Chapter 3

Feelings

"All right, this is the top-secret-never-tell-anyone-where-it-is-not-even-yourself-or-me, hideout," said Peter as they all landed in front of a brownish, grayish boulder that was buried beneath a few shrubs.

"This is where we got to live?" asked one of the boys.

"Watch this!" said Peter magically, and pulled on one of the leaves that caused the rock to float in the air, revealing a small chute beneath it.

"Wicked!" shouted a dark-haired boy excitedly and jumped down the dirt chute.

"After you," Peter said to Emma after all of the boys had slid down the chute into the hideout. Emma then dove into the chute happily, with Peter right after her, and they glided down the slide for a few seconds until they rolled onto the ground of a large room.

The room was a cave with stalagmites sticking out of the ground, but Peter had done his best to make it a homey space. There were a few beds made out of leaves and roots of trees, and a long, wooden table with a few chairs placed around it. Swords, cannons, and guns were tossed about the ground, waiting their time to be used in battle. Emma carefully picked up one of the swords admirably, balanced it on her finger, and then flipped it up into the air and caught it once more.

"Very impressive," said Peter as drew his sword from his belt, "But can you fight?" he grinned. The boys gathered around Peter and Emma, creating a small sword-fighting circle.

"I believe it wouldn't be too difficult," Emma said with a laugh. Peter gazed at her, admiring her beautiful smile, but Emma struck her sword against his. Their faces became extremely close; almost close enough for a kiss. However, they both pulled away and continued to swordfight.

Though Emma had never picked up a sword in her life, she was remarkably talented in the area. Peter, the fine swordsman that he was, could not believe how well she handled the sword, and how many times Emma could have sliced his arm off, but had chosen not to. The two children were having a wonderful time watching Peter and Emma playfully fight, and the two fighters were enjoying it just as much. Emma, for the first time since her parents had died, was sincerely happy, and their death did not cross her mind whenever she looked at Peter.

The boys made a pathway for Peter and Emma as the swordfight led them up through the cave. Finally, Peter managed to corner Emma against the wall of the cave. His sword was at her throat, but of course he had no thoughts of actually harming her, for they were just fighting for fun! However, he dearly wanted to lean in and give her a kiss. As Peter leaned in closer to Emma, he told her quietly, "I wish to give you a thimble, Emma."

Emma knew exactly what Peter meant by a 'thimble' for her mother had read Peter Pan to her many times when she was a child, and she wished that he would do so!

"If you wish it," she replied longingly. As their lips were about to touch, the boys came dashing to the scene, trying to see who had won the swordfight, for Peter and Emma had ventured off far beyond the room. To cover up what was just about to happen, Peter took his sword and pushed it at Emma's throat again. Pretending to be frightened, Emma called out for help from the boys.

"I shall rescue you!" said one, and took off his watch and threw it at Peter. Peter spun around just as the watch hit him square in the nose, and the children exploded with laughter. Even Peter managed a silly smile.

"And for that deed," said Peter after recovering from the blow, "You have earned the name Tosser, since you tossed that at my nose, saving your mother!"

The dark-haired boy beamed at his new name and began shouting it out through the cave, jumping around ecstatically. Soon, every one of the boys wanted a new name such as Tosser's, but Peter said that they had to do something incredible, such as Tosser, to earn a nickname. Slyly, Peter told them that whoever found the most food for supper would be rewarded a nickname, so they all bolted out of the cave, and up the chute to the forest to gather food for the night, including Tosser who did not want to be left of the fun, leaving Peter and Emma alone.

The two made their way back to the main room in the cave that was lit by several candles. They began to pick up the swords and guns and hung them up on a few silver hooks that had previously belonged to Captain Hook's hand. Curious as to how Peter had managed to come across so many weapons, Emma asked him where he had gotten all of them. Breathing a deep sigh, he began his story, sitting down on the empty, wooden table.

"You read my story, right Emma?" said Peter, referring to the book.

"The book!" shouted Emma, remembering that it had fallen down through the clouds, "I dropped it," she said tragically as she sat in a chair beside the table.

"Oh, it doesn't matter! At least you know the story, right?" he asked.

"Yes, almost too well!" she laughed.

"Well, you must remember Captain Hook," he exclaimed, curving his finger round to make it look as though he had a hook himself, "and how I fed him to the croc!" Laughing at Peter's impression of the wicked captain, she nodded and urged him to continue. "But Captain Hook, though he's dead, still lives on in Captain Shadrach Rackham, or Captain Blood as most call him. Or that's just how the legend goes. You see, when Captain Hook died, complete peace was restored in Neverland. But many years later came Captain Blood, falling down from the skies and into the water! I wasn't there to witness it, but some of my old Lost Boys…" he trailed off.

"What happened to them?" asked Emma sadly, sensing that Peter had an emotional story to tell.

"They…they…" he stuttered, "They were at the beach when Captain Blood floated ashore. Each one of them had their daggers out, but the captain was too quick for them, and killed them all!" Peter's eyes began to well up with tears, "And it was all my fault! I was in London at the time, visiting Wendy who was really old and really sick, and I couldn't leave her! So, I didn't leave for Neverland for about a month! I even aged a bit while I was there…and then Captain Blood was in control of Neverland for that entire time, and I didn't even know!" Peter said, now tears streaming down his face. He felt so guilty about the death of his Lost Boys, and also of Wendy, even though he could not control the curse of old age and sickness. Emma held his hand, trying to calm him down.

"But when I came back," said Peter, an angry and vengeful look about his face, "There was snow everywhere, and a coldness and darkness lurked in every corner. I found out from the Indians that a new pirate, Captain Blood, had taken over and killed my friends. I flew directly to the Jolly Roger and cut off his leg, not even challenging him to a fair fight. I took the rogue by surprise then stole all of his weapons from the armory!" he shouted with a menacing tone about him, and Emma was almost scared to be near Peter for he was acting so mad.

"Now he knows better than to mess with Peter Pan!" Peter screamed as he tore his hand away from Emma's and pounded it on the table, emotions overcoming his mind. He looked to Emma with his puffy eyes, hoping for comfort. "I am so sorry…I am so sorry," he whispered as he gazed back down the table. Peter was apologizing to the Lost Boys for losing them those many years ago. Feeling hopeless, Emma just put her arm around Peter, and he nuzzled his face into her sweatshirt and cried for several minutes, letting out all of the feelings that he had been holding in for a long time.