(Josie
Sayz: This is a story that I began working on several years ago. I am finally
reading through it/editing it. This is a fanfiction piece of what would happen
if two of my favourite characters Peter Pan (from J M Barrie’s book) and Jack
Frost (from ‘Rise of the Guardians’) met, why and what adventure would they go
on. I originally wrote this story as a present for a friend. I have decided to
dig it out and plan to release each chapter as I edit it. This is Chapter One:
‘Just Keep Reading’.
Note:
I do not own Peter Pan or any of the relating characters or places to the
story; these are all owned by J M Barrie and ‘Disney’. I do not own Jack Frost
or any of the relating characters or places to the story; these are all owned
by William Joyce and ‘DreamWorks’.
Chapter One: ‘Just
Keep Reading’ can be found here: https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2019/06/saving-neverland-just-keep-reading.html
Chapter Two: ‘Meeting
and Greeting’: https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2019/08/saving-neverland-meeting-and-greeting.html
Chapter Three: ‘I
Still Believe…’:https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2019/08/saving-neverland-i-still-believe.html
Chapter Four: ‘Only In
My Dreams’: https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2019/08/saving-neverland-only-in-my-dreams.html
Chapter Five: ‘Chasing
Rainbows’: https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2020/04/saving-neverland-chasing-rainbows.html
Chapter Six: ‘A smile
can make a big difference’: https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2020/04/saving-neverland-smile-can-make-big.html.)
Feast,
Fight, Farewell!
Sliding
down the hollow trunks of their trees, Peter, the Lost Boys and their new
friends flew into the underground hideout. Landing at the bottom of a tree
trunk’s slide with Nibs, Izz clambered to her feet. Following the little bounce
of fur through the earthen tunnel, she arched her head around at her surroundings.
Looking up she gave a gasp. To the ceiling of the cave’s entrance hung a pool
of water. Her feet stopped walking, as she strained her neck up. The liquid
blanketed the ceiling, however, not one drop dripped to the ground. “It’s magic,”
she whispered, gazing at the gravity defying pond. Holding her breath she
stretched an arm up, reaching out for the water. With the water tickling the
tips of her fingers, she glided her hand through it. ‘Amazing…’ she thought.
Rippling splashed towards her. She removed her hand. A silvery scaled fish with
slate blue speckles shimmered past. Doubling back, it approached the bottom of
its home as it spotted Izz. In an attempt to get a closer look at the girl, it
poked its head out of the water. “Wow!” she squeaked.
“C’mon
Izz!” Nibs called as he kicked open his wooden door entrance to the boys’
hideout.
“Coming…”
she sang in reply as she followed Nibs, with her head twisted back to stare at
the water all the while.
Once inside their home, the Lost Boys poured their collection
of fruit into a pile in the room’s centre. Small, round apples gathered at the
base of the mound with smiles of bananas near the centre. There was an array of
curved fruits of a variety of different pinks, reds, oranges and greens all
scattered in between, with the mound sprinkled with an assortment of deep red
cherries. As they all gathered around it, Izz sat on the ground between
Slightly and Peter. “What d’you think, Izz?” asked Peter with a grin, proud of
both himself and the work of his friends.
“You
picked so much,” said Izz turning her gaze from the fruit to Peter. “And some
of these I’ve never seen before.”
“Some
of the trees here are native to the island,” Peter explained. “So some of these
fruits you can only get in Neverland.” As she turned back to look at the
different fruits, she noticed the Lost Boys’ stare. Eyes wide, tongues dripping
from their mouths they gawked at the food.
‘Poor
things,’ she thought. ‘They must be starving. When Peter’s around I guess
they’re used to just make-believe meals.’ Her stomach growled. She gripped it,
hoping that no one had heard.
“Gone
on Izz,” said Peter, gesturing towards the mound. “Take first pick.”
As Izz grabbed an apple from the bottom of the pile, Jack
tilted his head around the mound. Staring at the round fruit in Izz’s hand as
she scrubbed it on her pyjama sleeve, Jack asked Peter, “Are you sure this
stuff’s edible?” Izz looked up. She glanced at Jack before turning to face
Peter.
“Why
not?” he replied with a shrug.
