Peter had begun to sneak off. Each day a little longer than the last.
"Where do you go?" I asked one day.
"A king needs to watch over his kingdom." Peter had said with a grin. "He can't do that with a blind eye."
One night , for the first time, it was already dark and Peter wasn't back yet. Worried, I paced the inside of the cave and peered out the window over the shadowed island.
The island wasn't safe to explore in the dark. Flying or not, Peter was still at the risk of danger and I couldn't stomach the thought of something happening to my friend.
"That's it." I said and strode through the mouth of the cave until I was bathed in starlight. The glow of the moon helped pave my way as I ventured further down the mountain, but I still slipped and stumbled down the steep terrain.
Other than the first night we'd been here, I had never been alone at night without Peter. It wasn't a feeling I missed.
"Peter!" I cupped my mouth in my hands. "Peter!"
The lack of response had every nerve fibre of mine twitching and I began to breathe heavily as I entered the forest.
The woods were quiet that night. My mind flashed back to the image of hundreds of fairies flying through the trees, a technicolor glow in the midst with the chatter of small voices.
Tonight, no glow but the moon radiated, and hushed voices kept my friend's whereabouts a secret.
I had learnt that island's navigation like the back of my hand, but that didn't mean I knew where Peter was on it. It was miles of land to cover and only one small boy.
Thankfully, even with a head full of magic, Peter had his wits about him and knew better than to stray too far from the mountain after nightfall.
I carried on through the trees, hoping desperately for some sort of sign that would give away my friend's location.
It was only when I came to a break in the tree line I saw the faint glow of light in the distance on the beach. I rushed towards it. "Peter!"
Peter's light hair was like a beacon in the dark, shining in the moon rays like an everlasting sun. I ran to him. "Peter!"
Peter spun on his heel, shock on his face as he caught me in his arms with a jolt. "James? What are you doing here?"
"I've been looking everywhere for you." I breathed heavily, meeting his gaze. "It's after nightfall, Peter."
"You know I like to come out here to be alone," Peter said. "You didn't need to come looking for me."
There was something in the way he said it, a hidden undertone of anger. It crashed over me like a wave and I recoiled. Taking a cautious step back, I was weary of Peter's eyes that seemed to shine darker in the night.
"I was worried about you," I whispered like a scolded child. "Each night you're gone a little longer."
"I come back." Peter said bluntly, looking towards the trees. "You needn't be so worried, James."
"What is it you do out here anyways?"
Peter turned to me slowly, his mouth a thin line. "I think it's best you go back, James."
"What?" I stared at Peter in shock. "You want me to leave?"
"I-"
"Peter!"
This time, it was not my own voice calling Peter's name. Turning around, I watched in shock as a young boy came galloping from the shadows of the trees, beaming as he ran towards Peter. Peter watched him come with a sense of disinterest.
I watched in horror as the little boy flung himself onto Peter, attaching himself to my friend's leg and laughing in soft, child-like wonder. I stared at him.
"Peter," I said. "Peter!"
"Yes?" Peter turned to me with a cool expression and I gaped.
"There is a boy." I said. "There is another human on the island!"
"Now now James, is that really how we treat a guest?"
Peter, despite appearing to have no interest in the boy when he first appeared, pet the child's head softly. Affectionately.
"James," Peter said. "I want you to meet Henry."
Awestruck, my brain had a hard time fathoming what was going on. Between the small, giggling human attached to my friend's leg and Peter's gentle caress of the boy's head, I was dumbfounded.
"Henry, this is James. He is my friend." Peter looked down at the boy and up to me.
Henry wasn't much. Small bones and a thin frame, curly locks framed his head and he peered up at me through wide eyes. "James." he said.
"Uh," I started. "Hi."
"James isn't good with meeting new people." Peter smiled up at me as he continued petting the boy's hair. "He's like a penguin. He only needs one attachment for life, and he'll search the beaches for the most perfect rock until he finds it."
