~*~ The Ruritanian Isle ~*~
Chapter 2: He Said Redskins
The dream happened without warning. She was soaring over the desert, but was so close to the sand that it was getting in her eyes. Large tears trailed behind her as she flew. She rounded a cactus, and zoomed over a buzzard pecking at what appeared to be a tiny city. Suddenly, she was part of the city, and an enormous tidal wave was looming dangerously overhead.
People were screaming and running in all directions. Her feet ached to move, but, as is natural in most running dreams, she was unable to make them do so. The water came crashing down around her, and the sounds of the drowning citizens echoed hauntingly through the liquid.
And then, out of nowhere, a monstrous creature swam past her. It circled about and gnashed its ferocious teeth. She shut her eyes tight, but was somehow able to still see the monster through her eyelids. The perspective changed once more, and now she was the beast. For some reason, she knew she was a crocodile.
Swimming a few feet in front was a figure that looked an awful lot like her. She lunged for the lifeless-looking girl and snapped the body in two…
~*~
Kelly woke to find that her back was in terrible pain. Of course, that might have been because half of her was lying on the bed, and the top portion of her was dangling close to the floor. She sat up and stretched. What a bizarre dream she had dreamt! However, the more she thought about the content of the vision, the more it seemed to slip away.
She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was barely noon, and she felt rested.
A knock came to the door, and Kelly staggered out of the comfortable bed to answer it. Kind little Smee was standing there with a bowl filled with steaming water and a towel. "I figured you were probably up," he said, letting himself in and placing the basin on the nightstand.
"Actually, I just woke up," Kelly drawled, lazily scratching her head with a yawn.
"I didn't wake you, did I?" he asked, alarmed.
"No," she assured him. Smee grinned in relief and laid the towel beside the bowl and started to make the bed. "Oh, don't bother," she fussed. "I'll do it after breakfast."
"Very well, then. The cook's making at least thirty dozen pancakes as we speak in your honor, so I do hope you're hungry," Smee laughed, closing the door behind him. Kelly danced lazily over to the bed and gazed into the bowl. She dipped the towel into the hot water, wrung it out, and pressed it to her weary face.
The question of what to do now was lingering in the air, waiting to be asked. Kelly ran a hand through the tangled hair of her head and laid the towel in the bowl. She couldn't believe she had actually agreed to leave home. The realization hit her hard, and fast. What was she thinking, just following Smee out the window like that? Her parents must've been worried sick, and she must've been insane!
Kelly fought the urge to chew her nails, and lost. Her fingers wedged between her teeth, she walked from the room and onto the deck. The water was glistening with midday sun, and a grand island stretched out in front of the ship. Kelly ran to the bow and gasped in awe.
The island was compact and filled with every sort of vegetation one could think to find on such a place. A beach was the closet thing to the pirate ship, and in the distance to the left, Kelly could make out what looked like a camp of wigwams on the cliffs. Mountains trailed down the right side of the island, and all in all, the entire sight was very lovely indeed.
"This is Never Land, our final destination," said a voice behind her. Kelly knew at once that it was Captain Hook; or James, actually. She needed to remember that. "It's only gorgeous for the first year or so, and then, it loses something."
Kelly tugged up the neckline of her embarrassingly skimpy nightshirt and folded her arms across her chest. "What do you mean?" she asked, trying to sound as if she wasn't uncomfortable. She wished she had changed into that dress, now…
"Well, of course you haven't noticed it yet," he said. "You will."
"I will what?"
"Notice," James replied. Kelly sighed in frustration. Adults, in her opinion, never answered questions they way they ought to. She brushed her coffee-colored hair out with an anxious hand, and then frowned.
"Where are the showers on his ship, anyway?" she inquired. James was confused for a moment, but then widened his eyes.
"There aren't any," he stated. "But, once we sail into the cove out in front of us, there will be a freshwater stream inland a little ways. You could bathe there, if you wanted." Kelly stuck out her tongue with a moan.
"But what if I get lost?" she insisted.
"Ask one of the redskins for help," James said. "They're always out hunting this time of day."
"What?" Kelly shrieked, in utter disbelief. "Did you just say redskins?"
