Hi, my dear readers,

Thank you so much for the reviews. I'm so happy that you like the story so far, and I promise it will get exciting now, because Peter comes back to pick up his friends – despite the fact that they've changed. Yet he is far too happy to finally meet Wendy again and therefore breaks one of his own rules: That every boy has to be smaller than him. And this is only the beginning of a few rules he has to ignore or to 'forget' in the near future.

Wendy will be happy to find a way out of her situation, because something happened on the ball that has riled her up. Why, you'll find out now.

Enjoy,

Love

Yours Lyhwn / Starflight

Chapter 6 – Back in Neverland

The morning after the ball, Wendy slept until nearly midday, had a small lunch with the others and excused herself afterward, pretending to have a headache. She very much wanted to avoid Aunt Millicent's enthusiastic chatter about 'the nice young viscount' and 'our Wendy can count herself so lucky etc etc etc.'

The boys corralled her near her room, wanting details, yet they saw how unhappy she was, and gave her some mercy, and a little commiseration. She told the boys what happened – that she somehow had ended up with an approved suitor who was a complete stranger to her.

"Well, just meet him two or three times, then tell them you can't stand the way he chews. End of story," Slightly suggested.

"Or laughs," suggested Michael.

"Or smells," snorted Nibs.

Wendy winced. "Just imagine Aunt Millicent – or Father. And being courted by a man is so… so…"

"Grown up?" Curley offered.

"Yes! And… it scares me," she admitted.

"You knew this day would come when young gentlemen would pay your courtesy visits and you would have to see them socially. A walk in the park, a visit at the café, etc.," John contributed.

"But I'm not ready for it!" Wendy whispered. "I don't feel grown up, and I don't feel anything for Dalton Ashford or any of the others. There is nothing in my heart when I dance with them. No sparks, no butterflies, no warmth – nothing. Not even friendship."

"Maybe all that comes later," Tootles said thoughtfully, perhaps wondering how young ladies would one day see him.

"No, I don't think so," she answered. "It comes within the first minutes or never. Someone told me that, with every successful couple, one of them felt love at first sight. And it certainly isn't I, and Dalton is stuck behind his position." She shook her head. "I don't want to be trapped in a marriage that has no meaning to me. What would it be? Only a shackle I would try to break free from sooner or later. I'm still so young, I'm still growing and learning, but have to remain myself before I become a stranger in my own skin."

"You fear to be forced into a kind of life you always fought against," Slightly said slowly; understanding her. "Just like Peter."

Wendy nodded. "I understand now what he meant. What did he always say? 'No one will catch me and make me a man'. I don't fear becoming a woman, but I'm scared that the wrong man would force me into his orbit and demand submission and servanthood that would break me in the end. Like last year. They all – mainly Father and Aunt Millicent – dressed me up and tried to change me into someone I'm not. Just look at me!" She held out her arms to display the silken delight she was wearing, so different from the nightdress and leather shift she wore in Neverland. "They think they can put me on strings like a puppet – but I will never be a marionette you can turn any way you want. When I want to dance, then I will decide when and with whom." Defiantly she stared into the next corner; chin determined set.

"And with whom do you want to dance?" Michael piped up. "Peter, right?"

"We did already," his sister murmured. "But I think today it would be … different."

The older boys exchanged a glance. It was on the tip of John's tongue to tell his sister to stop comparing every young man with Peter or, he guessed, with Hook. The pirate-captain had always held a special place in his sister's stories and certainly in her heart and mind, too. And with her free-spirited nature, she perhaps needed someone like him. But both – Peter and Hook – were far away, and John felt it would be the best for Wendy to stop hoping that she would see Neverland again. Yes, he himself would love to visit the island one last time, after all he though about Tiger-Lily more often than it was good for him. But he guessed that the time they all could fly away to Peter's world was over.

He couldn't know how wrong he was.

*** PP ***

That evening, Wendy bid her parents and Aunt Millicent early a good-night and vanished upstairs. Mary Darling was worried. She knew her daughter well, and of course she saw how unhappy and resolved her eldest was.

'This is all too sudden,' she thought. 'Wendy is not ready to be courted and engaged. She is only seventeen, after all. Why end her freedom before she is ready?'

Looking at her husband and his sister, she set her jaw. This made the hidden kiss in the right corner of her mouth twinkle – the same hidden kiss Wendy harbored, too. 'Tomorrow I will speak with Wendy and tell her that she need not meet Dalton Ashford again if she doesn't want to. And I'm certain that George will agree with me. I will discuss this with him tomorrow after work, when his sister has returned to her own flat in Streatham.' (Author's note: Streatham is a borough in the southern center of London, south of the Thames) She knew that her sister-in-law had a rather strong influence on her husband and that he would be more amenable as soon as Millicent left.

But the future is impossible for mortals to know, and for Mary Darling and her whole family; one that would turn their all lives upside down … again.

