CHAPTER SIX: YOU'RE NOT JANIE?
The captain was not happy. And because of this Smee was not happy. And because he was in charge of boosting the crew to do their duty, the crew wasn't happy. So maybe having a break from the ship to supervise supply replenishment would do him and every one a bit of good. The captain hardly left the ship unless something pressing required him as a witness, but Smee often found his captain gazing at the island with the eyes of a hawk.
A hawk searching for prey.
The island had taken a stillness to it, one felt only by those who had breathed its air and lived its adventure for countless eons. It was the island going into a sort of hibernation when its golden child was away. Pan had left the island some days before, a rare occurrence but not unheard of, and now the island had come into full bloom again.
Smee often noted that the captain was always on his highest alert the days following Pan returning, as if the island going into rest rejuvenated him as well. The men were ordered to keep sharper watch and double the scouting parties to bring back word on the boy. Unfortunately it wasn't lack of news on the boy that was frustrating the captain to no end, it was the overflowing and contradictory reports on who may have come back with him that were causing his captain to develop an aneurism.
Recently, a girl had supposedly been spotted on the island by scouts sent for random tasks. It warmed Smee to know end when it intrigued the captain (it was always better when Hook was occupied) and had asked the crew member to describe her so more could be on the lookout.
Hook was not pleased, and very confused by what he'd been told. The crew member, Charles Turely, had described a little girl no older than a toddler, wearing a yellow frock playing with the smaller boys near the lagoon. Why would Pan bring back a mother who was hardly at an age to take care of herself, never mind an entire gaggle of boys? Hook was so close to dismissing the member from his sight and almost on the verge of whipping him for pure stupidity when another pirate, Robert Mullins, approached him with another sighting of a girl-child
Being the ship's pilot, Hook was more inclined to take his word over Turley's, until Mullins said the girl was close to Pan's size and range, wearing what resembled a white pinafore with hair down to her back. Smee had heard the captain mutter to himself, "Definitely not our Jane."
Both Smee and Hook highly doubted Jane would ever return to Neverland.
Hook had interrogated both men heatedly, waiting for one to admit that he'd made a mistake so he could determine who this mystery female was. But neither would back down, both dead set on what they had seen. Over the next couple of days more sightings of one very tiny girl and one of expected mothering age were brought in and his captain found himself stunned.
Could there for the first time really be two girls living with the lost boys?
That's why Smee found himself glad that the captain had let him go with that days replenishing party. With Hook being shorter tempered than usual, Smee thought a good couple of hours off the ship would help him cool off before he decided to take it out on the bo'sun.
The men had filled and loaded barrels of fresh water onto the longboat before deciding to gather some lumber for repairs and carpentry work for Alf Mason. Not really cut out for the chopping of wood, Smee found himself supervising Billy Jukes and Noodler as they hacked away at several small tree trunks that would fit in the longboat. Over the constant 'thack' of their axes making contact with the trunk, Smee's ears tickled when they picked up a faint sound.
Seeing that the other two hadn't noticed anything, he thought he'd ignore it. But after a few moments he could have sworn he kept hearing an unnatural sound over the men, one that his instincts told him to investigate. He barked at the men that he was going to scout ahead for redskins, and he doubted they even looked up as he stalked away further into the woods.
The more inland Smee ventured, the tamer the terrain became. The vines weren't as thick and the ground became less soft the further away he got from the beach. The trees were spaced farther apart and grew more varieties of flowers and eventually fruit trees dominated his sense of sight and smell.
The desire for sweet fruits and rest called to Smee, and he found himself plucking a large red apple off a branch. Producing his knife he began to peel parts of the skin off before he could cut away a bigger chunk, resting it on his knife and using the knife to scoop it into his mouth.
Resting against the tree for a few minutes, Smee greedily munched away until only the core was left. He had thankfully just turned his knife away from him when he stumbled over something previously hidden by the large upraised root. Catching himself against the tree, Smee felt his breathe stop as his eyes befell a basket filled halfway with fruit. Blinking to make sure the land sickness hadn't gotten to him, Smee raised his eyes to survey the area.
Someone was nearby and gathering food. Smee doubted by the spotty craftsmanship of the basket that it was redskins, so his only conclusion was lost boys. The corner of Smee's lip curled into a smile, the thought of capturing one of the boys so hated by the captain and bringing him back to be 'questioned' would surely cure the captain of his terrible mood.
He backed away into the trees as he heard someone approaching. His hand was at the ready to wield out Johnny Corkscrew when necessary.
He heard whoever it was before he saw them appear from the bushes across the way, light singing reaching his ears as he looked to size up his victim.
His mouth dropped so that he was afraid it would hit the grass. "Keel hall me for a starfish. It can't be!"
"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, Zip-a-dee-a," Angie sang from atop Moira's shoulder, "My oh my, what a wonderful day."
Moira joined in, "Plenty of sunshine heading my way. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah," she lifted Angie off her shoulders, and settled her on the ground, "Zip-a-dee-a."
A couple of banana's fell from Angie's arms and she bent to pick them up. She had insisted on helping get the best one's from the taller branch, which required Moira to hold her up on her shoulders to get tall enough to reach. Moira rolled her head back to try and crack her shoulders. "You're getting too big for that you know, enjoy it while you can."
Angie shrugged, "If you don't do it I can get Peter to."
She didn't mean it as a threat, merely as an observation that she now had oodles of options where it came to playmates and ponies. Moira smiled, "You like Peter, don't you?"
Angie nodded, "Uh-huh, he and Nibs give me pony rides." Angie came over to where Moira had sat herself by the base of an apple tree. Moira unpeeled a banana and broke it in half, giving one piece to Angie.
"So you like it here? You're having fun?" Moira asked. Angie nodded, unable to answer with her mouth full of banana; they were her favorite.
Moira leant her head against the tree, enjoying the surrounding she had started to become equated to the last few days. She couldn't get over how warm it was, and chuckled at the thought that it was winter back in London. She couldn't remember the last time she had sat back and enjoyed the sun on her face. The way the light came down through the trees lit up the island in a way it never did on the mainland, making everything seem so much more alive and vibrant. She sometimes wondered if the sun shining over Neverland was the same one that woke her up through the window of her bedroom…..or should she say her old bedroom. If and when they decided to leave, this was their home now.
If she could have changed anything about their arrival it would have been that first meeting with the lost boys. Needless to say it had been a bit awkward. Touching ground for what felt like an endless night of flying, Peter had led them to the rotting base of an old tree trunk smack dap in the middle of the forest. Motioning for them to look inside, they didn't know what they were supposed to be looking for until their eyes started to adjust to the early morning rays. What at first looked like the bottom of the trunk revealed a slanted floor leading deeper into the earth.
