"[Woman] is nothing else but what she purposes, she exists only in so far as she realizes herself, she is therefore nothing else but the sum of her actions, nothing else but what her life is."
-Jean Paul Sartre, Existentialism and Humanism
Harry's and my slow dancing was interrupted by a kind face. Jay appeared from around the bend, instantly grinning over at us. "Hey, love birds," his hand rested against the plank of wood beside him. We stopped dancing so to face him. Harry snaked his arm around my back, putting his hand on the back of my head which he pressed into his chest. A smile drew across my face as I shut my eyes, more than happy to be held like this. "What is it, Jay?" Harry asked, though his tone wasn't as annoyed or stern as you might imagine.
"We're just about to pass the first island. We were thinking that we might stop by and stretch our legs?" "Sure," my eyes reopened to see Jay. With one more approving grin at us, Jay went back to the others, leaving us alone yet again. Harry kissed the side of my head, shutting his eyes so tenderly. We stayed like that for a minute before he released me. Hand-in-hook we returned to our friends.
It was really dark out by now; I'm surprised Doug was still able to navigate so well. This particular island wasn't big and didn't have a beach to land on. Instead it rose out of the wall, creating a cliffside. Luckily the Argo was just tall enough that we could climb up onto it with relative ease. Ben was the first off the boat, followed by Charles, Evie, and the rest. Ben offered me his hand when it was my turn to step off; I took it, but Harry grabbed my waist with his one hand and helped hoist me up nonetheless.
The island was… Well, it was an island. A couple of trees, some shrubs, and not a wide array of wildlife. If anything, I'd say it almost looked depleted. It wasn't like the Isle of the Lost or Auradon; it looked barren and inhospitable, despite the fauna covering the surface. Still, there was fresh water and area to move around. We didn't really do anything, expect for meander and exercise our limbs. I stretched my intertwined fingers high up above me while just wandering aimlessly around. It felt good to be off the boat at least. And I didn't know that these were the last few precious seconds of calm before the horrific on-coming storm.
The peace didn't last too long, however. Doug took a keen interest in surveying the new land. He kneeled down to pick up some dirt in between his fingers, sifting it through with intent. Then he straightened up and looked at Ben. "I don't get it." "What?" Ben asked him. "Well by the looks of it, this soil should be fertile. Yet, nothing's growing here. It's just… land; sterile land." "Huh….." Ben glanced around ponderingly; he didn't seem too concerned by this. But Jay seemed intrigued, approaching Doug's side. "Why wouldn't anything grow here? Looks healthy enough to me." "I don't know; it doesn't make any sense. It's almost like the land is cursed or something…" Doug's voice trailed off in a contemplative fashion. Jay didn't say anything more, instead scanning over the ground again. Ben scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully. "Maybe it's because of its proximity to the Horned King?" "Maybe….." Doug muttered clearly confused.
I admittedly wasn't paying too much attention to their conversation. Barren or not, I was enjoying the free time we had here. I stared up at the stars, soaking in their glory. One in particular caught my eye. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was actually moving- like moving in our direction, towards us. My lips parted as this theory was gradually confirmed. What originally seemed to be a star appeared to be moving in the sky. As it got closer and closer, I realized that it was a lot smaller than anticipated. And I wasn't the only one who noticed it by now; a startled Evie, Uma, and Gil came over to my side. They watched the glowing object with curiosity.
"What is that?" Evie asked pointing to the light. "I don't know…." My head tilted slightly. "Could it be a firefly?" Gil inquired. "Nuh nuh, too big," Uma countered. We waited for it to get closer, only for my heart to skip a beat when it finally did. My eyes grew gigantic. She was near enough now that we could hear her jingle. Tinker Bell! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! It was Tinker Bell, Peter's fairy! She was flying frantically in our direction, carrying something bigger than her in her tiny hands. Forgetting that I wasn't by myself, I ran to where she was coming into. My arms extended out to catch her in the palm of my hands. "Tinker Bell!" My voice sliced through the silent night air.
