A Porcelain Heart – A Neverland Story
Written by N.L.P.
Chapter Five – Want and Need
Tossing and turning sweat poured down the golden body once mistaken for the son of a god. The furs covering him stuck to his skin, clinging with the moisture that slid down his forehead, down a bare stomach, the muscles rippling under skin as he moved to fight some unknown foe in a dream. He'd been like this for the past few days, having nightmares that he never remembered when he awoke, the land he loved even seemed to be feeling it. Trees were dying; the Mermaids stopped singing, even the fairies stayed clear of him.
It was like everyone knew something he didn't, his friends already awake in the next room avoided his glances and he found them staring at him sometimes, a confused look on their faces. This sense of foreboding was mixed with a sort of loneliness.
Peter Pan had changed. Something was wrong with him and everyone was paying for it.
Awaking with a scream the thin body of the boy-man tensed and shot out of sleep, catapulting him back into the real world, at least real enough for him. Dark green eyes searched his room quickly for the enemy that he swore he'd just felt present. Instead of some scurvy Pirate or Dangerous Indian his eyes landed on the opposite wall, faces stared back at him in a still way.
Strong arms tossed the blanket aside. Before this recent change had been a long series of others for Peter. As soon as Wendy had left him, the stubborn boy refusing to follow, it became obvious that being alone in Neverland without a mother or the lost boys wasn't his best idea ever. In those next years he made more trips to London and the rest of the world than he had in his entire life, every boy that had the desire came along with him, till Peter was sure at least one of them wouldn't eventually want to grow up. At least one of them wouldn't leave him all alone.
His hoard of boys numbered near a hundred now, all had been their long enough to catch up with Peter's age, he never let them grow a day older than he was. That would be unheard of, and he thought about them for a moment as he pulled on his soft hide pants, they clung to his lean legs and allowed for the most movement. The problem with that was that he found himself one day staring into a pond at the reflection of a stranger. Peter wouldn't admit it at first, but the way Wendy had changed his way of thinking something else had changed his body. He told himself that he'd grown, but not grown up. Now he judged his age at about Seventeen, not yet an adult. All the rest of them were the same age now too. An island full of teenage boys fighting Pirates and toying with the mer-people, day after day. Everyone had been happy until Peter took that first picture from the Darling house.
Walking confidently to the other side of the room, now dressed, Peter calmed his nerves by looking at the many photos that hung there. His hands tingled as they remembered taking each one. It had been a way of escaping his changing world again the same girl was in all of them, golden hair and ivory skin, she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. Even though she was small and fragile looking she stood as if she wasn't afraid of anything, closed her eyes in peace, resting easy knowing that no wild mountain men would come and take advantage of her.
Life must be so simple for this girl, he told himself, so happy. Of course he didn't know how wrong he was until the night before. That night he'd flown to London, telling himself that it was to find another Lost boy, but like always he found him self floating outside her window. Watching as he saw her in person for the first time, he knew now never to trust pictures, because the girl straight out of them wasn't the righteous smiling girl he thought she was. There was a sort of conviction about her and he saw the straightness in her spine, but the tears leaking from her eyes proved that she was not happy.
Peter realized now that it was that moment that he had formulated the idea to take her away with him. It was then, and not later when from his hiding spot on the roof he watched as a boy climbed to her window. Before he was jealous, before he wanted the girl from the pictures all to himself.
Turning quickly away from the wall of his desire he snatched his shirt from the hanger on the rough wall, pulling it over his head in a snappy manner. It was time to stop dreaming and looking a pictures. Peter was a boy- no, a Man of action. It did not do for him to sit and watch from the sidelines. Peter Pan got what he wanted. No question. The small familiar smirk he often wore graced his face again for the first time in so long. Perhaps all the changes were just in his mind, maybe if Peter could get back to himself he could make everything all right again in Neverland.
He was quite sure though that if this girl wasn't with him that none of this would never happen.
Opening his bedroom door with strong arms the boys on the other side fell quiet. All six of them were the most trusted and most skilled of the army he had gathered. Some of them, growing up knowing of nothing but Peter noticed his change in attitude immediately and broke out in grins. Gone was the moody boy that he'd become.
Peter Pan was back.
Fairies shot off in all directions to tell all of the different posts, everyone in Neverland had to know, something was up.
His stance as wide as his smile and Peter walked with his normal swagger across to a boy with a strong jaw and long straight dark hair. Placing a hand on his shoulder he looked around at all of the boys, the look in his eyes was one all of them knew and understood. Whatever he had to say was going to change their lives. Little did they know by what a gigantic amount.
"Men! I've found the one person missing from Neverland! I found who we need!"
The boys looked back and forth confused, whispers sprouted and grew like weeds before being chopped down by The boy Peter was leaning on still. "What's his name?" he asked, brow furrowed.
"Her name, Rebel. Her name is Rose."