird thing that happened to her. But how she wanted to!
Pan and her climbed down the stairs, and once again, Rachel felt as though the tree had its own conscience. Her fingers undulated on the warm and soft wood, almost like a caress. She stopped for a few seconds to let ants make their way through the step she had been about to walk on. When had she become so conscious of all the living things around her? Shaking her head she stepped over it and started walking after Pan again.
When they arrived to the room from before, Pan sat on his chair and looked at her as she made her way through the empty space. This time, Rachel strangely seemed to remember some details about it. She saw a bunch of children fighting each other on the floor, laughing and pretending to eat a feast out of empty bowls and plates. She also saw Pan, dressed with leaves and vines, smaller than he was now, chase after them, a sword in his right hand, and bright eyes filled with joy.
She looked at him and finally noticed his stare. She felt uncomfortable at the idea that he had been watching her all this time.
"Do you remember anything now?" he asked gently.
His voice flew to her ears the same way the wind had taken her before, and this is when she knew. Pan was one with the island and its natural elements. He was one with the wind, one with the flowing water, one with the clouds he drew at will in the sky, one with the stars chanting his name, as she heard them now. She heard the stars singing, and it was the most marvellous song she was ever given to hear.
Uneasy, she answered: "I don't know what I remember, Pan. I don't even know why you brought me here, and what happened before I went back to my room last night."
He was silent for a moment, probably thinking of what he could tell her, or how he was about to drop the news without having her all scared.
"Let's begin with the beginning, shall we?" he started.
"Seems like a fair deal to me."
He nodded and began talking.
"I have never been too good at storytelling I must admit. But since I'm the only one who can tell you everything there is to know, I suppose I'll have to make an effort." he slightly giggled. "Let's put it this way: although I tend to forget it, I often remember from my dreams that I'm originally from your world. From a place called London. I don't recall everything about it, but I know I had parents talking big to me when I was not older than three years old. They said they had the highest hopes for my future, that I'd become someone important, that I'd own so many suits I could wear a different one each day of the month. Things like that. Anyway, eventually, at the age of ten or so, I ran off and ended up in a public park of some sort. It was raining that night and I hadn't brought an umbrella with me so I quickly ended up soaked to the bones. I found a comfortable place and fell asleep almost immediately. I had spent the day hiding from my neighbours and police agents. They were all looking for me but I couldn't let myself get caught and so I was exhausted.
Somewhat in the middle of the night I felt someone touch me and I got scared they had found me. But instead of the adult I thought I'd see, there was a girl my age with a wide smile on her face. I must say up to this day I still haven't seen such a beautiful smile on somebody else's face. Like me she was all wet, but it didn't seem to bother her much. She started talking, and she seemed so genuinely happy to speak to someone that I listened to her carefully, in deep silence. She had a tinkling voice, and the story she was telling me was so amazing that I couldn't believe my ears. She told me she had ran off from her queen and that what she was doing was against all the orders she had been given but that she did not care because she knew she was doing the right thing. When I asked her what the problem was, she told me about her far away island and the terrible curse it was under. Apparently, some evil force had settled there some time ago and had been messing things up, messing with people's minds once in a while and forcing them to fight to death with one another. Tinkerbell, as she introduced herself, wanted to do something about it. Something serious, unlike her queen who didn't seem to understand much of what was going on, according to her."
"Wait a second." Rachel stopped him. "What does all of this have to do with me."
"Let me finish, you'll understand everything when I'm done I promise." he swore. "Where was I? Oh right, sorry. Before I knew it, I asked if there was anything I could do to help and surprisingly, she said yes! That night, I flew for the first time. That night, Tinkerbell, or should I say you, brought me to Neverland. Queen..."
"...Hilda?" Rachel guessed to Pan's surprise, trying to forget the fact that she might have played a part so important in his life, and in the island's.
"How do you..." Pan was astonished. "Oh. The Mermaids of course. Obviously they'd talk to you. I haven't seen them for way too long. I even thought they were extinct... It's good they're not. So, as I was saying, you brought me to Neverland after we made a deal. You would take me there so no one would ever find me and I'd do all I could to save the island and its people. Once we agreed on the terms, we were off, flying behind the moon and up to the stars. We flew for what seemed like days to me, through many worlds and universes I could not even remember after laying eyes on them. And then, we reached Neverland. But we soon realised something terrible had happened while you were gone. No one was around anymore. The entire island was empty of fairies. You panicked and brought me here, to this room, so you could think. The magic of the tree gave you strength, that's what you told me anyway, and when we went out, we looked for the Piccaninny tribe. The bloodthirsty people of this tribe were usually to be avoided at all times but you couldn't care less, their princess Tiger Lily was one of your best friends since forever, and so the tribe was also devoted to you. Once we got there, we found the fairies safe and sound although absolutely traumatised by whatever they had lived. Queen Hilda and her counsellor, a ginger witch, told us it had come and killed many. When I asked what it was referring to, the queen took me back here, just the two of us." Pan let out a laugh. "I swear I was beginning to have enough with all the comes and goes. She told me to submerge myself in the enchanted water, and that by doing so, I would be linked to the island and be able to defeat it. I knew she was taking a risk by entrusting me, a ten-year-old she had just met, with such important powers. I suppose she saw something in me. I never really had an answer from her about it.
I won't tell you what it felt like to be underwater in this lake because it is indescribable. When I got out of it, I had gained all of the powers a fairy was born with, but there was more to it. I could hear the island's will, and every living, every single inert thing that belonged to it. I still can. I forever will. From simple human Peter, I became Pan, with the powers you know."
Pan fell silent for a long moment and Rachel seized the opportunity to ask the question that was burning her tongue.
"Why can't we call you Peter, like in the stories?"
Pan looked at her like she was a simpleton.
"Do I look like the simpleminded child that I once was? Do I look like the kid that once brought children here to have fun because he felt lonely? I was Peter, like I said, but this time is over. And all of it because of a certain family you certainly have heard of: the Darlings."
Dannnnnngggg surprise !