"It's a slide, goes all the way down to the underground house," Peter explained, leaning against the trunk. "We have a bunch of different ways of getting inside, but we like to us this one 'cause it's more fun." He flew over the opening and cupped his hands over his mouth, sticking his head inside he bellowed, "Wakey, wakey everyone. I've brought you a surprise!"
Peter removed his head and gave Moira a cocky smile, "That should give them incentive to get out of bed." He proceeded to throw a leg over the trunk. "I'll go first just so they don't freak out that a stranger's here. See you inside." With that he disappeared inside.
Moira placed Angie into Jacob's lap as he took place ready to submerge. When they disappeared below she took her place to follow. She expected a quick drop before hitting the bottom, but instead found to her utter delight that the slide coiled like a serpent. It was darker underground; Moira couldn't see how far she actually slid down until she finally came to a stop just behind Jacob and Angie. They sat staring at the frenzy before them.
The slide had deposited them into a large room which seemed to serve as a common area for the boys, who were scrambling from every nook and cranny to gather around the siblings: from tunnels, cupboards, even a hole in the ceiling! Moira stopped counting at twelve boys when she realized that more were on the way and they weren't staying still enough.
It was when several boys stopped mid sprint in her direction that she knew something had thrown them off. Their foreheads creased in confusion as they stared at her, almost accusing her of trespassing. One boy nudged the other one to seek confirmation that he was seeing the same thing. Moira wasn't sure what kind of welcome to expect but
If Peter noticed he didn't show it. "All right you lot, gather around. We'll call attention after introductions. This is Jacob and Angie," he indicated the two quivering masses of jelly to the right. Angie had taken to burying her head into Jacob's shirt, only taking occasional peeks. The boy himself seemed to wonder where the feeling in his legs had gone and hoped that he was standing straight. Peter put a hand on Moira's shoulder, "And this is—"
"Is she here yet? Wait, don't start without me…" came a voice attached to a boy barreling from one of the tunnels, clutching what looked like a banner trailing behind him. He was one of the older boys, compared the ones who looked Angie's age, and quickly took a place in line. Without looking up he lifted the banner up and made a smaller boy hold up one end. When he looked up he was out of breathe and grinning, "Welcome back…."
His face froze and the smile melting off his face seemed to reflect his heart breaking. He blinked several times before finding his voice.
"You're not Janie." He stated.
Suddenly it all made sense; the boys were expecting her mother, not a mother. Peter had left telling them he was coming back with Jane and instead brought her. Moira, for the first time since flying out the window, started regretting her decision. What if they didn't want her? She glanced at the banner that read WELCOME BACK JANIE in large painted letters, and she felt her heart sink into her chest.
Peter tightened his hand on her shoulder before continuing. "No Nibs, she's not. This is Jane's daughter, Moira, and she's gonna be our new mother and take care of us. Jacob and Angie are her brother and sister so they're one of us now." Peter then stood stiff straight and raised his hand in a salute. "Attention!"
All the boys suddenly stood at attention and mirrored Peter in salute. They started barking out their names from the tallest to smallest, making Moira wish she had started writing them down.
"Slightly"—"Crash"—"Nibs"—"Tin Tin"—"No Nap"—"Zipper"—"The Twins"—"Fop Top"—"Don't Ask"—"Curly"—"Thud Butt"—"Question Mark"—"Latchboy"—"Book"—"Sprout"—"Taz"—"Wheezus"—"Sunny"—"Too Small"
The boys waited until everyone had finished before relaxing their stance. Moira suddenly felt all eyes on her as Peter and the boys turned to look at her, waiting for her to say something. Moira figured nothing worked better at making a good impression than flattery.
"Uh—hello everyone," She cracked. "It's very nice to meet you. Mum mentioned some of you when she would tell us stories; she always said good things about you guys." It turns out she didn't have to stretch the truth at all, remembering the smile on her mother's face whenever she recounted her times with the boys.
Some of them brightened up, the few who had known Jane were already getting over the shock of seeing Moira. Some of them approached to introduce themselves to the siblings personally, asking if Jane really did put them in stories. Moira laughed when Curly shook her hand and said, "I'm Curly, and I don't know of Jane ever mentioned it—but I'm hilarious."
But it was the youngest boys that melted Moira's heart. Four of the smallest boys approached Moira, clutching a variety of wild flowers that had seen better days and less-sticky fingers. The one called Too Small, so named for his lack of stature, was the first to approach her. "For you Moira-Lady, we have picked you these flowers. Thank you for coming to be our mother."
His greeting was laced with practice, and if there was a mirror in the underground house she was sure he had repeated it to himself over and over to make sure he would say it right. If Mr. Barrie had in any way been factual about the first encounter Gram had with the lost boys after they shot her down, Moira felt no need to doubt that the boys were hard set on trying to make good impressions for anyone offering to be their mother.
She smiled fondly at the boys, "Have you boys ever had a mother before?" All but one shook their head. This boy was the opposite of Too Small in appearance: instead of an ebony mop of curls, this little one was a golden lion cub. "What's your name?"
"Sunny!" He piped up. How fitting. "I remember Janie and Danny. He and I used fly kites together."
She'd almost forgotten that her uncle had come here as a small boy. If he retained in any actual memory of Neverland he never hinted at it, at least not to her. Looking over at Jacob, Moira saw that he had gotten over his shell shock and was now showing to off his ukulele to some of the others. Angie stood next to him but wasn't trying to engage any of the boys to speak to her.
Motioning the little boys close to her she took all but one flower stem from each of them. "Could you take those to Angie over there? It seems very unfair that I have such pretty flowers and she has none."
They nodded and went over to Angie, who didn't recoil away but looked at them warily. They held out the four flowers to her, and she shyly took them. Moira thought it funny that her bubbly sister was trying to hold back the smile she could see trying to escape, especially when one of the boys (Wheezus, if she remembered correctly) asked her about Muffy.
Eventually she met all of them face to face. Her apprehension about not being wanted disappeared for the time being when Peter gave a triumphant crow. "Our family is complete, and as the mother we humbly ask you Moira how you think we should begin the day, your first day in Neverland."
Moira could only think of one way.
She shrugged, "Breakfast?"
Since that morning, Moira had put most of her energy to cleaning the underground house, or as much of it as she could. The boys had shown her this fruit tree orchard the other day and thought it would be good to start putting fresh fruit out once in a while for the boys to eat. Once she would get back to the house she planned on putting the basket in the middle of the table they made out of the Never tree that insisted on growing in the middle of the room.
Moira reached over and began peeling a clemintine. "Hey sissy, do you think I'm doing alright? You know—being the new mother?"
Angie had moved on to a string of cherries at this point, "Uh-huh."
"No really," Moira wanted a serious answer, and her tone reflected it. "Like, am I good at taking care of you at least? Most of the boys don't know any better but you do, so out with it."
"I like being your daughter, Moira" Angie lips were stained red at this point.
Laughing, Moira said, "You're not my daughter, you're my sister." She stopped Angie from wiping her red stained finger tips on Moira's nightgown. "My sweet, loving and annoying little sister."
