Peter ran out to a sight he was not expecting, and multiple things were happening at once. The lost boys were dog piled on top of one another, hands bound; Tiger Lily looked wide eyed and terrified; her father, completely confused. The noise of the village was so loud no one could hear each other over another. And there in the middle, on her knees with her hands still tied back, was Wendy.
She was filthy with dirt, hair tangled and matted, her eyes swollen from crying and the wound on her shoulder had opened up again, and was seeping blood slowly. She felt ashamed and exhausted. To Peter though, she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"Wendy! Oh Wendy!" he cried, running to her. He knelt down pulled out his knife and cut her loose. He raised her up by her arms, and hugged her close. Her arms hung loose at her sides. He pulled away, and kissed her forehead, held her face between his hands and looked into her eyes. "Are you all right Wendy? Are you ok?" she nodded her head, and looked away.
Peter turned his angry gaze on Tiger Lily. "What have you done to her? Why would you do this to her?" he questioned coming toward her.
"No, Peter, you don't understand, she was fine when I had left her…"
"When you left her? Where?" Peter had grabbed her shoulders again now.
The Chief stepped in and separated them in one easy motion. "Peter Pan, your emotions run away with you. Be still, I will get to the bottom of this." Peter was about to explode with rage. Emotions? He would show them emotions. But he thought better of it and ran back to where Wendy was kneeling. Michael was in her arms now. He had been crying so loud with worry over Wendy that one of the Indian wives had cut him loose.
Peter wrapped a protective arm around both of them and stared up at Tiger Lily and the Chief.
The Chief turned to Tiger Lily. "Daughter, why? Why have you done this terrible thing?"
Tiger Lily was sniffling again. "I had to, for all our sakes. I didn't hurt her. I don't know how she came to bleed." She wiped her eyes. "You must believe me. What I did, I did for all of us."
"What do you mean Daughter?"
"The changes! Neverland is changing! Look around you father! I am not the youthful daughter you knew only days ago."
The Chief stepped back and studied her a moment. "I know," he said. "I don't understand it, but what has it to do with this Wendy-Bird."
"It's her. She is the one who is changing Neverland."
There was an upheaval now, as all eyes went to where Wendy sat in the dust. Peter squeezed her arm and kissed her hair. "It's all right Wendy," he whispered. She had begun to shake.
"Explain yourself Tiger Lily," said the Chief.
Tiger Lily began the story again of how she had seen Peter and Wendy together alone in the pool, what had happened and how things had started changing from that point on. How she had felt emotions she had never felt before and how her body had begun to transform. It was true, the leaves on the trees were turning and no one could rationally explain the growth of the children in front of them.
"That is why I have kidnapped her; that is why I was sending her back. Neverland is dying, because she made us grow up," said Tiger Lily pointing an accusing finger at Wendy. Wendy hung her head in shame. Now everyone knew.
Peter was taken aback. It made sense, but he also knew that he never wanted the way he felt about Wendy to go away. He knew that those feelings would not leave now, whether she was here with him, or God forbid, she was far away.
The Chief stood contemplative for a while. "What you speak may be the truth, but it may not be. We have come upon occurrences like this before, long ago before you were born; before Peter Pan made these lands his home. Only the fairies can tell us for sure, but we have not seen them for many weeks." He turned his gaze to Peter. "Where is Tinkerbell? "
"I don't know," said Peter, shaking his head. "I haven't seen her since I banished her for almost killing Wendy."
"There is more to this story than meets the eye. Go, take your Wendy-Bird back to your home and care for her. I will deal with Tiger Lily, and the ones who were forceful with her and your men."
The lost boys were cut loose and they quickly regaled Peter with the events leading up to their capture. Curly had indeed been the one to reveal the boys by a loud cry when they had discovered the right tee pee. Men had heard them and rushed in and amidst the commotion had roughly handled all involved including Wendy, thinking they were up to mischief. Michael held onto Wendy's hand. "Were you scared Wendy?" he asked in his small voice.
"A little Michael," she said, not wanting to frighten him, but feeling too exhausted to lie. Michael began to tear up again. "But everything will be all right." Apparently not too exhausted to lie. She hugged him, and stared at Peter's strong form organizing the boys in the growing dusk. She felt her heart break in two. She would miss him more than anything in the whole world.
John had been thrown in the pile with the other boys when the men who had found them dragged the group kicking and screaming to the center of the village. He was crushed on the bottom, but not too badly to hear everything that Tiger Lily had said. In a few short minutes his admiration for the brave Indian Princess had grown to resentment, and he hardened his heart to her for the sake of his sister.
He felt so empowered by this that he dusted himself off, and marched straight up to her as she was being led by her father into his dwelling.
He tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around in surprise. John was still struck by her eyes; brown eyes that danced with light up close. But he was determined to not be distracted and for her to hear his disdain on behalf of Wendy.
"I once thought you the very soul of courage and magnificence. Now I know you're nothing but a cowardly girl, and I'm sorry I ever thought you were beautiful."
Astonished, Tiger Lily opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. John turned on his heel, strode toward his new makeshift family, picked up Michael and walked with the group out of the village.
