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Chapter Text

January 13, 1911,

'Peter, wait!'

Peter turned in the air. He hadn't expected her to pay any attention to him. Wendy was home again and she seemed so happy, perhaps even happier than when she flew. Yet now she stood in the window and looked at him with a smile so radiant that he couldn't help but smile back, even though saying goodbye was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

'You won't forget me, will you?' She looked at him expectantly. Her smile had disappeared and he detected sorrow on her face. Her eyes were wet but glinted with hope.

Peter laughed. 'Me - forgetting you?' He folded his arms in front of his chest. 'Never.'

She gasped and there it was again: that smile he hoped he would never forget. No matter how long he would have to miss her. At that thought, his own smile slowly crept off his face and he stared blankly ahead. Wendy wanted to grow up. He would not see her again. Adults don't believe in fairytales like him.

She would forget about hím.

Tinkling at his ear pulled him out of his thoughts. He nodded to Tink. Peter raised his hand to Wendy and turned back into the air, but the moment he wanted to fly away, Wendy called him back.

'Are you coming back?'

He looked back again and smiled mischievously. 'To hear stories. About me, of course!'

Wendy laughed and watched him as he turned around, flew once around the chimney of a nearest house and then waved once more, before saying goodbye for good to the girl he would only see again in his dreams.

Chapter Text

The ringing of the schoolbell jerked Avery out of her book. The letters of the page still danced before her eyes as she looked up at the clock and slammed her book shut. Carefully she stowed it in her bag and calmly walked to the large building, where she blended into the crowd and like a sheep followed them inside. With pushing and shoving, students tried to reach their classrooms on time. She always wondered where this fear of arriving late came from, since she didn't actually care about that as much. Avery did everything at her own pace. She was not rebellious that way, but peaceful.

Inside classroom 5C, she sat down at her familiar little table by the window and took her book out of her bag again. She glanced out at the schoolyard, where the last children were running to the school doors. Spring was already in full swing; the sun was shining and the trees were in full bloom. Nothing but delicious floral scents filled the streets as the Prunuses exchanged their bare branches for aromatic, pink blossoms. Avery had been looking forward to spring. When the grass was dry, she could snuggle up against her favorite tree to completely lose herself in a new book during breaks.

'Good afternoon everyone,' sounded Mrs. Abner's lilting voice as she strolled into the classroom with clicking shoes. 'If you could put your books on the table on page 394. I'll put my things on the desk for a moment.' She nearly tripped as she stepped onto the elevation, and some chuckling sounded through the class.

Avery cast an indignant glance sideways at Brad who stared at his teacher with amused eyes, hopeful that she would make another misstep and send her things flying through the classroom. She abruptly turned her gaze to the front of the class when the boy gave her a wink. Behind her, she heard the shameless giggling of Britt, Laura and Sarah, who were now probably staring in Brad's direction with fluttering eyelashes and pursed lips. She couldn't suppress a deep sigh and tried to focus on the book in her hands. Not the history book she was supposed to have on the table, but the reading book from her bag. It was a delightful novel she had been hiding behind for the last few hours, about a boy and girl who were supposed to meet in Paris, but kept missing each other, even though the reader already knew they were destined to meet. She was already in chapter 16 and had almost finished the book. Silently she enjoyed the rest of the book, until Mrs. Abner discovered her.

'Mrs. Johnson, one of the themes in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream play is 'Love as the cause of suffering,' would you explain that in more detail? The answer is in your book on the page I just mentioned.'

Avery looked up at the impatient teacher. 'Uhm,' she went, 'Well, many of the characters in the play conceive of love as a 'curse,' raiding defenseless victims and disrupting their lives, and all the lovers simply find each other again at the end. Personally, I think it is a reflection on Shakespeare's own life, because one of his children, Hamnet, had died at the age of 11. It had to be a sad reminder to him that although he was able to bring the twins Viola and Sebastian back together in his play, he would never be able to do this for his own little daughter who would have to spend the rest of her life celebrating her birthday without her twin brother. By the way, it might be the reason he wrote his tragedy Hamlet, don't you think?'
The class remained silent and Mrs. Abner nodded begrudgingly, 'That was a very complete answer, thank you, Mrs. Johnson.' She turned to the board, but cast another glance at the red-haired girl, who had already returned her eyes to the book. "Would you mind closing your book now, dear child?"

Avery nodded and placed the book closed on the corner of her small table.

Chapter Text

It felt like time had never before gone so slowly. When the clock finally struck three-thirty, Avery packed her things and walked out of the classroom, finally enjoying her well-earned weekend after all. Her parents had promised to take her to the park this evening and she was looking forward to it. Though she kept reminding herself not to have high expectations. She ended up disappointed more often than was good for her.

'Hey Johnson!'

Avery hated being called only by her surname. There was a certain etiquette missing that way. When Brad appeared beside her, she tried to walk on stolidly. However, he was a taller than her and easily kept up with her. 'I saw you looking at me in the classroom...'

She was already tired of this conversation.

'So can I finally persuade you to go out with me?'

'No, sorry, thank you,' Avery replied, keeping her gaze fixed on the way to freedom.

'Brad!' echoed another voice down the corridor. 'Laura asks if you want to come to the back of the school.'

She heard the boy chuckle. 'If only you were easier too.' Without another word to her, Brad sprinted away from her, looking for his easier prey. And that was exactly why she didn't respond to him. What had happened to courtship, love letters and going all the way for each other?

Outside, she took a deep breath. A gentle breeze stroked her bare arms and the tufts of red hair that had escaped from her braid danced before her eyes. She did not want to stay here a moment longer. On her way to the gate, she passed a few classmates. Her ears pricked up when she heard her name drop.

'Ask her, just as a courtesy,' someone chimed softly.

'And if she says yes? Then we're stuck with her!'

'Not so loud! Just ask.'

Avery walked on quickly, but before she could put her hand on the handle of the gate...

'Hey, Avery.'

She turned slowly and squeezed out a smile. 'Hi,' she replied.

Mira smiled as if her jaws were stuck. 'We're going to a party tonight and we were wondering if you might like to join us. You often sit alone and well,' she stopped talking at that and just looked at Avery expectantly.

She shook her head. 'I'm not alone.' She patted her shoulder bag. 'I have my books. And I'm going to the park with my parents tonight. Thanks anyway.' She turned and walked away, but she couldn't ignore it when their whispers haunted her: 'I told you she wouldn't come, she's such a weird kid.'

Avery sighed and walked down the schoolyard towards home. It was a long walk, but that didn't bother her. In the silence, she could think. And she had so much to think about. The book was almost done and tonight she would read the last chapter to Abby, her white and grey striped cat. It might sound strange to others that she preferred sitting in her room and reading stories to dancing in a club, but Avery didn't like all the crowds and noise at all. She liked the quiet and with Abby she was never alone.... Not always.

Avery walked through the well-known little neighbourhood where the baker just lifted his billboard inside and smiled kindly at her as she passed. Her neighbour, Mrs Bennet, rushed  over the threshold for the umpteenth time, just in time to get the last few pieces of bread for tomorrow morning. She passed the local fastfood, where the smell of greasy food wafted towards her and where, as always, the loitering youths stole the chips from under each other's noses. And she walked past the little church, where the bells were already striking five o'clock and residents were hurrying to get home for dinner.

Avery enjoyed every scene that played out before her eyes, stopping at times to take in the impressions. But this time she did not. The traffic light jumped to red and amid loud honking from impatient car drivers, she tripped to the pavement, where she was passed at breakneck speed by the cars that had been waiting. She walked past the cafes through the park to her street. There, some children were playing with a ball, and the dog, Bruno, behind the fence barking happily at them. Avery opened the gate to her garden and walked into the house.

The door fell into lock behind her and silence took its place. Only the clock on the wall managed to break it. Avery kicked off her shoes under the heater and walked straight up the stairs to the upstairs, without even bothering to check if anyone was already home. Avery knew that chance was very slim.

She was welcomed by cheerful meowing from Abby, who lay stretched out on her bed. There were still books scattered everywhere, as the bookcase on the wall could not be fuller and the shelves above her bed were almost sagging.

Avery put her bag on the floor and took a seat behind her desk. She grabbed the first pen she saw and opened the little black book in front of her.

' "Love is making each other's loneliness bearable." Words that I had the pleasure of reading in a book today, but which are meaningless to me. After all, how can someone who is lonely make their own loneliness bearable? Will I have to dream? Live in a fantasy world? Find love in a world where its existence seems as unlikely as if Neverland existed? Maybe I should dream then to make my own loneliness bearable.' 

Sighing, she dropped her pen and plopped down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling until Abby pressed her head against her.

'Hey Abs, what have you all been up to today?' The cat started purring as she tickled her on the head. 'Cat things for sure.' Abby curled up on her chest purring and rolled up into a little ball there. She used to do that when she was a kitten, but now she was so big that her tail was always hanging in Avery's face.

'I've almost finished the book, Abby, shall I read the last chapter?' The cat didn't answer, but Avery climbed off the bed and grabbed the book from her bag, then took a seat on the bed again and opened the book. 'OK, here it comes,' she said and started reading.

Chapter Text

'Avery, are you home yet?'

Avery opened her eyes. Abby was lying on her stomach and had not stirred since Avery had closed the book. Her eyes briefly shot sideways to the clock radio on her bedside table; It was already 20:30. Her stomach rumbled.

'Avery?' her mother called again.

Avery pushed herself up from the mattress, causing Abby to tumble off her lap and look up at her, alarmed. 'I'm upstairs!'

'Have you eaten yet?'

'No.'

'Oh...' For a moment, silence fell. 'Your father and I have already eaten some on the way. We still have some things to sort out, but there are eggs in the fridge and a dish of potatoes from yesterday.'

Avery sighed. 'Why are you guys so late? We were supposed to go to the park.'

Another momentary silence, before: 'We're sorry, dear, but work intervened.'

'Right,' she muttered. It was always the same song. She had been looking forward to this evening when they would have a bite to eat together at the local caffeteria and then get ice cream at the ice cream shop opposite the park, as they sometimes did just like on her birthday. Now her parents had spontaneously offered to go randomly. Finally they would have some time to do something together as a family again, but then something would come up and Avery would be alone all afternoon or evening. She tucked her head under her arm and brought her knees closer to her body. She suddenly regretted having declined Mira's invitation. It may not have been completely sincere, but at least she wouldn't have been alone.

Her stomach rumbled again. It longed for that treat she had been so looking forward to. With a sigh, she rolled from her bed and went to the kitchen to make herself a fried eggs and potatoes. Her father was sitting in front of the TV watching a game of something and her mother was on the phone with one of her friends. In silence, she ate her meal on the sofa next to her father. He put his hand on her head once and smiled at her, then his eyes turned towards the screen again.

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By now it was getting dark and Avery was getting ready for bed. She looked back at the window, at the stars twinkling in the sky, and sighed. Would there be anyone who was also looking at the stars right now and feeling as lonely as she did? That thought, however sad, took away some of her sadness.

She piled up a few of the books lying on her desk. An advantage that her parents were never home, they didn't realise what a mess Avery lived in. She shivered as a gust of wind tickled her bare legs. Had she left the window open?

