Chapter 13
Curly and Slightly emerged from behind the tree to find themselves face to face with Peter. It had only been an hour since they last saw him and yet you would think he had been camping out in the woods for a week judging by how muddy he was. He was caked in the stuff from head to toe. He looked different as well, slightly confused as if he wasn't quite sure where he was. Weirder still he looked slightly younger than the two boys remembered him just hours before. "What happened Peter?" Curly asked. "Where's Tiger Lily?"
"Tiger Lily," Peter repeated her name as if it sounded foreign on his tongue. "Tiger Lily. I haven't seen her since the day when we walked her back to the Indian camp. I've been away for a few days, remember."
The two boys stared at each other in confusion. They both knew that Peter had not been away for a few days. He had been with the Indians half the time and the other half he had spent at the hanging tree fantasising about Tiger Lily. Either Peter was playing a joke on them or something was seriously wrong. But the more the boys thought the more they realised that Peter had been acting strangely. Over the last few days, he had given up his interest in the pirates and Captain Hook and he had broken one of his biggest vows to himself; to never fall in love. But if the boy who had been around the last few days wasn't Peter then who was it?
Suddenly, there was a rustling from the dark undergrowth the boys spun around Peter drawing his dagger from his belt. The rustling sounded close as if they had been there awhile listening in silence to the boys conversation, waiting for the right moment to make an appearance. A hanging branch was pushed back and Tiger Lily appeared in the clearing. Slightly didn't hesitate for a second and before Tiger Lily had any time to process what was going on she had his knife to her throat.
"What's going on?" Peter shouted. "What are you doing?"
"This isn't Tiger Lily," Slightly said. "The real Tiger Lily has been captured by Hook. This is Hook's daughter. She was sent here to trick you and to bring you back to her Captain and father."
"I am Tiger Lily," the girl screamed hysterically. "I promise you, I am the real Tiger Lily. Just let me go and I will tell you the whole story."
Slightly looked at Peter, who nodded silently at him, before removing the knife from Tiger Lily's throat. Slowly, she let out a small gasp of relief.
"Tell us what happened Tiger Lily," Peter demanded bossily. "Tell us everything you know."
"All I know is that I was kidnapped by two of the pirates one morning. I was taken to the ship where a strand of my hair was used to make a potion that turned Captain Hook's daughter Lucy into me. After a few days I was rescued by Lucy herself she said that she realised her mistakes and was ready to change. By this time Peter was already on the ship awaiting his death sentence but if you are here. Then they must have caught the wrong boy."
Peter and the boys glanced at each other.
"I have an idea!" screamed Peter suddenly and excitedly, "Follow me."