"Last one to the lagoon is a smelly old codfish!" The boy who had exclaimed this shook his messy blonde curls out of his hair and cast a grin over his shoulder.

"I TOLD you I don't race," came a shrill female voice, which made him chuckle out loud.

"Because you know I'll win!"

"DAD! Dad, Wyatt is being a pain again!" Wyatt stuck his tongue out at his sister and flew away from her as fast as he could. Without a glance backward, he angled his body downward and dove into a graceful swoop over the blue waters of the lagoon.

"Prince Wyatt," came gushing female voices from below him. A smug grin crossed over his youthful face and he landed on a rock in the middle of the lagoon. He let out a series of clicks that translated to "good morning, daughters of the sea." One of them reached up and wrapped her slick hand around his ankle.

"Son of Pan comes to swim with us?"

"Son of Pan is trying to get away from his sisters," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"There he is Dad!" Wyatt groaned and turned away as three figures landed on the rock beside him. The mermaids all gushed and sighed and clicked away but everyone ignored them. Two girls, nearly identical save for their hair, crossed their arms and were glaring at him. The man (if you wanted to call him that—he looked to be in his early twenties and was extremely handsome) behind them stood with his arms crossed, his bright blue eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wyatt, what have I told you about going off and leaving your sisters alone?"

"They weren't alone, they had you with them," he quickly replied.

"Pan, you come to swim with us?" The man glanced down at the mermaids around his feet and shook his head.

"Not today, girls. We need to be heading home soon, or the Queen will have our heads."

"Mummy's extra cross with you, Father," one of the girls said bossily. The man's brow raised.

"And why is that?"

"She didn't say but she looked cross when we mentioned going flying with you and started slamming things around and such. She had a very dark expression to her." He opened his mouth to answer but Wyatt stamped his foot.

"Dad I want to go explore some more. You never let me out after dark! When are you going to let me see Neverland by the moonlight?"

"When you're old enough," the man answered quickly. "Farrah, why do you think—"

"When I'm OLD enough? Did you really just tell me that? The boy who would never grow up tells me when I'm OLD enough?!" The man turned to his son, a frown marring his handsome features.

"Wyatt, that's enough. You're the Prince of Neverland and I expect you to start acting as such. I want you to escort your sisters home. I'll be right behind you." Wyatt looked shocked.

"Dad, you can't be serious—"

"Dead serious. Go. Now." Wyatt didn't dare disobey at the tone of his father's voice so rolling his eyes, Wyatt grabbed his sisters' hands and they took off into the air, the girls wavering slightly. Wyatt cast his father an irritated glance.

"The Prince of Neverland doesn't need to escort anyone! Especially sisters who can't even fly properly!"

"We can hear you, you know," one of them said crossly.

"Yeah, and you heard Father. Until you start acting like a prince, we don't have to think of you as such."

"So you'd start being nice to us," the other one added. Wyatt rolled his eyes and grumbled something that was too quiet for them to hear. Tugging on the girls' hands, he flew faster and headed back to his home in the forest.

"Peter! King Peter!" The man turned and flew back to land, watching a young Indian girl running toward him.

"Is something wrong, Rain Cloud?"

"It's the Princess Tiger Lily. She needs to speak with you immediately." Peter bit his lip. The Queen WAS expecting him home for dinner and if he was late again…but if the Princess needed him, then he needed to go find out what was the matter.

"Why couldn't she come to me herself? What's wrong with her?"

"I know not, King Peter. She tells me to come get you, I come. She looks quite distressed."

"Then of course I'll come with you." Peter leaped into the air and flew a little ahead of Rain Cloud, back toward the Indian Village.

When they arrived, there was chaos everywhere. Peter's wide eyes traveled the Village, searching for his friend. At last he found her, huddled by the fire, covered in blankets, her dark eyes wide and blank.

"Tiger Lily," he said quietly, sitting next to her. He set a hand on her shoulder and as she turned toward him, he yanked his hand away and gasped. When he had seen her earlier that morning, she had a beautiful youthful face, with a strong jaw and long dark lashes. Her long dark hair was braided with feathers and beads. Now, staring back at him, was a woman of at least fifty, with wrinkles all over her face, her eyes faded and her beautiful hair graying and messy around her shoulders. Peter turned back to the Indian Chief, who was hovering over his daughter. The Indian Chief was hundreds of years old and he didn't look a day over thirty.

