25/4/2004

Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter One: The End and a Beginning

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Authors Note: This is a ghost story, of sorts - I read an article that put forward the theory that Peter Pan was actually not alive at all, but a ghost of JM Barrie's dead brother, so tragically taken at a young age. The idea obviously intrigued my muse because she threw this at me while I was in the shower last night, then made me sit down and put digits to keyboard and get it all down. Needless to say I had a very late night. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The house in Bloomsbury, with its ornate, stained glass windows and its neatly swept steps was unusually quiet for a Sunday afternoon. There was none of the running and pattering of youthful feet, nor the cries and shouts of energetic boys about their playful business. The curtains were drawn and the lamps lit despite the hour being still early and the sun still bright. The occupants moved slowly about the house with exaggerated care, their eyes downcast, their mouth's turned down. Once in a while a glance would be met, but the welling of tears quickly broke the connection and the eyes once more turned to stare blindly down at the carpet.

A figure garbed in black descended the stairs with a heavy tread, his lined face drawn and tired. His worn hands held a small, rounded bag, his initials stamped in scratched gold against the side. As he reached the bottom step he released a sigh, his eyes glancing up to meet those staring out of the parlour at him. He had no words to comfort them, only a shake of his head before resuming his course to the front door and the world beyond.

The house seemed to sigh with him as he left, the door clicking shut with a finality that seemed to shake the occupants, their minds trying to comprehend the magnitude of the sorrow to come.

In a pretty bedroom upstairs the recipient of all this parlous grief lay thin and pale against her pillows, her once bright hair, her crowning glory, limp and dull where is lay, spread in a halo around her head. Her face was turned to the window, her once rosy lips curved into a sweet smile, her ocean blue eyes unfocused as if the owner had stepped out of the room and would return soon.

She sighed, her chest rising only slightly to accomplish the feat, her wasted body barely managing to disturb the covers, so slight the breath needed to fill her lungs.

Faintly she could hear people moving about the house. She wished they wouldn't be so quiet, she was tired of being quiet, she wanted noise to fill the room, to fill the long minutes between breaths, to give her something other than her heartbeat to listen to. But she wished in vain, her family too shocked at the appalling speed of events to think straight or ask the dying what they really wanted, really wished for before they died.

For she knew she was dying. It was there in the eyes of the Doctor who tried to smile and pretend it wasn't so. It was there in the eyes of her mother who bravely smiled and pretended there was hope. But she knew, she knew it was all pretend.

To her way of thinking, she was one of the lucky ones. She at least was to be allowed to die in her own bed, in her own home. Others that had been afflicted by this latest influenza outbreak had been shipped to the local hospital and put into isolations wards, in a hopeless attempt to stem the epidemic. It had proved useless. She had caught it from a school friend, had quickly succumbed and now lay, mere hours, maybe minutes from the end of her life.

It was a shame she would never get to have her eighteenth birthday after all. She had been looking forward to it, had planned her gown, had written out the invitations in her careful hand, the small pile even now sitting in her desk drawer, never now to be posted. The dress she and her mother had so carefully created hung inside her wardrobe, the dress too big for her now, its beautiful lace never made into the fichu for the neckline, instead that too languished, unwrapped, a forgotten bundle under the bed.

Closing her eyes, she daydreamed that she was whirling around the flagstone courtyard outside the dining room, the old tree hung with gaily flickering lanterns, her partner whispering sweet compliments quite improperly in her ear about her beautiful eyes and elegant gown. As the dream progressed the music for their dance seemed to well up and surround them, her partner twirling her in his arms, her hand warm in his, her eyes almost closed as she relaxed into his arms. She could almost feel the hard steel of his muscles as he pulled her in closer, the music swelling and becoming louder, the dance faster until she was breathless, her heart pounding.

Feeling giddy, she opened her eyes, blinking up at the ceiling of her room, the images still so vivid in her mind. The sun outside her room had gone, replaced with the chill darkness of the evening, her window shut but the curtains left open. She had insisted on that small detail, hating not to see the sky, even if it was just stars. Someone had come in and seen to the lamps, their soft glow bathing her in imagined warmth, her skin a pale gold in their forgiving light.

As she lay there she became aware of a figure standing in the shadows of the corner by the window. She tried to lift her head to see who it was, but even that small effort was beyond her, her head barely able to turn to the side.

"Who is there....please come forward to where I can see you?" Her softly spoken words, so quiet the listener had to strain to hear them, reached out to the figure, drawing him inexorably to the bed and its occupant.

As he slowly padded across the thick carpet, his eyes caught and held hers, their colour still a mixture of green and blue, as changeable as the ocean and as clear as the sky.

"I've come to take you with me to Neverland.....are you ready?"

Wendy Darling stared up at the golden haired angel standing beside her bed and smiled, her eyes twinkling up at him, disbelief and resignation fighting for dominance, both losing to the feeling of relief that swept over her.

"I have wished that I could see you one last time....hoped and prayed that I wouldn't die before looking upon you again. Now that you are here...I don't believe my eyes.....I think I must still be asleep, dreaming that you are here.....or maybe I am already dead and you are my angel come to guide me to heaven."

Peter Pan looked down at the girl in the bed, his eyes skimming over her well remembered features, disregarding the changes wrought by her illness, only seeing the girl he'd left behind so many years before. Rising into the air, he floated above her bed, just as he had when he'd visited her room all those years before. Wendy looked up into his face and marvelled that she could have such a vivid dream, that her imagination could supply such detail and such changes. For she remembered Peter Pan as a boy, a rascal and rogue who charmed and cajoled, who wheedled and won her heart with his courage and a butter-melting smile. The young man that impudently floated a scant few inches above her bed was no boy, his features more defined, older, his body certainly no longer that of a child, but of a grown man, the shoulders broad, the arms sleek and corded with muscle. Only his eyes remained the same, thickly lashed with a hint of mischief lurking in their depths.

"I'm not your angel Wendy....but I have come to take you away....it won't be long now...you'll be free of this world soon, free to come to mine....to stay there, forever if you want to."

"For a dream you are remarkably rude to mock someone when they are dying...for that is what I am doing here. If you had a crumb of decency you would not tease me so cruelly."

"I'm not teasing you Wendy.....I have come to take you with me...you only have to wish it and it's done."

"Only have to wish it......wouldn't that be a nice dream...to only have to say the words and everything would be as it once was....but no, I would not go back to being a girl...even if there was the faintest chance of doing so....you are impertinent to suggest it."

As she lay there frowning up at the youth hovering over her, she wondered anew how her dream could be so real when his mobile lips parted and formed a cheeky grin, his teeth gleaming whitely in the lamplight, a chuckle issuing forth, washing over her and making her skin prickle with awareness.

"You really don't believe I'm here....do you?"

"I believe that I am delirious, dying, and that I have wished so hard for this to happen that my mind has finally succumbed and given in to my demands...." She smiled wistfully, her eyes half closed, their brightness dimming as she retreated into herself.

"Give me your hand,"

Ignoring the apparition, Wendy turned her head to the side, closing her eyes completely. It made the shock of his touch that much greater. She could feel the roughness of his palm, the calluses from the sword handle, the dry rasp of his skin against her as he entwined his fingers through hers and tugged her limp hand up from the coverlet, lifting it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on her fingertips. Wendy's eyes flew open in surprise, not only at his being able to touch her, but at the press of his lips against her skin.

Peter still had her hand in his, his thumb stroking lazily against her palm.

"How can you do that.....you're not real, you're just a dream?"

"Get up Wendy......it's time to leave.....this world is finished for you....mine awaits......come with me!"

"I want to.....but I can't get up Peter...I'm too weak!"

"You're not weak Wendy.....you're strong.....you want to see Neverland again, don't you? The mermaids, the Indians, the Lost Boys?"

"The Lost Boys......but....they came back with me.....years ago."

"These are a whole new collection.....all excited to meet you."

"Meet me......but they don't know me."

"They know you from the stories I've told them.......so many stories of our adventures together......but they need new stories, new adventures......."

"I can't Peter......I'm too....." Wendy tugged her hand from his, covering her eyes as tears welled, her bottom lip trembling uncontrollably, her breath hitching as she fought back the lump lodged in her throat.

"You can Wendy......you just have to let go." Once more he took her hand, prising it from her face, tugging her upwards as he floated away from her. Blinking she let herself be pulled upright, Peter lowering his feet to the carpet, his arm outstretched, her fingers trapped in his. "Swing your legs out, don't worry, I won't let you fall.....get out of bed..."

Slowly she allowed herself to be coaxed and cajoled, Peter's eyes drawing her up, his hand holding hers so gently but insistently until she found herself on her feet, the tears that had swum on her lashes, spilling over and sliding down her face unnoticed. Now Peter reached down and took her other hand, pulling her towards him and the open window behind him, his face alight with laughter, his teeth flashing as he cast a glance over his shoulder before turning his head back to gather her bemused stare with a sparkling one of his own.

"You're nearly there Wendy....only a few more steps and you'll be free."

"I don't understand this Peter.......how can I be doing this....how can you be here?"

"Because you wish it Wendy........because this is what you've wanted to happen all this time......"

"Peter......." A whispering sound came from behind her, drawing her attention, one hand slipping from his as she turned to look back at her bed.

A pale girl lay against the pillows, her face calm and untroubled, her eyes closed, her hand hanging off the bed, limp and still. As Wendy stared in shock, the door of the bedroom opened and she saw her mother appear.

"She can't see you Wendy.......you have finally cut the strings of this world.....there is no reason to stay anymore..." Peter's voice washed over her, his lips close to her ear, his words making no sense. Rooted to the carpet, Wendy watched her mother approach the bed, her steps faltering as she neared the girl laying so still and quiet. She heard her mother call to the girl but the words were too soft for her to hear, her mother reaching out a hand to touch the girls face, drawing back sharply, then reaching again, this time to stroke the pale cheek with unbearable tenderness. Wendy watched as her mother gathered the girl to her breast, rocking the body in her arms, her face buried against the girls for a while before lifting her head, her face contorted in grief, her mouth open on a cry before lowering it and pulling the girl close again.

Too frightened to move, Wendy watched as the door flew open and her father entered the room, his eyes wild and staring, his movements jerky and uncoordinated as he stumbled across the room and fell to the floor by the bed, his face ghastly in its grief, his arms enfolding his wife and dead daughter, both parents engulfed in their unbearable pain of loss.

"It's time to go Wendy......come away with me.....to Neverland."

Like a sleepwalker, Wendy allowed Peter to pull her around and back towards the window, his arm firm around her shoulders, his fingers entwined with hers. As she stepped onto the sill, she glanced once more over her shoulder, her last view of the mortal world too bewildering to comprehend.

"Wendy...?"

She turned her head back to find Peter in front of her, his eyes gleaming darkly, his mouth for once not smiling but wistful and a little unsure.

"I'm ready Peter...take me with you..."

With a sweet smile and a quirk of his irrepressible eyebrow, he gathered her to him, her unresisting body pulled against his, her hand held as if in a dance, his arm around her waist, her hand rising to rest tentatively on his shoulder. Slowly they spiralled upwards, away from the window, out into the night, rising quickly above the smoke stacks and rooftops, their bodies invisible against the cloudless sky as they flew towards the brightest star in the heavens.

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Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Two - Return to the Beginning

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Wendy's return to Neverland was as exhilarating and terrifying as her one and only trip when she had been a child not quite thirteen. She gripped Peter's hand until her knuckles turned white, her body as tense as a bowstring, the planets and stars turned into streaks around her, plunging them into the heart of the Never-star in a shower of light. Just as suddenly they were flung into the void, the brightness turning to dark, the very air spangled with glittering stars, surrounding them endlessly, so she could tell neither up nor down until Peter let his hand drop and ripples of water proved one surface false, a mirror to the sky above. As they flew, light started to trickle through the clouds, the sun rising behind the tallest peak, the dawn rays sweeping down it's slopes like honey spilled from a jar, the island coming alive with the return of its reason for being.

Wendy felt the air rushing past her body, felt the warmth of the sun on her face, Peter's arm around her waist. All this she felt but still her mind struggled with the confusion clouding her perceptions. She had always thought that her trip to Neverland the first time had been as real as her life before and after. But if what had just happened, did just happen, then Peter and Neverland and everything in it was just a dream, what had happened to her as a child had been -just..a..dream, a fantasy woven from her hopes and desires, her unconscious regret at having to grow up. But if that was reality, what was this place they were flying over, and why was she the only one being brought here? Did she even want to be here if she was now dead, was this her afterlife? It was all too confusing and worrying and she fretted over the logic as Peter guided them to land on a wide sandy beach, nodding palm trees shading the foreshore, crystal clear waves lapping the shell strewn beach that felt gritty and warm between her toes. As soon as she found her balance Peter withdrew his support, taking several steps away from her, his arms folding across his chest, his face holding an expression that Wendy could only describe as resigned.

Looking down at herself, she noted that once more she was clothed in her nightdress, the hem brushing her ankles, her bare toes curling into the soft grains of sand.

"Oh.......drat it......!"

"Wendy?" Peter's inquiring voice broke through the tumult of her thoughts.

"I seemed to be doomed to spend my afterlife in a nightdress...I wish I could have been wearing my new ball gown, it was so much more elegant."

She raised her head, her eyebrows creased in a frown, only to find Peter's face wreathed in smiles, his shoulders shaking with mirth.

"I don't see what's so funny......you spend your days clothed in leaves and acorns, fine for flying about and fighting, but that's not remotely practical for me, and I never got to wear it...and stop laughing at me."

"I think its a beautiful dress......" Peter chortled, flicking his eyes over Wendy's attire, his eyebrow quirking as she fumed at him. "But hardly practical for here."

"What do you mean, it's only my old nightdress......." Wendy glanced down at herself, her arms going wide to indicate her plain cotton shift only to stall in their movement, her mouth forming an oh of astonishment as she beheld her new ball gown, the full skirts now hiding her sandy toes, the close fitting bodice emphasising her slim waist and flaring hips.

Peter took advantage of her stunned silence to circle around her, his eyes approving as he raked them over her bare shoulders and the swell of her bosom above the lace edging of the bodice. "Very beautiful..."

Wendy's head shot up and she stared at Peter, her eyes rounded in surprise. "But...but....but......" Peter stepped forward and used a finger to close her mouth, her teeth clicking together as he tilted her chin.

"You never listen to a word I say......typical of a girl!" Peter clucked his tongue, a roguish glint coming into his eye as Wendy's mouth took on a militant line, forgetting her previous questions and confusion in the face of Peter's flagrant male chauvinism.

"What do you mean typical? Just how many girls have you known Peter Pan.....and for that matter, brought to this island, I'd like to know?"

Still grinning, Peter rolled his eyes, his hands coming to rest on his hips as he canted his head to one side. "I mean, how like a girl to ask a bunch of silly questions that have no relevance or logic to them. How many girls I've known is neither here nor there." Peter voice suddenly dropped an octave, as he leant towards her, his eyes turning a deeper blue as they clashed with hers. "...there's only ever been......one Wendy."

"Oh Peter," feeling a foolish rush of warmth flood her cheeks, Wendy gave in, easily wooed by his careless charm and too emotionally worn out to fight over such a pointless argument. Ducking her head, she lifted her hands, plucking at the lace and ribbons on the bodice, suddenly shy to be wearing her treasured birthday dress which revealed far more of her than she had ever done before.

"There was going to be dancing, and music and so many friends......that won't happen now will it?"

Peter shook his head, his hands now hanging at his sides, his eyes still carrying a hint of amusement, but not mocking her as she twitched her skirts, swinging them to the side and lifting them above her ankles. Slowly, as if hearing her own music, Wendy started to sway as if dancing, her feet moving over the sand, her skirts swirling gently around her as she circled first to the left, then to the right. So caught up in her pretence, she forgot about Peter until he suddenly circled her waist with his arm, his hand finding hers, his feet following hers in the movements of the waltz.

"Why Peter....you can waltz!" Again logic intruded and she frowned up at him, "Why can you waltz?"

"You would be surprised, Wendy Darling, what I've learnt in the years since you last saw me.....haven't you noticed anything different about me?"

"Well.......yes.....but as this is not real, or atleast, I don't think it's real.....I assumed that you were the way you were because that's what I wanted....isn't it?"

Peter turned her in the movements of the dance, their bodies dipping and swaying, their feet keeping time with the music in their heads.

"Partly......I am the way I am because of you.....do you remember when you kissed me on the deck of the Jolly Roger?"

"Of course......but now I realise that was a dream too....so it didn't really happen either.....did it?"

"Oh yes.....it happened.....in all the time that this world has existed, there has never been such an event as that kiss, it changed more things than you can possibly imagine."

"Oh.......I'm sorry...."

Peter gave her a lopsided smile, his eyes quizzical.

"Why are you sorry.....would you rather I was still the child you remember, still uncaring of love, unbearably conceited and deficient....just a boy?"

"You were never deficient Peter.....I was angry......hurt.....I never meant....can we stop dancing please, my head is swimming?"

Abruptly they stopped, Wendy finding the world still spinning as she rested her head against Peter's shoulder, her cheek hot against his smooth skin.

"I can't think.....I'm so confused.....am I dead....or just dreaming? Why am I here Peter.....why after all this time did you come for me?"

"Because you still believed Wendy.....you wished for this to be true, and it is. You life has started again......been renewed. Neverland is your world now, as it is mine...you can shape it, or change it, or sweep it away, but it will be forever yours."

"I don't understand!" Wendy wailed, her hands beating against his chest as she slumped, his strong arms holding her up as she wept her bewilderment against his neck. "I want to go...home!"

For a long minute Peter remained silent, Wendy's hand changing from a fist to an open palm, her fingers playing with the leaves entwined over his shoulder.

"You can't go home Wendy......you can never go home....that way is closed to you now. It was only ever a one way trip, this time. Neverland is now your home....for as long as you want to stay here."

"You mean there could be somewhere else for me?"

"No Wendy......this was always to be yours, whenever you chose to return to it."

Wendy closed her eyes, shutting out the blue sky and white sand, her senses all focused on the young man holding her so tenderly.

"Are you real Peter.....did you ever exist in my world?"

"I did once.....a long time ago......I'm now as real as your stories, as real as your imagination. Did you believe that your stories of pirates, and crocodiles and fairies were real?"

Peter felt Wendy nod her head slowly against his shoulder.

"Then accept that I am real too....that Neverland is as real and alive as you are now. Don't look any further, don't try and fit what you know from you old life into this one.....for it will never make sense. Accept the truth of what you feel.......and see, the rest is unimportant."

Slowly, Wendy raised her head, pushing away slightly but keeping within the easy embrace of Peter's arms.

"If I asked you for a kiss......would you give me one?"

A smile as bright as the rising sun stretched Peter's mobile lips and made his eyes dance with merriment.

"What is it with girls and their preoccupation with kissing!"

Outraged, Wendy parted her lips to blast him with a pithy riposte but found instead that Peter, ever the opportunist, had negated any need for speech by the simple expediency of his lips sealing hers, her body melting as he supped sweetly of her lips, his own warm and soft and incorrigibly impertinent.

When they parted a few minutes later, their lips clung for a second, Wendy blinking up at Peter in a fog of heady confusion, before she pulled back suddenly, her eyes flashing with anger.

"Who taught you to kiss like that?"

Peter sighed, his lips twitching as he tried to control his amusement at her lightening changes of mood.

"You did........don't you remember?"

"You can hardly equate that tiny kiss on the Jolly Roger with what we just did.....they're nothing alike....."

"I'm not referring to then.....that wasn't the last kiss you gave me.....in fact, the last kiss before this one was only a week or so ago, if I remember rightly."

Wendy put a hand up to her head, plainly at sea once more with his cryptic explanations.

"I didn't kiss you last week.....I haven't seen you for years."

"Yes you have Wendy......on a very regular basis, last week was..." Peter's face slipped into a wistful smirk, his eyes faraway. "You and I were back at the black castle, but instead of me flying off after we fenced.......we....er....we...."

As Wendy listened to his account of their last embrace, Wendy felt a dawning horror creep up her spine, as snatches of images suddenly careened through her minds-eye, of a dream she'd had of her and Peter at the Black castle, the dream so vivid she'd awoken flushed and breathless.

"But....but......but...." Once more she found herself without words to fill the silence. "That was a dream....only a dream.....we didn't.....you couldn't have......"

"I could....and we did....it happened....that kiss happened....."

"No......no, no, no.....that's not possible."

Overcome with mortification, several rather vivid dreams intruding on her conscience, reminding her in all their embarrassing glory of their existence, Wendy whirled around and dashed off down the beach, her skirts up around her knees as she ran, stumbling and choking, her face flaming.

The confines of her dress slowed her headlong flight very quickly, her lips parted to gasp in much needed air while she slumped against an outcrop of rocks, her hand pressed to her side against a stitch that dug into her long neglected muscles.

As she sprawled inelegantly against the hard granite, she mentally reviewed her parade of memorable dreams, some revisited more than once in the five years since she'd last visited Neverland. As a child her dreams had all been adventures, some more vivid and longer than others, but all of them tinged with the innocence of adolescence, the thrill of excitement overwhelming the desire for romance. But as Wendy grew older her focus shifted, and her dreams did too...the adventures started to take on new elements, her romantic heart wanting her to be rescued by her hero, to be held and cherished and kissed. "Oh God no.....don't let him know about those......please no." Her plea went unheeded as she dwelt on the tone and substance of some of her more recent dreams, often with her dream lover never having a face, only a body and arms and lips that thrilled her and left her shaking and trembling in her bed with an ache she didn't know what to do about.

"They're all true.......each and every one." Peter's voice made her push away from the rocks and whirl around, the owner of the voice standing a few feet away, his eyes gently mocking hers as she glared at him.

"How could you......they were private.....my dreams, mine alone......not for public exhibition!"

"Your dreams are what kept Neverland....kept me alive Wendy....don't you realise that? Do you remember when you first started telling stories about me.....where did your ideas come from....what made you invent those characters....didn't you wonder how, having never seen me, or Hook or Neverland....how we came to be?"

"I-I-I....." At Peter's telling look, Wendy paused, her pithy reply dying on her lips as she considered his question.

"I did wonder......but I forgot why....and you never came back...so I stopped telling the stories."

"You stopped telling the boys.....but you never stopped dreaming them...nearly every night you thought of me, or of Neverland....and every night I was there.....with you."

"But Peter......the boys.....the Lost Boys.....they're real, as real....I mean...if they were once dead......oh I'm not making any sense."

"Yes you are....and yes they were......dead once. But you see I broke the rules....by bringing you to the world you'd created I broke every rule in the book. I didn't mean to bring you.....I should have left and just gone back and told the boys the end of the story."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because....." Averting his eyes, Peter stared out over the ocean, recalling that far off scene in the nursery. "You looked so excited and beautiful and I think I wanted you to love me....even then."

Wendy blinked, her heart hammering. "So you broke the rules and took me to Neverland."

Peter turned his head to face her again, his eyes swirling with emotions that Wendy couldn't start to decipher. "You were right when you said that my not growing up was my biggest pretend. Before you, I didn't want anything to do with grown-ups or getting older, but after you had been there awhile I didn't want you to go....despite everything I said....you changed everything."

"I didn't mean to....I didn't realise."

"Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, you kissed me."

"Why was that bad?" Wendy asked, her own worries forgotten as she strained to hear his answer. Taking a step towards her Peter bent down until his mouth was beside her ear, his body so close she could feel the heat rising from his sunbrown skin.

"It changed everything......it changed me, something inside broke free and nothing was the same again."

Pulling back, Peter stared into her eyes, his own as fathomless and indecipherable as the stars.

"You made me want more than I had here.......I wanted to know what you knew about your world, about growing up, about adult things. You had created me, but when you kissed me......I became something more."

"Was that so bad?"

Peter smiled as her anxious expression, his thumb coming up to smooth the wrinkle between her eyes.

"No, it wasn't bad......and by living in your dreams I was able to be part of your world...albeit vicariously for the most part, but when you started to change me in your dreams....I changed here too."

"Gracious.....I did all that?"

"Yes Wendy.......you did all this....and now you are part of it again."

"But.....if I'm dead....how can this still exist?....I can't dream anymore.....I can't sleep."

"The stories you told to the boys live on, in their dreams, in their stories....you will never die....not in their memories..in your parents memories, in all the people you have known and have known you.....those dreams are eternal."

"Does that mean they will eventually come here too?"

"No....this is your Neverland.....your creation.....when the time comes, they will go to their own version of Neverland, with their own stories and dreams that they've created and desired."

"But.....I still don't.." Sighing exasperatedly, Peter placed his hand over her mouth, silencing her.

"All your questions will be answered...all in good time...but not right this second. There's a bunch of Lost boys waiting to meet you."

Pulling his hand away, Wendy drew in a deep breath, her head tilting to the side as she accepted his rebuke. "Can I ask one last question?"

