A/N - Whoo. I had fun last night. I Went to see the play Beauty and the Beast. It was really spectacular. The guy who played the Beast in human form was really ugly though XD But the guy who played as Gaston looked, sounded, and sung the exact same way the Disney character did! Me and my mom were laughing at him the whole time saying how much I'm like a female version of Gaston (I love myself XD) Anyway, enjoy chapter 18.
Sickness of the Heart
Chapter 18- Peace
By the next day everyone had settled back into their normal routines. However, a 'normal' routine in Neverland consisted of waking up, eating, helping with repairs, and finally bed. Quite a monotonous routine but for now it was the way things had to be. The Indians had made the suggestion that today the kids should take a break from working. They figured such strenuous work might have been to much on them. While they slept, the Indians stayed up to work on repairs such as replanting trees. The mermaids also worked around the clock on cleaning up the waters and the land around the lagoon.
Wendy woke up before the Lost boys did. She wanted time alone to survey the land and ultimately see what lay ahead for them. She walked down the weather beaten path, waving to the redskins as she passed by. She stopped once she felt the warm sand squirm its way between he empty spaces in her toes. In the distance she spotted the Jolly Roger. By now the ship was a mere speck among the purples and deep oranges of the colorful sunrise. Wendy was willing to bet that by the afternoon the ship would probably completely fade amongst the vast ocean. Smee and the rest of the crew would finally have freedom. They would be where they belonged in no time at all, her old home. She took a deep breath of the salty ocean winds. She wished with all her heart that she had asked Smee to find her family, only to tell them that she was ok. Something inside told her that they were not worrying for her, so it was best not to dwell on that subject.
She slowly made her way to the waters edge, letting the waves wash over her feet. The reflective blue water served almost a crystal clear mirror. Wendy looked down at herself, half in surprise and half troubled by her appearance. It was almost as if a different person looked up at her. Or maybe it was the fact that she had not looked at herself in a long time. Her pale skin seemed almost transparent with noticeable bruises scarring her once perfect complexion. She was obviously a lot thinner then she was back home She swished her foot around in the water a bit to drown out her wretched reflection. All this time Peter told her she was beautiful. That phrase escaped his mouth at least once a day. Either he took no notice to the side effects of her illness, or he hid himself comfortably behind a fabrication.
She gave up on fighting the reflection of the girl who stared back up at her. Figuring it was for the best, she decided to head back up the trail. When she stepped back into the underground home, the boys were all just waking up, rubbing their tired eyes.
"Have a good sleep boys?" She asked, falling right back into her motherly position.
"Great... I'm hungry!" Curly immediately complained. Nibs came up behind him and slapped the back of his friends head lightly. "What?" Nibs just rolled his eyes and took his seat at the table. The rest of the boys quickly filled in the empty spots at the table and began their daily routine of fighting over who gets to fill their plates first. Wendy had given up complaining about this behavior long ago once she realized it made no difference. She looked down to the other side of the table to Peter seat which was currently empty.
"Where's Peter?" She turned to Slightly. He had already stuffed his face with eggs. Careful not to be rude by opening his mouth, he just shrugged. Almost as if on cue, Peter emerged from his room. For the first time in a long time, he was smiling brilliantly. As he sat down at the table, he greeted them all with a cheery hello and immediately began to chow down on his breakfast in front of him. Wendy watched him with one of her eyebrows raised in the air.
"Someone is awfully happy this morning." She crossed her arms and waited for Peter to respond. He only noticed that Wendy was addressing him when the whole room went silent. He looked up at her with a little food hanging from his mouth. Once he was able to swallow, he smiled up at her.
"Want the good new first or the bad news?" Peter practically said threw a fit of giggles. Maybe it was from not having happy news in such a long time that even if there was bad news, the good news was appreciated. Well... after the bad new, the good news would be there to cheer everyone up so...
"Bad first."
"Well, Cadoc and Arien have-"
"Who?" Wendy interrupted.
"They are the leaders of the fairy counsel, the king and queen remember?" Once Peter earned a nod from Wendy he continued. "They have summoned me for an important meeting." Peter looked a little sullen about the bad news. No doubt the fairies wanted to discuss all that's happened. The things Peter thought were better left in the past.
"What's so bad about a meeting?" Wendy asked.
"The fairy counsel doesn't summon me all to much but when they do, it's usually bad news." Wendy suddenly became uninterested in her own food and pushed it aside to give Peter her full attention. Truthfully her appetite hadn't been all to good lately.
"So, what's the good news Peter?" The Twins asked, growing impatient when both Peter and Wendy fell silent. Peter's smile crept back onto his face.
"The good new is that the fairy counsel is going to help rebuild Neverland!" The Lost boys all hopped up from their seats, cheering, clapping and yelling. "They're going to start tonight!" The fairy counsel had the most powerful kind of magic, as shown in the Neverland spell book. With them fixing it up, Neverland was bound to look even better then it did before.
By the time breakfast was finished, everyone was anxiously waiting for Peter to leave the sanctuary of their home to go meet with the fairies. Everyone wanted to know what the true bad news was. Peter on the other hand took his slow sweet time about leaving. Unlike the others, who were getting very impatient, he felt like the complete opposite.
Wendy decided not to wait around for Peter to leave and traveled back down to the waters edge of the beach. At least she was able to smile about something. The ship, like she predicted, was completely out of site.
