Shadowless part I

Three months ago

Sun sets slowly on Neverland, rays of sunshine falling lazily on top of trees. Peter Pan is flying low over his island. He isn’t a boy anymore. Magic had been like breathing, an extension of his body, pure instinct. As his body changed so did his link to it. In childhood he never thought of it, for it was everywhere around him. But even so, the way he used it was unrefined, like playing in the sand and building simple towers. Now he could build intricate details. Magic was like painting on an immense canvas, choosing the right colors and bending reality to his will.

His obsession – as Tink would put it – with Wendy hadn’t eased with time. He had tried refraining form watching her, be it at night or in the other world. But with each passing day he felt like unraveling a new version of her. She was not only beautiful but kind and loving. At fifteen he heard her reading out loud her novels. And as before he would hide against the window and travel far away, transported by her voice. A voice that visited him in his dreams. Precious were his dreams, for in them he could finally talk to her and touch her. No closed windows could keep her from him there.

Tink kept begging him to just go to her and put everyone out of there misery. She started pushing him right after his last growth spurt. After all, he was stuck on her, lusting from afar. What did he have to lose ? That was just it, Peter simply didn’t know. The possibility of meeting her again, especially as an equal, full grown, was scary. What if she didn’t recognize him ? What if she’d hate him ?

They didn’t exactly part on bad terms, but still that separation had been painful for both of them. He knew because he observed her. Her life was a succession of restraints, she wasn’t allowed to walk alone, or run. Nor was she allowed to write, not really.

When she entered the marriage mart, his fear of losing her grew. Wendy taking a husband was a horrible thought. His fear diminished greatly after her first season. She didn’t want to take a husband. Of course, she kept saying how desperate she was, bowing to Aunt Millicent’s every word. But in truth, if she’d needed a husband she would have found one. Peter didn’t understand all the intricacies of society, but he did take note of how fast women would marry. Spinsters were a rarity, not a rule.

Seasons went by and still no marriage befell Wendy. Around her second season he attempted to meet her. He built up the courage, bought some « respectable » clothes and waited for her in Hyde Park. Twisting the darn gloves in his hands, he’d prepared a little speech. How could he greet her ?

But when he had tried approaching her, she had passed right by him, without a glance. Like he didn’t exist. Heartbreak had a sour taste in his mouth.

Anyways his mind was on other places. Neverland felt weird of late. He’d taken to patrol with the older lost boys. The nights were colder. Some, like Tink, said it was just Peter’s dark mood influencing the weather. All nagging set aside, something was happening. He could smell it.

That’s how he ended up on Skull Rock. He hadn’t come to the desolated rock in years. An after thought really, brought him back here. As he landed, the sun had disappeared, dark shadows looming inside the hideous skull. He didn’t exactly know why he entered inside. But he did. Magic hummed underneath his skin, a rush of power surging through him. This place was strangely rich with power and energy. He walked down the stairs, his own shadow cast in front of him. Memories of Tiger Lily’s rescue resurfacing while he arrived at the base of the Skull. Maybe it was the memories that slowed him, or what is fate ?

Pain exploded in his head, brutally and without warning. It felt like an explosion, tearing him apart from head to toe. The sheer force of it making him fall to his knees. He pressed his hands to his temples, panting and struggling to see who would attack Peter Pan. It took him only a split second to understand, his shadow had been torn apart from him. Recovering quickly he sprung to his feet and rose at the center of the skull. He could still catch the unruly shadow. Sweat falling in front of his eyes, he started searching inside the multiple empty chambers of the skull. His mood was now very altered. A storm was on going outside.

But his shadow had flown far away from him. He decided to fly off the damn rock, it was evident that his insufferable shadow had decided to play hide and seek. The last time he'd lost his shadow… Well let’s just say, Peter was reaping the consequences of it, to this day. Why would his shadow run away this time ?

Troubled with and a slight headache, Peter returned to the hallow tree. A faint glow was rushing towards him. Tinkerbell rushes furiously, nearly crashing into him.

« Slow down Tink, you’re gonna burn my eyes with that tingle ! »

Tink isn’t amused, in fact she looks disheveled and scared. Tinkerbell isn’t, ever, scared. She slows her movements to collect herself enough.

« Peter ! I’ve been searching for you, literally everywhere ! Something happened, the fairies are sick ! » her small form buzzes around him until she reaches for his hair and starts pulling. A bit to hard.

« Ouch! All right ! I get it ! Just stop you’ll tear me apart ! I’m coming. »

They fly quickly over Pixie Hallow, where an assembly of fairies wait for them. The queen meets them halfway worry dampening her glow.

Peter gives her a curt nod, and glances around. He sees a few fortune beds laid out on the moss, with fairies glowing red on them.

The fairies had fallen to a strange illness, unlike any before. Their fairy dust turning red brutally and falling soon after like dead. They were found in a deep slumber, unresponsive and cold.

At first Peter tries reassuring the queen. They’ll investigate and find a cure. And the fairies anxiously wait for it. But nothing comes out of it. From what Peter could asserts, all the fallen fairies were found on the edges of Pixie Hallow near a small crick. The other fairies remained untouched.

All the while, like a shard under his skin, he feels the absence of his shadow. How strange that the fairy illness had happened the same day he lost his shadow. Something was brewing, deep within Neverland.

He’d have to seek out the answers once more. He flies to the lagoon, where in darkness secrets and magic dwell.