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Something gentle grazed her lower lip.
Wendy Darling opened her eyes, momentarily forgetting she was in Never-Neverland. But then, she saw a boy covered in skeleton leaves floating over her. He raised an eyebrow charmingly above her.
Wendy got up clamoring, "Peter! You're well again!" He grinned boldly, landing down to the ground, hands on his hips.
Peter bowed good-natured as she graciously curstied to him. He made a face, "Those berries tasted ghastly." She giggled amiably and Peter said, "It's nearly dawn, come flying with me Wendy, there's an amazing view of the sunrise."
Wendy sighed joyously, "O Peter, it sounds heavenly."
He took her hand with a quick smile and rocketed into the air.
They flew into the dark blue sky like free birds. Wendy could feel the cool moving current of air on her face as she swooped around. Peter spun around a few times to show off like an acrobat and returned to her approving side. As they passed over Mermaid Lagoon and the Redskin camp; the sky had turned a bright pink overhead.
She murmured pulling his arm, "Peter...this is just like your dream..."
The moment was broken. He frowned, just as mystified as she was. A boom erupted out of nowhere and Peter shouted suddenly, "Get down!"
A cannon ball pummeled past them and he flew backward by the force, Wendy screamed his name over the rushing wind. He appeared after a second ruffled and shook his head, "Wha-?"
Peter didn't waste any time to grab her and hid behind the pink clouds. He pulled out a telescope and growled, "Hook!" Wendy's mouth dropped open, "I thought he was dead." Peter looked back through the scope, simply stating, "I dreamed he was alive." It was enough evidence for Wendy.
He instructed to her, "Get outta here, I'll distract him."
Peter flew into plain sight, "Hey up there, you old man!" Another cannon ball flew at him and he ducked taunting, "Ha! You missed!"
It grew perfectly silent.
Unnerved by this, Peter looked into his telescope and saw Long Tom pointed, not at him, but at Wendy. He called out for her hoarsely. With pure luck, she moved out of the pirate's range. Wendy slipped from the cloud she stood on, falling to her doom.
Her shrieks echoed into the sky. Peter dove into the jungle canopy but he was much too far away to reach her. He pushed for more speed, screwing up his face and finally grasped her outstretched hand. Peter pulled her into his arms, holding her in an awkward embrace. They floated safely out of the view of the pirates into a buried grove. They landed softly on their feet and Wendy quivered terribly. Peter asked bewildered, "Wendy, why are you shaking so?"
He was about to let her go but she buried her face into his shoulder; whispering, "Please, O, I fear I may faint."
Peter let her tremble against him, her brown tresses elated his sensitive skin. A strange feeling seize his stomach, he tightened his grip on her mildly and caught the scent of something sweet in her hair. Peter brushed his face into her hair and breathed in deeply; it was intoxicating.
Wendy glanced at him somewhat befuddled, "What are you doing?"
He broke away from her indignantly, "Nothing. Come away, we must visit the mermaids maybethey can tell us something."
They flew off into the distance and landed on some rocks in Mermaid Lagoon. Wendy's mind wandered still. The scaly silvery-green mermaids slowly swam over to Peter who talked to them in their language. Wendy heard a fuzzy voice in her head.
"Wendy. . ."
She looked upon a red haired mermaid in the water with hypontizing soulless eyes.
". . .Come with us Wendy. . . . .Come with us. . . .We love you Wendy. . .swim with us. . . . ."
The mermaid stretched out her finned hand to the girl slowly. Wendy took it, the mermaid bared her fangs demonically and because she was in a trance,Wendy did not struggled to get away at the sight of it.
Peter finished talking with several of the mermaids and felt a funny feeling trying to tell him something. He glanced several feet away to see a mermaid dragging a white figure underneath the murky depths. His heart leapt in his chest and Peter submerged under the water, fighting off the creature.
He stabbed the mermaid, bleedingthe creature and itscreeched, letting it's capture go.
Peter towed Wendy's body onto land and found that his worst fears were confirmed. He pushed his sodding hair out of his eyes and asked the other mermaids, "What have you done to her?"
One of them answered quietly, "We only drowned her Peter."
Peter hissed at them enraged as they disappeared under the dark pits of the Lagoon. Peter saw Tinkerbell wander over from wherever she went and he demanded, "Make her better."
She chimed no and Peter pleaded, for the first time, sounding helplessly anxious, "Please Tink. . .I think she may be dying."
Reluctantly, Tinkerbell used her fairy dust and they waited.
Fairy dust did more then make you fly, if needed, it could revive certain people from death. It didn't always work but if you believed enough...
A small gurgle came from the almost drowned girl and Wendy rolled out her side, coughing up the rest of the seawater. Internally, Peter let loose a relieved breath. Instead of showing it, he said accusingly, "You shouldn't have worry me like that! I told you if you got too close they'd drown you. For your stupidity I ban you from Mermaid Lagoon." He got up and left with a sneering Tinkerbell, as Wendy took her time to catch up.
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