Pressing his lips together, Peter gave her a resigned nod, barely restraining himself from rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Looking down at her gown, Wendy shook out the skirts, her hands smoothing over the bodice. "This is lovely, but as you say, quite impractical. Can I change it?"

"If you wish it. What would you like to wear?"

"Well...I did rather like what the fairy...." she got no further, Peter's eyebrows climbing into his hairline as he stared at her.

Looking down at herself, Wendy gasped then turned a bright pink, her hands coming up to cross over her breasts, despite the fabric covering her. It shimmered and seemed to have numerous colours in its weave, in all quite lovely, the only drawback being that it was almost completely transparent.

Wendy was mortified, Peter's face splitting into a wicked grin as she gasped and tried to cover herself quite inadequately with only two hands. The fairy dress, like the one worn by the fairy Queen in the tree, was almost translucent in the morning sun, draped enticingly around her nubile curves, highlighting and enhancing every dip and hollow.

Peter whistled appreciatively, his eyes raking up and down as Wendy glared back at him, embarrassed and furious all at once.

"You could at least look away.....any gentleman would!"

"Oh....would they?......I must say, it's an improvement on the nightdress......but not any more practical than the ball-gown."

"Turn around Peter.......now!"

Still grinning, Peter did as she asked, his broad shoulders shaking as he faced back along the beach.

"You may turn around now....."

When he faced her again, he couldn't quite hide the droop of his mouth in his disappointment at seeing her quite sensibly clothed in a simple gown that left her arms bare but covered the rest of her quite modestly.

As he opened his mouth to speak, Wendy sent him a look which caused the comment to remain unspoken, his mouth shutting hurriedly.

Instead he held out his hand, which she took, albeit reluctantly.

"They'll be waiting for us at the hidden tree. Ready?"

Nodding, Wendy tightened her grip on his fingers as he lifted them both into the air and started to fly inland, skimming the tops of the trees, taking it slowly to give her time to take it all in.

The island was as beautiful and lush as ever, the forests and trees stretching away beneath them, the tall peak of the volcano dusted with snow half way down its steep slopes. She saw smoke curling up into the morning air, presumably from the Indian camp, but Peter was drawing her away from the coast into the dense jungle interior.

"Almost there......there's been a few changes."

Wendy cast Peter a quizzical glance but he just grinned and turned his head away, leaving her wondering what he meant.

They started to descend and Wendy saw a tall tree that look vaguely like the one the Lost Boys and Peter had used for a home when she'd visited before, but with all the hanging creepers and dense bushes it was hard to tell. As they touched down, Peter let go of her hand and walked to the edge of the rough clearing. Taking his pan pipes, he played a melody and instantly a section of the ground lifted slightly, betraying a trap door cunningly hidden in the leaf litter.

"This way......we had to modify the entrance," He held a hand above his head as if measuring his height. "Got too big for the old one."

"Oh......yes.......I can see that would have been a problem." Following him, she found herself walking down a series of steps cut into the earth, the trap door fitting neatly over their heads without a chink of light showing. She felt Peter take her hand, leading her onwards, their feet scuffing against the warm earth. Very quickly she saw light ahead, soft and muted, outlining an archway that led into the main underground room, its roof still covered in twisted roots, the floor the same dirt of the stairs. She was surprised that it seemed to large and airy, her memory of the old hideout being one of rather cramped quarters for the boys with a huge dining table at the centre. Here there was no dining table, but several broad benches covered in various materials from skins to moss. She was also surprised by the fact that she could move around without her head brushing the ceiling, despite being several inches taller than the last time she'd been there. Obviously Peter must have expanded the room downwards to accommodate his altered appearance.

"Wait here.....I'll fetch the Lost Boys."

Not waiting for an answer, Peter disappeared behind a hanging skin covering another archway, leading goodness knew where.

As she looked about her, she saw that the room was not just a big communal living area, but a bedroom as well. Several beds were carved into the walls, one or two even sporting skins to act like curtains for privacy. In one corner she saw what she supposed was Peter's bed, the ledge much wider and longer than the others, thickly covered in furs of every persuasion, all heaped haphazardly, Wendy unable to work out what animals they belonged to without a closer inspection.

Voices coming from the other room forestalled any more curiosity, her ears picking up the piping sounds of children interspersed with the deeper timbre of Peter replying. She smoothed her dress, not at all sure of what to expect.

Peter entered first, glancing warmly at Wendy, holding the skin curtain to the side to allow the children beyond to come into the main room. At first, nobody appeared, and Peter beckoned with his fingers for someone to come forward.

"This is Pebble.....he can't remember his name from before, so he picked Pebble for himself." A grubby face peaked around the corner of the curtain under Peter's arm, the tousled black head a riot of loose curls above dark eyes. After an encouraging smile from Peter the child, roughly eight or nine years she guessed, shuffled into the room, casting brief glances at Wendy before rushing across the room and diving into one of the curtained beds before Wendy could say hello. Peter shrugged and gave a self-deprecating smile. "He's a little shy."

Choosing to ignore the dark eyes peeping at her from the alcove, Wendy turned her attention to the next entrant.

"This is Twig, he's the eldest of the younger boys....likes to keep them in order, don'tcha' Twig?" Peter ruffled the toffee coloured mop of the boy who appeared, the lad flinching away from Peter's hand, grimacing at the attention. Peter only chuckled and pushed the boy forward.

"Hello Twig...I'm Wendy."

"I know who you are......Peter's told us all about you. Are you going to make us wash every day?"

"Well.....ur....don't you think its a good idea to be clean?"

"No I don't....and the others don't either......you can't make us wash if we don't want to."

Wendy recoiled slightly from the boys animosity, her eyes finding Peter's who raised his hands in a helpless shrug.

"Well I'm not here to make you wash or do anything you don't want to."

"You aren't? But Peter said....."

"Yes Twig.....what did Peter say?"

Swallowing, Twig dropped his head and dug his grubby toes into the dirt of the floor. He mumbled something but Wendy couldn't make it out, eventually bending down to try and see the boys' face.

"Tell me Twig.....what did Peter say?"

"That you were going to be our Mother...." Suddenly his head shot up and Twig stepped forward, bringing him almost up against Wendy, his head as high as her shoulder, his face set and angry, "We don't need no stinkin' mother.....we do very well on our own....so you can just fly back to wherever you came from and leave us alone!"

Peter had moved forward at the boys' outburst, his face angry, but Wendy gestured for him to stay back. Twig looked to be the same age she had been when she first came to Neverland, his moss green eyes daring her to try anything, his body tense as Wendy took a step back and sat down on a stool, her demeanour calm and patient. She had had plenty of experience dealing with recalcitrant small boys, their little power plays and changeable behaviour.

"I haven't come here to be your Mother.....not if you don't want me to. I didn't even know I was coming to Neverland until today. I'm sure you've done an excellent job looking after the Lost Boys, Twig, and I'm happy to leave all that responsibility for their care with you. I'm sure I'll have lots to do with exploring the island and making a home for myself somewhere."

Twig looked at her, not sure how to reply. He'd been sure she would get angry and try to make him do something, anything, but instead she'd praised him and told him she wouldn't change a thing.

"You're not like any girl I've known.......why is that?"

"Well.....I don't know what sort of girls you've known Twig. I'm sure Peter has told you that the first time I came here the Lost Boys did want me to be they're Mother, but it was only pretend. I wasn't much older than you, too young to be a real Mother."

"What did you do then?"

"Well....in between fighting Captain Hook's pirates, and talking to the mermaids and playing with the Indians.....there wasn't alot of time to do very much. I told them stories, helped gather food...all sorts of things like that."

Intrigued despite himself, Twig sat cross-legged on the floor and stared up at Wendy.

"Did you really fight Pirates?"

"Well yes......at the Black Castle and on the Jolly Roger."

Twig asked her to tell him about the Black Castle, and while she related the tale, another figure inched it's way into the room, the child being not much more than five or six and as fair as Pebble was dark. Careful not to catch the newcomer's eye, Wendy focused entirely on Twig. As she continued, the new child sidled up and sat next to Twig, its blue eyes round as it listened intently. Welcoming the new child with a warm smile, Wendy carried on with her tale, the small group eventually joined by Pebble, his dark, thickly lashed eyes as rapt as the others, one finger finding a home in his mouth which he sucked contentedly.

Keeping her attention focused on the three children, she didn't see the fourth until she was standing directly in front of her. Wendy broke off her story, waiting patiently for the child to sit.

"My names Bane......I'm not a Lost Boy....I'm a Lost Girl."

"I can see that Bane.....and a very pretty one too."

Bane was a girl in her early teens, her pale blond hair laying loose on her shoulders like spun gold. Her eyes were a rich brown, currently appraising Wendy in a similar fashion, holding a faintly derisive gleam in their dark depths, as if finding Wendy wanting in some way.

"Would you like to sit down and hear the rest of the story?" Wendy asked at last, indicating the floor next to Twig.

"No.....stories are for babies......and don't think you can steal Peter from me, either. He's mine, has been for ages and I'll kill you if you try anything."

Startled at the girls vehemence, Wendy looked over at Peter, who grimaced and shook his head.

"I see......well Bane.....as I told Twig, I won't be staying where I'm not wanted......and I certainly don't take kindly to threats against my life two minutes after I meet someone. I suggest that if you don't want to hear the story, you take yourself off somewhere so that the others can." Putting on her best "Miss Fulsom" face, Wendy returned the girls stare, her blue eyes unflinching in the face of the girls open hostility.

It was Bane who broke the deadlock, flinging herself away from Wendy and flouncing out of the room, sending Peter a dark look before the curtain dropped into place behind her.

"I'm sorry about Bane.....she usually not so.......prickly." Peter explained, sighing gustily as he sat down heavily on one of the sleeping couches. "She's been here the longest and I think she has......um.......a crush on me." He tried to look mournful, as if much put upon.

"How clever of you to notice." Wendy's wry tone brought a smile to Peter's lips, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. The younger children watched the exchange with interest. They'd heard so much about the Wendy lady from Peter and were impressed with the way she'd handled Bane, the girl often making the younger children's lives difficult at times with her sudden flares of temper and cruel pranks.

"Is this all of them Peter.....or should I brace myself for more of the same?"

"There's two others, the older boys are out hunting at this time of the day, hunting or fishing, I can never remember which."

"Fishing." Volunteered Twig.

"Thank you Twig, knew you'd know. Anyway, Briggs is the eldest and Topper about a month or so younger than him."

"Briggs is in love with Bane, but she won't give him a kiss....despite him asking her everso many times." The blond child chimed in, grinning toothily up at Wendy, "I'm Pip."

"Hello Pip.....thank you for telling me about Briggs....er...and Bane.....now, would you like me to finish telling you about my adventure at the Black Castle?"

A chorus of piping voices urged her to carry on, Peter getting to his feet as Wendy launched back into the tale, Twig having told her where she'd got up to, just in case she'd forgotten.

Leaving Wendy with the younger children, Peter passed through the arch into the next room, finding Bane standing with her back to him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You weren't exactly polite Bane."

The girl spun around, her gilt-blond hair whirling around her face.

"She's only here to take you from me.....it's not fair.....I've been here the longest....you're mine.....not hers!"

Not wanting to hurt the young girls feelings, Peter stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders, shaking her a little.

"That's not true Bane.......you know that. This world is Wendy's world, you know that from what I've told you....which makes me Wendy's as well. I was never meant for you Bane.....I'm too grown up for you now."

"And that's her fault too.....you weren't so big when I came here....you were like me.....now you're all tall, and hairy and horrible!"

"Thank you for shredding what was left of my ego Bane," Peter smiled down at the tearful girl in front of him, his hands still resting on her shoulders. But Bane wasn't to be placated. She twisted and dislodged Peter's hands, stepping back to glare up at him, her bottom lip trembling as she fought back her tears.

"I won't let her have you......I don't care if this is her world, it's my world too.....you brought me here......you took care of me.....I don't want anyone else."

"Bane......" Peter reached for her again but she darted away, ducking around a tree root and disappearing into a tunnel that led up to the surface. Peter stood there for a moment, his hands hanging by his side. It was his own fault that Bane was behaving this way. She was quite right, he had taken care of her, treated her in his usual cavalier fashion, not realising that the impressionable girl had nursed an adolescent crush on him, all her emotions focused on him and no-one else. Peter hadn't recognised the signs, his own attention entirely focused on events outside Neverland, never seeing what was happening under his very nose. He heard the curtain rustle behind him, Wendy coming to stand next to him, her hand resting on his arm, sending delicious shivers up his limb and all over his body.

"I heard Peter.....just give her time....she'll get over it....she just needs time."

"I remember you had a crush on a boy when you were about her age."

"Good grief, do I have no secrets?"

"Not from me......I remember you brought him along on one of our adventures....but he didn't like it much....in fact....."

"He wet himself when the crocodile chased us." Wendy laughingly ended the anecdote, remembering that fact but little else of that particular adventure.

"You weren't so impressed with him after that."

"Poor Thomas....he was the brother of one of the girls at school."

"I know...."

"Anyway...this is all beside the point. Bane will come to terms with things....eventually....." She paused, biting her lip. "Unless you would prefer her to be here instead of...." She stopped, unable to continue, picturing Peter kissing the beautiful blond girl, a frown marring her forehead.

"What's the matter?" Peter saw the frown and peered intently into her face, noting her heightened colour.

"Peter.....how much have you changed....I mean......what do you feel for that girl?"

"I don't know.......I guess.....she's one of the Lost Boys, the first to arrive of this lot.....she was so scared and vulnerable, I was already growing, visiting you every night." Peter stopped, "I feel for her the way I did for Tootles and Curly and Nibs......they're the Lost boys....I take care of them, I'm responsible for them."

"You love them."

"Yes.....I suppose I do....you once asked me about feelings.....a long time ago. I was afraid then to even speak of them....I thought they were only for grown ups, that boys weren't supposed to feel, weren't supposed to love. But then you came and turned all those ideas topsy-turvy. The more I became a part of your world, the more I wanted to know about love, wanted to be loved."

"You are loved Peter......certainly by that girl."

"And by you?"

Wendy returned his intent look with eyes that swam with so many conflicting emotions he found himself drawn towards her, his face lowering to hers, their lips touching only feather-light at first, Wendy's eyes closing as he pressed more firmly, his tongued sweeping across her bottom lip, hers parting to let him deepen the kiss until she felt she was drowning, her arms clinging about his neck, his arms about her back, holding her crushed against him.

Breaking apart minutes later, Wendy blinked up at him, bemused at the sensations coursing through her, so like her dreams but also so much more.

"Yes Peter......by me as well."

Grinning triumphantly, Peter picked her up and swung her around, her upper body squashed against his chest, her legs flying out behind her as he twirled them around, Wendy's arms holding tight to his neck.

"Peter!"

"I knew you did.......I just knew it....."

The sound of laughter stopped the giddy whirling, Peter and Wendy finding themselves the object of three pairs of laughing eyes as the younger children crowded the doorway, avidly watching them.

"Does this mean your going to stay with us?" Asked Twig.

Disentangling herself from Peter's arms, Wendy turned to face the three children.

"Would you like me to stay?"

She watched as the three children held a silent conference, exchanging loaded looks before facing her again.

Twig stepped forward, his eyes narrowed. "Will you make us wash all the time....and tidy our beds.....and.....and....."

"I will only ask you to wash before you eat.....and if you want to sleep in a rumpled bed with grit and bugs, that's your choice."

Twig appeared to consider her reply. After a second his frown turned to a smile. "Yes please....we'd like you to stay."

The other two started to whoop and holler, leaping about like frogs while Wendy and Peter watched indulgently. Leaning towards him, Wendy spoke in an aside, her eyes still watching the youngsters gamble about the room.

"We'll have to sort out somewhere for me to sleep Peter."

"Already sorted.......my bed's big enough for two....and the nights get cold even here."

Wendy met his laughing eyes with a startled look.

"Are you suggesting......I mean.....do you expect....oh good grief, I can't sleep with you....it wouldn't be....proper!"

"You still don't understand do you......everything "proper" has been left in your old life.....it's dead and gone. Here everything is proper, everything is as you dreamed it......and you will sleep with me.....it'll be just like when we camped out among the whisper trees, remember?"

Wendy watched a smug smile curl Peter's mouth, her heart starting to thump as images of that particular adventure started to present themselves, their activities in that dream bringing a fiery red glow to her cheeks as she stared back at him, her lips separating on a gasp.

Leaning down, Peter kissed her parted lips, grinning cheekily before leaving her standing in the middle of the room, still blushing, her hand pressed against her rosy cheek.

"Oh Lord....."

Gathering her scattered wits about her, Wendy slowly followed him, the curtain dropping behind her, the room once more empty.

In the tunnel under the tree roots, Bane pushed herself back up the slippery shaft to the surface, bracing her feet against the walls, grunting as she worked her way upwards. She had heard and seen everything, her eyes burning with unshed tears as she pushed open the trapdoor and rolled through it onto the leaf strewn ground, laying on her back for a second before clambering to her feet.

"You won't win.....you won't win this time.......you had your chance and you threw it away....now it's my turn...and I'll kill you if you come between us."

Pulling her knife from her belt, she drew a line across her forearm, the blade leaving a red trail in it's wake, her muscles flexing as she watched the thin ribbons roll along her skin before dripping to the leaves below. With a flick of her knife she carved an semi-circle against the straight line, creating a crude "P" on her skin. Tucking her blade back into her belt, she watched the blood clot and scab, leaving a raised wound on the smooth skin of her inner forearm.

"Just you watch out, you may think he loves you.....but he'll forget you soon enough......I'll make sure of that."

Turning around, her long hair swirling around her shoulders, Bane stalked out of the clearing, her back rigid, her head high.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Three - Settling In.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wendy met the two remaining boys later that morning as she sat in the sunshine at the base of the tree that was her new home.

She had been absorbed in her thought, oblivious of her surrounding, her fingers plucking the petals off a pretty flower when she noticed the two pairs of grubby feet standing in front of her.

"Oh......hello......I'm.."

"Wendy.....yeah, we know......Bane told us you'd arrived."

Standing up, Wendy found herself eye to eye with the eldest boy, his torso cris crossed with leather straps, various knives and other weapons secured across his chest.

"You must be Briggs......are all those weapons really necessary? I thought with Hook dead....."

Wendy found herself regarded by a pair of green eyes under a mop of reddish-brown hair in need of a trim, their expression derisive. "Obviously you haven't been here long......there are other dangers than just the obvious ones, and who told you Hook was dead?"

"Don't tease her Briggs......you heard what Bane said......" the other boy nudged the elder, his blue eyes darting up and down Wendy, an unmistakable gleam of appreciation bordering on a leer in his eyes, his lips curved in a half smile.

"And you must be Topper......did you catch anything?" Wendy tried again, ignoring his impertinent stare.

Topper tossed back his shoulder length brown hair that had a habit of flopping over his face, lifting his arm to show off the rope carrying a dozen or more fat, gleaming fish threaded through the gills.

"Breakfast!" He grinned, revealing a gap in his bottom row of teeth.

"Peter said you were going to be our Mother......catch!"

Without warning Briggs tossed his string of fish at Wendy, her hands automatically reaching for the slippery fish, and just as quickly pulling away letting the fish slip to the ground as she felt their cold wet bodies, one or two still jerking in their death throws. Briggs and Topper threw back their heads and roared with laughter, Wendy wiping her hands on her skirt, glaring at the two boys as they laughed loudly at her squeamishness.

"What use are you if you can't even catch a fish!" Briggs snorted, picking up the string and shaking it to knock the dirt off the silvery catch.

"Well if you'd handed it too me I might have had a chance, but I've yet to see anyone scale a fish when it's thrown at them." Wendy replied with spirit, her face flushed.

"Hoity toity 'aint she Briggs?" Topper started to walk past Wendy, his lip curled, the fish once more over his shoulder.

"And not as pretty as Bane either.....don't know what Peter sees in her."

Wendy flushed at the eldest boys parting shot, her fists clenching in her skirt as she waited for them to leave. She found herself trembling, whether in anger or fear she wasn't entirely sure. She had met boys of her own age on several occasions, and dealt with her younger brothers, but in all those cases the boys had been polite to her, treated her with respect. Even Peter had treated her from the start with a wary admiration, but these boys were downright horrid, their sneers and knowing eyes unnerving her, sending a shiver down her spine as she rubbed her arms, her skin prickling.

"They're just boys......nothing to worry about.......they're just trying to get a rise out of me...." She muttered to herself as she walked away from the tree, the sun warming her chilled arms as she started along a faint track that led beneath the trees.

Above her head the treetops swayed in the faint breeze, the sound of birdsong loud, the air full of a variety of different tunes, somehow all melding together to create a wonderful harmony, as if they were singing together just for her. Relaxing, she let her thoughts drift, her hands reaching out to touch the tree trunks as she passed. She saw something moving among the trees and froze, her eyes searching the shadows. After a second she released the breath she'd been holding when a deer raised its head from the bracken and bounded away, Wendy laughing in relief, chiding herself for being so nervous.

Entering a small glade where the path widened she spied a fallen tree trunk, its mossy surface bathed in sunshine. Gathering her skirts, she sat down at one end where it lay buried partially in the earth, tilting her face up to absorb the warmth.

She thought about the children she'd met, the littlies Pebble and Pip, still at that adorable stage. Of Twig, so hostile at first, but warming to her quickly, the others following his lead. As she sat with her eyes closed, she thought of Bane, the young girl convinced she had some sort of right to own Peter. Wendy laughed quietly to herself, as if anyone could own a wild spirit like Peter. It was that untamed wildness, that devil-may-care courage that had drawn her to the adolescent boy, had coloured his adventures, his lack of fear and outrageous arrogance only adding to his charm, his fearless bravado as intoxicating as champagne. To a girl strictly brought up, albeit liberally for the times, Peter had represented everything that was free and unfettered. He was reckless but courageous, selfish but generous too. She wondered now how much of that was Peter, and how much her influence with the stories she'd fashioned and her own foolish romantic longings. He was certainly quite different from when she last knew him, his body that of an athletic young man, his boyish gangliness all shaped and moulded with long limbs and lean muscle, his skin sun browned and as soft as velvet. Just thinking about it, how it felt under her fingertips was enough to make her blush, her body squirming slightly as she recalled another dream she'd had involving Peter, her lips curving into a smile as she remembered waking up with the feel of his kiss still on her lips.

"Thinking of me?"

With a jerk she opened her eyes and found the object of her musings standing in front of her, his eyes dancing, an unbearably smug smile curving his lips.

"No......why would I be doing that?"

"Because you love me.....and you always think about me."

"Good grief......I see some things never change....your conceit appears to have grown in equal measures with your height!"

Instead of appreciating the set down, Peter only laughed, his folded arms dropping to his side, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Seeing the number of weapons secured about his body, Wendy opened her mouth to ask why he still needed them but barely drew a breath into her lungs before Peter clamped his hands over her lips, silencing her. In a lightning move, he pulled her off the tree trunk and threw himself on top of her when she landed on the thick layer of leaves behind, his eyes briefly meeting hers with a shake of his head, his hand still clamped over her lips. Completely pinned, Wendy could only stare up at him, his face only a inch from hers, his eyes turned to peer through a tiny gap between the fallen tree and the ground giving him a narrow view to the path running alongside it. She turned her head to follow the direction of his eyes, his fingers loosening on her mouth, his open palm coming to rest beside her cheek as he rested on his elbows, his attention all on the path.

"I thought I heard laughter Sir.....it wasn't far away...not far at all!"

"We've been at this since first light Mister Greer, and I'm still not convinced the Pan is even in this vicinity.....or even back in Neverland..."

"But you saw yourself......it's spring again......every damn bloom is in flower.....smells like a whore's boudoir in these woods."

"Yes......well, as colourful a description as that is.....we still have no proof that the brat...or should I say.......youth, is anywhere near here."

The sound of booted feet crunching over the fallen leaves coating the path paused beside the fallen tree, Peter's eyes swivelling to meet Wendy's, his lips pulling into a wicked grin while she stared up at him round eyed. In silence he confirmed her worst fears by mouthing the word "Hook", her lips parting on a gasp as she turned her head to stare through the tiny gap, noting it was now possible to see several pairs of legs standing about on the path, only feet away from where they lay.

"I weary of this searching....if we could only capture one of his scurvy brood we could dangle the brat from the mast and Pan would come to us.....not the other way around."

"As slippery as eels they are......like trying to catch ghosts!"

"An unfortunate turn of phrase, Mister Greer......I think it is time we moved on......we need to find a wider path, my palanquin can't possibly get through here."

The peevish voice continued to bemoan its fate, Wendy nearly giggling when Hook's voice could be heard complaining about some bird doing it's business all over his best green velvet. As they lay there, waiting for the sound of the pirates to fade away, Wendy became very aware of the male body laying protectively over her, his hard thighs straddling hers, knees either side of hers, his torso resting lightly against her ribs. As the sound of the forest reverted to its former noises, Wendy reached up with her hands to push Peter off. She might have well tried to move the fallen tree for all the impression she made.

