Author's note: OKAY. So I'm so terribly sorry this took me almost a year, I thought I had more written than I actually did, and not that you need to know my life story but for my senior year I decided to take some challenging courses. So I've been terribly busy. BUT HERE. Chapter two! Thanks so much for the support I have gotten so far, and I do hope I didn't lose you guys during this stressful time in my life. I hope to complete another chapter as soon as possibly! (P.S. FF keeps messing up my files and lumping paragraphs together, so I'm a bit frustrated now, and I'm sorry if things are still lumped together after I post, it wasn't me! I tried to fix it! . )

The Emerald Mountain

Several weeks flew by, and for most of it I was stuck in Peter's bed healing from my wounds. It wasn't too boring though, the lost boys brought me interesting food from the Neverland forest, told me fascinating stories about pirates and beasts in the mountains they had come across, and Peter was never far from me. Usually he would sit with me and talk about mindless nonsense, but since the golden eyed boy was young at heart, it was nearly impossible to keep him still long enough to finish a conversation. He couldn't handle being inside all day either, so most days he'd leave me for a few hours to adventure around outside, but promptly returned usually bearing some sort of interesting gift for me.

After a time I did heal, all except one slash across my side. It didn't look good either, deep red all around and still sore to the touch. The strange medicine Peter kept insisting I put on it didn't look like it was helping yet.

Today was the day Peter said I would repay him, and that makes me a bit nervous. Things didn't work the same way around here as they did in London. Hm, London . . . I haven't thought about that place in awhile. I tried to remember what life was like back in London, but strangely I couldn't. A man's face kept appearing in my mind, but other than that I could not obtain any of my other memories. This scared me slightly, but a hand latched onto my wrist, and suddenly the fear was gone.

"Today is the day!" Peter chirped wildly, a smile that never faded still gracing his face.

I lifted myself from the bed, wincing from the slight pain it caused my last wound. Peter took notice, raising an eyebrow in question his grin falling only slightly. I hated it when he looked worried, I enjoyed his smile so much more.

"What's wrong? Are you still not healed?" He lifted my shirt, not waiting for a response. I yelped quietly at the suddenness of it, moving my arm out of the way of my gash as I realized what Peter was looking for.

He seemed to stare at it for a long few seconds before speaking again, "Alright, change of plans." He let go of my shirt, and started toward the hidden entrance of the tree house. "Come on, let's go." He motioned toward me, his smile promptly returning.

I followed him out of the tree house and into the forest, I rarely kept track of what was night and day anymore considering I had been inside for awhile. Right now though, it was night, and the trees that towered above us covered the sky, making it almost pitch black around us. Peter's hand found mine in the darkness, pulling me along side him now.

We walked through the creepy forest, Peter seemingly having no trouble stepping over fallen branches and holes. I however was not as graceful, I tripped and stumbled my way through, Peter eventually getting tired of my clumsiness wrapped his arm around my waist, leading me. Strangely enough, that's all it took to keep me steady. I was glad it was so dark, I didn't want him to see my embarrassment.

Soon the trees gave way to a clearing, and stars shinned brightly as if welcoming us. My eyes searched the sky, finding the moon smiling from above. Everything lit up then, the darkness of the forest behind us as we stepped on the sandy beach. The lagoon ebbed and flowed gracefully, seeming innocent, it called to me as it always had, but now I knew better. I knew the true evil that lurked under the shining, beautiful we walked on, I felt the need to ask, "Where are we going?" Not that it would clear things up if I knew, Neverland was uncharted territory to me, it would still be a surprise with or without the knowledge.

"You'll see." He smiled. The lagoon also disappeared behind us now as we made our way to a rocky surface, high hills of caves and grass stretched out in front of us. I really hope he wasn't expecting me to climb, the edges looked too steep for an enjoyable slowed as we came to a wall of rock and vines that seemed to reach up to the stars in endless miles.

I gulped back fear, knowing what came next, "Uh, Pet-" Before I had a chance to express my fear, the golden eyed-boy lifted me up and shot straight towards the sky.I still wasn't used to flying, I fixed my eyes on the moon, that now strangely looked like Peter's playful smirk.

Movement ceased then, and once more I was placed on my feet, inside the opening of a cave. Peter joined me on the solid ground, looking past me toward the inside of the cave. My eyes went to the same direction, finding nothing but darkness with a little ominous green light shining through."Stay close." He whispered, moving into the cave, I followed close as told, staring curiously at the green light as it grew with each step we took. Finally, the darkness disappeared completely and we were standing in front of a cavern filled with emerald crystals. They flooded the walls, leveled the ground like a ballroom dance floor. They shined brightly, as if they were the moonlight itself, captured in a sea green casing, begging to be released.I lost the ability to breathe, and speak. I just stood, agape with awe and wonder.

