Title: The Forever Dance
Author: Weezer42(formerly Squeezynz)
Chapter: Two - The Moonshadow
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Authors note: A warm welcome to reviewers, old and new, you are all as precious as ruby's.
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Despite it being early morning in Neverland, Wendy had left London just before the time she'd usually be going to bed, so she was having a hard time suppressing a yawn, her eyes gritty with lack of sleep. Peter had brought her to a glade surrounded by trees that sang. She's hardly known what to say when Peter had told her about them, her immediate reaction to scoff at such nonsense, but Neverland was not London, and if Peter said the trees could sing, who was she to try and explain to the contrary. So now they stood in a small grove of trees, the trunks soaring smooth and unbroken towards the sky, only a tuft of broad leaves sprouting from their tops. This was unusual enough, but the leaves were mottles in yellow and green, giving them a peculiar appearance which set them apart from the surrounding, more normal jungle vegetation.
"How do they sing Peter?"
"Watch and listen."
As Wendy stood patiently in the glade, Peter approached one of the trunks, his hand reaching out to stroke the smooth bark, at first tentatively, then more firmly, like one would stroke a cat or dog. Wendy saw the tree shudder slightly then it began to sway, Peter keeping up the smooth strokes of his hand, the trunk swaying more, brushing against its neighbour which also started to sway. A little alarmed, Wendy watched as each tree in the circle brushed its neighbour and set it in motion, the leaves at their top swaying wildly. When all the trees were in motion a noise started up, like a high pitched flute, the notes rising and falling, the sound being echoed in the same order as the swaying so that the sound rolled over itself, the pitch changing according to the size of the tree. Peter had stopped stroking the bark, coming back to stand beside Wendy who listened opened mouth as the trees sang their strange melody, the tune reaching a crescendo when all the trees reached a certain pitch, the first starting to slow down, the others following until the tune wavered out of hearing, the last tree to stop moving ending on a sorrowful note that haunted the listener.
Peter stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a smug smile on his face as Wendy listened raptly to the last note of the tree song fading away to nothing.
"Oh Peter.....that was....amazing!"
"You can change the tune by rubbing the tree a different way, so far I've never played the same tune twice."
"You'll have to show me how you do that." Wendy asked, before a yawn overtook her and she had to put her hand up to cover her mouth. "Oh dear....I really am so tired. I'm sorry Peter, but I need to get some sleep."
"I forgot that it was night time in your world....come on, I'll take you to my new secret hideout."
"Oh....what happened to the tree?"
Peter shrugged, scuffing his toe in the dirt. "I don't know.....it just seemed so......" he shrugged again, "....after you all left, I decided to built a hideout somewhere else."
"I see....well, where is it?"
"You'll love it....come on!"
Tugging on her hand, Peter led her out of the grove of singing trees and along a faint rabbit track, pushing his way through dense brush before entering another clearing. There were several very large trees, all seemingly festooned with giant birds nest that hung like huge baskets from the thick branches. As Peter approached the biggest, Wendy could see that the nests all had doorways, the larger ones almost as big as her bedroom in Bloomsbury, compete with holes in the sides like windows. Peter pulled on a hanging vine and a ladder dropped down the side of the tree, at the same time he pulled on an apparently dead branch and a doorway appeared in the wide trunk.
"Inside or outside?" Peter asked expectantly.
"Oh.....er....inside please."
Pulling open the bark door, Peter waved her in after tugging on the vine and retracting the ladder out of sight. Squeezing into the trunk, Wendy looked about her in the dim light. As Peter shut the door, they were plunged into darkness until her eyes grew accustomed to the gloom and she saw steps cut into the wood of the tree.
"Climb up....its not too difficult, I'll be behind you to make sure you don't fall."
Carefully, feeling each step with her toes, Wendy climbed the gently sloping staircase. The first flight was relatively short, bringing her to a ledge inside the tree. Peter climbed up beside her and showed her where the next flight of steps were, his hand on her back guiding her up the shallow steps until they reached a second landing. This had a door leading off it as well as further steps to take you higher up the tree. Reaching past her, Peter pushed the door open, light flooding into the narrow stairway, blinding Wendy momentarily. As she stepped through the door she found herself inside one of the tightly woven tree-nest, the floor quite level but slightly springy to walk on. The wide doorway several paces away looked over the jungle, the opening leading onto a thick branch wide enough to walk along. Benches had been woven into the walls and Wendy sat on one, feeling the fibres give like a mattress as she sat down.
