Chapter 13: The Past and the Present
"So, you were never going to tell us your name?" Felix called from behind her as they climbed through the forest. She had woken up back on the bed about an hour after the sunrise, the tent empty. She had climbed out and found Felix, wanting to just wander around and explore the island. He had agreed but didn't think they would get very far. Robert had overheard, and suggested they make it a whole adventure and pack camping supplies. The idea excited Felix, and she could hardly say no to him so energetic. He had lived on the island almost as long as Pan had, but they spent the majority of their time at camp. It was now around noon and they had only just exited the boys' hunting territory. Now it was a no-man's-land kind of place, open to any. Felix had said it would take a few more hours until they'd enter fairy territory.
"No," she stated bluntly.
"What is so bad about it? It's an interesting name," he trailed, provoking her.
"It's cursed," she said through her teeth. He scoffed. She sighed and slowed her pace. "When the mistress took me, I tried to scream through the window that I was here, I tried to yell my name. After a few months, it started to work. Villagers would stop nearby, they had heard it faintly. Then, she caught on, and she cast a curse. If I, or anyone, ever spoke my name, my parents would die."
"No," Felix replied. She tripped in confusion. "Didn't Pan tell you? You can't make people die solely by magic."
"I didn't know the details, and I still don't. Maybe saying it triggered something else and it killed them indirectly. I didn't care, and I still don't. Either way, they're now dead because of him," she yelled. She covered her mouth at the end, "I'm sorry, Felix," she whispered.
He stepped forward and hugged her, turning her in his arms so her back was to him and beginning to walk again. "Besides, Neverland is a different realm. One with far more magic—and far more difficult to get to—than the Enchanted Forest. There's a high chance it didn't actually work. You could actually have a name."
"And if it did?" she breathed. She felt him chuckle.
"Then we can still use your name, because the deed is already done." He paused, "when's the last time you saw your parents?"
"I was five, the night I was taken. They put me to bed, I was throwing quite the tantrum as they left," she smirked. "I just felt something wrong. They brushed it off, I was just a child. Then, that night, glowing red dust was thrown on my face and everything went black. I woke up in the tower. And never left, or saw them again," she whispered. The details on that night were fuzzy from time, but she remembered the fear and confusion and shock clearly. The sadness had come later, when she realized she really wasn't seeing her family again.
"Didn't they ever look for you?" he asked, sounding surprised and a bit angry. She thought, trying to recall all those years. The days had blended together, she hadn't had a way to keep track of time except for tallies on the wall. They only thing those helped keep track of was her birthday, and even that she didn't know the exact day. She did remember how the view outside rarely changed.
She breathed slowly. "I could see the whole kingdom, my mistress' idea of kindness," she spat. "I saw them a few times. I watched their funeral." Her mistress hadn't been much of a mother, so she didn't know how parents were supposed to act. But family was supposed to love one another; the Lost Boys had run out of their territory and faced Rumpelstiltskin over her, and they weren't even her original family.
"Then what are you losing?" Felix murmured. They kept walking in silence, her deep in thought and he just watching her. She wasn't as upset as she thought she ought to be. Maybe it was because she was used to being alone, and after a few months in the tower, she had forgotten about them anyway.
Felix spoke up after a few hours of walking. "Rapunzel," she winced out of habit at the name, and at how foreign it sounded. He grimaced a bit when he said it. The name felt foreign in his mouth. He'd always thought of her as just 'the girl' or 'princess'. He swallowed and continued. "We're going to enter fairy territory soon, just a few feet up. You'll know it, the magic will feel different. They use a…well, they will tell you it's good magic they use. You can figure that for yourself," he shrugged. "They don't like Pan much, so behave," he snickered.
A moment later, she stepped onto grass that was slightly brighter and she felt the atmosphere change. She could feel the magic, it felt pure and it was sustaining quite a bit of life. But not as much as Pan's magic sustained, and it felt just as pure. If anything different, this magic felt weaker. A girl no bigger than Felix's hand with dark hair and pretty eyes appeared, bathed in a faint yellow glow that matched her yellow dress. A fairy. She smiled when she looked at Rapunzel, but her dark eyes narrowed on Felix.
"Lost Boy," she nearly hissed. He just smirked and mocked a bow. "You know you aren't welcome." At this Felix rolled his eyes and slouched.
"We're just passing through, I promise," he sighed. He took the princess' hand and started forward. "We'll stay out of your way, we're just crossing to the shore and we'll go along there," he called over her shoulder.
