Chapter 15: Back to You
She groaned and rubbed her head as she sat up. She felt a small bruise forming, as well as the messy hair that was now in tangles due to her tossing and turning the night before.
"The hell, Felix? Bloody idiot," she grunted. She was grumpy in the morning, especially with a rude awakening. At least she didn't lash out with her magic; she was completely awake and aware. The bright sunlight shone only on bits of the trees and the sky directly above her was still a light purple. It was just dawn. As she combed her fingers through her hair and tried to retie it, she didn't even bother trying to grab her weapons, since Felix was just sitting beside her. Plus, she sensed no threat anywhere near them; in fact, the different thing she sensed was
"Pan, what's going on?" Felix finished her thought. He was sitting, back stiff, a look of confusion on his thin face, staring at Pan who was staring at them with a scowl on his face. The boy was leaning with his back flat against a tree.
"You were supposed to show her the island," Pan nearly growled at Felix. "The night isn't that cold, no need for extra warmth." At that, she just tilted her head in confusion, but Felix threw his head back and let out loud laughter.
At her shove, Felix swallowed enough of his laughs to attempt speaking. "Pan," he choked out, "a-are you, you, actually, oh hell—"
Pan's scowl turned into a full snarl, and he stood straight. "Shut the hell up, you bloody idiot. No," he huffed. Felix just bit his lip as his body shook relentlessly with silent laughs. Pan strode to the girl, shoving the still howling Felix, until he loomed over her. "Up, time for your next magic lesson. He has shown you the island, right?" He said stiffly, rolling his eyes at Felix. She stood quickly and grinned.
"Yes, and it's incredible. There's so much magic, and do you really—" she began excitedly, but he cut her off.
"Good, now that you know the place you're going to learn to transport yourself around it, like I do," he said plainly. She sobered and stood still with her back straight as he began to pace lazily in front of her. She didn't like the businesslike tone, and Felix had stopped laughing and was acting just as cool. Pan continued, "I've realized you're value may attract some…less-than-welcome visitors," he smirked as she grit her teeth. "So I need my little magic girl to defend herself, so that she doesn't fall into the wrong hands," Felix nudged her shoulder, snickering lightly.
She just stayed still, reigning in the surge of anger. "What will you have me do?" She bit out slowly.
He ignored her tone, instead spreading his arms. "Transport. To anywhere on the island. Just think of the place with as much detail as you can, and you'll feel a sort of pressure, like something's trying to pull you. Let it." He then tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "This might make it easier. Do you remember I told you each being with magic has an aura?" she nodded. "Magical places have them too. To start, I'm going to transport myself somewhere, and I want you to find me, and follow me." He stepped very close to her, so that their chests almost touched. Still angry, she stayed stiff, but her shoulders fell back a bit. Then, he disappeared.
"Go find him," Felix instructed, smirking lightly. "Just close your eyes, you know what he feels like. Follow it, imagine standing in front of him."
"How do you know how to do it?" She asked, tilting her head to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He gave her a tiny smile and reached forward, pushing a few strands of her hair back from her face.
"He just told me to tell you that," he shrugged, chuckling, "good luck." She tried to relax, and soon felt the magic that surrounded Pan like a thick blanket. Actually, she felt a lot of magic the farther she stretched her senses. She recognized that overwhelming sadness from Dark Hollow, and then one that looked like shining diamonds behind her eyelids and felt like both strength and calmness at the same time. Dead Man's Peak, the water. She focused back on Pan, assuming it was him because of how concentrated it was. Her hair suddenly felt as though someone was yanking it, but Felix was standing a few feet from her side. The last thing she saw was his nod of encouragement, then her vision filled with blackness.
And a second later, she was staring into the face of Peter Pan. He grinned, brown eyes light. "Well done, little princess, I'm very impressed," he said smoothly, scanning her up and down. She looked around, noticing they were in the middle of the woods. "Wanted to make sure you were focusing on me, not other magic," he explained.
After a moment, he spoke again. "I'm going back to camp, you are to spend the day practicing this. It's easiest to focus on places with magic, as you and Felix visited. I want you to be able to go to normal places in the forest or beach as well, understood?" his tone was still businesslike, his eyes focused on her. She nodded, nervous under his intensity. His eyes narrowed and his voice went lower. "But whatever you do, don't go to Skull Rock. You'll know it when you feel it. It's in the ocean, not connected to the island, and full of very dark, very powerful, and very off-limits magic. Do not go there, or I will make sure it's the last place you ever go," he said deliberately.
"Yes," she breathed, taking a step back from him and not doubting him for a second. He nodded, his expression lighter but his eyes still holding her trapped.
"Good, enjoy," he smirked, waving and disappearing.
