Author's Note: Thank you to all that reviewed my last chapter (Caitlin, LeopardDance, and ElfPilot). It's much, much, much appreciated.

To ElfPilot: Your idea about Oliver…I'd have to say, not quite. Good guess though. And this is dedicated to you, one of my few reviews. My motivation…*gets teary eyed*…okay, I'm done.

To Josephine Sawyer: I truly do miss your reviews.

Only In Your Wildest Neverdreams

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Chapter Nine

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Ellie's eyes opened to look upon Peter Pan's smiling face. She groaned and rolled over in his bed. It was early; she could feel it. And his face was not the most appealing thing at that time.

"Wake up, Ellie Rose!" called Peter.

Instead of doing as he requested, Ellie put the pillow over her head.

Peter, smiling to himself wilily, stood at the foot of the bed and wrenched the blanket off. His smile grew even wider when he heard the girl in his bed squeal in displeasure. 

"Jerk," she croaked. "Go away. I'm sleeping."

"Oh, come on," said Peter. He began to jump on the bed. "How could you possibly handle sleep on a beautiful day like today?"

Ellie sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her hair was a halo about her head, causing Peter to chuckle silently to himself. "That's it," he encouraged, roughly rubbing her already messed up hair.

"Get off!" commanded Ellie, swatting his hands away.

Peter jumped one last time and flipped off the bed, landing in mid-air. He looked down at Ellie, whose eyes were still half closed. "Come on, Ellie Rose. We have so much to do today."

"I need a cappuccino," she mumbled to herself.

Scratching his head, Peter asked, "A what?"

"Cappa…oh never mind. I'm up, I'm up." Slowly, she rolled out of bed, landing on the hard floor. Groaning, she hid her head in the crook of her arm and remained on there on the floor. Ellie hated mornings.

Peter landed beside her and shook his head. He could not believe how much she fought waking up. "Ellie Rose, come on. Get up."

She sighed. Peter was relentless. "Fine," she mumbled. Ellie stood and dusted herself off. Oh no. A thought just came passed through her mind. How was she going to shower?

Seeing the look on her face, the boy asked, "What is the matter?"

"I need a shower."

"Shower?"

Oh God. He didn't know what a shower was? That was a bad sign. A terrible sign. Ellie tried something else. "You know, a bath."

"Oh. Come this way."

Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. Yes—she would be clean.

Peter guided her through the tunnels until they reached a poorly crafted door. He knocked and waited.

"Come in!"

"Girls," started Peter as he walked through the doorway. They looked up. A few greeted him. "This is Ellie Rose."

Ellie gave a slight wave and then thought, What was that? That was…corny.

"She needs new clothes, a bath, and give her something to eat too." Peter looked to her. "Come find me when you're done. I'll be in my room." He said it so that only she could hear and left.

Ellie looked after him, feeling helpless and self-conscious, and then looked back at the girls. All of them gave her warm smiles. All, except for one. The girl grimaced at her, her arms across her chest.

"Hello," said the closest girl. She looked to be about twelve years old and when she stood, she was taller than Ellie. But, what Ellie admired the most about her was her dark skin color. It reminded her of her mother. "I'm Ta-Ta." She put her sewing on the bed that she had been sitting on and extended her hand for Ellie to shake.

Surprised at her hospitality, Ellie was hesitant on shaking her hand. But, she did nonetheless.

"Sky," said another, approaching her. It took a moment for Ellie to realize that that was her name. And she could see why too. Her eyes shared the same beautiful blue color that the sky had. Sky was fairly tall too compared to her, about Peter's height. When she had walked towards Ellie to introduce herself, her brown curls bounced about her head, giving her a cheery manner about her.

"Hello," replied Ellie, quietly.

"So you're the new girl, huh." This came from a girl across the room who had scowled at Ellie when she had entered. Ellie looked to see that she had been the one frowning at her when she had entered. She had an icy air to her; blonde hair, blue eyes, and extremely pale skin. Even though she was tremendously pale, she was beautiful.

