A/N - After I spent all week writing and re-writing this chapter, I finally got it the way that I wanted After I went to a creative writing workshop at my school, which helped a lot! I think so far, this has got to be my favorite chapter. Its very long and descriptive so I hope that you like it too!
And now, to answer to my reviews.
BloodDrownedRose - Thank you. I actually went to a creative writing meeting at my school this week and they told me a bunch of things that I put into my story. Don't worry about Peter, He's just shaken up right now.
tinkerflyinbell1 - Yes I know, I was crying while I wrote it. Poor Wendy!
mabfairy - Yes I know it was sad. Poor Peter doesn't now how to deal with what Wendy told him.
Eva Sumpter - Hehe, Thank you .
LeMoNsOuR - It killed me to write that about Wendy, But sadly, it is true :( I hope you update your Holes story soon! I'm dyeing here!
GerryLover15 - I've noticed the detail in your writing too . Its getting good! You need to update your story!
OfficiallyObsessedwithPyro - Me neither :(
on with the story!
Sickness of the Heart
Chapter 7 - Distressed
----
"Peter?"
Wendy called
out softly. She didn't know how but she was suddenly standing in the
middle of a lush green forest. The way the sun peaked in through the
beautiful foliage, gave the land a unique lighting effect. The sun
hit the leaves of a palm tree and made Wendy's pure white night gown
appear as if it were a light leafy green. Birds in the nearby trees
hummed beautiful music that seemed to reflect Wendy's bright and
cheerful mood. She knew right away that she was in the safety of
Neverland. In Neverland, Wendy felt no more pain, her troubles slowly
slipped from her.
"Peter?" Wendy called out
again, but a little louder.
"Wendy!" She heard a familiar voice call back to her, but she didn't know where it came from.
"Peter ... Where are you?" Wendy called out, wildly looking around for the owner of the voice.
"I'm over here!" He yelled. Wendy still looked confused.
"Over where?" She yelled back.
"HERE!" All of a sudden, Peter was hanging upside down, right in front of Wendy's face. She let out a small surprised gasp, then looked back at Peter. He was hanging upside down from a tree branch right in front of Wendy's face. His legs were wrapped tightly around the branch so that he could cross his arms over his chest. When Peter looked at Wendy, his wonderful blue eyes shined and sparkled like nothing Wendy had ever seen. The smile on her face grew larger and larger with each passing second. Then , all of a sudden it faded.
"Peter? why am I here?" She asked him. Now Peters own smile grew even larger then Wendy's.
"Don't you want to be here?" He asked.
"I do but ... My family .." Wendy sighed.
"Well then ... Let's just have one last adventure! Follow me!" He jumped down lightly from the tree branch and took Wendy's hand in his.
He didn't fly, but instead ran down the weather beaten , unkept wilderness path. They ran hand in hand for quiet awhile. Soon it felt as if they were running uphill. Peter didn't slow down, he kept at a constant pace, causing Wendy to stumble over loose branches quite a few times.
Finally, Peter stopped in front of a bunched up group of tropical plants. He slowly bent the plants backwards and stepped out of the way so that Wendy could enter first. She stepped through the narrow, leafy passage and was immediately hit by the glare of the setting sun.
"Wow..." Was all that could escape Wendy's lips when she looked upon the sight that lay before her. Peter came up next to Wendy and took her tiny hand in his.
"They stood on the highest point in all of Neverland, right at eye level with the wonderful setting sun. Wendy crept over the edge of the peak. Swaying island foliage surrounded them and ran down the steep drop to the bottom, which was the sandy beach of Neverland. The sky was already beginning to turn a yellowish pink, reflecting in it, all of Neverland. The clouds surrounding the peak caused the air to be moist but comfortable.
"Peter... It's beautiful but , I really don't know if I should stay here..." Wendy turned to him. Peter stood there, still admiring the sight before him. He seemed to not even hear Wendy. Wendy looked right into his glistening eyes, but he still looked off into the sunset.
'I want to stay but ...I really don't know what to do...' Wendy thought ' My mom told me to do whatever feels right but... I don't know what feels right anymore... I need more time! Time that I don't have!"
Wendy slowly untangled her hand from his and began to slowly back away. She slowly put one foot behind the other.
Then , in a split second, Wendy's foot caught on a loose branch, hidden under multiple leaves. She tried all she could to get into a standing position but failed, and was falling fast off the edge of the steep cliff.
"PETER!" She yelled out in fear. Peter snapped out of his dreamlike state to finally realize what was happening. Wendy let out a loud long scream of panic as she felt the spine tingling sensation of free falling. She closed her eyes tightly and prepared herself for a most gruesome end. But the second Wendy thought it was the end, she felt a warm body grab her around the waist.
"Wendy? are you ok?" The voice that was holding her asked. Wendy opened her eyes and look up at Peter Pans distressed face.