Jack
picked up a curved, bell-shaped fruit of deep purple, covered in spikes, tipped
with a faint pink. “Do you even know what this is?”
“Nope,”
Peter replied. “But the animals eat it and they’re not dead.”
“We’re
okay,” said Nibs. “And we eat ‘em.”
“Yeah,”
agreed the twins. “We eat ‘em.”
Having polished the apple, Izz rolled it over in her
hands, examining it. She kept her head down, feeling the eyes of the other boys
burning into her sides. Stroking its skin with her thumb, Izz looked up at
Jack, who sat opposite. Sat cross legged between one of the twins and Tootles,
he stared at her. He raised his brow and his lips parted, as the apple reached
her mouth.
“Dig in boys!” announced Peter, as Izz took a bite.
Leaping up, Peter and the Lost Boys threw themselves at the fruit pile. Grabbing
out for their favourite, the Lost Boys pushed, shoved and tugged each other out
of the way. There were shouts, squeals and screams as fists and food flew
around the room. Pulling out his slingshot, the twin nearest to Jack swiped a
cherry, placed in on his weapon and fired it at Nibs. Nibs yanked out a small
wooden handle with a fist-sized stone tied onto it with string from underneath
him and whacked it in the twins direction. Grabbing his club, Curly swung it
over his head, knocking Slightly into Izz. Seizing a banana, Slightly aimed it
at Curly; pinching its bottom, the banana’s centre spurt out, flying into
Curly’s face. Having crawled away from the action, Tootles returned to Jack’s
side with a stick as big as himself and began swinging it at anyone’s hand who
reached out at the fruit stack. Bringing his knees up to his chest, Jack
clasped his arms around them. Leaning back he held his breath as the madness
around his continued. Swiping his wooden sword, Slightly jabbed it out at any
moving limb that crossed his path. Cherries hurtled around the room. Izz
flinched, leaning closer towards Peter as a something red shot past her head.
Throwing his arms around hard and fast, Curly’s club flung from his grip. It
struck Peter on the head. Curly gasped. There was a universal clang, as the
Lost Boys’ weapons dropped to the ground. Jack and Izz both glanced at the
shaking, fear-frozen faces of the Lost Boys, before turning their attention to
the boys’ captain.
“Curly…” Peter growled, rising above them, his fists clenched.
“I…
I…” Curly stuttered, his bottom lip quivering. “P-p-p, Peter…” His eyes
sparkled. Squeezing them shut, he twisted himself away from Peter. Hands
clasped to mouths, eyes clenched tight and breaths were held as Peter raised a
fist.
“No!”
Izz cried. “Peter don’t.” Peter flinched. Turning to face her he lowered his
arm and dropped to the ground. One of the twins and Nibs dared to open an eye.
“I don’t care how you usually treat each other, but I will not allow you
– any of you,” she added looking around at the other Lost Boys. “To use
violence against each other.” Sitting back down beside her, cross legged, Peter
lowered his head and eyes to the patch of floor in front of him. Reopening eyes
and uncurling hands from faces, the Lost Boys settled back down on the floor
around what was left to the mountain of fruit and, like Peter, gazed at the
ground.
In the silence that followed Izz and Jack stared at one
another. Palms up, Izz shrugged her shoulders. ‘I’ve never known the Lost Boys
to be so quiet before… I had no idea standing up to Peter would resort in such
silence,’ she thought. ‘I never thought Peter would even listen to me, let
alone obey…’ Turning to Peter the right corner of her mouth curled up, as she
nudged him. “So how’s about that feast?” she asked him, in hopes of restoring
normality back to the group. He lifted his head and stared at her. Her smile
grew. He blinked. The edges of his mouth stretched out. He gave a nod, before
turning back to the group.
“Tuck
in boys,” Peter cheered. Eyes widened, first at Peter, then the food. “But,”
he added raising his voice. “Izz gets first pick.” Looking around at each
other, the Lost Boys each nodded, before turning their attention to Izz.
Surprised by the change in situation and control that she had over it, Izz
sensed her cheeks redden again.
Once the food was divided and everyone had tucked in, the
Lost Boys all separated into different parts of the room. Peter reminded them
that their meal was not something to relax over, as they still had to discover
a way for them to locate the Black Castle. However before the boys even begun
to think, Tinker Bell appeared.