*** PP ***

Wendy was unaware of her mother's decision. She was convinced that her parents were satisfied with Dalton courting her and were not concerned that she wasn't ready to become a wife. The prospect of marrying someone she barely knew, to head her own household and to bear children frightened her as much as the prospect of being forced into the role of a viscount's wife with all the social burdens a lady of this status had to take on.

She would rather fight harpies again than face THAT future.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she thought back to one particular night when she accompanied Michael out into the sinister winter that had befallen Neverland, because her little brother had a 'nightly urge.' They had been waylaid by the harpies – large, crow-like predators. If not for Captain Hook coming to their aid, she and Michael would have been killed. What an adventure that had been – one she could fight with a sword and bravery. Literally. She hadn't stood aside and had watched the pirate rescue her. No, she had covered his back and had wounded one of the harpies trying to kill him, and then a second one. And later, aboard the Jolly Roger, she had slain almost a half dozen of them. That kind of battle suited her far better than struggling with small talk and controlling every movement and word like a strictly rehearsed dance.

But this all was in the past, and if Peter didn't show up soon, such adventures would remain in the past forever. She would be forced to live a life she always dreaded – and Wendy was not a girl who was scared easily.

The memories of her second time in Neverland filled her with unrest. Swallowing her fears, she went to her wardrobe, opened both doors and pushed the clothes aside, revealing a small suitcase in the back. She took it out and opened it on the floor. Inside were those treasures most dear to her besides the golden bracelet and the little acorn Peter gave her (his idea of a 'kiss.') Her gaze found the light blue silk-like material, so soft to the touch, but stronger than any cotton or linen. Pulling it out, Wendy smiled sadly as she rose, went to the large mirror at the wall and held the dress against her. It was the Elven dress she had gotten from Giliath's sister. It was almost impossibly simple, but in her eyes there was no dress more beautiful than this – and so comfortable!

Suddenly she laid it on her bed, slipped out of her afternoon dress and most of the undergarments and put the blue dress on. It still fit as if magically adjusted, just baring her ankles. She tied the laces about her taller body so that the dress hugged her without hindering her free movements. Taking the pins out of her hair, she shook her locks free. Then she turned again to the mirror.

Yes! This was the Wendy Darling she knew and not the dressed-up doll everyone forced her to be. Yet something had changed. Not the two or three inches she had grown, but her eyes especially. They were still large and dove-blue, but they had lost their shine. Two dull orbs looked back at her, and she knew she was about to lose herself.

Swallowing the rising lump in her throat, she returned to the open suitcase and softly stroked the greenish clothes inside – a doublet and leggings; clothes she had gotten from one of the Elven warriors, who hadn't been as tall as his comrades. He had altered a part of these clothes for her during the night at the Black Castle so that she had something warm to wear during that unusual winter brought on by the wizard.

Laying those clothes on the floor beside the suitcase, she saw a pair of leather boots – a gift from Tiger-Lily's mother Gentle Deer. And beside them… was something made of white cotton and silk.

A sharp pang pierced Wendy's heart, recognizing Hook's shirt. He had given it to her – the second one, by the way – after the battle was over and she needed something clean to change into. She had kept it afterwards, and he let her. With suddenly trembling fingers the girl took the shirt and shook it out. Of course it was still far too large for her, after all it hung loosely around the buccaneer, a full grown man with broad shoulders. Her gaze wandered over the rolled sleeves, the laces in the front and two dirty spots she had earned from the hours she had cleaned his quarters after the battle against the harpies.

Without a second thought she pressed the material against her face and inhaled deeply. It still smelled of tabaco and… and him – even after all this time.

Something deep within her clenched painfully and tears sprang to her eyes. A yearning she could not place rose in her with powerfully and overwhelmed her; making her sob. Closing her eyes and allowing the tears to spill, she let herself sink down beside the suitcase; stretching out on the floor on the carpet among the clothes she had worn the last time she had been really free, her face buried in the pirate's shirt, …

*** PP ***

Peter dived into the dark skies above London; Tinker Bell at his side. Beneath him he saw the long broad river that wound through the town and shimmered like a dark silver band in the rays of the half-moon. He recognized the tall bridge with the two towers, then – following the river upstream – he flew toward the giant tower with its great clock faces on each side, now striking the hour loudly, sounds Peter knew well. He made a loop above the large house at tower's side with its many, many turrets and decorations and headed toward Kensington Gardens, but turned to the right as the first trees came in sight.

A minute later he landed on a roof, opposite of the corner-house he had visited often – at least in his opinion. The windows were all dark, so the family was asleep.

Knowing he wouldn't find Wendy in the nursery any longer – after all she had had her own room when he took her with him the last time – he flew to the other window and peeked through the open curtains. Yes, it was Wendy's room, but the bed was empty and…

And then he saw her lying on the floor.

