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Chapter Twenty-Two

Gwendolyn

Present Day

“ W hat is that?” Meria called. I did not have time to look at her because from the other end of the beach, something was coming at us. There was some enormous bird flying above–

I squinted my eyes. Are those children? They looked older than the ones I had been with on the island before. The pixies were not supposed to have any more children on the island. I frowned. As they grew closer, I saw that the bird was not a bird, but a person—a man. Peter.

My heart beat fast in my chest. I had a hard time catching my breath. Peter was smiling, his dark brown hair blowing in the breeze, his entire person glowing like the pixies who were mixed in with the boys running toward us.

“Peter? What are you doing?” Dominick asked, pushing forward through the group. I was in too much shock to move.

“Brother, I can fly; are you jealous?” He said with a laugh.

“Get down from there. What is going on?” he pressed.

I had the same question but found myself unable to speak.

“Gwen,” Peter said softly, landing right before me in the sand, the half dozen boys behind him.

They looked well-off, and well-clothed. I was grateful for that.

Peter smiled as he stood there. He had on a pair of pants and a green tunic top with three buttons undone, revealing nearly his entire muscled chest. I gasped, placing a hand over my mouth.

Peter’s eyes widened, and his eyebrows rose; then his smile turned to teasing.

He knew the effect his exposed skin would have on me.

It was not at all proper! I forced myself to take the rest of him in, trying not to dwell on his attractive male physique.

He had a belt wrapped around his waist and a dagger tucked in rather dangerously, for it had no sheath.

“Peter,” I finally said, out of breath.

“Are you going to hug me, Gwen?”

“I—you were flying.”

“I was,” he said with a smirk.

“Your—your shirt—”

“Are you finding it difficult to look at me with my shirt unbuttoned, Gwen?”

“Peter, that is improper and you know it,” I said, continuing to focus on his face. He walked up to me, took my hand and placed it there—on his chest. My skin was touching his skin.

“I’ve missed you—my proper lady.” His smirk was still there, but there was a tenderness to his words.

“Peter!” I gasped, moving away when all I wanted was to keep my hand pressed against his warm skin. But words from my mother floated into my mind. You are not good enough for him. He has left you.

Peter noticed my hesitation; I knew it, because he gave me a look I was all too familiar with—a look that told me that he knew what I wanted to do was not what I was doing.

“Gwen, are we starting all over again? Must I call you Lady Darling, now? I shall button my shirt,” he said, pointing to himself.

“No, not yet, I just,” I said, ignoring my insecurities, and I touched his chest softly, feeling him shiver under my hand. Then I flung myself into his arms as best I could manage while also keeping it appropriate.

But I do not know the proper procedure for something like this. When the man I love is captured by pixies, I find out that he knows how to fly, I come to save him, and I want to hug him.

What else could I have done but fall into him?

His warm embrace engulfed me. Others were speaking, but all I could focus on was how warm and wonderful being in Peter’s arms was. How I had missed it—him. He still smelled like he always did, of the sea. He leaned down and pressed a soft, chaste kiss on my head, his lips so warm–so everything .

“I missed you so much, Gwen,” he mumbled into my hair.

I lifted my face up to look at him. “I missed you so much, Peter. I thought, maybe, you left to escape me.”

“Never,” he whispered closer to my lips. “Can I kiss you here and prove that to you, or do we have to wait till I have you alone behind a tree or two?”

I was about to answer when Dominick spoke. “I am happy you two are reunited, but we should leave.”

“I can’t leave; I am indebted to the pixies,” Peter said, still holding fast to me.

“What? So it is true. You made a deal with them?” I asked, stepping back to look at him.

His face blushed. He was apologetic, at least.

“When I came to rescue you and the other children, the pixies and I made a deal, yes. I would make it a thousand times to save you,” he said, buttoning up his shirt.

Thank the Creator .

“What is this deal?” I asked in whispered awe.

“They would come ask for my help, sometime; I was not sure when.”

That made more sense as to why he left so suddenly. He had not been aware when he would be required to repay his debt.