"Of course. You can see their camp over—"
"You can't say redskins!" she cried. "How politically incorrect of you! They're Native Americans!"
"They're what?"
"Native Americans," Kelly repeated. "The word 'redskins' is awfully offensive. For one, their skin isn't even red; it's bronzed. And secondly—"
"Captain!" cried a sailor in the crow's nest, pointing. "Canoes, Captain, coming towards us in a hurry!" James flew madly from the spot beside Kelly and waved his hook menacingly about.
"Smee!" he hollered. "Smee, get all hands on deck!" After a moment, the little man came rushing from up the stairs with a dozen and a half men following behind him with swords drawn. Kelly attempted to slink back into the captain's quarters, for she had always been terrified at the thought of being killed. A pirate pulled her back by the shoulder and thrust a sword into her slender hands.
"But I can't swordfight," she called out to no one in particular, as the pirate had run off in the same instant. "You've got to be kidding me…"
The sailors boarded rowboats and lowered themselves into the water to take the enemy out before they reached the ship. A few, including James, stayed on board to man the cannons. Kelly frantically flipped around in circles with the sword pointed naïvely in front of her, and then, she felt a light finger tap her arm. She jumped and whirled on the person, whipping the weapon at the adversary. However, no one was there.
The same tap occurred on the top of her head, and she swung upwards. Again, nothing. A sickening thought erupted: what if this enemy was invisible? If so, they could kill her three times over and she wouldn't even realize that someone had been there.
"Ah, Tink, stop playing with the poor girl."
Kelly wailed in alarm and jumped a one-eighty. Standing in front of her was a boy who appeared to be the same age. Although, in actuality, he was hovering mere inches above the floorboards. He was dressed from head to toe in raggedy, yet charming, green garments.
See, she did find him charming!
"Tink was simply having a spot of fun," the boy said defensively. "Don't try and make too much out of it. I don't believe that she hates you yet." Kelly's eyes suddenly fell upon the most magnificent thing that she had ever seen. There, flying about the boy's ears, was an honest-to-goodness fairy. Oh, she was indeed exquisite; a bright yellow glow surrounded her and the wings on her back seemed to be made of thinly sliced diamond.
During the time it took Kelly to register the fairy, Captain James Hook had seen the boy out of the corner of his eye and was slinking up behind him with the hook raised.
"What's your name?" Kelly asked the boy, trying hard not to peer off his left shoulder and give away James' position.
"Why, Peter Pan, of course!" he exclaimed, soaring a few feet into the air. He flipped completely around to face James and pointed a serious finger at the pirate captain. "And you, my good man, are but a codfish!"
Kelly heard a splash off the side of the ship and went to investigate, figuring James and Peter would be best left alone. A little boy, no older than seven, was climbing up and was having some difficulty. Kelly couldn't just leave him to fall back into the water below, so she stretched a hand out to him. He reached for her in a very childlike manner and finally grabbed hold.
Once he was safe on the deck, he shoved his sword at her. "Are you the girl we have to rescue?" he asked. Kelly's eyebrows lowered. Rescued? She thought Peter Pan and his crew was the enemy…
No! Could it be that she had been taken in by the antagonists? Could it be that Peter Pan, the only soul whom James Hook truly hated, was actually in the right?
"Who told you to rescue me?" Kelly demanded. "Why do I need rescuing?"
"Our chief, Peter, said that he saw a pretty girl on the pirate ship and that she was being held against her will," the child replied.
"Slightly," cried Peter, who was currently engaged in a vicious duel. "Slightly, take the girl back to the Tree in a canoe! I'll be back without delay!" Kelly felt a tug on her pant leg.
"Well," said Slightly. "You'll need to jump into the water and swim to one of our canoes. Do you think you can, if I follow after you?" Kelly, not really knowing what to say, nodded dumbly and pushed herself halfway across the railing. It was now, or never at all. The sea was such a long way down…
…Push!
Kelly opened her mouth to scream as she came tumbling from the ship, but received a gulp of salt water instead. The skin stung where she had hit rather forcefully, but she surfaced and gasped for breath. Another boy was trying to hoist her into a canoe, and Slightly suddenly appeared from behind to help. Kelly flailed her limbs as she plopped into the tiny boat, and the three of them sped off towards the shore.