His eyes widened in shock. Was she ill? Had she fainted? Was she d-? He didn't even dare to end the last thought. Close to panicking, he knocked against the glass of the window, and when the girl didn't react, he attempted to open it. For naught. The window was firmly closed – his worst nightmare.

Balling his fist, he was ready to smash the glass, when Tinker Bell pulled at his hair, chiming, warning him he would make too much noise; the danger of being caught was too risky. Pointing to the roof and at the four chimneys, she told him something and he nodded. "Okay, but hurry!" he whispered, eyes dark with fear for Wendy.

The fairy raced up into the air; a golden trace of her dust marking her place in the air. Then she vanished into the first chimney.

Well, chimneys are simply built and they have only one direction: straight up and down. Yet they all have side entrances to the open fireplaces or the furnaces on the different levels. The Darlings had both furnaces and open fireplaces. It was pure luck that the first chimney Tink tried led directly to the room Peter wanted to enter so badly. Of course, luck was the currency that fairies lived by, wasn't it?

Coughing and dirty withs the soot and ashes, Tink flew out of the cold open fireplace and straight to the figure of the mortal girl who lay on the floor. Landing by of Wendy's now sleeping face, the fairy observed her breathing – a good sign – but her cheeks showed traces of tears, and her eyelids showed definite signs of crying – a bad sign. What ever happened, Tink felt with her fine senses that the girl was deeply unhappy. The star-fairy carefully pulled at the white material Wendy clung to like a toddler to a teddy-bear, then she looked up, startled, hearing tapping at the window.

Why was this boy always so bloody impatient?

Sighing, Tink flew to the window and yanked at the latch that held the window closed with both tiny hands. Two attempts, and it popped open. The same instant, Peter pushed up the window and rushed into the room. Tink's report that Wendy was all right didn't reassure him, but he knelt down next to her and began to roughly shake her.

"Wendy? Wendy! Are you all right? Please, wake up!" he whispered urgently. "It's me, Peter. Please, wake up and-" He gasped as he found himself suddenly sitting next to her as Wendy – startled – started up and shoved against the someone who was shaking her so roughly.

Confused, both looked at each other for a long moment, then Wendy saw in the moonlight the tousled blond hair, the youthful face and the leaves in the moonlight. Realizing who sat beside her the joy washed over her stronger than the tidal wave Hook saved her from at Neverland's shores.

"Peter!" she cried, and threw her arms around the eternal boy, who went rigid. He wasn't accustomed to being embraced – well, not since Wendy left – but then the memory returned. She had done it a few times, and it always felt nice. And now was no different. All of sudden he felt all soft inside and as he hesitantly snaked his arms around her, he felt heat rising into his cheeks and his heartbeat increasing.

Tinker Bell rolled her eyes. Not this again! Shaking her head, she flew to one of the shelves and sat down there; conjuring a cloth to clean her arms and legs and wings.

Peter gulped as Wendy continued to cling to him, and finally cleared his throat. "Uh… Wendy? Are you all right?" he asked cautiously.

The girl took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Peter was back! Finally! A way out of the mess she found herself in, he was HERE. Sitting back but still holding her friend's hands, she gave him a teary smile. "You came," she whispered. "Thank the Lord, you came!"

Peter grinned sheepishly. "Well… yes. I tried to meet you a few times, but you were always away and last night, I, uh, heard you calling."

"You heard me?" Wendy asked, then she remembered what he had told her the last time he had come to take her away to Neverland, after her verbal quarrel with Aunt Millicent. "The stars, right? They passed the message to you."

Peter nodded, smirking. "Yes, you always can count on them. Sometimes they talk too much, but all in all you can trust them for news that's important." He cocked his head and looked at her warily. "What happened? You've been crying – and not happily like the last time."

She sighed deeply. It felt so right that he her knew her that well. "A lot has happened. Despite Aunt Millicent's promise, my parents sent me to a boarding school where I've had to stay the whole year, except for holidays. And even then, we travel a lot. I think they wanted to prevent you taking me back to Neverland."

Peter frowned. "So, sending you to this boring school was only to stop us from seeing each other?" His blue eyes narrowed. "You can be glad they're not here. The next time I see them I'll let them know what I think of those … grownups!" He spat the last word. "I met John and the others when I was here. They weren't sent away, right?"

"Sort of," Wendy affirmed. "The older boys attend a Secondary School outside of London – Harrow – and can come home over the weekend. But the school I attend is in the south of England and too far away for trips home." She sighed again and lowered her gaze. "And… and yesterday evening I was at a ball… and… it led to a catastrophe."

"You played a ball? What went wrong? Did you lose?" he asked, sincerely confused.

Wendy giggled – and it felt good to forget her worries for a moment. "No, silly, a ball is a fancy type of gathering or dance – just like at the fairy-queen's court. Remember when you showed me how she and her partner danced to the music, and all the other fairies danced too? That is a ball."