To her surprise, it was indeed ajar. She looked sideways at her bed, but Abby was still snoring comfortably. She listened for a moment, as if her body wanted to warn her for something. She heard the rustling of the wind through the trees, an ambulance far away, honking cars and the TV downstairs.... Nothing striking. Avery frowned. Why did she suddenly feel so uncomfortable? With that thought, she closed the window and pulled the curtains closed.

She stuffed her bare feet into the grey slippers and pulled on the hoodie lying on her bed. With the jumper still half over her head, she walked back to her desk. Swinging her arm through the sleeve, she smacked it against the stack of books that thundered off her desk with a hellish noise. Abby awoke immediatly. Avery stared at the books and muttered a curse to the heavens, before dropping to the floor and starting to rebuild her book tower. As the pile reached her shoulder, a thin book under the wardrobe caught her eye. It hadn't been there before, had it?

She felt under the wardrobe and pulled the thin book out from under it. Carefully she blew the dust off the cover and read the title; Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. She raised an eyebrow and stood up. She had not seen this book for years and had been wondering where it had gone for months.

The pile of books on the floor completely disappeared from her memory as she took a seat on the bed and opened the booklet. 'When Wendy was only two years old,' she began. Abby looked up as soon as she heard her voice and continued to stare at her as she continued reading. Minutes ticked by on the clock and it was already past twelve that Avery slammed it shut.

She lingered for a moment, letting the last sentences play through her mind once more. The boy who would never grow up, she thought, how wonderful that would be. She dreamed away to memories of the old days, when her parents used to take her to the park every night. She heard herself running across the grass screaming with laughter as her father chased her and her mother urged them to be careful. The taste of the scoop of vanilla ice cream afterwards.... Tears rolled down her cheeks. I would so love to be little again...

Avery was startled when her window suddenly flew open. Abby shot up screeching and kept hissing at the window with her thick tail straight upwards. The curtains blew into her room. Rustling pages from her open books briefly claimed her attention, before a shadow at the window caught her eye. She crawled backwards on her bed alarmed when two eyes looked at her from the darkness. She was so distraught that she forgot to call for help and before she could bring herself back to her senses to start screaming, the figure at the window silenced her.

Chapter Text

His hand felt cool against her lips, as if he had been outside for a long time, and she was puzzled as to why this was the first thing on her mind right now. Just as her nose noticed that his hands had a deep scent of earth.

Forcing herself to replace the thoughts, she looked up into two deep brown eyes, which glide over her face observingly. She did not move, and although she expected to be frozen by fear, she was not. His eyes expressed not danger, but curiosity and anticipation, like a squirrel from the St. James's Park who dared to grab a peanut her hand. His pursed lips betrayed his caution, as he did not dare to smile. His clearly visible Adam's apple moved once as he swallowed, making her realise he was as nervous as she was. The moment he frowned once to gauge her, his gaze became so piercing it made her quiet. Not because of the hand was on her lips, but because his gaze seemed to absorbe her thoughts. She felt his grip around her mouth slacken, then he cautiously withdrew his hand.

'Don't scream, okay?' his voice sounded composed, friendly even. He sat up straight and smiled cautiously. 'I scared you, didn't I?'

Avery nodded, not quite sure what to do. Should she call for her parents? Or wait and see what the boy wanted from her? Could she kick him hard enough to quickly get to the bedroomdoor?

He remained unmoved, daring her to take her eyes off his face for a moment, for his appearance was anything but ordinary; The frayed clothing, which seemed to be held together with leaves and lianas across his athletic body, the dagger around his hips, which made her gulp for a moment and the necklace with the accorn hanging around his neck. Nothing seemed average. The tousled, dark-blonde hair had something alluring about it, though she could clearly see the outlines of a lost leaf hidden away. In her eyes, the boy did not seem much younger than she was. His appearance, however, made her doubt that opinion. She looked at him again and saw that he was smiling.

'Who are you?' she asked.

He thrust his chest forward and put his hands in his side. She was startled by his sudden movement and flinched.

'My name is Peter,' he said, 'Peter Pan.' He made a kind of bow and looked at her again. His eyes twinkled and his smile surrounded his whole face with joy.

'May I know your name?' he then asked.

'Avery Johnson,' she replied, not entirely sure if her brain had processed the previous answer correctly. 'You call yourself Peter Pan?' she asked indignantly.

The boy shook his head. 'Peter is the name I was given. The Smart Boys called me Pan, because of my pan flute.' He could not concentrate for one second, as his eyes kept focusing on new objects in her room.

'You seem... Very energetic,' Avery thought. She couldn't suppress a chuckle.

The boy grinned at her and as he did so, he pushed himself upwards from the mattress, dit a somdersault in the air and landing neatly on both his feet. Avery didn't quite know whether to laugh or shake her head. 'Okay,' she said, 'if you really are Peter Pan, how come you look so old?'

Avery kept looking at him. Although he disguised it well by quickly fixing his facial expression, she noticed the split-second in which his smile disappeared from his face. 'That's just the way it goes,' was his reply and he shrugged.

Avery frowned. He had to be crazy! And she had to be crazy to allow someone like that to invade her room and strike up a conversation with him. Still, she could not send him away yet laugh at him because of his wild imaginations.

'You are lying,' she observed, 'where you come from, time stands still. You don't age there. You look less than a year younger than I am, so you can't be him, because he didn't want to grow up. And if you are my age, then you are almost an adult already.' She looked at him sternly. Could she provoke him like this? Could she get him to leave her room without her labelling him as the city idiot?

He just sighed exaggeratedly. 'Women really do talk too much.' He dove forward, grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the window. Before Avery knew it, she was standing next to the boy with her feet on the windowsill, looking down on her garden from three stories up. She let out a scream and instinctively took a step backwards, losing her balance and falling over. Before she hit the ground, he caught her and gently set her on the ground.

'Are you crazy? I could have fallen. Do you believe in your fabrications so much that you want to throw me out of the windo-' She stopped in the middle of her sentence, when the boy floated backwards and took a seat on the windowsill. She was stunned. Her eyes shot from left to right along the window frame in an attempt to detect even a hint of wires or ropes, but there was nothing around his body. Her head was spinning at full speed. A myriad of reactions and words sprang up in her mind, but each one died on her lips as she reminded herself who she had in front of her. It took a moment until she could bring herself to speak, but then she cleared her throat briefly to demand his attention and asked, 'What are you doing here, Peter?'

A tender smile formed around his mouth and the look in his eyes softened. 'If you know who I am, then you know what I came here to do.'

Chapter Text

Avery looked at the boy warily, wondering if he had really said what she thought he had said. If he really was who he said he was, then this was an invitation to go after Wendy and visit Neverland. Her brain was at war with her heart. One was telling her that none of this could be true, that fairy tales did not exist and that the boy was just mentally ill, while the other was telling her to listen to him, follow her heart and embrace the chance for adventure she had chased for so long in books. That adventure was now sitting right in front of her in the window frame.

'This is impossible,' she then stammered out. She turned away from him to sort out her thoughts. 'People can't fly and Peter Pan is a fairy tale.'

The battle was won.

'Why do you doubt my existence? I am right in front of you. If that's not reliable proof, I don't know what is.' He floated past her and lowered his feet back to the ground right in front of her. Hesitantly, he reached out for her hands, but Avery flinched away from him. 'But it can't be. It must be a dream, that's the only explanation.'

The boy raised an eyebrow. 'Then how can I convince you?'

'I don't know,' she replied in frustration. 'Why do you need me anyway? This is London, there are plenty of other young girls here eager to go to Neverland with you.' At first she was shocked by her choice of words, which indicated that she believed him, even worse she was shocked that she was trying to talk herself out of this adventure. But she was sensible, this was a lie and a dream and if anyone ever found out that her mind had created a concoction like an imaginairy Peter Pan, she would understand why she had no friends. 'You shouldn't want me, Peter, you should take another girl.'

He looked at her sternly. Had she offended him? Would he get angry?

'You don't know how long I waited to take you with me.'

Something snapped in her mind, making her forget all judgements about this scene before her. She fell silent and looked at him. 'You waited for me?' she could hardly believe it. Normally, no one thought of her. Normally she was not a part in anyone's life and now this complete stranger says he waited for her for a long time?

Again, there was that gentle smile. 'I've listened to your stories since you were five.'

Avery's head snapped up. She couldn't even remember what kind of things she had written down at that age. 'Have you been listening to my stories all this time?' She let her eyes slide over his figure once more. He looked at least 16, older perhaps, but not much younger. The rattles in her head started spinning as she realised something. If he'd only aged when he left Neverland and yet had been listening to her stories for at least 12 years, she understood why he looked older now. Whether his mind had grown with him remained to be seen.

Peter floated in the air, his hands resting under his head and one leg leaning on his knee. Dreamily, he stared at the ceiling. 'You write so beautifully. I love your thoughts.'

'Then that's how you got older,' she observed, totally ignoring his gibberish. 'It couldn't be otherwise. You spent more than a dozen years off and on outside Neverland.' She looked at him in astonishment. 'Why did you take that risk?'

'Not important. What I want to discuss now is whether you will come with me or not.' He lowered himself with a rollover and sat back on the windowsill, staring briefly at the night sky, before turning his attention back to her. He extended his hand and leaned forward to take hers, but she instinctively took a step back when his intense gaze found her eyes. 'I-I can't just leave, can I? What about my parents? And school?'

'Do you really care that much about those things?' He slowly approached and stopped right in front of her. She felt his breath on her head and could effortlessly count the hairs on his eyebrows. 'Or is that an illusion you're telling yourself because others want you to care?'

Avery shook her head. 'An illusion? Heavens, no. I love mum and dad.'

'And they love you so much they forgot they promised to go to the park with you tonight. They love you so much that they don't see that their daughter is lonely and doesn't feel at home in this world.' With each word, his dark eyebrows crept closer to his eyes and Avery felt her heart beat faster. His gaze was so intense and in that reflection she saw herself and the truth in his words. This world had never been her home. She had always been an outsider. She could not remember the last time since she had made a friend or done anything other than spend her days in her room between books and pens. Not a day had gone by that she had not once felt lonely.

She gulped. He knew exactly what she was looking for. Her eyes must have betrayed her, because she saw how Peter smiled.

'That injustice will not happen to you again.' His voice sounded deep but tender. 'Forget them, Avery, and you will never be lonely again. Not with me.' He gently tugged at her hand and she felt her feet move across the wooden floor, towards the window, where the night welcomed her.

Chapter Text

First there was only the garden, in which the moon shone its silver light and the cool wind stroking her cheeks. And then there were only the tingles in her stomach as the boy, around whose neck she had wrapped her arms, dove out her window. She clung to him tighter as he shot into the air. She looked back, at the ever-shrinking light burning in her bedroom, the jitters gone and pleasure was left. Never in her life had she felt so anxious and so free at the same time. Before, she could only imagine how a bird felt, now she could experience it herself.

The cool wind blew forcefully through her hair and London beneath her grew smaller and smaller. She saw the bakery shop and the snack bar, where the last of the loitering youths were sent home by the owner who finally wanted to go to bed too and she saw the cars at the traffic lights, which now seemed as small as toy cars. 

They flew deeper into London, past places Avery had never been before. She smiled when she saw the Big Ben in the distance and the London Eye standing right next to it with its bright blue lights. Her thoughts turned to the book she had read that very night and imagined Wendy and her brothers standing on the big hands of the clock. She could almost touch them, but she didn't dare to let go of Peter.