Turning around, she could see the pirates retreating to the ship, and then Peter speeding up from the deck with a boisterous crow. James rushed to the railing just in time to catch Kelly's eye as she was pulled onto the wet sand. She suddenly felt dreadfully sad.
~*~
Kelly sort of marched in a daze as the Lost Boys and Peter directed her to their home, that they were calling Hangman's Tree; or simply, the Tree. She had been doing a great deal of following over the past day and a half, now that she thought about it.
Every three minutes or so, she would cast a glance over her shoulder, just to see if anyone was after them. No, there was never anyone there. She was half hoping that James would be bounding along the path with sword drawn, ready to fight in order to win her back.
Her tongue slowly poked through her lips as she envisioned the scene, but it quickly darted back in as she realized how foolish she was being. Of course James wasn't going to try and get her back. He wasn't that kind of man. Yet, still, the jovial little thought mercilessly played around in her mind.
Peter Pan came to a halt before a large, thick tree. The Lost Boys darted around excitedly, and, to Kelly's shock, they dove into separate hollow tree trunks and disappeared from sight. "C'mon, then," said Peter. "You shall have to be fitted for your tree."
"Fitted?" Kelly asked, still quite perplexed by what she had just seen. Peter motioned to a hollow stump that had not been used by one of the boys. He picked up a roll of measuring tape that seemed to appear out of nowhere and stretched it across the hole. Next, he headed towards her waist, but Kelly pushed him away.
"What?" Peter questioned, his eyebrows raised innocently. "Don't you want to be measured for a tree? You won't be able to get in without a tree." Kelly put out her arms a little with a roll of her eyes and allowed him to carry on. After that was settled, he paced a little and finally glared at her.
"Is something wrong?"
"Yes," said Peter, but he didn't explain. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at her breasts and leaned in to inspect them. Kelly's eyes widened and her palm collided with his face. Peter stumbled backwards.
"You sick pervert," she scolded between clenched teeth. "How could you do something like that and not think I'd notice?"
The boy in green placed a hand to his cheek as his eyes glistened over with tears and Kelly started to feel guilty. She never was good at being furious with someone, especially when they cried.
"I was just curious as to what they were," wept Peter. "Wendy was a girl, just like you, but she didn't have those."
Kelly stared down at him. "How old was Wendy?" she inquired.
"She once mentioned that she was thirteen, but I'm not sure what that means," he said, calming down somewhat. Kelly smiled knowingly and took the measuring tape from him. Putting it around her chest, she found the size and indicated it with her finger.
"I'll need a tree this big," she told him. Peter leapt to his feet, his tears forgotten, and shook his head.
"No, no," he objected. "The tree is not made to fit you. You are made to fit the tree." Kelly, startled, threw her hands across her chest with a guttural protest. He laughed merrily. "It's only magic," he went on. "Every time you touch the tree to enter, the magic will shape you, and then when you come out the other end you will be back to normal."
"I better be," Kelly warned, the color slowly returning to her face. The thought of remaining tree-shaped for the rest of her time in Never Land didn't sound all that appealing.
After a demonstration by Peter, Kelly slipped into her tree with no trouble and popped out easily. She got to her feet and brushed the dirt from her nightclothes. The surroundings made her think of some sort of Hobbit's home. The ceiling was not particularly high, and the beds all were made of very natural-looking things.
The Lost Boys were currently chasing one another around the place and shouting, "Bam! I killed so-and-so!" Peter was smiling, but Kelly was reminded of her early babysitting days.
"Look!" cried one of the boys, as if he hadn't seen her when they were all walking through the forest. "Peter has brought us home another mother!"
Within the second, all six of them were circled around her and glancing up as if they were expecting something. Kelly turned to glare at Peter, who had settled himself into a cozy armchair. "Well," he said. "You're a mother. Tell us a grand story."
"What?" she howled. "That's crazy! I'm no mother!"
"All girls are mothers," Peter stated. "It's a fact, you know."
Two boys that were most likely twins took hold of her hands and led her over to one of the beds to sit down. Kelly rubbed the bridge of her nose with a defeated sigh. Now, more than ever, she wished that James Hook would come gliding down one of those tree stumps, lift her off of her feet, and whisk her away. It was such a lovely fantasy, and much better than the one she was currently involved in.