Peter nodded slowly in understanding. "So, you were dancing. Isn't that supposed to be fun?"

Frowning, the girl replied, "When you can dance with a dear friend then, yes, it is fun. But if you have to dance with someone you barely know and the same someone asks your parents' permission to court you – even if you don't want it – then you've a problem."

"Court you?" Peter blinked. "Like uh … trying to win you?" Wendy nodded again, and the eternal boy's face darkened. "If this man thinks he can take you for himself, I'll kill him!" Freeing one of his hands, he placed it on the hilt of his knife at his left hip.

Wendy rolled her eyes. She knew that this threat wasn't an empty one. Peter's sense of rectitude was sometimes too intense. His reactions toward someone he regarded as enemy could be gross – not out of malice, but as a child, he often didn't comprehend what his deeds really meant. The world was simple for him; sometimes too simple. "You don't have to kill him," she said. "Just take me back to Neverland and the problem is solved."

"You don't have to ask me twice," the Prince of Neverland grumbled. "But I'll still ki-"

"No, you won't!" Wendy interrupted him sternly. "He is the cousin of my best friend, Victoria, and she already lost her parents. They died at sea five years ago and since then she's… pretty much alone. She has only him and his parents, or her mother's sister."

Peter narrowed his eyes. "Your 'best friend'?" he asked with an edge of jealously.

"The best other girl I know. And you are the best friend for a boy I could ever have," she stated.

That brought out the grin. "Yes, after all I'm the best there ever was!" he boasted; eyes sparkling, dimples showing.

Wendy couldn't help herself, she had to laugh. That was Peter Pan all over! "Yes you are!"

The eternal boy smiled as he saw and heard Wendy laughing. This was far better than her sad face! Jumping up he offered her his hand. "Come on, let's wake the others and fly away."

Placing her delicate fingers in Peter's strong ones, Wendy rose – in instinctively made herself smaller when she realized that she was two fingers taller than he now.

"You've grown," he murmured, shocked, and the girl shrugged.

"I can't help it. These things do happen when you're outside of Neverland. But here," she laid a hand on her chest, "I'm still the same." She walked to the suitcase, bent down and carefully removed a long, thin dagger – elegant, slightly curved and with a beautifully crafted hilt. The sharp blade was tucked into a sheath, decorated with runes. It was the Elvish dagger Giliath had given to her.

"Do you need a demonstration?" she asked, whirling about and brandishing the weapon.

Peter's eyes widened, then he smiled broadly enough to make his cheeks hurt. Lifting both hands, he stepped backwards. "No need for it," he stated. "I can see that you're still the same." His gaze wandered over the blue dress and the soft curves he could see beneath them. "Uh… but you put on some weight, right?"

Tinker Bell palmed her forehead and jingled. Never, in a million years should a male tell a female that she gained weight! And was the boy blind? Wendy hadn't gained weight, she was growing into a woman, but the fairy assumed that Peter wouldn't get this insight, because he did what he always did when he wanted something not be true: he denied it. Tink had seen instantly that the girl was one step away from womanhood, but – of course – Peter would never admit this.

Wendy frowned. "Gained weight?" she asked thunderstruck. Looking down on herself she began to realize what he meant – and made the same decision as Tinker Bell: she kept silent about the fact that she had grown curves because she was about to leave childhood. "Well, they feed you all the time ..."

Okay, that was a little bit exaggerated, but it was a fact that now – during the Edwardian time – the people ate enormous amounts. (There were even sanatoriums in England and the Continent now where the ladies of the middle and upper class took their holidays to lose weight, only to regain it at home again.)

Peter smirked. "Well, a few rounds of fencing, a few adventures, some pranks played on Hook and you won't have to worry anymore about eating too much." He heard Tink jangling something rude again, and added hastily. "And you're still a long way from looking like Tootles."

'Well, if that isn't a compliment…', Wendy thought wryly. "You'll be surprised when you see Tootles. He lost weight." She tucked the dagger into the sheath. "So, you're playing pranks on Captain Hook again?" she asked; feeling an odd twist in her belly at the name.

Peter nodded. "Yes. But sometimes I only try to help him, and of course he takes it wrong. Lately I wanted to spare him the embarrassment of oversleeping. After all he is the captain. So-o-o-o, I also made certain that he wouldn't need the water closet, but he still got angry."

The girl lifted both brows. She knew Peter's ways of 'helping' the buccaneer. "So," she began slowly, "how did you do it?"

Shrugging, her friend replied, "I emptied a pitcher of water over him while he was still asleep – and he didn't take it well."

Wendy stared at him. And while she felt some sympathy for Hook, she also had to laugh. This was so Peter! "No wonder he got angry. Just imagine that you would be awakened with a full pitcher of cold water."

Peter shrugged and snickered. "You should have seen how quickly he got out of bed. I had to pay him some respect, though. For an old codfish, he can be really fast."

