Chapter One

"Wendy…" Peter whispered into the window. He peered into the dark bedroom. In the past it had been illuminated by a friendly nightlight, but tonight, moonlight was his only beacon. With quick feet, Peter stepped off the windows sill, and onto the hardwood.

"Wendy?" He called again, but there was no answer. His eyes widened in the darkness and he could now see that there was only one bed in the nursery, the others being replaced with a lady's vanity and a large mirror in which reflected a shadowed man.

"Ah!" Peter gasped, as he drew his little blade, and the tall shadow drew it too. Peter moved this way and that, challenging his reflection, but the reflection mimicked him. Puzzled, Peter put away his blade and reached out to examine the shadow. But as he approached it, the shadow bore a strangely familiar face. Could it really be…

"Peter?" Came a voice. He turned into the darkness to see the shape of Wendy. He had not realized how badly he had missed her until he saw her there in her silly little nightdress, which now almost reached her knees. Peter felt a rush of excitement. How could he have waited so long to come fetch her? He felt awfully silly for it.

"Yes, I am here!" He said running towards her, but she backed away. Wendy did not expect to be approached by such a tall person. She expected Peter to have remained little all his life. But he had not.

"You don't want me to fetch you, Wendy?" He said, stepping back. When she said nothing, he walked towards the window and pretended to leave. He meant to tease her out of her hiding place, and was further crestfallen when she did not budge even a little when he stuck his foot out into the air. The moonlight illuminated him little enough for Wendy to see him clearly.

"No, Peter, I do." She whispered softly. "But your voice…"

"What about my voice?" He spoke quickly, suddenly aware of its timbre.

"It's not… Peter have you grown?" She asked, poking softly at the subject. Peter scoffed.

"What a silly question Wendy, you know I cannot grow up." He propped his hands upon his hips in his usual cocky fashion.

"Peter, how old are you, really?" She challenged.

"Why? How old are you?"

"Nine." She lied.

"Then I am ten."

"Oh Peter, you cannot really believe that I am only nine!" She laughed. He stamped his foot as he was greatly displeased at being had.

"You know I am no good at telling ages!" He groaned. "Tell me for real!"

"Fourteen, then."

"Good, then I am fifteen." Peter said crossing his arms. "End of discussion."

It was Wendy's turn to stamp her foot now. Peter seemed tickled pink at irking her, and he laughed. He laughed that awful laugh that broke her into pieces, and reverberated through the room. Yes, it was indeed Peter. Her heart felt flooded with a strange and terrible feeling. In his glee, Peter pulled Wendy by the arm to the window.

"Let's fly now!" He cried. It seemed unbearable to Peter that Wendy was not already with him in Neverland. He really had no idea why he had waited so long to fetch her. Then again, he could almost sense a memory of fearing she'd say no. But it was barely a sense, and before he even considered thinking on it, the feeling was gone.

Stumbling forward, Wendy could not help but follow him. From the illuminated window she saw him fully. He was taller, but still boyish in his features. His jaw had sharpened, and so had his eyes. Her heart stammered at the sight. Wendy had to admit it was not a bad look on Peter Pan. She looked past him into the night sky, then down below to the three story drop from her window.

"Peter…" Wendy whispered, her heart feeling heavy. "I don't think I can fly anymore."

"Well, why not?" Peter asked.

"I have grown…" She said plainly.

"So?" He said. "I can still fly, can't I?" Wendy raised an eyebrow at him, and he noted his mistake. Peter rolled his eyes and pulled her hand towards him.

"Just trust me." He said, staring down onto her. He floated above the sill and let the gentle breeze carry him a couple of feet from the window, his hand still clasped around Wendy's. Wendy followed, forcing herself to look into Peter's face instead of down below. With senseless confidence, she climbed over the sill and stepped onto thin air. The thin air, being quite thin by nature did not support her weight like Peter had promised, and she fell forward grabbing onto Peter's arm as he was pulled harshly downwards by gravity. A scream echoed into the night, and Wendy did not realize it was hers until she was sure that she had not died or broken both of her legs. She had locked her eyes shut in the fall and now opened them to see her legs dangling over the garden below. Heart pounding, she looked up at Peter, whose look of absolute shock was quickly replaced with a smirk.

"No matter, I will carry you!" He said cheerfully. Wendy felt him pull her up as he bobbed up and down precariously in the air. It was strange how strong he was. He pulled her up as if she were a sack of flour, and he snaked her arms around his neck while he hooked his arms under her legs to secure her like a back pack. He bounced her weight a bit to adjust her and she giggled, only a little, in glee. It was strange, then, that she was crying. She was crying because for the first time in her life, she had wanted to look backwards into her childhood, and found that she could not go back. Wendy could no longer fly. It was her first look into the barred window. Lock out time. Peter understood the barred window well, although he doesn't acknowledge why he does, as he is always stubbornly looking away from it. He turned his head to look at her, and was so moved by her tears that he could not help but place a small thimble on her cheek.

"Ready to fly?" He said. Wendy nodded, splitting into a smile from thimble. Peter squatted and pushed hard off of an imaginary ground, and they were jetted into the stars on their way back to Neverland.