"I'm fine..." She turned herself in Peters arms so that she could bury her face in Peters shoulder. Peter held Wendy tightly in his arms and swooped through the air toward the sea. Peter held Wendy around her waist and let her toes skim over the water, leaving a tiny trail of bubbles behind. Wendy looked down into the water and saw a tiny group of sea creatures following her trail. Soon she forgot all about the fact that Peter was holding her.
"Wendy?" Peter asked. Wendy nodded weakly to let Peter know that she was listening. " Why didn't you just fly?" Wendy blushed and looked back down into the crystal clear water.
"I... I forgot how to fly..." She blushed deeply once again.
"It's easy! just think of a happy thought! remember?" Wendy nodded. She did remember how to fly, but deep down in her heart, she knew that she couldn't. She couldn't think of a happy thought no matter how hard she tried. Everything was so much more confusing then before.
"Ready Wendy?" She heard Peter shout. Wendy started shaking her head rapidly.
"NO PETER!" She yelled out.
Then... he let go, and Wendy plunged into the icy cold waters.
----
"NO!" Wendy sat up fast. She let the world spin around her before she finally realized where she was. The safety and comfort of her own bed. Her pink canopy was drawn closed for her privacy. She pulled back the fabric and let the morning sun hit her pale face. Her pink quilt was tangled roughly around her legs, showing signs of a struggle. Her body was drenched in a cold sweat, causing her night gown to cling uncomfortably to her.
"Just a dream ..." Wendy whispered to herself as she stared off into the glare of the sun. A knock on the nursery door brought Wendy back to life.
"come in..." Wendy said in a raspy voice. Mary Darling stepped into the room from behind the door. She smiled sweetly and sat on the edge of Wendy's bed.
"How are you feeling?" Mrs. Darling put her hand on Wendy's forehead.
"A lot better then yesterday." Wendy replied. She was still a bit shaken from the dream, but her stomach had settled itself and her head pains had become weaker. Unfortunately, her throat pains were still there, making it hard for her to speak very loudly.
"If your feeling a bit better, how about you come down and have breakfast with us?" Her mother asked. Wendy's smile grew a mile long. ever since she had come home from the hospital, she had been to sick to go down to eat with the family. All of her meals were served in bed, which got rather lonely. All she longed for was that life would go back to normal, but she knew it never would. So she hung on tightly to any drop of normalcy she could.
"Really mother!" Wendy yelled out excitedly.
"Yes and after breakfast, your father thought it would be best if you return to your lessons." She said as if she were breaking bad news to her daughter. Wendy scrunched up her nose in disgust, but then her and her mom laughed together. She was glad to finally be going back to something normal.
"You get ready and come on down to breakfast." Her mother said before she got up and left Wendy to get ready.
Once her mom left, she reached down to her feet and untangled herself from her blankets. She jumped out of bed, feeling unusually happy, and went over to her dresser. She took out one of her favorite dresses. A velvet red ball gown with ruffled flowing sleeves. The gown sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight from the random pieces of silver that were sewn into the dress. Wendy knew the second her Aunt saw it, she would see Wendy as the most beautiful girl in all of England.
She quickly combed through her naturally curly hair and put it up into a fancy little bun, leaving a few strands hanging out. She took out her jewelry box and took out two beautiful pearl earrings her mother gave her long ago and stuck them into her ears. The finishing touches were a pair of ruby red slippers that Wendy got before she had fallen ill from a small shop in town.
Once she was ready, She straightened herself up and gracefully walked down to the dinning room, letting her velvet gown flow behind her. Her whole family was already at the table, including Aunt Millicent.
"You look stunning." Her mother said.
"Simply charming!" Her Aunt said. Wendy walked over to the table and sat in between her mother and her brother John.
"Thank you! I knew you would all just love it." Wendy said.
Soon, they all began to eat. There was hot, sweet tea with honey and milk, cinnamon buns smothered in icing and fresh orange peels along with various other fruits. Wendy ate a lot more then any proper lady should, but she didn't really care. Once everyone was done, their plates were pushed aside and everyone began to talk. Except Wendy, she just sat there, enjoying her family and a rare moment of normalcy in her life. Then her mother spoke to her.
"Wendy?" She asked "What's on your mind?" Wendy shook her head to clear all of her previous thoughts away before speaking.
" Oh... It was just a dream I had last night." She said. Her brother Michael loved to hear about her dreams. They were always filled with adventure. So he pressed on the subject.
"What was it about? Was it about Peter Pan?" Michael bounced in his seat. John quickly slapped his hand over his brothers mouth.
"You know not to speak of him in front of Dad!" John whispered to him. At the name Peter Pan, George visibly grew red with anger. Millicent also stated her own complaints on the matter.
"Actually ... It was!" Wendy yelled out loudly over her family. She no longer felt the need to hide it, she already told her mother, why not tell the rest of her family?
"I was in Neverland and I had to make a very important decision... Stay in Neverland forever with Peter Pan ...or ... leave Neverland and stay forever with my family, but I didn't know what to do because... I really don't know which one feels right."