“Why did you not tell me?” I asked softly.

He brushed his palm against my face. “The nature of the deal did not let me. It was hard. I tried to tell you so many times, but I could not. Blasted pixies. You, however, are as clever as ever. Although, I wish you had not come, only because I want you to remain safe,” he said with that wide grin I adored.

“Please, Peter, do not keep such secrets from me again,” I said, tugging at the collar of his shirt.

“I have no desire to keep anything from you; I swear. If I could have, I would have told you,” he leaned down and whispered in my ear, taking a moment to inhale and then kiss the side of my neck.

He looked at me with a wicked grin. “Sorry, I could not resist. It is rather difficult, right at this moment, not having my way with those beautiful lips of yours.”

I laughed.

“So, what of this debt? Now, you are here, so you must know what you have to do,” Dominick asked.

I had forgotten that anyone else was there .

“Oh, yes, it seems the pixies are being terrorized by some pirates–Captain Hook and his crew. Have you heard of him? He stole a pixie and a few of these boys.”

“I have not heard of him,” Dominick said, looking intently at the children. “These are the lost boys ?”

“Yes, they call their part of the island Neverland . It is a rather nice place; it was, anyway, until Hook and his pirate crew began to kidnap them. My job is to save the pixie they stole as well as the lost boys they took. Then, I must defeat this Captain Hook and his crew so he will never sail these seas again.”

“Pirates?” Meria asked, looking from Peter to Dominick.

“Why are they stealing the boys?” Dominick asked.

“Well, the pixies get their pixie dust from a rather unique source.” Peter paused.

“And that is?”

“Gemstones,” Peter said.

“Gemstones?” Meria asked, looking at the pixies still there with us, silently bouncing around, listening to our conversation.

“Yes, they harvest the gemstones from the various waters around here, and they grind them down into pixie dust. That is what they do, how they fly,” Peter explained.

“So, the pirates are looking for these gems?” I asked.

“It appears so. However, only one with a worthy heart can swim within these waters to harvest these gems. He’s making the lost boys do that for him. They have taken hundreds of colored gems already,” Peter said.

“Like in The Mirror Sea?” Meria gasped.

“Not exactly, there is no dragon to protect these magical gems, and they are vital to the pixies and all the other magical beings. If we do not remove the pirates from here, it will cause great harm to our entire world,” Peter explained.

“This Captain Hook sounds purely evil,” I gasped. Peter held me tighter.

“Okay, so we have to stop him. Any ideas?” Dominick asked, looking from Meria to Peter.

“I will go aboard his ship,” Peter said.

“And get yourself killed?” Dominick snapped.

“He cannot kill me if he cannot catch me. Did you not see me when I flew to you just a few moments ago?”

“Peter, this is not a joke,” Dominick said.

“I know, and I am not joking. I spent some time on his ship already, and they did not see me. I know I can get close enough to defeat that dreadful Hook. He is quite literally down one arm.”

“Let’s think this over–” Meria began.

“Yes, we should think about this,” Dominick agreed.

“We can, but he is on the other side of the island–and he just kidnapped more lost boys. He is working them hard–as far as I can tell. Five have already been killed,” I said.

“No!” Meria said with a gasp .

“We have to hurry before anyone else gets hurt,” I said.

“And who are these lost boys? More stolen children?” Gwen asked.

“They are better off than the children you were with. They seem well off here and have no desire to leave. I think after we save the pixies and have repaid my debt that I need to be clear that they are no longer allowed to steal human children,” I said.

“That is a good idea,” Meria added.

“Well, show me this Neverland camp. We can regroup there and make a plan,” Dominick said, motioning to the jungle.

“So good to see you again, brother,” Peter said, walking over to Dominick, but not before taking my hand in his and pulling me with him.

Peter does still like me. He had not left of his own volition; he was taken. My mother was wrong. Peter and I were good. I loved him, and he loved me.

We still had many things to do, but in that moment, a peacefulness nestled inside my chest, bringing me the peace I longed for as we wove our way to the camp of the lost boys, called Neverland.