"Did you make all this Peter?"
"Actually, the walls are the old nests of a bird called the Stitch, it makes these to court the female in. They don't use them to nest in, just to attract a mate."
"Goodness, how big are these birds?" Wendy asked, looking up at the roof of the bower and imagining a giant of a bird. Peter lifted his hand, indicating that the bird stood as high as his shoulder.
"They have really long legs, neck and long beaks, which they use to weave the fibres into place. Funnily enough, they lay their eggs on the ground in an ordinary looking nest, but for courting, they build these." Peter waved at the nests hanging like strange ornaments on the branches.
"Don't they use them again?"
"Nope.....just the once, then they're left to hang on the tree and be used by anyone who want to."
"And this is where you live now?"
"Most of the time.....I brought some of the furniture from the underground hideout here, it's in one of the other big one."
Wendy unsuccessful stifled another yawn. "Where do you sleep?"
"Come on...the sooner you rest, the sooner we can explore again."
Peter led her along the broad branch to another hut-like nest, this one even bigger than the last. Inside was a wooden platform, the centre filled with a large mattress apparently stuffed with dry grass, from the stalks sticking out. On top of that was spread a motley collection of blankets and cloths, the whole covered by multicoloured furs heaped at the head to form a pillow. To Wendy it looked heavenly, her feet carrying her over to it with relief. She reached down and pushed against the covers, the mattress yielding readily. Kneeling on it, she sank immediately down, surprise making her overbalance and she tumbled into the centre of the bed, her skirts up around her knees. Peter laughed loudly as Wendy struggled to right herself, the mattress seemingly moving beneath her, confounding her best efforts to maintain some sort of dignity.
Giving up the unequal struggle, she lay on her back panting, the bed settling around her, feeling unbelievably soft and comfortable.
As she lay with her eyes closed, she heard Peter moving around the room, his feet scuffing the matting of the floor. Suddenly the mattress dipped under his weight and Wendy's eyes flew open to find Peter laying beside her, his head propped on his elbow watching her.
"Peter, what are you doing?"
"Going to sleep too."
"But......er......but...." Wendy tried to think of a reason why he couldn't sleep in his own bed.
"If you're going to sleep, I might as well do the same. Then we'll both be fresh to explore Neverland together."
Completely entranced by his winning smile and mischievous eyes, Wendy could only smile back at him before turning onto her side, her back to him, sleep already tugging at her eyelids.
"Goodnight Peter...." Wendy slurred, already half asleep.
Looking over his shoulder at the bright sunlight outside the hut, Peter only shook his head and grinned. He waited for her breathing to even out and indicate that she was asleep before he settled down himself. As he shifted onto his side, his back now to her, he felt the mattress move as Wendy turned over in her sleep. He lay tense and unmoving as she huffed in her sleep, turning herself completely onto her other side so that she almost spooned up behind him.
Carefully, he rolled over so that he was facing her, only a few inches separating them. Wendy was sound asleep, her eyes moving under their lids, their owner already dreaming. Peter reached out a tentative finger and lifted a strand of hair from across her face, tucking it back over her shoulder. He gazed at her sleeping face, taking note of the changes that had taken place in the two years since he'd first met her, her face no longer hidden in childish lines but showing the promise of the woman to come. Peter wondered if Wendy had even noticed the changes in Peter's face and form. They had been subtle and not seemingly obvious, but Peter had gained several inches and his body was lengthening and broadening, his muscles gaining in size and strength, his face losing its childish softness and looking leaner than before. He could only suppose that because they had been seeing each other on such a regular basis, that the changes had been overlooked . He had certainly noticed the more enticing changes in Wendy. Apart from her face, her body had also undergone some interesting growth spurts, her figure rounding out and rearranging its contours so that Peter had an almost overwhelming urge to touch her and see for himself what was happening under all those unbearably sensible clothes. But, apart from that disastrous kiss when he'd first returned, he'd kept his distance, fear of frightening her away and finding himself shut out completely, keeping his curiosity and feelings firmly strangled. Even now he could feel the spark of energy that had passed between them when he'd kissed her, the jerk of his muscles as the powerful jolt flooded his limbs. Wendy had felt it too, he knew, it was the reason she'd told him not to do it again, and he had done as she'd asked, but it had been hard. Her first thimble, on the deck of the Jolly Roger, had awoken something in him. It had kick-started his heart and suffused him with desires that he was hard put to understand most of the time, the overwhelming one being to get as close to the girl at his side as possible. Until this morning, that hadn't been an option, now she was sleeping in his bed, her body relaxed and soft, her tantalising curves only a breath away.