"Are you going to get off me?"

"Nope.....I'm rather comfortable....aren't you?"

"For heaven's sake......this is ridiculous..." Wriggling furiously, she worked to dislodge him, her knees coming up, along with her hips to buck him off, but she only succeeded in letting her dress slip up to the top of her thighs while pressing herself rather intimately against his nether regions.

"If I'd known you were wanting to play mothers and fathers I'd have worn less leaves." Peter pulled his bottom lip in under his top teeth, his eyes half-shut as Wendy wriggled. "You know this reminds me of that time we were playing hide and seek with the pirates, and we hid in the hollow tree.....do you remember?"

A myriad images suddenly appeared in Wendy's minds-eye, her body ceasing its struggles as several images lodged in her mind bringing a flush to her skin and a light to her eyes.

"You are no gentleman to keep reminding me about these dratted dreams we supposedly shared....."

"Not supposedly....we did. Every last, tantalising one.....just you and me....and me and you...." Peter kept up his teasing until a sharp whack across his ear sent him tumbling to the leaves, his hand rubbing the offended body part while Wendy scrambled to her knees, panting, her face furious.

"It's quite bad enough that I'm dead and can never go home, and that I'm doomed to spend the rest of eternity here....but do I really have to have my past dreams thrown in my face every five minutes."

Laying on his side on his elbow, Peter regarded Wendy with a sombre expression.

"I'm sorry Wendy...I didn't mean to make you cross.....I thought it might help you remember if I told you about the dreams and what we did."

Mollified, slightly, Wendy rose to her feet and brushed the twigs and leaves from her dress.

"Now tell me.......why is Hook still alive?......If I recall, he was last seen disappearing into the gullet of the crocodile....and I know I've seen him since, the crocodile that is....so how can Hook be here?"

Still on the ground, Peter rolled onto his back and hooked his hands behind his head, sighing gustily.

"The crocodile didn't like the taste of him after all. Only a few days after I took you home, he was found washed up on the shores of Mermaid Lagoon. He was in a bad way, the croc having chewed him up some, but he recovered and has been seeking both it and me ever since."

"But if....oh I'm getting so confused....Peter if I'm dead....if we're....well....dead.....how can Hook hurt us? If all this," She swung her arms wide, "isn't really real......then Hook is powerless, we can't die.........can we?"

"There are worse things than dying Wendy."

"Oh tosh.....what nonsense.....what can be worse than dying ?"

Sitting himself up, Peter rested his arms across his bent knees, his head turned away from her. When he spoke his voice was low, without a hint of teasing.

"Hook has found a way of making us die......there's something here, we don't know where....but there's something in Neverland that can kill us....and I don't mean a quick, easy death."

"I don't understand....what do you mean?"

"Here in Neverland, we exist as you did in your world. We sleep, we eat, we feel everything as if it was real. If we're injured, we still feel pain and it have to heal, just as it would in the living world. We feel everything there is to feel....forget that fact that we're all ghosts....here we are alive again......really alive."

"Alright, I understand that......I think.....so what...what is it that Hook has?"

"It's called the Necromancer....no-one has ever seen it, or knows where it is....only Hook. The Indians call it the Soul Eater because it steals your spirit or soul and uses it to create magic, an evil magic that could eventually destroy all this.....destroy us."

"So Hook want's to capture you....all of us....to feed this Necromancer?"

"Yes......which is why the battle is still going on between us and Hook. We've only lost one to this evil.....and it was enough to cause total devastation."

"What did it do ?"

"I'll show you."

Getting to his feet, Peter held out his hand and Wendy took it, his fingers warm against hers.

Slowly he pulled them into the air, threading their way through the trees then up above the canopy, the forest spread out below them. As they flew across the island, Peter pointed out various landmarks to her, the sun dappling the land with patches of shadow and sun as the clouds floated languidly across the sky. A high ridge of rock appeared down one side of the island and Peter brought them to a halt before crossing it, the jungle still verdant and green below them, the rocks climbing dark and bleak above them.

"This is the divide.......it used to mark the end of the jungle and the beginning of the plains, there's a natural canyon that cuts right through its heart to allow animals to cross, but that has been blocked off now."

"What happened?"

"See for yourself."

With a tug he was pulling her up the sheer face of the rocky escarpment, leaving the greenery behind them. When they reached the top Peter stopped again, hovering at the peak giving Wendy an elevated view over the land beyond.

"Oh Peter......how awful!"

From where they hovered they had a clear view to the sea, the land below sloping to the foothills of the ridge, before flattening out and making a wide plain with evidence of deeply cut streams flowing through it.

"It used to be so green.....the grass was almost as tall as I am...it was like an ocean when the wind rippled the surface......now...well you can see what it's like."

Wendy stared, seeing nothing of the grass he spoke of, only an endless plain of blasted earth, the ground cracked and riven, the stream beds dry and bare of any sign of life. Every shred of living matter had been scoured away, as if in a blast of some sort, the rocks themselves split open and charred like the earth. It extended as far as the eye could see from left to right, only a thin strip of green visible in the distance at the edge. The contrast with the rest of the lushness of Neverland was shocking.

"Heaven's above.....how long ago did this happen?"

"A couple of years.....I think......we don't exactly keep track of the days here....but I reckon it was at least two years."

"But nothing has regrown....there's not even weeds or grass."

"Not a thing.....the streams haven't flowed either, it never rains on this side of the ridge, it's like a bubble, where nothing can grow, or exist. This is what one soul can do in the hands of the Necromancer."

"Who's soul was it, Peter?"

Peter brought them in to land on a ledge, the wind tasting acrid and gritty, the scorched earth sending up waves of heat that washed over Wendy, the desolation all around casting a pall over her spirits.

"One of the Lost Boys......he hadn't been here long, and wouldn't listen when we tried to tell him....Hook caught him not far from the shore and they had him back at the ship before we could mount a rescue."

"What was his name?"

"Dak.......he was alot like Twig, so angry all the time."

"What happened?"

"When we got to where the Jolly Roger was berthed, we found they'd already sailed. I found the ship anchored off this piece of the coast the following morning. I don't know exactly what happened next, I was spying on the ship from this ridge, waiting for the others to catch up when there was a scream....I don't know if it was Dak......it was not a sound I'd heard ever before...high and piercing....it went on and on, then there was this bright light, so bright I had to bury my head in my arms and even then I could still see it, it spread everywhere. When I opened my eyes again I saw this....every blade of grass consumed, every animal dead, even birds out of the air, all charred to cinders."

"How awful.....and Dak?"

"We never saw him again....we even had a chance to search the ship once, but we found nothing, not a trace. When we captured one of Hook's men, he was only able to tell us that Dak had been taken by the Necromancer. Hook had shut his crew up in the hold, confined them all to quarters, so they saw nothing, only heard that terrible scream and saw the evidence the next day before sailing back around the island."

"But Peter......if what you've told me so far is true....and I have no reason to not believe you.....where did this...this Necromancer come from. I'm sure I've never told any stories about it, or dreamed about it.....I'm sure I'd remember."

"Not a dream Wendy......a nightmare. That's what Hook told his crew, that it had come from a nightmare."

"But......"

"I don't know anything more, Wendy.....just remember this if you're ever tempted to be invited to piracy again."

"Am I never to be allowed to live that down?"

"No.....but I might just be coerced into forgetting?" The teasing note was back in his voice, his eyes twinkling as Wendy stood up and brushed out her skirts.

"And how would I coerce the great Peter Pan?" She asked nonchalantly, turning away from the devastated landscape to face him.

"Oh I'm sure I'll think of something?" Reaching out his hand, he grasped hers and pulled lifted them into the air, turning them away from the black plains, heading back to the jungle.

They arrived back at the tree with each of them carrying as roughly woven basket containing fruit. They'd stopped several times to harvest the bounty of Neverland, Peter weaving together some vines to create makeshift nets to hold the fruit. Now he led the way down through the trapdoor, Wendy close behind him. They heard voices as they approached the entrance to the underground.

"I don't agree, Bane...." Twigs piping voice easily reached them in the passage, Peter slowing as he approached the archway.

"Well nobody cares if you agree or not, Twig...what I say goes round here."

"No it doesn't.....Peter is Captain....and I know he wants her here."

"What he wants doesn't count...he's blinded by lust anyway!"

"And what are you blinded by Bane?" Asked Peter as he stepped into the light, surprising the small group of children.

Wendy felt her cheek burning as she halted suddenly, still hidden in the dark passageway, the net dropping from her nerveless fingers.

"I'm not blinded by anything," Bane spat, coming up to Peter, who slowly dropped the vine basket on the table, some of the fruit rolling out and onto the floor. "She doesn't belong here....not with us....she's not a Lost Boy or Girl....she's a grownup."

"Then I must be a grownup too, by your reasoning. Do I not belong here either?"

Bane scowled at him, swinging away so fast her long hair brushed Peter's chest before she stomped away. "You're the Pan...of course you belong here."

Peter stared at the children ranged around the room, his hands on his hips. The two older boys were watching him cautiously, Briggs whittling a stick while Topper just watched, his eyes lit with glee at the disharmony. The littlies were ranged behind Twig, who stood bristling and angry, staring at Bane's retreating back.

"We don't want her to leave Peter.......please tell Wendy we don't want her to leave?"

"She won't be leaving Twig, so calm down. Bane was only teasing, she knows, as the rest of you do, that Wendy is here for good."

Judging it a good time to put in an appearance, Wendy picked up the fallen fruit and stepped into the room, careful to avoid looking at anyone, her tone light as she spoke.

"I'm afraid I dropped half of them coming in.......oh....are we having a meeting, goodness what's that wonderful smell?"

Knowing full well that she had heard everything, Peter threw her a grateful glance, pleased that she'd not embarrassed the children further by revealing she'd heard their less than complimentary remarks. "The boy's usually cook the catch, I expect its ready...isn't it?" He looked meaningfully at Briggs who stopped his whittling and stomped off through the archway leading to their kitchen. Wendy dropped her armful of fruit on the table and looked about her.

"Is there a bowl or something I can put these into?"

Pip scrabbled to his feet, snagging a bowl lying upside down on the floor beside him before walking over to Wendy and tugging at her skirt.

"Thank you...that will do nicely....now if we're going to eat, I suppose we ought to clear this table......don't you think?"

Bane watched sullenly from one of the sleeping benches as Wendy and the three younger children set about wiping the worst of the scraps and mess from the long table, Twig using his knife to prise off some of the gobs of melted wax that sat like stalagmites rising off the table top. Peter watched for a second or two before gathering up the empty vine baskets and tossing them into a corner. Topper was still sitting to the side, watching all the activity with a lopsided grin on his face. Peter walked over to him and kicked his foot.

"Go get a bucket of water."

"What for?"

"Washing."

"But....."

"Now!" Not waiting to see if his order was obeyed, Peter walked off, disappearing through one of the arches.

Grumbling, Topper sloped off, returning shortly with a bucket. Plopping it down on the floor, he waited while Wendy and the others finished preparing the table before picking the bucket up and setting it on the newly cleared surface.

"Oh..thank you Topper..just what we needed....now that we've got a clean place to eat, I think its time to wash those hands."

A chorus of groans greeted her request, but Twig instantly dunked his hands in the water, rubbing them together vigorously before pulling them out, and presented them to Wendy for her inspection. Pip and Pebble followed suit, giggling when water slopped over the edge of the bucket. They too presented their hands to Wendy who smiled approvingly before dipping her own hands in the bucket and performing her ablutions.

"I don't suppose you have anything like a towel around here?"

Twig, Pip and Pebble all shrugged and shook their heads.

"Never mind.....I'll sort that out later, just shake them dry for the meantime......Bane? Topper?"

Topper grinned and made a great show of dipping only the tips of his fingers into the water, delicately flicking the drops of water off before returning to his couch and flopping onto it. Wendy ignored him and turned to Bane.

A strange look came over Bane's face before she rose to her feet and approached the table. It looked to the others as if she was doing as they did, dipping her hands in to clean them, but just as Wendy turned away to speak to Twig, Bane grabbed the bucket and flung the contents directly at Wendy, soaking her from head to toe, the bucket clattering to the floor as Bane laughed loudly.

Wendy stood, her dress soaked, her hair dripping, staring in shocked surprise down at herself. Twig and the littlies were staring at her, horrified, Twig marshalling the two behind him, stepping back out of range of any danger as Wendy turned to face the girl convulsed with laughter in front of her. Topper was also giggling, his eyes leering at Wendy's chest as the wet dress became semi-transparent, plastered to her breasts, their dark centres clearly visible. Briggs suddenly entered the tableau, carrying a platter heaped high with steaming fish, taking in the scene, his lips curled into a half smile, although he was more concerned with the food in his hand at the time.

Her cheeks burning with humiliation and anger, Wendy crossed her arms over her chest, pointedly glaring at Topper who blushed and looked down at his feet. Bane was still laughing, the sound high-pitched and slightly hysterical. Peter chose that moment to re-enter the room, only to find the air in the room filled with tension.

"What happened?"

No-one spoke, until Twig's piping voice broke the silence.

"Bane threw the water over Wendy."

"Shut up you little bug...or I'll squash you!" Bane hissed, her laughter cut off with the appearance of Peter. Everyone's eyes were on him.

Walking to his bed he whisked off one of the covers and brought it over to Wendy, tenderly placing it around her shoulders and pulling it shut at the front, their eyes meeting for a second before he turned to face the silent group behind him.

"This ends right now. Bane......you are banished for a day. No food, unless you find it yourself, no company unless someone seeks you out. I don't expect to see you until dusk.......and when I do, I suggest you come back with an apology for Wendy and a change in attitude for me."

"But Peter.....you can't..." Bane started, only to be cut off with a slash of Peter's hand in the air.

"Go....now.!"

Her eyes swimming, Bane rushed out of the room, the others not following, all still watching Peter intently.

Turning back to Wendy, Peter placed his hands on her shoulders, his expression rueful. "Are you alright?"

"Just wet, and a little cold.....I'm sorry Bane has taken such a dislike to me Peter....I didn't want to upset her for the world."

"I know......she has to learn....she'll come around, I'm sure."

"I'm glad you think so......I'll reserve judgement, if you don't mind."

With his arm around her shoulder, Peter turned once more to face the room.

"That fish smells great Briggs, lets get to it."

While the others sorted themselves out around the table, Peter led Wendy over to his bed and sat her down on the edge.

"Don't worry about Bane....she won't go far. She has a tree she goes to, she thinks it's a secret, but I know where it is. She'll sit up there and sulk for the rest of today, quite safe."

Wendy shivered slightly, pulling the blanket more closely around her.

"I can see I'm going to have to create a new wardrobe for myself if I'm going to live here."

"I may have something you'll like to wear."

Getting up, Peter went around the end of the bed and reached down to heave a leather bound sea chest onto the covers.

"I stole this from Hook's cabin, along with some other stuff. I thought it might contain treasure, but instead I found these."

Flipping back the lid, Peter pulled out a length of fabric, and laid it on the bed beside Wendy.

"Oh Peter....its lovely."

She held the dress up, the blanket slipping off her shoulders. The style was old fashioned, the fabric richly embroidered with tiny blue flowers against a cream silk background.

"Its very nice.....but hardly practical." Said Wendy, fingering the material wistfully.

"It's dry....which makes it very practical. Come on, while this lot feed their faces, I'll take you on a proper tour of the underground."

Getting up, Peter extended his hand which Wendy took, the blanket slipping off completely, the cream dress now clutched against her chest as a shield.

"I don't want anyone leaving this room until I return." Peter ordered, the children pausing in their meal before nodding and resuming eating. All eyes watched them leave through one of the archways, whispers breaking out as soon as the leather curtain dropped into place.

"Told you.....she won't be leaving here, not if Peter has anything to say about it," announced Twig, his voice lowered as he addressed the table.

"Whatever," Briggs muttered, "Bane's not going to like it......she's only going to cause more trouble....why did he have to bring her here?"

"Briggs you dope...because he's in love with her.....and her with him, I'd say...." Topper replied, grinning around a mouthful of fish.

"Your daft.....anyway, I still say Bane's a darn sight prettier, Wendy's just plain fat."

At once a heated argument broke out, food flying as apposing camps hurled insults over Wendy's looks and figure, the fight as amicable as ever, standard behaviour during any meal.

Peter led Wendy along a passage and showed her where they stored their food and supplies, the rooms dug out of the soil and lit by candle lanterns. Several of the rooms were dark, Peter lighting a lantern and showing her a small room she could use to change in.

"Its funny....I tried to do what I did at the beach, when we first arrived, but it didn't work.....why is that Peter?"

"The longer you're here.....the more normal everything becomes. Sorry, its just the way it is."

"Oh....that's a shame. I would have liked to have seen that ball dress one last time."

"Get changed, there's more to see."

"Um....you don't happen to have a hair brush anywhere?" Wendy lifted her still damp hair, the strands sticking together limply.

"I'll see what I can find." He turned to go, then stopped. "You don't....um....need a hand, do you?"

His outrageously hopeful expression made Wendy laugh before she pushed him out of the room, the curtain swinging behind him.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Four - Afternoon Delight

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wendy had her grand tour of the underground, and was impressed with what she saw. On her first trip, the hideout had been crude in the extreme, the central room unfinished and crowded. In the intervening years Peter had expanded with passages and side rooms and multiple concealed entries and exits, so that they had several choices for escape if their home ever came under siege. By the time they returned to the main room all of its occupants were gone, the table scattered with dirty plates and empty platters, food everywhere.

"Is it always like this?"

Peter grimaced, seeing the chaos through her eyes. "More or less...I was hoping you'd take them in hand."

"I'll do my best Peter....but I'm not sure...I mean..apart from my brothers and the original Lost Boys, I've not had that much experience as......as a mother."

"That's okay.....I'm not exactly a good father either."

"Well....father.....help me clear this mess up and we might be able to find ourselves something to eat."

They set to, Peter taking the empty platters to the kitchen while Wendy cleared the table of food scraps, sweeping them into the bucket to be disposed of later. With the table cleared, she replaced the uneaten fruit back into the bowls and dusted off one of the rough wooden stools before sitting down, the small mountain of candles still burning merrily as a centrepiece. Peter came back carrying some cleaned plates and a jug, along with some cups. Sitting down on the opposite side of the table, he poured her a drink and passed it over.

"Only water, we have a spring not far from here, so its fresh every day."

Wendy took a sip, then chuckled. "Do you remember me filling those flower cups with water and pretending it was medicine?"

"Of course....that blasted drip was one of the reasons I decided to enlarge on what we had.....plus it gave me something to do until a new Lost Boy turned up."

"In between invading my dreams of course."

"Yes.....inbetween our adventures."

"I'm amazed you had any time to yourself at all."

"Oh, I managed. Here, use this," He handed over a bone handled paring knife which Wendy proceeded to use, peeling the skin off a ripe pear-like fruit, the flesh juicy and sweet.

They sat there in companionable silence while they consumed their meal, the air around them redolent with the scent of the candles and warm earth. Their eyes meeting and sliding away, their hands frequently reaching for the same thing, touching and withdrawing, like a dance that only they knew the steps to. Finally satisfied, Wendy piled the fruit peelings on her plate and got up.

"Where have they all gone to?"

"Oh......out.....probably to avoid doing what we just had to do."

"Hmmm......in that case, I think I'll take the opportunity and see what supplies we're going to need. I warn you now, Peter Pan...I don't intend to put up with a dirty bed and perpetually grubby clothes."

Peter pretended to be outraged. "What...you don't like bugs in your bed, and mud on your skirt?"

"No, silly.....I don't. What I tolerated the first time I was here, is a far cry from what I'll put up with now.....that's if you still want me to live with you.....I mean, stay here....oh, you know what I mean."

Flustered, she picked up their plates and walked to the kitchen, Peter holding the curtain back for her to pass under before following her in.

"Just give me a list.....and I'll see what I can do. I suppose towels are top of the list?"

"Well something to use to dry my hands, other than my skirt, would be nice."

Peter shook his head, a mock gloomy expression on his face. "Girls!"

"Oh you....now make yourself useful and fetch me some water......please, and that bucket of food scraps needs emptying, and I'll need some help shaking out those covers on your bed if you expect me to sleep there tonight...and...."

"Wendy......you don't have to do this.....you're their mother, not their servant."

"You're quite right Peter.....so you can have the task of organising those children and getting all those chores done....otherwise you'll be doing them all yourself."

"I thought you might say that." Leaning forward, he pecked a kiss on her cheek before turning and leaving her standing in the middle of the kitchen, her hand held to her face and a small smile curving her lips.

The rest of the morning and into the afternoon was spent spring cleaning the underground. The younger members all pitched in, although Wendy had to admit they were sometimes more of a hindrance than a help, so she tried to make it as fun as possible, the air often rent with shrieks of laughter as they worked. Briggs and Topper also helped, reluctantly as first, before themselves joining in the mayhem, throwing off their assumed dislike of her for the time being and getting into the spirit of the occasion.

By the middle of the afternoon, Wendy was satisfied that she would be able to sleep quite comfortably that night, her bed freshly laid, the covers brushed and shaken, a new curtain of privacy created to shield her and Peter from the rest of the room. Topper had smirked when she'd first proposed it, but a nudge from Briggs stopped his snigger in mid-snort. The younger Lost boys had enjoyed flinging their bed covers about, ostensively getting rid of crumbs and dust, but mostly just jumping about and screaming, until Wendy shooed them outside and the dust with them. Briggs fashioned a broom and set too, sweeping out the remnants of past meals, Topper scooping up the dust and debris into a bucket which was carried away from the tree to avoid leaving evidence of their existence too near to the hideout.

Finally, it was done. Everyone was hot and tired and very dusty, their faces smeared with streaks of dirt, appearing a little like chimney sweeps, just not so black.

"All done......and thank you, all of you for your help. Now we need to get cleaned up before we think about something for supper."

"Not washing......again!" Whined Twig, wiping his hands over his jerkin, adding to the dirt already ingrained into the fabric.

"Yes a wash.....good lord, you're so dirty I don't know who is who under the grime." Laughed Wendy, licking her thumb and running it down Twig's cheek, leaving a broad streak of clean skin.

"We use a stream usually, for swimming. There a big waterhole, deep enough to bathe in." Said Topper, exchanging a look with Briggs who shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"Sounds wonderful......you'll all need a change of clothes of course."

"Change? But we only have these?" Said Twig, pulling at his grubby trousers.

"Well that will never do.....your clothes all need a wash."

"We could all run around naked?" Suggested Topper, getting a rude glare from Briggs and an elbow in the side.

"I'm sure if you don't mind......I certainly don't." Replied Wendy with aplomb, the boys mouths all dropping open, Briggs blushing furiously.

"I should qualify that by saying that I won't be bathing with you. But I still suggest you take something else to wear, your clothes will be damp for some time, and I believe it gets too cold at night for running about without a stitch on."

"We'll use the dress-up clothes, they'll be good enough until our clothes dry. Come of you lot, lets get it over with."

Wendy watched as the boys rummaged in a large chest, pulling out an assortment of adult clothes, each choosing several items before Briggs shut the chest and started to chivvy Topper and the littlies out of the room.

"Don't forget to wash your hair, and behind your ears." Wendy called after them, grinning to herself as a fresh wave of muttering broke out as they left.

She was just getting to her feet, preparing to sort out something for herself to change into when she heard a chorus of greetings, Peter having obviously returned as the boys were leaving. Within seconds Peter appeared with a deer carcass draped over his shoulders, the body skinned and dressed, already missing its head, feet and innards.

"I've been hunting!" He announced proudly, although entirely unnecessarily.

"I can see.......um....where do you propose we cook it?"

"In the fireplace of course."

"Oh.......on what?"

Grunting, Peter lifted the carcass and dumped it on the table, Wendy squeaking in dismay as it ruined the freshly cleaned surface. Peter didn't notice and marched over to the wide fireplace set into the wall. It had been swept the same as the rest of the room, but Wendy hadn't realise it was also used for cooking. She had stacked a collection of metal poles to one side, meaning to ask Peter what they were for. As she watched, Peter assembled a spit, positioning it over the empty grate.

"I'll get the fire going and we can cook it over the coals."

Eyeing his gory shoulders, slick with blood from the deer, Wendy swallowed hard before heading for the stack of wood neatly placed against the wall. Within minutes Peter had a blaze going, the smoke drawn up a concealed chimney.

"What about the smoke, won't it attract the pirates?"

"They're back at the Jolly Roger......I checked. The trees will disperse most of the smoke, don't worry."

When the fire started do die down, Peter threaded the carcass onto the long metal pole and carried it to the fire, positioning it on the side braces. Immediately blood started to drip down onto the flames, making them sizzle and flare.

"We need the boys to turn this, otherwise it'll just burn. Where are they?"

"Oh....I sent them to wash.....we've been cleaning all day."

Peter looked around the room, noting the changes.

"Sorry about the table." He finally said, wiping his nose with the back of his hand, leaving a gory smear over his face.