"He isn't that old, Peter," Wendy replied, shaking her head. "And you still call him 'codfish', even after all you two were through together?"

"When he walks around like he swallowed a stick, 'codfish' fits him the best. Yet Master Ayden didn't understand who I was referring to, even after I told him about Hook and used his nickname. I really gave him some good hints, but I think he is still brooding over that riddle."

Wendy, who had begun to fold the leggings, doublet and Hook's shirt, looked back over her shoulder at her friend. "Master Ayden?"

"Yes, he, his mate and several others together with a few young ones came to Neverland a short time ago to breed their eggs. They were disturbed where they were earlier and are happy now to have a peaceful place where their babies can hatch." He grinned. "You should have seen how they cleaned their caves. Everything they didn't need they simply threw out of the holes – stones, big as me, flying everywhere. And when a stone landed on another's tail, you should have heard them snarling and hissing – like crows, only louder. Ayden got his claws full of calming them down, and it looked like two housewives arguing over the fence. It was really funny."

Wendy stared at him. "Okay, now you lost me," she said. "Breeding and hatching I understand, but hissing and snarling? Since when do birds…"

"Birds?" Peter glanced astonished at her. "Who said birds? Ayden and the others are dragons."

Silence.

Wendy stood still, mid-motion. It was several seconds before she could say, "Dra… dragons?" She found that her mind seemed to suddenly freeze while her heart leapt.

"I told you that sometimes dragons come to Neverland, right?" Peter replied, slowly examining the room. "So now they're in the mountains to make certain their babies can hatch in peace." When he saw Wendy's face, he thought for a moment that she would refuse to join him, but then her face burst into the sunniest smile he had seen in a long time, and he returned it without knowing it.

"Dragons…" the girl whispered. "Real dragons! And they are… friendly?"

"Yes," he shrugged, "somewhat. My Lost Boys even played with them."

Clapping her hand over her mouth to muffle the squeal of glee, Wendy hopped in place. "I have to meet them!" Hastening to her wardrobe, she pulled out her carpetbag and hurriedly replaced the clothes, together with the boots. Slipping on her house shoes, she said eagerly, "Go upstairs to the boys and wake them. I'm almost done. Then we can fly off to Neverland."

Making a happy loop in the air, Peter flew to the door, but stopped a moment. "Uh, about your dog…" he began; remembering a very protective Nana.

"Nana is downstairs in the dining room – behind closed doors. She won't be after you this time. She's older now. She isn't as quick she used to be."

"All the better." He left the room, Tink on his heels.

The boys still slept in the former nursery. As a converted attic, it had large windows in the dormers and plenty of open space for the beds and desks. Peter knew the way.

Wendy's room, her parents' bedroom, the guest room and the bathroom where on the first floor. Flying to the next level, he quietly opened the door to the former nursery and slipped in; Tink's soft light illuminated everything for him.

Seeing John, Nibs and Slightly in their beds to his right, Peter hovered over the beds; frowning as he realized how much the three had changed. They were all certainly an inch or so taller than he – something he didn't like. Usually, that was that. This time he knew he had to make an exception for Wendy, that she wouldn't accompany him if he refused to take the three with him.

All right, Slightly had been his second in command, and now, certainly older, he could help with the smaller new Lost Boys. Nibs had been the strategist, and Peter had an odd gut-feeling that he was going to need him. And John had been good friends with Tiger-Lily. He grinned. Even as naïve as he still was, he could see the affection between the two, odd as it looked. John, the spectacle-wearing Englishman and Tiger Lily, the Indian chief's daughter. And one thing he knew: if he returned without John, the Indian princess would be furious – and you really didn't want her angry. She sort of reminded him of facing the dragon!

So, ignoring his own opinions for once, he woke the three boys first – and was greeted with much enthusiasm. Well, at least that hadn't changed. Then he woke the others. Only the Twins, Michael and Curly were still shorter than he, the others were his size. Whispering to them to hurry he kept the watch outside in the corridor for the 'stupid dog' or one of Wendy's parents.

It seemed to take forever in the dark, Tink darting about to help them see their belongings. They joined Peter at the door one by one – all clad simply and carrying overnight bags. He didn't mind. Neverland was full of adventures, and being prepared was… clever! The boys tiptoed down the stairs, making no noise at all…

*** PP ***

Wendy watched him leave, looking at the closed door. Had Peter always been so… young and boyish? She knew him well, but she had forgotten how childlike his features really were – how youthful and innocent he appeared … and also behaved. The smooth face, the lack of any mature expression, the even skin… He was a boy through and through, just like she was nothing else than a little girl. Was – and it seemed to be so long ago. For the first time she realized the differences she had noticed but refused to acknowledge were increasing between them since their last farewell.

But that it didn't matter! Peter was back – he was her friend, someone she could rely on and who was a safe constant in her life since the night she met him. He was the one who had always been able to wipe all her worries away with one insolent grin. And she was happy – grateful! – that he had returned to take her away from all the … complications … of remaining in London.