"Are the other boys my new brothers now?" Angie asked.
"They'll protect you like brothers, but only Jacob's your real brother." She added, "All of us: Peter, the boys, Jacob…we're a family here and we're going to have to take care of each other, and I do that as the mother."
Angie paused. "Then what does that make me if I'm not your daughter?"
Moira blinked, lost for words at the moment. She didn't want to confuse her anymore with the family dynamics they had glued together since arriving. Angie understood that a mother looked after her children, but when the mother was your sister did that mean you were no longer siblings? Moira wanted to make it clear once and for all that she should look upon Moira as her big sister and nothing else.
"You're a lost girl," she finally answered.
The little girl considered this. "Is it good to be a lost girl?" She enquired.
"Mum was a lost girl, the first one in fact. It's a great honor to be one; you're only the second girl in the entire world to ever be one." Moira explained with pride in her voice.
Angie looked at her with wide eyes. Moira thought it would be her relishing in her position amongst the boys, but her next question threw Moira off completely. "Mummy was a lost girl?"
Moira stared, waiting for Angie to laugh and say 'Got yah good' but her continuing wait for an answer showed Moira that Angie had forgotten. How could that be? She remembered Angie begging their mother for Lost Girl stories that always portrayed her as the heroin. She answered slowly, "Yes, she was."
Angie shrugged and popped the last cherry into her mouth. Moira normally never worried about the strange questions Angie would think up, but something about the lost girl question disturbed her. But she didn't want to fret and make a big deal out of it if she didn't need to, but she told herself to keep a lookout if Angie forgot anything else obvious about home.
"Come on, let's get this stuff back to the hideout. Maybe we can go swimming later if we hurry."
Not needing any more incentive to get up, Angie watched Moira walk towards the basket and deposit the rest of the banana's inside. She had just hauled the basket up to her hip when something caught her eye.
"Angie, did you eat an apple earlier?"
Less than six feet away and crouching down in the bushes, Smee cursed himself for forgetting about the apple core he dropped when he stumbled. He had originally planned to snatch at least one of the girls to take back to the ship, but changed his mind when he heard the older one say they were going back to their hideout.
Why force an answer out one when he could follow all the little birds to their nest. The captain would take great joy in planning every last detail when it came down to trapping the cullies in the very place they felt the most safe. But now he had gone and messed it up by leaving the apple out for her to find.
He watched her pick it up and consider it, turning it over as if it would tell her where it came from, she looked up and for a moment he thought her eyes made contract with his. "Is anyone out here? Thud, is that you?" She shouted.
Waiting for an answer that would never come, she shrugged and finally threw the apple over Smee's crouched body and farther into the forest. She walked with the basket towards the little girl and took her hand before beginning their trek back home. Smee let out a shaky breathe of relief that he had not been discovered.
"Mr. Smee, what you doing?" Smee almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice of Billy Jukes behind him. Jukes was one of the youngest crew members, still barely able to grow a beard proper and ached for the day he could shave. Noodler came behind him, straightening his hat with the hands God for someone reason had chosen to fix on backwards.
He motioned for the men to be quiet and indicated in the direction the girls went. Both men caught a glance just as the children turned the corner of a tree. Both understood and waited for Smee to stand back up.
"What's the plan?"
"The lasses are heading back to Pan's hideout. We're gonna follow 'em and see where they go and report the location back to the captain, understand?" Smee explained.
Both nodded, abet disappointed that there would be no blood spilt at this hour. Slowly the pirates crept down the path the girls had gone, trying to keep at least twenty yards between them to avoid being heard. For 10 minutes the girls walked, still hand in hand with the older one carrying the basket at her hip. They stopped only once when the oldest one knelt down to tie the little girl's shoe. The big girl, Moira if Smee heard correctly, pushed her hair behind her ears and he saw that they were pierced with matching gold studs. The only girls he'd seen that young and pierced were either from the Indies or in a gypsy clan that the crew had come across before arriving Neverland.
All serenity came to abrupt halt when Moira shot up like a pistol. Not even pausing, she grabbed her sister by the hand and shot off the path, leaving the basket of fruit. She had made them.
Smee cursed under his breath and ordered the men after them. No need to be quiet anymore they took off after the girls, yelling threats to try and scare them into slowing down.
Moira had never felt her adrenaline pump her legs this hard. After not getting a response from any boys after yelling into the forest, she kept a sharp ear out for anything and anyone who could be nearby. It was possible the apple was from hours, even days ago and all this worrying would be for nothing. After they'd turned the corner, she'd heard it. A low, very adult voice, whispering from the spot she picked up her basket.
She had squeezed Angie's hand, causing her to look up in question. Moira whispered, trying to keep her voice low and eyes ahead, that they were going to walk a different way home and that Angie should just go along with it. Angie frowned but nodded.
She waited until they'd walked for a while, leading whoever was behind them away from their intended destination. If they got away, and Moira was leaning very hard on that 'if', she did not want them to have an inkling of where the hideout was. Knowing that soon it be too risky to go any farther and chance that they might not be able to make a good run for it back to the underground house afterward, Moira crouched down.
Pretending to casually tie Angie's shoe she whispered, "When I stand back up we're going to run in the direction behind me. If we get separated I want you to keep running or hide, and then get back to the underground house. Blink if you understand, don't nod."
Angie closed her eyes for a good ten seconds before opening them, her equivalent of a non-obvious blink. Taking Angie's hand once again, she sucked in the biggest breathe she'd ever taken in her life before jumping up and running, dragging Angie behind her.
They'd only made a few yards when they heard them, bounding behind them when they saw what she'd done. She spared a quick glance behind her only to immediately whip her head back around, running with a new sense of urgency. Three pirates were behind them, and it didn't take a genius to see they were gaining. If she didn't have Angie she probably would be able to make it, but a five-year-old could never outrun these men.
They had to keep running until they could hide.
Pulling Angie this way and that, Moira ducked between trees and hopped over fallen trunks. But instead of the forest getting thicker the open spaces just got more prominent, spelling out disaster once the girls wouldn't be able to run anymore. The trees were beginning to be replaced by moss and tall grass, the ground getting wetter and hindering their strides. She could hear the pirates shouting not far behind them, threatening them if they didn't stop they would get worse. Angie was beginning to slow but Moira tugged her almost viciously further. "Don't stop," Moira panted, "Or they'll catch us!"
But soon Moira had no choice but to stop when the wet ground became nothing but mud and water. Ahead, the girls could see nothing but a mile of wetlands. The water was shallow, looking only two feet deep, but was murky and black. Tall grass and weeds protruded in clumps from the water and from mud banks that popped up like islands.
"What do we do now?" Angie asked fearfully.
"They headed this way, Hurry!" Moira heard one of them yell from the edge of the forest.