"A story," Kelly muttered. "Let me see, here. Have you boys ever heard the tale of Aladdin and his magical lamp?"
The boys, including Peter, were suddenly very interested, and they listened with hardly any interruptions. When it was over, they crawled into their boy-sized beds and fell fast asleep. Kelly grinned to herself and looked over at Peter. He, however, was sleeping in the chair. She wondered if she had ever seen any person seem so serene.
Noticing that his bed was empty, she took it upon herself to fill it. At that point in time, right before she fell asleep, she remembers that she failed to ever make up James' bed like she said she would. That notion sat heavy in her heart.
~*~
"Mr. Smee, we need to find that girl as hurriedly as possible," Hook spoke. The stout bo'sun silently agreed as he peered through the telescope mounted on the top deck of the ship. "Have you seen any of sign of her yet?"
"No, Captain," came Smee's reply.
"Damn it all. We may have lost her to Pan for good. I was sorely afraid of this."
Hook closed his eyes and calmly counted to ten. It was no use getting angry over something that he had no possible control over at the moment. He tapped his claw against the railing and grumbled.
"Forget it, Mr. Smee," he called. "It's getting too dark to see clearly. We'll go ashore in the morning to scout around." Smee moved away from the telescope with a purely dismayed expression upon his face. You see, Smee had been feeling the same way about Kelly as she had been feeling about him. The girl reeked of familiarity, and it confused and intrigued the man.
"Captain, do you really think that we could ever get her back from Pan?" he asked, coming to the captain's side. Hook blinked once or twice and turned away towards his quarters.
"We'll know soon enough, Mr. Smee," he answered.
~*~
Chapter Three: Peter grows on Kelly, Hook decides to take matters into his own hands, and Tinkerbell does something dreadful.
A/N: Jebus, writing this stuff is so hard! I'm trying pump out about the same amount of text for each chapter, and it's really difficult. Oh well. Hopefully, the next installment will be up within the week. Review, pretty please, and check back soon. And a big THANK YOU to all of my current reviewers!
Chapter 2: He Said Redskins
The dream happened without warning. She was soaring over the desert, but was so close to the sand that it was getting in her eyes. Large tears trailed behind her as she flew. She rounded a cactus, and zoomed over a buzzard pecking at what appeared to be a tiny city. Suddenly, she was part of the city, and an enormous tidal wave was looming dangerously overhead.
People were screaming and running in all directions. Her feet ached to move, but, as is natural in most running dreams, she was unable to make them do so. The water came crashing down around her, and the sounds of the drowning citizens echoed hauntingly through the liquid.
And then, out of nowhere, a monstrous creature swam past her. It circled about and gnashed its ferocious teeth. She shut her eyes tight, but was somehow able to still see the monster through her eyelids. The perspective changed once more, and now she was the beast. For some reason, she knew she was a crocodile.
Swimming a few feet in front was a figure that looked an awful lot like her. She lunged for the lifeless-looking girl and snapped the body in two…
~*~
Kelly woke to find that her back was in terrible pain. Of course, that might have been because half of her was lying on the bed, and the top portion of her was dangling close to the floor. She sat up and stretched. What a bizarre dream she had dreamt! However, the more she thought about the content of the vision, the more it seemed to slip away.
She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was barely noon, and she felt rested.
A knock came to the door, and Kelly staggered out of the comfortable bed to answer it. Kind little Smee was standing there with a bowl filled with steaming water and a towel. "I figured you were probably up," he said, letting himself in and placing the basin on the nightstand.
"Actually, I just woke up," Kelly drawled, lazily scratching her head with a yawn.
"I didn't wake you, did I?" he asked, alarmed.
"No," she assured him. Smee grinned in relief and laid the towel beside the bowl and started to make the bed. "Oh, don't bother," she fussed. "I'll do it after breakfast."
"Very well, then. The cook's making at least thirty dozen pancakes as we speak in your honor, so I do hope you're hungry," Smee laughed, closing the door behind him. Kelly danced lazily over to the bed and gazed into the bowl. She dipped the towel into the hot water, wrung it out, and pressed it to her weary face.
