When she woke up, a crowd of boys - ranging in ages and sizes - stared back at her. She did the only logical thing and screamed. This scared a lot of them and the majority fled to hide either behind a tree or up a tree, "She's awake!" One yelled. Another called, "Get Peter!" One smaller, more timid cried, "We upset Mother."
Persephone scuttled away from them, backing into a tree and sinking against it, "Where am I?" She asked the three that were still in front of her.
"Why Neverland, of course." The boy was young with dark hair, much like hers, and his eyes were the brightest blue, "Sorry for scaring you, Mother."
"How did I end up here though?" She asked him, "I was- I was asleep in a tree."
Peter had a tendency for appearing from nowhere and as long as Persephone would know him, she'd still be surprised but with time, she'd perhaps learn to sense his presence. That, however, wouldn't be for a while. So when he did drop from the tree that she was under, she yelped in surprise, "I found you last night just after you'd fallen asleep - I carried you back here." He explained.
Persephone's eyebrows furrowed, "You were supposed to look for me in the morning. You cheated."
Rage fired up within his being and he took a threatening step towards her, glaring down at her, "I'm a lot of things but I'm not a cheat." He spat. She swallowed and nodded quickly, unfortunately knowing that when someone with anger acted like this; it was always best to give in to what they wanted and tell them what they wanted to hear.
"Peter, can we show Mother around now?" The boy with the blue eyes and dark hair asked.
"Why do you keep calling me that?"
A grin stretched on Peter's face; a grin that simultaneously terrified and excited her, "Well, I did find you," He drawled, "which means you're staying here-"
"-which makes you our first Mother!" Another boy yelled, leaping out from behind a tree. This one had reddish hair with brown eyes and the widest smile she'd ever seen.
"Yes," Peter smirked, "Welcome to your home, Mother." He extended his hand, "Shall I give you the grand tour?" She looked at his hand before looking at him again before tentatively accepting.
First, he introduced her to the 'Lost Boys'. She found out that red haired boy was Tootles, the dark haired blue eyed boy was Devin and the scary blonde haired one who could've been either the same age as herself or older was Felix. There must've been more than a dozen, all crowded around her. They were pleasant for the most part- much like what they were in the fairytale. One or two were just watching her; nervous and a little annoyed that a girl had invaded their home, she supposed. It won't be my home much longer, Persephone thought as she spoke to the boys, I'm going to escape. Little did she know, escaping Neverland was impossible. A lot of them shook her hand, one even kissed it, and welcomed her to the island. Peter watched from the sidelines with Felix by his side, "What do you think of her so far?"
Felix considered her, "She's weak." He frowned, "I'd have thought she's be a lot stronger than she actually is considering she's 'the key to everything'."
Pan's nostrils flared, "She's stronger than you think, Felix... Besides, I'm going to strengthen her. Turn her shattered heart into stone."
"How will you do that?"
Pan grinned, "Who can resist me?" They turned back to Persephone who was laughing as she spoke to the Lost Boys, "She's going to save and destroy us all."
He left Felix and walked over to Persephone who was talking to the various Lost Boys, "I think that's enough talking," He said, tucking his thumbs through his belt loops and rocking on his heels, "I have to show our guest the island." Reluctantly, the Lost Boys left Persephone's side and let her walk off with Pan, "They seem to like you."
"Where did they come from?" Her happy front was gone, replaced with cold anger. Peter smiled at her coldness. He ignored her question and continued walking. He was always one step ahead of her. It was like some sort of awful foreshadowing. He was always one step ahead of her and would always be one step ahead. She could never win. He would always defeat her.
"Hey!" She snapped, yanking his arm and forcing him to look at her, "Where did they come from? Did that-that thing get them too?"
Peter rolled his eyes, "That thing is the Shadow. Yes it brought them here but they wanted to come in the first place. I don't take anyone who doesn't want to be here."
"Except me." She whispered under her breath.
He turned on her, advancing towards her angrily, backing her into a tree, "You wanted to escape, Persephone. You wanted to be rescued. I did as you wanted."
She only nodded, memories of her father's face flashing in her mind. Peter turned and started walking again, "Come on."
They walked in silence until they came to the edge of the cliff. He pointed to the waterfall on the opposite side which cascaded down to a collection of rocks where people - no not people, mermaids - resided, "Are those... mermaids?" She asked, taken aback by their beauty and their long, shining tails.
He smiled at her awe, "Yes, that's Mermaid Lagoon."
"Wow..."
Peter let her have a moment for the information to fully sink in before he told her, "Despite their beauty, do try and stay away from them."
She glanced at him, "Why? They're waving at us; they're not going to kill us."
"Actually," He pulled a face, "they do try. Not me of course."
"What do you mean?"
He shrugged and pulled her away from them and back into the forest, "Some mermaids are kind, those ones aren't. They aren't fond of others. They show you your truest desires but in doing so, they pull you down so far and they drown you."
"Aaaand that's another part of my childhood destroyed."
Peter smiled slightly, "Are you hungry?" He asked her suddenly.
Persephone nodded, "I hadn't realised but yeah, I am."
He grinned at her. Persephone would never be used to his mood swings, she would always be nervous of saying the wrong thing and making him angry. She never did like anger. "Good," He told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her along, "Your celebration is tomorrow."
"My what?"
"Celebration; to welcome you to the island. It'll be tomorrow." He explained, "You'll never want to leave the island after tomorrow." His words were simple but his tone was devious; like his plan was working perfectly... And that was exactly what was happening. Everything was falling in to place. Soon, she would be his and together, they would conquer.