Suddenly, Peter turned and threw her high into the air. Avery screamed as gravity tugged at her falling body. It was only a few metres until Peter caught her again and she looked at him angrily. 'Why did you do that? I could have fallen.'

'No, you wouldn't have. I would have caught you.' He looked at her. 'I will never let you fall.' Peter flew her to the Thames, where the reflection of the starry sky on the still water drowned out her anger. She let go of Peter's neck and reached out, to feel the ice-cold water slip between her fingers. She looked up at the boy and splashed the drops on her fingers in his face. Peter shook his head as the drops stuck to his eyelashes. A malicious grin crept across his face before he threw her up above the water and caught her again so that she landed on his back. Avery cursed and Peter laughed. 'Cut that out! That's terrifying.'

He chuckled softly. Her angry looks did not seem to bother him much. 

He flew higher and higher, until London itself looked like the starry sky they were flying towards. Avery turned her gaze upwards, to the clouds behind which the sky was getting colder and behind which a few special stars were hidden. 'The Second star to the right...' She didn't even finish her sentence. Words failed her because she was so stunned by the view, the flying and everything that had happened in the last couple of minutes. This went against all the rules. She expected to run out of oxygen any moment now, to suffocate like an astronaut without a helmet, but it didn't happen. Stubbornly ignoring those thoughts of reality, she closed her eyes and let her thoughts drown in only fiction. Euphoria flooded her mind and for a moment she felt like a child again; uninhibited, shameless, free and, above all, happy.

Peter's hands moved to her waist. He turned his head and looked at her. 'Hold on tight.'

Avery pressed herself closely unto Peters body, clasping her arms so tightly around his shoulders that she was afraid she might hurt him. They flew higher and higher, towards the Second star to the right, until the star suddenly transformed before her eyes in an explosion of colours. She dared not reach out her hand to it, though she was tempted. The bright colours swirled and swirled, until it coalesced into such a bright, white light that Avery had to squeeze her eyes shut, and when she opened them again..

Her mouth fell open. She saw the clear sea stretching to the horizon and the lagoon where she knew the mermaids bathed under the rays of the flowing waterfall. She saw the rock with the Indian camp, Captain Hook's ship and the Deathman's Cave.

Neverland.

The island was even more beautiful than in her childhood dreams. The forests were so green and dense she could hardly see through them, everything was so colourful it looked like a colouring page. But it was real. It was real!

'Do you like it?'

Avery searched for words, but couldn't find them no matter how hard she tried. Tears of happiness and nostalgia pricked her eyes. 'It's everything I ever dreamed of.'

She felt Peter chuckle. 'Excellent, then it's time for a tour now. Hold on tight!'

Chapter Text

With loud twittering the seagulls flew out of their way as Peter and Avery skimmed across the water at high speed, leaving waves in their wake. The waves glistened in the sunlight, as Avery twisted her body so she could touch the water and feel the salty water against her fingers. Peter held on to her tightly. The sun was slowly sinking into the water, turning the sky above bright red and the sea seemed awash with gold. It all seemed so unreal to Avery.

'Oh, look!' As if she recognised the place as home, she pointed to the high cliff, between which the river flowed into the sea and sprang into a waterfall. Large stones breached the surface of the water in front of it. Dried algae dangled from the stones above the waves. 'Is that the Mermaid Lagoon? Can we go there?'

'I don't know if...-' Peter looked at her. For a moment it seemed he was about to tell her otherwise, but then he nodded and flew towards the Lagoon. He carefully lowered her onto the largest stone and landed right next to her. Avery had to get used to the ground beneath her feet and she was glad she could lean on Peter for a while longer. When her legs had finally stopped shaking she looked around. She searched for scaly tails and long hairs decorated with shells and samphire. Surely the mermaids had to be somewhere? 

She loved the scenes in the book about mermaids, about how their singing could get any man to walk overboard, how their beauty would surpass that of any other. She was curious about these extraordinary creatures. She expected -hoped- that they were friendlier than in the book, since she wasn't looking forward to being drowned. However, Avery discovered that wherever she looked, there was no mermaid to be found.

'Can you call them, Peter? They always come when you play, right?' She walked towards the edge of the rock, but when Avery looked into the water, she was roughly pulled back by Peter, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist and his fingertips pressing into her ribs.

'Don't get too close to the edge,' he warned. His deep voice hummed in her ears. He looked at her sternly and Avery swallowed. Heat raced through her as she suddenly became very aware of his touch.

'What is it ?' She looked at the water. The waves were gently crashing against the stones, splashing upwards, attacking her feet. He let go of her again, but remained impassive. His dark eyes scanned the surroundings, but he did not seem to be searching as she just did. No enthusiasm could be read from his face, just vigilance.

Avery frowned. He suddenly seemed so different. His energetic, happy energy had completely faded away. As if the waves had taken it with them. Something began to stir in her lower abdomen.

'Peter, what is going on?'

His face turned her way while his eyes remained focused on the sea. Then his eyes followed and he looked at her for a few moments. Then he suddenly laughed and crossed his arms in front of his chest, rising a little. 'You should've seen your face!'

Avery felt the heat rising to her head, but she continued to stare at him with a stern gaze until he lowered himself back onto the rock and sighed. 'They don't like to show themselves much. We'll try again later.' He held out his hand, Avery looked down at it frowning. Her eyes found his face again. The stern look had disappeared from his face and he smiled amiably, causing Avery to blush. She grabbed his hand and let herself be carried away by him again.

'Where are we going now?' Avery asked. They were now flying over the dense forests, where all sorts of animals hid among the branches and she could see streams through the leaves in which large trout swam. It had been a long time since she saw a stream of water as clear as this one. The more she saw of the island, the greater her desire to explore it all, every nook and cranny.

'We're going to my hideout,' Peter replied.

'Oh! The Gallows Tree?' Although she actually felt she might be too old to look forward to the slide that would lead her deep under the tree's roots, she could not push back the excited feeling in her stomach. Neverland brought out the child in her, as it did for everyone.

'That was the old hiding place,' Peter said, 'The tree died a long time ago and I had to find a new place.'

Avery looked down at the green forest. Would the dead tree be visible from here? 'Can we at least pass by? I understand the tree is dead, but I would so like to see it with my own eyes.'

His eyes turned sideways, and then he focused his gaze forward again and quickened his pace. Avery didn't ask about it again. Perhaps the thoughts about it hurt him. She knew it was stupid to bring it up. Who knows how many years Peter had spent there with the Lost Boys, the memories he had there must have died with the tree. For the rest of the flight, Avery stayed quiet and looked forward to seeing the new hideout.

They flew further across the forest, towards the high mountains, where thick fog banks hid their peaks. Avery gazed over Peter's shoulder at the view below her. A wide river traversed the valley, occasionally disappearing between patches of forest. A skittish deer looked up startled as it quenched its thirst by the water and disappeared among the trees. Soft starry moss climbed up the mountain walls high above the tree belt. 

Peter flew up along the wall, until Avery saw a strange orb hanging in the hollow of a mountain. It looked like a bird's nest held together with strong bamboo stalks and ropes. Peter landed on the plateau just in front of the little door and let Avery in. Inside, it was dark until Peter pulled a string that lifted a cloth above an oil lamp. Fireflies fluttered around behind the thin glass.

Avery took in the space. The dark, circular space was filled with a warm, golden light and it was exactly how she had always imagined camping would be. At the back of the sphere, two hammocks hung underneath each other and on the left hung a floating chair made of vines, containing a blanket and a pillow. She wondered where he got them from, as they seemed almost brand new.

In the centre of the room was a small table with a half-melted candle on it, next to a piece of paper and a quill. And in a corner was an empty tub, with a bucket of fresh water beside it. The nest smelled wonderfully fresh and woody, as if she were in the middle of a tree trunk. It felt so cosy and inviting.

Peter flew over her and took a seat on the swinging chair, which spun a few rounds and then came to a halt again. 'Welcome to The Nest!'

Avery could not help but smile, to which Peter gave her a wink. He unhooked his pan flute from his belt and started playing a tune, while Avery discovered his hiding place. Avery felt his eyes pursuing her wherever she went.

'Is this hammock for me?' she pointed to the bottom hammock and he nodded without separating his lips from the pan flute. Avery swung her leg over the hammock, but almost lost her balance as she tried to climb into it. She heard Peter laughing through the flute as the tunes suddenly became false.

She dropped forward into the swaying hammock and made herself comfortable. Avery stared at the ceiling and listened to Peter's music. A deep sigh rolled over her lips. The sound was almost hypnotic and she noticed her eyes getting heavier. It must be very late in London by now. Would her parents already know she was gone? Were they missing her? She turned around. They probably hadn't even walked into her room yet and it wouldn't be until the morning, nay, the following evening that they discovered their daughter had disappeared. Peter was right. Why would she want to go back to that world where no one would miss her when she could also stay here in paradise; Neverland, the land of all her childhood dreams.

Chapter Text

Avery opened her eyes. A little disoriented, she stared at the empty hammock that gently rocked above her. It took her a few moments to realise where she was before she shot upright. The fireflies were still shining their golden lights across the room. Soft light from the rising sun broke through the narrow cracks of the branches of the Nest. She didn't dream it.

Avery climbed out of the hammock. She opened the small wooden door and stepped outside, where the warm sun welcomed her. She took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. It almost felt like she was on holiday. She peered over the valley at the foot of the mountain. The grass was so green that it almost seemed as if these had been carefully painted with the greenest colour she had ever seen. The sky was clear blue, very different from London where exhaust fumes and smog polluted the air and could even restrict your view. For once, she breathed in nothing but oxygen.

Here she could see so much; the birds high in the sky, the fish in the river below and if she tried her best she could see the mighty sea stirring in the distance, half hidden behind the mountains. A flight of colourful birds flew rakishly past the mountain as they took off towards the forests, squawking loudly. Avery had never seen anything so beautiful, and although she knew she had been thinking this incessantly for the past few hours, this view surpassed everything.

'Did you miss me?'

Peter's head suddenly loomed before her eyes and Avery flinched, as a cry left her throat and she stumbled across the floor. She barely managed to grab onto the doorframe to avoid falling over.

Peter landed on the platform and set the basket he was carrying on the ground. 'You get startled faster than Hook when he heard a clock ticking.' He put his hand into the basket and pulled out a large trout. 'Hungry?'

Avery nodded in bewilderment and watched the boy as he walked past her and flicked the fish onto the small table. He put his knife in its body and threw the severed fish head out through a hole in the Nest. 'Do you prefer it fried or raw?'

Avery looked at the fish head and then turned her gaze back to Peter. 'Fried, please, I'm not so into sushi.'

'What's sushi?' Peter asked, but Avery waved it away. Peter stuck a stake through the fish and stood back up. He walked towards Avery. 'Hold on tight,' he said and she thought he was talking about the fish he just pressed into her hands, but then he bent down and threw her over his shoulders.

 'Peter, nó..-' She hadn't even finished her sentence before the boy jumped off the platform. Avery held on to the stake of fish so tightly that she was about to break it in two. He made a sharp turn, causing his shoulder to push painfully into her belly, and then he calmly flew towards the valley. She loved flying, but she couldn't get used to the fact that this also made her dependent on this reckless boy. Why couldn't he make sure she could fly herself? Surely that would be much easier?