The question of what to do now was lingering in the air, waiting to be asked. Kelly ran a hand through the tangled hair of her head and laid the towel in the bowl. She couldn't believe she had actually agreed to leave home. The realization hit her hard, and fast. What was she thinking, just following Smee out the window like that? Her parents must've been worried sick, and she must've been insane!
Kelly fought the urge to chew her nails, and lost. Her fingers wedged between her teeth, she walked from the room and onto the deck. The water was glistening with midday sun, and a grand island stretched out in front of the ship. Kelly ran to the bow and gasped in awe.
The island was compact and filled with every sort of vegetation one could think to find on such a place. A beach was the closet thing to the pirate ship, and in the distance to the left, Kelly could make out what looked like a camp of wigwams on the cliffs. Mountains trailed down the right side of the island, and all in all, the entire sight was very lovely indeed.
"This is Never Land, our final destination," said a voice behind her. Kelly knew at once that it was Captain Hook; or James, actually. She needed to remember that. "It's only gorgeous for the first year or so, and then, it loses something."
Kelly tugged up the neckline of her embarrassingly skimpy nightshirt and folded her arms across her chest. "What do you mean?" she asked, trying to sound as if she wasn't uncomfortable. She wished she had changed into that dress, now…
"Well, of course you haven't noticed it yet," he said. "You will."
"I will what?"
"Notice," James replied. Kelly sighed in frustration. Adults, in her opinion, never answered questions they way they ought to. She brushed her coffee-colored hair out with an anxious hand, and then frowned.
"Where are the showers on his ship, anyway?" she inquired. James was confused for a moment, but then widened his eyes.
"There aren't any," he stated. "But, once we sail into the cove out in front of us, there will be a freshwater stream inland a little ways. You could bathe there, if you wanted." Kelly stuck out her tongue with a moan.
"But what if I get lost?" she insisted.
"Ask one of the redskins for help," James said. "They're always out hunting this time of day."
"What?" Kelly shrieked, in utter disbelief. "Did you just say redskins?"
"Of course. You can see their camp over—"
"You can't say redskins!" she cried. "How politically incorrect of you! They're Native Americans!"
"They're what?"
"Native Americans," Kelly repeated. "The word 'redskins' is awfully offensive. For one, their skin isn't even red; it's bronzed. And secondly—"
"Captain!" cried a sailor in the crow's nest, pointing. "Canoes, Captain, coming towards us in a hurry!" James flew madly from the spot beside Kelly and waved his hook menacingly about.
"Smee!" he hollered. "Smee, get all hands on deck!" After a moment, the little man came rushing from up the stairs with a dozen and a half men following behind him with swords drawn. Kelly attempted to slink back into the captain's quarters, for she had always been terrified at the thought of being killed. A pirate pulled her back by the shoulder and thrust a sword into her slender hands.
"But I can't swordfight," she called out to no one in particular, as the pirate had run off in the same instant. "You've got to be kidding me…"
The sailors boarded rowboats and lowered themselves into the water to take the enemy out before they reached the ship. A few, including James, stayed on board to man the cannons. Kelly frantically flipped around in circles with the sword pointed naïvely in front of her, and then, she felt a light finger tap her arm. She jumped and whirled on the person, whipping the weapon at the adversary. However, no one was there.
The same tap occurred on the top of her head, and she swung upwards. Again, nothing. A sickening thought erupted: what if this enemy was invisible? If so, they could kill her three times over and she wouldn't even realize that someone had been there.
"Ah, Tink, stop playing with the poor girl."
Kelly wailed in alarm and jumped a one-eighty. Standing in front of her was a boy who appeared to be the same age. Although, in actuality, he was hovering mere inches above the floorboards. He was dressed from head to toe in raggedy, yet charming, green garments.
See, she did find him charming!
"Tink was simply having a spot of fun," the boy said defensively. "Don't try and make too much out of it. I don't believe that she hates you yet." Kelly's eyes suddenly fell upon the most magnificent thing that she had ever seen. There, flying about the boy's ears, was an honest-to-goodness fairy. Oh, she was indeed exquisite; a bright yellow glow surrounded her and the wings on her back seemed to be made of thinly sliced diamond.
