Chapter One: The Beginning

Rune

They used to tell me that wishing on a star would make my dreams come true. I didn't realize the stories were real, or even accurate. But like all magic, even wishing comes with a price.

-•-

Bundled up in a blanket, I stared outside my bedroom window. A bright, full moon shone brilliantly in the cloudless heavens, and dozens upon dozens of stars began to make themselves known. Warm and calming summer air floated in through the opened window. The night sky looked so peaceful, unlike the last twenty four hours of my life.

Everything started with last night's thunderstorm. The fierce winds and blinding lightning made for a horrible storm. I remember my mom telling me she was running to the store to grab something just before it started. She never came back.

The wet roads were worse than anyone expected. Later that night, we got a call from the hospital. At exactly 7:18 pm, my mom had died from internal bleeding caused by a car accident.

Sniffling, I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes. It stung to think that my mom was gone. I wished so badly she had just decided to wait until tomorrow to run to the store. Why did she have to go? I felt my stomach churn at the thought of attending her funeral already scheduled for next week. I didn't want to say a final farewell. I wanted her to be here. I wanted time to reverse, or even stop. I didn't want to worry about losing anyone else. No more death. No more aging. Just a blissful existence. I must've said the words aloud, because I heard a light 'thump,' like feet hitting the ground, and then a reply.

"Sounds like I can take you to paradise."

The voice was low, confident, and unmistakably male. Startled, my eyes shot open. I found someone standing on the small overhang of the roof just outside my window.

The boy's brown hair was swept to the right. He wore dark clothing that made him blend into the night, and offered a strangely warm and inviting smile. I was shocked, confused, and intrigued.

"...How?"

He offered me his hand. "Come with me. We'll fly there."

I found myself staring at his outstretched hand for a moment, debating my options. On one hand, I could stay here and cry some more. On the other, this mysterious boy could make me feel better. Yeah, I liked that last option better. In a dreamlike trance, I took it and stepped outside with him. "Alright."

His smile grew into a large grin as the mysterious visitor gripped my hand tightly. Then we ran off the roof. I didn't get the chance to scream, but before I knew it, we were flying. Flying. I was definitely dreaming. Shocked, I stared at the ground and watched as it grew smaller.

The boy looked over at me and laughed. "You'll get used to it."

The flight passed in a blur. I was vaguely aware of the ground getting further and further away, and the city growing smaller and smaller. Soon, it was nothing but a speck. Somewhere along the way, my ears popped. The sensation brought me back to focus on what was ahead. If I was right, we seemed to be heading for a star.

"Second star to the right," he explained. Something about that sounded familiar. "We pass through it and we'll be at your new home."

"But it's literally impossible to fly through a star," I argued, looking over at him in alarm.

"And I thought it was impossible for humans to fly?"

Unfortunately, he had a point. Nothing about this situation was normal. We kept towards this 'second star to the right', this time without any further conversation. Finally, we seemed to have reached it.

The star began to expand, twist, and turn. Rather than appearing to be a five sided shape, it now looked like some sort of...worm hole. As we grew nearer, I faltered. Who was this guy? Where was he taking me? I wanted to go back, or wake up, or whatever. Mom's death wasn't real. It couldn't be. This last day had to have all been a nightmare. But before I could open my mouth to say something, the star wrapped around us both, and we were pulled through.

For a brief moment, everything was blinding white. It felt as though hundreds of thousands of bright lights were angled at me alone. I couldn't see the boy. I only knew he was still there because of the grip of his hand around mine. A second stretched forever.

Something soft was beneath my feet. I was no longer suspended in the air, but now standing upright. Blinking, the lights faded away. Surrounding me was now a large, dense forest. The boy stepped in front of me and held his arms open almost as wide as his smile. He looked almost like a king presenting his palace.

"Welcome to Neverland, Lost Girl!"

-•-

Neverland. The boy took me to Neverland. That meant-

"Wait. Wait wait wait." I rubbed my temples as I tried to process what was going on. "That means you're-"

"Peter Pan? Took you long enough." When I looked up at him again, I was greeted by his smirk. "Come on, this way." Turning, he started jogging into the forest. "I've got to introduce you to the others."

Numbly, I followed him into the trees. Within moments, I was certain that I'd be lost if it weren't for Peter Pan's guidance. The sky was blocked between the branches, leaving it hard to see more than a few feet in front of me. Roots, leaves, and branches littered the ground, making no path visible. Still, Peter somehow knew where to go. He only ever paused to let me catch up.