Peter winked at me and I blushed a rosy red, unable to speak.
Suddenly a shadow loomed overhead and I startled as Peter's Shadow appeared before us. It's bright eyes seemed to glow maliciously in the dark and I felt a shiver run down my spine as it stared at me.
Peter glanced up at his Shadow. "Take Henry to the cave."
The Shadow obeyed Peter's command and hovered above Henry. Leading the young boy away, I watched in a state of horror as they disappeared into the dark forest.
My friend turned to me. "James-"
I ran.
Turning sharply on my heel, I took off down the moonlit beach. Peter called me from behind but I paid him no mind, continuing to run across the sand to nowhere.
By the time I stopped running, I was on the other side of the beach and couldn't see Peter. Making my way across the rocks that stretched out from shore, I paced restlessly.
"There's a boy." I spoke to myself, gripping my hair tightly. "There's another person on the island besides me and Peter. Oh my god."
Leaning over, I placed my hands on my knees and breathed heavily. This wasn't good at all. Sitting down on a rock, I watched in silence as waves swept through the dark bay, crashing over each other as the wind blew in my face. After the shock died off, a wave of anger hit me and I felt fury boil in my blood of what Peter had done.
I sat there for hours, thinking so hard it made my head hurt, until a voice sounded from behind me.
"James?"
I didn't reply. My mind found no words to possibly convey what I was experiencing, so I stayed silent and glared at the ocean.
The rustle of clothes came as I sensed a presence behind me. Peter sat down beside me, weary of my anger as he glanced at me cautiously.
"Please don't be mad." Peter whispered glumly. "I can't bear you being mad with me."
"I don't know what I am with you." I said coldly, frowning. "What you did is-" I let out a frustrated sigh. "What have you done Peter?"
"I never wanted to keep it from you." Peter said, looking at me with pleading eyes. "But you couldn't afford to know the truth. At least not then."
"Why?" I turned to him. "Why hide it from me all this time?"
"I didn't want to."
"So you thought you'd bring another boy here and everything would be okay?"
"I didn't-"
"That kidnapping a child and bringing them to Neverland would be a good idea?"
"It wasn't kidnapping-"
"And the fact that we can't leave never bothered you?"
"It's not that I-"
"My god, Peter!" I stood up, fuming. My anger was carried on the wind as I bellowed, "What were you thinking!"
Peter stood up. "It's okay. James, please. It's going to be okay."
"How did he even get here?"
Peter bit his lip and looked away. I growled, "Peter."
"My Shadow."
"What?" I shouted.
Peter looked uncomfortable at being scolded. "I told you. It has the ability to travel between realms."
"So you made it bring back a boy? Peter, you kidnapped a child!"
"That child wasn't happy!" Peter threw back with a sudden anger that matched mine. "He wanted an escape. Children weren't made for the adult world. It drives them insane having to pretend everything will be okay, pretending that someone will love you. Perhaps you remember how that feels."
Peter was glaring at me and I sighed, feeling my shoulders drop as I looked away. "I do remember what it was like, but that doesn't make it okay."
"We wished for an escape, just as Henry did. We all got our wish granted."
"What about Neverland?"
"What about it?"
"What does this mean? This changes things Peter."
"Neverland is for children. It will stay that way."
"And for us?"
My heart hurt as Peter turned away and said, "I don't know."
I nodded, backing up. "Okay."
"James, wait!"
I watched Peter with a raised eyebrow as he seemed torn in two directions. He chose the right one.
"This doesn't have to be a bad thing." he said. "Just give it a chance. Nothing has to change for us."
"I-"
"Don't you trust me?"
I did, because those who loved were pitiless fools. Because he was Peter Pan. Because he was the king, and I was young and stupid with love.
However, trust had nothing to do with it. Not this time.
I backed away from him. Looking Peter dead in the eye, I said, "Perhaps I shouldn't."
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