A few more fairies appeared as they walked, a few hissing at Felix but none dared do anything. They were scared of the boys, they knew their magic wasn't as strong as Pan's, not nearly. She could feel it. She looked up and saw huts made of nature up in the trees, more fairies hanging from them. There were male and female fairies, all different ages and colors. The walk through was relatively short, and soon they were walking on the outskirts of the forest, he on grass and she on sand, parallel to the ocean. It was incredible. She could feel the ocean spray water onto her and the breeze that accompanied it. It smelled of salt and fish, but also of wood and bushes since the forest was next to her. She flung her hair, in its usual thick braid, forward to rest over her shoulder. It barely touched the ground now, so maybe not as much sand would get in it; it glowed, showing her content as well as soaking up the ocean's natural magic.
"You know, you're not as pale as you used to be. You look somewhat healthy now," Felix smirked back at her. She furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged, looking at her arm.
"Oh, I guess I am," she mumbled. "Wouldn't really know," she shrugged.
"You're a princess, you're famous for mirrors," he chuckled. At her blank expression, he slowed.
"I've never looked in a mirror. The mistress said there is a queen, an evil queen, who would steal me away if I looked in. So she never gave me mirrors," she explained. "I know the white hair and skin, but I don't know details."
Felix whistled lowly. "Even the boys know what they look like, you can look in still water ponds or puddles."
She looked like she was thinking, probably of what other simple things the mistress had taken away from her. Felix soon distracted her, grabbing her around the waist and picking her up. She giggled but soon started shrieking when he tossed her into the shallows. She stood in thigh-high water, reveling in the feeling. Felix stepped in next to her, took her hand, and they kept walking.
The rest of the day was spent with her and Felix walking and occasionally running along the beach, kicking up sand and splashing each other in the waves. By nightfall, they were nowhere near the tiny territory of the fairies, and they walked back into the forest for an hour after sunset. They made camp and ate a couple squirrels they'd grabbed on the way while Felix explained the island so far to her.
"So fairy territory, as you know, is relatively small. They live in houses up in the trees all over the island, but that territory is where they live and interact on the ground. Their magic is weak and they're so pretentious," he scoffed, "it's no wonder even animals scare them off."
"They're pretty," she mused. He nodded in agreement.
"But obnoxious. Once they make an opinion, it stays that way for eternity. Gets them in a lot of trouble, not recognizing that people and events and even Neverland itself can change."
"The island changes?" her back straightened.
"Yes, every full moon it rearranges itself. Certain areas like our camp, Dead Man's Peak, Dark Hollow, and fairy territory don't, but the island around them does. It won't change until you and I get back, but then camp might be closer to the ocean or something," he explained. She nodded.
"I suppose that keeps you interested, if you live here for eternity," she nodded.
"That's why we never turn down chances to explore, but we have to make sure we time it properly so we don't get lost."
"What happens if you get lost?" she asked nervously. Felix looked down, taking several seconds to answer.
"That depends on who finds you first," he looked at her sideways. She nodded. She was quickly learning that the island was not a lovely, peaceful place. It had many, many dark and dangerous parts to it, the Lost Boys included.
"What's next, then?" she bumped her shoulder into Felix's. He stomped on the fire until it was just glowing embers, then spread out their cloaks. Before they left, she'd made herself one out of spare hides of animals she and the boys had hunted. Hers looked like the rest of theirs-a mix of black, brown, and even green smudges, hanging unevenly around her but sewn well so it didn't fall apart. They lay down on them side by side.
"Well, tomorrow I think we'll stay in the forest more. I'll take you to Dead Man's Peak and I'll show you Dark Hollow but we can't go in. Pan's Shadow lives there, you don't want to cross him."
"But he brought me here," she interjected. The Shadow had saved her, it couldn't be so unapproachable.
"Yes, but Dark Hollow is his home. The Shadow comes to you, you don't come to the Shadow," Felix answered firmly. She shrugged and dropped it. "By sunset, we'll be back by the ocean. Thought you'd like camping on the beach." She grinned and snuggled into him.
Four hours later, she jerked awake. She shot out her hand and tilted her head sideways. Felix grabbed her hand and murmured, "you're alright, you're here," sleepily. Calm, she was now confused. They were under the stars, not in a tent, and she was flat on the ground. She felt an emptiness, even though Felix held her hand. "We're camping," he mumbled, sensing her confusion. She nodded, but that wasn't what felt wrong. She curled onto her side and sighed.
"Sleep," Felix mumbled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. It still didn't help, but she forced herself to sleep.
With no tent to filter the light, she woke with the sun. Although, she didn't feel very rested anyway. Nudging Felix awake, the two pulled on their cloaks—and Felix his boots, she was still barefoot—and began hiking through the forest. There were a few paths, but they were rarely used so the forest had mostly reclaimed them. Still, a huge cliff rose out of the forest and into their path by noon.