Having skipped around the group, giving everyone a little
jingle of acknowledgement, Tinker Bell came to rest upon Peter’s shoulder.
Kneeling beside Peter, Izz held her breath as she watched the little tinker
fairy’s mouth patter open and closed, her blonde ponytail and bangs bobbing up
and down all the while. As her conversation between Peter went on, Izz noticed
Tinker Bell’s facial expression change from a rosy cheeked smile, to a crease
of worry, to deep red with her eyebrows narrowed, to her teeny bottom lip
trembling.
“Now?” Peter sighed, as the fairy finished speaking. She
nodded. “Fine,” he groaned. Tinker Bell’s wings flapped together as she lifted
off Peter’s shoulder and hovered in the air in front of him. Stretching his
hands behind the back of his neck, Peter grabbed hold of his t-shirt’s fabric
and scrunched it up into his palms, before yanking it over his head. “Here,” he
said handing it to Tinker Bell. She tilted her head, looking for the place on
the clothing where Peter had torn it earlier. As she found it, she grabbed the
shirt by its tear and perched herself up on a small ledge in the cave wall. The
ledge (the size and shape of half of a birdcage) dipped into the wall above
Peter’s hammock. This was the place where the fairy came to stay with Peter and
the Lost Boys when she was not living in Pixie Hollow with the other fairies. A
small sheet of deep purple fabric swept to the side of Tinker Bell’s inlet,
acting as a curtain for times when she wished to separate herself from the
madness of the Lost Boys and their games. Now, however, Tinker Bell watched
over them, while she twiddled away at her work.
While the group waited for Tinker Bell to mend Peter’s
shirt, they scattered themselves across the tree’s home, digging into their
found feast. Their current mission appeared forgotten, as they lounged around,
each doing their own thing.
Sitting near the hideout’s main entrance, on the edge of a
stump that appeared to have grown inside the Lost Boys’ underground cave, Jack
watched the scene before him. On the far right side of the room Nibs, Curly and
Slightly were laid out across a bear rug with playing cards in their hands and
their collection of fruit in small piles at their sides. “I’ll raise you three
cherries and… a gooseberry,” Jack heard Slightly say to the other two, with a
firm stare fixed upon the cards in his hands, as he rummaged his fingers
through the pile of fruit at his side.
“Arrww…”
groaned Curly, slamming his hand of cards down onto the floor. “I fold.” Nibs
glanced up from his cards with his mouth curled up in the right. Shifting his
sight from Curly to Slightly, Nibs’ scrunched up smile slid to the left, then
back to his right. As Slightly’s eyes peered over his cards, Nibs’ shot back
down to his own deck.
Stroking
his fingers up his stack of sliced banana pieces, Nibs said, “I see your three
cherries and gooseberry… and I raise you three, no four slices of
banana.” Curly gasped and crawled over to Nibs’ side to glance at his cards.
Slightly’s brow creased and his eyes shot wide open.
“He’s
not bluffin’,” Curly told him, shaking his head so fast that his mop of hair
flopped about across his face. Slightly seeped in a breath, holding his chest
out. His eyes jumped from his cards to the back of Nibs’ and back to his own
several times. A droplet of sweat trickled down the centre of his forehead.
Sliding both eyes towards the bridge of his nose, Slightly attempted to watch his
perspiration drip.
“Come
on,” whined Nibs. Shuddering, Slightly grabbed a green apple from his pile,
threw it up in the air, and caught it, before diving his teeth into it.
“Okay,”
he said through a mouthful of apple. He shoved the rest of the fruit into his
teeth, while he used both hands to push his pile of bananas, apples, cherries
and various other fruits into the centre of the bear rug. Retrieving the apple
from his mouth, after swallowing what he had chewed, he told the others, “All
in.”
Nibs
lifted his chin. “Alight. Let’s see… what you got?”
With
a grin Slightly slapped his cards down on the rug. “Three redskins, a totem
pole and a wagon. Ha, beat that.” The first three cards were engraved with
faces of three dark-skinned tribal men with red and brown war paint stripes
across their faces. The fourth card showed a tall wooden carving with an array
of symmetrical, geometric animal faces. At the bottom sat a monkey, with a bear
above him, a wolf above that and a bird with a huge wing span on the top, all
coated in paints of red, yellows and greens. The final card showed an image of
an arch shaped, wooden wagon, being pulled by a horse.
