Page 75 of Veiled in Stars and Silver
“Thank you for coming,” he called out to everyone. “We have much to figure out, but thanks to Wendy Darling and Peter Pan, we are free.”
Someone let out a loud whoop and there were cheers and slaps on the back. A smile split across his face and he swallowed past a sudden hoarseness in his throat. Through all the pain and loss, how long had he waited for this day? To see the joy that was on the inhabitants of Neverland’s faces? Wendy gave his hand a supportive squeeze.
“You can go or you can stay,” he said to those present, his voice scratchy. “Fairies have agreed to help outfit the Jolly Roger to transport those who wish to leave Neverland. It will take you to London. But be aware the world you left behind may differ from the world you remember.”
He paused. Wendy and her brothers would be on that ship. It felt as if happiness was about to be ripped from his grasp.
He pushed the ache aside and forced himself to continue. “Some, however, cannot leave, for they have nowhere to go and they dependon the magic of Neverland to survive—the mermaids, the Crocodile. The fairies in particular require our assistance.”
“Why would we help the fairies?” Mason, one of Hook’s pirates, shouted. “They are why we’ve been enslaved this whole time.”
“Because they need us. Because they are a part of Neverland, and because they were unaware of everything that Tinker Bell did. I’ve spoken with them at length. They didn’t know about the enslavement. But now they are at our mercy and I, at least, will help them.”
“How?” Madame Cora asked.
“We have a plan.” Wendy said. “My brothers and I are descendants of Stardust, a fairy that helped Tinker Bell create Neverland. His power runs through this land. That is why John and Michael’s belief can sustain the survival of so many fairies. We think we can find more of Stardust’s descendants. If we convince them to come here for short durations, such as in the evenings, when their parents don’t know, we hope to recharge the wonder and belief necessary to keep the fairies alive.”
“And what would they do while here?” Mason demanded.
“Have adventures, of course. But they’d be staged. Nobody will be compelled. And everyone remains safe and participates of their own free will.”
Finding Stardust’s descendants hinged on the plan working. Wendy hadn’t volunteered to bring her brothers back to Neverland.
Peter landed next to Wendy. “I give you my word. If you stay, this will be a land for all, and I will never force anyone. To be honest, I don’t even know how.”
And he’d hopefully never learn. Wendy was taking the dagger and spellbook with her to London to be stored in a safety deposit box.
“Those who’d like to leave, step over here.” He pointedtoward the unlit fire pit. “And everyone who’d like to stay, gather over on that low hill.”
General chaos ensued as people moved to their different spots. It surprised Hook how many chose to remain. Many of his men and some of Madame Pearl’s ladies. Lillian and several of her people also stayed. Most of the Lost Boys, Ivy, and a few good men he’d come to know chose to leave.
Peter stepped up to Wendy. He held out a hand. She laughed out loud and drew him into an embrace.
He pulled back with a crooked smirk. “If you find my shadow, send me word. Who knows what kind of mischief it’s causing over in your world?”
She paled a little, clearly caught off guard by the pronouncement. “I will.”
He looked at Hook and nodded before flying off towards those who were staying.
Wendy turned to Hook, something akin to hope mixing with desperation in her expression. “You could come to London. Have a life with me.”
Part of him wanted to agree. Neverland had been a prison, a place of torture, and held some of Hook’s worst memories. But somehow, despite that, it had also become his home. “I’m needed here.”
“You gave all of Neverland a chance to start their life over. I think you deserve one, too.”
He slid his palm into her hair, feeling her beautiful silky strands run against his fingers. “This is my second chance. You gave it to me. The task ahead is daunting, but this time, I’m not running from it.”
Her jaw clenched and a defiant spark came into her eyes. “I refuse to let this be the end,” she said fiercely.
A light filled him at her determination. Wendy didn’t want to part either. Never once, after hearing how he’d left his wife and child, had she doubted his worthiness. He’d spent so long punishing himself, trying to prove he was a different man, he’d failed to notice that maybe indeed he had grown into someone worthy of forgiveness. That he could love himself. Maybe it was time to let the past go and try to be happy.
“Then we’ll have to come up with a solution.”
Chapter 29
Wendy
I shut the door to my room on the second floor of the boy’s home. I’d finished helping Ivy put the children to sleep. I shook my head, but a small smile lifted my lips as I thought about John and Michael, some of the worst culprits, keeping the others up with their wild, supposedly “made up,” stories of their adventures in Neverland. It had been a year since I’d brought my brothers and the Lost Boys back. Despite a reluctance to return to the strictures of school, my brothers were otherwise adjusting surprisingly well.