She let her head fall back and raised her arms in gratitude, whispering a joyous "Thank You!" Peter Pan had come to take her back to Neverland! A wish, a prayer, a yearning of five years had been fulfilled! With a triumphant "Yes!" she lit one of the gas lights on the wall and looked around, wondering what she should take. She wore the Elven dress, had the Elven clothes (and Hook's shirt), the boots, the dagger, the swim dress, and… yes, she would take her nightgown with her. A lady couldn't sleep in her dress after all. She also put a brush, soap, toothbrush, washcloth and a towel into the carpetbag, then she wrapped the strong leather belt with the dagger around her waist, clasped the golden chain with 'Peter's Kiss' around her neck and bound her hair in a tail down her back.

The bookshelf. An idea formed. Biting her lip, she quickly scanned their titles. They weren't the usual literature you would expect in a young woman's possession. You could find Jane Austin there and other romantic novels, but Wendy favorited other books – like those of Jules Verne, Charles Dickens, Herman Melville and Victor Hugo.

Should she…

Why not!

She was certain that Hook would enjoy a few new books. His library was large, true, and held some of the classics such as Dumas and Shakespeare, as well as books about science, geography and so on. She had borrowed a few during her last stay in Neverland and had returned them to him, but she knew that he had been away a long time, and the books were old. And he had certainly read them all several times. Maybe … he would be interested in new ones he couldn't get in Neverland.

Taking her school satchel, she emptied all her books and notebooks on the desk, and packed the books she chose. The satchel was heavy when she lifted it, but she was determined to take them all with her. She thought of the painting of Hook's younger self on the library-wall in Ashford Manor. It had been painted around two hundred years ago. And he had known Blackbeard, and as the saying went, "even Barbeque feared Hook, and Blackbeard feared Barbeque." Blackbeard had been hunted down by Lieutenant Maynard from the Royal Navy 1718, so Hook had to be in Neverland for 190 years at least. How was this possible – why time ran differently in her world than in Neverland – was still a miracle to her, but facts remained. The man had been there for several lifetimes, and surely bored out of his mind. New books would be sincerely appreciated – and, by the way, she could repay him for borrowing the expensive bracelet.

Finally satisfied with her packing, she sat down at her desk, took a sheet of paper and a fountain pen – a writing tool that had replaced the traditional quill nearly a quarter of a century ago – and quickly wrote a note to her parents. She didn't want them to worry about her and the boys. She had just finished the message when she heard soft noises near the door. Soon they were all in her room, door closed.

Wendy saw they were all clad in comfortable trousers, shirts and waistcoats, with shoes on their feet. Everyone had a little bundle or bag with him. Obviously, all wanted to be prepared for anything that lay ahead. Nibs and Slightly whispered together, John was smiling to himself – she knew whom he was thinking about – the Twins and Michael chatted quietly with each other, while Curley and Tootles waited impatiently for Peter and Tink.

Peter eyed the bags on Wendy's bed. "What's that?"

"My stuff," Wendy replied.

"Your school bag?" Curly asked. "What for?"

"You're taking schoolbooks to Neverland?" Tootles queried, astonished.

"No, I'm take some books with me," she replied.

"Books?" Peter stared at her, clearly at loss.

Knowing she couldn't tell him that those books were for Hook, she explained, "These are storybooks, full of adventures I can read to you."

Peter scratched his head. "But… you come up with the best stories on your own," he pointed out.

"Yes, but these stories are new, and I don't know them very well. So I'll read them and retell them better than they are written. Just imagine: a boat under the sea, or traveling through a volcano to the center of Earth, a trip around the world in only eighty days – without the help of fairy dust, but having adventures in the foreign countries. A hunchbacked bell ringer, a pretty girl, a nasty judge and a brave soldier – all with their own purposes. Or-"

Peter lifted both hands with a grin. "You win," he said. "I'll carry that bag, you already have yours." He lifted the satchel figured out how to put it onto his back. Tinker Bell jingled something and he tossed his head. "Me go to school? Not me, Tink."

She stuck her tongue out to him, then dusted the boys and the girl. They all giggled in delight as the magical dust and their happiness lifted them like feathers.

"All right, everyone, off we go," Peter said with his biggest smile, and shot out of the window as if the satchel on his back weighed nothing; Tink clung to the vine around his shoulder. Wendy was next, carrying her bag. Her heart pounded like the hooves of a galloping horse as she felt all weight fall off her and saw the ground of her parents' garden beneath her. The cold wind played around her but she didn't feel it as she followed Peter, already above her. The boys came behind in a long row – happy to have one (and maybe their final) adventure with their unusual friend on that magical island.