"I'll get a cloth. I think you should have a bath yourself Peter."

Looking down at himself, Peter laughed. "I do look a sight...I'll wait for the boys to get back, then I'll show you where you can bathe as well."

"Thank you.....I was hoping to get washed up."

While Wendy cleaned the table top, Peter squatted by the fire and turned the spit, the smell of cooking meat filling the room, making Wendy's mouth water. The Lost boys appeared all in a tumble a little while later, their freshly washed bodies encased in an odd assortment of ill fitting garments, their wet hair slicked back off their scrubbed faces. Peter rose to his feet and indicated for Topper to take over. Wendy took charge of their wet clothes and hung them around the room, close to the fire to dry off.

Pebble walked up to Peter, his pink face squeaky clean, and looked him up and down, before wrinkling his nose and annoucing, "you smell bad....and you're covered in blood."

"Thank you Pebble......I know. I'm off to take a bath. Briggs, you're in charge, don't let that burn."

Wendy was already by the door, a bundle of clothes clutched in her arms, waiting for Peter.

As he approached she wrinkled her nose at him. "Pebbles right, you do....um....pong!"

Peter laughed and made to grab her, causing her to jump back and give a little shriek.

They kept up the game of catch and grab outside, Peter leading her down a path that wound its way through the dense shrubs until it opened out into a grassy clearing beside a wide pool, the stream feeding it at one end, a natural dam emptying at the other. It was private and very inviting.

"Oh Peter....this is lovely, is this where the boys came?"

"No.....they go further downstream....this is where I bathe."

Not bothering to do more than remove the various weapons about his person, Peter tugged off the top half of his leaf outfit and dived into the water, Wendy staring after him. When he surfaced, he shook his head, water flying in all direction, his sun-kissed curls flat against his head.

"Come on Wendy........its wonderful."

Putting her bundle of clothes on the grass, Wendy stepped forward, dipping her toes into the edge of the water.

"Aren't you going to take your dress off?" Peter asked curiously.

"NO!......er......no.....it needs a rinse, anyway."

Shrugging, Peter turned and dived under the water. Taking the opportunity, Wendy waded into the pool, the water quickly reaching her waist, then her breasts, until she floated, her skirts tangling around her legs as she trod water. It was awkward, swimming in her clothes, but the alternative was too shocking to contemplate. She had been taught to swim by her brothers on a visit to a cousins' country house several years before. Her initiation taking the form of being pushed in fully clothed and having to learn the rudiments or drown. Since then she'd had only a few opportunities to swim, so felt quite nervous for several seconds before she relaxed.

It dawned on her after several minutes that Peter had not surfaced. Fearfully she started to call his name, her body twisting as she tried to peer into the green depth, her voice becoming shrill with anxiety. Just as she was about to scream for help, Peter erupted out of the water behind her, making her scream in relief and surprise, her arms clutching him around his neck, too pleased to see him to worry about the propriety of clutching a wet, half naked boy to her bosom.

"Where did you go....I couldn't see you anywhere?"

"I swam to the side, to take the rest of my leaves off."

"W-w-h-at?"

Peter's arms were loosely holding her to him, her arms firmly wrapped around his neck, their lower bodies not quite touching.

"I-took-my-leaves-off," Peter carefully enunciated, grinning at Wendy's shocked expression.

"You....er....you...." She darted a look down to where the water reached, half way up his chest. "You're.....naked?"

"And clean.......see." He glanced over his first one shoulder then the next, before turning back to face her, his eyes reflecting the sparkles on the water. Wendy gulped and made to push away from him.

"I think I'd better......er....better get out."

"And I think you should get this dress off......you can't wash it if your wearing it."

"Peter!"

As she strained to get away, Peter reached around and undid the buttons at the back of the dress, his face scant inches from hers as she twisted to avoid meeting his eyes. With her attention elsewhere Peter took advantage and kissed her, his mouth hungrily devouring hers, his teeth nipping at her lips, keeping her too occupied to worry about what his hands were doing.

Having disposed of the buttons, Peter lowered his arms and started to bunch the material up in his hands, dragging it up over her legs almost to her waist before she started to struggle in earnest.

"Peter please.......stop.."

"You'll feel more comfortable without this dragging you down," he murmured, his lips still engaging her, her senses drowning in an avalanche of feeling, his busy hands pulling her dress up further.

"Raise your arms."

So drunk on his nearness and his lips, Wendy concurred before she realised what she was doing. By the time she did Peter had her dress off over her head and it was floating across the surface of the pond. The sensation of being completely naked in a tepid pool with a handsome young man was something Wendy simply had no defence against. Her skin tingled and she felt unbearably aware of her entire body all at once, the water seeking out and finding a host of sensitive places as she moved in the water. Peter was still holding her lightly with his hands on her waist, the movement of the water making his fingers tips drag back and forth over her skin. Blushing so hard she was sure she would burst into flames, Wendy ducked under the water, coming up almost instantly, but now able to push her saturated hair back off her face, sweeping it behind her ears, studiously avoiding meeting Peter's eyes.

"Peter......this is.....well....this is...."

"Delicious.....yes I agree..." Pulling her against him, Peter claimed her lips again, his hands reaching around and flattening against her lower back, pulling her into his body, her hands reaching up and tangling in his hair as the kiss deepened. They were so caught up in their own responses that they didn't notice the person standing on the grassy bank, her brown eyes taking in the scene with a jealous gleam. As Peter's mouth left her lips and started on her face, chin and neck, Wendy languidly opened her eyes, only to meet Bane's glare, shocking Wendy into jerking away from Peter, who raised his head in surprise.

"What's the...."

"Bane." Wendy whispered, ducking down in the water until only her head was above the surface.

Peter slowly turned around, his back to Wendy, shielding her from Bane's view. "You're early Bane.....I thought I said dusk."

"It's as near as maybe.....and I wanted to bathe.....but I see your occupied with her....so I'll come back later."

"Use the lower pool....the boys have already had their bath for today."

"But I prefer this one......"

"Well I'm using this pool......so use the other one."

"Ooooooooh!" Furious, Bane stamped off, scowling horribly. Peter sighed and turned back to Wendy who was having a difficult time keeping a straight face.

"Oh dear....another black mark against me," said Wendy resignedly.

"She'll get over it.......now.....where were we."

Peter made to grab for her, but Wendy pushed off from the bottom and kicked away, laughing as Peter growled and set off in pursuit. Being the better swimmer Peter quickly overhauled her, diving under the water and coming up, his arms around her, their bodies sliding over each other like otters. Pulling her towards him, Peter wrapped her legs around his waist, the intimate contact shocking Wendy and making her gasp before she found herself once more drowning as his mouth made love to hers, her eyes sliding shut as his tongue sought hers, her heart setting up a rapid tattoo in her chest pressed hard against his. After several pleasurable minutes, Wendy broke free, gasping and trembling, overwhelmed with her bodies responses.

"Oh Peter.....what are we doing.....I feel.....so..."

"So what?"

"So out of control.....its frightening."

"Not frightening......exciting."

Nuzzling her neck, Peter kissed his way to her ear, sucking on the lobe, making her groan, her arms tightening around his neck. She felt on fire, her body overwhelmed with need, for what she wasn't entirely sure.

"We have to stop....Peter....oh....oh yes, just there...."

Peter grinned against her skin, nibbling at her jaw, working his way back to her mouth. Feeling languid and relaxed, Wendy loosened her arms, her body sliding down Peter's a little way. Abruptly she tightened her arms and her eyes opened wide, her body tensing in his arms. Sensing the change, Peter lifted his head and met her shocked gaze.

"Wendy?"

"Peter....I.....I think we should stop....right now."

Grinning Peter moved his hands up and down her back, each stroke bringing his hands down until he was able to cup her backside in his palms. Wendy squeaked and flushed crimson, burying her face against his shoulder as he pulled her more firmly against him, his arousal pressing against her most private centre.

"I think...." Peter started to say, a rustling sound alerting him to someone's approach, his bottom lip pulled into his mouth for a second before he continued. "I think........ we should get out of this water, and find somewhere a little less.......exposed." Turning slightly, Peter saw Bane stomp past the river bank, her eyes averted from the pair in the water, her face set and angry. Almost immediately, he heard his name being called by one of the boys and felt Wendy shaking in his arms. Lifting her head she turned her brimming eyes to him, her mouth stretched into a wide smile, a muffled giggle escaping before she buried her face against his shoulder again, shaking with laughter.

Peter pinched her bottom, making her jump in his arms, her head coming up to admonish him, her words never said as their eyes locked.

"We will finish this...."

Wendy felt adrift, drowning in his blue-green eyes, a hint of fairy dust dancing in their depths.

"Tonight," Wendy whispered back. Slowly they separated, her legs releasing his body, his hands letting go of her hips. Feeling instantly bereft, Wendy chewed her lip, her eyes still locked with his. As if by an invisible signal they came together again, lips and teeth clashing, tongues duelling in a kiss that set their hearts thumping and their senses swimming. Breaking apart more slowly, they swam back to the shore, stepping out of the water together, hardly noticing their state of undress. Peter reached for her hand and drew her towards him, her body slick and warm, igniting his own in a fever of want.

"Tonight, my Wendy....."

"Until tonight...." she replied.

Stepping to the bundle of cloths, Wendy pulled out a pair of trousers and a loose shirt, tossing them to Peter.

"I thought these might be more.......convenient than your leaves."

"Thanks.......they will be."

They quickly dressed, Peter helping her with the buttons of the new dress. Wendy suddenly remembered the one she'd been wearing the turned back to the pond.

"Oh no.....my dress!" she wailed, seeing the fabric snagged on the dam. Peter lifted off and flew over to the collection of logs and branches, hanging upside down to untangle and retrieve the sodden gown, careful not to get himself wet again. He wrung it out and carried it back to the bank.

"Oh dear......just as well I wasn't planning on wearing it to a ball anytime soon." Squeezing the worst of the water out, she rolled it up and they set off back to the hideout. When they entered the underground the smell of cooking meat was mouth-wateringly overwhelming. The boys were all clustered around the fire, watching the carcass turn on the spit, juices running down and hissing into the flames. Wendy hung her dress up besides the boys clothes, turning to see where Bane was. The girl was lying on her stomach on one of the sleeping couches, her body tense, pointedly ignoring everybody. Wendy went over and stood beside the bed and waited for the girl to notice. Bane chose to ignore her.

"Do you have any clothes to hang up Bane?....They should be dry by morning if I hang them up now."

"Here." Bane handed Wendy a bundle of damp clothes, the fabric as torn and worn as the boys. Bane was wearing another refugee from the costume chest, a large frilled shirt that came down to her knees, the long sleeves with their lace cuffs flopping over her wrists. As Wendy moved away to hang up her clothes, Bane suddenly moved, swinging her legs over the side and sitting up. When Wendy turned back to the room, Bane was leaning back on one hand, the other dragging a comb through her pale hair, the shirt hanging wide open, almost unbuttoned to her navel, exposing a large expanse of chest and barely covering her still immature breasts. Wendy glanced over at Peter, but he was absorbed at the table, checking over his weapons, rebinding a knife handle. Bane continued her preening, her arm raised as she combed her hair, the movement of her arm pulling the shirt open with each move. Wendy then looked over at the fire and saw Briggs eyes staring at Bane, his hand automatically turning the spit, but his attention all on the lovely girl and the teasing glimpses of her body. Walking over to Bane, careful to keep herself between the fire and the bed, Wendy stood infront of the girl, forcing her to stop her combing and look up at the older girl.

"I think you really should button that shirt Bane....I wouldn't want you to catch a chill."

Leaning back on both hands, Bane smirked up at Wendy, the shirt now barely covering her at all. "I like it like this.....and I know the boys do."

"I'm sure that Briggs does....if that is who you are trying to attract."

"Oh him.....he looks at me all the time.....he's just a boy," Bane dismissed her beau with a roll of her eyes, tossing her head to make her hair flick back over her shoulder.

"He may be a boy.....but he also a young man, and its not fair to tease him like this. It does no credit to you or show respect for him."

Bane looked up at Wendy for a second as if not believing her ears. "Respect?...who the hell cares about respect?"

"Well I do for one.....and Peter certainly does."

"What would you know about Peter and what he likes?"

"I have known Peter for a very long time Bane...many years before you arrived in Neverland. If this display was intended to garner his interest, then look for yourself if it has been successful." Wendy stood back and Bane looked over at the table, seeing Peter totally engrossed in trimming the feathers of an arrow, not once glancing up from his task.

"I'm sorry you have taken a dislike to me Bane.....but the fact is, I am here to stay and will be living here, with you and the others and Peter for quite some time. I will also be sleeping with Peter, in his bed, every night." Wendy moved to sit down next to the girl, Bane's head now tilted down, her eyes staring at the floor. Slowly, as if dealing with a nervous fawn, Wendy softly fastened all the buttons on the shirt, her slender fingers closing each opening until Bane's chest was demurely covered and her modesty restored. "I don't want to be your enemy, and you're too old for me to baby you like the others. I can understand that you don't want a mother, I'm not exactly sure I'm ready to be a mother either. But I would like to be your friend. It's nice sometimes to have another girl to talk to about things....things that we simply can't talk to boys about. I'm just the same...."

"Why doesn't he love me?....why does he love you?" Bane's softly uttered whisper reached Wendy and she felt a lump in her throat at the poignancy of the question. Still cautious, Wendy reached for one of Bane's hands and took it between her own.

"Bane, Peter does love you, he cares for all of you, he would be devastated if any of you were hurt of captured. He told me about Dak, it still hurts him that he couldn't rescue the boy."

"I knew Dak......he wasn't here long...he didn't...wouldn't understand the dangers here."

"I know, Peter told me. Would you like to hear how I met Peter?"

Bane lifted her head, her expression chastened.

"Why are you being nice to me?.....After all I've done."

"Because I was a girl, much like you, not so many years ago, and because I think we can be friends."

"He does love you...I mean, really love you....doesn't he?"

"Yes Bane.....he loves me, and I love him, so very much."

"Did you really give him your hidden kiss....and did you really save him from Hook?"

"Well it all started one night, in the nursery, when I awoke to find Peter hovering over my bed. Of course, I didn't know who he was then, and I thought I was dreaming, but Nana barked at him and captured Peter's shadow as he flew out the nursery window, so he had to come back to get it......"

As Wendy told the story of her first meeting with Peter, sitting on the bed holding Bane's hand, the other children shuffled over, leaving Briggs to turn the spit. Peter looked up and smiled at Wendy and her small audience. Bane was listening raptly to the story, her face turned towards the older girl, her hands still held between Wendy's. Turning back to his arrow, Peter chuckled to himself, once more in awe of the girl who had so easily beguiled and won his heart all those years ago. It seemed her magic hadn't dimmed one speck over the years.

Briggs called a halt to the story when he announced the meat to be cooked, the boys instantly leaping up and crowding around, Peter clearing the table before coming over and shooing the youngsters away.

Together, Peter and Briggs lifted the spit away from the fire to give them access to carve the meat from the bone. Wendy rose and gathered the children to go and fetch the plates, coming back with a platter for Peter to put the slices of roast venison on. Bane hung back until Wendy asked her to fetch the water jug and mugs, a task she set to with a willing spirit, setting the table and replacing the candles that had burnt to the stub. Finally Briggs carried the groaning platter to the table and everyone gathered around, sitting themselves on the benches and stools. Topper made to grab a share but his hand was stayed by a glare from Peter.

"Wendy.......is there anything you'd like to say before we eat?"

Startled, Wendy looked up, not quite sure what Peter meant.

"Oh....I suppose so.....er....thank you to Peter for bringing this food to our table, and thank you to Briggs for cooking it so well." She darted a look around the table, noting the intent expression on the faces around her. "And thank you for bringing me here to Neverland, if this is my heaven, then I'm well pleased."

As she ended, everyone's eyes swivelled to Peter, who grinned back at them. "Dig in!"

The table erupted and hands made a grab for the steaming platter, Wendy sitting well back to avoid being splattered by grease and gravy as the boys filled their plates. Peter, at the head of the table, leant negligently back in his chair, one leg thrown over the arm. He too waited for the first flurry to pass. Bane, sitting to Wendy's right, also hung back, her initial move to grab her share stopped when she saw that neither Wendy nor Peter were making a move. When the first wave of eager hands had filled their plates and retreated to munch, Wendy passed her plate to Bane and asked her to put some on for her. Looking at the meat, then at her clean hands, Bane hesitated. A knife thunked into the table in front of her, her startled eyes looking up to find Peter indicating for her to take it. Quickly she pulled the knife from the wood and speared several slices of the meat, passing the plate back to Wendy before filling her own. The boys were too engrossed in filling their bellies to notice the small byplay, their clean faces rapidly becoming grease smeared and as grubby as before.

Wendy had appropriated the paring knife she'd used before, and cut her meat into smaller chunks before using the knife like a fork and eating daintily. Both Peter and Bane watched her for a minute before following suit, Bane squirming as Twig, sitting beside her, propped his elbows on the table rudely and chewed with gusto on a large slice of dripping meat.

Wendy caught Peter's eyes and they exchanged a smile, Peter lifting his shoulders in a shrug accompanied by an eye roll, echoed by Wendy before they dissolved into giggles and broad smiles at the antics around the meal table. Bane was the only witness to the exchange, her mouth drooping as she acknowledge to herself how foolish she'd been to even think that Peter held anything but parental feelings for her.

The boys finished their meals in record time, the bolting of food resulting in a burping contest which entertained the children for some time until Peter called a halt, his rib aching from laughing so much, instructing the children to go and clean themselves up before the littlies got ready for bed. There was the usual chorus of moans and a new request that Wendy tell them a story before they settle to sleep. She agreed readily and the children set to on the table, clearing it in record time, while Wendy turned the clothes still hanging around the room so that they dried evenly. The fire had made the underground very warm and she felt a need for some air while the children took care of the dishes and remains of the deer. Slipping along one of the passageways, she stepped out into the semi-gloom of dusk and drew in a deep breath, welcoming the sting of the cooler air in her lungs. She heard a noise and turned her head to glance over her shoulder. Bane had followed her, the girls over-large shirt hanging loosely down her arms and body, the shirt hiding her hands as she crossed them over her chest.

Wendy waited for her to speak, ignoring her as she remained silent, just enjoying the evening air and waiting for Bane to pluck up the courage to talk to her.

"Wendy?"

"Yes Bane."

"Wendy......would you.......um.....would you teach me to be like you?"

Turning slowly, Wendy faced Bane and looked at her. Draped in the adult shirt, the girl looked ridiculously young and very vulnerable. It reminded Wendy of her own adolescence, her fear of growing up and forgetting, of her bodies betrayal as it grew in some places and did unmentionable things in others. Admittedly Wendy was hardly as old as Methuselah, but compared to Bane she felt decades older.

"Why do you want to be like me, I'd have thought being like you was hard enough....to try and be someone else if almost impossible."

"No....you don't understand......"

"I do Bane.....you want to learn how to act like.....a lady."

"Yes....that's it......will you?"

"You know something Bane.....I wish I could be more like you, sometimes. I wish I could just throw my control to the winds and let my emotions rule my head and heart. In the years since I left my childhood behind, I've had to learn to restrain my natural impulses, to forget the sheer joy of being alive and free. I want to get that freedom back, to enjoy what is, and not worry about what other people might think, can you teach me that?"

"I don't know.....I can try."

"Then that is enough.....and I will try to help you be the beautiful young lady I know is lurking inside you."

"Pact!" Bane lifted her hand to her mouth and spat in her palm before holding it out for Wendy to take. Wendy hesitated only a second before spitting in her own hand and gripping Bane's, the two of them grinning like idiots at each other.

"You'll be sort of like my sister........I mean, you're not exactly old enough to be my mother.....even if I knew what a mother was....which I don't."

"Oh Bane......do you want......do you want to tell me about...."

"About me? Nah....not tonight.......it might scare you off."

"Nothing scares me Bane....didn't Peter tell you that?"

"No....he did say he thought you were the bravest girl he'd ever known."

"Oh......well, I think you're the bravest person I know...."

Again they grinned at each other, the wood darkening around them as the night drew in. Wendy rubbed her arms at the sudden drop in temperature. "I think we should go in....it's getting cold."

"It's been getting colder and colder every night.....isn't that strange?"

"I don't know.....I certainly don't remember the nights being cold when I last came here.....but that was so long ago, maybe things have changed. Come on, let's get inside."

They met Peter coming up the passageway. "I was just coming to get you two, the littlies are in bed and waiting for a story.....mother."

"On my way....father."

Bane made a rude noise and brushed past them, Peter watching her leave before turning back and lifting an eyebrow. Wendy just smiled and pecked him on the cheek.

"Don't worry....everything will work out fine."

"Good.....I have to go out and check over Neverland, so go ahead, I'll be back soon."

"Be careful Peter....."

"I will...."

Wendy watched as he left the tree, instantly soaring into the sky on his nightly patrol of their island world.

Turning away, Wendy made her way back to the underground and the eager children waiting to hear a bedtime story.

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Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Five - Beyond the Veil

Rated: R for consensual sex between two main characters.

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Peter returned to find his home unusually quiet. As he approached the main room he slowed his steps, hearing the murmuring of voices, the click of something knocking together. As he passed through the doorway he saw Briggs and Topper sitting at the table, tossing a dice between them, a pile of small sticks by each boy, the pile bigger beside Topper, his luck obviously running his way. As Peter advanced into the room Briggs looked up and instantly put his finger against his lips before pointing towards the fire. Peter turned and saw Wendy sitting in a chair by the hearth, her head turned away from him, apparently fast asleep. Smiling to himself, Peter sat down at the table and folded his arm on the surface.

Looking around he saw that Twig, Pebble and Pip were all snugly tucked into their beds, already fast asleep. Bane was also in her bed, her back turned to the room, her blanket up around her ears.

Peter raised an eyebrow at Briggs who smirked back.

"Wendy hardly got to finish the story before Pebble fell asleep in her arms, Pip curled up at her feet. She put them all to bed, even Bane, when she suggested the girl looked tired, went to bed without a murmur."

"Bane went to bed without an argument?"

"Sure she did.....I don't know what Wendy did....but Bane is.....she's...."

"Changed?"

"Yeah....."

Peter chuckled to himself, Briggs and Topper exchanging a confused look.

"What?" Topper asked.

"Nothing....just that Wendy has a special way of changing people even when they don't think they need to be changed."

"Did she change you Peter?"

"Oh yes.....she changed everything." Peter swung his eyes around to where Wendy sat, her long hair cascading over her shoulder, catching glints from the flames still licking the logs in the grate.

The boys regarded him quizzically. "Why did you let her, weren't you happy the way you were?"

"At the time I thought I was......even told her, to her face."

"What did she say?" Topper asked.

"Said she thought it was my biggest pretend."

Again, Briggs and Topper exchanged a baffled look.

Shaking his head, Briggs rattled the dice in his hand before tossing them on the table. "Hah.....snake eyes, I win again!"

"Not fair.....that's the last of my sticks gone."

"Cough up loser.....you now owe me over a thousand pounds!"

"Well good luck collecting!" Topper grinned, levering himself up from the table and stretching, his joints popping as he flexed his back. "I'm off, all that cleaning has worn me out."

"Yeah....and I want to get up and out early tomorrow, before we get roped into more cleaning!" Briggs snorted, sweeping the tiny marker sticks off the table into his hand. Cupping them carefully, he carried them over to the fire and tossed them in, where they flared up briefly among the embers. Peter remained at the table while the two boys sought their beds, rolling themselves in their sleeping furs, their backs to the room. Slowly he pinched out the candles left on the table, leaving only one, that and the fire the only light left as he rose to his feet and approached the sleeping figure in the chair. Squatting on his haunches, he poked the fire, pushing the wood to the back of the grate, sparks flying up the chimney as the embers settled. Satisfied that what remained couldn't roll out of the fireplace, Peter turned to look at the girl slumbering by the fire. In the flickering light she appeared much younger than her years, her face relaxed and untroubled, her long lashes smudging her cheeks, sooty and shadowed. He touched her hand, finding it cool, his own warm as he enclosed her slender fingers in his own.

"Wendy.....wake up, its time to go to bed."

For a moment she didn't respond, then her mouth pursed slightly before smiling, her eyes still closed. As he waited, her lashes lifted and her sleep darkened eyes blinked at him, her fingers tightening on his.

"Your back...is it late?"

"No.....but everyone has gone to bed, just us left."

"Hmmmm...... give me hand up."

Gently she tugged on his fingers, his own clasping hers and pulling, bringing her out of her chair as he rose to his feet, her body swaying a little as she regained her balance, still half asleep. Peter pulled her towards him and she went readily, her head finding his shoulder, her arms looping around his waist as hid encircled her shoulders. They stood there for several long minutes bathed in the light from the fire, each taking comfort from the other.

"Come on....lets get to bed." Peter started to lead her towards his curtained alcove, Wendy still wrapped around him, only pulling away to twitch a cover back over Pebble who had flung his arm out in his sleep as they passed the child's couch.