Then something came to mind. Where was Peter's eternally ringing companion, Tinkerbell? He hadn't dropped her name yet, and wasn't she was always supposed to be with him?

When her feet finally touched the ground, she was able to relax again. She was now standing in the middle of the green valley, by the little water she had been watching from metres high earlier. She pulled up her nose when she suddenly smelt the fish she held in her hands and wanted nothing more than to wash herself in that river. Even though the water would surely be stone cold.

Peter piled pieces of wood onto an old campfire, which looked like it had been used for a long time because of the scorched ground. When he had finally lit the fire, he held out his hand to her. She reached out to hand him the fish.

'I'll prepare your breakfast. You go for a swim,' he said.

Avery looked at him in astonishment. 'I didn't bring any swimming clothes.'

Peter turned around with a grin on his face and winked at her. 'You don't need those here, do you?'

Avery frowned. Did he really just say that? He started laughing. 'Go on. I may be older, but I still have manners. I solemnly swear to stay here, out of sight.' He raised a hand as if taking an oath, but his mischievous grin kept her suspicious. 'All right, but if I even get the idea that j-'

'Go now!' he growled impatiently, waving his hand towards the river.

Avery turned around, cast one last glance at the boy and then walked down the river a bit until she came across a nice spot to wash up. Although she looked around nervously a hundred times while undressing, somehow  she loved walking around buck naked in the middle of nature. It gave her a sense of freedom and self-confidence that even flying had not yet given her.

Her suspicions proved correct when she felt the water on her feet; it was freezing cold. Within five minutes, Avery came out of the water shivering.  It would be a hard task if she had to wash herself in the freezing water every day. Only now it occurred to her that she didn't have a towel. Swearing, she sat her wet buttocks down in the grass and waited patiently for the sun to dry her. Each gust of wind that licked her skin made her shiver from head to toe. 

Bored, she drew little figures in the sand. Above her, a huge bird of prey hovered screeching through the valley. She listened in silence to the lapping of the water and the whistling of the birds. It was so soothing. No honking cars, no ambulances or noisy music. She couldn't actually imagine this being the paradise she was allowed to visit. And she couldn't imagine ever leaving it either.

When she finally dried up, she was actually looking forward to the next time she could take a dip so she could drown herself in the beauty of nature again. She shot into her clothes and quickly ran back to Peter, filling her empty stomach with a delicious fried trout.

Chapter Text

Peter Pan

The sharp blade of Peter's knife slid across the scaly fish skin. Avery had just disappeared between the trees. She would be gone for a while, so he had plenty of time to carefully prepare the trout. Scale by scale swirled on the ground. He chuckled again as he recalled her facial expression. Those brilliant green eyes staring at him disturbingly as she had raised her eyebrow so high he almost expected it to detach itself from her forehead. Even then, she was still very beautiful.

'Blubber fish!' Peter dropped the knife and trout from his hands when he had slid the knife past his thumb. The fish fell at his feet, into the sand. A trickle of blood slid down his hand. 'That's what you get for not keeping your head in the game, Pan.' He could not allow himself to be distracted, not now that she was here.

He snatched the trout and knife from the ground and walked to the river to wash off the dust. He neatly sliced off the rest of the scales, removed the organs and strung the fish back on his stick. Carefully, he placed the fish over the fire. He looked around. Peter was still proud of himself for having chosen this location as his refuge; untraceable by pirates, water and food in abundance and the peace and beauty of nature as he liked it. Here he was not reminded of the state of the rest of the island.

Peter did not allow himself to think much about the old days, when there were more children on the island and he was still fearless and almost immortal. When Peter was still young. He frowned at that last thought. He had done this to himself, he knew that. He himself had chosen to leave Neverland so many times and this was the consequence, an adult body.

Peter turned the wooden stake so that the other side of the trout would also fry. He looked over his shoulder. It has been some time now, or maybe it only seemed that way. The fish was not yet cooked so he wanted to give her some more time. He stood up for a moment and stretched his back. For a split second, he had the urge to grin once over his shoulder, but he corrected himself, well aware that Tinkerbell was not with him. He missed her company immensely.

'So negative again, Pan, stop that,' he addressed himself sternly and shot high into the air. The burning sun on his shoulders and the wind in his hair blew the thoughts right out of his head. He could not fly for too long, as he could not let Avery's fish burn, but he had to get rid of these thoughts. He flew through the air at lightning speed, zigzagging between the mountains until he could see the Deadman's Cave in the distance and then turned back. He flew above the water and stared at his reflection, in which he bared his teeth and then flew back to the campfire. He was just in time, as the fish began to burn on one side. 

Avery still wasn't back, but he couldn't go looking. He had given her his word and it would be indecent to disturb her bathing. An image flashed through his upper chamber and he hit himself on the head. Avery was a lady and he a gentleman, a proper gentleman. He would have no grown-up thoughts about her. His place was here, at her breakfast and nowhere else.

Still, he looked back again. But what if she was in danger? What if that was why she did not return? No, she would have called him, he told himself. Maybe she should learn to defend herself, he then thought, that way she wouldn't depend on him. Maybe he had to teach her swordsmanship!

Cheering, he jumped up once and just as he landed back on the ground after his leap of joy, he saw a figure appear by the river. He did not need to grab his sword, as he already knew who it was. The flaming locks of red hair, which still hung wet over her shoulder, could belong to none other than Avery. She smiled oh-so sweetly and called to him in a voice as soft as Neverland's summer rain. He was delighted, because even this short time alone was taking him far too long.

Chapter Text

Avery picked a fishbone out of her mouth. She hadn't realized she was this hungry until she'd sunk her teeth into that trout. Peter had probably already eaten, because he had turned it down every time she offered him a bite. With a full belly, she layed back into the grass.

'All full?' asked Peter.

Avery nodded. 'You sure know how to cook, Pan.' She sat up and looked at him expectantly. 'What are you going to show me today? The Indian camp? The Dead Man's Cave? Captain Hook's ship? Or are we going to try the mermaids again?' She stared at him dreamily, thinking of all the adventures she would have here. She would write everything down so she would never forget.

'None of those things,' Peter replied, 'I have other plans. I'm going to teach you how to swordfight,' Peter said and Avery shot upright. 'Really?'

'I can't always be there to save the damsel in distress, can I?'

Avery rolled her eyes as he looked back at her, grinning broadly. 'How gallant of you.' Would he recognize sarcasm? The fact that his facial expression didn't change and he did seem delighted by her "compliment" told her enough. She chuckled and shook her head.

Peter stood up and extinguished the dying coal fire with sand. 'If you wait here for a moment, I'll get the swords. Don't move from this spot.' And with those words he dashed away. 

Avery watched him as he flew higher, toward the gaudy Nest that hung on the edge of the mountain. He was back very quickly and pressed a sword into her hands. She lost her balance for a moment as the weight pulled her forward. It was a sword with a long blade, but no thicker than a hefty nail. One of those that the Three Musketeers used. Around her hand, adjacent to the hilt, was a protective dome. Avery was sure he had stolen it from the pirates, which only made it more exciting.

Peter pointed his sword at her. His right foot slid backward across the sand and his gaze found hers. Warmth rose within her. She took his stance and raised the sword, with a soft "kling" the tip hit his. The sound of the clashing metal echoed through the valley. For a few seconds, the echo was the only sound. Until Peter made his first move and knocked Avery's sword right out of her hands. Befuddled, she looked down at the sword. 'I can't do much with it yet.'

'Pick it up,' he said in a husky voice, sending a shiver down her spine. She looked at him. His gaze did not leave her face as she picked up the sword from the ground again. 'I'll teach you.'

For hours, the sound of contact between steel echoed through the mountains. Sweat beaded on Avery's forehead; she could take another bath in no time. After a while, she began to have a taste for it and stabbed a few times at Peter, who dodged her lashes with ease. He parried another of her lashes and tapped his sworth against her behind. She let out a squeal and looked at him indignantly.

Peter playfully raised his eyebrow at her and gave a tug with his head, challenging her. Avery squeezed her eyes together, but couldn't suppress a smile before throwing herself back into the fight.

When they both finally plopped down on the ground, silence seemed like a gift from heaven. All Avery could hear was her own panting and the coursing of the river. The sun was sinking behind the mountains, enveloping the peaks with a golden glow. She closed her eyes for a moment and let herself catch her breath. Her arms felt like lead. Tomorrow she would surely have sore muscles. But it was worth it. What other person in the world could say they had learned sword fighting from Peter Pan?

 A shadow slid across her eyelids. She opened her eyes and looked straight into Peter's delighted face. 'You're already starting to get the hang of it. Not as good as me, of course, but don't be upset, nobody is.' He reached out a hand to her and she allowed herself to be pulled back upright. Their noses were separated by a few inches of air. He didn't let go of her hands.

She smiled. 'Oh, but I don't think anyone is as good as Peter Pan.'

A smile from ear to ear appeared on Peter's face and he proudly put his fists to his sides. 'Let everyone know that.' He crowed once loudly as he floated upward, chasing a swim of birds with the noise.

Avery laughed. 'What a nice feeling it must be to know you can take on the whole world,' she said.

'Don't you know that feeling?'

Avery shook her head. 'As sure of yourself as you are, I'll never be.'

'Why not?' he asked, 'If you don't try, you'll never know.' He looked back at the sun, which had disappeared behind the mountain, then focused on Avery again. 'If you light the fire, I'll go see if I can find some food. We've earned that.' And away he was.

Avery looked him over. If you don't try, you never know, she repeated in her mind. If only it were that easy. She smiled. How could this boy be so wise and yet seem so childlike. Did he realize it himself, she asked herself, that he sometimes said very mature things? Or would he not admit it to himself? Would it frustrate him? She wondered if she could make him forget that. That she could show him that growing up, isn't such a bad thing at all. Not with the right people by your side.

Chapter Text

Avery stood unmoved. She couldn't feel her toes through the cold water. Her eyes were fixed on the fat trout swimming closer, and when it was close enough, she stuck her spear into the water. She looked at the tip in dissapointment when there was no floundering fish pinned to it.

'Not as easy as it looks, is it?'

Avery trudged out of the water and threw the spear down at Peter's feet. 'I'll stick to swordplay.'

Peter chuckled. 'Well, you can't do that very well either so...'

She gave him a shove before he could finish his sentence. 'Meanie.' She looked at him and laughed. She was getting better at it, he couldn't deny that. Over the past few days, she had become completely accustomed to the idea of living in Neverland. They ate with bare hands, bathed in the river and slept in the hammock, and when they had nothing to do for a while Peter taught her sword fighting or how to play songs on his pan flute. They didn't always eat fish either; sometimes Peter caught a rabbit or pheasant in one of his traps. That was a pleasant change for her taste buds. 

In the evenings when the sun had gone down they told stories by the warm fire. Avery told about her everyday life or stories she knew by heart from books, sometimes even history books. In return, Peter told about Neverland, but not as much as Avery hoped for. There was never any real depth to his stories, or they were all stories from long ago, or at least that's what they sounded like. In time, Avery tried to persuade him to tell more, but then it seemed as if he didn't hear her or as if he had already forgotten her question.

That got Avery thinking. Peter was keeping her short, she began to realize. She longed to see much more of the island, but he kept her here. In the valley, in the bowl enclosed between the mountains. Every time Avery brought it up, his answer was definitive: 'There are many dangerous creatures on the island, make no mistake about that,' and with that he ended every conversation. She had heard the roars and wild beasts at night, but nonetheless she could not suppress the desire for adventure. So tonight she was going to provide that herself.