Peter looked back, saw that all were present, caught Wendy's smile, threw his head back and crowed in triumph. His friends were coming home! "AWAY WE GOOOOO!" he shouted and headed toward the stars; Wendy and the boys on his tail. They didn't look back once – knowing (hoping) they would be back within a few days… maybe.

*** PP ***

Mr. and Mrs. Darling were sound asleep. The mood during the day had been … odd, strange, and they were quite glad to go to bed. George Darling would have to leave the house very early the next morning as his desk would be full of work.

It was just past midnight when Mary Darling heard something. It sounded… like a loud cock's crow, but wasn't that impossible, here in the heart of London? Lifting her head she thought she heard a distant shout, but the returning deep silence made her think she was only dreaming.

Their awakening would prove that she had been mistaken, because the fledglings had left the nest once again…

*** PP ***

The way back to Neverland was familiar for the children, yet very exciting. They flew straight through the stars, saw them mirrored in black water that changed into an ocean. It was simply beautiful. The dark waves grew bluer, then red and orange rays danced on them – making the stars vanish. The skies above them turned from black to yellow and rose, until the first light brought the sun rising from the sea. Clouds hung in the air – white and pink; inviting Peter and his friends to sit and relax there.

Wendy couldn't resist and left the heights to let herself bounce on one of colorful clouds. It felt cool to the touch but soft like cotton wool. Lying on her stomach, her bag beside her, she crawled to the cloud's edge and looked down, eyes filling with happy tears seeing below her Neverland with its mountains, cliffs, woods and beaches; all bathed in the gold of sunrise. The shadows of the night – icy due to of Peter's absence – melted away and with them the snow that lay over the island. The sunlight began to dominate the landscape and brought the flowers back to blooming.

Wendy held her breath, watching the spectacle. She recognized the smoke that rose from the tepees at the south-east side of Neverland, toward the north lay the Black Castle; still enveloped in the last shadows. And to her left, on the other side of the magical island, was Pirate's Cove. She found the Jolly Roger immediately – after all, the huge four-masted galleon with 40 cannons and two weapon decks was hard to miss.

For a moment, she was back at Rhoedean School, sitting at one of the windows of the dormitory room that she, Victoria, and four other girls occupied, and looked out at the sea that crashed beneath the school against the cliffs. Often she had watched ships, the British Channel was full of naval traffic, after all. The sight of them had awoken a yearning in her every time she had seen them. And sometimes, when fog blurred the scenery, she had imagined an elegant carved aft, four masts and the black flag flapping in the wind.

But no daydreams compared with the truth. This was no imagination but the real ship – the real Jolly Roger. Her heart leapt. It wouldn't be long and she would see him again – her favorite villain, who wasn't really a villain any more. At least not for her. Moody, quick-tempered, arrogant, dangerous – yes – but he was no threat to her and the others any longer. Was he still asleep? What would he say if she appeared at one of the large windows of the aft cabin and-

"Ha, gotcha!"

Peter let himself fall beside her; grinning as she gasped in surprise.

"Peter!" she scolded. "My heart almost stopped!"

The eternal boy only laughed and rolled on his back; hands behind his head. "I didn't see you when you left us. Nibs told me that you fell behind."

Looking around, Wendy frowned. "Where are the others?"

"Slightly's taking them down to the Nevertree, Tink is with them. I had no time for it – I had to find you," he teased.

"And my bookbag?"

"John took it with him."

With a sigh, the girl lay again on her stomach and perused the island once more. "It's so beautiful," she said. "I'm so, so happy to be here."

Peter rolled on his side, facing her, propped on one elbow. For a moment he watched how the wind played with the stray locks of her chestnut brown and gold hair, and how the sun bathed her sweet face in its light. No, she hadn't changed at all! He was tempted to reach out and take one those stray locks, but he resisted. A real gentleman would never do that and even if though so proud to be a boy, he knew some manners, after all! Clearing his throat, he murmured, "I told you it was better to stay here, that the grownups only want to change you into one of them."

Wendy looked at him thoughtfully, ruefully. "I had no other choice. If we hadn't shown up at the end of the summer holidays, our teachers would have gotten suspicious. They would have tried to find out where we were, and if they didn't find us at home, they would have thought our parents have done something nasty to us. They would have alerted the authorities. There are many new laws that protect children, and this is really good. But there are still cruel and cold-hearted people who sell or mistreat children. The authorities are wary when it comes to a child's welfare. They would have accused my parents of something awful. No one would ever believe that we were off on an island you can't find on any map. They would have thought that we had been kidnapped or sold – and then my parents would be sent to prison."

The boy looked thoughtful. A law that protected children sounded good to him. He knew from his visits to London that many boys and girls lived in destitute circumstances, that there were children who had no parents and had to live in dirty corners where wicked grownups watched over them – a fate that made Peter shudder at the thought.

But one thing horrified him. "What do you mean 'sell'? Who sells children?"