On reaching the curtain, they pulled apart, Peter holding back the skin while Wendy crawled onto the wide couch, her hands and knees sinking into the dense furs. Peter let the curtain drop and what little light there had been was cut off, plunging the alcove into darkness.

"Peter?"

"Right here...." She heard the rustle of clothes and then felt the furs dip as Peter joined her on the bed, her own fingers shaking as she tried to reach the buttons of her dress and fumbled them in the darkness. She felt rather than saw Peter reach out and push her hands out of the way, allowing him to undo the buttons one by one, his fingers brushing her hair out of the way as he slid the dress of one shoulder, his lips tracing its departure before sliding it off the other shoulder and following that with his lips as well. Wendy felt herself flush to her toes, her body starting to tremble as Peter pushed the dress down further, exposing her breasts to the cool night air, her nipples hardening and pebbling into points. She felt Peter's soft hair brush her skin as his lips trailed down her chest from her shoulder and over the swell of her breast until his warm mouth closed over a swollen peak making her gasp out loud at the exquisite sensations coursing through her.

"Wendy...lay down...." Peter's whisper brought her back to herself, her arms lifting out of the sleeves as she shucked the dress down to her waist while Peter pulled the top layer of covers back, the dress finally removed and thrown down the end of the bed before Wendy scooted her legs under the covers and shuffled herself down into the bed, Peter pulling the covers over them both. Wendy lay as little nervously on her back, her head turned towards Peter, unable to see much in the gloom, only the sound of his breathing telling her where he was. Then out of the darkness his hands and mouth found her again, his hair once more brushing against her chest as he resumed his exploration of her breasts, her own breath gasping as he sucked her nipple deep into the warmth of his mouth, his tongue stoking and exciting her flesh, his fingers finding the other peak and stoking that as well. His body was lying flush against her side, the heat from his skin searing her as he kissed his way from her breast, up her throat until his mouth covered hers, taking what little breath she had left in a kiss that made her toes curl. Drowning in the awakening of her body, Wendy reached out and started to touch him, his skin like velvet under her fingers, the planes of his chest and shoulders providing an endless playground for her to knead and stroke, his heart now pressed to hers as they entwined arms and legs in an effort to get closer. Everything felt fluid, their limbs sliding against each other, exciting them further, their hands stroking and fondling every inch as they explored and discovered, each gasp and groan begging for that touch to be repeated and relearned. Wendy threaded her fingers through his hair, her nails raking his scalp as his mouth devoured hers, their tongues duelling for supremacy, each conceding the sweet victory to the other before embarking on another journey, lips now following hands in an effort to map and record every inch of the other, their breathing becoming harsh in the confines of the furs.

Wendy was lost, her head thrown back as Peter suckled on her neck, his hand delving down her quivering stomach to burrow through her nether curls, her legs falling open to his light touch, her core aching for something to fill it. His hand dipped between her thighs and played with the slick folds, his fingers stroking and teasing, dipping into the moistness, then stroking again. Wendy arched into his hand, his name groaned on her breath as she strained upwards, his mouth fastening on her breast making her gasp as his busy digits entered her, the sensations both alarming and exhilarating as she moaned again. Wanting to reciprocate and make him as mindless as she was fast becoming, Wendy sought out and found his hardness, pressed hotly against her hip, her fingers curling around him and making him jerk into her hand as she squeezed and stroked, the angle awkward but still pleasurable. His hand between her legs found the hard nubbin at the apex of her folds, his touch enough to make her arch again as her body responded with a blaze of spark from that light contact, his hand stilling as she mewed, her lips caught between her teeth to stifle her cries.

"P-l-l-ea-se....Peter....oh...."

Removing his hand, Peter shifted and moved over her, positioning himself between her thighs, his hot, hard sex brushing against hers, exciting her further as his mouth sought hers, sealing it in a kiss as he braced himself over her.

"Wendy......oh Wendy..."

Slowly he started to push into her, her legs coming up to wrap around his hips as he advanced, his muscles quivering as her heat surrounded him, her moist folds welcoming him, her body urging him onwards.

The feel of his body entering her was almost too much for her to process, his hardness spreading her, filling her up as he pushed into her, her body shaking as he buried himself inside her, pausing to allow her to become accustomed to this new intimacy, their chests heaving as they absorbed all the sensations of their joining. After a few seconds Peter moved, pulling out a little way then pushing back in, their bodies setting up a rhythm, Wendy's legs gripping his hips, her heels urging him on as control started to leech away and passion took over. Peter wrapped his arms around her, melding them chest to chest, her arms around his neck, his mouth fastened to her neck as his hips moved. Their bodies came together in the ultimate expression of love, riding the storm of passion until Wendy felt herself tip over the edge of reason and fly apart in Peter's arms, her breathing hitching as her body uncoiled and remade itself, heat blossoming across her stomach and down her legs, relaxing every muscles until she felt like she was made of liquid, her limbs quivering in the aftermath of her release. Peter had paused when he felt her body clenching around him, his heart pounding as Wendy panted and gasped against his ear. When she relaxed, he started to thrust again, picking up the rhythm until he felt his own release take over, his body jerking unevenly as he emptied himself into her, their bodies one as she held him tightly against her, his body shaking and twitching until he too relaxed bonelessly against her.

In the stillness that followed, they could feel and hear their hearts beating in unison, their uneven breathing loud in the confines of their alcove. When Peter made to move, Wendy tightened her hold on him, not wanting to lose the feel of him inside her and around her.

"I don't want to squash you." Peter whispered, turning his head and kissing her cheek.

"You aren't.....oh Peter......I can't believe...how.....incredible that was."

As he lay there, his cheek resting against her, Peter felt something wet slide across his skin. Darting out his tongue he lapped at the wetness, realising that it was a tear.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No...not at all......"

"Why are you crying?"

"Am I?"

Lifting his head, Peter cupped her face with his hand, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks, feeling the tears as they trickled from the corners of her eyes. In the dimness, he could just make out her face, slightly paler than the furs.

"Don't cry Wendy.....it'll be better next time."

"Oh Lord, Peter!" Wendy chuckled weakly, her hand coming up to stroke his face, her finger tracing his brow before running down his cheek and jaw, the other hand stroking his hair. "I was about to say, that if it gets any better, I'll die from the bliss of it.....but I can't die......I'm already dead.......and what we just did was as close to heaven as I've ever been......"

Wendy continued to shake slightly as she laughed to herself, Peter not saying a word, not able to understand her feelings, still trying to process all that had taken place as well.

"Peter.....I still don't understand how or why this can happen......but I don't care anymore. If this is my heaven, then I don't ever want it to end......I want us to be like this forever."

"As you wish it Wendy.......as you wish....." Peter's whisper brushed across her ear, sending shivers down her spine, her legs and arms keeping him in her and around her, his body still sheathed in hers.

"I wish it with all my heart Peter......all my heart."

Peter's lips found hers in the darkness and they kissed like they were sealing a pact, the passion flaring between them until their bodies started to move in the rhythm again and they found themselves transported to heaven once more, their muffled cries buried in skin and sweat, tangled limbs and quivering flesh, ending in fulfilment that left them breathless and shaking, their passion spent once more.

Peter rolled onto his back, Wendy draped over his chest, their bodies still joined. He stroked the tangled hair from her face, smoothing it back as she smiled against his skin, her heart still hammering against his in the aftermath.

She chuffed against his chest, her body shaking in silent mirth.

"What?" Peter asked, her shaking making him slip out of her body, both of them moaning at the loss of contact.

"Oh dear....I was thinking...I hope we haven't woken anybody up with all this noise."

"Maybe we should think about making some place else for us to sleep...like a separate bedroom.....or something?"

"Could we do that?"

"Easy.....I got a bit carried away with the last lot of digging...I'm sure one of the extra rooms would make an excellent bedroom for us."

"I think," Wendy yawned, her hand covering her mouth. "I think that is an excellent idea.....but for now....."

"Sleep....." Peter shifted so that Wendy slid onto the furs on her side, her back to his front. Curling his body against hers, Peter wrapped himself around her, his hand coming to rest cupped against one of her breasts, Wendy wriggling back to more firmly seat her bottom into the cradle of his hips.

As her breathing evened out, Wendy's whispered a sigh into the darkness, almost too faint for him to hear.

"I love you...."

Smiling to himself, he nuzzled her hair, whispering the words back to her, but by then she was already asleep, Peter following her within minutes.

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Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Six - The Big Chill

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The next morning found Peter and Wendy's privacy invaded by a couple of scamps who gleefully pulled the curtain back and jumped on the two people still curled under the furs.

Wendy giggled and Peter growled at the unrepentant children who tried to pull the covers off only to have Peter grab them both by their shirt collars and throw them off the bed. The noise woke up everyone else and in the general hubbub Wendy muffled her laughter against Peter's shoulder as they lay for a moment before attempting to face the day.

"We are getting a door put on that room......when it's finished." Peter muttered, heaving a sigh as one of the boys started to complain loudly about someone else stealing his clothes. "With a very strong padlock."

They cuddled for a few precious minutes before they broke apart, Wendy rummaging for her dress while Peter fished for his trousers beside the bed. Together they dressed in silence, their eyes meeting and clinging for long seconds before they resumed dressing, Peter helping Wendy once more with her buttons, his lips kissing the nape of her neck as she held her hair out of the way.

At last they were finished and Peter stepped out into the room, holding the curtain for Wendy, who smoothed the wrinkles in her dress as she self consciously entered the room. Everyone was up and about their morning rituals, the smell of something tasty wafting from the kitchen. Twig was coaxing the fire into life, a large black kettle waiting to be hoisted onto a hook over the flames. Pip was attempting to straighten his bed, the covers skewed all over the place. Pebble was already sitting at the table, his thumb in the corner of his mouth, his sooty curls mussed and hanging over his eyes. Bane entered from the kitchen, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand as she plopped down on a stool.

"The porridge is ready......" Bane announced to the room, Pebble banging his spoon on the table and grinning at her.

"Pip, Pebble, come and help me fetch the breakfast bowls please....then Bane can serve." Wendy held out her hand for the two younger boys to take, while Bane rose to her feet and led the way back into the kitchen. Between them they filled five bowls, not sure when Briggs and Topper would return from their hunting trip. Wendy found a tray and used it to carry the food to the table, the boys scampering ahead and fighting over their places while Bane followed with a jug and beakers.

Breakfast was only slightly more civilised than supper, the boys supping the thick porridge with lightning fast movements of their spoons, as if their lives depended of finishing as fast as possible. Wendy took her time, cradling the bowl in her hands, absorbing the warmth as a chill nipped at her fingers.

"Peter...is it winter here in Neverland?"

"No...Neverland doesn't really have seasons.....not in the way I think you mean."

"Oh......well, its just.....haven't you noticed how cold it is?"

"I suppose," Peter shrugged, digging another spoonful out of his bowl.

"Well....isn't that a little strange?"

"I don't know.....I guess it has been colder....at night anyway. But as soon as the sun rises it's as warm as it ever was."

"Oh.....I see. Well, nevermind.....what are we going to do today?"

The table erupted into a medley of voices, each vying to out shout the other, the jumble of ideas becoming incoherent until Wendy clapped her hands over her ears to avoid being deafened. Eventually they stopped, staring at her in surprise.

"Thank you.....I couldn't hear myself think." Said Wendy, lowering her hands. "Now Twig, what do you usually do in the morning?"

"After breakfast we decide what we're going to have and go get it."

"Going to have?"

"To eat."

"Oh....well, what are we going to have to eat today?"

Again the table erupted, Wendy quickly covering her ears as a variety of foods were shouted her way. Peter was sitting at the other end of the table with his hand over his eyes, the slight shake of his shoulders the only indication of the laughter he was trying to hold back.

When it quietened down, Wendy held up her hand and the table fell silent.

"I can see this is going to take time.......Pip," she addressed the youngest. "What is your favourite food?"

"Merapples," said Pip decisively.

"Okay, Merapples. Do you know where to get them?"

"'Course."

"Good.....then I think you and Pebble and Twig should spend the morning collecting as many as you can."

"Why?" Asked Pebble.

"Because I am going to try and cook a Merapple pie." The children eyed her somewhat sceptically.

"You can cook?" Twig queried.

"Very well, actually. My mother is......was an excellent cook and I know my way around a kitchen. Do we have any flour?"

"Corn flour and some bran flour." Bane chimed in. "We also have some honey and syrup for sweetening."

"What about butter? Or milk.......how about eggs?"

"Eggs.... we have eggs from the blackbirds nest." Said Pebble, looking proud.

"Oh...I would think they'd be little small.....are there chickens in Neverland?" Wendy looked up at Peter, who shrugged. Twig tugged at her sleeve and she turned to the boy.

"There's a bird called a Raucous because of its cry, it looks a little like a chicken and they lay really big eggs."

"Do you think you could find me some of its eggs?"

"Sure.....they nest near the Merapple trees."

"Then that can be your task for the morning Twig, while Pip and Pebble pick the Merapples, you can gather the eggs."

With a whoop the three younger boys clambered down from the table and dashed around, throwing off the over-large clothes and pulling on their now dry clothes before grabbing various sacks and baskets and running out of the room.

Wendy calmly finished her breakfast while the mayhem continued around her, only putting her spoon down when the last boy disappeared out of the underground.

"What are your orders for me, Captain Wendy?"

Wendy blushed and started to gather the bowls around the table. "I don't have any orders for you Peter....Bane and I will be getting this place in order this morning, if that's okay with you Bane?"

Receiving a nod from the girl, Wendy continued. "Then I was hoping, if you're not too busy, you might show me around.....I'm sure there are a hundred things I missed on my first visit."

"I'd be happy to....I have to go check on the Mermaids and on the Jolly Roger, so I'll see you back here at midday?"

"Midday." Wendy repeated, nervously fiddling with the bowls. Peter brought his around to her side of the table and placed it on the pile, then stood in front of her, his hand finding hers and drawing it towards him. Bane smirked and picked up the stack of bowls from her side of the table, the couple never noticing when she left for the kitchen.

"Are you alright......I mean, after last night....?"

Wendy blushed, her eyes centred on his hand holding hers, his thumb stroking across hers. "I'm fine Peter.......and....and you?"

"I'm fine too.....Wendy?"

Her face still feeling hot, Wendy raised her eyes to his, instantly captured and held by his blue-green gaze. "Yes Peter?"

Smiling, Peter lowered his head and captured her lips with his in a kiss that left her wanting more. "I'll be back soon....."

"Oh......I'll see you......later.....then." Reaching up, Wendy threaded her hand around the back of his head, her fingers burrowing into the thick curls at the nape of his neck, pulling his face back to hers, their lips meeting and holding, the kiss deepening as the seconds passed.

The clatter of dishes from the kitchen drew them reluctantly apart, both grinning as they disentangled themselves. Peter walking around the table, glancing back at Wendy every few steps before reaching the archway leading from the underground. With a half wave he ducked out of sight, Wendy staring after him, her hand reaching up to touch her kiss swollen lips in wonderment. Blinking, she returned to the present and cleared the rest of the breakfast from the table, carrying it to the kitchen to join Bane. The rest of her morning was spent sorting out the ingredients she needed for the pie, Twig and the littlies returning later in the morning with a basket of fruit and a clutch of large speckled eggs. Wendy set the boys to peel the fruit, the boys happy to use their assorted knives, showing off to Wendy how proficient they were at getting the skins off in one piece like long corkscrews. There was much laughter and fruit peelings flying in all directions but at the end Wendy had a bowl of skinned Merapples ready to go into her pies. Given the voracious appetites of her new family, Wendy had put together enough pastry for several pies, using every flat dish available, Bane keeping the fire burning hot in the oven as Wendy sliced the fruit and layered it in the pies. As she worked she had a small audience, soon swelled from three to five when Briggs and Topper returned from their fishing trip, laden once more with strings of glistening fish. Soon the smell of baking filled the underground, the boys hopping from one foot to the other as they smacked their lips in anticipation of a sweet feast. Dusting her hands on a makeshift apron, Wendy took the fish and shooed the boys away, extolling them to wash their hands or they'd have nothing.

With much grumbling about forever washing, the boys scampered away, almost knocking Peter over in their haste to get to the stream and wash up. Bane almost bumped into Peter as she walked out of the kitchen, her arms full of plates as she prepared to set the table.

"Oh hi......'scuse me......gotta get this lot on the table before the ravening hordes return...." Not waiting for an answer, Bane brushed past and Peter watched her go with an amused glint. Peering around the archway, he watched as Wendy bent down and lifted another pie from the stone oven, setting it on the stone bench at the side. Without alerting her, he snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, making her start in alarm before she melted against him, her flushed face dotted with perspiration from the oven.

"Oh Peter.....you scared me!" Relaxing against him, she tilted her head as he turned his to press kisses against her neck, working his way up to her cheek.

"You've been busy....its smells wonderful."

"Well its not exactly to the recipe....I didn't have any butter or milk, or any of the spices.....but I think they came out well."

Behind them they heard the boys return, their voices lifted in argument, the older boys deeper voices only slightly louder than the younger piping ones of Twig and the littlies. They heard Bane ordering them to settle down and show her their hands, amid much good natured teasing and some off colour remarks from the older boys before Bane had them all seated at the table in anticipation.

"Your children await Mother..." Peter teased her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before letting her go.

"Then you can take this out to them Father....I'll bring the syrup...careful, they're still very hot."

The meal was a huge success, the boys stuffing themselves sideways on Wendy's Merapple pies, their faces ending up smeared all over with juice and crumbs and syrup until even the boys decided that they would need a bath to get all the stickiness off. Bane once more kept a close eye on how Wendy conducted herself, the girl copying each mannerism much to Peter's amusement and Wendy's immense satisfaction. When the last plate had been cleared and they all sat groaning around the table, Peter rose and told them that he and Wendy were going to be away for the rest of the afternoon and probably into the evening and for them to clear up the mess they'd made and take care of their own supper. Ignoring the anticipated chorus of complaints, Peter took Wendy's hand and drew her with him to the doorway, their eyes only on each other, the hubbub fading to a distant roar behind them.

Before they left Peter held up his hand, the room quieting instantly. Looking sternly at the boys, Peter addressed the room.

"I expect to find this place a neat as it was this morning.....so don't disappoint me.....and look out for Hook.....the Mermaids think he'll be back this way possibly tonight, so no fire's after the sun goes down. Keep a lamp burning, but don't wait up, " He glanced back at Wendy before turning back to the room. "We don't know when we'll be back."

Ignoring the flurry of queries and rude suggestions that followed them, Peter and Wendy left the underground and stepped out into the sunshine, Wendy tilting her head to absorb the suns rays, her chest heaving as she sucked in a huge breath of fresh air. Grabbing her hand, Peter launched them both into the air and drew her up until they were above the canopy of trees, Wendy squinting in the bright light as Peter flew them slowly over the forest towards the coast.

"Where are we going first Peter?"

"To a cove, after being cooped up you need some sand, sea and sunshine,"

Laughing, Wendy agreed and Peter sped up, only slowing as they descended towards a small cove, its water crystal clear and the finest sapphire blue, the beach unmarked, the sand as soft as powder under their toes. She could feel the heat from the sun-warmed sand soaking into her feet, the sound of the waves lapping at the shore soothing and relaxing. Running down to the water she paddled, splashing and jumping over the waves, giggling when the occasional larger waves splashed up her legs, soaking her skirts. A blur shot past her and a large splash drowned her when Peter dove into the water, his naked body cutting through the waves like a seal. Laughing, Wendy made to run out of the shallow waves, but she found herself tackled and falling to the wet sand, Peter's arms locked around her as they wrestled in the shallows. Panting, she giggled up at him as he pinned her down, the sea rolling over her feet and legs, her wet dress clinging to her body as the waves sloshed over them both.

"You don't escape me that easily......" Peter growled, digging his fingers into her sides and tickling her, making her scream as she writhed away from him. Standing up he hoisted her to her feet but just as quickly bent and hooked his shoulder under her so she found herself draped over him as he carried her back into the water, Wendy pounding his back in mock protest.

"Put me down you beast....this is so undignified!"

"You want to be put down?" Peter asked, hefting her slightly and making her scream again. He was up to his waist in the water, Wendy's long hair already dipping into the water as she hung head down.

"Don't you dare drop me Peter Pan......I'll....." Before she could continue, Peter did just that, Wendy disappearing under the surface only to rise, spluttering and coughing as he laughed.

"Oh you beast......I'm soaked....." She spluttered in mock indignation, pushing her hair out of her face and glaring at him.

"And it suits you....." Peter teased, eyeing her now transparent dress with approval. Wendy was also inspecting him, her gaze roaming over the large expanse of golden brown skin in open admiration, the very skin she'd lavished so much attention on during the dark hours of the night. In wonderment she reached out and brushed her hand over his rounded shoulder, her fingers trailing down his chest, her eyes following, marvelling at the texture of his skin.

"I want to see you...." Peter whispered, bringing her eyes up to meet his. Nodding her head, Wendy turned and Peter undid the buttons, his fingers fumbling with the wet fabric in his haste to undress her.

With her back still turned, Wendy peeled the wet dress off her shoulders and down to her waist, the material swirling around her hips as the waves swept by them, tugging the dress down her legs until she was able to step out of it and the undertow carried it away to the shore. Slowly Peter turned her around, her face stained pink with shyness as he gazed at her with rapt admiration.

"You're beautiful.....so beautiful...."

Raising her eyes, Wendy found herself shocked at the intensity in Peter's eyes, the sun dazzling her as he bent to claim her lips, drawing her forward to be wrapped in his arms, their bodies pressed together as the sea washed around them.

Making love on the beach was as natural as breathing, Peter carrying her to a soft bank of sweet grass just above the high tide line, then covering her with kisses, licking the salty water from her body, Wendy squirming as he tickled and aroused her. In revenge she pushed him onto his back and lavished his golden body with the same tender care, Peter the one to squirm as she kissed her way down his body. After an exhaustive foreplay they came together feverishly, their mouths devouring each other while their bodies fused and became one, Wendy's cries carrying Peter to his peak, sweat replacing the sea water and sand painting their skin with glittering specks.

Afterwards they lay entwined, listening to the waves crashing on the sand, echoing their pounding hearts, the sun's warmth bathing their limbs as they nestled in the slight hollow, the smell of crushed grass scenting the air.

Wendy's dress hung fluttering over a branch, alongside Peter's shirt and trousers, in the slight breeze that brushed over their heated bodies like a caress. Wendy rolled over to face Peter, her blue eyes rivalling the sky for brilliance.

"I'm almost afraid that this will all disappear and I'll wake up to find myself back in my bed.....dying all over again."

"You won't....this is your heaven.....your dreams come true."

"I see your lips form the words.....and I'm just so happy, I don't ever want this to end."

"Nothing can take this away from you........nothing." Peter murmered into her hair.

"I wish I could freeze this moment......preserve it forever...."

"Well we could do the next best thing..." Peter suggested, his lips parted in a wickedly smug smirk. "We could do this every afternoon, at this very cove....that would be sort of the same......and alot more fun."

"Silly boy....but I think I agree with you.....this could become a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon."

As they lay dallying, exchanging kisses and sweet nothings, Wendy felt something touch her back, something cold. Ignoring it, more interested in what Peter's mouth was doing with hers, she didn't pay attention until another cold thing touched her back and she pulled away to investigate.

"What is it?" Peter asked, rising up onto his elbows as Wendy twisted around to touch the skin on her back.

"I don't know...something cold......I....." Sitting up she looked skyward and her mouth fell open in surprise. Peter also looked up to see tiny white flakes slowly spiralling down from the blue sky, each one a tiny ice crystal that melted the second it touched the ground or his skin. Holding out his hand he captured one only to have it disappear the instant it touched his finger.

"Peter.......it's.....I can't believe it......it's snowing!"

As they sat in wonder, the flakes started to fall more rapidly, where minutes before it had been only a few, there were now many, the feel of them on her bare skin making Wendy shiver. Scrambling to their feet they hurriedly pulled on their clothes, the snow starting to stick to their hair as the temperature dropped several degrees even as they fumbled their buttons and ties. Wendy moved to stand beneath the overhang of a branch, her hands on her arms as she felt her teeth start to chatter. Peter stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, as stupefied as her, watching the rapid fall of white crystals start to coat the grass they'd been lying on. The sky was quickly darkening, snow laden grey clouds clotting the sky, blocking the sun from Neverland and making the air feel heavy with foreboding.

Wendy was shivering in earnest now, her light dress not adequate for the quick change in weather, her lips trembling as her teeth chattered. "W-e-e...n-e-e-d..d...t-o-o..g-e-e-t...h-o-o-m-m-e..." She managed to get out, turning around and pressing herself against Peter, hugging him to keep warm. Peter was also shaking with cold, his eyes disbelieving as he stared out at the curtain of white now blocking his view of the horizon.