"Dead Man's Peak," Felix drawled impressively as they wandered around its base toward its ocean side. "Up we go," he smirked back at her wide eyes as he latched his fingers into the rock and began to climb. She huffed out her breath and bent down. She tore on either side from the bottom—at the middle of her calves—to the middle of her thighs. Felix looked down with a mix of confusion and surprise—and amusement.
"I'm in a dress, can't move as well," she grunted as she pulled herself up next to him. The whole climb took only about an hour. She suspected the rock itself might have had something to do with that, since it looked much taller. She could also feel the magic pouring off of it, making her hair glow as she cooperated with it. At the top, she was far less winded than Felix. "Magic is fun," she smirked at him. He rolled his eyes.
"Alright, show off, get through that then," he gestured to the wall of a snarled, thorny plant. She stepped to it, thinking it was just another spiky bush and reached her bare hand out to push it aside.
"No!" Felix nearly screamed, grabbing her shoulder and yanking her back so hard she cried out. Felix turned her and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her. She could feel his heart pounding quickly. "No, no, no," he breathed, gently now. "I'm sorry, I should've realized. I meant use your magic."
She pushed herself off him but he held her arms, as her back was close to the plant.
"It's called Dreamshade," Felix explained. "If it scratches your bare skin—and it will, with how thorny it is—it'll travel through your blood to your heart and kill you within hours. That's why you come protected," he held up his sleeve-covered arm, wiggling his fingers sheathed in leather gloves. She realized the difference quickly: Felix was covered everywhere except his face and even had his hood up; her dress didn't even substantially cover her arms or legs.
"It's deadly," she breathed. He nodded.
"Only fatal plant on the island. Others are poisonous but they'll just make you sick. A scratch of Dreamshade, and not even Pan can save you," he said quietly, voice gravelly, looking at her seriously. She gulped and nodded. Taking a deep breath, she turned and raised her hands. Trying not to worry about how close she was, she closed her eyes and bent her head, her hair falling into her face, and concentrated on pushing the bushes aside. After several moments of carefully nudging each branch, bending but being sure not to snap them, she heard Felix's quiet footsteps fade into the direction of the bush. She opened her eyes to follow him, her sight nearly whited out from her hair, but she concentrated on the magic pushing the bushes aside and tried not to think about what would happen if even one snapped back.
They made it through and she closed the bush behind her so she could pay attention to the wonder in front of her. It was a large, airy cave. Sunlight illuminated the light gray stone, despite the cave being completely closed.
"It's so light," she trailed.
"It's from the water," Felix corrected, standing at the edge of a pool of water. The water flowed from a waterfall only a bit taller than her, but she couldn't see any opening. "All the magic of Neverland flows through these waters. If you drink it, it would cure you of anything—even that Dreamshade. It fuels the island, keeps us all so young and naturally immortal."
"Incredible," she breathed. She felt energized and heady with the power of the water so close. Felix wouldn't look directly at her, her hair was so bright. But he did have his head tipped back and his eyes closed. "You can feel it, too?" He nodded. He opened his eyes and looked at her, his head tilted down so his hood protected his eyes.
"You remember what the Dark One said?" he asked lowly. She hissed at the mention, but nodded in understanding.
"The price, for drinking the water? Besides being immortal?" she asked. Felix raised his eyebrows.
"Being immortal is bad?"
"No, but it can be, depending on who and where you are. Here, it isn't. But somewhere else, where no one else is, might be. You'd watch everyone else die," she struggled out. "In the tower, I could see the village, but the village couldn't see me. I watched everyone go about their lives, content and free, while I was locked away." He smiled slightly at her.
"Pan would agree. As do I, but most of the boys won't," he paused, considering her. She was surprised she thought something Pan would agree with. Then he looked back at the water. "If you drink, you can never leave here. Its effects wear off as soon as you leave, and whatever wound or ailment returns."
She expected something along those lines. Although, the longer she stared into the pool, the more the magic washed over her and enticed her. She knelt, and scooped some up with her hands. Without really thinking, she slid the water down her throat, sighing in contentment. She felt fulfilled, energized, happy even. Felix watched her intently.
"You know, now you are a part of Neverland. You couldn't leave us if you tried," he said slowly. She just smiled up at him.
"I think I can safely say I'm happy to not be alone."
Standing and pushing aside the bushes again, the two left the water and climbed back down. From Dead Man's Peak, they started off back into the forest.
"We're taking a longer route, going by the forest instead of the ocean. But we want you to see the forest, at least so you vaguely remember," Felix reasoned. Scanning her up and down, he asked, "how are you feeling?"
"Energized, like I can fly," she beamed at him, watching her brightly shimmering hair writhe behind her. She'd been practically skipping, springing over rocks and swinging on low-hanging branches. Felix grinned and chuckled at her enthusiasm.