"What has happened?"

"She left Neverland," the Chief said quietly, his voice sounding as if he was on the verge of tears.

"I-I wanted to see him," Tiger Lily choked out and Peter winced at how frail and soft the princess's voice was. "I wanted to see…her." Peter dropped to his knees and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"He's of the mortal world, Lily. You can't be together so why torture yourself like this? Why would you do this?" Tiger Lily's eyes narrowed and Peter saw a spark of the princess he knew. She pulled away and struggled to her feet.

"It only works for you then, does it? You brought a mortal to our realm and changed it completely. And no one faults you for it. Why then can't I have happiness with a mortal? Why is that so different?"

"Lily-" he started but shaking her head, she walked away from him, her footsteps small and weak. Peter watched her go, his jaw wide open and he ran his fingers through his messy curls.

"Is there any way…to fix this?"

"We do not know of one. We did not know this would happen. Is this why you have not let Queen Wendy visit the mortal world?" Peter bit his lip before he answered. He had no idea that this would happen. In truth, he had been so busy to even think about taking Wendy to visit her family. With the Powers of the Stars that Peter possessed, he was able to watch over his family and rule over Neverland as a just and kind ruler. Time worked so differently here that he hardly noticed things occurring on the outside world. He and the fairies had been able to work their magic on his children and make sure they grew a little each day. But Tiger Lily was right; bringing Wendy to Neverland had changed it completely. It had changed him completely.

It had been about seven years since Peter Pan had fallen in love with a mortal girl, married her, become the King of Neverland, and had children with her. Seven years had come and gone and still, Peter and Wendy looked the same. Their children aged only because Peter willed it so. He had no idea life would become so complicated once he had a family. He was teaching his son how to be the Prince of Neverland and his daughters were divided between wanting to be princesses and wanting to be proper English ladies. Adette, with her long golden tresses that looked exactly like her mother's and her wide blue eyes that Peter had fallen in love with so many years ago, spoke very proper and folded her hands calmly when the rest of the family would fight. Her twin sister, Farrah, however, was much like Peter. With hair as red as the sun, her fiery spirit and quick tongue often made Wendy scold and Peter laugh. And their son, Wyatt, Prince of Neverland, was as much trouble and mischief as Peter had once been. Peter watched his son fly and crow with a sort of longing on his face, wishing (only for a second, mind you) that he could go back to those carefree days and be a little boy again. Seven years isn't a long time, really, but Peter had the love of his life and a perfect family and didn't think he could ask for anything else. But as King of Neverland, he was kept extremely busy and he didn't really see his wife very much anymore. Every time Wendy would mention wanting to visit her family, Peter would nod and tell her he would see to it soon. Guilt washed over him as he thought about how long it had been since she had seen them. She had left everything behind to follow him here to Neverland and now he was keeping her away from her family. But as stated before, time works differently in Neverland. Which is why, as we come back to the dear Indian Princess, when someone that old leaves Neverland, even for a few moments, those years can catch up to you. So it comes as no surprise when the young Indian princess heard about her only love becoming betrothed to a young lady of English society, she stole some fairy dust and flew to London. Catching a glimpse of him offering her his arm, her eyes filled with tears as she immediately flew back to Neverland and had let out a cry as she suddenly felt weak and old. Peter watched the Indians bustle around, his eyes wide and his mind racing.

"King Peter?" He was brought back to the present and shook himself.

"Sorry Chief. I'll speak to the fairies tonight and see if anything can be done. Keep an eye on her and let me know if anything changes."

"Thank you, Highness." Peter nodded and turned away. He had to speak to Wendy immediately. He had to explain why he couldn't let her go back to London…ever. The haunting image of an old Tiger Lily came back to him and he shivered. No one aged in Neverland. But it was clear that age would catch up with one as they left Neverland. He couldn't allow his wife or children to go to the mortal world. Heaving a great sigh, he leaped into the air and started on his way home.