Knowing that Angie would protest, Moira picked her up and ran as well as she could through the mud and water. She could feel her feet sinking deeper into the mud with the added weight, until she was almost up to her knees. She hobbled further and further into the marsh until she was surrounded by the tall grass, finally depositing Angie on the driest part she could find before climbing up herself, hoping that the suction cup sound of pulling her legs out the mud would not be heard. She sat down on her knees, pulled Angie close, and waited.
Smee cursed when the tracks in the mud led straight into the marsh, and once reaching the water proved useless in tailing the girls. In front of him, Noodler and Jukes had stopped to catch their breath.
"Shall we after them, Smee?"
He nodded, "Aye, but keep your wits about you. I doubt we could be the most dangerous things in this marsh."
They brandished their swords and slowly stepped into shallow waters of the bog. The men went off in separate directions to cover more ground; once in a while they thrust the end of their swords into the tall grass, sometimes parting it and other times hacking it clear off by the yard.
Hearing the men walk into the water, Moira's eyes closed when threat of tears became all too great. There was no way she and Angie could run without drawing attention by splashing in the water or leaving an open trail in the tall grass. They were trapped.
She moved to wipe under her nose when it threatened to leak, and her sense of smell was assaulted by the scent of dirt and rot. Her hands had sunk into the ground and were covered in mud….so much that she couldn't tell where they were.
Not a millisecond had passed between that notion and her next action. Scooping as much mud as she could into her hand she began covering herself in it: face, hair, arms, and nightdress. Angie looked up at her in shock, but before she could ask what she was doing Moira was onto her next. She had to be shushed several times because she didn't want to get so dirty, but she couldn't see that Moira wasn't enjoying this anymore than she was.
Once they were completely covered from head to toe in mud, Moira had them both lie down flat on their stomachs. The indent from their weight allowed them to sink deep enough to assume the identities of clumps of Earth. All they could do now was wait and listen, for what they didn't know.
"You little wenches, where'd ya go?" Jukes shouted as he cut down a row of reeds. He was not enjoying this game of chase.
Smee swung his blade the same way he did in battle, stabbing it into the reeds and wiggling it like he would inside a wound, "Come out come out wherever you are." He called almost tenderly. "We're not going to hurt you; we just want to escort you back to the ship."
"Where the captain will hurt you," Noodler snickered to himself. Moira heard him however, and was able to find Angie's hand a squeeze it.
After five more minutes of crawling knee deep in mud, Smee was forced to admit the girls could have made it farther into the marsh or even to the dry bank on the other side at this point. He had let them get away because of his mistake… that no one knew about because Noodler and Jukes hadn't seen him drop the apple that tipped off the girl. At least he could bring his captain the confirmation that there were in fact two girls on the island, and everything he had overheard when the girls talked. If he was putting all these bouts of information together he had no idea what the captain would do with it. That thought pleased him.
"Come on you dogs, this is now a fool's errand. Back to the ship," he motioned for them to begin heading back to the dry bank. Smee waited until they were ahead of him and he let it out, the bout of dark anger he rarely ever let escape for his own health (and those of other). Quick as lightening he sliced an entire row of tall grass as far as his arm was able to lash out, letting out a low growl few men had lived to tell about before he stalked off.
Few men and now two little girls, who were less than two feet away from Smee when he lashed out in frustration at the reeds that now lay scattered over their camouflaged bodies. Moira had stopped breathing when Smee's feet had come so close, knowing that if he took one step to the side he would have made them and they would have been dragged to the ship. Hours could have passed before Moira dared move her head to look up, making sure the marsh was vacant before struggling out of the mud.
"Come on, we've got to get back to the house," she said as she struggled to pull Angie up. The mud was beginning to dry and it cracked before flaking off where their elbows and knees bent. The wind picked up and Moira felt the chill creep her spin but didn't react to it, her mind too numb from escaping abduction. When a hissing snake stood in their path, Moira simply kicked it out of the way while Angie gawked.
"Were those pirates, Moira?"
"Yes," Moira replied absently. She was trying to make sure they were headed in the right direction.
"Why did they chase us?"
"Because they're bad men and want to hurt us," Moira said tersely, but realized she had to get across to Angie how much danger they were just in. "We're friends with Peter and Hook hates Peter. Because we're his friends Hook will hurt us and use us to try and capture him, so whenever you see a pirate you run and hide, you got that?"
Angie cast her eyes downward and mumbled, "Yes."
After a half hour they made it into the familiar patch of grove that Peter led them to after their journey from London, where the tree trunk entrance lay. The sun was behind Blow-Your-Top Mountain and the sky had begun to look orange. To say the boys were surprised at their mud enshroud appearance was an understatement.
Some of them had wondered why they weren't invited to the mud fight, but those who were familiar with girls and their preference for hygiene knew that something had happened. Moira didn't answer right away when they asked what happened, and instead told them to fetch the washtub. The boys played by their own watch and came home only when they felt like it, but she could count on them to begin filing in after the sun set. Only the Twins, Thud Butt, Curly, Fop Top, Wheezus, and Slightly were home.
"We were chased by pirates," Moira began her tale when the Twins returned with the tub (which was supposedly 'lost' until she came across it suspiciously hidden under a junk pile in a cupboard), regaling them on how they'd led them away from the secret trunk entrance and landed up in the marsh, where they'd covered themselves with mud that narrowly kept them from being discovered by Smee.
Peter arrived home just as Moira finished with, "…and we ran back here as quickly as we could". Adept at keeping to the shadows when listening to a story, she did not see him until she'd gone to pump water into the tub. She jumped out of her skin while he raised an eyebrow at her at her haggard appearance. Moira did not want to fathom what a sight she must be, the dark mud clinging to clothe and skin and matting her hair into clumps. He looked amused and opened his mouth to speak.
"What did you—?"
"Shut up!" She mumbled indignantly and began to fill the little tub with water. The pump connected to a stream, which was visible on the ceiling of one of the hallways and always sported a good trout or salmon to poke your finger at and say 'boo'.
She dragged the full tub over to the fireplace where the rest of the boys had accumulated, Peter following her. He saw Angie in a similar state and his curiosity grew.
While Moira undressed Angie and got her into the water, the boys regaled Peter on what Moira had told them. While he listened his lips thinned, the only way he knew to keep certain thoughts to himself while hiding his true unhappiness about the situation. While the boys thought it a great adventure, and part of him did as well, he hated that the pirates now had confirmation that he'd brought home a new mother.
He would have preferred if she could enjoy Neverland without having to worry about Hook. He hated the pirate yet loved taunting him, but he preferred the girls be left alone. Moira shouldn't be afraid all the time like Jane was.
"I wanna a bath too!" Wheezus yelled as he ran toward the tub. He got undressed and climbed in with Angie, who was getting water poured over her head from a jug. Wheezus's hair was shoulder length like Angie's and got longer when wet. While not the littlest of the 'smalls' as Moira called them, he was skinniest. He always breathed in deeply and through his mouth, saying he couldn't always breathe through his nose. Moira theorized it was either due to mild asthma or a broken nose that never got fixed. That or underdeveloped lungs from a premature birth.