"I don't think we can fly through this.....we need to find shelter...I think....no I know there's an old hideout near here....come on!"

As quickly as possible they stumbled their way through the trees bordering the cove, the snow not yet able to penetrate the thick canopy and only lightly coating the ground as they hurried away from the beach. A few minutes later they reached a clearing with a huge tree at it's heart. Peter took them right up to the gnarled trunk and ran his hand over the bark. Finding a knot of wood, he pressed and a door creaked open slowly. He led Wendy inside and they stood for a minute to let their eyes adjust to the gloom. Leading her forward, Peter used his arm to brush many years worth of cobwebs out of the way until they entered a round room, similar to what the underground used to look like only smaller. Wendy was still shaking with the cold, her lips turning blue. Peter led her over to a wide ledge and sat her down, his hands chafing hers as she shook helplessly.

"I just need to get something....don't move." Finding his way over to one of the corners, he heaved at a pile of furs and shook them out. Carrying them back, he draped them over Wendy's back and arms, then over her knees. Tugging them together he looked into her face, her eyes popping open when he quickly pressed his cold lips to hers.

"I have to get a fire going......keep covered up."

Wendy barely nodded, her eyes closing again as she clutched the furs around her. Peter went to the small fire pit and cleared out the ashes, a pile of twigs already beside it ready to be laid for the next fire. As quickly as he could he arranged the kindling and stuffed dry grass underneath. With shaking hands he struck sparks off the flint and blew on the small flame rising from the straw, the fire quickly catching the tinder dry wood, Peter able to add bigger pieces, feeding the flames until they blazed merrily.

Wendy watched it all from the couch, her face pale among the thick furs. With the fire well alight and the smoke rising to disappear out through a hidden flue, Peter came over and pulled Wendy over to the fire, arranging the furs to form an impromptu bed for her to sit on. She stuck her feet out to the heat, feeling quickly returning to her cold limbs. Peter sat behind her, his legs either side of hers, his arms around her as he held his hands out to the flames.

"H-a-s this e-ever happened before?" Wendy asked, turning her head slightly.

"Usually it gets cold when I leave Neverland......like when I visited you in London.....or there was that time, when TinkerBell drank the poison....."

"I remember...we thought you were dead..."

"It snowed until I brought Tink back.......but that only lasted a short time......"

"Oh Peter.....what's happening?"

"I don't know....I really don't know."

They were silent for a moment, watching the flames licking around the logs.

"Peter.....do you think it has anything to do with that weapon Hook has......what did you call it?"

"The Necromancer.....I don't know.....you saw what it did to the other side of the island.....maybe it can effect the weather as well."

"I thought only you could affect the weather.....Oh Peter...what if Hook has found a way to affect the weather as well?"

"We'll have to find out." Peter hugged her tighter. "Are you warm enough now?"

"Hmmmm thank you....what is this place?"

"It's one of my old homes.....I have quite a few scattered over Neverland....usually in trees, but sometimes in caves or other secret places. This was one of the first places I made my home...it was before the first Lost Boy arrived, which is why it's so small.....there was only me here then."

"Do you know how long you've been here.....in Neverland?"

"No.....I've just always been here...I imagine it's been along time."

They sat silent for awhile, just watching the flames and listening to the crackle of the embers. Wendy started to feel drowsy, wrapped in the furs and snuggled against Peter. Before long her eyes had shut and she slept.

When she awoke some hours later, the hideout was in darkness, the fire having died down while she slept. Looking around the gloomy room, Wendy became aware that it was very quiet, the air chill and that she was quite alone.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Seven - The Deal

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hook paced the deck of his ship with an impatient stride, his coat tails flaring outward each time he turned to traverse the planks again. His men went about their business with a subdued air, their chatter silenced, their work suddenly taking them as far from where Hook walked as possible. They were all too aware of what was about to happen, and were just waiting for either the order to sail or the order sending them down into the bowels of the ship to await the latest outcome of whatever strange magic the Necromancer chose to conjure from the Captain's cabin. Warily they watched and listened, the click of Hook's boots on the scrubbed wood loud in the still air.

As if only just noticing the preoccupation of his crew, Hook stopped and lifted his head, the men suddenly finding anything to look at other than their Captain. Hook was well aware that his crew were studiously avoiding any contact either by eye or action with him, it afforded him a certain amount of pleasure to know that his crew walked in abject fear of him. Although to be truthful, it wasn't Hook, it was what was occupying his cabin that the crew feared most.

If Hook was entirely truthful, he feared it as much, if not more so than they did.

Having a magician aboard that played with living human souls to perform deep magic was enough to chill anyone's blood. Having seen what the Necromancer could do with just one innocent soul, Hook was both eager and fearful to see if that power could be channelled into pursuing his own agenda, the Capture of Peter Pan. So far he'd been singular unsuccessful in stressing this point with the mage in his cabin. It galled Hook that the man thought himself far above the mortal plane, his black soul beyond the reach of men, already half way to hell and back. This was Hook's ship and Hook's men, he should have access to that power, to use as he saw fit, but the mage had other ideas. The destruction of the plain on the other side of the island had been only the start, the testing ground for what, Hook had yet to find out. This game was being played deep and Hook wasn't one of the players, just the messenger boy. He ground his teeth in frustration and paced again.

The sun beat down on his unprotected head, his glossy black hair absorbing the heat making him sweat. His coat itched and he longed to shrug it off, maybe even take one of the boats ashore and have a swim in the crystal blue water that lapped so seductively against the hull. All thoughts of his own pleasure were wiped when he felt the first tickle at the edge of his mind, a voice calling him to his cabin, the feeling like a grey cobweb fluttering in his head, the tendrils itchy and sticky, weaving their insidious way around his thoughts, numbing his will so that he dropped whatever he was doing and answered with alacrity. As before his feet instantly changed direction and he found himself outside his sturdy cabin door, his hook raised to knock. Recalling who he was, Captain Hook snatched his arm away and pushed hard on the door, waiting until it swung open fully before stepping inside. His cabin was unrecognisable as his own, all his lush furnishing and fittings stripped back to the wood, the windows boarded up, the floor and walls bare. Only his ornate desk had survived, being used by the current occupant to hold a stack of books and jar's of potions as well as an array of nightmare inducing implements beyond even Hook's ability to imagine their uses.

The figure in the centre of the room seemed to consist of shadows, his dark robes encasing him like smoke, cloaking his form until you didn't know if he was real or just an after image on your retina, glimpsed but never solid.

"Ah you are here. I need another soul, the next stage is ready for execution. Bring your captive to me....at once."

The voice reached out to him, its sibilant echoes soaking into him and making him tremble. Hook was never sure if the man actually spoke the words or they just appeared directly into his head, whichever it was the effect was the same, like a chill snaking down his spine and coiling in his guts like poison. Licking his dry lips, Hook opened his mouth to speak but the Necromancer held up a skeletal thin hand and the words remained unspoken.

"This will bring the boy you seek directly to you.....that is what you want, is it not?"

"Yes.....it is." Hook croaked.

"Then bring the captive to me....it is time to wield the spell once more."

Hook suddenly found himself outside the cabin, the door shutting slowly on his face. He didn't remember walking, only that he was no longer in his own cabin, the creature inside dismissing him like a common lackey. Shaking his head, Hook raised his arm as if to slash the door down with his metal hook, but the blow never fell. Instead he turned away and stalked down the gangway to the stairwell that led down to the brig and the prisoner awaiting in the darkness.

An hour later Hook was shouting for his crew to get the ship out to deep water, the first flakes of snow starting to fall as the Jolly Roger set sail towards the horizon, the sea already starting to freeze near the shore, the sky turning from blue to grey as they ran in front of the wind sending flurry's across the deck. Hook stood on the poopdeck, his eyes turned to watch the shore as Neverland slowly disappeared behind a curtain of white. This was not like the times that Peter Pan left Neverland, the sea freezing in an instant winter, only to thaw again in a few hours. This was different and Hook shivered in spite of his thick brocade coat. This time there had been no bloodcurdling scream, no white light and loud noise, this time the spell had been cast without the usual dramatics, but the fate of his prisoner had been the same. If he looked really hard he could still see the blackened corpse floating in the sea far astern of the ship, one stick like arm still pointing to the sky. Hook shuddered, hating to be the one to deliver the victims to the enchanter, the previous time a bewildered Lost Boy, so young and angry, this time a reckless Indian youth who strayed too close to shore out of curiosity or bravado they would never now, his fate the same as the Lost Boy.

They were far enough out at for the sea-ice not to reach them, although the cold did, the snow still falling even this far out.

"Keep a steady course, Mister Gore....then circle around the island."

"Aye, aye Sir!"

Neverland had all but vanished behind the veil of white when Hook turned away at last, the cold too penetrating for him to remain on deck any longer.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wendy huddled by the small fire she'd managed to get going, the flames eating through her small pile of wood too quickly. She pulled the furs more tightly around herself, her toes almost in the ashes as she tried to maintain her body heat. It had been hours since she'd awoken alone and she couldn't stop wondering why Peter had left her and not returned. She had briefly gone outside to check for any sign of him but had been beaten back by the sheer cold, the visibility almost zero as snow continued to fall, thick and heavy over the forest. Inside the tree the air was only slightly warmer, her pitiful fire bravely beating back the numbing chill at first, but as her wood diminished so did its ability to warm her. Soon it would go out altogether and she would be faced with either freezing to death in the tree, or setting out to find another shelter. With this in mind, she started to work on creating some sort of footwear to protect her feet and legs, as well as a way to keep the thickly furred skins around her. With time running out, she found lengths of twine and supple creepers and used them to bind the skins to her body, her numb fingers fumbling until she held them almost in the flames to thaw them. When feeling returned, along with the pain of pins and needles, she worked quickly to create her protective snow suit. By the time she had laid the last piece of wood on the fire she was almost ready, only needing to create a hood to finish her new ensemble. She was glad she didn't have a mirror, sure that she must look like some strange kind of lumpy bear under all the multi-coloured fur, but she didn't mind, it was keeping her warm, and more importantly alive.

When the last flame died, she rose and left the hideout, having to push hard at the secret door to open it. Outside she found that the snow had stopped, but had left huge drifts that would made walking difficult if not impossible for her. Standing outside she was faced with a new problem. She had no idea which direction to go in. She tried to think happy thoughts, remembering the night spent in Peter's arms, but nothing happened. After several failed attempts she deduced that she needed fairy dust to fly, something she had none of. Thinking of fairy dust, made her think of the fairies, wondering how they were coping in this sudden cold snap, whether they were able to survive at all. As she stood there, her breath clouding the air, she decided to head back to the beach and start from there. At least if anyone came looking for her they would see her more clearly out in the open and maybe follow her footsteps as well. Making up her mind she set out, threading her way through the trees in what she thought was the direction of the beach.

Unfortunately for Wendy, she was heading in entirely the opposite direction, each step taking her further and further away from her destination.

As she plodded through the forest, she found the exercise was making her toasty warm, her body working very hard until after only a short while she needed to rest. She knew now that she was quite hopelessly lost, her original plan of finding the beach thrown out when it became clear that she was not going in the right direction. She had tried to retrace her steps, but that had proved futile when she lost them among the dark shadows of the forest. Sitting on a convenient log, she panted and tried to keep her spirits up, thinking about what the others would be doing, hoping that Peter was there with them, thinking about the roaring fire sure to be blazing in the hearth. Feeling a chill start to seep through her makeshift boots, Wendy got to her feet and plodded on once more. The snow wasn't as deep under the trees, but it was darker until Wendy had difficulty seeing the trees in front of her, let alone any form of shelter or habitation. She had stopped briefly to catch her breath when she saw the first light. It was a brilliant blue ball, bobbing and weaving among the trunks of the trees, still some distance away. Entranced, Wendy stood there watching it, the one soon joined by another, then another until three lights bobbed and wove among the branches, not coming any closer, but not going away either. Wendy started to walk in that direction, the lights teasing her with their closeness. As she approached the lights seemed to notice her and lined up, one starting to go.

"Oh please....don't leave me.....please come back!"

One of the lights approached and Wendy could see that it was a tiny sprite, its wings like crystals shards, its body quite naked of any clothes, its tiny head bald of any hair. It darted closer to Wendy, fluttering in front of her face, while she stared at it in wonder. Hesitantly, she held out her hand for the creature to alight on. It did, but almost instantly Wendy shook it off, pain blossoming along her arm from where it touched her skin. Bringing her hand to her face she saw a white patch where the creature had touched her, the skin quite cold, almost frozen. Alarmed she backed off, the blue sprite following her, the other two now joining their fellow, darting around Wendy, their brightness illuminating that small patch of forest with a cold light. Another shot forward and touched her cheek with its hand, Wendy crying out at the pain as she pulled away, her hand covering the suddenly frozen patch on her skin, tears of hurt and confusion swimming in her eyes.

"Don't touch me....it hurts.....you're too cold!"

The creatures looked at each other and then seemed to confer silently before converging on Wendy all at once. She screamed and batted them away, their light throwing shadows over the trees as she twisted and turned to keep them away from the exposed skin of her face and hands. They continued to buzz at her until she fell to the ground, pressing her face to the snow and shoving her hands into her sleeves to keep them from touching her. For awhile the blue sprites kept up their attempts to find an opening in the furs but were foiled, eventually giving up the game and hovering over her for several minutes before darting off among the trees in search of better sport.

Wendy raised her head from the ground, her teeth chattering, watching the sprites disappear in the gloom between the trees. Once she was sure they were gone she clambered to her feet and stood there.

"Horrid creatures......"

Once more left in the dark and alone, Wendy continued her trudge through the forest, her eyes alert for any sign of the snow sprites return.

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As luck would have it, Wendy was found only a short while later, not by the snow sprites, but by a hunting party from the Indian camp. They were part of a larger search party looking for a lost brave. They had thought Wendy to be a wild animal when they first saw her, their spears raised and arrows notched until she threw off her hood and cried out to them, the men surprised to find her so far from where the Lost Boys and Peter Pan usually roamed. They agreed to take her to the village, communicating through hand signals, Wendy falling into line as they tramped along a barely discernible track through the dense vegetation. Another hour brought them to the Indian village perched defensively on a low hill, the trees cut down around them to give them a clear view of anyone, friend or foe, approaching the palisade that surrounded the tepees. Wendy was exhausted, her feet slipping in the slush as they trudged through the tall gate into the compound. In the flare of many torches, she found herself surrounded by copper hued faces, her vision blurring as she panted raggedly, the braves leaving her to stand alone just inside the wooden wall.

She swayed unsteadily as a light was thrust into her face, then just as quickly removed, blinding her. A jabber of voices came to her as if from far away, her legs folding under her before she hit the cold mud, unaware of the shocked gasps and gentle hands that lifted her and carried her to a tent.

She came too feeling warm at last, her toes wriggling in the lush dry furs that surrounded her. Her face felt bruised, her skin hot and stiff as if she'd been out in the sun too long. As she lay blinking up at the sides of the tent, she heard the soft sound of someone humming a tune and tried to turn her head to face whoever was in the tent with her. A rustle of clothes warned her someone was approaching and she closed her eyes again.

"I have something for you to drink, Wendy lady....please open your eyes, I know you are awake."

Slowly Wendy raised her lashes to see a lovely young Indian woman leaning over her, her dark eyes smiling down at her. In her hand she held a small bowl that sent tendrils of steam into the air.

"H-o-w....h-ow do you know...w-ho I am?"

"We have all heard of you, from Peter of course."

"Oh...is he here?"

"No....we have not seen Peter for many days. Here, sit up and drink this."

Feeling stiff, Wendy raised herself on her elbow and took the small bowl, sniffing the contents before taking a sip.

"Hmmmm this is delicious."

"Thank you...it is my own concoction....very good for you."

The young woman smiled then went back to feed the fire burning in the pit to one side of the tent. Rocks were heaped up around the side to keep the embers in and stop stray sparks igniting the canvas or belonging scattered around the floor. Sipping her soup, Wendy looked at the girl who was caring for her, marvelling at her glossy black hair tied neatly into long plaits tied off with coloured strips of leather threaded with beads and feathers.

The girl turned her head and caught Wendy staring at her, but only smiled before returning to her occupation of stirring the pot hanging over the fire.

"I am called Little Star, I am the daughter of our shaman, Laughing Tree."

"I'm sorry to put you to all this trouble."

"No trouble, Wendy lady, it is an honour to offer hospitality to one so closely associated with the Pan."

"I thought.....that is......"

"You thought we were always at war with Peter and the Lost Boys?"

"Well.......yes....I suppose."

"It is just pretend......just a game we play. They capture one of ours, we capture one of them.....we trade, they bargain, it is all there is.....no anger, no blood."

"What about Hook?"

"With him it is another matter......we still trade, but we do so warily.....we don't trust Hook or his crew....that has just always been the way."

"Very wise. Did they find who they were looking for?"

"You mean the search party.......no, they found no trace of Kicking Bird. He has been gone all day and all night.....I fear he has been captured by Hook."

"Maybe the Lost Boys?"

"No.....we would have heard by now."

Handing over her bowl to the girl, Wendy sat up properly, her head swimming a little but quickly clearing.

"Little Star, did any of the braves mention seeing Peter anywhere?"

"No...I don't think so."

"Oh dear.....I was with him, earlier today, before the snow started, then we took shelter in a tree, but later he left without telling me where he was going and I haven't seen him since. I'm worried....."

"He is the Pan.....he can take care of himself. Maybe he went back to check on his Lost Boys."

"I'm sure you're right......I just wish I knew."

"Sleep, Wendy Lady......you cannot go anywhere else tonight, it will soon be morning....I'm sure Peter will come for you then."

"I am tired......I wasn't expecting to have to travel so far, and certainly not through thick snow......has this ever happened before Little Star?"

"Not like this......often when Peter would go away for a long time, it got cold, but usually only for a few hours......then when he returned, it was spring again and all warmed up. But this is not like that......this is something else....this is a bad magic that only means harm to Neverland and to the Pan."

"Bad magic?"

"My father says there is a man aboard the ship that is an evil sorcerer, a bad spirit who is using Hook for his own ends."

"The Necromancer." Wendy whispered, remembering the blasted landscape on the other side of the island.

"That is why we have built the palisade, to protect us, to keep this evil spirit away. My father works day and night, speaking to the spirits, asking their counsel on what to do for the best. He loses much sleep over this."

"Does he get any answers?"

"No.....only a feeling of hope that soon this soul-eater will be gone from our land, gone never to return."

"How will it be gone.....who will make it go?"

"That my father doesn't know."

For a while they sat in silence, the crackle of the flames the only sound. Banking the fire, Little Star lay down on a pallet by the wall, pulling furs over her, her eyes staring at the flicker of firelight on the tent wall. Wendy followed suit, making her bed amongst the furs already around her, her eyes also unfocused and staring into nothing, her thoughts chasing themselves until sleep overwhelmed her and she drifted off.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TinkerBell was searching for Peter, her wings carrying her over the silent white landscape that was her home and his. She and her fairy friends were all out searching the jungles and forests, their lights darting among the trees and rocks, checking all his known haunts and some he thought no-one knew about.

She had been summoned by the eldest Lost Boy, the call of the pan flute irresistible to her. The snow had stopped and she had flown straight to the tree, not stopping until she was perched near enough to the fireplace to warm up but not scorch her wings. The boys and the girl had all clustered around the fairy, questions fired at her until she clapped her hands over her ears, unconsciously copying Wendy's gestured as the children all talked at once. Briggs roared at them and they shut up, staring mutely at the eldest boy who told them to let him speak or feel his fist. Once TinkerBell was warm again she flew to the biggest boy and perched on his shoulder, listening intently as Briggs told her all he knew about Peter and Wendy and their whereabouts. It was little enough, but TinkerBell promised she would try and find them. Before she left, she had the girl fashion her a fur coat from scraps cut from one of the sleeping rugs, TinkerBell almost disappearing into the skin, only her toes, nose and wings peeping out.

Leaving the children she flew back to the fairy tree, finding all her fellow fairies clustered around the Queen to keep themselves and her warm. Once she had told them of her mission, the Queen told all her subjects to aid Tink in her quest, all of them dressing in their warmest coats before flying out of the tree and spreading out. Tink searched all the places she knew Peter loved, places he would want to show his Wendy, but they were all empty. She even searched Peter's first home, but apart from the evidence that he had been there earlier there was nothing to tell Tink where he'd gone. Frustrated she kicked at a branch and watched the snow fall off and plop on the ground. In the darkness she saw a blue light, away off in the distance. As quickly as she could, TinkerBell hid herself in the knot of a tree, dimming her light as low as she could to avoid being seen. From her hideyhole she saw the blue light approach, the one soon joined by others, the snow sprites keeping low as if searching for something on the ground. She heard their crystalline voices chatter as they passed the tree that hid her, their blue light casting a cold glow over the ground as they flew by. Eventually the light disappeared as the snow sprites wove between the dense trees and out of sight. TinkerBell breathed a sigh of relief and made to go on her way. As she flew towards the ground she saw something that made her pull up short. At the base of a tree she saw a shape covered in snow. Approaching cautiously, Tink fluttered over the shape, her curiosity piqued. It looked like there was something or someone under the snow. As she lowered herself to stand on the mound she caught the unmistakable whiff of sunshine and sea, faint because of the cold, but still recognisable.

Using her fairy magic she beat her wings very fast and caused some of the snow to melt, the water running away and exposing the tips of someone's fingers. The skin was grey and as cold as ice, the fingers stiff and unyielding as TinkerBell alighted on them and tried to move one.

Screaming her frustration, she floated up the mound until she figured she was at the head, the ice rapidly melting as she fanned her wings again, this time several sun-kissed curls appeared, damp and limp from the snow. Tink had found Peter for sure.

As quick as she could, Tink flew straight up the tree and popped out above the canopy, her call going out to any fairies nearby. Soon several lights appeared above the tree tops and flew towards her. When they arrived she led them to Peter and they all fanned their wings, melting the encasing snow and revealing the frozen body of Peter Pan slumped at the base of the tree. His skin was cold to the touch, his lips blue, his eyes closed. Tink and the others quickly showered the still body with fairy dust, turning it from grey to gold. Peter slowly floating away from the ground, his limp arms and legs hanging down as the fairies bore him up above the trees and flew him slowly back home, TinkerBell hoping against hope that the Lost Boys would be able to revive their frozen leader.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In the Captain's cabin aboard the Jolly Roger, the enchanter watched the scene played out over Neverland in a shallow dish of blood from his last unfortunate victim, his spell only lasting long enough to show him roughly where the fairies were taking the Pan before the vision faded. Snarling, he dashed the brass bowl to the floor, the blood splattering over the planking. Moving quickly to the map laid out on the table, he pulled a chain out from under his robes, the white crystal on the end shining dully in the faint candle light. Hanging the crystal over a small bowl he dipped it in, the crystal becoming coated in blood before being lifted out and suspended over the map. Almost at once it started to sway, the Necromancer's gaze watching avidly as the crystal bent on the chain and finally darted to a position on the map leaving a red dot to mark the spot. Snatching up the crystal the mage tucked it away once more before rolling up the map and turning to face the door of the cabin. He only had to wait a few seconds before the door opened and Captain Hook stood there expectantly.

"You called me?"

"I have the location of Peter Pan.....use this map, the place is marked. You will need to hurry. The snow will only last a few more hours....they will remain separated for as long as the snow persists. You must capture him before she returns to him again. If you do not and she gets there first, then you will have lost your chance to have him in your power."

"I will have what I want........what will you have?"

"The rest of the children.....they are to be mine to do with as I please...that was the deal, was it not?"

"That was the deal......" Hook repeated, his lip curling in disgust.

"Then go, and don't fail me.......Peter Pan will be yours if you do as I say......now go!"

Hook spun on his heel and left, the door shutting slowly behind him. With a satisfied sigh, the Necromancer collapsed into a chair, his body folding in on itself as he rested, his plans set in motion, needing only time and fate to work in his favour and bring about the destruction of Neverland.

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Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Eight - Heaven is a state of Mind.

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Wendy awoke to find the snow melting quickly in the morning sun. The clouds that had hidden its heat the previous day were gone, the sky clear and blue. The ground was quickly being churned into a bog by the passage of feet within the palisade, so she borrowed some old moccasins from Little Star as she helped shake out the bedding and prepare for the new day. Little Star also lent her a new dress, hers considered too thin for the still cool morning.

Wendy was impatient to get back to the Lost Boys and find out what had happened to Peter. Little Star had approached her father and a guide was arranged to take Wendy back to Peter's hideout. Wendy wanted to go right away but Little Star explained that it would take several hours to walk and Wendy needed something to eat before going. Fretting, Wendy choked down some flat bread and fruit before begging to be taken back to the underground. She couldn't explain why she needed to hurry, but a dread was starting to twist her stomach into knots and she needed to get back to the underground as soon as possible.

Little Star was sorry to see her go, but understood her need to hurry, the shaman also urging her to make haste, his dark eyes gleaming as he watched the slender girl leave the village with her Indian guide.