Peter made his rounds around the mountains every evening, and then it took a long time for him to return. She would often stay by the river and wait for him to return and take her to the Nest. But today that would change.

'I'm going to wash up in a minute. I feel like I stink of fish.'

Peter stick his nose in the air and shrugged. 'I don't smell anything.'

'That's because you smell yourself.'

He smelled his armpit and Avery laughed as she stood up. 'A bath would do you good, too.' She pointed up. 'Would you get that cloth for me?'

Peter nodded and shot up into the air. A moment later he was back with a cloth that had served as a towel. 'I'll go that way.' She pointed toward the waterfall.

'Not too close to that waterfall. The current is stronger there.'

She nodded obediently.

'I'll check the traps for dinner and then I'll wash myself too.'

'That seems like a good idea.' She waved to him and walked toward the waterfall. There was a bend in the river that made it disappear behind some trees. A perfect location to not be seen. At the edge, she stared down, where the waterfall clattered down onto the little pool below. It wasn't very high. Eleven feet she guessed, which was doable. And she knew Peter had jumped off this often enough to know it was safe. She didn't want to think about it too much. Avery pinched her nose and jumped down. 

At a murderous pace, the water approached. The water hit her feet and then it swallowed her whole. The cold crept under her clothes. As soon as her head rose above the water, she took a deep breath and wiped the wet hair from her eyes. The waves of the waterfall lapped against her face and she coughed as she swallowed water. She looked around at the raging waterfall and for a moment couldn't believe she had actually jumped.

Avery made her way to the shore. She was soaking wet and cold to the bone, but none of that bothered her when she realized she had tasted sweet freedom. This valley was even greener than the one she had stayed in, or it only seemed that way because it was a new image. Fresh grass spread from the riverbed to the mountains, between which beautiful flowers turned toward the sun. Further ahead was a small grove behind which the base of the mountain was hidden.

She looked up at the mountains and could see the Nest hanging. See, I'm not that far away. She wrung off her clothes the best she could and braided her wet hair so it wouldn't get in the way. She picked a few flowers and intertwined them through. These beauties didn't grow in the valley near the Nest. 

Then she stood up and looked around. Could she reach the rest of Neverland from here? She knew she didn't have time to find out. It wouldn't be long before Peter realized she wasn't taking a bath at all. She had left the towel by the edge of the waterfall in case he went looking for her, at least he would know she went down there.

Avery got up and walked through the valley. This one ran so far that she felt like it had no end, but with every few feet, the changing scenery was worth the walk. Her eye fell on a part of the mountainfoot on which the sun's rays seemed to have almost no effect. Half hidden behind trees and bushes, she discovered a cave there. She wondered if it would extend far into the mountain, or perhaps it was only shallow.

For a moment she ventured inside and immediately felt the cool stones soak up the heat from outside. The wind blew past the stones, and although she expected the cave to indeed run a little farther, she couldn't see more than a few feet ahead before venturing into the pitch darkness.

She turned around again. Cursing, she jumped up as she stepped on something sharp with her bare foot, which crackled due to her weight. She rubbed the sole of her foot and looked down. Are those.. Bones?

Skeletons of small and large animals lay cracked on the stone ground, and suddenly Avery thought about why Peter had build the nest so high up on the mountainside. It was the growling behind her that gave her an answer.

Avery didn't move, her heart pounding in her throat. Only when a second growl echoed through the cave did she turn. Two yellow eyes stared at her from the darkness, following her as she slid backward foot by foot until the mountain lion was fully in sight. Her hand reached to her hip for the sword she had left by the campfire. The beast's strong muscles tightened and its yellow eyes followed her every move. Its tail swished back and forth like a whip, and Avery gulped. She recognized that movement all too well, when Abby got irritated, just before she struck and attacked her prey -which was usually her foot.

Slowly she managed to walk further and further back, until she could finally see the sky above her again. She looked up, hoping she could see Peter flying there, but except for a few clouds, there was nothing to see. Suddenly she regretted that she had run away. He had warned her, he had had his reasons for keeping her close, and one of them was now right in front of her. She had no weapon, no way out of this valley and nowhere to hide herself, so she did the only thing she could do: crowed. 

For a moment, the mountain lion seemed distracted by the sound that echoed through the valley, but a few moments later his eyes found his prey again and he bent through his knees. Avery's heart raced in her chest like a pavement worker's jackhammer. The mountain lion licked its lips and Avery felt nauseous. Her head shot up when a crowing sound blasted through the air and Peter landed on the ground in front of her.

He looked over his shoulder. 'Dummy.' With sword raised, he flew toward the mountain lion.

Chapter Text

'Peter, look out!' Avery didn't want to look when the mountain lion made a sharp turn and lashed out at Peter with its claws. She heard him laugh and saw him fly high above the lion, before coming down again with a dive. The lion rushed after him and Peter braced himself against a tree, forcing the animal to stop full force and clumsily crashed into the tree.

Avery watched as the animal became increasingly irritated, foam dripping from its maw and its eyes almost shooting fire. 'This is no time for games, Peter,' cried Avery as the boy stuck his tongue out at the lion. She didn't know whether to be scared or angry, but in this situation she was sure both were allowed.

Peter just laughed as he saw the lion getting more frustrated. Until he looked back at Avery and caught her angry looks. 'Okay. Okay. Done playing the games.' He drew his sword and pointed it at the lion. The sound of the steel being pulled from its scabbard made all the hairs on Avery's neck stand up. Suddenly, it was no longer the lion she was so afraid of.

'I have to thank you, Avery,' he said in a husky voice, 'this kitten kept stealing preys from my traps and I just couldn't figure out where it was hiding.' He grinned at the animal. 'Now you're mine.'

Avery clasped her hands in front of her eyes and pressed her back against a tree. She didn't want to see it. She didn't want to watch Peter slaughter the animal, the ground stained red with sticky blood. The beast may have seen her as his next meal, but she absolutely could not stand animal cruelty. Heartrending howls cut through air and Avery could not hold back her tears. She kept her eyes closed until she heard something heavy running past her. She peeked between her hands and saw the mountain lion disappear into the cave with a bloody 'P' on its right hip.

Peter stowed his sword again and turned to face her. His broad smile melted off his face. 'Why are you crying?' he asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes, 'I didn't kill it.' He knelt down in front of her and tilted his head. 'Or are you crying because I didn't kill it?'

She smiled and shook her head. 'No, I'm glad you didn't kill it.'

Peter stretched his back, 'Great!' He held up his hand to her and she took it. Carefully he pulled her upright. She looked at him, at the brown eyes that reminded her so much of the walnuts she used to roast in the fireplace with her father. 'I'm sorry I ran away,' she said softly.

Peter scratched his head. 'Now that you mention it.' The warmth she had just likened to a hearth fire disappeared from his eyes. As if an icy gust of wind swept over them. Avery's breath stopped in her throat. She suddenly felt very small when he looked at her piercingly and she took her distance.

'How dare you!' The contrast with the gentleness with which he had spoken to her only minutes ago was so big that she did not know what to do. She looked at him as he put his sword back in its sheath and stepped towards her. 'Women are so stupid.' With a second, he was in front of her, grabbed her by her arms and shot into the air.

They dashed through the air towards the Nest. Avery felt Peter's fingers pressing hard into the flesh of her arms. She wasn't sure if he was doing that to make sure he wouldn't drop her, or if he was doing it out of anger.

'Peter, where are we going?' His gaze remained fixed ahead. He seemed to hear her voice, but did not respond. Only his brow crept deeper over his eyes, making her realise how angry he was. 'Peter, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..-I just couldn't..-' She stopped talking when she realised he wasn't going to respond to her again. The words from her book haunted her mind. If this Peter was like the Peter from her book, she didn't know how it was going to end with her now that she had broken his rules.

Peter landed on the Nest and pushed Avery inside. She turned and looked at him. He did not enter, but hovered in front of the entrance. 'I thought. I thought you were going to hurt me.' A salty drop slid down her cheek. He seemed to see it, but said nothing.

Finally he turned away and muttered a reply to her. 'Women aren't supposed to be touched like that, not even with a flower.' He closed the hatch and disappeared.

Chapter Text

Avery stared at the little front door of the nest. Her leg dangled down from the vine chair. A sigh rolled over her lips. She hadn't seen Peter in hours. Just like the days before. And when he would come, he didn't speak a word to her, put her food on the table and disappeared again. She hadn't walked in the valley for days, let alone washed, and she was sure she smelled terribly.

Avery had tried to talk to Peter, but as soon as she even opened her mouth, he was already gone, leaving her alone again. It was as if he was punishing her. Perhaps he was doing just that, exactly as she had left him. But he couldn't punish her forever, could he? She had left her home for Neverland and now suddenly she was a prisoner, much like she was at home in London. She regretted running away and she had apologized, so he couldn't keep her locked up here for the rest of time, could he?

She rose to her feet when she heard a noise behind the door. It was twilight and Peter would surely have returned with her supper. But this time she was ready. She walked toward the door and the moment Peter stepped inside, she slid past behind him, slammed the door shut and stepped in front of it. 'Peter, I think I've been punished enough.'

He turned and looked at her. At least that was something, but when he stayed silent, she grew impatient. 'Peter, listen to me! You brought me here for an adventure and you said I would never feel alone again. Well, I do now! I feel like a prisoner.' The lump forming in her throat made her voice skip. She cleared her throat before speaking further. 'I want to see more, Peter. The valley is lovely, but this is Neverland.... Why do you deny me this adventure? Why won't you let me see more?'

Peter looked at her, with her food still in his hands. 'Because it's too dangerous.'

Her heart fluttered for a moment at hearing his voice. Finally she heard a voice again that was different from the one that had been screaming in her head with boredom for the past few days. She continued to look at him. 'But why?'

Then he sighed, put his arm around her waist and flew out the door, down where the fire was still burning and roasting his own supper. There he gently released her again. Avery felt the grass tickling her feet and couldn't believe her luck. At last she was outside again!

Peter pressed her food into her hands and sat down by the fire. 'Eat,' he hummed, 'after I'll show you why I'm so careful.'

The dark undertone sent shivers down her spine. She hesitantly took a bite. In the minutes that drifted by, the air around them seemed to grow heavier, and when Avery finally emptied her bowl, she looked at him expectantly. She didn't know if the uneasy feeling was her stomach starting to digest the food or if she was expecting him to reveal something terrible.

Without saying anything, Peter gallantly lifted her off the ground and steef up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly. The warmth that resonated from his chest was the only reassurance that kept her sane.

Peter was flying low above the treetops and in one straight line, making Avery well aware that he was trying to be seen as little as possible. There was no fun in this flight, just a point A and a point B. Without a warning, he shot down into the thick blanket of leaves. He released her legs to protect her face with his arm from striking branches and cutting leaves. Suddenly the rustling was gone and she felt the ground beneath her feet. Peter removed his arm again. 

Low rays of sunlight shone through the hole they had just created in the foliage. The rest of the area was shrouded in darkness. Not so dark that you couldn't see anything, but dark enough to make you feel very uncomfortable. In front of her were the remains of a thick oak tree that needed no introduction.

