Ch. 10
The Night of The Test

After Peter and Melody got back to the hideout they told the boys about Melody's test that would take place that night. They were shocked at first, for they had completely forgotten about it. Then they were excited; happy that Melody was going to be doing the same thing they all did when they came to Never Land. They had finally calmed down when Tinker Bell finally returned.

*Hey guys, I'm back,* she said. *What's going on?*

"We were just telling the boys about Mel's test tonight," said Peter. "You know, the 'test' test."

Tink looked at him, one of her brows raised. A second later she gasped.

*Has it been 3 weeks already?* she asked, and Peter nodded.

Tink spun around several times, squealing with joy. At once she shot forward and went straight to Melody, hugging her cheek. Melody giggled, patting the fairy with her fingers.

"Thanks, Tink," she said, and she turned to Peter. "So, what time does this thing start, anyway?"

"Lily is gonna come here to get us when it's time. Until then, we'll just get ready."

A couple hours later found everyone sitting in the hideout, waiting for Lily. The boys were all wearing their feather headbands and red warrior pain on their faces. Peter had on his large Indian headdress with feathers that draped to the ground, and made sure he had his flute attached to his belt. he was also wearing a red, short-sleeved shirt and a pair of dark brown pants. Melody was wearing one of the outfits she brought with her- a sky-blue tank-top with spaghetti straps and a pair of silk pants the color of magenta. She decided to keep her hair down tonight, but had a hair tie on her wrist incase.

It was only late afternoon when Lily finally arrived. She told them all that they looked great, and told Melody that everyone was excited for that evening. After that, they were off to the village.

It took them a short while to get to the village. It wasn't exactly crazy there, but there were several people walking around, apparently preparing for the evenings' events.

"There's still a few things to do," Lily explained. "And it all has to be done before sunset."

"What do we do now then?" Melody asked.

"The boys will go make themselves comfortable," Lily wrapped her arm around Melody's. "We are going to get you ready for tonight."

Without another word she began dragging Melody off. As they passed through the village several people bowed to them, muttering good greetings. Melody greeted them all as well, and they gave her small smiles in return. It only took a few moments before they entered a large teepee. There was a woman already in there, sitting cross-legged on the ground with her back to them, as though waiting for them.

"We're here, mother," said Lily.

Lily's mom- whose name was Precilla- slowly turned around, a wide smile on her face. If Melody had to describe Precilla with one words, she'd use 'beautiful'- both in a physical and internal sense. Pricilla was tall for a woman, broad-shouldered, and had curves that any woman would die for. Her completion was closer to a dark tan than red, much like Lily's. she also had dark hazel eyes, just like Lily did. But instead of black, her hair was a soft, mouse brown, and it was put into two long braids that trailed on the floor. But that was just the physical aspect of her beauty. Pricilla was a kind, compassionate, and adoring woman. Melody couldn't recall ever seeing her mad at anyone. She was a gentle being, but had a sense of pride you couldn't help but admire. And above all else, she was incredibly motherly. Lily loved and adored her mother so much that she practically worshiped the ground Precilla walked on. Precilla adored and loved her daughter just as much.

When Precilla saw the two teens, she smiled a wide smile that seemed to light up her face.

"There you are, my darling, Lily. And you've brought our friend," she raised her hands. "It's a pleasure to have you here, dear Melody. Please, come."

Melody smiled before walking over, taking Precilla's hands as she sat down on the ground. The woman patted Melody's hands.

"Forgive me, child," she said. "But I must stress how great it is that you are willing to take this test so you may stay with us."

"Well, if it means I get to live here forever, I'm more than happy to do it," said Melody. "I'll do this thing 10 times if I have to."

Pricilla chuckled. "You've always had a determined and charming personality, dear. No wonder Peter took a fancy to you," she grinned. "I sense that you are going to make that boy very happy. And you know how good I am with my senses."

Melody nodded. That was another great thing about Precilla- she was a psychic. She could make connections to the spirit world and eve make predictions. She could sense and understand things that others couldn't. Her ability had proven to be very useful and helpful, not to mention interesting for Melody.

