Chapter Text

Epilogue

The clean high bow sliced the waves, spreading the snow-white spray back into an endless glittering blue carpet under the cobalt sky.  Seagulls screeched, soaring overhead as the wind filled the canvas sails and drove the galleon forward.  The Jolly Roger was under full sail, and her speed topped fifteen knots.  Yes, Wendy had been mistaken at her first assessment of the four-master. With a fresh wind, the galleon could reach eighteen knots. Skilled sailors manning pirate-ships know that arms and crew are not enough for success, but also speed.  The lives of the crew depended on it when pursued by the Navy.  Or rivals.  Their captain had always insisted that the hull be kept clean, the joints tarred, the masts and rigging in pristine condition, ready for departure at any moment, no matter how long they were stuck in Neverland.

Four pairs of blue eyes faced into the wind out to the open sea – one blue as forget-me-nots, one dove-blue, the third dark-blue and oversized in the tiny face, and the fourth the most brilliant crystal sapphire.

“Amazing, is it not?”  The pride in the pirate-captain’s voice was unmistakable.

“It’s … it’s more exciting than I could have imagined!”  Wendy’s eyes shone with joy, as she raised her eyes to the hundreds of square yards of canvas straining above them, snapping in the wind, rigging singing its song.  Tinker Bell, on the balustrade of the bridge near the wheel, chimed and nodded, and her wings twitched.

“Yeah!”  Peter kept his voice calm, but his sparkling eyes gave him away. He never knew that sailing a ship could be like this.  It was almost – Almost! – as exhilarating as flying.

Three days had passed since Giliath’s unforgettable departure, and after their grief had lessened, the children returned to their usual routine.  They played outdoors the whole day and there was not one place in Neverland that was safe from their explorations.  Peter and Wendy took Bumblyn back to the Black Castle, where his friends and family gave him a big welcoming party (Cookson would pop his cork when he saw the condition of the kitchen now!)  Wendy had to bid her loyal little friend good-bye.  She knew that she would see him again, and so it wasn’t a final farewell, but she was used to having the Hobgoblin around and would miss him.

Peter saw her muted distress, and distracted her by showing off secret places in Neverland she had not yet seen, like the grove of singing trees, and the grotto filled with ruby red flamingos (where John spent a glorious hour), and soon they were sharing their fun together with the Lost Boys and Tinker Bell.  Then Peter remembered the promise Hook made him: a day at sea.  And, of course, Wendy had to accompany them.  She had always dreamed of traveling on a powerful sailing-ship – a pirate-ship, the vessel of her very own villain, who had been in her stories even before Peter had.  One beseeching look at the boy had been enough to get him to allow her to come with him.  And she barely needed to ask before Hook gave in.  She simply told him how much she’d always wanted a day at sea, how much she adored ships – his especially – and one or two bats of her eyelashes, and then he was grumbling, “Alright, but stay out of the way while we’re working!”

Now Neverland was a shadow on the horizon, and around them were the score or so accompanying dolphins, racing the ship, leaping, dodging, playing about the ship, calling in their strange alien language.  The ship swayed gently beneath their feet and the children quickly grew their “sea legs”, so by midday they were able to maneuver on deck as if on the island.

Hook gave orders to the men in the riggings to show Peter how to set the sails, even explaining some of the science behind the motion of the ship.  And, to his wonder, the boy was curious about all of it and asked many penetrating questions.  Seeing him now, hands on the hips, that exasperating grin on his face – which, under other circumstances, would have infuriated the buccaneer – comprehension was dawning that there was more to the boy than he thought.  Behind the mischievous cleverness was a brilliant intelligence, buried by Peter’s stubborn refusal to grow up.  Perhaps, some day, he could teach the little churl more about the sea.

“Ship’s report, Sir,” Smee wheezed, as he climbed up to the bridge and shoved his spectacles up his red nose, handing a paper to his captain. 

Hook threw a short glance on it and nodded. “Very good, Mr. Smee, put it in my cabin and return to your duties.”  The little man saluted and winked at the children as he left to fulfill the captain’s order.

“You’ve got an easy job, Hooky.  Just give orders and enjoy the day,” Peter smirked, earning a stern glare from the pirate.

“And how do you know which order to give, if you haven’t learned how to run a ship?” he asked.

Peter shrugged, “Teach me, then I’ll know.”

“You can’t learn how to sail in a day, Pan. You would need years for it.”

“Years?  You might need that long, Hooky, but not me!”  There it was again: that arrogance that could drive the man insane.

“I agree, boy.  You would need decades!”

Peter’s eyes widened. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are, old man!”

“Brat!”

“Codfish!”

“Idiot boy!”

“Bully!”

“Don’t push me, churl!”

Smee, who had just came out of the main cabin, stared at the two, whose eyes were now shooting daggers at each other, and moved over to Wendy. “Wot’s ‘appening ‘ere?” he asked in a low voice, and the girl sighed heavily.

 “The usual: Peter and Captain Hook are back to their old bickering.”

Tinker Bell giggled, flew over to the girl and sat on her shoulder, chiming softly.  Wendy didn’t understand, but it was clear what the star-fairy was saying: they will never change!

And as the Jolly Roger sailed toward the distant horizon, the two opponents stood practically nose to nose on the bridge, throwing insults at each other, which would mean only one thing: that more wonderful adventures lay ahead for Peter Pan and Captain James Hook. And as their insults were more and more accompanied by barely hidden grins, it became clear that a change had taken place that would last…

The Darling-children and the Lost Boys will have quiet a adventurous time until they have to return to London, and almost five years will pass until Wendy will come back one, final time to Neverland, at the brink of womanhood, and – as she doesn’t know at first – brings a new villain to the shores of the magical island. Many changes and dangers lie ahead, and in the middle of it is the boy who won’t grow up, a man who has to face is hidden feelings and has to tame his own demons, and a young girl, almost a lady now, who has to make the choice of a lifetime: to follow the way her parents wish for her or to follow her heart that she couldn’t understand anymore.

FIN...