The landscape began to subtly change. Trees began to grow just a little thinner, which let fragments of light filter through. Patches of thorny bushes were far and few between. In the distance, I could just make out the hazy outline of what appeared to be a camp. As we drew closer, cheering people began to reveal themselves. They stepped out from behind a tree or leapt down from its branches.

"Welcome back, Pan," one greeted, approaching Peter. He, like all the others, wore dark colored clothing. His brown hood covered his unkempt head of blond hair. His face looked sunken, and a faint scar crossed the bridge of his nose to his cheek. Curiously, his eyes wandered over to inspect me. "And you brought someone with you?"

Looking smug as ever, Peter Pan nodded. "Felix, say hello to our very first Lost Girl."

The other boy- Felix, as Peter called him- offered a polite nod in greeting. He looked confused and almost a little excited to see me. "Welcome to Neverland."

"Er...thanks, I guess." I nodded back at him, unsure of how else I was supposed to respond to that. In fact, I wasn't sure about anything anymore. I was standing in a fictional forest with fictional people standing all around me.

This was a dream, right?

Pinching myself, I winced. Ow. Ok, definitely not a dream. That meant…

I was here. Really here. Here and probably never going back. Unable to help myself, I grinned. I was a Lost Girl now. No longer did I have to worry about aging, the destruction of time, or society.

Peter's smile was just as wide as mine. "Felix, show her around camp and help her get the ropes. I've got a project I need to work on." With that, he turned around and disappeared into the woods. I watched him go with a frown.

The Lost Boy nodded and motioned to the camp behind him. "Of course. If you'll follow me…?"

"Rune," I answered, moving to face him.

"Ah. This way, Rune." Turning around, Felix began leading me through the small campsite the Lost Boys owned.

Though small in size, it was efficient. Racks of weapons (primarily small knives or bows with quivers of arrows) lined one side of the camp. A few feet away were a few hammocks tried between various trees. Surprisingly, one or two trees were hollowed out just enough for someone small to sleep in. A few tables were pushed aside as a place to eat, and lastly and most importantly, the always blazing bonfire sat directly in the middle of the camp.

The other Lost Boys in the camp became increasingly curious as to who I was and what I was doing here. It didn't take long for them to begin pounding me with questions.

"What's a girl doing in Neverland?"

"Who is she?"

"Did Peter bring her back?"

Eventually, Felix turned and spoke to them. "Peter Pan has his reasons." His cold eyes surveyed the crowd. "Leave Rune be for now."

The boys stopped talking, seemingly satisfied enough with the answer to quit showering me with questions. They returned to their business, be it cleaning bowls and spoons or sharpening arrows. Felix continued to show me around.

He led me a little way from the camp, which couldn't have been more than a few yards, and then stopped abruptly. "This is where you'll sleep."

A quick glance around informed me that nothing but more trees and a bare patch of ground was supposed to be my sleeping spot. "But there's nothing here?"

"For now. You'll be given a hammock to sleep in, and we can find curtains to give you privacy."

"That'd be nice." I offered him the flicker of a grateful smile. He didn't return it.

"Until then, we'll need to find you a bow. We'll be going hunting when Pan gets back." Abruptly, he turned around and started back towards the rest of camp. There, Felix showed me the collection of weapons.

For boys living on Neverland, I didn't expect such a wide variety of tools. There were long knives, short knives, knives with smooth edges and jagged ones, compound bows, feathery arrows, plain arrows, carved bows, plain bows, clubs, slingshots...the list went on.

Felix grabbed one of the plain bows from the rack and handed it to me. The dark wood was sanded smoothly, around the tips were two rings: one painted deep red, and the other green. It felt light and easy to hold.

"This one will be yours," he told me. "Keep track of the arrows, and don't ever fire until there's a clear shot or Pan orders you to." He tossed me a quiver full of arrows. The feathers on them matched the colored rings on the bow. "You know how to use a bow and arrow, yes?"

"Of course I do." That was a lie. But I didn't exactly want to make my first impression as the Lost Girl who didn't even know how to use a bow. With luck, the hunt wouldn't even need me much.

"Good. You'll need to."

"Wait, why?"

He smirked, obviously happy enough to withhold any further information. "You'll see." After that, he excused himself and left. He didn't bother to come back.

Notes: Hey! Thanks for reading this. I really appreciate it!

This is the first fanfiction I've posted! I already have it all written out, but I'm working on editing through it. I plan to post a new chapter every few days, but we'll see how annoying some chapters are to edit. Hopefully you'll find this a fun read! I already have a sequel in the works.

Anyway, thanks again! And feel free to leave a review about anything that you liked or found annoying! I'm always looking for feedback. Happy reading!