Curly
hid a snigger behind his hands as Nibs let out a rather boatful, “Ha!”
Sliding his fan of cards out, Nibs chortled, “Read ‘em an’ weep. Bill Jukes,
Mullins, Starkey, Smee and… their dastardly pirate captain…”
“No!”
Slightly cried.
“Yep,”
Nibs grinned. “Captain Jas Hook himself.”
Staring
down at the five scarred, grubby, shifty faced pirates, Slightly cried out, “You
cheated. You can’t ‘ave got all o’ ‘em.”
As the boys began to squabble, Jack turned his attention
across the room. A round, timber, table with only one leg lay collapsed
surrounded by a collection of overturned bowls. Behind it stood a large
grandfather clock, its pendulum swinging to and fro, however, for as long as
Jack stared, the hands on the clock never moved. They remained pointing at
eight and three. In the room’s left corner, the twins sniggered as they covered
a napping Tootles in their used banana skins. Jack gave a smirk, shaking his
head. ‘How did I wind up in this nut house?’ he asked himself. Flicking his
sight to the scene unfolding at his immediate left, Jack felt his heart thump
hard against his ribs.
Having sliced up a carambola with his pocket sized dagger,
Peter held out the pieces to Izz. “Here,” he said, as she took a segment from
his hand. “Now it’s cut, it looks like a star… it reminded me of you.”
“Aww,
thanks,” she replied with a smile and a giggled.
Jack shuddered, gripping his arms tight around himself.
Staring at the room’s back wall, he scrunched his face up. “What’s wrong Mr.
Frost?” asked one of the twins as he ran towards him.
“Why
the long face?” asked the other twin, as the two of them perched at his feet,
looking up at him, having snuck away from Tootles, who was now undetectable
underneath all of the pile of banana peels. Jack flinched. Resting an elbow on
his leg, he plonked his chin in his hand and sighed.
“It
doesn’t matter,” Jack mumbled. “Say… do either of you know the connection
between Peter Perfect over there,” he said rolling his eyes, jerking a thumb in
Peter’s direction. “And the heart of Neverland?”
“The
fairies shared it with him,” said the twin on Jack’s left.
“When
Tinker Bell first brought him to Neverland,” continued the other.
“That’s
why he’s got pointy, elven ears,” added the first.
“And
can fly without pixie dust,” they said together. Jack straightened his back and
took a glance in Peter’s direction.
Looking
back at the twins he whispered, “So if this core were to be destroyed…
what would happen to him?”
“Poof…”
they said together shrugging.
Feeling his stomach tingle, Jack threw a hand to it. A
prickle danced up his spine. He gave a shudder. “Poor guy,” he mumbled. Jack stretched
a hand back to feel his staff behind him. He took in a breath. His staff made
him feel safe. It was the one thing that made him feel strong, made him feel
like he was somebody of importance. Looking over at Peter he swallowed.
Brushing a hand through his hair, Jack remembered back to his last battle with
Pitch Black. He knew what it was like to have his existence threatened. Turning
back to the twins, Jack noticed that Nibs, Slightly and Curly had also joined
him. “Do any of you know how to get to the Black Castle?” he asked.
“Castle?”
Curly repeated. “There ain’t no castle, is there?” he said scratching his club
to his head.
“Course
not,” said Slightly, nudging Curly in the arm.
“There
ain’t no castle here,” Nibs piped up, shaking his head and he crossed his legs.
“Nope,
no castle,” the twins sang.
Inhaling a deep breath through his nose, Jack gave a
groan. He wiped a hand up his face, clawing it at his scalp. “How’s about the
caves at Cannibal Cove, then?” he asked them. “How do you get there when the
tide’s in?”
Swaying,
the twins bashed heads. “I dunno,” sang one, with the other as his echo.
“Boat?”
said Slightly with a shrug.
“Do
you have one?” asked Jack leaning forwards. Slightly shook his head. With a
sigh Jack pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I
know a boat,” came a small voice from the back of the room. Tottering towards
them with a banana skin on his head, Tootles waved a hand at Jack.