She stepped off the bed and approached Ellie with a menacing look upon her face. "I've heard about you. We all have. What's so great about you? Why would Peter risk his life to save you?"

"Oh, stop it, Spirit," said another voice. Ellie had not noticed the girl who had spoken until now. She had been watching the scene unfold from her bed in the corner. She too rose from her bed and moved towards the girls near the room's doorway. "Why don't you go bully someone else?"

Ellie surveyed this girl. She had black hair that stretched down to mid back and reasonably tan skin. She had a severe look about her, but once one saw past that, one could almost say that she was pretty.

Spirit looked at the girl. "Like you, I suppose?" The girl just rolled her eyes. "Why don't you mind your own business, Clear?" Spirit went on to say. "Stop trying to be a hero. And you." She turned back to Ellie. "You didn't answer my question. Why would he risk his life to save you?" She dug two fingers into Ellie's chest, pushing her back.

Ellie's face burned with annoyance. This girl had no right to push her or even touch her, for that matter. "Look, Capser," she said in a snobbish tone. "I'm sure that you were expecting me to burst into tears." Ellie was surprised that she had not; Spirit was just as tall as Sky was and that was nearly a head taller than she was. "Sorry to disappoint you, but that's just not going to happen. Oh, and maybe you should try going outside a bit more. It might help that little pale problem of yours."

Ta-Ta gasped and Sky clamped a hand over her mouth, while Clear just smirked, raising one of her eyebrows. Spirit, on the other hand, was not amused. Her eyes flared, first in surprise, and then in anger. She stared at Ellie so hard, that Ellie thought she was trying to kill her with a look. Finally, she stormed out of the room.

That's when Sky burst out laughing. She fell onto the floor, holding her middle.

"I can't believe you!" exclaimed Ta-Ta. She kept looking from the door to Ellie and back again. "I would never have…you just did something…"

"And then when you called her pale," gasped Sky. She continued laughing.

"Yes," said Ta-Ta. "She's very sensitive about that," she said, feeling sorry for Spirit.

"Because she looks like a damn ghost," said Clear. "She deserved it. She shouldn't have bullied you," Clear said to Ellie.

"It's alright." Ellie thought of her schoolmates. For that moment, she was glad that she had gone to school with such obnoxious people. Otherwise, she did not think that she would have been able to handle Spirit.

"Now, let's get you washed up and then, some clothes," said Ta-Ta in a motherly tone. She took Ellie's hand and led her out of the room. Ellie thought she looked a little too excited.

Peter landed in the redskin village with Tinkerbell by his side. The redskins had been expecting him and they allowed him peaceful passage to the redskin chief's large teepee.

The redskin chief was a big man. He towered over Peter and created a very menacing atmosphere. His words matched his menacing air. "He has taken both my daughters," he said, pounding his fist into his palm. "He has violated me for the last time! It is war!"

"Now, Chief Running Bear," started Peter. He had every intention in calming him down. "I will save your daughters. I've saved Tiger Lily many times, haven't I?"

Suddenly, Chief Running Bear grabbed Peter by his collar and pulled him up to eye level. Tinkerbell, who had been on Peter's shoulder, was now hovering beside him. If the chief showed any sign of hurting him, she would be ready to take his eye out.

"You," growled the chief. His nostrils flared with anger and Peter could smell his sour breath. "This is because of you, is it not? It is always because of you, is it not? Why must Tiger Lily, and now Water Lily, always suffer because of you?"

"Y-yes," stuttered Peter. He was not usually afraid, but he was now. There was no escaping the chief's crushing fists of fury. "But I bring Tiger Lily back unharmed every time."

"But it is because of you that the incident occurs. If we go to war, you will go to war with us." He set Peter down roughly. Tinkerbell took her place on his shoulder once again. "If you do not bring them back, you will be joining us in war."

Peter nodded his understanding. Gaining his composure, he asked, "Did Hook, by any chance, mention where he was taking them?"

"Dead Man's Bluff. There are two that need saving this time. You will need help." The chief stepped out of the tent. Momentarily, he came back with a boy that was clearly older than Peter. He was tall and lean. Peter recognized him as Wild Horse. "Wild Horse will accompany you. Now, go." The chief escorted—or rather, pushed them out of his teepee.