'The gallows tree,' she whispered, but it was far from how she had imagined it. The smell that still hung in the air after all this time gave it away. The bark was blackened and the branches were like scorched cabbage. All that remained was a sad skeleton of the once mighty tree that had stood there. There were no more plants on the ground beneath her feet; no flowers, no bushes and no new saplings.

She looked at Peter for a moment before walking over to the tree and placing her hand against the bark. It was as if she could still feel the heat of the fire against her palm, trapped under the scorched bark. 'What happened here?' she asked as she turned to him. Peter stared at the tree as if he had lost a loved one.

'Pirates.' His voice sounded broken. She heard the desperation behind his words; there was nothing he could have done.

'Hook did this?'

He looked at her sternly. 'Hook hasn't been here for a long time.'

A frown crept across her forehead. She had lost all understanding of the situation by now. She looked at him, at the tense muscles in his jaw and the fury in his eyes. 'If you don't want to talk,' she said, 'you don't have to.' The truth was that she was incredibly curious, but she also understood that this probably felt like torture to him. No, not "as if" this time, this was real. His home was hidden under these roots and it was completely destroyed.

To her great relief, Peter shook his head. 'No, sooner or later the truth will come out anyway. I'll tell you, but first let's go back to The Nest. It's not safe here.'

Avery nodded in agreement. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Avery kept looking at him all the way to The Nest. The anger from minutes ago was completely gone from his face. Only a deep sadness remained. Whatever had happened after Wendy had damaged him considerably.

In the valley, he put her back on the ground. He muttered something about a fire and disappeared again. Avery passed the time looking for twigs until Peter returned. Her thoughts about the Gallows Tree did not rest for a moment. How could a once carefree, happy place like Neverland have changed so much? Not to mention Peter. What had happened to him that he was so unstable?

When Peter finally returned and lit the campfire, Avery was bursting with curiosity. Silently she followed his movements as he stoked the fire. He cleared his throat briefly, and Avery was startled by the sound that suddenly broke the dead silence. He looked up, the reflection of the fire dancing around his irises. Heat rose within her, but not from the glowing fire. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't, she could only look into his eyes. Eyes that she had no idea how long they had watched over the world. They were so young, and yet so old. They had seen changes in civilizations, wars, and yet she had no idea how much of this he had actually witnessed, whether he had looked away from the suffering of the world and hidden under the safe wings of Neverland. She kept staring into it, and he did not avert his gaze from her. It may have only been for a minute, but to Avery, time seemed to stand still. Perhaps it did.

Chapter Text

Peter Pan

"Okay.' A sigh followed. 'I'll tell you what happened.' The moment Peter started talking, Avery straightened her back and fixed those green eyes on him. She looked at him like a child waiting for a bedtime story, but Peter knew it wouldn't be a nice story. He stared at her eyes, where the red flames of the burning fire swallowed up all the green.

She smiled. He probably stared too long. 'I promise I'll listen 'till the very end.' Her voice was so warm that the fire was no match for it. His stomach stirred at hearing that sound, as if a monster was briefly awakening. The monster seemed to increasingly awake his body in her presence.

Peter cleared his throat again. 'I'm just afraid of what you'll do next.' He briefly averted his gaze from her when she frowned and tilted her head. He wouldn't explain. Nor did he seem to need to, for she said softly, 'I'm staying right here.'

Peter prodded the fire with a long stick, causing burning ashes to fly up and disappear into the black night. 'I don't know how long it's been since Wendy came to Neverland," he began pained, recalling the memory of that night, 'but after that day, everything changed.' He looked at Avery for a moment. 'The Lost Boys went home with her and they found a forever home. And I went back here. For a very long time I was alone on the island...-' Peter felt a stab in his heart. 'Along with Tinkerbell.' He had said her name, out loud. He hadn't done that in a very long time.

'Years later, Hook got hold of a stash of pixie dust and disappeared with it to London and he came back with Jane, Wendy's daughter.' He smiled for a moment. 'I was so happy, but then she too wanted to leave. I accompanied her and came face to face with Wendy; no longer young, but a grown woman.' He remembered her beaming smile, as warm as he remembered it. 'Something hit me, because the moment I got back to Neverland, I lost it. I realized I was alone, really alone. Wendy had grown up, the Lost Boys had grown up, and I was still here.. Alone.' He broke the twig in two and threw it into the crackling fire.

'But then it occurred to me that I didn't have to be alone and I left for London, to look for a new first Lost Boy. And I found one, his name was Jacob. He was a little older than the boys I normally took, but he had a hard life and I pitied him. His father was a drunk who beat his mother and him. I offered him a way out, which he took with both hands.' Peter looked at her for a moment, but something in her eyes forced him to speak further, without her having to say anything at all. It was peculiar how much courage she gave him with just her eyes. Those wonderful, green eyes..

He tore his gaze away from her to keep his concentration. 'We had great fun. We got into a lot of mischief, bullied Hook until he was red with anger and partied with the Indians until the morning sun shone again.' He smiled briefly before continuing his story. 'One night, however, I found out that Jacob was carrying a pocket watch with a picture of his mother. I have only one rule in Neverland; adults are taboo. And he broke it by thinking of her.' For a split second, something seemed to change on her face, but her countenance soon became neutral again. 'You were afraid he would leave you, just like Wendy and Jane.'

Peter looked at her. She looked right through him. 'Aye, that's right,' he replied a little overwhelmed. 'I threw it in the ocean. Jacob was so enraged he left the Gallows Tree and I didn't go after him.' He fell silent for a moment, trying to remember everything as best he could. 'A few days later I went looking for him and found him on the pirate ship. It was clear to me that he had joined them and he knew that I would come looking for him, he was prepared for that. The moment Hook saw me, he went crazy and Jacob, in the meantime, had turned his crew against him.'

Peter looked at her. 'The sea turned red that day and the crocodile finally got what he wished for. It was not a pretty sight.'

'And Jacob?'

'Jacob was now their captain. Age doesn't matter here in Neverland, even with the pirates. Jacob had a plan to make them rich and that was all the crew wanted. I was with the Indians for a deliberation when the fairies came for me. Jacob had captured dozens.' He cleared his throat. 'Including my Tinkerbell.'

Peter fell silent. His thoughts were a jumble and it felt like a cloud was stuck in his head. The words stuck in his throat. It wasn't until Avery moved from her spot and sank down beside him that he managed to escape from his thoughts again. Her warm hand grasped his, and for a moment he stared at the fingers sliding over his skin. 'They were good friends,' he said softly, 'I think that's why Tinkerbell fell for his ruse.'

'How awefull,' she said softly. Her voice sounded so fragile, as if it might break at any moment.

Peter cleared his throat. He was embarrassed that she had come to comfort him, but was also moved that she did. 'Jacob then razed the Indian camp to the ground and killed the Chief. I haven't seen the Indians after that. In fact, I don't even know if Tigerlilly is still alive. The sirens no longer surface and the fairies no stay put at Pixiehollow. No one feels safe anymore with the pirates lurking. Neverland has changed.' He looked at her. Would she want to leave now? It was too dangerous for her to stay, he knew that too.

'You've been through a lot,' she said to his surprise.

He shrugged with a sigh. 'I tried so many times to save her, but I failed every time. Finally Jacob set fire to the Gallows Tree and I had nowhere to go. The fairies refused me access to Pixie Hollow until I'd get rid ofJacob, because they were afraid I would give away their location. I fled to the Mainland.'

He looked at her. 'Then I found you, in Wendy's old house. You reminded me so much of her with your stories and your books, so I stayed. As often and as long as I could. You encouraged me and then I made another attempt to save Tink. Until Jacob killed some of the fairies and threatened me with Tink's life. I had to disappear and never come back, so I did.'

'Is she still alive?'

Peter looked at her. He knew what his gut was telling him, what his heart was screaming at him, but looking into her eyes, so hopeful.... He couldn't tell her the truth, could he? But then, did he have to lie? Could he lie to her?

'Peter?' A soft pinch in his hand pulled him out of his thoughts. Peter averted his gaze. 'I think she's long gone.'

'That's terrible.' A silence dominated the air. Only the crackling of the fire filled the valley. Peter wanted to fill the silence; he didn't want to be stuck in the toughts about he blackest moments of his life. He had to banish Tink from his thoughts or it would destroy him.

'Why does he want the elves that badly?' Avery's voice was like a candle in the darkness, to which he ran with all that he got.

'Fairydust,' he replied, 'Jacob wants to go back to the Mainland and sell the fairydust on the black market. That's why he needs the fairies.'

'Gold?' she asked astonished. 'All of this for gold!' An exultant moan left her throat with force and she turned to Peter, who recoiled in dismay. Her cheeks looked as red as Tinkerbell's head when she got angry. 'That's ridiculous! Such petty cowards. They are deranged, utterly deranged!' She probably didn't even realize she had risen in her anger. 'Those filthy, boneheaded, narrow-minded, barbaric pirates!'-and so she went on and on.

Peter just stared at her. Any worries he had seemed to disappear for a moment. Avery was not afraid at all, she was angry! She didn't seem at all intent on leaving him, rather intent on fighting for this place he could call his home. Peter was a man of justice and it seemed that Avery was the same way.

Chapter Text

Red strands of hair hung dripping in front of her eyes. Avery stared at the campfire. She had just pushed her head into the river to cool off. She didn't know what to say or do. Thoughts raced through her head. All the dreams she used to have about Neverland, all swept away by Peter's story, as if they had never existed. This was no longer the land of dreams, but the land of nightmares.

Peter had not spoken all this time. He stared at her from the other side of the campfire, his hands clasped together and the muscles in his jaws tightened. He sat as if he would jump up at any moment to yell something at her, but he stayed in place and remained silent. Avery knew exactly what he was pondering. But Avery had no intention of leaving.

'Peter,' she began, and the boy startled. 'What are we going to do?'

He frowned, looking at her dubiously. She folded her arms in front of her chest. 'You didn't think we were going to sit here and let Jacob terrorize Neverland, did you? I'm not leaving here until we free Neverland.'

Peter straightened his back and the frown disappeared like snow in the sun. A smile so wide it must have hurt his jaws appeared on his face. He shot into the air, did a somersault and then landed on his knees right in front of her and grabbed her hand. 'I'm so glad to hear you say that!' It took a second and then he quickly let go and hummed something as he stood up. 'I mean, of course you're staying. You're here now, with me, why would you want to leave.'

Avery couldn't suppress her laughter. Then she shook her head, walked over to Peter and, before he could flinch, pressed a kiss to his cheek. She gave him a gentle pat against his now fire-red cheek and walked past him. She heard the pebbles on the ground crunching behind him as he turned and she called out; 'Now come on, Pan, put out the fire. I'd like to get some sleep.'

As the first rays of sunlight hit the Nest, Avery was awakened from her slumber with a deafening croak, which led to the first thing she saw being the wooden planks. Were it not for the fact that she was so tired, she would have slapped Peter. Bitten, she smashed her pillow right into his face, but Peter dodged it just in the nick of time and laughed.

'You think it's funny, Pan?' growled Avery as she stood up and patted her knees.

'Most entertaining,' was his short answer. He perched on his stomach in the air, watching her like a hawk.

'Watch your back,' Avery said, 'just wait until you fall asleep. You can't stay awake forever.' She threw him a devious grin. She snatched her selfmade towel from the table. 'Can you take me down?'