Unable to resist, Peter reached out and touched her, his fingers tracing the outline of her face, the line of her cheek down to her rounded chin. Finding the silk of her skin unbearable soft, he continued to explore, tracing a line down her neck, brushing back the hair so that he could cup his hand over her shoulder, running the palm of his hand down her arm. Spreading his fingers, he compared his own with hers, seeing how much broader his hands were, his fingers long and square while hers were slender and tapering, soft and white in comparison with his sunbrowned calluses.
Wendy slumbered on as Peter continued his feather-light exploration of her, his head cushioned on his bent elbow, his other arm extended to lightly run his hand over her sleeping form. From the tips of her fingers which lay along her hip, he trailed his fingers down her thigh, feeling the heat of her leg beneath the lawn nightdress. At the limit of his reach, he started to draw his hand back towards himself, brushing across the bunched material around her waist, skimming the backs of his fingers over the rounded mounds on her chest back up to the base of her throat where her pulse beat a steady rhythm of life.
Peter felt an excitement bubble up inside him, his skin flushing with heat as he leant forward to inhale the warm fragrance rising from Wendy's hair where it lay on the pillow. It was so new to his experience that he found himself burying his nose in the fragrant strands, breathing in deeply, the tingle inside him getting stronger.
Wendy stirred and he froze, fear of discovery making his eyes widen and his body tremble as she settled on her back, her head turned away from him, her hand laying by her side, loose and relaxed, almost touching him. As she slept on, unaware, Peter relaxed, his suspended breath puffing out as he smiled at his own foolishness. The tension inside him started to ease and he felt the tug of sleep as Wendy's even breathing washed over him, soothing the knot inside and pulling his eyes closed. In a last act of daring, he leant over and placed a kiss against her lips, the merest brush of his against hers, before he lay down again and closed his eyes.
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"We're comin' up on the cove, Cap'n."
"Any sign of the Jolly Roger?"
"Not so far, but it's a big island, she could be holed up in any of a hundred bay's!"
"Not quite, Mister Surry, but I get your drift. We'll circumnavigate the island, won't hurt to update the charts. Make a note of water sources and any signs of habitation. I'll be in my cabin if anything of note is sighted."
"Aye, aye Cap'n."
Leaving the first mate in charge, Captain Moon descended to the lower deck and entered the Captain's cabin, passing several crew members who saluted smartly before returning to their work. With a negligent hand, the plumed hat was pulled off and tossed onto the chart table, spinning slightly before coming to rest, the feathers nodding.
"Where are you hiding James, ya devil!"
It had been a hard voyage, the ship weathering several storms, her timbers taking a pounding as they struggled to reach the rendezvous. When the Jolly Roger made no appearance it was decided to search her out, the Moonshadow needing repairs as well as much needed shore leave for the crew. In the past there had been no need to seek out Hook's berth, the two Captains well aware that the ocean was big enough to allow them both to ply their craft without conflicting too often. But the arranged rendezvous was sacrosanct. Only death would prevent the two ships meeting, hence the Moonshadow's quest to find her running mate. The Moonshadow's Captain, Lilliana Moon, had been James Hook's second-in-command aboard the Jolly Roger before they'd captured the Moonshadow on a raid many years before. Liliana had been made Captain of the conquered vessel, her crew made up of the survivors of the Moonshadow and some of the Jolly Roger's crew. None were upset to have Lilliana as their Captain. Under Hook's tutelage, her career as a pirate was only surpassed by his own, her ferocity in a battle matched by none. If it was also rumoured that she was the Captains bedmate as well, then no-one was brave enough to voice it in either's presence, Lilliana's rage a sight to behold once raised. As time had progressed the two vessels had plundered around world, eventually parting to seek their separate fortunes, agreeing to meet once a year to swap rum and tall tales unless fate took away one or the other in death. When it became clear that the Jolly Roger was not going to arrive, Lilliana reviewed her options. Deciding that she couldn't leave the story of James Hook unfinished, she set the prow of her ship westward, pulling out the dusty map that showed the vague location of Hook's safe harbour, thus the Moonshadow set sail.