“What
did you say little man?” asked Jack, raising an eyebrow,
“I
know a boat,” he repeated, skipping to get to them faster. Tripping over his
tail he stumbled, sliding into one of the twins.
Hearing the little shout from Tootles and noticing him scamper
past, Izz perked up her head. As the Lost Boys pushed and shoved one another,
following Tootles’ entrance, Izz stood up and neared them. Seeing his men all
crowded around Jack, looking up at him with eager, interested expressions,
Peter scratched his head. “Hmm,” he said with a frown as he followed after Izz.
“Hook, I almost forgot.”
“The Redskinss have a boat,” Tootles explained. There came
a collection of gasps, as the other Lost Boys remembered this.
“They
do!” exclaimed Curly with a grin.
“Yeah!”
agreed the others.
“Awesome,”
said Jack with a nod, punching a fist into his palm. “So how do we get there?”
“It’s
to the far left of the island,” said Peter wishing to join the conversation as
the island’s voice of authority. Heads turned to face their leader. “Walking
would take ages, but we could fly there in no time.” Jack gave Peter a smile
and a nod. “The Redskins only have one boat though,” Peter warned. “And you can
only fit two of them in it, three of us at a squeeze.” Glancing from Izz to
Peter, Jack’s smile edged to one side.
“So
we’ll go,” Jack said leaping to his feet. “The three of us.” At this, there
were a chorus of, “Awwwrhs,” from the Lost Boys, followed by pouts and
scrunched up noses.
Ignoring
the Lost Boys’ complaints, Peter told Jack, “It’s not that simple,” pointing a
finger at his rival. “The Redskins don’t take nicely to strangers.”
Jack
gave a shrug. “So we’ll give them a gift… show them we’re friendly…”
Peter
shook his head. “You need to be initiated into their tribe,” he told Jack with
a grin. “And that’s not easy.”
“We
don’t have the time,” Izz said with a sigh, cupping her head in her hands.
“We’ve wasted so much already, I know,” she added, “most of this was my
fault-”
“It
wasn’t,” Peter declared, as Jack echoed him with a soft smile.
“It
doesn’t matter,” Izz said shaking her head. “We’ve left Pitch and Hook long
enough for them to have devised a plan to do I-don’t-know-what.” She turned to
Peter. “Jack’s right, we need to leave now if we ever want to stop them. Peter,
if we go to the redskins, can’t you do or say something… anything to get
us that boat?”
Peter
flapped his arms by his sides. “We can’t do anything right now,” he said with a
sigh. “Not until Tink’s mended my shirt.”
Upon hearing Peter say her name, the Pots and Kettles
fairy’s glow brightened. Her tiny tinkle rang out across the room, as she rose
from her matchbox stool. Peter’s shirt flapped towards him, with the tinkering
fairy flapping away beneath it. Pulling his top back over his head, Peter
wiggled his right arm out, admiring Tinker Bell’s handy work. “Thanks Tink!”
said Peter poking at the new leaf sewn onto his sleeve’s upper arm. He turned
to Tinker Bell and with a finger ruffled up her hair. Leaning back, she gave a
little laugh, her fairy jingle ringing in the air. “Okay,” said Peter as he
turned back to face Jack and the Lost Boys. “Lost Boys,” he called. Bouncing up
off the ground, they jumped to their feet. Backs straight, they saluted their
leader and waited for their orders. “I need you to accompany Tink back to the
Babbling Brook. You’ve got to help her and the other fairies guard the heart of
Neverland.”
“But-”
Slightly muttered.
Peter
ignored him and continued, “Izz, Jack and I will go to the Redskin Camp and
borrow their boat to find the Black Castle.”
“But-”
said Slightly again, this time raising a finger in the air.
“No
butts, men,” said Peter, pressing out his chest. “If Izz says there’s a Black
Castle and Hook’s found it, then I believe her… she’s smart. I trust her.”
The
Lost Boys began an outburst of questions at Peter, asking him where the heart
of Neverland resided and how they would find it, as well as who Peter would
allow to be in charge during his absence – although they knew he would pick
Slightly (as always) Curly still hoped that this time Peter would choose him.