Peter nodded. 'Sure, anything the lady wishes.' He sank down beside her, lifting her legs off the ground, and she wrapped her arm around his neck. Avery liked this way of flying. Not only because it felt a lot more stable than when she was hanging on his neck, but also because it felt nice being so close to him. She couldn't ignore the fact that now that he had gotten older he looked quite handsome. And even though it was just Peter Pan, the boy who didn't want to grow up, it felt different. Especially since one hand now pressed into her bare thigh and the other grasped her ribcage high. She shook the blush from her cheeks as Peter lowered her to the floor below. 'See you later,' she said quickly and fled toward the riverbed where she always bathed. This time far away from the waterfall.

Undressed, she placed the towel at the water's edge and walked into the fresh water. She had actually gotten used to washing in the cold river water. Once the initial shock was off her body, she appreciated the gentle flow of the water against her body. It felt renewing, like it washed all the worries out of her. Especially after all the information she had received last night.

Carefully combing her hair with her fingers, she replayed the whole story through her head once more. Unbelievable. That was the only word she could come up with when thinking about this situation. Unbelievable how Neverland could have been changed so much by the arrival of one person, one thoroughly heinous person. The island seemed almost uninhabited. All right, it wasn't London, it wasn't like she had to expect to run into someone around every corner, but still.... Neverland, too, had inhabitants. But where were they?

Suddenly her attention was drawn to the treetops across the river. Leaves were rustling, louder than she thought a bird could make them do. She lowered herself deeper into the water and folded her arms in front of her breasts, searching for the source of the rustling. 'Hello?'

It took a moment for the figure to come down and emerge from the bushes. Avery was surprised to see that it was a monkey. One of those she really only thought she'd encountered in zoos. A few others also finally showed themselves among the branches and watched her. They were no bigger than the average Jack Russel with a long brown tail with a black tip at the end. 

The monkey made its way to the river and Avery sat motionless as the little animal quenched its thirst. He looked at her occasionally. He strode along the stream and stopped when he came across Avery's pile of clothes. Avery laughed when he picked up her underwear and then tossed it aside. She had to do her best not to burst into laughter as well when the monkey put her bra over his head. Avery shook her head disapprovingly and chuckled when he put it back on the ground, but when the monkey suddenly snatched up the entire pile and ran away, she sprang up from the water, startled.

'Hey!' But it was already too late; the monkey had disappeared among the trees, yelling loudly. 'Come back' she screamed, but the monkey did not return. The monkeys' cries could still be heard from afar. 'Well, have fun with it,' she mumbled. She looked around. How was she supposed to get out now? Surely she couldn't go back to Peter like that?

The monkey might not have heard her call, but did, and came flying towards her, because when a woman called for help, Peter was there. Even when it was less convenient.

Chapter Text

The thud behind her in the sand stiffened her. With a jolt, Avery turned around and looked at the boy who was gawping her with wide eyes. Time froze and for a moment there was no sound but the lapping water slapping against Avery's belly. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks. 'Peter.'

His eyes shot up to her face and when their gazes met, he turned around, wimpering all kind of apologetic words. Avery sprinted to her towel and carefully wrapped it around her body. She grabbed her underwear off the ground and once again cursed the monkey for his dirty trick.

'You screamed,' Peter said with flushed ears. 'I thought something had happened.'

'It did,' Avery replied, 'A monkey stole all my clothes.' Still dripping with water, she tried to put on her underwear and turned back to Peter. He hadn't moved an inch and stood huddled and with his eyes rigidly closed. Avery chuckled, 'The coast is clear. I'm all covered up.'

Hesitantly Peter turned and floated toward her when he saw she was covered. 'Which way did he go?' He didn't dare look straight at her. Would he know how red his head was now? Her head probably looked the same.

'He's probably already gone,' she sighed. 'What am I going to do now, Peter? I can't keep walking around in a towel all day, can I?'

Peter picked his chin and shook his head. 'No, you can't, but I may have a solution.' He pressed his sword into her hands and shot into the air. 'Keep that with you. I'll be right back.' He disappeared from sight. There she stood. Naked except for the thin cloth around her body that she had to keep holding with one hand and in her other hand Peter's sword. She made a quick prayer there was no mountain lion nearby. Worst of all, it took quite a while for Peter to finally return. Her hair had dried by now. She had sat down, still clutching the towel tightly to her chest. In his hands, Peter had a cloth and a few thin pieces of rope. Avery could guess what his idea was and she didn't like it.

'Here. It's not much, but it's better than nothing.' He pressed it into her hands and turned away so Avery could get dressed. She looked at the cloth in her hands. It was firm material, yet soft. A treated animal skin perhaps? She didn't really know what to do with it. Her eye fell on the dagger Peter wore around his hip. 'May I borrow your dagger?'

Peter blindly groped for the weapon and with one hand still in front of his eyes, he thrusted it in her direction. 'Thank you.' She smiled at the sight. She cut an opening in the middle of the fabric for her head and two more for her arms. She definitly looked like a sack of potatoes, but at least it covered her body. She tied the rope around her waist to create a bit of a waist and cut off the rest of the fabric, leaving only a dress.

 'How does it look?' she asked and Peter turned around. He studied her briefly and then smiled not too convincingly. 'That'll work,' he replied; a safe answer. Avery knew it probably looked terriblet, but she didn't want to think about it too much. Many a tramp would be happy with it.

'Where did you get this so quickly?' she asked, picking up the cut-up rags of fabric from the ground. It was good quality fabric. Very different from the thin shirts she had in her closet. Almost leathery. 

'The Indian camp,' Peter replied. 'I cut it out of one of the old tents.'

Avery looked at him. She had been expecting this answer. It was exactly that quality she had expected in a tent camp. She slowly rose to her feet. She had thought about it many, many times. It's impossible to leave Neverland, at least not without fairydust. The Indians were still here, in hiding perhaps, even hidden from Peter. So why hadn't Peter found them yet?

Peter wanted to take her hand, but she pulled back and looked at him. 'Peter, I want to go look for the Indians.'

Peter stared at her distraught, his hand still held out to her. 'Why would you?'

'Because I'm sure they must be here somewhere.'

Peter shook his head dejectedly. 'I've already tried, Avery, I know this island like the back of my hand.' He held up his hand dramatically, but Avery was not so easily persuaded. 'They can help us take Jacob down and free Tinkerbell. We have to try. We -'

'Tink is dead, Avery.'

The words came out of his mouth so sharply that they seemed to startle him himself. He averted his gaze. The muscles in his jaws tightened. She couldn't believe what he said, she didn't want to believe it. She had absolutely no connection with the fairy and didn't know her personally, but she couldn't just stand by and watch one of her favorite characters from her youth have to wear away her life in captivity. Peter might have given up, but she hadn't. 'You don't know that,' Avery persisted.

'Stop it, Avery,' he snarled, 'Jacob told me himself. She tried to escape, but failed.' Now he looked at her sternly. 'That's why I came to get you. I can't be alone without my Tinkerbell.'

His dark eyes stared straight into hers. Avery struggled to breathe, as if an invisible hand was pressing on her chest. Her heart pounded in her chest, it resonated throughout her body. 'Is that the reason you came to get me?'

He nodded. 'At least then, we could be alone together.' His eyes released hers again.

Sadness rippled through her. It was the saddest sentence she had heard in a long time. For a second she thought about home and how miserable she felt there, how alone. If only she had known that someone had been with her every day....

'He could have lied about it,' she persisted. 'He could have - '

Peter merely shook his head. When he looked at her again, she was startled by the glint she saw in his eyes. She felt how a grieved emptiness seeped through her stomach, dragging her whole body into those desolate depths. It seemed as if all of Neverland sympathized with her, as the sun disappeared behind the clouds and Neverland became gray and swallowed by a dejected sight. Sadness could be tasted in the air and Avery understood that these were Peter's deepest feelings all along; the sun shining was just a facade, to pretend to himself that he was happy, when in essence he was desperate and miserable. Without thinking about it, she ran to him and hugged him tight. That's all it took to put Peter over the edge, but with the rain pouring down from the clouds, Avery didn't know whose tears belonged to who.

Chapter Text

Avery was up early the next morning, but not as early as Peter. She wondered if the boy had slept at all last night. He had been tossing restlessly above her in the hammock, and it wasn't until Avery had placed her hand against the bottom of the hammock that he seemed to relax again. She had left her hand against his back for a moment and then gone back to sleep; she had not woken up after that, but her thoughts also had caused many dreams that night. But because of those, she knew exactly what she was going to do today. That morning, when Peter returned to the nest to fetch her, she flung her sword into his arms.

'Today I decide what we are going to do, and whether you agree or not, we are going to look for the Indians.'

He wanted to say something, but Avery pressed a finger to his lips. Peter squinted as he looked at it. 'I can be just as stubborn as you, Pan,' she said with a grin, 'I believe the Indians are still here and waiting for you. Take me to camp.'

Peter stood with his mouth agape. It took a few moments before he really realized that she was not going to let this go and he sighed. 'Fine, if that's what you want.' He took her on his back and they flew toward the campsite. The location surprised her, but perhaps they had moved the camp toward the edge of the forest before Jacob had taken control. 

Peter lowered her to the ground. Avery got chills as she glanced around the dilapidated tent camp. Most of the canvases were torn, destroyed or damaged. Some were no longer even standing. Dry rot, vines and other unwanted vegetation had taken their place around the tents, creating their own kind of decoration around the canvases and broken and rotting tent poles. Avery could see where Peter had cut the piece of cloth from a tent, but it was different in everything from the rest of the tears in the tents; they were crude and violently made. There were broken weapons and bullets everywhere. She bent down to pick up a handmade doll from under a collapsed tent and knocked the dust off it.

'It looks like they left right after the attack.'

'That's correct,' Peter replied, 'I was too late to stop it and when I got here, the pirates were victorious and the Indians were nowhere to be found. None alive at least.' He cast her a sorrowful look. With the little doll in her hand, Avery walked around the tent camp and Peter watched her. Occasionally he flew up to see where she had gone  to, but after a while he let out a sigh and flew toward her. 'Avery, I don't believe we're going to find anything.'

'Believing is the first step, Pan, if I had stopped believing, I wouldn't be standing here now with my dirty feet in Neverland.'

An exasperated sigh from the air. Avery had no intention of giving up. She looked into the standing wigwams and searched the entire area. Peter believed the Indians had been in hiding since the time of the raid, but who's to say they hadn't come back? They should have known Peter was looking for them, right? They couldn't wait for him for days, she understood that too, but perhaps they had left a hint. 'Help me get this wigwam upright, will you?'

Avery ignored the groan that followed as he reluctantly slipped into the wigwam and flew up so Avery could get the tent poles upright. 'Peter, look.' Her fingers followed the markings on the inside of the tent. They seemed made with berries and brambles, but didn't look like letters or runes. They were insignificant marks, some larger than others, as if they were some kind of writing. 'What are these?'

Peter came to stand beside her. He looked at the canvas for a moment and soon said, 'If I didn't know better I'd say they look like smoke signals.'

He pointed to the canvas. 'This one means 'refugee' and these together mean 'mountains' and this one I'm not sure about. I think 'hollow' or 'hole,' something along those lines.'

'Caves,' Avery corrected him. 'There are caves in mountains, Peter! They're in caves in mountains!' Enthusiastically, she squeezed his shoulders. 'We have to go look for them.'