Now the island lay before them, the tall peaks dusted with snow, the valleys choked with jungle, all apparently uninhabited. When James had first told of the place, Lilliana had scoffed at his tales, believing them to be fantasies of a lonely man, his anecdotes about fairies and flying boys mere figments to soften a harsh existence. Now she wondered if James Hook hadn't been telling the truth. Looking out of her cabin window she drew deeply on her cheroot, the smoke curling out of her nostrils and through her teeth as she stared out at the green cloaked slopes that led down to white sandy beaches and mysterious lagoons, almost believing that such wondrous beasts as mermaids could indeed exist within such pristine wilderness.
Above her head the ship's crew worked diligently to pilot the ship around the shores of Neverland, their curious gaze often drawn to the cliffs and rocks that broke the surface of the azure sea, the sounds of the jungle reaching out to them with the allure of the unknown.
A knock at her door made her turn from the window, her eyes narrowing at the intrusion. Leaning against the sill, she called out.
"Enter!"
At her command the door opened and her cabin boy entered carrying a tray with a bottle and glass on a tray, the youth holding it deftly with one hand while the other closed the door behind him.
"You know me too well, Paolo," Lilliana chuckled, stubbing the half smoked cheroot out in a glass bowl, the embers sending up a narrow spiral of smoke as the Captain swept past and glided up to the young man who was busy pouring a measure of golden liquid into the cut glass goblet. Snatching up the glass, she downed it in one gulp, smacking her lips as the youth raised a disapproving eyebrow at such cavalier treatment of a fine wine.
"Don't scold, I promise to drink the next one more sedately," she replied to his silent rebuke, waiting as he refilled the glass. Over the edge of the glass her ice blue eyes swept over the handsome boy waiting for her orders, her appraisal sweeping over his angular face with its green eyes and straight brows set above a narrow nose and full lips above a firm chin with the first traces of adolescent facial hair roughening the smooth cheeks. All this was framed by blond hair that rioted over the boys head in a mass of honey coloured curls. With his impossibly long, dark lashes the boy could easily have passed for a pretty girl, but his body refuted this, his shoulders broad and used to a hard days toil with well muscled arms and a lean torso, all painted a rich brown by exposure to the sun and sea.
After drinking her fill of both the wine and the boy, Lilliana set her glass on the tray before taking it from the young mans hands, his eyes following her every movement, a light burning in their depths.
"Go lock the door....I don't wish to be disturbed."
Careful not to allow the faintest trace of a smirk to lift his lips, Paolo padded to the door and threw the bolt. When he turned he found himself pressed up against the door by his Captain, her mouth finding and devouring his as her hard fingers started to strip the clothes from his body with impatient tugs.
Passion flared between them, their coming together a tangle of mouths and limbs, clothes flying in all direction.
Hal an hour later they lay in the Captains bed, exhausted and sated, Lilliana stretching luxuriously while Paolo lay on his side, his head propped on his elbow, just watching her writhe like a cat. During all that time Paolo had not uttered a word, his actions speaking for him as he made love to his Captain. He lifted a lock of her midnight coloured hair, raising it to his nose and inhaling her scent before dropping it and bending over her to kiss her.
"It's a shame you will never be able to speak, my beautiful boy, but that hasn't proved a barrier for you, so far, has it?"
Paolo shook his head, smiling at her as she fixed her blue eyes on him, her finger coming up to trace his lips.
"If we do find the Jolly Roger, we'll have to find somewhere for you to hide...I don't think James would quite understand about you, and I certainly don't want him venting his spite on this beautiful body."
A shout from above drew her attention away, her legs swinging over the side of the bed, switching from languid lover to ships Captain in the blink of an eye. Snatching up her clothes, she dressed in her breeches and shirt, pulling on the long leather jacket that laced at the front before shoving her feet into her knee-high bucket boots. Before leaving her cabin, Captain Moon pulled her long black hair behind her head and secured it with a scarlet ribbon, the only concession to her femininity in her otherwise male apparel. Without a backward glance, she swept from the room, snagging her sword belt before closing the door behind her.
Paolo rose from the bed, remaking it before donning his own clothes, his expression neutral as he proceeded to tidy up the Captains Cabin.
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Hmmmmmmmmmm......getting interesting......friend or foe.....enemy or ally.....you'll just have to be patient to find out........