"Enough chatter," Lily flopped down beside Melody. "Let's get started with you, shall we?"

"What do we have to do?" asked Melody.

"Well, I must prepare your face for the ceremonial paint," said Precilla. "But, my dear Lily wishes to try something new with you."

Melody heard Lily scoot over behind her and felt a pair of hands grab her hair.

"Have you ever had your hair braided, Mel?" she asked.

"Not since my 13th birthday," said Melody, remembering the hideous hair-due she was forced to have that year.

"Well, I think it's about time we changed that."

And without another word, both Indians went to work.

*It's almost sunset, Peter* said Tink. *How much longer do you think they'll be?*

"Don't worry, Tink. They'll be ready."

They'll have to be, Peter thought, and he glanced at his surroundings. What looked like the whole village was sitting on the ground, all in a very large circle. They all sat still, mumbling lowly to one another. Peter was currently sitting on a cotton mat, which resided next to a much longer one that the Chief sat on. This had been Peter's usual spot ever since he was labeled 'Little Flying Eagle.'

Then, out of nowhere, Lily's mother came up and entered the large Chief's teepee. For a few moments, nothing. Then Precilla walked back out, a proud smile on her face.

"Villagers," she called out. "I present my husband, and your Chief, Brave Heart."

A loud drum sounded once, and all the villagers bowed their heads and brought their hands to the ground. Peter turned his head in time to see the Chief step out from his teepee. He was still as tall and proud as ever.

"My dear husband…"

Pricilla offered her hands to the Chief, who took them both with no hesitation. He gave her a loving smile, bringing one of her hand sup to his face and kissing her knuckles.

"My Precilla," he said in his deep voice. "Is pale squaw princess ready?"

"Our daughter is with her and read to present her."

The Chief nodded, slowly releasing hr hands as Precilla went to stand on his right. Then he held up hiss head and raised his arms.

"Rise, my people!"

At once the villagers ceased their bowing and rose to their feet as one. Peter stood up too, keeping his hand on his headdress to keep it straight. He folded his arms and looked across the area where he could see the teepee he knew Melody was in. There was a few seconds of silence. A second later the laps of the teepee were opened. Tiger Lily stepped out first, and Melody followed after. Peter couldn't help but stare at her. She had a dark blue head and on her head that had green diamond-shapes around it, but had no feathers. But what amazed Peter most was that she had her hair in a braid. Peter could still remember her 13th birthday, and how awful her braid had turned out. It just…didn't suit her, somehow. But Lily must've worked some kind of magic, because this braid looked great on Melody. Maybe it was because all of her bangs were pulled back, except for one lock of curled hair hat hung over the headband. Or maybe because the braid wasn't ridiculously tight, but loose and comfortable.

Lily took hold of Melody's wrist and slowly began to lead her out through the area. Every villager bowed his or her head as the two walked past them. They continued walking until they stood in front of the Chief. Lily patted Melody's hand before going to stand next to Precilla. The Chief took a step forward, and addressed the teen princess in front of him.

"Melody," he said loudly. "You here for great test, so you may live in Never Land forever."

Melody straightened her back, holding her head up high. "Yes, Chief."

"You will be tested for 1 decade, you believe you will succeed?"

"Yes, Chief."

"You willing to wait so long?"

"Yes, Chief."

Peter watched Melody closely, slightly taken aback with the authority in her voice. Lily must've told her what to say and how to say it. Growing up as a royal princess might've helped her as well.

The Chief turned to Precilla and gave her a small nod. She turned to Lily, who held up a small bowl filled with blue paint to her mother. Pricilla took the bowl and took a step towards Melody. She then took her index and middle fingers and dipped them into the paint. She lifted them back up and brought the paint coated digits to Melody's face. She used them to draw two lines across both of Melody's cheeks, and then drew what looked like a circle separated into two halves on her forehead. Once the symbols were made, Precilla lowered her hands and backed away. The Chief stepped forward.

"Melody. Kneel."

Melody slowly lowered herself until she was down on one knee. The Chief placed his large left hand on her shoulder and lifted his right into the air.

"As Chief of Never Land, I declare test… BEGUN!"