"Will you fly, Wild Horse?" offered Peter. He looked at Tinkerbell, signaling her to do her magic.

"No," he declined. "I would rather ride."

Suit yourself, thought Peter. As Wild Horse readied his horse, Tinkerbell said to Peter, "That will never work, Peter. He'll take forever."

"You've read my mind, Tink. That's why I was going to ask you to go with him. Give him speed." Before Tinkerbell could object, Peter was off.

"He what?"

"Yes," said Inks. He sighed. Why did he have to be the one to tell Ellie that Peter was not there? Why couldn't Peter pick someone else? So what if he was Peter's right hand man?

Ellie, on the other hand, could not believe it. Peter had woken her up so early only to forget about her and save some princess? Couldn't he set his priorities straight?

"Tinkerbell came and told him," Inks went on to say.

So. It was Tinkerbell. She had decided to show up then. Of all the times to decide to come back. Elle looked up at the sky and sighed, taking in the warmth around her. It was a nice day, but that was the last thing on her mind. "So now what do we do?" she asked.

"We just…wait."

Wait? How could he expect her to wait? She had waited through the clothing fitting that Ta-Ta had given her (who always found something wrong and needed to sew up a hole here or there). She had waited through the disgusting bath that she took in the communal lagoon. Even now she shuddered at the thought. "I can't wait, Inks." Ellie began to walk away from him. When she saw that Inks was not following, she said, "Well, come on, then. We're going."

"Going? Where?"

"To where Peter is. The redskin village." She resumed walking

This was when Inks ran the few strides to catch up with her. "You can't do that. You don't even know the way! You can't do that, Ellie Rose."

Ellie sighed. "Are you always so about the rules? Come on, live a little. Now, which way is this village?"

Inks grabbed her arm. "Ellie Rose, it doesn't work that way. We can't just go waltzing into the redskin village now that the princesses have been captured."

Ellie yanked her arm away. "Why not?" She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted unconsciously.

Inks wanted to grin. Why, she was acting like one of the younger Children. He decided to note on this.

"Oh, shut up," she told him after he'd spoken his mind. She saw him trying to hide a smile but ignored it. "But seriously, why can't we go?"

"Well," started Inks. "There are certain…rules."

"Rules? What kind of rules?"

"Usually, nothing is ever serious between us and the redskins. We live in peace and play capturing games."

"I don't see what the problem is then."

"The princesses are missing. They are extremely serious during times like these. Chief Running Bear—"

"Chief Running Bear!" exclaimed Ellie. "So they really do have names like that?"

"Chief Running Bear," continued Inks, ignoring her, "will not permit games and such at times like these." He sounded as if he was reciting from a book.

"But we won't be playing a game when we go to the redskin village."

Inks sighed. Didn't this girl understand? "They've been known to turn on us. And when they did, they were entirely serious."

"But—"

"Listen, Ellie Rose. No, no, and no. That's that. Peter asked me to look after you and that is what I'm going to do."

Ellie made a sound of disgust. "I don't need you to look after me. I'm not a baby," she grumbled.

"Peter's rules," said Inks, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Peter this, Peter that. Can't you think for yourself?"

"I'm thinking for myself when I say this: We can't go to the redskin village. I'd rather not be tied up for hours waiting for Peter to come back with the princesses. If he comes back with the princesses. He's never had to save two before."

Ellie sighed, feeling slightly defeated. "Fine. I'm going inside. I'll be in Peter's room."

"Do you remember the way?"

"Yes."

Inks went his own way, saying that he would be outside and one of the girls could help her find him if she needed him.

Ellie watched him go and then smiled to herself. No way would she stay behind while Peter was adventuring. It was not fair. Why should she stay behind, bored out of her mind? No. It was time for a little action.

Hmm. I wonder what Ellie's gon' do/where she's going. She couldn't be going after Peter, could she? She would never do something like that.

January 14, 2003

Copyright, theMuse