She was just glad that he found his way to the Neverland where the air was nice and clean.
A stocky boy of about ten made his way over to help and Moira found herself smiling at Fop Top. He was peculiar boy who displayed an air of femininity with long blonde hair and pouty lips. Moira was sure that out of all of the boys he was the only one excited not that he'd gained a mother, but a gal pal. His voice was thick with a French accent, which she now heard asking if he could help wash Angie hair.
The more gentler of the boys, Moira let him handle Angie with ease, especially after she saw Fop the other night find a ribbon and do up Angie's hair with it.
She'd washed the mud off Angie's yellow nightdress as best she could and hung it by the fire to dry. Fop asked, "You are next, mademoiselle? Shall I fetch zee brush and we can clean your hair?" Oh yes, Fop Top was definitely one of her favorites.
Tink certainly was not. Moira, clad only in her undershirt and drawers, had just cleaned her dress and hung it up to dry when she felt something hit her lower back with enough force that her knees hit the tub's edge, toppling her over the side and into the water. She gripped the sides of the tub and pulled her head from under the water, spitting out and coughing.
She opened her eyes to find Tink standing on the tub rim, holding her sides and laughing. Moira glared at her, "Not very funny, Tink." For something the size of a fist, this fairy possessed strength that astounded Moira.
"I thought it was," she laughed cruelly once more before flying away, avoiding the drops of water Moira flicked at her. Since arriving in Neverland Moira had noticed that she could understand Tink's speech almost completely. She didn't know if it was because she had grown used to her fairy bell language or that simply outside of Neverland she was unreadable.
All ill thoughts disappeared as Fop took Angie's brush to her hair and began gently kneading the mud out of it. Once in a while she would lean forward to dunk her face and wash it as best she could, difficult considering the tub was so small she had to bend her knees up. She would need to remember to find a stream, hopefully a very private one, where she could leisurely stretch out and take a bath.
Peter watched as she got out and joined Angie, who was wrapped in a blanket by the fire, to warm up. Hook would spoil all the fun now that he knew she was here, especially if Moira was right and it was Smee who spotted them. The bo'sun hardly left the captain's side long enough to blow his nose.
He moved towards the fire as more boys sat down in front of it, warming their hands. He sat down behind Moira and watched the fire dance off her damp hair, and idly let his thoughts wander on how soft it will look when dry. Moira turned her head, not to look at him, but to glare at Thud Butt when he asked if she would go back to collect the fruit she promised earlier. Thud soon found himself rubbing the back of his head after Moira lightly smacked it.
Peter smiled. Yes, he would keep Moira safe by any means necessary.
Moira slammed her head down into the table, the 'thunk' it made resounding throughout the hideout, which was pretty empty at the moment.
'Of course it's empty," she thought bitterly. 'It's the afternoon, it's sunny out, and everyone else is outside playing. That's where I should be!'
For two days she had not been allowed out; or more that Peter had found a ways to keep her in. The morning after their encounter with the pirates, Peter prevented her from leaving by shoving a basket of sewing her way, saying that socks needed darning. Later it was vegetables that needed chopping for a stew. Then it was an underground game of hide n seek in which he never found her hiding under the big bed for over an hour. Now she was sitting rather pathetically at the table top supported by the never tree that insisted on growing in the middle of the living room. She hadn't moved from that spot since Peter had outright told her that she couldn't leave the house that day: no warning, no excuse, no explanation.
She was resting her head in her hands and glaring accusingly at an opened book. She had discovered a small book shelf that had been dug into the wall with several old and very worn out volumes packed into it. Some of them dated as far back to the 1920's, and she wondered if she should have brought her own books to add to the collection. She'd noticed several familiar names and messages written inside the flaps: Wendy, John, Danny, Jane, Michael, Happy Birthday, Happy Christmas, Congratulations.
There were storybooks, fairy tales, adventure and mild thrillers. Nothing too over a child's head. But she didn't want to go through the entire shelf the first few days she was here, so she constrained herself to Alice in Wonderland. All it was doing though was making her realize that even Alice was allowed to rummage through Wonderland, while Peter practically tackled her to keep her from leaving this morning.
She needed to escape the house without Peter knowing. She had a plan.
After midday many of the boys had returned to grab a bite or a sleep. Peter himself was home and chatting with Nibs and Slightly in the corner. Angie and some of the smalls were taking a nap wherever they had dropped, almost tripping her several times. Moira had chosen Curly, No Nap and Thud Butt to help her escape for the afternoon, considering them neutral territory and the least likely to incur Peter's anger if caught. They were waiting in the next room, waiting for the signal to play their part. Moira thought it as good a time as any.
She hated to use the smalls this way and hoped they would forgive her if they ever found out. She'd pocketed a sling shot earlier and produced it, along with several small stones. She eyed Taz, sleeping near Sunny and who happened to have a sling shot tucked under his arms. She chose Taz because he was the more temperamental of the smalls, always ready to shoot off and start a quarrel with the others. Pocketing the smallest pebbles, and making sure Peter was not looking, she took aim and shot at Taz's belly very carefully so not hurt him. She just wanted him to be annoyed.
It took five stones to jolt Taz awake, who was swatting away whenever a little pebble had struck him. Having enough he looked around pouting to see who was being mean to him and saw the stones that had struck him before letting his gaze wander to Sunny, lying not three feet away with a slingshot in his hands. Sure that he was feigning sleep, Taz jumped up and got on top of Sunny and grabbed the slingshot. Sunny jolted awake to find Taz straddling his back and hitting him over the head with the rubber band end of the slingshot, stinging him. "Stop it, Taz!" Moira winced at the pitiful yell, never the less she loaded the final stone and this time took aim across the room at Peter's back. She didn't feel as guilty when it hit its target.
Peter rubbed his back and turned around, seeing Moira at the table (pretending to read), and then at Taz and Sunny fighting over a slingshot. Sunny had managed to turn over and knock Taz off him and onto Too Small and Angie, who whined at being pelted by the child's weight. Taz grabbed Muffy and threw it at Sunny, "Maybe that'll show you!"
"Hey!" Angie yelled and tripped over Wheezus when she tried to retrieve her stuffed bunny. The room had become an explosion of high pitched yells and running children as Peter got up and attempted to pull them apart, but upon seeing the slingshot in Taz's hand turned at him and accused, "Did you shoot me?"
While arguing with the small child, amidst all the little fights that had broken out, Peter did not notice Moira slip away and walk down the hallway under the pond. She waved at Curly, Thud Butt and No Nap from their little dugout and they began following her. Tink was next.
