Chapter 5

I Do Believe in Fairies

When they were all within a fair distance of the Black Castle, Emma began to sense that the pirates would know that they would enter through the front, so she proposed they try and go in through another way. However, Tinker Bell flew to Emma's ear and informed her that there was not another known entrance. Emma objected to going through the front entrance since Captain Blood might be waiting there for them, so she told Tinker Bell to scurry down and look to see if he was.

Tinker Bell zoomed to the castle and back quite quickly, and when she returned she told Emma that no one was in the Black Castle, not even the Indians, and that it was completely empty. However, Tinker Bell had not checked underneath one of the walkways where Captain Blood was treading water very silently, or in any of the dark corners, where the pirates were waiting for Peter Pan, or anyone associated with him, to enter the Black Castle to suffer a painful death.

"But where is Peter?" asked Emma as they all flew from the stormy clouds to the Black Castle.

"I think back at the forest," replied a boy, "dealing with the pirates!"

"Shouldn't we wait for him?" Emma wondered, "We shouldn't enter the castle without Peter's help!"

"It'll be fine, Mother!" shouted one boy, "Father will come soon!"

Emma was flattered to be called mother by the young boys, and a smile spread across her face. She assumed that it was safe to enter the castle now that Tinker Bell had made sure everything was all right, so Emma flew in to the dreary, dark castle; the Lost Boys and Tink flying closely behind her.

Peter Pan and the boy landed on a castle wall on the southern end. The boy began to count the turrets from the right side, and when he came to the fourth, he pushed it aside, revealing a midnight-black hole. It seemed to look as if the chute was never ending, and the boy shuttered at the smell of death that rose from the depths. Peter wondered where the hole emptied out to, and the boy was not entirely sure. Thinking that it was their only choice as to enter the castle unnoticed, Peter and the boy dove through the hole, bracing themselves for whatever adventure was up ahead.

When Emma, the Lost Boys, and Tinker Bell entered the castle they could make out the faint shadows of people lurking in the far-off corners and could hear a distant ticking. Dreading whatever it might be that was awaiting their arrival, Emma spun around in the air to exit through the doors, but the doors shut with a loud bang, blocking out the luminosity of the lightning. Their happy thoughts were beginning to drain out of their minds, but they all managed to stay flying in the air for they all held on to that one happy thought that enlightened their mentalities. Tinker Bell was the only source of light in the castle until someone under the bridge rose and lit a bright candle.

"Well, I fail to see Peter Pan," said the cold, dark voice of Captain Blood. The candle lit his face, showing his intriguing smile and dark, green eyes. Emma flew in front of the Lost Boys to protect them from Captain Blood. The far-off ticking seemed to be coming from a corner, but no one paid much attention to it, for it was not too loud at all.

"But I believe he shall come to your rescue soon when he hears your cries for help!" Captain Blood said angrily. Several pirates came out of the dark corners, while others emerged from under the water and came up onto the ground, surrounding the children who began to sink to the ground.

"Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts!" Emma whispered to the Lost Boys urgently.

"Think happy thoughts," mocked Captain Blood as the band of pirates drew nearer, "When Peter Pan comes to your rescue he'll be done for!"

Just then, a pirate fired off a cannon, but instead of a cannonball exploding from it, an enormous net came soaring out, and it captured the group of Lost Boys, Emma, and Tinker Bell. They all tried to think their happy thoughts so that they could still fly, even with the net engulfing them, but the surprise and fear in the situation caused them to sink gradually down to the water, and then into it.

Tinker Bell, being as tiny as she was, flew up through the holes in the net, leaving the Lost Boys and Emma trapped underneath the water. She flew straight up to Captain Blood and began pulling on his ponytail. Captain Blood was being pulled across the bridge by his silky, blonde hair by a tiny fairy, and it was quite a funny sight to see.

Then, Captain Blood ordered for the pirates to retrieve the net from the water. Thinking that Captain Blood was going to release Emma and the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell let go of his hair, but the captain spun around and grabbed the fairy, and threw her violently against a nearby wall. Tinker Bell's light faded since she was very badly hurt, but still shone on bleakly as she fell to the cold, stone floor.

Abruptly the pirates pulled on the rope that was attached to the net and gradually pulled it from the water. The children were all gasping for air, and felt as though they had swallowed an entire ocean.

"I don't believe in fairies," Captain Blood whispered vituperatively to the fallen fairy. Tinker Bell's light began to fade faster.