That was easier said than done. She tried, she really did, and it should've been easy. The aura surrounding the water at Dead Man's Peak was so beautiful, and so powerful she could feel herself latching onto it. Even Dark Hollow consumed her and swept her in like the under toe of waves. Fairy territory was too weak to magically pull her, but it felt comforting and warm enough that she wouldn't have minded going. And then, at the last second each time, she would be yanked in some other direction, and the blackness would clear to reveal Pan standing about a foot in front of her.
The first time, he'd smirked in amusement. "Now, princess, I know I'm irresistible but really, focus on a different place." Then, he'd disappeared. And she'd meant to go to the beach.
After about five times of her appearing at Pan's side, Pan disappearing, and her following, he was annoyed but she was giggling. She couldn't help it, she'd start thinking of somewhere else and feel the magical auras all calling to her, but his was one of the strongest, and the most alluring. Maybe because it was the most interesting. It felt like all the auras combined. Once her thoughts even mentioned him, he was all she could focus on. His face, those incredible brown eyes, his smirks, his chuckles, his taunts and the rare genuine smiles he'd given her.
Finally, he disappeared and she thought of Felix instead. The scar across his face, his smirks, his sharp eyes, his messy blonde hair with the beads tied in, him smiling at her and teasing with her, and of him slinging his arm around her whenever she wanted it. The blackness cleared and she saw Felix's grin in front of her, still in the small clearing where she'd left him that morning.
"What took you so long, princess?" he chuckled, spreading his arms.
"I can't help it. I keep ending up in front of Pan, he's pretty annoyed by now," she giggled, matching his smirk. Felix chuckled.
"Aww, a bit attracted are we?" he teased, but she didn't quite follow. "It's only natural, when you put a girl on an island in front of boys, I suppose." He leaned his shoulder against a tree and poked her nose.
She shook her head. "What? I just…I keep almost getting to somewhere else, and then I feel his aura and it just…keeps calling. His is pretty strong though, isn't that it?" She shrugged, and Felix's smirk dropped as he became a bit serious.
"Yeah, but magic is greatly influenced by emotions, and memories. You know that," he arched an eyebrow at her. "Your magic is probably picking up on that."
"That would make sense," she said slowly. The first time she'd ever seen Pan, he'd been feeding her, bringing her back from starvation. Well, if you counted the Shadow as him—since it was sort of a part of him—then really the first time would be kidnapping her. Both times were saving her life. He was the reason she was here, free and getting to use her magic. "Of course I'd always come back to him," she murmured, finishing her thoughts aloud. Felix wrapped his arm around her shoulders loosely, and gave her a fake smile.
"Good, easier for him to call you when he wants to use that magic of yours. You're very handy, princess," he said. He sounded happy, a bit proud. This time she didn't lash out. She didn't get angry. She just went numb, she knew they were still going to use her, no matter how happy this island may make her. Sensing this, Felix leaned closer, and whispered conspiratorially.
"You really shouldn't annoy the ruler of Neverland, little princess," he raised his eyebrows. But she frowned, her thoughts suddenly switching. "What is it?"
"I…I'm not a princess," her face crumpled slightly, and she took a step back. Eyebrows furrowed, mouth twisted into a grimace, she looked up at Felix. "I don't want to be that." With that, she disappeared, this time purposefully aiming for Pan.
"I've decided I want a name. A real name, that's mine," she stated as soon as Pan's face blinked into her vision. He rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"This is what you're thinking about? No wonder you can't get it right," he crossed his arms, shaking his head. "You're only at camp because your magic latched onto mine again, aren't you?"
She ignored his question, and bit back answering that it wasn't magic at all that was the problem. Instead, she persisted. "I want to have a name, like all of you do. Not just 'the girl', because that's silly. And not 'princess', because I wasn't really one before and I am especially not one now."
Pan opened his mouth and then closed it, biting his bottom lip a bit. He looked like he had meant to say something, and now was thinking about it. After a moment he just rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, what would you like to be?"
She started. She didn't actually have anything in mind. "I…" then she remembered and beamed at Pan. "Daniel named me Elle."
Pan's eyebrow rose. "Elle?" She nodded. He shrugged, then bowed his head and gave her that rare, tiny smile. "Pretty enough name, I suppose. Elle it is. Boys," he called. The Lost Boys took only seconds to come back from whatever games they'd been occupying themselves with around camp. "Meet your sister, Elle," he bowed and waved a hand, smirking at the formality. She rolled her eyes, but the boys seemed happy.
"Finally, we have something to call you," little Harry grinned up at her.
"I'm honored," Daniel nodded at her, winking.
"Oh good, now we have something to actually yell when she goes running the hell off," Robert proclaimed, he and Daniel snickering.
"I always come back," she retorted, shaking her head at him. She couldn't help but grin. As soon as she'd been taught to hunt, she had developed the habit of losing track of the boys. Daniel shrugged but nodded in agreement. She turned her head back to look at Pan, waiting for new instructions, but he was just looking at her with that blank expression again. She narrowed her eyes, and his lips curved up into a tiny smile, and she noticed his eyes were light.