The fairy's apartment was just at the end of the hall and plumb next to an exit door. Tink had caught on that Moira had been placed under a house arrest of sorts and was often tattling to Peter whenever seeing Moira trying to leave. The hallway became narrower as they approached the hollowed out grandfather clock Tink called home.
No Nap, a tall black boy sporting a beatnik cap, approached the tiny door and knocked. He was ready with what Moira had told him to say when the fairy opened the door, "Tink, Peter needs your help. It's chaos in there." He pointed to the commotion down the hall.
Moira saw Tink look alarmed at first, but when she saw Moira with the boys she grew suspicious. Moira however, was prepared for this. She crossed her arms and sneered, "I told you guys I could help Peter, we don't need her."
Tink narrowed her eyes and shoot forth out of her apartment, giving Moira a proper 'humpf' as she passed. Waiting until Tink was out of site, they quickly opened the small door that led to an opening going straight up. A rope ladder led the way, No Nap going first and urging Moira behind him so she would be out of site quicker. As they climbed up the tunnel, it got so dark that Moira could only assume Curly and Thud were behind her by the noises they made. She bumped into No Nap, not realizing he'd stopped, and the tunnel was suddenly flooded with light as he pushed on the ceiling. He crawled out into the world and lent Moira a hand up, she in turn helping Curly and Thud.
She squinted against the sunlight, taking in the forest around her. Thud closed the flap on the hole they'd climbed up, the top of it covered in grass and dirt. Upon closing the flap it became one with the Earth again and showed no signs that it was anything but a patch of grass, and she made a note to remember this location.
"Ah, to be free again," Moira flung out her arms to soak in the sun, which judging by it position showed it was late in the afternoon. She had only been underground for two days, but already she felt herself forgetting the sounds of the jungle and the humidity in the air. Grinning, she threw both arms over No Nap's and Thud Butt's shoulders and pulled them close, "Thank you guys so much."
Curly, who took no offense at being left out of the hug, stood in front of the lot. "No problem Moira-Bird. But we should head out if we wanna have any fun before Peter finds out you've left."
Moira sobered quickly, "Right. So where should we go?"
"Where you wanna go?" Thud asked.
Throwing her hand forward in a gestural manner, she exclaimed. "Anywhere!" She paused and decided to amend that. "Preferably somewhere we won't be found easily and I can explore. Peter will wise up soon and I'd like to have some fun before he banishes me back underground. Is there anywhere like that—"
"DEAD MAN'S CAVE!"
Suddenly grabbed by three sets of hands, Moira found herself being propelled through the forest. They ran briskly, giggling at their cleverness at having pulled off their plan but nervous Peter would find them before they could have fun. Moira hoped Peter would not be a violent loser if, no when, he caught up to them.
It was not long before they arrived at a small beach overlooking protruding rocks and tide pools. Forming a peninsula of its own was a string of rocks that led to rather spacious grotto out on the water, and though it offered a straight path the boys chose to wallow through the shallow water or hop from rock to rock to get to the cave.
Once inside, Moira couldn't help but marvel at how large and open the cave was. Light shined through dozens of naturally formed openings in the walls to the point they resembled windows. A large opening in the roof of the grotto sent a particularly bright ray of light into the center of the cave, illuminating a mountain of sand that resembled a pedestal. Moira had a feeling that something of significance had been placed there at some point. Most of the ground inside the cave was composed of sand, some of it flooding with water from the ocean and forming tide pools. Moira smiled upon seeing some brightly colored fish swimming about in the shallow pools. "Wow," Moira sighed. "This place is totally gnarly."
"Cool word, what's it mean?" Curly piped.
"Amazing or cool. Just really awesome."
Watching as Curly considered the word before shrugging and taking off around the cave. She couldn't help but laugh as she heard him mumble his new word over and over, saying that this rock was gnarly or that shell was gnarly. Moira had noticed as soon as she arrived that Curly was the most talkative of the boys, always trying to tell jokes and always asking questions.
"Bet I make it to the top first," No Nap yelled as he ran towards the sand mountain. All of them took off, but Moira decided to let the boys fight over who would reign over the top. It was quite funny seeing the three of them climb over each other before No Nap rose victorious, raising his foot on top of Curly's back and leaning his head back to let out a mighty pirate yell, "Aaaaaaarg! I am victorious over you scurvy land lovers!"
Moira looked up from her crawling position up the small hill and sighed, "I've had quite enough pirates for a while thank you very much."
"Well they never get enough of us," Thud looked over his shoulder to speak to her. He was directly in front of her and just hardly involved in the tussle for the top. "But you'll see soon enough, especially since they know you're here now."
"What do you mean?" Moira asked.
Thud Butt shrugged, "I heard Peter talking after you and Angie had your bath. He was talking to Tink, peeved about something, saying that he knew he shouldn't have let you go out alone. That the pirates can't know you're here."
She rolled her eyes. "Peter has to stop blaming himself for that. And just what is so horrible about the pirates knowing I'm here. I mean, how did he expect to keep me a secret?"
Thud just shrugged. "I guess he doesn't want Hook to get you. The captain knows we would come for our mother if he put you in harm's way."
"In a heartbeat!" Curly declared with No Nap nodding enthusiastically next to him.
Moira's eyes softened as she listened to boys, ones whom she'd only known a few days but who had just declared they would fight for her at her darkest hour. "I don't want you boys to get hurt over me." She mumbled.
No Nap raised an eyebrow. "But that's what devoted son's do for their mothers, isn't it? I mean, I don't know much about being a son but I remember stories about mothers fighting for their children. It's only fair that the children fight for their mothers."
"Fair is fair," Curly agreed. "Even Peter insists we be fair in battle with pirates and Indians."
All ill feeling of hopelessness when it came to being a good mother began to vanish, and Moira found herself fighting to outright grin at the boys. She realized at that moment she didn't have to be perfect for them to like her because they themselves never had perfect mothers. 'For that matter, neither did I," thought Moira. 'I think?"
Her smile slowly receded as Moira tried to remember her mother's faults. Why wasn't her mother perfect? The more she tried to think about it she couldn't come up with an example or stir up some type of memory but she found that nothing specific came to mind. Had she been late to pick her up one day, or had she yelled at her for spilling something on the carpet? Did they even have a carpet?
Curly had taken notice to her frown and took it upon himself to make sure his new mother was happy. "What's wrong, are you sad?" Moira scrambled to say something before he quickly asked if she should like to hear a joke. "What did the snake give his wife before bed?" He waited for them to guess before blurting out, "A goodnight hiss!"
While she laughed, Moira noticed that the other boys didn't get it. "You know, like goodnight kiss?" She prompted.
Moira was shocked to learn that Thud and No Nap had no notion on what a goodnight kiss was. "But how do you know about them Curly?"
"Wendy would give them to us before we went to bed. Her and Peter called them thimbles though, at least that's what he called them when she would give him some." He seemed to giggle at the memory.
