Bright light surrounded us as we crossed worlds through the stars. I had never left the convent and here I was being brought into a whole new world where the sun hung high in sky. Soaring through the clouds I could barely make out what was below, but from what I could see, there was an island, shrouded in forestry. There were coves and lagoons with smaller islands around them. Towards the centre, there was a mountainous peak coupled by a majestic waterfall and less significant rolling hills. There was no other way to describe this place, other than magical! For my entire life, I had been waiting for an adventure, and I had finally found one.

Here I felt free, I felt alive and I felt dangerous. I was no longer Maria, lost in a world where she didn't belong in. Okay, I may still be a lost girl, but things were different here. Here, being lost was liberating and wild, not clueless and different.

I looked down upon my new found land and took in the most beautiful sight, before I began to feel regret. I felt regret as my fingers slipped through the shadows grasp, and when I looked ahead, he was nowhere to be seen. I shrill scream escaped my lips as I was pulled back down to earth, the wind, lashing against my face. I felt scared and alone as I tumbled through the air, much like the snowflakes in the frosty world of my past.

Branches snapped beneath my weight as I crashed through the trees. I landed with a blow into a shallow stream, the water gushing past me, drenching my nightgown, making it cling to my slight frame.

I wasn't sure what to do now that I was here, but it wasn't hard to come to the realisation that anything would be better than sitting in here, with the fishes. And so, I pulled myself out of the water and into a winding path through the forest.

After about an hour of trekking through the woods, my clothes were wet, my feet were inundated in grime and filth, there were more leaves on my head than hair and I looked like I had been dragged through a ditch backwards. But that was the least of my worries.

I when I was rinsing myself off that I realised I recognised my surroundings. I was back at the same stream I had fallen into not that long ago and had wasted the last hour, walking around in circles.

I picked myself up, let out a sigh and traipsed back into the forest, this time, deciding to take a chance and stray from the path. This was a new life where one could take chances without the constant restraint of mother superior.

Shortly after embarking on my new path, night began to fall over the island. Every branch that broke and every leaf that rustled seemed to pose a threat to me, but still a marched on through the woods, a little more weary than before.

A glowing light shone through the leaves ahead and there was voices and music to be heard. Not sure of my new found company's intentions, I decided to stalk around the camp, before daring to enter. From my chosen spot in the trees it looked as though they were boys, all dancing around the warmth of the glittering flames, except of two, one sat to my left, and he was playing the pan pipe, the source of the music to which the boys danced to, and the other was sitting with his back against a tree with a stone headed arrow in one hand and a knife in the other, which he used to sharpen the weapon.

I wanted to know more, I craved their information. Who were these people? Were they even human? How did they even get here? Did the shadow bring them here too? Where were their families? Maybe they were just like me. Maybe they didn't have a family, or maybe they were each other's family. If that was the case, perhaps they would be willing to accept a new sister. Moving closer to get a better look, I heard a branch creak and snap beneath my foot. Biting my lip, I looked back up and nothing had seemed to change. My slip-up seemed to go unnoticed as they continued to dance around the flames to the music. Taking a step back, I decided to take this as a sign, not to meddle in this tonight.

When I turned to run my nose was pressed into soft green material. Slowly, I tilted my gaze upwards to be captured by the strong gaze of the most captivating green eyes.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" he raised an eyebrow at me, the corner of his mouth, turning up into a sinister crooked smile, "A getaway, perhaps?" He chuckled and looked away. I didn't want to break his gaze, my eyes followed him as he strode over to a nearby tree which he leaned his entire frame against.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me," He looked down at the ground for a second, before glancing back up to meet my stare. "I completely forgot to introduce myself."

He reached his outstretched hand towards me, and biting my lip, I hesitantly took hold of it; His strong grasp pulled me in so his chest was pressed flush against me, pushing my back into the tree. I could feel his hot breath against my face. He flashed his eyebrows up and down and smiled that menacing smirk I was already all too familiar with.

"I'm Peter." I held my breath. "Peter Pan." It suddenly dawned on me who he was. I had read of him once in a fairy-tale book I had found in a bag of paraphernalia that had been donated for the nuns to sort through before it was to be delivered to a local charity shop. I had done the dishonest thing and stolen the book to read at night. When mother superior found out she confiscated the book and lashed me across the back with a ruler till it shattered against my bare skin. I shuddered at the thought of the cruel treatment I had "earned" so many times in that god-forsaken place.

"Does my name repulse you?" he laughed. He seemed so light- hearted in my book, but here, there was a slightly more threatening accent to his tone.

"Well I gave you my name; I think it's only fair that you return the favour." I couldn't bring myself to say Maria. "Wished-for child; rebellion; bitter" But Maria was my past self. Here, I had evolved.

"M" I smiled, gazing into his green stare.

"Well M, Welcome to Neverland." His grin was warm and convivial.

When Peter pulled away, I was suddenly under the impression that we weren't alone anymore. All around us, hidden by the trees and the bushes were the boys from the fire side and now they had encircled me, staring me down, getting closer.

Peter stood behind them, watching them take me in. "Take M to camp, boys" He said, with a sickening grin and the next thing I knew, I was being pulled and dragged back to the fire side, were I sat for the rest of the night, the boys dancing around the burning embers once again, but my focus was elsewhere.

I couldn't pull my gaze away from peter, who was sat on the other side of the fire, still playing the panpipe. Every now and then, he would lift his gaze, so his green eyes would meet mine and take hold of me, before he would look away and leave me wanting more of him.

The whole campsite seemed alive and filled with a positive energy, apart from one individual; the boy who was sat against the tree, sharpening his stone arrow. He seemed older than the rest, even older than peter, but he also seemed wiser.

He was the only one, who wasn't enjoying the night like everyone else, but instead was sat alone, sharpening his weapon, and staring intently at me, his sharp gaze never faltering. Ignoring this, I kept my attention on Peter, whose ambience seemed much more welcoming and attractive.