All ten of them stopped short, their eyes being drawn up, up, up past enormously tall elms, oaks and maple trees to the top of a cavernous room, glowing with mysterious golden light. The air shimmered before their eyes, as magic floated past them like visible wind. A forest within a mountain! Ferns and bushes and flowers were leaning out to them, stretching their branches and leaves toward the visitors as if in welcome, glittering with fairy dust.
The buzzing they heard came from hundreds of fairies, wings fluttering almost too fast to see. They were coming from all over to hover in front of them, singing in musical and tinkling voices. Wendy forgot her fear for the moment of these wild creatures, and stared in awe at the beauty and wonder in their home and the overwhelming splendor of the mass affect that so many fairies in one place created. Each one glowed with their own color, together making the spacious hollow dance with rainbows. She felt herself glowing in response. She wanted to sway with the rhythm of the place, lose herself in the humming melody. She could practically see emotions drifting through the air. So this was what it was like to be bewitched by fairies. So many stories from England about people losing themselves in time, awakening back home, wanting to return, made all the sense in the world now.
Peter took Wendy's face in his hands. "Look at me," he commanded. He knew what the fairies were singing. He knew their language, and the words of their song were frightening. She glanced at him, but found she couldn't keep her eyes from wandering to a new sight every moment. She was noticing the murmur of the brook gently flowing through the trees. There were swans floating in the water, feathers fading from white into different colors. There were eagles gliding over the massive trees, tiny, creating a reference point for how high the ceiling of the cavern really was. Her eyes danced with wonder. Peter tried again. "Look at me Wendy, look into my eyes. Listen to my voice." Her gaze had glazed over and she looked at him confused. Peter smashed his lips against hers in an effort to bring her back to him. She didn't respond at first still under the spell of the place. But then she felt the wet warmth of Peter's mouth, the delightful pull in her stomach from his tongue against hers and her mind focused back to the moment.
"Peter," she sighed, gripping the front of his shirt, using his body to anchor her in reality. "Peter, Peter." She slid her forehead to his neck until she felt herself again. "Oh, what would I do without you?" He smiled.
"You'd be kidnapped by fairies. Now we need to help Nibs." Wendy turned around and saw that Nibs was swaying back and forth in a world of his own, the others pulling on his arms to keep him from walking toward the forest and the beckoning fairies calling him to come with them into the trees.
She ran and knelt in front of him, taking his shoulders in her hands. "Nibs, Nibs, can you hear me? Listen to my voice," she said shaking him. He smiled at her as though she was a dream and tried to push past her.
Peter turned around angrily at the hovering fairies. He was so confused at their behavior. They didn't do this, they were kind, they were helpful, they loved children. "Stop!" he cried. "He's not what you want! Leave him alone! Take us to the fairy queen, or so help me!" He drew his sword, jabbing it in the air to make his point.
"It is not their fault," said a young man coming through the soft lights of the winged creatures. He held up his hand, and the fairies halted their singing. "They require a sacrifice."
Peter held his sword in place, unsure of this new development. "What? Who are you?" he asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"My name is Soaring Eagle," he said. "I've been here for many, many years and…" Soaring Eagle took in the sight of all ten of them, until his eyes rested on Tiger Lily. "Morning Dove!" he cried, and ran to Tiger Lily, wrapping her in his arms. "I thought I would never see you again!"
"Grandfather!" she exclaimed hugging him back. "I am Tiger Lily, your granddaughter! Your great, great granddaughter!" She smiled, ecstatic to see and be holding her ancestor whom she had heard so much about.
Soaring Eagle pulled away, holding her shoulders at arms length, and searched her face. He looked closely in her eyes, and sighed. He cast his gaze down sadly to the ground, remembering something with hurt. But then he brightened, his young mouth smiling. "I have a great, great granddaughter!" he said happily. "You would never be able to guess I was old enough!" he laughed, and the others looked at him in agreement. Here was a young man with glossy black hair, barely older than what Peter imagined he himself must look like now. Soaring Eagle turned back to Tiger Lily. "Forgive me granddaughter, you look so much like your grandmother." She grinned at the comparison, for her loveliness was often sung about in her village.
"She must have been beautiful," said John. Tiger Lily blushed, and pushed at his arm. Soaring Eagle studied the two of them with a knowing look.
"Sir," said Peter drawing the young Indian Chief's attention back to him. "What happened to you? You didn't die? We'd like to get to the bottom of this. Neverland is dying outside. What must we do to fix it?"
Soaring Eagle took a deep breath. "So it's happening again, just as I feared," he said. "There has been growing agitation, I have felt it myself."
"What are you doing here?" asked Wendy.
"There is much to know, there is much to be discussed. I will take you to the fairy queen and you will understand." He gestured at them to follow him, and Tiger Lily took his arm walking proudly next to her ancestor. The fairies flew to either side to let them pass and Wendy held onto Peter's waist tightly. She felt that at any moment they would descend upon her in a furious swarm to pull her away from him. Michael ran up to hold onto the hem of Wendy's dress, and she looked down at him, her heart filling with guilt. Here she was letting fear rule her emotions, and the other boys were probably just as frightened. She needed to be a mother to them first, above her fear. She knelt down to pick him up and kissed him on his cheek, letting him wrap his arms around her neck. She glanced back at the other boys, whose heads hadn't stopped moving around the room with trepidation. She let them go in front of her and Peter, smiling at them with a look that she hoped was a reassuring one. They gratefully walked on ahead of Peter and Wendy, eyes still wandering around the cave. She looked up at Peter and he smiled at her with his eyes, the look that made her fall in love with his kindness and he playfully touched Michael's nose and wrapped a protective arm around them both.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to either of you," he said, and they moved on following the rest of the group.
They didn't go too far before they reached their destination, but there were a hundred things to see on their short walk. Hanging from every branch of every tree were fairy houses made from sticks, moss and leaves, some decorated with tiny radiantly colored flowers. There were bees buzzing from blossom to blossom in brilliant jewel tones of magenta and aqua. Everything was cast in the golden light that seemed to be coming from nowhere, making everything look soft and pleasant. The sickly sweet smell gave way to musky perfumes from the flowers, and they could practically taste the sharp sugary fruits hanging off the bushes. There was music humming like violins and flutes through the air, but that was only the closest thing Wendy could compare it to, for they were vastly different than any orchestra she'd ever heard back home.
Soaring Eagle led them to a massive oak tree, the biggest any of them had ever seen. It towered above them, stretching beyond what they could see with their naked eyes from the ground. There was a narrow split in the tree that opened twenty feet above their heads. They stopped in front of it, scarcely believing their senses. Soaring Eagle laughed at their shocked faces, eyes wide with wonder. "I could not comprehend the sights myself when I first arrived!" he said merrily. "But I assure you it is all real. This is the entrance to the fairy queen's dwelling. She will not be expecting you, so I will speak first. Then she will tell you all the things you long to know."
They nodded, and John with an excitement that had been growing in his heart grinned widely at the others and followed Soaring Eagle and Tiger Lily boldly into the tree. They looked at each other and silently entered the trunk behind them.