"I wasn't here for Wendy, and Jane never did that sort of stuff. She was only a lost girl, not a mother," Thud explained.
No Nap just shrugged, "Wasn't here for neither of em, you're my first one."
Moira thinned her lips, a thought coming to her. "Would you boys like me to do goodnight kisses when you go to bed from now on?"
At their eager nodding, she couldn't help but smile, even after Thud and No Nap asked how kisses worked. She gave Thud one on the forehead and No Nap one the cheek but stopped Curly when he tried to give her one on the mouth. "No, no, no. Only grown-ups and married people kiss each other on the lips." Curly's face fell out of not doing something right, and Moira felt bad about it. Knowing he loved to feel useful she asked, "I cannot recall how a hug works however, would you remind me Curly?"
She held her arms out and watched Curly break out into a grin, "That's not a hug, that's a squidge!" He laughed as he rushed into her arms with such a force that they toppled over and down the hill. Moira let out a joyful squeak as she fell backwards, and wondered briefly as she and Curly rolled downward why the word 'squidge' sounded familiar.
They landed hard on the soft sand, their laughter mingling with the boys on the hill until they echoed throughout the cave. Moira opened her eyes to see the sun raining down on them from the circular opening of the cave ceiling. Closing her eyes against the sun, she tried to catch her breathe while Curly kept laughing. It was only when a shadow passed over them that Moira opened her eyes to see a figure hovering above them.
Moira shot up straight as Peter descended upon them, his eyes not leaving hers as his boots hit the sand. He crossed his arms and turned his head to glare at the boys before looking back upon her. "And just what is this?"
She scrambled up with as much dignity as she could, preferring to receive his rage more at his level. "Just playing." She mumbled, looking down.
"After I told you to stay in the underground house!" Peter's voice was rising with every word.
She looked back up at him. "I have been there for days, I wanted to go outside."
But Peter wasn't having any of it. "I'm the leader and that means you have to do what I say. I gave you an order and you disobeyed me."
Her anxiety about Peter's anger was slowing receding to let her own bitterness creep in. "Why can't I go outside like the rest of the boys. Even Angie got to go outside the other day." It was true; Angie had left to go with some of the others yesterday afternoon. She primarily was going to stick with Sprout because he wanted to go catch butterflies. Moira had wanted to go with them but Peter had convinced her to play hide n seek underground, only now just realizing it was a clever ploy to keep her grounded.
"I won't have my orders questioned! How do you expect me to keep us all safe if nobody follows what I say? And you three," he turned his eyes to the boys, who at that moment were trying to make themselves invisible. "Back to the house, I'll deal with you later."
"Don't be mad at them, I made them help me," Moira jumped in. "I—uh—threatened them!"
Peter raised his eyebrow in disbelief, "With what?"
She hadn't thought that far ahead and paused. What could she actually threaten them with if she needed to? When she didn't say anything Curly once again took it upon himself to speak, "With thimbles!"
Moira groaned and brought a hand to her face, already feeling it redden from embarrassment. She didn't see Peter's reaction but heard him snap back at the boys, "Home. Now!"
Only taking her hand down when she felt the boys brush past her, she looked up at Peter who had an unreadable look upon his face. All the scenarios in which Moira imagined Peter would discover them involved her giving him an earful about how to properly treat your guests once they were in your home. Though she supposed that she wasn't really a guest anymore since she was officially brought into this Lord of the Flies family. In her mind he would see the error of his ways after this talk and would humbly apologize, or beg for forgiveness.
But this was reality and all words left her at that moment. So she did the next best thing she could think of to show Peter the error of his ways. She walked past him and out the cave, but veered sharply left and into the opposite direction of the underground house. She heard Peter sputter before he took air and came after her, flying next to her as she trudged off the beach and into the jungle "Where are you going? The house is in the other direction!"
"I know," she replied airily. "But I'm not going back to the house."
"But I said—"
She turned to look at him, still walking ahead. "I heard what you said, but I'm going to go exploring." She looked over her shoulder at him before she continued on into the jungle, "But feel to come along if you can."
She turned her head back before she could see the look on Peter's face, the terrain suddenly elevating and forcing her to use both her hands and feet to climb up. By the time she made it to the top Peter had used every excuse to make her turn around.
"Where are you going to go?" He demanded.
"I don't know, maybe to Mermaid's Lagoon?"
"The mermaids are sleeping now."
"That's fine. Then I'll go to Peg Leg point and go fish."
"You don't have a fishing pole!"
Moira let out a frustrated huff and swung her head to look at him, "Then I'll imagine a pole and maybe the fish will see it too!"
She suddenly halted when Peter grabbed her wrist, "Just stop—"
"No, you stop!" She yelled, wrenching her wrist away. "Stop ordering me about, stop treating me like a baby, and stop keeping me from having fun!" Peter had a stunned look on his face, not expecting her start shouting at him. Now that she had his attention, Moira needed to make him understand what was going on and what would need to change if she was to continue living with him. "You have kept me prisoner underground for days, and for what? Because pirates saw me and know I'm here?"
She saw she had struck a chord in him, but she was on a roll and needed to get this out. "So what? I heard Mr. Smee from a mile away and Angie and I got away. If this is what my life is going to be like being here than I might as well leave right now because this is not fun anymore. Is that what you want?"
She waited for Peter to answer, but he just stared at her for a few minutes before looking away and muttering, "No."
"Then tell me what's wrong." Moira was exasperated.
Peter let out a slow sigh before looking back up at her, his eyes showing a flash of vulnerability that she recognized from that night at Big Ben before he quickly hid it away again. "Hook will spoil everything."
Moira raised an eyebrow, egging him to continue. "When there's no mother things are different. We taunt each other, we sword fight and everything is always a good laugh and a good battle. The pirates live to fight us and we fight them to live. It's the best game in the world." He paused. "But when a girl is here and Hook knows it, then the rules change. We like having a mother to take care of us, to love us. We always have fun and consider each other a family, but with a mother we feel complete, like a piece of a puzzle we never knew was missing. Maybe that's why it hurts so much when Hook tries to use the mother against us."
A wave of déjà-vu hit Moira, reflecting a clearer mirror to what the boys had told her back in Dead Man's Cave. She hadn't considered that because of her position among the boys that it made her a greater target in Hook's quest for revenge.
"So he plays dirty?" Moira asked, remembering what Curly had said about Peter's insistence on fairness and thought it would help her see from his point of view.
He nodded, "The dirtiest."
She lowered her head in thought and walked over to a tree with low hanging branches. Taking a hold of a branch above her, she let her weight drop and put all of it on her arms so she dangled slightly. She looked to see Peter was not standing where she'd left him, but his face suddenly appeared next to hers. He was upside down, having flown to a higher branch to lock his legs upon it and hang upside down, his face level with hers.
"Well do you know how we should solve that problem?" Moira asked him, not meaning it as a question.