A loud drum sounded in the distance; loud and defining. At once the Indians jumped to their feet and started making loud calls. They started running and dancing around with each other. Peter smiled as he got to his feet. He walked over to Melody, who was still kneeling on the ground, staring around in amazement. Peter cleared his throat and she looked up at him.

"Wanna dance?" he asked, reaching his hand out to her.

Melody smile up at him before reaching up for his hand.

"I thought you'd never ask."

"Your Majesty, it's really alright. You don't have to-"

"I wish to see my son to bed, Carlotta. There's nothing wrong with that."

Ariel gave the maid a stern look, daring her to say anything more. But Carlotta simply nodded, moving out of the way of the door. Ariel gave her a nod.

"You may go now."

"Yes, your Majesty."

And with that, Carlotta walked away. Ariel sighed. I mustn't be so hard on her. She was only doing her job. She turned to the door and grabbed a hold of the doorknob and opened the door. She walked in and looked around the room. Jeffery was laying on his bed, looking down into a large book. The lamp on his side table was on, leaving a dim light around the large room. When Ariel walked in her red-headed son looked up, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Hi, mama," he said. "Can you read me a bedtime story?"

Ariel sighed. "Not tonight, darling. It's late, and you need to sleep."

"Please…?"

"No, sweetie. I'll read to you tomorrow, alright?"

Jeffery reared his head back and gave an irritated groan, but then nodded. He closed the book and pushed the book to the end of the bed, and then scooted underneath his large covers. Ariel made her way over to the side of the bed and pulled the covers up to Jeffery's chin, smoothing the material out.

"Mommy?"

"Hmm?"

"Did sissy run away to Never Land?"

Ariel froze. Her and Eric hadn't talked to Jeffery about Melody very often. They told him that Melody had gone away and wouldn't be back for a while, but they couldn't just flat out say that she was gone forever, even if it was true. He was too young; too innocent. He wouldn't understand, not until he was much older.

"Y-yes," Ariel said slowly. "Yes, she did."

Jeffery nodded. "That make sense."

"Why, sweetie?"

"Because I asked her once that if she wanted to live somewhere else, where she would go. She told me she'd either go to the ocean, or Never Land."

"Huh…" Ariel ran her fingers through her bangs. "What else did you talk about with sissy, Jeffery?"

"All kinds of things," said Jeffery. "We talked about all the games we could play, what we could do for fun, and about her adventures with Peter and Tink."

"Really?"

Melody never talked to me and Eric about Never Land, Ariel thought to herself. She only talked about it in front of us if Jeffery was in the same room.

"She told you about Never Land, sweetie?"

"Yeah. She even let me come with her a couple times.

Ariel blinked. What?

"Sissy took you to Never Land?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jeffery smiled. "It's beautiful."

Ariel, despite everything, smiled down at her son. Though it had been many years since she had last seen it, she did know that Never Land was a very wonderful, beautiful place. The kind of place that only a child could love and believe in without a shred of a doubt. That was why Never Land wasn't a place for Ariel; why she had to go. As much as she had loved it, she was never meant to live there. Just like Melody felt she wasn't meant for Denmark.

"I'm sure it is," she said gently, patting her son's red-haired head.

"Yep. Sissy's lucky she gets to live in a beautiful place, and with Peter."

Ariel raised her eyebrows. "Why do you think she's lucky to live with Peter, darling?"

"Because she loves him, mommy."

Ariel blinked, her breath caught in her throat. Did he really just say…? Jeffery gave a tiny gasp, and his hands came up to cover his mouth.

"I'm sorry," he cried, sounding like he was caught doing something bad. "I didn't mean to tell. I promised sissy I wouldn't tell anybody. I'm sorry mommy!"

Ariel stared as her son sat there, looking as though he were about to cry. She then reached over and wrapped her arms around him in a small hug. He buried his face into her chest and started to sniff loudly. Ariel smoothed his red curls as she rubbed his head.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetie," she soothed. "It's okay. You haven't done anything wrong."

"I d-didn't?"

"No," Ariel kissed her son's forehead. "You just helped mommy understand something she didn't…"