Author: Weezer42(formerly Squeezynz)
Chapter: Two - The Moonshadow
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Authors note: A warm welcome to reviewers, old and new, you are all as precious as ruby's.
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Despite it being early morning in Neverland, Wendy had left London just before the time she'd usually be going to bed, so she was having a hard time suppressing a yawn, her eyes gritty with lack of sleep. Peter had brought her to a glade surrounded by trees that sang. She's hardly known what to say when Peter had told her about them, her immediate reaction to scoff at such nonsense, but Neverland was not London, and if Peter said the trees could sing, who was she to try and explain to the contrary. So now they stood in a small grove of trees, the trunks soaring smooth and unbroken towards the sky, only a tuft of broad leaves sprouting from their tops. This was unusual enough, but the leaves were mottles in yellow and green, giving them a peculiar appearance which set them apart from the surrounding, more normal jungle vegetation.
"How do they sing Peter?"
"Watch and listen."
As Wendy stood patiently in the glade, Peter approached one of the trunks, his hand reaching out to stroke the smooth bark, at first tentatively, then more firmly, like one would stroke a cat or dog. Wendy saw the tree shudder slightly then it began to sway, Peter keeping up the smooth strokes of his hand, the trunk swaying more, brushing against its neighbour which also started to sway. A little alarmed, Wendy watched as each tree in the circle brushed its neighbour and set it in motion, the leaves at their top swaying wildly. When all the trees were in motion a noise started up, like a high pitched flute, the notes rising and falling, the sound being echoed in the same order as the swaying so that the sound rolled over itself, the pitch changing according to the size of the tree. Peter had stopped stroking the bark, coming back to stand beside Wendy who listened opened mouth as the trees sang their strange melody, the tune reaching a crescendo when all the trees reached a certain pitch, the first starting to slow down, the others following until the tune wavered out of hearing, the last tree to stop moving ending on a sorrowful note that haunted the listener.
Peter stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a smug smile on his face as Wendy listened raptly to the last note of the tree song fading away to nothing.
"Oh Peter.....that was....amazing!"
"You can change the tune by rubbing the tree a different way, so far I've never played the same tune twice."
"You'll have to show me how you do that." Wendy asked, before a yawn overtook her and she had to put her hand up to cover her mouth. "Oh dear....I really am so tired. I'm sorry Peter, but I need to get some sleep."
"I forgot that it was night time in your world....come on, I'll take you to my new secret hideout."
"Oh....what happened to the tree?"
Peter shrugged, scuffing his toe in the dirt. "I don't know.....it just seemed so......" he shrugged again, "....after you all left, I decided to built a hideout somewhere else."
"I see....well, where is it?"
"You'll love it....come on!"
Tugging on her hand, Peter led her out of the grove of singing trees and along a faint rabbit track, pushing his way through dense brush before entering another clearing. There were several very large trees, all seemingly festooned with giant birds nest that hung like huge baskets from the thick branches. As Peter approached the biggest, Wendy could see that the nests all had doorways, the larger ones almost as big as her bedroom in Bloomsbury, compete with holes in the sides like windows. Peter pulled on a hanging vine and a ladder dropped down the side of the tree, at the same time he pulled on an apparently dead branch and a doorway appeared in the wide trunk.
"Inside or outside?" Peter asked expectantly.
"Oh.....er....inside please."
Pulling open the bark door, Peter waved her in after tugging on the vine and retracting the ladder out of sight. Squeezing into the trunk, Wendy looked about her in the dim light. As Peter shut the door, they were plunged into darkness until her eyes grew accustomed to the gloom and she saw steps cut into the wood of the tree.
"Climb up....its not too difficult, I'll be behind you to make sure you don't fall."
Carefully, feeling each step with her toes, Wendy climbed the gently sloping staircase. The first flight was relatively short, bringing her to a ledge inside the tree. Peter climbed up beside her and showed her where the next flight of steps were, his hand on her back guiding her up the shallow steps until they reached a second landing. This had a door leading off it as well as further steps to take you higher up the tree. Reaching past her, Peter pushed the door open, light flooding into the narrow stairway, blinding Wendy momentarily. As she stepped through the door she found herself inside one of the tightly woven tree-nest, the floor quite level but slightly springy to walk on. The wide doorway several paces away looked over the jungle, the opening leading onto a thick branch wide enough to walk along. Benches had been woven into the walls and Wendy sat on one, feeling the fibres give like a mattress as she sat down.