Peter's gold eyes flickered in front of me, seeming to glow with the crystals."So?" He pulled me further into the cave.

"It's . . . Wow." Was all I could mange. "How are they glowing like this? Where's the light coming from?"

Peter laughed. "They are the light." I couldn't comprehend, in London crystals didn't simply glow on their own. Neverland was truly an amazing place.I reached to touch one of the larger emeralds sticking out of the wall, feeling the glass-like texture of it. It showed my reflection in it's many faces, giving me the first look I've had of myself in weeks. To be honest, I looked terrible. Dirty, pale, sick . . . I turned away, disgusted with the way my hair matted, and how dull my eyes were. I set my attention to Peter, who was completely opposite, the dirt on him made him appear like an adventurer, rough.

Not in a scary way . . . But, handsome. His skin was a healthy shade of cream, pale, but unlike me it made him charming, and easier to look at. His light brown hair wasn't tangled in the least, just wind-blown, still straight with a small hint of waves that set just below his ears, and his eyes, oh god his eyes . . . I forced myself to stop staring, too late though, because he noticed."Something wrong? Is your wound hurting?" He questioned.

My face felt hot, I shook my head. "No, it's okay."

He stood silent for a few moments, then stepped closer to me."There's another reason why I brought you here." He glanced around, then let out a soft, long whistle. Suddenly, strange small creatures appeared inside the crystals, then floated out as if the crystals were made of water. From afar they just seemed like green lights shooting out of the emeralds, but as one came closer to us, I realized they took the shape of small people. They had pure white skin, almost transparent as if they were illusions, and striking gold eyes, brighter than Peter's, animal-like, and green aura surrounded them as if they were made straight from the emeralds themselves.

.They grouped together in front of Peter, screeching, and humming, almost like they were praising him. A few stopped to stare at me, and their expressions didn't appear to happy. I guess these creatures weren't accustomed to company. "These are Faeries." Peter stated promptly, not looking at me.

I stood stunned. "Faeries? Like . . . In children's books? But, Faeries don't-" Peter's hand flew to my mouth, silencing me. Irritated buzzing erupted around the cave, the light growing dimmer.

"Never. Ever. Say that." His voiced was quiet but strained, a bit of fear in his tone. I nodded my head, removed his hand, and I looked around at the Faeries. "Sorry, I didn't mean it." I mumbled quietly. They seemed to accept that, for the buzzing stopped and the lights returned to searched about the creatures, and grinned as he found something. He stepped up to a particular Faerie, with long hair the same color of it's skin. I couldn't tell if Faeries had genders, because though they were naked, no recognizable human gender identifications were there. To put it in less vulgar terms. This Faerie was the only one with long hair though, and instead of gold, its eyes were the same color as the emeralds, if not golden eyed boy whispered to the Faerie, who looked at me after with a sneer. More whispering and the expression softened to a dull smile, then it gave a quick screech and pointed at me. The other Faeries suddenly flew toward me, surrounding me and blocking out any view I had of Peter and the cave.

I didn't realize how many there actually were until they covered my personal space, I began to get claustrophobic. "P-Peter . . . Peter!" I whimpered pathetically. The Faeries seemed to snicker at my obvious tension.

"Relax, Evan. Just relax." Peter's voice melted the fear, and as the Faeries moved toward my injured side, I suddenly understood why he had brought me here. The tiny creatures hovered around my wound, touching, poking, pinching. It stung, but after a few moments of the strange procedure, they flew away, back into the crystals, and when I lifted my shirt, my side was healed and numb. There was still a prominent scar, but it no longer looked infected, and it no longer hurt. When I turned my head back up to thank the tiny creatures, they were mostly all gone besides the long haired one still floating next to Peter, staring at me.

I flushed, and looked down, "Ah-um . . . Thank you." I stuttered. My eyes peeked up just a tad to look at the Faerie, who floated closer to me, tilting it's head. My breath caught in my throat when it was merely inches from my face. It smiled, and nodded, flying away faster than I could process.

Still in shock, my eyes met Peter's and he spoke in a slower manner to me, "Evan, since you're healed now, it's time you repay me." He grinned, holding his hand out to me, and I took it laughing now as he threw me on to his back and we flew out of the cave, catching the first few rays of the rising sun peek seemingly up from the waters of the Lagoon.

"So, how am I supposed to repay you?" I questioned, pressing myself a little closer to him than was necessary.

I felt a small rumble of excited laughter against my chest, "You're going to take part in a ceremony."

"Ceremony?"

"Ceremony to become a lost boy. So you can stay here forever, with me. With the other lost boys."