Chapter One: Neverland

                                    

                                          
"Once upon a time there was a boy named Peter Pan, who decided not to grow up."
                          
~Wendy Darling, 'Peter Pan' 2003
                          
Chapter One: Neverland
                          
 Baelfire had been with the Darlings for just a few weeks, but he felt like he finally had found a family that would accept him. The Darlings took him in, with minimal questions about his past. He lived in a world without magic, and that almost drove away the nightmares. Almost. 
                          
For the past few nights, Baelfire felt as if something was watching him. He would hear something at the nursery window, and find it open. Bae ignored it. He was in a world without any magic, so it had to be the wind. Baelfire had no idea what truly was going on, until one night when his peaceful life with the Darlings came to a horrible end.
                          
*********
                          
Five Weeks Earlier
                          
"Wendy Darling, what did I tell you about keeping the windows closed?" Mrs. Darling muttered, pulling her robe tighter and running across the nursery to shut the windows. "We will freeze in this weather!" Mrs. Darling looked out the window quickly, then closed it. 
                          
"Sorry, mother." Wendy apologized as she got into her bed. Mrs. Darling sighed, then kissed Wendy's forehead. 
                          
"Goodnight, Wendy." She whispered, then said goodnight to Michael and John. She turned out the light to the nursery and shut the door. The room was silent and dark. 
                          
"Wendy, I hear a noise."  Michael suddenly whispered. Wendy waited for a moment, but didn't hear anything.
                          
"It's your imagination-" Wendy began, but then she heard a tapping on the closed window. Michael made a scared moan. Wendy sat up and walked to the window. Sitting on the window sill, Wendy looked out. 
                          
Nothing. The only thing that Wendy could see was the London night sky. Just in case, she opened the window and stuck her head out. She looked down, and no one was in the street. She looked up, but no bird was flying above the window. 
                          
"Michael, it must have been the wind. Nothing is out here." Wendy was about to close the window when a huge gust of wind blasted into the nursery. John, who had still been sleeping when Michael complained about the noise, suddenly jumped out of bed. 
                          
"Wendy..." Michael whined, but Wendy didn't reply. In front of her was a shadow, but it wasn't attached to a body. It didn't have any facial features, (or many features at all), except for two glowing blue eyes. 
                          
The shadow said nothing and reached out a hand. Wendy stared into its eyes, almost in a trance. Wendy reached her hand out and grabbed on to the shadow's hand. The shadow started to pull Wendy out of the house and into the night sky. 
                          
"Wendy!" John called out to her, and sprinted to the window. He grabbed Wendy's ankle and tried to pull her back in. "Come back!" Wendy shook John off, and looked at him with a smile on her face. 
                          
"Where is your sense of adventure?" She replied. 
                          
John and Michael watched as their sister flew off into the London night sky.
                          

                          

                          
"Where are you taking me?" Wendy asked after a while, when she finally got over the shock of flying. The shadow remained silent, but pointed with his free hand to a star that glinted in the sky. Wendy was puzzled. "What?" Then, the shadow spoke. 
                          
"Second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning." The shadow said in a deep and dark voice. 
                          
Wendy felt herself drifting asleep. The world under her was just a blur of light and color. She didn't know how long they had been travelling or in which direction. For a moment, she forgot what was happening. The only thought in her head was the glorious world of her dreams...
                          

                          

                          
"Wake up!" The shadow's voice ordered, and Wendy jostled awake. It was dark outside, most likely still night time. "Do you know how to swim?" He asked. Before Wendy could answer, she was falling into the stormy ocean below. 
                          
Wendy screamed until she hit the the waves of the water. She went under, and desperately swam to the water's surface. Gasping for air, Wendy looked around to try and figure out where she was. She heard a splash behind her. Wendy was panicking. Her first thought was that it was a shark, and she was about to be attacked. She was half correct. 
                          
A shimmer of a pink and scaly tail swam under her. Wendy screamed when she felt it touch her foot. "Help!" Wendy cried out. A face popped out of the water and Wendy screamed again. It was a mermaid, with long blonde hair and pointed ears. She would have been beautiful, if she didn't have fangs and a piercing screech in her voice. 
                          
The mermaid grabbed Wendy and attempted to pull her into the water. Wendy punched and kicked and threw a fight. A horn sounded not to far away, and the mermaid screamed in the direction it was coming from. The mermaid turned back to Wendy and put her hands around Wendy's neck. 
                          
An arrow flew through the air and pierced the mermaid's shoulder. The mermaid screeched and fell under the water. Wendy didn't have time to react before she was pulled from behind into a small boat. 
                          
A teenage boy with blonde hair and a scar under his left eye wrapped a blanket around Wendy and instructed another boy to row to shore. The younger boy nodded and quickly steered the boat towards the beach. 
                          
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He asked with a sinister undertone in his voice. Wendy coughed for a moment; she was still trying to catch her breath, and what had just happened was still sinking in. 
                          
"I'm Wendy, Wendy Darling." Wendy answered when she had calmed down.
                          
"And I'm Felix. Pan has been expecting you. Welcome to Neverland, Wendy Darling."