"Of course I do," Peter boasted, "But I'm sure you'd be better at explaining it."
Moira afforded herself a small smile at how Peter always tried to act like he knew what was going on. "We've got to fight fire with fire."
Upside down Peter just glared at her, "I'm not taking you to fight a pirate."
She brushed it off, "Of course not, that would be unfair to the pirate. But that actually brings up my point. I can't very well protect myself if I don't know this land, where everything is and where the safe and bad parts are," she paused to indicate their surroundings, "I haven't the slightest idea where we are now. If you were to up and leave do you think I could find my way back to the house before nightfall?"
"I'd never leave you behind," Peter said.
"I know—"
"No, I really mean it." He flipped back to his feet, the blood rushing from his face and returning to the rest of his body, "Your one of us now and I never abandon one of my crew. If you're in trouble or get captured I will always find you. I won't ever let anyone hurt you, especially Hook."
Moira smiled at him, humbled by his heroic heart. The thought of him coming to rescue her both reassured and annoyed her. Remembering the illustration of Hook in Gram's book and how it sent shivers of fear down her spine, added on her own mother's fear of him made her glad Peter was there. But at the same time she didn't want to be this helpless damsel in distress. While she was having trouble recalling it, she was sure her mother had always told her and Angie that they couldn't always wait around for someone to help them, that ultimately they would need to rely on themselves. Despite this, she smiled and dropped her arms.
"Thank you, Peter." She leaned in kissed his cheek before he could pull away.
And pull away he did, ducking out and putting his hand to his cheek, "Hey, knock that off!" But the playful tone he put on assured her that he really wasn't miffed about it, nor was he rubbing the kiss away.
"But I need you to show me how to find my way around Neverland. I need you to teach me what to do in order to keep myself—and others—safe. You know what I mean?" Moira asked. "No more locking me up."
"You'll just escape again if I do," Peter grinned.
"Darn right."
"You seem to be good at that," he complimented.
She beamed, "Thank you—" She was cut off when he suddenly launched at her and she found herself fighting him off with small and harmless swats. He meant to get a rise out of her, to try and see what her defenses would be like if faced with a surprise attack. But soon all seriousness was lost when he realized she wouldn't fight back like she had in the nursery, probably due to her not seeing him as a threat anymore. But he grinned as she began giggling uncontrollably whenever his fingers lightly touched her sides or the underside of her arms—she was ticklish.
"Oh, so I've found a weakness have I!" He teased as she began running away from him, and he chased after her, the entire time she shrieked whenever he caught her before she eventually had to collapse at the base of a tree to catch her breath. When he sat down beside she braced herself for another attack but it never came. She found herself dismayed when she returned the favor and found that he was hardly ticklish at all.
When they both caught their breath he turned to her, "Come on, I'll give you a proper tour." He grabbed her by the hand and began pulling her into the forest.
"Now?" Moira had begun to notice the sky turning orange; she couldn't even see the sun anymore.
He turned and gave her the cockiest smirk she'd ever seen, "Unless of course you'd rather go back underground."
"Don't you dare!" She snapped, urging him to begin the tour.
And give her a tour he did. He hardly took flight, letting her take in the landmarks that would stick out to her and serve as her guides. He showed her the tree that began as a single trunk and grew to separate into two solitary thick branches reaching for the sky, resembling a wishbone. Peter told her that if she looked through the center of the two branches that she was looking toward the west side of the island, where the Indian camp lay.
Blow-Your-Top Mountain was easy to spot once they reached a small clearing, but Peter said that he would take her there another time, that the mountain was an adventure in itself. Instead they walked to the east, where Moira knew the underground house was hidden. As the jungle became lush and greener they came upon a stream. Peter urged her to drink as it was fresh.
"This is Crocodile Creek. It comes from a water basin higher up the mountain, and trickles all the way down until it reaches the ocean," Peter explained, "Once you cross it you'll know you aren't far from the entrance I showed you the day you got here. But once you find the creek you should cross it or follow it upward, don't go down river."
"Why?" She asked.
"Because Crocodile Creek empties directly into Kidd's Cove, where Hook likes to keep his ship. Some of his crew often go to the creek to collect fresh water but don't usually wander too far upstream. But just in case, don't go that direction if you can help it."
When she saw that he meant for them to cross the shallow creek by foot she hesitated, "There aren't really crocodiles in the creek are there?"
"Not really," Peter shook his head.
"Then why call it Crocodile Creek?"
He shrugged, "Dunno. It's not Captain Kidd who runs the ship, yet Hook decided to call it Kidd's Cove. After a while the name just stuck I suppose, now we can't imagine calling it anything else." Kidd's Cove was the bay where The Jolly Roger could always be found.
The more she thought about it, she saw that was true. Names didn't particularly mean something was what it sounded like. Dead Man's Cave wasn't so much a cave but a grotto, but she wondered if any of the boys knew the difference. Changing the name now however was pointless. Peter continued to show her the different landmarks on their way to the tree stump entrance: the overturned log that the boys liked to walk across, the rock shaped like a star (or compass, depending on who you asked), and finally the circle of neverberry bushes that encircled the small open field where the tree stump entrance lay.
"We can go over where some other entrances are tomorrow if you like," Peter offered.
Moira smiled, "I'd like that." She took his hand when he offered her a lift inside the trunk. As she lowered herself she paused. "Thanks again Peter. And I'm sorry that I started that scuffle earlier to distract you guys."
"That's okay, and I'm sorry that..." Peter paused, his eyes widening, "That was you?"
Moira disappeared down the hole before he could say anything more, leaving Peter frozen in his place before he shook his head and chuckled. 'Oh yes,' Peter thought. 'This will be fun.'
In Memory of musician Davy Jones (1945-2012), who died during the writing of this chapter. Like Moira, he was my favorite member of the band The Monkees, thus earning a mention in the story earlier.
If anyone's seen the trailer to the new Tim Burton film "Dark Shadows", did anyone notice the similar reactions certain characters had in regards to seeing someone on the TV for the first time I am very proud that I got to that first.
In the next chapter: there are Hook encounters, despite Peter's best efforts to protect Moira. This pirate will not be denied his introduction the next generation of Darling children.
Things that will be covered in upcoming chapters:
-the circumstances that made Jane leave Neverland for good. Warning, they're unpleasant memories and really show the sadistic side of Hook (no rape, I swear)
-the Banning's will be introduced near the end of this story in very explosive circumstances. Let's just say they will run into Peter…..very hard
-how 'bang-a-rang' got started
-Tootles' history may be brought up more in this story, but he becomes a rather large character near the end of PART 3. Still debating about how much to reveal since this is only PART 1
SomewhereOverTheRainbow- I may have short interludes of the adults back home, but they will be few and in-between. While the children will be in Neverland for a LONG time, only a night will pass back in London so I can't have them too long
MermaidGirl34- That's actually a really great suggestion and I may use it. I will try to put it in somewhere