It was obvious that this idea startled Peter. "In earlier times, poor families that couldn't take care of all their children sold them to other families, hoping that they would have a better life there. But mostly, the children were forced to work on farms or in poorhouses or in the mines – meaning they had to work there as hard as grownups."

"WHAT?" Peter stared at her, mouth open.

Wendy nodded, turning on her side and facing him. "Yes, it sounds horrible. It's against the law now, but it still happens."

The Prince of Neverland shook his head in disgust. "Selling children and sending them to work in one of those stinking noisy places ..." He had seen the poorhouses every time he was in London, and the mere thought that children like him – and younger – working there made him angry. Then he remembered what Wendy told him. "So, the … authorities … would have thought your parents had done something like that if you didn't show up at school?"

"Yes, eventually. People who break the new law are seriously punished. I don't want anything like that to happen to my parents. They've done nothing wrong, only loved all of us to make a wonderful home for us. But no-one would have believed them if we hadn't returned."

Peter frowned. "Accusing someone of something he didn't do is low – bad form, like Hook would say." He glanced up at his friend again. For a few seconds his gaze rested on the 'kiss' he had given her. The acorn with the hole from Tootle's arrow dangled on the small golden chain from Wendy's neck. He remembered their misunderstanding about it – a misunderstanding Wendy later used to save him. Then he came back to the topic they were discussing. "You really had no other choice." He nodded slowly. "I understand – even if I don't like it."

Wendy smiled and patted his shoulder. "That's something that makes a good leader. Sometimes you have to do things you don't like, but still you have to do them to protect others – people you're responsible for, or those you love. Just remember, when you accepted Captain Hook as your ally against S'Hadh. At the beginning, you were quite angry about it, just like Hook was. But you both are leaders at heart, and you recognized that you both had to swallow that bitter pill to protect your people and to save the day. You two put your personal feelings aside and did what was necessary. In the same way, the boys and I had to return to London to prevent our parents from getting into serious trouble."

"And as a 'thank-you' for your sacrifice, they sent you to that boring school and kept you away from London so that we couldn't see each other again," he growled, then his face brightened. "But it didn't last! They couldn't keep you away forever and I waited for the right moment." He reached out and laid his hand over Wendy's, squeezing it gently. "I waited for a sign that you were back in London and when the stars passed me your message, I was on my way. Nothing can stop me coming for you." His crystal blue eyes held Wendy's dove-blue ones – twinkling bright yet determined.

She smiled at him warmly, feeling his words light her up inside. "Yes, you came for me," she nodded and returned the pressure of his fingers. "I knew you would come!"

"Always!" Peter nodded, suddenly becoming aware of how close they lay, side by side and still holding Wendy's hand. For a moment he felt his cheeks heating up. Then, clearing his throat he sat up. "Let's go find the others before Tink sends a troop of fairies after us."

Wendy had to laugh when she pictured fairies dressed as soldiers in blue uniforms on horses, like she had seen it on paintings in the British Museum. "Well, you may have dragons here, but flying horses…"

Peter joined her merriment. "No, we have a lot of creatures here you can't find at home, but flying horses… Nope, no, not yet." He rose and offered Wendy his hand. "Milady," he said sweetly, and the girl placed her fingers in his.

"Sir," she replied, standing.

Bending down, Peter took her carpetbag and took her hand again. "Come on, off to the Nevertree. There we'll have breakfast, then go swimming, and afterwards we can visit the Indians. I'm sure John is dying to see Tiger-Lily again."

Wendy chuckled. "Since when do you approve of affection?"

The boy shook his head. "I'd rather not irritate Tiger-Lily. You don't know how scary she can be."

Throwing her head back Wendy laughed free and openly, for once no longer forced to control her mirth. "So, you finally learned an important lesson, Peter Pan."

"What lesson?"

"Never mess with a girl," Wendy shouted in high spirits, disentangled her fingers from his and shot up into the air as if she'd done it all her life.

Watching her fly, Peter scratched his head. Hadn't he told her that "girls were too clever to fall out of a pram" and that they "were worth ten times any boy"? These were big compliments, right?

He heard Wendy's pealing laughter, as she sped past him from behind, tossing his curls in her passing, and grinning, he raced after her – perfectly happy and also relieved to have his old friends and Wendy back. And this time he wouldn't let them return to London so quickly.

But …

It seemed others were also making plans for him, his friends and the habitants of Neverland…

TBC…

Yes, they're back in Neverland – the land of childhood and adventures. But the adventure that lays ahead will differ a lot from those, Peter and his friends had until now…

In the next chapter the former Lost Boys and Wendy will see for the first time a dragon and they'll meet Great Big Little Panther again. In London Mary Darling becomes aware of the children's missing (once again) and has a dispute with an irritated Millicent. And you're going to meet one of my own created characters again, who had a larger part in the first story.

I would be very glad to get new comments / reviews,

Have a nice weekend,

Love

Yours Lywhn / Starflight