The poor exhausted creature eventually made it to me. She landed right in my hands, letting herself collapse onto them. She was panting and very, very sweaty; my guess is that she flew as fast as she could all the way from Neverland. I felt my heart begin to sink when I saw that what she'd been carrying this whole way was Peter's green hat. My hands shifted Tinker Bell into one hand so I could take Peter's hand into the other; I don't think my nerves could have shaken more in that moment.
"Tinker Bell, where's Peter? What's happened to him?" My voice was already panicked. Her small head turned up to face mine. She told me in her own language what happened, all the while my eyes kept getting progressively wider. "He…. He took him? All of them? The lost boys too?" Tinker Bell confirmed this, going on. I felt like I was going to throw up. "But… no; no, that's not possible. The adults disappeared….. all the adults disappeared. The coachman must be gone….. He can't have kidnapped Peter and the lost boys! He's gone!" I was yelling by now. Tinker Bell shook her head with sorrow.
Meanwhile, everyone was gawking at us with shocked and alarmed expressions now. "Is that…. Tinker Bell?" Audrey sputtered. "How does she know Mal? And…. for that matter, how does she know Peter Pan? Wait, Mal knows Peter Pan?!" Doug gasped. "Mal, what's wrong? Did something happen to him?" Evie pressed me; not that I answered. I wasn't listening to any of them right now; my full, undivided attention was locked onto the fairy in the hand. Tinker Bell had started crying by this point; she was a mess, to put it nicely. And I wasn't handling the news too well myself either. The hand holding her began to tremble.
"Where did take them?! Where's Peter Pan now?!" I demanded very loudly. More tinkering on Tinker Bell's end. My jaw hung open when I heard the answer. "Pleasure Island….." My voice drifted off into nowhere as did my eyes. No….. No. Just no. The coachman couldn't have abducted Peter and the others; he's gone. He must be gone. How could he have survived the Horned King's mass incarceration? He couldn't have… Tears swelled up in the corners of my eyes. A sea of memories came flooding over me; it honestly felt like someone punched me in the stomach with all their might. I hadn't felt a loss like this since… Peter…. Peter… Peter Pan.
"Mal?" I didn't hear Harry calling out to me. My eyes winced shut for a moment, only to reopen full of tears. It simultaneously hit me like a lightning bolt that I didn't have any time to spare. If Peter Pan and the lost boys were dragged to Pleasure Island, then there was no time to lose. Sensing my intense change in demeaner, Tinker Bell fluttered off my palm and hovered very close to me. I didn't look at my friends, I didn't look anywhere except for the edge of the island. A concerned Evie reached her hand out for me, taking a step my way. "Mal…." She began. But I didn't let her finish.
"Stay here!" I commanded with more authority than I'd ever used before in my life. My feet instantly started marching, then running towards the end of the cliff. "Tink!" Was the only word I had to say. As if reading my mind, Tinker Bell circled around me, covering me in fairy dust. And just in time. By the time I reached the ledge, I was able to fly upwards. Everyone's mouth dropped open at the sight of me flying straight up in the dark sky. I got up thirty feet or so, scanning over the horizon. There, in the very far distance south side, I could see the faintest of different coloured lights. Tinker Bell confirmed to me that they came from Pleasure Island. Realizing which way I had to go now, I flew back down to the ground, setting my feet firmly on the grass. Then, with a heavy heart and more than enough determination, I turned to face all my friends, who were still ogling me wide-eyed. I drew in a deep, deep breath before speaking.