"POPPYCOCK!" George yelled out and slammed his fist on the table. Wendy bowed her head in defeat. She really hoped her father would understand, but clearly, he didn't.
"It felt so real..." Wendy whispered so only her mother could hear. Her mother reached over and took her daughter in her arms.
"I know...: Mary whispered to her. George didn't seem to hear either of them.
"I think it would be best to send Wendy far away for awhile!" George yelled. Wendy looked up quickly at her father.
"NO! father why?" Wendy snapped back at him.
"It's this whole Peter Pan thing! When are you ever going to just grow up! What you need is to get away." He answered.
"I think I know the solution!" Millicent spoke up over all of the commotion. " There is a hospital that is just for young girls , westward hospital for girls, They will look after Wendy as well as help her to become a proper young women!"
"NO! I can't leave, Peter will never be able to find me there!" Wendy stood up and yelled. Her throat seared with pain, and her head pounded against her skull.
"Exactly my plan!" George told her. Wendy stood there looking into the cold eyes of her father. She felt her own eyes fill with tears, then felt a wet tear roll down her cheek. That's when she realized it, this didn't feel right. All this time her mother had told her to do whatever felt right, and she didn't know what 'right ' was. But know she knew that whatever she was feeling now, wasn't the way she wanted to feel for the remainder of her life.
"I'm not going! I don't want to be hear anymore! I want Peter to come back and I'm going to Neverland!" Wendy screamed out across the table. Wendy started to run up the stairs even though her Aunt and father tried to stop her. "... And I'm not going to lessons today! Damn being Proper! Damn it all!" Wendy yelled before she slammed the door to her room.
The second Wendy entered the safety of her nursery, she flopped down on her bed and let her tears freely flow from her eyes. Her body shook with anger toward her Aunt and Father.
"What if he doesn't come back for me?" Wendy asked herself. Wendy looked over to her large nursery window to see the bright blue sky suddenly turn a dark grey, and in no time, rain began to fall from the sky and pound at her window. Wendy sighed and buried her face in her pillow.
"All I want is to go back to Neverland, and I promise, I will stay there ... Forever." She whispered into her pillow before falling to sleep.
Wendy slept all through the morning and into the night. Her mother made sure that no one went into the room to bother her. Her mother came into the room a few times to check on her and eventually closed the curtains to her canopy bed. Outside, the rain was still coming down pretty hard. Sometimes the rain came down so hard that it would wake Wendy for only a second before she fell back to sleep.
Wendy lay in her canopy bed, with the curtains drawn closed when she was once again awoken by a loud bang on the window at about 11pm. Thinking it was just the rain, she went right back to sleep. A few minutes later, she was awoken again by a loud creak of a floor board over by her window. She sat up in bed and saw a shadow of a rather large, full figured man by her window.
Cautiously, she untied the curtains of her canopy to see the true identity of this person. Standing by the window with his hands tightly over the lock, was Mr. Darling himself!
"Father! What are you doing?" Wendy called out. Mr. Darling jumped, not expecting her to be awake.
"I...I was...just..." He stumbled over his words.
"You were locking my window weren't you!" Wendy accused. "It's been you who has kept Peter from getting to me! Why?" Wendy got out of bed and almost tripped over her own feet. Her father looked around nervously.
"I was only trying to protect you!"
"From what!" I don't need it!" Wendy yelled and ran for the window. She grabbed the lock and began to pull at it, but no luck. She was too weak to undo the lock. She banged her fist on the window in frustration, but she was even too weak to break the glass.
"Open the window!" She commanded.
"You'll thank me someday." He said and turned to leave the room.
"Why are you trying so hard to keep him from me!" Wendy yelled to her father, but he didn't seem to hear. Wendy stood by the window, breathing heavily and clutching her chest. She turned back to the window and saw a damp skeleton leaf, that looked like it belonged to Peter, float past her window.
She quickly ran over to her dresser and pulled out a tan raincoat and hat. She rushed out of her room, Throwing on her coat and hat over her long red ball gown as she hopped down the stairs. She unlocked her front door and ran out of her house and into the cold street.
The weather was dreadful. The rain came down in bucketfuls, soaking through Wendy's raincoat and ruining her velvet gown. Wendy heaved in large amounts of air, even though her chest hurt horribly. She looked into the sky and saw the leaf floating in the stormy air.
Wendy ran down the street, following the skeleton leaf far from her house. The coldness of the air and the physical strain weren't helping Wendy's illness at all. Soon she felt too weak to follow the leaf any farther The leaf flew higher and higher into the night sky, so that Wendy lost track of it. She stopped on the curb of the sidewalk and watched helplessly, as it flew far from view.
"Peter! Please come back!" She yelled at the top of her lungs into the stormy night. Then a wave of dizziness hit her and she passed out onto the cold , hard ground.
A/N - well, another cliff hanger. I'm really having fun writing so much drama. By the way, I'm going to add a chapter to It only takes a dream before I add another chapter to this story, so once you see the next chapter to that story posted, you'll know that the next chapter to this one is coming soon .