----
Finally the Lost boys were able to push Peter out of the house with Tinkerbell gliding closely behind. He knew he would have to tell the fairy counsel everything that happened. Normally, he was a fabulous story teller and loved them all the same, but telling this story would mean reliving such events. A nervous lump was growing in the back of Peter throat. Never had a walk taken so long, yet take no time at all. He wished that instead of walking toward the fairies grove, he was walking from it, having already told them all they needed to know and them having forgot to tell him whatever bad news they had.
Tinkerbell let out a her normal high pitched whistle to alert the fairies that they had arrived. Just like the last time, a hole appeared in an old weeping willow tree. From it the blond haired fairy queen rested against the wall of the tree, wearing a soft but tired smile. Cadoc came up beside her and bowed deeply. He too looked worn out. Peter shuffled nervously, waiting for them to ask that question 'What happened?' ...
and waited...
and waited...
Strangely, it didn't come. Cadoc and Arien exchanged a quick whispered conversation before turning to Peter. Peter flinched, knowing now that it was coming for sure this time.
"We are very sorry for your loss Peter. Truly we feel horrible about it." Cadoc spoke in a soft voice. Peter's head dropped. Then he quickly looked back up at them again.
"Wait... How did you know that I-"
Arien quickly put up her hand to silence him. "We already know what happened. Just like you, we know when things go wrong. We thought it would be best not to have you look back on said events"
"I awoke in the middle of the night feeling as if something had gone wrong concerning you. Looking further into it, Tinkerbell alerted me that it was your flying ability that was lost." Cadoc finished. Peter's lips formed an 'oh'
"Can I get it back?" He asked while trying to look hopeful. The fairy counsels faces didn't look all as hopeful as his. As he noticed this, his face fell too. "There isn't a way is there?" The fairies shook their heads. "... Is this the bad news?" Peter asked. Something inside made him hope this was the bad news. Unfortunately, the fairies once again shook their heads. "There's more?"
"It's concerning Wendy." Why did it seem as if every time Wendy's name was mentioned now a days Peter's blood seemed to have taken a trip to Antarctica and back? His whole body froze over. The bad news was about Wendy... He didn't want to hear it... Didn't want to hear it... But they were going to tell him anyway. He just knew it. Peter did the only thing he could do, sit there and listen as the fairies told him everything. They had been secretly making observations about Wendy and her illness. The fairies told Peter one good drop of information... well, not good but useful. After hearing the news, Peter bid the fairies farewell and turned to leave for home.
----
Wendy stood in the same spot she was standing in earlier that morning. This spot had become her thinking spot. It was perfect, with the nice breeze, the view. It made her feel a sense of numbness. A welcoming numbness. She closed her eyes and let herself become lost in her thoughts. Most of her thought had absolutely no connection to one another. They just wandered wherever they wanted and most of them were unimportant anyways. Suddenly she sensed another standing beside her. Opening one eyes just enough, she saw Peter standing next to her, his eyes closed as well.
"So..." Wendy said a bit uncertain. "Whats the news?"
Peter took in a deep breath. "I'll tell the good first." Peter decided not to give a choice on this one. He still needed to get up the courage to tell the bad. "Well... They know why your sick." Wendy cheered mentally. She had been wanting an answer to this question for a long time, but no doctor had been able to give it to her a straight one.
"Well!" Wendy said impatiently. As it seemed that Peter had tried to get lost in his own thoughts again or perhaps he wanted to avoid something.
"It's called 'Sickness of the Heart'. Its a disease that is meant to drain a person physically until..." Peter stopped as his voice quivered at the last word. "... Certain people are meant to stay in Neverland, while others aren't. You were supposed to stay. You got it...because you went home. Whenever you thought of Neverland... or thought of me, the Sickness drains your strength. A lot of your strength is gone... but..."
"But what?" Wendy pushed on. Somehow, she didn't like where this was going.
"But you can get it back if,and only if, I bind you to me...whatever that means..." Peter sighed. One thing he hated was riddle. To him, the new problem seemed like one big riddle "But if we find a way to do that, there will be side effects yes, but you will finally be safe and thats all that matters to me!"
"And if we don't" Wendy tried to looked Peter in the eye. Instead of just letting her, Peter kept averting his gaze away from her.
----
Ever since Wendy was a little girl, her mother would always tell her that there was an answer to evrything if you thought hard enough. An answer to every problem. No matter how bad the situation if you looked hard enough there was something. Knowing she had to listen to her mothers words and stay true to them, she hurried back to the underground home. The second she was in the door she went into the privacy of her room and paced the floors.
back and forth...
"There's always an answer..." She bit down on her bottom lip as she looked around the room for that answer. "Always something..." She repeated. Finally her eyes rested on her dresser. More specifically what was on top of the dresser. A beautiful blue satin jewelry box with a silver rose ever so carefully embroidered into it. "There it is." Wendy said confidently to herself.
"Oh Peter." Wendy sung with a smile on her face. Peer sat in the main room facing the fireplace. He too was probably trying to come up with a way to bind Wendy to him.
"Hmm?" Peter still didn't look at Wendy.
"I think I have an answer!"
A/N - Well, the last chapter is it. Goodbye to this story forever. Makes me sad, but happy at the same time
Oh well, off to bed with me now... well, not really. I'm going to delay sleep to draw a bit.