The sun was rapidly drying out the ground, making the trek easier as the morning wore on. The brave chosen to take her back was young and eager to please, his long legs covering the ground in easy strides, Wendy having to jog sometimes to keep up, the feeling inside her growing stronger the closer they came to Peter's hidden home. Despite their haste it was nearly midday when they approached the glade, the brave halting some distance away, the tree barely visible, still screened by thick vegetation. Wendy tried to go forward, but the brave waved her back, pointing to the ground, then to his eyes and ears. Wendy nodded, not at all sure why he suddenly wanted them to be cautious, but trusting his senses over her own if danger threatened. While she hid, the brave crept closer, low to the ground, his head turning all the time to search the undergrowth and listen for any signs of movement. After long, agonisingly fraught minutes, the brave waved Wendy forward. Together they stepped from the screening vegetation and Wendy ran to the tree. The brave was staring at the ground, crouching down to touch the disturbed leaf litter before calling Wendy over.

He pointed to the imprint of a shoe in the soft ground, the heel dug deep into the mud. None of the children wore shoes, neither did Peter or herself.

"Hook!" Announced the brave, looking up at Wendy with a frown.

"Hook?" Turning, Wendy ran to one of the hidden entrances, horrified to see the cleverly concealed door lying canted to one side, almost torn off its hinges, obviously battered from the outside. The brave came to stand beside her, his hand reaching out to detain her when she moved to go inside. Wendy shook him off and entered the underground, her feet dragging, dreading what she might find.

There was evidence of a struggle everywhere, furniture overturned, broken crockery, bedding furs strewn everywhere. Desperately, Wendy called each of the children's names, Peter's last of all, her breath catching in her throat as the room echoed each and every one back to her, unanswered.

Sobbing, she ran from room to room, checking every corner, but there was no-one there. The brave had been kicking at the stuff thrown on the floor when he gave a cry, pulling her back to the main room to find him pointing to the floor.

In the dirt, someone had scratched a message with the point of a knife. Wendy scrubbed at her eyes to clear them, then read the message out loud.

"Peter frozen, Hook, JR."

She read it too herself again, the brave looking at her expectantly.

"It must mean that Hook has them all, including Peter......JR must be the Jolly Roger..."

"Not long," the brave said haltingly, "not long," he pointed to the doorway, "Hook take Pan, not long.....one, two...ago."

"Are you saying that this happened only a little while ago?"

"Yes......Hook close."

"Then maybe we can still save them......but there's only two of us.....we can't take on all the pirates...."

"We follow.....watch Hook....get help..."

"Yes, but help from who?"

The brave stared back at her helplessly.

"We'll try and catch up with them....can you track them ?"

The brave nodded vigorously. Wendy darted to the dress up box and started to rummage, pulling out a shirt and breaches.

"Find me something I can use as a weapon, a sword, knife, anything......I'll only be a minute."

As the brave hunted through the debris, Wendy changed into the shirt, her finger shakily buttoning it up before donning the trousers, finding them a snug fit on the leg but needing some rope to hold them together around her slender waist.

As she plaited her hair, she swung around and walked to the table which the brave had righted. He was hurriedly placing all the weapons he could find on its surface.

"What's your name?" She asked, picking up a dagger and pushing it into the rope belt.

"Tepa."

"Tepa?"

"After moon at birth," Tepa drew the shape of a half moon in the dirt.

Wendy slotted a long sword into her belt then another before turning to leave. Tepa chose several knives and a bow and quiver before loping after her. Outside, he scanned the ground before setting off at a run, Wendy close behind him.

They hadn't gone far when Tepa held up his fist for Wendy to remain silent before darting off the well trodden track and into the undergrowth at the side.

Shadowing the path, they crept forward, careful not to step on any twigs. Soon they heard voices and saw movement up ahead.

"Bloody hell, you were supposed to be watching the brat, how could she escape you all!" Hook's angry voice sounded very close and Wendy ducked behind a tree, Tepa crouched behind the next tree on, his hand reaching for his knife as Wendy drew her sword.

"I don't know Capt'n. She was trussed up with t'others. She must have got loose....she won't have got far, I can go after 'er."

"No......we don't have time....we have to get back to the ship. We've wasted enough time on these scurvy brats.....lets get moving."

Wendy saw the men move off down the track, Tepa gesturing for her to follow him as they continued their secretive surveillance. Wendy assumed it was Bane they were talking about having escaped and she was glad the girl had got away. Hook and the crewman had returned to the main body of the raiding party, Wendy able to see the gagged and bound figures of Briggs and Topper standing in the centre of a circle of pirates. She couldn't see Twig or the littlies but assumed they were there too. She strained to see any sign of Peter but had to duck down when one of the pirates looked her way briefly. Tepa signalled for her to join him at his tree, his face grim.

"You want I kill pirates?"

"If we do that, they'll come looking for us, and there's too many."

"What we do?"

"We'll follow them to the beach, I can't see Peter...we have to free all of them..."

"What about the one they say escaped?"

"Bane....we can only hope she's safe. She'll probably go back to the underground, or maybe even to your village."

The pirates were moving again and Wendy and Tepa followed. After an hour the trees thinned and their cover started to become sparse as they approached the coast.

"Get them into the boats......don't dawdle you scum!" Hook's command rang out, his crew calling out their relief at sighting the sea again.

"We have to attack now!" Tepa hissed, notching an arrow to his bow.

"Alright....take out as many as you can.....I'll circle around and try and free the boys...don't get caught yourself!"

Dodging from tree to tree, Wendy reached the edge of the forest and stood looking out over the beach, two boats drawn up half out of the water. Hook was standing staring out at sea with his back towards her, two men guarding the boats, his crew only just starting to appear from the jungle behind him.

To her right a shout and the twang of an arrow finding its target split the air, the pirates shouting and calling to each other as another arrow found it's victim. Pandemonium ensued. Hook immediately turned and started to march back up the beach. From her position crouched by the tree she could see the huddle of Lost Boys in front of where Hook had been standing. Darting forward, Wendy threw herself on the sand and started to saw at the ropes holding them. Briggs was free first and grabbed a sword from Wendy's belt, turning at once to fend off one of the pirates from the boats who approached up the beach, yelling curses. While Briggs fought the man, Topper grabbed the second sword, turning to defend their flank while Wendy frantically freed Twig and the others. Pushing Pip and Pebble behind her, Wendy pulled out her long knife and prepared to defend them. Backing away slowly, she faced the beach, her back to the forest, the Littlies crowded behind her.

"Look out Wendy!" Twigs warning gave her only a seconds warning, her blade coming up to block the downward swing of the man behind her, Twig instantly leaping on his back, Pip and Pebble grabbing his shirt and pants to trip him up. As he fell, Wendy grabbed his dropped sword giving her a weapon in each hand. By now the beach was filling up with pirates, Hook striding towards her, his face twisted with fury.

Briggs and Topper ran to her side, breathing heavily, their foes stretched out on the sand in their wake.

"Give it up.......you're surrounded!" Hook yelled, a cry behind him coming from a man dropping from another arrow shot by Tepa.

"Get behind me, all of you....Briggs get Twig and the others to safety, I'll hold them off!"

"You can't hold this lot off......for God's sake, there's too many!"

"Don't argue Briggs.....get them away.....you'll only have seconds...."

Hook was advancing, his sword at the ready, eyeing Wendy appreciatively.

"My, my.....haven't we grown some.....I can see why dear Peter was so enamoured....now let's be sensible...you can't hope to survive against all of my men......surrender my dear....you'll only make it harder for yourselves......"

"Never......."

Another figure joined the beleaguered Lost Boys, Tepa emerging out of the trees, his long knife held at the ready. Hook saw the Indian brave and smiled grimly.

"So you are to blame for the loss of my men......you'll pay for that, heathen dog....."

"Hoka hey!" Tepa spat, his teeth bared in a grin.

"Whatever you say savage......take them men!"

One her left, Wendy saw Briggs step forward, Toppers sword held in his other hand. As the pirates advanced, Wendy, Briggs and Tepa held their ground. Behind their protective wall, Topper ran with the younger children, darting into the woods to be quickly swallowed up in the shadows.

Hook saw them leave and cursed. A couple of pirates made to follow but Hook waved them back.

"Leave the accursed brats......we have more than enough in front of us......I want these three alive, men......have at thee!"

At his cry he swung at Wendy, finding her sword blocking his, her dagger jabbing at his face, making him jibe back to avoid losing an eye. Beside her Briggs and Tepa fought the circling pirates, the three making a back to back triangle of bristling weapons, the pirates keeping well back, looking for a weakness.

One came too close and Briggs spitted him on one of his sword, the slight delay in freeing his blade enough to allow another to lash out and catch the youth across his upper arm, Briggs crying out as blood spurted. Tepa had launched himself at another man, the two grappling fiercely for possession of the knife, a blow to the back of the Indian boys head rendering him unconscious, the man he'd been fighting kicking the boy as he lay insensible on the sand.

Wendy found herself facing Hook alone, the other pirates waved back as she circled and feinted with the Captain, her breath hissing through her teeth as she parried and swung, his hook and sword blocking every attempt to slip under his guard.

She over-reached on one lunge and felt the blade wrenched out of her hands, Hook expertly flinging the blade to fall in the sand, leaving her only with her dagger.

"A brave fight, dear Wendy.....but you have lost.....concede and you will be treated honourably."

"You know nothing of honour.....you're a pirate!"

Throwing herself forward, Wendy made to plunge the knife in Hook's chest but instead found that he had discarded his sword and used his good hand to grab her wrist, twisting her arm around and up behind her back, his other arm coming around her neck as she found herself suddenly with her back against his embroidered frock coat, his hook poised against her jugular as she struggled to free herself.

"Your cause if lost......you are now......my prisoner!"

"NO......" Looking down, Wendy saw Tepa laid out on the sand, a pirate binding his arms behind his back. To the side sat Briggs, his face pale as he clutched his arm, blood still flowing freely, his eyes dull with pain.

"Bind the boys wound, I don't want him dead yet......."

Hook continued to hold Wendy's arm twisted behind her back, the knife still held in her hand. With a savage jerk, he pulled her arm higher, making her drop the knife and cry out, arching against him in an effort to relieve the pressure on her arm. Withdrawing his arm from around her throat, Hook pushed her away, into the arms of a crewman, who imprisoned her arms, laughing as she tried to free herself.

"Secure the wench....make sure she can't get away like the other one did. To the boats men.......hurry, time is pressing."

Wendy helplessly watched as Briggs and Tepa were loaded into one of the boats, the crew pushing the craft into the surf before rowing strongly for the Jolly Roger moored in the bay. Wendy had her hands bound behind her and was pushed roughly forward, nearly falling at Hook's feet as she lost her balance. Putting out his arm, Hook caught her, steadying her before spinning her around and grabbing hold of her upper arm and dragging her towards the second boat.

"Come m'dear.....there's someone I want you to see....."

With a shove, he pushed Wendy against the side of the boat.

"If you were thinking that your Peter Pan was about to fly to your rescue, think again.....he is of no use to you now."

In the bilge lay a still figure, the body curled in on itself, the legs drawn up in a foetal position.

"What have you done to him!" Wendy cried out, staring back at Hook, only to see him smile.

"Why nothing at all........it would appear the ice sprites were too enthusiastic in their carrying out of the Necromancer's orders and froze the dear boy to death. Such a shame....I was looking forward to taking my revenge on him.....now it's too late."

"No......no.....Peter!"

Wendy stared down at the still body, his face grey, fingers and lips quite blue. Only his hair retained its natural colour, the slight sea breeze ruffling the curls in a ghastly parody of animation.

Wendy stared down at Peter's frozen body, tears welling and spilling over her lashes, her body slumping against the side of the boat still in Hook's grip.

The other crewmen clambered into the boat, waiting for Hook to climb aboard. Impatiently he dragged Wendy along the side of the boat, handing her over to his men who lifted her onto a bench where she huddled, her eyes still fixed on the still figure a few feet away. Hook sat in the prow as the boat was rowed to his ship, the first boat already emptied of its captives and crew. The small craft was quickly brought to the hull of the Jolly Roger, Wendy manhandled to the deck and Peter's body hefted over the rail and left to lie against a coil of rope. As soon as they stepped away from Peter, Wendy threw herself on him, bursting into noisy sobs, the crew backing away to give her room. Hook climbed over the railing and stood for a long moment while his crew shuffled nervously. Briggs and Tepa had been taken to the hold, helpless to aid either of their friends.

With her hands tied behind her back, she could only lay her face against Peter's frozen cheek, her tears soaking his hair as she whispered his name.

Hook gestured to a crewman and Wendy was hauled to her feet, crying out piteously for Peter. Hook stepped forward and stared down at the body on the deck, his lips twisting in a bitter smile.

"Have them both taken to the chartroom......secure the girl and let her mourn the passing of Peter Pan."

Turning his back he waited until Wendy was taken forward and shut in the forecastle with Peter's body, then he ordered the anchor raised and the ship out to sea, his stomach roiling with the ashes of defeat, Peter Pan having cheated Hook of his revenge.

As he stood on the poopdeck watching his crew ready the ship, he felt the call of the Necromancer, his mind resisting the black chill for a few seconds before his feet started to move him towards the stairs and down to his former cabin. The door swung open on silent hinges and he found himself facing the dark shadow.

"You have what you want.....now give me the children."

"There are only two....the rest escaped."

"Only two?......surely there are three aboard.....three plus your much sought after Pan....am I not right?"

"There are only two that you are having.....the girl and the Pan are mine."

"Rebellion at this late stage is rather futile Captain Hook.....and tell me......why is she special to you?"

"She isn't special....she's just a girl.....but I can use her...."

"Yes......I expect you can.......but my need is greater....bring her to me......I have need of another victim to weave my next enchantment."

"No."

"No? You will do as I say........or perhaps you offer yourself in her place?"

"Use one of the others....our deal is finished, I wanted Peter Pan, but your sprites froze him into a block of ice, now I cannot take my revenge on him.....so our deal if void. "

The Necromancer hissed loudly, his face invisible within his cowl, his robes moving as if whipped by a strong wind as he approached the door. Hook stood unflinching, his lips curled in a sneer as the ghostly apparition drifted to within a foot of the door.

"I will forgive this transgression, but only this once Hook....bring me the girl or your ship and your men will be the victims of my next display of power."

For a long minute Hook glared at the darkness mere inches from him, the cowl too dark to discern the features of the abomination, his own face white and strained as he faced down the sorcerer. To his surprise it was the Necromancer who backed down first, the creature swirling away and retreating to his shadows. Hook released a long held breath as he turned on his heel and left his cabin, the door shutting slowly behind him. As the door snicked shut, Hook slumped as if held by strings, his shoulders hitting the wall as he panted shallowly, the strain of fighting the sorcerers power draining his strength. His bargain with the creature had been a mistake, one which he felt he was about to pay dearly for.

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Wendy stroked the blond curls away from his face, her fingers brushing his icy skin as tears trickled down her own face in ceaseless streams.

"Why Peter....you said this was my heaven.....how can it have become my hell.....why is this happening?"

Leaning down she kissed his cold forehead, her lips lingering against his skin, a tear dripping off her chin to land on his eyelid. She had been secured by a steel hobble and long chain, after she'd begged to have her hands freed. Her tearful face and obvious grief had moved the pirates charged with her imprisonment and they agreed to release her hands but hobble her instead, locking her in the small chart room with Peter's body. As soon as they left she went to him and gathered him awkwardly into her arms, his body stiff and unyielding against her softness.

"Oh Peter..why is this happening......why did you leave me.....why did you go outside......why?"

Inconsolable, Wendy rocked Peter in her arms.

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Hook stood on the deck looking out to sea, his forget-me-not blue eyes staring at the stormy waves, the sky darkening over his head.

He hadn't given the girl to the mage, his thoughts for the moment his own. That Peter Pan was dead gave Hook no comfort, he'd expected to feel exhilaration that his enemy of so many years was vanquished, but instead he felt only emptiness, as if his purpose in life had been removed. He had briefly looked in on the girl, his heart, usually stony and unmoved by pity, felt something stir at the sight of her rocking the frozen corpse in her arms, her long hair creating a curtain as she bent to kiss the dead boys face. Unaccountably, Hook felt grief as well, and this he couldn't reconcile with his usual feelings towards his nemesis.

He felt for the first time that he had made a huge mistake, and he wanted almost desperately to turn the clock back. Regret came to James Hook, swamping him and making him see recent events in quite a different light. Turning away from the depressing view of the turbulent sea, Hook descended the stairs and marched to the forecastle.

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Wendy didn't look up when Hook entered the room, her eyes remaining shut even when the Captain pulled over a chair and sat down.

"Why are you here, Wendy Darling?"

"What?"

"I asked, why are you here....its been years, obviously you've grown up, so why are you here......in Neverland?"

"Because I died."

"What?" This time its was Hooks turn to be surprised.

"Because I died, and this was supposed to be my heaven....but its not...."

"Heaven......Neverland?"

"Peter said that....I created Neverland.....with my stories, I created my own heaven.....that it was waiting here, he was waiting here for me when I died....."

"But how can you.......never mind......how can you believe this is your heaven?.....That's supposed to be angels and harps and all that twaddle."

"This was heaven......until the snow came......Peter and I.....we...it was everything I wanted...everything I hoped for...."

Hook stared at the girl's head as she bent once more over Peter's body.

"How do you know you're dead?"

"I caught influenza from my dear friend Emily, she's dead now too...I wonder where she is?.....Peter came to me, he got me out of bed.....when I looked back I could see myself still in bed....then my mother came in.....she didn't see me, or Peter....I was already dead...."

"But you look as real.....as real......" Hook gestured to himself, "as me..."

"You're a ghost......a memory of someone sent here, we're all ghosts...the pirates, the Lost Boys....even the Indians I suppose....all long dead......."

"You're mad...I'm not a ghost.....I'm not......I eat, sleep, bleed....ghosts don't bleed."

Wendy lifted her head, her eyes red with crying. She stared at Hook scornfully, as if he was beneath her notice. "Heaven can be whatever you want it to be.......this was my heaven.....not yours....maybe this is your hell, James Hook.....have you ever thought of that?"

Stunned, Hook opened his mouth to refute her, the chair falling to the floor behind him as he leap to his feet.

"Hell!!....Yes this is a living hell......to have that brat taunting me, fighting me........losing my hand to that infernal beast....forever circling this accursed island....!" Hook abruptly stopped his rant, his words echoing in his head. "Forever circling this island!"

In horror, he stared wide eyed at Wendy as she crouched on the floor. "This is hell.....my hell.....and now, thanks to me, it has become everybody's....."

White faced, Hook kicked the chair out of the way before pacing over to the small window facing out the port side, the light outside painting shadows over his harsh features.

"I thought I would be given the power to break my bonds and leave this place.......I've been here so many years.....I've forgotten more than I can remember....it's been so long."

Swinging around, he came over to where Wendy huddled over Peter's body. Crouching down, he jerked the chain before fishing in his pocket for the key to release the hobbles. Wendy stared at him as he loosened the manacles and tossed them to the corner of the room.

"What are you doing?"

"Freeing you of course........there's a creature in my cabin that we have to dispose of......he caused this," Hook pointed to Peter, "but I think he may be able to reverse it."

Wendy stared at Hook then started to laugh, the sound jarring and hysterical. "What, the great and menacing James Hook wants help to get rid of.....what is that thing that wants to destroy Neverland?"

"The Necromancer.....he's a magister, uses the souls of the dead to give him access to dark magic."

"Is that how he blasted the other side of the island?"

"Yes...and produced the snow, and the ice-sprites."

"How do you propose we get rid of him?"

"He said something......I didn't realise its significance before...he didn't want you to get back to Peter before I did....he seemed to think that both of you together would be able to defeat me, as ludicrous as that sounds."

"How would Peter and I together.......unless....there's a way I can reverse what's been happening.....put right what's gone wrong......"

Hook watched Wendy as she absently stroked Peter's hair again, her eyes staring blankly as she retreated into her thoughts.

"Peter said this was my heaven....created by me, peopled by the characters in my stories....those characters inhabited by real spirits of people who died.......that I was reborn, and like me they were given another chance" Wendy suddenly swung her blue eyes to Hook's, "he said I could shape it, change it.....sweep it away......"

"That's alot of power for one little girl......"

"I'm not a little girl......but I've forgotten......."

"Forgotten?" Hook queried, watching her expressive face intently.

"I've forgotten how to be a little girl....that was what Peter was trying to tell me......to leave my old life behind and believe in my new life.....I know what to do!"

Her lips set in a thin line, Wendy looked down at the frozen body across her lap, her hands almost numb with holding his icy limbs.

"I just have to believe..." She whispered. "I have to believe.."

Scrubbing the tears from her face, she drew Peter's body up until his head was next to her heart, her arms holding him close.

"I do believe in you Peter......I do..I do....I believe in you.....I do.....I do...." Hook had to strain to hear her voice, her mantra repeated over and over as she rocked the boy in her arms, Hook's lips moving almost imperceptibly as he echoed her words. In the gloom of the cabin a stray beam of sunshine found its way across the floor and illuminated Wendy as she sat on the rough planking, her face lifting to the warmth of the sunlight, turning her closed eyes towards the light while still whispering the words. Hook stood in shadow, his eyes fixed on the girl and her grisly companion, his heart beating rapidly as he watched and listened.

As Wendy continued her chant the sunbeam widened, encompassing not just her but Peter as well. By contrast Hook saw the rest of the shadows deepen, as it all the light was concentrated on the girl and boy in the centre of the room. As the seconds passed he saw the sunlight start to swirl, tiny white specks floating in the light, circling Wendy's head like miniature stars, her face still uplifted, her eyes still closed. It got so bright that he had to lift his hand to shield his eyes, his head turned away from the scene as the beam of light intensified, Wendy and Peter rimmed with gold, the bright specks dancing in the air above and around them like sparks above a bonfire. Eventually the light became too bright for him to look at all, his head turned away completely, his arms covering his face as Wendy's voice, a mere thread of sound, continued its chant unwaveringly.

All of a sudden the light was gone and Hook blinked rapidly to dispel the spots in front of his eyes. As he readjusted to the gloom of the chart room, he saw that Wendy was still sitting on the floor, Peter still clasped in her arms. Tentatively he stepped forward only to inhale sharply and freeze.

Wendy sat with her head bowed, her hair cloaking her shoulders, her eyes still closed, her voice silent. In her arms Peter lay as before, but now his arms and legs were relaxed and their normal colour of honey gold, not the ghastly blue-grey of before. His head was still cradled in Wendy's arms, but his face was no longer frozen, his skin once more sun-kissed and healthy. Almost fearfully, Hook crouched down and reached out to touch Peter's hand where it lay on the wooden floor, his fingers curled into the palm as if he was only asleep. As Hook touched the palm, he jumped in fright when the lax hand twitched, the fingers flexing as its owner stirred.

As if awakening from a deep sleep, Peter opened his eyes and blinked up at Wendy, his lips parting on a breath as his lungs filled, his first word, her name, leaving his mouth on a sigh.

Wendy heard her name and looked down at the young man in her arms, his tousled head nestled against her breast, his body relaxed and boneless in her lap.

"Peter......oh Peter....."

Hook slowly backed away, his throat working as he tried to rationalise what he'd just witnessed, his mind presenting and discarding a number of theories to explain how Peter Pan had been brought back from oblivion by a slip of a girl.

Wendy stroked Peter's hair back from his forehead, her lips curved in a smile of smug satisfaction, an expression that Peter recognised as one of his own. He grinned back at her, not understanding why she was smiling at him, just glad that she was.

"Wendy?"

"Yes Peter..?"

"Where are we.....and why am I lying on the floor?"

"We're onboard the Jolly Roger.....and I just brought you back from the dead!"

Looking up at her quizzically, Peter smirked and let his eyes half close, his bright gaze full of mischief. "Oh the cleverness of you......how long was I dead?"

"Too long....you were frozen by the ice-sprites.....the Necromancer had sent them.....you and the Lost Boys were all captured by Hook.....then I tried to rescue you...and I got caught as well, along with Briggs and Tepa......now we're here aboard ship.....and I should mention that Hook is in here with us."

For a second Peter didn't react, then his eyes blazed and he pushed himself upright, his eyes searching for Hook who had retreated once more to stand in the shadows. Peter stood, with Wendy's help and they faced the pirate Captain side by side.

"Don't glare at me boy......I mean neither you nor Wendy any harm.....I've called a truce so that we can fight a common enemy." Pushing away from the wall, Hook stook a step forward, his face no longer in shadow.

"A truce....what's he talking about Wendy?" Peter turned his head briefly to question the girl standing beside him, his eyes flicking back to his foe, strength starting to flow back into his limbs.

"Peter....he thinks that together we can defeat the Necromancer..... that we can reverse what's happened and send this...this creature back where it came from."

"Do you believe him ?" Peter asked her.