"Did you make all this Peter?"
"Actually, the walls are the old nests of a bird called the Stitch, it makes these to court the female in. They don't use them to nest in, just to attract a mate."
"Goodness, how big are these birds?" Wendy asked, looking up at the roof of the bower and imagining a giant of a bird. Peter lifted his hand, indicating that the bird stood as high as his shoulder.
"They have really long legs, neck and long beaks, which they use to weave the fibres into place. Funnily enough, they lay their eggs on the ground in an ordinary looking nest, but for courting, they build these." Peter waved at the nests hanging like strange ornaments on the branches.
"Don't they use them again?"
"Nope.....just the once, then they're left to hang on the tree and be used by anyone who want to."
"And this is where you live now?"
"Most of the time.....I brought some of the furniture from the underground hideout here, it's in one of the other big one."
Wendy unsuccessful stifled another yawn. "Where do you sleep?"
"Come on...the sooner you rest, the sooner we can explore again."
Peter led her along the broad branch to another hut-like nest, this one even bigger than the last. Inside was a wooden platform, the centre filled with a large mattress apparently stuffed with dry grass, from the stalks sticking out. On top of that was spread a motley collection of blankets and cloths, the whole covered by multicoloured furs heaped at the head to form a pillow. To Wendy it looked heavenly, her feet carrying her over to it with relief. She reached down and pushed against the covers, the mattress yielding readily. Kneeling on it, she sank immediately down, surprise making her overbalance and she tumbled into the centre of the bed, her skirts up around her knees. Peter laughed loudly as Wendy struggled to right herself, the mattress seemingly moving beneath her, confounding her best efforts to maintain some sort of dignity.
Giving up the unequal struggle, she lay on her back panting, the bed settling around her, feeling unbelievably soft and comfortable.
As she lay with her eyes closed, she heard Peter moving around the room, his feet scuffing the matting of the floor. Suddenly the mattress dipped under his weight and Wendy's eyes flew open to find Peter laying beside her, his head propped on his elbow watching her.
"Peter, what are you doing?"
"Going to sleep too."
"But......er......but...." Wendy tried to think of a reason why he couldn't sleep in his own bed.
"If you're going to sleep, I might as well do the same. Then we'll both be fresh to explore Neverland together."
Completely entranced by his winning smile and mischievous eyes, Wendy could only smile back at him before turning onto her side, her back to him, sleep already tugging at her eyelids.
"Goodnight Peter...." Wendy slurred, already half asleep.
Looking over his shoulder at the bright sunlight outside the hut, Peter only shook his head and grinned. He waited for her breathing to even out and indicate that she was asleep before he settled down himself. As he shifted onto his side, his back now to her, he felt the mattress move as Wendy turned over in her sleep. He lay tense and unmoving as she huffed in her sleep, turning herself completely onto her other side so that she almost spooned up behind him.
Carefully, he rolled over so that he was facing her, only a few inches separating them. Wendy was sound asleep, her eyes moving under their lids, their owner already dreaming. Peter reached out a tentative finger and lifted a strand of hair from across her face, tucking it back over her shoulder. He gazed at her sleeping face, taking note of the changes that had taken place in the two years since he'd first met her, her face no longer hidden in childish lines but showing the promise of the woman to come. Peter wondered if Wendy had even noticed the changes in Peter's face and form. They had been subtle and not seemingly obvious, but Peter had gained several inches and his body was lengthening and broadening, his muscles gaining in size and strength, his face losing its childish softness and looking leaner than before. He could only suppose that because they had been seeing each other on such a regular basis, that the changes had been overlooked . He had certainly noticed the more enticing changes in Wendy. Apart from her face, her body had also undergone some interesting growth spurts, her figure rounding out and rearranging its contours so that Peter had an almost overwhelming urge to touch her and see for himself what was happening under all those unbearably sensible clothes. But, apart from that disastrous kiss when he'd first returned, he'd kept his distance, fear of frightening her away and finding himself shut out completely, keeping his curiosity and feelings firmly strangled. Even now he could feel the spark of energy that had passed between them when he'd kissed her, the jerk of his muscles as the powerful jolt flooded his limbs. Wendy had felt it too, he knew, it was the reason she'd told him not to do it again, and he had done as she'd asked, but it had been hard. Her first thimble, on the deck of the Jolly Roger, had awoken something in him. It had kick-started his heart and suffused him with desires that he was hard put to understand most of the time, the overwhelming one being to get as close to the girl at his side as possible. Until this morning, that hadn't been an option, now she was sleeping in his bed, her body relaxed and soft, her tantalising curves only a breath away.