"No!" the children screamed. Because of Captain Blood's remark, Tinker Bell was going to fade of all light and life at any moment. The shouts and cries of the children were so loud that some of the pirates covered their ears to escape the deafening noise. When the net was raised to an incredible height, Emma glanced below her, and could see only the dim light of Captain Blood's candle while he paced the floor. Tinker Bell's light was almost completely out.

"It's only a matter of minutes before Peter Pan arrives!" yelled Captain Blood as he pulled on a lever for the door to the castle to open.

And Captain Blood was correct, for at that very moment, Peter and one of the Lost Boys came into the Black Castle, not through the front entrance, but down a narrow slide. The slide seemed to go on forever, and the two had begun to feel a bit queasy, but finally, it began to level out. Then, they were spat out of the chute with an unknown force, and into the water of the Black Castle. Surprisingly, the noise they made when they hit the water was not loud at all, and Peter was relieved because he heard Captain Blood's cruel voice, and it was not regarding the sound of them hitting the water.

"Let out the crocodile, me hearties!" shouted Captain Blood.

The lightning flashed and it revealed a cage that stood in a corner. In the cage slept the same crocodile that had eaten Captain Hook. The crocodile was one of the most fearsome and gigantic things that Emma or the Lost Boys had ever laid their eyes upon! Its skin was a scaly green, its eyes a fierce orange, and its teeth sharp, pointy, and a putrid yellow. The Lost Boys shuddered at its appearance as Emma realized that the ticking that she had heard was the clock inside the crocodile's belly. She cursed herself for not thinking of that before and not escaping when they had had the chance.

"If Peter Pan doesn't come to your rescue, I'm afraid you shall all die a most painful death! Actually, come to think of it, you still shall die even if Peter Pan does come to your rescue!" said Captain Blood venomously.

The pirates lifted the cage's door and scampered away, hoping not to be eaten by the crocodile as well. The crocodile lifted his huge feet and stomped out of his cage and slid off the ground and into the water. Suddenly, the net began to lower when the pirates let go of the rope. It was lowering gradually, inching closer to the water. The crocodile lunged up out of the water, not at the net, but at Captain Blood. He jumped back, letting out a girly scream, and the children, despite the scary circumstances, giggled at Captain Blood's fear of the crocodile.

"Your name is going to be Slider 'cause you found that slide, okay?" said Peter to the boy as they peered around the side of the crocodile's cage at the terrifying scene. The net was incredibly close to the water, and even if the crocodile were too busy at trying to snap at Captain Blood, the children would all surely drown if the pirates continued to lower the net.

"Slider! That's a wicked cool name!" said the boy in a hushed voice.

"Well, I'm glad you like it," laughed Peter, "Now, Slider you have to go distract the crocodile! Use anything you can! Just go! We have to save the others!"

Slider sprinted around the corner of the cage towards the pirates who were holding the net as Peter flew upwards, thinking of Emma's smiling face. Peter wondered why the Indians were not being held captive, and then assumed that they had been saved by the smart plans of the Emma, the Lost Boys and Tinker Bell. That thought reminded Peter of Tinker Bell and how she had not flown with him up to the fourth turret and slid down the chute with him. Peter frantically darted his eyes around the castle, but he did not see the bright glow of his fairy. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw the faintest light, and he flew quickly to it, forgetting that the pirates could see him because of the radiantly flashing lightning.

"Thar' he flies!" screamed a pirate who was trying to make the crocodile stop biting at the captain. The pirates all looked over to Peter who was hovering over Tinker Bell, her light fading with every second.

"Tink! Tink! No, no, why are you so cold?" Peter said, tears forming in his eyes. He was reminded of the same experience that he had many years ago relating to Captain Hook and when Tinker Bell had sacrificed her life for his. That was when he began to chant the age-old saying, "I do believe in fairies, I do! I do!"

Peter screamed it over and over again, until all of the children were shouting it as well. Soon, the Indians in the forest were chanting it too, and then the mermaids at the bottom of the ocean, and then even Mrs. Smyth in St. Agnes Orphanage while she was being interviewed by the authorities for mistreatment of the orphans. (The authorities claimed that Mrs. Smyth was mumbling insane things and then were required to put her in an asylum.)

As if by magic, Tinker Bell's light began to come back. However, Peter was too focused on his fairy's wellness, for Captain Blood's sword was at Peter's throat by the time Tinker Bell was healthy once more. Peter had not even noticed that the pirates had tied the crocodile around its neck enabling them to control the creature. Reacting to the cold silver on his neck, Peter flew into the air, Tinker Bell now flying by his ear once again.