During the time it took Kelly to register the fairy, Captain James Hook had seen the boy out of the corner of his eye and was slinking up behind him with the hook raised.
"What's your name?" Kelly asked the boy, trying hard not to peer off his left shoulder and give away James' position.
"Why, Peter Pan, of course!" he exclaimed, soaring a few feet into the air. He flipped completely around to face James and pointed a serious finger at the pirate captain. "And you, my good man, are but a codfish!"
Kelly heard a splash off the side of the ship and went to investigate, figuring James and Peter would be best left alone. A little boy, no older than seven, was climbing up and was having some difficulty. Kelly couldn't just leave him to fall back into the water below, so she stretched a hand out to him. He reached for her in a very childlike manner and finally grabbed hold.
Once he was safe on the deck, he shoved his sword at her. "Are you the girl we have to rescue?" he asked. Kelly's eyebrows lowered. Rescued? She thought Peter Pan and his crew was the enemy…
No! Could it be that she had been taken in by the antagonists? Could it be that Peter Pan, the only soul whom James Hook truly hated, was actually in the right?
"Who told you to rescue me?" Kelly demanded. "Why do I need rescuing?"
"Our chief, Peter, said that he saw a pretty girl on the pirate ship and that she was being held against her will," the child replied.
"Slightly," cried Peter, who was currently engaged in a vicious duel. "Slightly, take the girl back to the Tree in a canoe! I'll be back without delay!" Kelly felt a tug on her pant leg.
"Well," said Slightly. "You'll need to jump into the water and swim to one of our canoes. Do you think you can, if I follow after you?" Kelly, not really knowing what to say, nodded dumbly and pushed herself halfway across the railing. It was now, or never at all. The sea was such a long way down…
…Push!
Kelly opened her mouth to scream as she came tumbling from the ship, but received a gulp of salt water instead. The skin stung where she had hit rather forcefully, but she surfaced and gasped for breath. Another boy was trying to hoist her into a canoe, and Slightly suddenly appeared from behind to help. Kelly flailed her limbs as she plopped into the tiny boat, and the three of them sped off towards the shore.
Turning around, she could see the pirates retreating to the ship, and then Peter speeding up from the deck with a boisterous crow. James rushed to the railing just in time to catch Kelly's eye as she was pulled onto the wet sand. She suddenly felt dreadfully sad.
~*~
Kelly sort of marched in a daze as the Lost Boys and Peter directed her to their home, that they were calling Hangman's Tree; or simply, the Tree. She had been doing a great deal of following over the past day and a half, now that she thought about it.
Every three minutes or so, she would cast a glance over her shoulder, just to see if anyone was after them. No, there was never anyone there. She was half hoping that James would be bounding along the path with sword drawn, ready to fight in order to win her back.
Her tongue slowly poked through her lips as she envisioned the scene, but it quickly darted back in as she realized how foolish she was being. Of course James wasn't going to try and get her back. He wasn't that kind of man. Yet, still, the jovial little thought mercilessly played around in her mind.
Peter Pan came to a halt before a large, thick tree. The Lost Boys darted around excitedly, and, to Kelly's shock, they dove into separate hollow tree trunks and disappeared from sight. "C'mon, then," said Peter. "You shall have to be fitted for your tree."
"Fitted?" Kelly asked, still quite perplexed by what she had just seen. Peter motioned to a hollow stump that had not been used by one of the boys. He picked up a roll of measuring tape that seemed to appear out of nowhere and stretched it across the hole. Next, he headed towards her waist, but Kelly pushed him away.
"What?" Peter questioned, his eyebrows raised innocently. "Don't you want to be measured for a tree? You won't be able to get in without a tree." Kelly put out her arms a little with a roll of her eyes and allowed him to carry on. After that was settled, he paced a little and finally glared at her.
"Is something wrong?"
"Yes," said Peter, but he didn't explain. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at her breasts and leaned in to inspect them. Kelly's eyes widened and her palm collided with his face. Peter stumbled backwards.
"You sick pervert," she scolded between clenched teeth. "How could you do something like that and not think I'd notice?"
The boy in green placed a hand to his cheek as his eyes glistened over with tears and Kelly started to feel guilty. She never was good at being furious with someone, especially when they cried.