Unable to resist, Peter reached out and touched her, his fingers tracing the outline of her face, the line of her cheek down to her rounded chin. Finding the silk of her skin unbearable soft, he continued to explore, tracing a line down her neck, brushing back the hair so that he could cup his hand over her shoulder, running the palm of his hand down her arm. Spreading his fingers, he compared his own with hers, seeing how much broader his hands were, his fingers long and square while hers were slender and tapering, soft and white in comparison with his sunbrowned calluses.
Wendy slumbered on as Peter continued his feather-light exploration of her, his head cushioned on his bent elbow, his other arm extended to lightly run his hand over her sleeping form. From the tips of her fingers which lay along her hip, he trailed his fingers down her thigh, feeling the heat of her leg beneath the lawn nightdress. At the limit of his reach, he started to draw his hand back towards himself, brushing across the bunched material around her waist, skimming the backs of his fingers over the rounded mounds on her chest back up to the base of her throat where her pulse beat a steady rhythm of life.
Peter felt an excitement bubble up inside him, his skin flushing with heat as he leant forward to inhale the warm fragrance rising from Wendy's hair where it lay on the pillow. It was so new to his experience that he found himself burying his nose in the fragrant strands, breathing in deeply, the tingle inside him getting stronger.
Wendy stirred and he froze, fear of discovery making his eyes widen and his body tremble as she settled on her back, her head turned away from him, her hand laying by her side, loose and relaxed, almost touching him. As she slept on, unaware, Peter relaxed, his suspended breath puffing out as he smiled at his own foolishness. The tension inside him started to ease and he felt the tug of sleep as Wendy's even breathing washed over him, soothing the knot inside and pulling his eyes closed. In a last act of daring, he leant over and placed a kiss against her lips, the merest brush of his against hers, before he lay down again and closed his eyes.
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"We're comin' up on the cove, Cap'n."
"Any sign of the Jolly Roger?"
"Not so far, but it's a big island, she could be holed up in any of a hundred bay's!"
"Not quite, Mister Surry, but I get your drift. We'll circumnavigate the island, won't hurt to update the charts. Make a note of water sources and any signs of habitation. I'll be in my cabin if anything of note is sighted."
"Aye, aye Cap'n."
Leaving the first mate in charge, Captain Moon descended to the lower deck and entered the Captain's cabin, passing several crew members who saluted smartly before returning to their work. With a negligent hand, the plumed hat was pulled off and tossed onto the chart table, spinning slightly before coming to rest, the feathers nodding.
"Where are you hiding James, ya devil!"
It had been a hard voyage, the ship weathering several storms, her timbers taking a pounding as they struggled to reach the rendezvous. When the Jolly Roger made no appearance it was decided to search her out, the Moonshadow needing repairs as well as much needed shore leave for the crew. In the past there had been no need to seek out Hook's berth, the two Captains well aware that the ocean was big enough to allow them both to ply their craft without conflicting too often. But the arranged rendezvous was sacrosanct. Only death would prevent the two ships meeting, hence the Moonshadow's quest to find her running mate. The Moonshadow's Captain, Lilliana Moon, had been James Hook's second-in-command aboard the Jolly Roger before they'd captured the Moonshadow on a raid many years before. Liliana had been made Captain of the conquered vessel, her crew made up of the survivors of the Moonshadow and some of the Jolly Roger's crew. None were upset to have Lilliana as their Captain. Under Hook's tutelage, her career as a pirate was only surpassed by his own, her ferocity in a battle matched by none. If it was also rumoured that she was the Captains bedmate as well, then no-one was brave enough to voice it in either's presence, Lilliana's rage a sight to behold once raised. As time had progressed the two vessels had plundered around world, eventually parting to seek their separate fortunes, agreeing to meet once a year to swap rum and tall tales unless fate took away one or the other in death. When it became clear that the Jolly Roger was not going to arrive, Lilliana reviewed her options. Deciding that she couldn't leave the story of James Hook unfinished, she set the prow of her ship westward, pulling out the dusty map that showed the vague location of Hook's safe harbour, thus the Moonshadow set sail.
