Disclaimer: Peter Pan, all characters, places, and related terms belong to J.M. Barrie.
Author's Note: Nothing much to say except this is a new kind of story for me…
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He Does Not See Her
They were enemies on different sides. It had been so always. The battles that often broke out between Peter and his Lost Boys and Princess Tiger Lily and her mighty braves were very fierce. Many had been lost on both sides. When the two leaders met in combat, the excitement and tension of the battle rose much higher. They then became oblivious to the rest of the battle surrounding them; all their attention focused on each other. Sometimes the warriors and boys would momentarily pause in the heat of the battle to watch their leaders.
It was a sort of dance the two performed; one moment Peter's sword was clashing against Tiger Lily's sharp dagger, and then suddenly he would pull away and sail into the air, flying above her head. They could never win over each other; they were equal fighters. Yet time and time again they would seek the other out to see if one could conquer the other this time: the outcome never changed.
Tiger Lily secretly looked forward to battling the wonderful boy known as Peter Pan. He was a great fighter. She could not keep back a shudder when his eyes searched through the battle restlessly for her. When he did find her, fire flared from his blue eyes as he seemed to stare through her. Her heart pounded in her chest during those moments when they circled each other, eyes locked, and discovered they were an even match. This outcome would vex Peter greatly, so much so that sometimes he would glare at Tiger Lily angrily and fly off, followed a moment later by his comrades while all the Indians cheered – except Tiger Lily.
Tiger Lily could not return Peter's anger, for she did not hate him. None of her tribe, not even her own father, knew of how she really viewed the boy, of the secret longing she had: how she admired Peter; how she cherished those times when Peter, seeing her, gazed at her with such intensity; how she secretly wished he would someday look upon her in a light other than that of an enemy.
She did not really know what to make of this girl Peter had brought to Neverland, this Wendy. Many times Tiger Lily observed her in secret. "She is his mother," was how the tidings reached Tiger Lily's ears. But she wondered…. She envied the pretty, fiery-haired girl who was such a presence in Peter's life. Many a time Tiger Lily wished she was in Wendy's place.
The relationship between the Indians and Lost Boys changed drastically and suddenly when Peter saved Tiger Lily's life. Her father made him a chief, and the Indians respected him. As for Tiger Lily, she was even more taken with Peter; and at the celebration of the new peace between their groups, Tiger Lily's sparkling eyes swayed not from Peter the whole night.
Yet despite the friendship they shared, Peter hardly seemed to notice Tiger Lily who spent a lot of time with him and stayed close by his side at feasts. He no longer looked upon her with anger, but he did not look at her the same as he did toward Wendy. Tiger Lily was not important to him. She was discouraged by this, yet she kept watching him, adoring, wishing…
She was found out one night when the Lost Boys ate with the Indians. She had gazed longingly after Peter as he went off with some of the braves. When she turned away, she discovered Wendy watching her with a knowing look in her eyes. Tiger Lily returned her gaze coldly before Wendy glanced away, troubled. It was a small, meaningless victory for the princess, for Wendy was still close to Peter, and there did not seem much chance of Peter ever looking at the Indian princess as something other than a mother; and she desired not to be that to him.
She could only watch and long as the days slipped by and Peter was nothing more than a boy at play. The final defeat came to Tiger Lily when one night as Lost Boys and braves danced wildly around a roaring fire, she silently, sadly watched as Peter and Wendy slipped away, holding hands, each one's eyes only on the other, disappearing into the night. A single tear slid down her cheek. No one would know of the pain she felt deep in her heart, of the longing which would never become reality. Peter Pan would never see her.
THE END