"I was just curious as to what they were," wept Peter. "Wendy was a girl, just like you, but she didn't have those."
Kelly stared down at him. "How old was Wendy?" she inquired.
"She once mentioned that she was thirteen, but I'm not sure what that means," he said, calming down somewhat. Kelly smiled knowingly and took the measuring tape from him. Putting it around her chest, she found the size and indicated it with her finger.
"I'll need a tree this big," she told him. Peter leapt to his feet, his tears forgotten, and shook his head.
"No, no," he objected. "The tree is not made to fit you. You are made to fit the tree." Kelly, startled, threw her hands across her chest with a guttural protest. He laughed merrily. "It's only magic," he went on. "Every time you touch the tree to enter, the magic will shape you, and then when you come out the other end you will be back to normal."
"I better be," Kelly warned, the color slowly returning to her face. The thought of remaining tree-shaped for the rest of her time in Never Land didn't sound all that appealing.
After a demonstration by Peter, Kelly slipped into her tree with no trouble and popped out easily. She got to her feet and brushed the dirt from her nightclothes. The surroundings made her think of some sort of Hobbit's home. The ceiling was not particularly high, and the beds all were made of very natural-looking things.
The Lost Boys were currently chasing one another around the place and shouting, "Bam! I killed so-and-so!" Peter was smiling, but Kelly was reminded of her early babysitting days.
"Look!" cried one of the boys, as if he hadn't seen her when they were all walking through the forest. "Peter has brought us home another mother!"
Within the second, all six of them were circled around her and glancing up as if they were expecting something. Kelly turned to glare at Peter, who had settled himself into a cozy armchair. "Well," he said. "You're a mother. Tell us a grand story."
"What?" she howled. "That's crazy! I'm no mother!"
"All girls are mothers," Peter stated. "It's a fact, you know."
Two boys that were most likely twins took hold of her hands and led her over to one of the beds to sit down. Kelly rubbed the bridge of her nose with a defeated sigh. Now, more than ever, she wished that James Hook would come gliding down one of those tree stumps, lift her off of her feet, and whisk her away. It was such a lovely fantasy, and much better than the one she was currently involved in.
"A story," Kelly muttered. "Let me see, here. Have you boys ever heard the tale of Aladdin and his magical lamp?"
The boys, including Peter, were suddenly very interested, and they listened with hardly any interruptions. When it was over, they crawled into their boy-sized beds and fell fast asleep. Kelly grinned to herself and looked over at Peter. He, however, was sleeping in the chair. She wondered if she had ever seen any person seem so serene.
Noticing that his bed was empty, she took it upon herself to fill it. At that point in time, right before she fell asleep, she remembers that she failed to ever make up James' bed like she said she would. That notion sat heavy in her heart.
~*~
"Mr. Smee, we need to find that girl as hurriedly as possible," Hook spoke. The stout bo'sun silently agreed as he peered through the telescope mounted on the top deck of the ship. "Have you seen any of sign of her yet?"
"No, Captain," came Smee's reply.
"Damn it all. We may have lost her to Pan for good. I was sorely afraid of this."
Hook closed his eyes and calmly counted to ten. It was no use getting angry over something that he had no possible control over at the moment. He tapped his claw against the railing and grumbled.
"Forget it, Mr. Smee," he called. "It's getting too dark to see clearly. We'll go ashore in the morning to scout around." Smee moved away from the telescope with a purely dismayed expression upon his face. You see, Smee had been feeling the same way about Kelly as she had been feeling about him. The girl reeked of familiarity, and it confused and intrigued the man.
"Captain, do you really think that we could ever get her back from Pan?" he asked, coming to the captain's side. Hook blinked once or twice and turned away towards his quarters.
"We'll know soon enough, Mr. Smee," he answered.
~*~
Chapter Three: Peter grows on Kelly, Hook decides to take matters into his own hands, and Tinkerbell does something dreadful.
A/N: Jebus, writing this stuff is so hard! I'm trying pump out about the same amount of text for each chapter, and it's really difficult. Oh well. Hopefully, the next installment will be up within the week. Review, pretty please, and check back soon. And a big THANK YOU to all of my current reviewers!