Now the island lay before them, the tall peaks dusted with snow, the valleys choked with jungle, all apparently uninhabited. When James had first told of the place, Lilliana had scoffed at his tales, believing them to be fantasies of a lonely man, his anecdotes about fairies and flying boys mere figments to soften a harsh existence. Now she wondered if James Hook hadn't been telling the truth. Looking out of her cabin window she drew deeply on her cheroot, the smoke curling out of her nostrils and through her teeth as she stared out at the green cloaked slopes that led down to white sandy beaches and mysterious lagoons, almost believing that such wondrous beasts as mermaids could indeed exist within such pristine wilderness.
Above her head the ship's crew worked diligently to pilot the ship around the shores of Neverland, their curious gaze often drawn to the cliffs and rocks that broke the surface of the azure sea, the sounds of the jungle reaching out to them with the allure of the unknown.
A knock at her door made her turn from the window, her eyes narrowing at the intrusion. Leaning against the sill, she called out.
"Enter!"
At her command the door opened and her cabin boy entered carrying a tray with a bottle and glass on a tray, the youth holding it deftly with one hand while the other closed the door behind him.
"You know me too well, Paolo," Lilliana chuckled, stubbing the half smoked cheroot out in a glass bowl, the embers sending up a narrow spiral of smoke as the Captain swept past and glided up to the young man who was busy pouring a measure of golden liquid into the cut glass goblet. Snatching up the glass, she downed it in one gulp, smacking her lips as the youth raised a disapproving eyebrow at such cavalier treatment of a fine wine.
"Don't scold, I promise to drink the next one more sedately," she replied to his silent rebuke, waiting as he refilled the glass. Over the edge of the glass her ice blue eyes swept over the handsome boy waiting for her orders, her appraisal sweeping over his angular face with its green eyes and straight brows set above a narrow nose and full lips above a firm chin with the first traces of adolescent facial hair roughening the smooth cheeks. All this was framed by blond hair that rioted over the boys head in a mass of honey coloured curls. With his impossibly long, dark lashes the boy could easily have passed for a pretty girl, but his body refuted this, his shoulders broad and used to a hard days toil with well muscled arms and a lean torso, all painted a rich brown by exposure to the sun and sea.
After drinking her fill of both the wine and the boy, Lilliana set her glass on the tray before taking it from the young mans hands, his eyes following her every movement, a light burning in their depths.
"Go lock the door....I don't wish to be disturbed."
Careful not to allow the faintest trace of a smirk to lift his lips, Paolo padded to the door and threw the bolt. When he turned he found himself pressed up against the door by his Captain, her mouth finding and devouring his as her hard fingers started to strip the clothes from his body with impatient tugs.
Passion flared between them, their coming together a tangle of mouths and limbs, clothes flying in all direction.
Hal an hour later they lay in the Captains bed, exhausted and sated, Lilliana stretching luxuriously while Paolo lay on his side, his head propped on his elbow, just watching her writhe like a cat. During all that time Paolo had not uttered a word, his actions speaking for him as he made love to his Captain. He lifted a lock of her midnight coloured hair, raising it to his nose and inhaling her scent before dropping it and bending over her to kiss her.
"It's a shame you will never be able to speak, my beautiful boy, but that hasn't proved a barrier for you, so far, has it?"
Paolo shook his head, smiling at her as she fixed her blue eyes on him, her finger coming up to trace his lips.
"If we do find the Jolly Roger, we'll have to find somewhere for you to hide...I don't think James would quite understand about you, and I certainly don't want him venting his spite on this beautiful body."
A shout from above drew her attention away, her legs swinging over the side of the bed, switching from languid lover to ships Captain in the blink of an eye. Snatching up her clothes, she dressed in her breeches and shirt, pulling on the long leather jacket that laced at the front before shoving her feet into her knee-high bucket boots. Before leaving her cabin, Captain Moon pulled her long black hair behind her head and secured it with a scarlet ribbon, the only concession to her femininity in her otherwise male apparel. Without a backward glance, she swept from the room, snagging her sword belt before closing the door behind her.
Paolo rose from the bed, remaking it before donning his own clothes, his expression neutral as he proceeded to tidy up the Captains Cabin.
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Hmmmmmmmmmm......getting interesting......friend or foe.....enemy or ally.....you'll just have to be patient to find out........