For the first time since Avery was in Neverland, Peter seemed to agree with her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the tent to look for the vanished indians.

Chapter Text

Peter Pan

It took Peter days to fly around all the mountains with Avery on his back, and so far they had only found caves inhabited by mountain lions and cave bears, which still often led to them narrowly escaping the cave with a ferocious beast at their heels.

When they flew around, Peter would talk about the island. At last he could tell her about it. He had held back, afraid he would say things that would scare Avery away, but no matter what he said now, he got a hundred questions in return. He told her about the concept of time, which did not exist in Neverland, how nothing grows older and stays young. And he told her about the seasons, which were in fixed places around the island; there was the snowy, wintery mountains with its glacier, the valleys in full bloom through spring, the pines and deciduous forests with their red-orange leaves in a forever autumn and the beach, where the sun always shone and the palm trees enjoyed the warmth of their summer. He was relieved that he could trust Avery and that she listened. Even when he finally dared to talk about his time after Wendy, the Lost Boys.. About Jacob. He caught himself regretting the moment when they discovered another cave. And that he had to let her go again.

'There! Is that another one?' she pointed over his shoulder and Peter followed her slender finger, pointing among the trees at a dark hollow in the mountain. Peter sailed across the sky toward the mountain and landed right in front of the cave's mouth. It was bigger than the others, almost too big for a predator to hide in. It was deep and dark inside, and Peter couldn't see farther than a meter inside.

When Avery took a step forward, he stopped her with his arm. 'Wait here a minute,' he said and walked ahead of her into the darkness. He had absolutely no intention of letting Avery walk in first. He would first check for wildlife himself. Unfortunately, his eyes just didn't seem to adjust to the darkness. He really couldn't see anything! But he didn't hear anything either, which was reassuring. When he walked back to Avery, she was not where he had left her, but she stood hunched over outside the cave. 'Avery?'

She looked up and seemed busy with a sturdy stick, around which she had tied pieces of fabric she had torn from her dress. They didn't look fresh, but he recognized the smell. 'Why did you smear those with tree resin?'

'I'm making a torch. Can you make a fire?' She pressed the torch into his hands and he looked at it, impressed. She was far too clever than was good for her. He smiled and quickly started the fire.

The torch burned quit well. Normally Peter always used animal- or fish fat, but tree resin worked fine, too, and he didn't even have to hunt for it. 'Come on.' He took the torch firmly in one hand and Avery in the other. He held her close as they walked deeper into the cave. It was so dark. He couldn't afford to lose her. He was amazed at how far into the mountain the cave ran. They had been walking for minutes now and nothing changed. Sometimes they even flew bits because sharp stalagmites blocked their path.

He pricked up his ears when he heard running water, and not much later they passed a small stream that sprang from a cavewall and surged past them.

'Is all that from the snowy mountains?'

He nodded, but wasn't sure if she had seen.

'It does run a long way, don't you think?' Avery's question echoed down the tunnel, and the tremor in her voice betrayed the tension coursing through her. Peter couldn't deny that he didn't feel the same, but he could not allow himself to show that to Avery. He held her hand tighter. 'Just stay close to me. I don't quite trust this.'

Suddenly Avery let out a scream and jumped up against Peter. Peter immediately drew his sword and pulled Avery behind him. He shone the torch into the cave and saw a fat rat shoot out from behind a stone. He chuckled softly and stowed his sword. 'It was just a rat,' he replied and turned back to her. His stomach turned when he saw her eyes, large with fear, tearing up. She breathed shallow, did not move a musle and looked down at the spearhead resting against her neck.

'Lower your weapons!' Peters voice echoed powerfully through the cave as he made his request in the Indian language. It remained dead silent; the spearhead did not move. And then a clear voice sounded between the walls, and Peter's heart fluttered with joy.

'Do as he says.' From the deep shadows appeared a face he feared he would never see again. The interwoven beads produced soft sounds when she moved. Flames flickered in the stern, deep brown eyes.

Peter smiled from ear to ear when he saw the Indian girl he hadn't spoken to in so long. She hadn't changed a bit. Still just as beautiful, still just as fierce. He took a deep bow and Tigerlilly flew around his neck, 'That took too long, Pan!' she said, smiling. She pressed her forehead against his. Then she looked back at Avery, looked her up and down before she spoke again. 'Are you Peter's new Squaw?'

Avery looked back at Peter confusingly, since she probably didn't understand the word 'Squaw'.

Peter shook his head laughing and held up his hand to Avery, which she doubtfully accepted and stood beside him. 'This is Avery,' he said, 'she is the one who found you.'

Tigerlilly looked at Avery for a moment and bowed to her briefly. 'Thank you for bringing Peter to us.'

Avery nodded and bowed her head to the chief of the tribe. 'It wasn't an easy task,' she said and smiled at Peter.

Tigerlilly turned and beckoned the two, walking deeper into the cave.

Chapter Text

Avery couldn't imagine that the Indian tribe, who were so close to nature, had been hiding in the deepest and darkest corridors under the mountains all this time, without daylight and the forest they loved so much.

She looked at Peter walking beside Tigerlily, gesturing wildly telling of all he had experienced since the tribe had been chased away. The walk to camp suddenly felt eerie and cold now that he was no longer beside her. She stared at the Native girl curiously. The proud princess was a picture of grace and strength, she radiated determination with every step. Tigerlily was truly dazzlingly beautiful, with her tanned skin, decorated with subtle patterns, and lips as red as the brightly colored feathers in her hair. She seemed about Avery's age, but her deep, dark eyes sparkled with intelligence and courage, exuding years of leadership experience.  Dressed in a skirt of soft fringe that danced with her movements, she exuded determination with every step. It was almost intimidating.

Avery looked down at her dress and felt shame creeping to her cheeks. She was dressed in rags with a rope tied around her waist. And barefoot. Surely she could not present herself like that in front of a princess?

A blue bright light shone into the corridor as they walked into a huge open space. Specs of blue light surrounded the insides of the cave. The entire ceiling seemed covered with it, like a starry sky. It was breathtaking. 'What is that light?'

'Glow worms,' Tigerlily replied, and Avery only now noticed the lights were crawling across the cave walls. They were everywhere; on the ceiling, the walls and even in the water they passed, making the water glow brighty blue. Avery quickly picked up her pace when she noticed she fell behind. They walked through an opening and there the blue light changed to soft orange as the light of campfires mixed with it as well. More of the native tribe appeared from the tents, which were putt up inside the cave.

Avery moved a little closer to Peter, though he didn't seem to notice. He was too busy looking around, grinning at Tigerlily. They walked toward the largest wigwam. Unlike the other tents, this one was square, leading Avery to believe it was simply a large rug thrown over some protruding rocks. Inside, it indeed became clear that it was an inlet into the cave.

Embroidered rugs lay everywhere over flat pieces of rock. 'Sit down,' Tigerlily spoke and gestured to the rugs. Tigerlily sat down opposite them, and the men who had accompanied them with the torches left the tent. A sphere was located on the ceiling, where a few of the glow worms crawled around and illuminated the tent. Avery lowered her gaze when she noticed the princess looking at her sternly. A little taken aback, she quickly gazed at the fire.

'Peter tells me you found us. Tell me, squaw named Avery, how?' Her voice was powerful, confident. Matching how the princess carried herself.

Avery looked at Peter and he winked. Avery took a deep breath. 'I saw the markings in the tent. The riddle you had left for Peter. That was brave,' she said, 'the pirates could have found them.'

'It was my only hope.'

Avery nodded.

'I'm grateful to you.'

Surprised, Avery looked at the princess. She felt her cheeks glow as she glimpsed sideways at Peter. His eyes rested on her face and he smiled gently, but most of all, Avery saw the color on his cheeks and the look in his eyes that send goosebumps ovr her entire body.

Tigerlily stood up, hand held out and smiled down at her. Avery allowed herself to be pulled up on her feet. 'And now we will feast.' Her eyes slid over Avery's body and she smiled. 'But first I'll help you get rid of those rags.'

                                                                                              * * *

Avery came out from behind the canvas and Tigerlily nodded. 'Fits like a glove.' It was an endearing brown dress with cheerful frills at the bottom. Around her waist was a thin belt, from which hung a piece of fabric with small, colourfull patterns. The neckline was also nicely finished with fringes and there was a strap to slide around her arm. Tigerlily handed her a pair of fabric boots. They were very simple, but fit well.

'I'm grateful to you that I don't have to go on barefoot anymore.'

Tigerlily chuckled. She patted the mat opposite herself. 'Sit. I have something to discuss.'

Avery took a seat. The smile had disappeared from Tigerlily's face. Avery felt uncomfortable in the silence between them, but eventually Tigerlily began to speak.

'My father predicted your arrival. I take it you know what curse Neverland fell under?'

Avery nodded. 'Captain Jacob and his crew.'

'That's right,' Tigerlily replied. 'Peter was strict with him, as he was with all his Lost Boys, but stricter with Jacob. Since Wendy and her brothers had returned home, Peter had become fearful of loneliness. Jacob was not allowed to leave him, and when Peter found out he was thinking of his parents, he punished Jacob mercilessly.'

'He threw his pocket watch into the ocean.'

Tigerlily nodded. 'Peter was in all states after Jacob's departure. Furious especially, but I knew any better, this was actually grief and despair. When Jacob captured the fairies...' She fell silent for a moment, but got herself together again. 'I believe the fairies are still alive, that Tinkerbell is still alive, but the ship has been untraceable for a long time. I have tried to search for it, but I have lost many men in my efforts. Jacob has not yet found our tribe, but he is getting closer. I cannot afford to search again, because I will put my tribe in danger.'

Avery nodded. This Jacob suddenly seemed even more dangerous than she anticipaded.

'We need to locate that ship. I want to ask you to do that.'

'Me?' Avery asked disconcertedly. 'How am I supposed to do that? I don't know this island at all.'

'You don't have to. A ship can only be on water. There's a good chance the mermaids already know where it is, but they won't surface.'

Avery shook her head. 'No, I really can't do that well. Peter won't leave my side and the island is way too big.'

Tigerlily took out a small vial from the pouch she wore around her waist. There was a yellow liquid in it, bright as the sun. She put it in a second pouch and handed it to Avery. 'This is juice from the Yellow Lithops's flower. It will make him sleep for a while, but it won't damage him.' She reached behind her for another bundle. 'This contains fairydust. It's not much, but it will be enough to get to the lagune.'

Avery grabbed both bundles and looked at them disconcertedly. 'Where did you get these? I thought the fairies were kidnapped.'

'Not all of them. They gave us this after our camp was raided and my father got killed, to flee, should that time ever come.' She looked at Avery sternly. 'You can't tell Peter.'

'What about the mermaids? If they've been underwater so long, how can we be sure they'll surface?'

'They always come when they hear Pan playing.'

Avery swallowed. 'Are you asking me to steal his Pan flute?'

Tigerlily looked at her seriously. 'I'm asking you to save my home. Pan will sleep. He won't miss his flute.'

Avery felt a dullness in her stomach. She looked at Tigerlily. 'It feels like I'm betraying him.'

Tigerlily nodded. 'I understand. Peter has lost all hope. I feel you can give it back to him, but to do that you have to make sacrifices. We all have to.' She grabbed Avery's hands and looked at her piercingly. 'Neverland will not remain the same for long if nothing is done.'