During
the commotion, Jack noticed a coil of stiff, twisted branches tumbled from
Tinker Bell’s work area. Gliding away from the fuss, he scooped it up and
returned to the tinker fairy. “I believe you dropped this,” he said as he held
it out towards her. She looked at the item in Jack’s palms. Waving her arms,
her hands crossed back and forth in front of her. Jack retracted his hands. A
smile spread across her face. Nodding she pointed from the vine to him. “For
me?” he asked with a frown. Tinker Bell nodded again, clapping.
“I
think someone’s got a new admirer,” said Peter with a smile, having heard the fairy’s
bell. Punching her hands on her hips, Tinker Bell spun around to face Peter
with a frown. “I was only kidding Tink,” he laughed.
As Jack re-joined them Izz smiled at him. “Are we ready
then?” she asked.
“Wait,”
Curly cried, pushing himself through the troop. “Before you go,” he said as he
fumbled towards Jack, his hands hidden behind his back. All of the Lost Boys
followed him, crowding around their new friend. “We want you to have this,” he
said, pulling his hands out from behind his back and holding them out towards the
Jack. Jack’s eyes stared, looking down at the object in Curly’s hands.
“What’s
this?” Jack asked, smiling all the while.
“A
gift,” Curly told him. “From us Lost Boys t’ you.”
“A
knife,” added Slightly. “And one of our sharpest,”
Taking
the dagger, Jack held it out in front of him. Its handle fit snug in the palm
of it hand. Its blade glinted from the light that glowed from Tinker Bell.
“It’s amazing…” breathed Jack, taken back by the Lost Boys generosity and
craftsmanship. “But I can’t accept this.”
“Of
course you can,” sang Nibs.
“In
case you need it fighting Hook,” said one of the twins, tugging on Jack’s
trouser leg.
“Fighting
Hook,” echoed the other twin.
Jack bounced the knife up in his hand. Flipping it, it
spun around in the air and he caught it again. “Guys…” Jack gasped, looking at
each of them in turn. He forced himself to blink several times, trying to hide
the dampness that tried to seep into his eyes. “I don’t know what to say…”
“Say
you’ll take it,” said Nibs.
“I…
I will,” he replied with a grin wider than he ever realised he could manage.
“You’re
like one of us,” said Curly, tapping Jack on the back.
“Like
family,” added Tootles.
“You’re
fun,” said one twin.
“And
make it snow,” said the other.
“We
want you to stay safe,” said Nibs. “You never know what you’ll come across in
these woods.”
“And
we want you to protect Izz too,” added Slightly.
Hearing Slightly’s comment, Izz lowered her head and
pinched her lips together, smiling. As the Lost Boys gave a cheer to Jack, Izz
told them, “I can fend for myself, you know.” However, her words were
lost to them, as Jack gave out high-fives and ruffled their heads.
“Thank
you guys, so much,” said Jack, as he swallowed away his emotion. “I just… wow,”
he breathed, gazing back at their gift to him. “Thanks.”
“C’mon,” Peter called, before the Lost Boys became too
sentimental. “We’ve all got mission to do.” He turned to his trusted fairy
friend. “Tinker Bell, I’ve put you in charge of the boys. You have my
permission to nip them if they misbehave.” Holding a hand to her mouth, she
gave a snigger, pleased by her new position. “Boys,” he bellowed, turning to
the Lost Boys. “You have a very important mission. Protecting the heart of Neverland
is the most important honour that anyone in Neverland could be presented with.
I trust that you will serve Tinker Bell and her fairies well. We’re counting on
you. Don’t let us down.”
“Aye,
aye, Pan,” they agreed with nods, salutes and a fist-punch from Curly.
“Good,”
he said with a nod. Turning to Izz he placed a hand on her wrist. “I’m afraid
you’re pixie dust probably won’t carry you all the way to the redskins’ camp
Izz,” he told her. “But we can still carry you if you like,” he said shifting
his eyes towards Jack, who was still too amazed by his gift from the Lost Boys to
notice that Peter had acknowledged him.
“Thanks,”
she said with a smile.
“Everybody
ready?” Peter asked. Following a collection of shouts, Peter announced, “Then
away we go…”
- Josie -