"The coachman's taken my friend, Peter Pan, and the lost boys. He's taken them to Pleasure Island….. where he'll turn them into donkeys." Of course, no one said anything right away. But I think they knew this was serious enough not to make any quick and ill-formed remarks. Eventually, Jane let out a breath in disbelief. "He's real…..? The coachman, he's real?" "How do you know that's what happened? All the adults vanished. Why wouldn't he? And I'm not still sure he is real. Maybe your fairy's mistaken," Audrey had the misfortune to say. I don't know why but that me off. Oh boy, did that set me off. I sent her the nastiest, most enraged glare I could fashion.
"I don't give a damn if you think he's real or not! That man, that…. that monster stole my friend! My dear friend, Peter Pan- someone who's precious to me! I don't care what you believe! But I'm not going to stay here and let him turn Peter into an animal! Peter's not going to end up like Lampwick! No! Never! Not while I'm here," my hands balled into fists with my last sentence.
For a very stunned second, no one dared utter another word; at least to me. I think they were all dumbfounded to hear me raise my voice like that. It certainly shut Audrey up. Even Uma and Charles looked apprehensive to say anything. To no one's surprise however, it was Ben to say something next. He took a single step towards me; his voice peppered with concern.
"Ok, so….. This man called the coachman….. He took Peter Pan and the lost boys?" "To Pleasure Island, yes," I affirmed. "And you….. want to go bring them back?" "Yes, before they turn into donkeys," my head nodded with complete resolution. Jay gulped and Harry… I won't tell you what Harry was looking like right now. "But Mal….. Isn't the coachman dangerous? Even he can't turn you into a donkey?" "Yes, Jay; he is. But that doesn't matter right now. Look, this isn't up for negotiation- I'm going, alone. I'm going to save Peter and the others before it's too late."
"No, you're not." You can guess who said that. With a bit less intensity, I spun to see Harry approach me. My posture softened, though was still as determined. "Harry, I have to." "No, you don't. You're not going to some creepy island where there's some child-kidnapping psychopath. No; not gonna happen," Harry came nearer to me. His entire body language screamed fear. "I understand you're scared for me, but if I don't go, Peter will be lost. Please, Harry. I love him; he's my friend. He's been there ever since I can remember. Please….. I don't wanna lose him, and more than that, I don't want him to die. I have to go," I asserted.
Harry didn't even take a moment to consider. He simply extended his hook out to take hold of my wrist. His eyes locked onto mine. "I'll go." "What?" I blinked perplexed. But he stayed firm. "I'll go and get Peter and the lost boys. You stay here with the others." "No, you can't! Boys can't go onto Pleasure Island, lest you turn into donkeys. Only girls can go without transforming," my hand placed over his hook. "That doesn't make it less dangerous for you, Mal!" Harry shot back. "I don't care about that! I've never cared about that! Even when I left the Isle of the Lost…. I wasn't scared about what happened to me because I wanted my father back more. I want to save Peter Pan; I have to." Harry's mouth opened to counter this, but no words came out. Jane saw her opportunity to intervene. "But I thought you were terrified of the coachman?" She questioned. I looked at her. "I am. But I guess I love Peter more than I fear him."
I said this and gazed back to Harry. While he was petrified, we both already knew how this was going to end. "I'll be alright. I know why you let me go, back on the island….. It went against every fibre in your body, but you still did it. I know that when push comes to shove, you will never stop me from doing what's right." Harry's eyes lowered onto me. "It's because it's who you are….. Gotta take the whole package, and I wouldn't change a thing. You're right; I wanna stop you. I wanna tie you to the frikin bed. But….. As much as it kills me, I won't. I could never stand in the way of your happiness like that." "Harry…" With all the tenderness I could muster, I gave his hook a squeeze. I could tell it was physically painful for him to tear his hook away from me. Then I turned to address the others.
"There's no time to waste. Stay here with the Argo and don't move. I'm going to transform into a dragon and fly to Pleasure Island." "No," Evie was the one to stop me this time. I blinked over to her startled until I saw her, Uma, Jane, Freddie, and Lonnie all grinning back at me. They looked very unwavering as well. "You said girls can't transform into donkeys? Then we're coming with you."