"I believe that we are stronger together than apart....and it seems this Necromancer believes it too."

"If what I've seen in this room is any indication.....I'd say you can do whatever you want.....after all, this is your heaven...if what you say is to be believed." Hook interjected, his arms folded over his chest.

Peter turned his attention back to Wendy. "But do you believe it ?"

"I do Peter......what you said is true.....this is my world....my heaven.....and I won't let this Necromancer destroy what I've created....or the people who are a part of it." She glanced at Hook. "Even the less savoury of my creations..."

"Then lets go and send this think back to wherever it sprung from..." Peter announced, reaching for and taking her hand, his eyes alight with life and enthusiasm for the battle ahead.

"Oh Peter....it is good to have you back....."

"Well as touching as this reunion is.......I think we need to make a plan.....unless you are just going to march right in there and tell him to go.....he might listen, I suppose.....but its more likely he'll blast you to kingdom come!"

Peter and Wendy, still holding hands, turned to face Hook.

"You had something else in mind?" Wendy asked, her eyebrow raised.

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Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Nine - magic

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When Topper finally returned to the underground there was a reception committee waiting for him. He was carrying Pip, the child's fair head pressed into the side of his neck as he staggered through the broken door and down the passageway. Twig carried Pebble piggy-back, the boy wearily dropping the youngster to the floor before shuffling after Topper down the dirt steps. At the bottom archway Twig bumped into the back of the older boy, the younger yelping and rubbing his bruised nose as he peered around Topper's back. The room appeared filled with Indian's, in the centre stood the shaman, Laughing Tree, his hand resting on the shoulder of the girl beside him.

"Bane!" Twig blurted the girls name, pleased that she'd made it back alive and well, but alarmed at all the stern faces crowding their home.

Bane came forward and took the youngest from Topper's arms, the older boy still gaping at the Indians. Pebble came up behind Twig, his hand clutching at Twig's belt as he stared around the room.

"What do you want?" Topper asked, drawing himself up, wishing desperately that Briggs was the one facing the shaman.

"Where is the Pan......and Wendy?"

"They've been taken aboard the Jolly Roger, along with Briggs and an Indian boy."

"They are alive?"

"Briggs was wounded, the boy was knocked out.....Wendy was fine, I think.....but Peter....." Topper swallowed, still coming to terms with the horror of Peter's frozen corpse. "Peter......is dead."

Pip and Pebble both started to sniffle, Bane rocking the youngest on her lap as she sat on one of the beds. Twig was having a hard time keeping his own tears at bay, his lips pressed together in a thin line to hold back his grief. To their surprise, the shaman smiled.

"He is not dead.....he will return......"

"You don't understand...." Topper shouted, "He's frozen solid.....he can't be alive after being frozen!" Quickly he dashed a grubby hand over his face, wiping away the moisture threatening to unman him in front of all the adults. Behind him Twig gave up the battle to keep the tears from spilling over, his dirty face crumpling as he turned his head away. Pip and Pebble started to howl, the braves looking at each other in consternation as the children gave into their grief and fear and tiredness, their emotions tightly wound after their capture and escape. Topper just stood there, staring at the shaman mutely, until the man stepped forward and gathered the boy against his chest, patting his shoulder as Topper sobbed into his vest.

After a few minutes, Laughing tree raised his hand and shushed the children, Topper pulling away hurriedly, his hands scrubbing furiously at his face.

"You have been very brave and courageous, but now I need you to tell me everything you saw and heard."

Slowly, Topper told the shaman everything from the time the fairies had arrived with Peter's body, to the raid by the pirates and their capture of the children, finishing with the battle on the beach and the children watching the boats return to the Jolly Roger.

"We watched until it rounded the headland then we came home."

Laughing Tree patted the boy on the shoulder again before turning to the listening braves. As the men held a brief pow-wow, Topper shuffled over to where Bane sat on the bed, Pip in her arms, Twig and Pebble clutching her from behind and beside. Topper dropped to the ground at her feet, his knees coming up and his head resting on his crossed arms. Bane reached out a hand and rested it on the his head in comfort.

"You did everything you could Top, you had to follow orders....there was nothing else you could do." Twig offered.

"I could have stayed and fought..."

"Then we all would be prisoners on the Jolly Roger....." said Bane.

She lapsed into silence, staring off into space, her hand coming up to stroke Pip's blond curls absently.

The braves started to leave, the shaman coming over to the children.

"We are going to find out where the ship has gone, you can stay here or come with us."

"We'll come with you," Bane answered quickly. The shaman nodded and several braves came over and took the younger children, carrying the littlies on their shoulders, Twig piggy back on one brave. Topper and Bane followed them out of the underground and into the sunshine outside. Laughing Tree pointed to the sun.

"See....that tells you that the Pan is not dead.....the Wendy will make everything right.....but she will need help.....so follow close and if you get tired, speak up....one of the braves will carry you."

Topper exchanged a look with Bane before squaring his shoulders and facing the shaman.

"We won't need to be carried.....we'll keep up."

"Good....."

Without looking back, the party of braves and children set off into the forest, heading for the coast.

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Hook had left them only moments before, closing the chart room door behind him, but not locking it. They had talked only briefly over Hook's plan, surprise of the essence if they were to keep the Necromancer from finding out anything in advance.

As soon as the door snicked shut, Wendy threw herself at Peter, her hands clutching him to her as she covered his face with kisses, his name gasped out with each pause in the assault. After a seconds hesitation Peter returned her embrace with interest, his arms holding her in a vice-like grip as they tousled, his lips finding hers in a searing kiss that left them both panting and shaking.

"Don't ever leave me like that again.....I couldn't bear it," Wendy panted, pulling his head down again for another kiss, as Peter's hands roamed over her back, plastering her to him.

Releasing her mouth, Peter rested his forehead against hers for a second, his eyes sparkling as he licked his bottom lip.

"I didn't plan on leaving you this time.....I didn't see them until it was too late...." He shivered in remembrance of the deep cold that froze his blood, the blue lights dancing around his darkening sight. Wendy felt the slight movement and hugged him to her, her hands splayed over his back as she pressed her cheek to his chest, the sound of his heartbeat loud against her ear.

Wrapped around each other, they stood there in the darkened cabin, the tumult in their bodies slowing down, their hearts beating in rhythm as their breathing calmed.

A light tap at the door make them spring apart, Peter putting himself between Wendy and the cabin door. Hook entered seconds later, the door half open as he surveyed the couple in the center of the room.

"Right.......here, put these on.....you're tall enough to pass for me if you swagger and keep the hat on....it'll get you as far as the hold. The crew are all busy with the ship and I've informed the bosun of our plan, so he won't stop you. Get your two out of the brig and I'll meet you outside my cabin."

He held out the shackles to Wendy. "You'll need to just slip these on and make them visible, so nobody queries why I'm taking you to the hold."

Peter shrugged on one of Hook's ornate coats, a close colour to the one Hook was wearing. The sleeves almost covered his fingertips, over his dark trousers it reached to his knees. Hook held out a pair of boots and Peter slipped them on, finding them a little big. The hat was last, its broad brim hiding most of Peter's bright hair, almost meeting the collar of the coat. Hook was broader in the shoulder than Peter but they were much of a height and Wendy stared as Peter struck a pose, his chest puffed out, his head thrown back, one hand on his hip. Hook also stared, a little unnerved to find his former enemy so much like him in his own clothes. Peter only grinned saucily and stepped back to sweep Hook an expansive bow, the hat brushing the floor boards as Peter bent low. Wendy slipped the shackles over her wrists, half closing the clasp so that they wouldn't fall off.

"You'll pass muster...but not a close inspection....don't dawdle, get to the hold as quickly as possible."

Pulling open the door, Hook peered out then stood back to allow Peter to slip through with Wendy behind him. He watched as Peter strutted across the deck, a smile curling his saturnine features as he recognised his own swaggering walk, so ably mimicked by the boy. Wendy kept her head down, as expected of a captive and Hook watched them reach the hatch leading to the hold then disappear into the belly of the ship.

As he closed the door, he felt the first tickle of a summons from the Necromancer. Gritting his teeth, he fought the urge to go for as long as he could before he submitted and allowed his feet to carry him out of the room and across the deck towards his cabin.

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Once out of sight of the crew, Peter and Wendy hurried down the steps and long the corridor towards the hatch leading into the bowels of the ship and the brig. While Wendy kept look-out on the ladder, Peter descended into the gloom, a single lantern swinging from a beam shedding its feeble light into the barred room set against the hull of the ship. Briggs was sitting on the floor, his back to the planking, his eyes closed. Tepa was laying on the filthy floor beside him, also apparently asleep. Peter unhooked the metal ring holding the key to the lock and quickly used it, the door swinging open with a screech of unoiled hinges. Briggs jerked awake and peered blearily up at the doorway. His eyes blinked at Peter, only seeing the coat and not the wearer, defiantly he sneered at Peter, thinking him Hook.

"What have you done with her, you blackguard...you'd better not have hurt her....Peter will have your hide!"

"Brave words from a boy half dead from blood loss!"

Briggs jerked again, his eyes opening wide as Peter crouched in front of him, the faint light from the lantern highlighting Peter's fair hair as he swept the hat from his head.

"Peter? But we thought you were dead?"

"I was......now I'm back....can you walk Briggs?"

"That's about all I can do, my arms useless."

"What about the brave?"

"He took quite a blow to the head.....hasn't been conscious since...."

On cue, Tepa slowly raised his head, squinting up at Peter, his hand coming up to cup the back of his head.

"Hurts...." he announced thickly.

"Not surprised," said Briggs, "the blow you took would have felled a bear."

"Can you walk?" Peter asked, peering at the Indian youth.

"I walk..." groggily Tepa scrambled to his feet, swaying and reaching out an arm to brace himself against the hull as Peter helped Briggs to his feet.

Peter lead them out of the cell and towards the ladder leading to the upper deck. Wendy sat crouched at the top, she looked down as Peter started to climb, the two boys behind him.

"Are they alright?"

"As well as can be...." At the top of the ladder, Peter turned and handed Briggs through the opening, the boy's face a ghastly white in the ill-lit corridor. Tepa was more mobile, but he winced, his teeth gritted as he climbed out of the hole, his head still causing him pain. Wendy had moved to the end of the corridor to keep watch on the steps leading to the deck.

"We have to get to Hook's cabin." Peter told the two boys, signalling for them to be quiet as he led the way towards the back of the ship, past the gun deck and mess room, the hammocks tied up against the low beams, swinging with the movement of the ship as they passed. The ship suddenly lurched as she hit a wave, the boom of the water hitting the hull sounding loud below the water line. Finally they reached the end of the long room unchallenged, the crew fully occupied with the rigging above decks.

They had reached the passageway leading to the Captains cabin. The ship was making heavy weather, having reached the windward side of the island, the waves slapping noisily against the planking as the ship dipped and rose through the troughs. Peter called a halt at the bottom of the stairwell leading to the upper deck, the door to the cabin only a few feet away.

"We have to face this creature.....this Necromancer.....there's no sign of Hook so we have to suppose he's already inside. Wendy and I are going in..." Peter held up his hand when Briggs immediately protested. "The creature thinks I'm dead and doesn't know that Wendy is aboard....together we're going to send this being back to wherever it came from."

"You're mad!"

"Briggs there's things here you don't understand....all I ask is that you both stay out of sight...here, get in this space behind the stairs...." Peter pulled and pushed the two boys into the shadows of the stairs, Tepa slumping to the ground, his hand to his head. Briggs still protesting even as Peter grinned at him and turned to go.

As they turned to face the door, they heard a sound that made the hair stand up on the back of their necks. The sound started to rise, the wail becoming a scream.

"We have to do this now Peter....." Wendy grasped Peter's hand and they ran to the cabin door, Peter slamming his shoulder against it, swinging it open so hard it bounced against the jam, the sound barely audible above the scream echoing around the room.

"STOP!" Wendy shouted, running forward only to be jerked back by Peter's grip on her hand. The figure in the centre of the room twisted around, his claw like hands still upraised. With a hiss the Necromancer swept his hand down and the body suspended in the air fell with a thud to the floor.

The air was filled with the smell of smoke and singed hair, the gloom only faintly lifted by half a dozen smoking candles dotted around. In the centre of the room stood an ornate metal brazier, the coals smoking and sizzling, dark strands of hair igniting and sending more pungent smoke into the atmosphere, stinging Peter and Wendy's eyes and making them cough. The Necromancer seemed to be floating above the cabin floor, his swirling garments like dark tendrils of seaweed reaching out around his form, stretching and retreating like the tentacles of an squid.

"So you are not dead......and you are no ordinary girl......he lied to me!"

The Necromancer turned his head to stare at the body on the floor, Peter and Wendy seeing the crumpled form of James Hook, the harsh sound of his breathing the only indication the man was still alive. The ship lurched into another wave and Wendy staggered. In a flash the Necromancer reached out to her, his arm outstretched. With a snarl Peter took a step forward and lashed out with his knife, the Necromancer snatching his hand back as the blade flashed past the end of his bony hand. Hissing the creature rose into the air, seeming to grow and spread until he encompassed all the space above them.

Wendy tugged at Peter's hand and he allowed her to step forward.

"You do not belong here.....you are not part of my world.....my heaven....I want you gone!"

The creature made a sound, something between a growl and a cough.

"You cannot banish me.......I will destroy this place, I will destroy you....once I have all the souls of the dead here I will use their power to break through to the real world where I can reap my fill of the living!"

"NO!" Bracing herself against the heaving deck, Wendy closed her eyes and drew on the memory of the power she'd felt in the chart room. Peter moved closer to her, standing behind her, his arms coming around her shoulders to lay across her collar bone. Wendy raised her hands so they lay hooked over his forearms, their bodies melded together her back to his front, touching from neck to thigh, inseparable, unbreakable. The Necromancer hissed again, but this time started to draw back as light appeared to be drawn in from outside the cabin, as if the sun was shining through the upper decks, chinks of lights finding a way through the tightly closed shutters like creeping flames.

Wendy was chanting, Peter's also, their bodies rimmed in light, Wendy's head thrown back to rest against Peter's shoulder.

"You don't belong....you will be gone...you don't belong....you will be gone....."

The light grew stronger, each plank in the floor and walls outlined with bright, white light as if the room was surrounded by the sun, every crack and chink letting more in as Wendy continued with her own spell. The Necromancer was darting about the room, looking for a shadow to hide in but the room was rapidly filling with light, all the shadows gone leaving only the black stain of the Necromancer, his rags starting to smoke as his form became smaller, shrinking before the brightness, his arms flailing as he screamed, twisting and turning in a vain attempt to shield his head from the strengthening light.

Wendy's voice had dropped to a whisper, "You don't belong...you will be gone..." as the Necromancer's dark shape folded in on itself and appeared to be sucked out of the room, his final shriek lingering as the light abruptly disappeared leaving the room once more in darkness, the candles guttering in their holders.

Wendy stood within the protective circle of Peter's arms, his heart beating strongly against her back, his skin smooth and warm under her fingers tips.

"I did it......we did it......he's gone," she whispered, blinking, a trickle of sweat snaking its way down her temple. Peter slowly loosened his hold, his hands resting on her shoulders as he turned her to face him.

"Yes, you did it....you've claimed your world....this is truly now your heaven, Wendy Darling...."

"Oh Peter....." Sighing, Wendy leant forward and nestled against his chest, his arms once more wrapping her in his strong embrace.

A moan from the floor reminded them that Hook was still alive, if not entirely in one piece. From outside the cabin shouts could be heard as the crew of the Jolly Roger started to make their way down the passageway to the Captains Cabin. Peter went to open the shutters to let in more light while Wendy approached Hook, the mans body curled protectively in on itself. As sunlight filtered into the room, Wendy could see that Hook's long black hair was sadly chopped about, his clothes singed and dirty. Wendy lay the back of her hand against the mans cheek, his eyes slowly opening at her cool touch.

"Am I alive?" Hook croaked, blinking at the watery sunlight spilling into his cabin.

"Yes James......you are alive....the Necromancer is gone and your cabin is once more your own......although I don't think much of your taste in furnishings."

Peter returned and together they got Hook upright, the man unsteady on his feet as they helped him to a chair. A commotion heralded the arrival of the crew, several heads peering around the door jam, their eyes bulging as they saw their Captain with Peter and Wendy on either side of him.

"Cap'n?"

"Get about your business, you swabs....get this ship into calm mooring...." Hook yelled, half rising before slumping back in the chair again. Casting a frightened glance at the blackened cabin, the faces disappeared, the clatter of feet on the stairs ample proof of their hurried retreat back to the upper deck. Seconds later another pair of faces appeared, Briggs and Topper edging through the door as Wendy came over to help them, their eyes darting around the room in horrid fascination.

"It's gone then?"

"All gone......gone forever."

"What about him?" Briggs pointed to Hook who was almost falling out of the chair, the picture of weariness.

"I don't think Captain Hook will be bothering us anytime soon....if ever..."

Hook recovered reasonably quickly, managing to get on deck with Peter's help, Wendy and the other following so that they all stood amidships, breathing in the fresh air, the crew slowly gathering in a circle around them. The ship had sailed into a small bay, the splash of the anchor dropping a welcome sound, the ship rocking only gently as she wallowed in the swell.

"Listen up you scurvy brigands....no-one is to hurt any of these youngsters.....they are guests of Hook!"

"Guests Captain?.....but he's Peter Pan!"

"Nice to know there's nothing wrong with your eyesight, Mister Stilt...anything wrong with ya hearing?"

"Oh no sir, Capt'n sir...nothing at all!"

"Good......."

"We'll leave you now James...." Wendy started to say, only to stop when an expression of extreme pain crossed Hook's face.

"Don't call me that!" Hook hissed, "it makes me sound......"

Wendy smiled, leaning forward. "Human?...Not the fearful Captain Hook we all know and tremble before?"

"Well I do have a reputation to keep up...."

"Sorry.....but this is my heaven.....and I don't think I want a fearsome pirate captain causing trouble in Neverland...."

"Would you emasculate me m'dear?"

"No....but I think you have circled this island enough.....time to leave the terrible Captain Hook behind and maybe find out if there is hope for Captain James to have a future instead."

"What say you Peter? Am I to give up my pursuit of you....is our battle to end here?"

"I once said to die was an awfully big adventure.......I think that to live would be the greatest adventure."

"Then so be it......will you take my hand?"

Hesitantly, awkwardly, Hook held out his remaining hand which Peter clasped with his left hand, the crew watching in astonishment as their Captain sealed the truce with a small shake before letting go.

Tepa and Briggs watched the whole proceeding with as much surprise as the crew, the Indian boy glancing to the shore in longing, his eyes widening as he beheld the crowd starting to fill the beach.

"Wendy lady.......Peter.......look!"

They moved to the rail and stared at the shore. On the sand stood Topper, leaping about madly, Peter's telescope clutched in his hand, waving excitedly, beside him was Bane, also jumping about, the littlies beside her, all of them yelling and waving. Behind them stood Laughing Tree and the Indian braves, all waving and grinning.

Topper was pointing above the ship and Wendy glanced up.

"Oh my......look up there!"

Everyone looked upwards. In the sky above the Jolly Roger the air was filled with sparks of light that arced over the ship like miniature shooting stars, tendrils of lights snaking around the rigging and writhing along the spars, every crewman still in the rigging finding himself surrounded with sparkling light before they moved on, working their way down the rigging towards the deck.

"By 'eck...what are they?"

"What is it Peter.....fairies?"

"No...not fairies.....something else...."

As they watched, some in apprehension but most in wonder, those still in the rigging and touched by the sparks started to laugh, their faces wreathed in smiles as they whooped and hollered. As the sparks of light touched the deck the crew backed away but were quickly engulfed by the brilliant cloud of light, their bodies and faces illuminated briefly before the cloud moved on to the next until everyone of the Jolly Roger's' crew had been touched. Within seconds every man jack was laughing and grinning, slapping each other on the back and greeting each other as if they were brothers. Hook stood bemusedly beside the rail with Peter, Wendy and the boys. When the last crew member had been touched the cloud drifted towards the rail and the small group watching it. Hook was next, the sparks skittering over his body, surrounding him from head to toe, infusing his hair and clothes until he glowed. But this time, instead of leaving the sparks seemed to soak into the pirate captain, Hook face taking on a look of rapture as the last sparks disappeared into his body.

"Uh...what just happened?" Briggs asked, staring at Peter who could only shrug and kept his eyes on Hook.

Hook had closed his when the sparks first touched him but now he opened them, his forget-me-not blue eyes crinkling at the corners as his lips curved into an impossibly wide smile. Slowly he turned to face the four still standing by the rail, his usually sallow face alight with laughter and joy. The lines of care on his face were erased which made him appear to lose ten years of his life, his eyes sparkling with a joy that made him fling his arms wide and laugh out loud. The sound was so unexpected and infectious that Peter and Wendy couldn't help but join the Captain as he laughed uproariously, his arms outspread as he danced on the spot. His crew had got over their first euphoria and watched delightedly, clapping and stamping as their captain jigged about the deck, his lips pulled into a permanent grin.

Peter, still smiling at Hooks antics, leaning over and whispered in Wendy's ear.

"What did you do?"

Grinning Wendy smirked up at him. "I felt it was time they had some fun in their lives.....everyone deserves a second chance, so I wished for the crew of the Jolly Roger to find happiness."

Peter snorted as Hook approached his grinning crew and started to pat each man on the shoulder, careful to keep his hook from snagging anyone's flesh inadvertently.

"I'm not sure I know how to cope with happy pirates!" Peter murmured, a twinkle in his eye.

"You'll learn.....as they will.....Peter? Can we go home now?"

"As you wish it....." Taking her hand Peter reached the other out to Briggs, who in turn held onto Tepa. Together they rose from the deck and Peter flew them all to the beach and the expectant crowd awaiting them.

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Title: Necromancer
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Ten - Together, forever.

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The reception on the beach was as overwhelming as it was heartfelt. Wendy found herself swamped by eager young bodies, the littlies, Pip and Pebble clutching her to them, unwilling to let go even as others pressed against her, squashing the youngsters. Bane didn't know who to hug first, her brown eyes swimming with tears of relief at seeing Peter alive and well, and Wendy with him, but it was poor wounded Briggs that was to receive her warmest welcome, her arms wrapping the surprised young man in a hug that made the pain in his arm almost disappear. Beaming he held Bane to him with his good arm, his mouth pulled into an impossibly wide grin as Bane pulled back and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Tepa was in the middle the a group of braves, his shoulders red from repeated slaps of welcome, his aches and bruises forgotten in the retelling of his part in the fight on the beach. Peter had Twig hanging on his every word as he tried to assure Topper that he had every faith in the boy being left to look after things while Peter was away, Twig insisting that Peter tell him what had happened on the ship that resulted in Peter shaking Hook's hand.

At one point, Peter and Wendy both glanced at each other at the same time, whatever they were saying fading away as they stared at each other, Peter grinning lazily before dropping a wink and turning back to Twig, Wendy laughing at his smug expression before turning back to answer a question from Pebble, Pip snuggled in her lap.

Through it all, Laughing Tree stood to one side, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the noisy reunion, his eyes glancing over the groups of children and youths, his gaze settling on the Jolly Roger sitting serenely in the bay. After awhile he unfolded his arms and clapped his hands, silencing everyone and drawing all eyes to him.

"It is late....we must return to the village....we will be having a great feast to celebrate Tepa's safe return.....you will join us?"

Although couched as a request, Peter knew better than to refuse such an invitation.

"We would be honoured."

Again the smaller children were carried on the brave's shoulders, laughing as they found themselves bounced up and down by the indulgent Indians. Topper and Twig were listening to Tepa tell his version of events, the young boys absorbed into the group as if braves themselves. Briggs, helped by Bane, was following, the girl's arm around the wounded boys waist, his draped over her shoulder, dark head resting on top of pale blond, all enmity at rest.

"I don't think we have to worry about those two...they seemed to have sorted themselves out nicely."

"She's a little young Peter......"

"So were you...if I remember...."

"We were young Peter.....now....."

"Now....now we have a banquet to attend, with more food than you can eat and Indian beer to make you silly!"

Putting his hand to his mouth Peter made whooping noises, all the time dancing around Wendy like an Indian, his hand snagging hers and pulling her into the dance as well, Wendy's laugh ringing out as she joined in his silly game.

As he twirled Wendy around he suddenly scooped her up in his arms, making her scream and wrap her arms around his neck, bringing her face close to his as they laughed together.

"Peter.....we've been left behind..." Wendy said breathlessly, nodding towards the trees.

"I know where the Indian village is.....I can fly us there in half the time it'll take them to walk."

"I see....so what are we going to do for the other half of the time?"

For an answer Peter lowered his head to hers and took her lips in a kiss that set her pulses racing. After a minute or two Wendy broke the embrace, her chest heaving as she fought to draw breath.

"Peter.....the ship!"

"I don't want to kiss the ship I want to kiss you..."

"No.....that's not what I meant....."

"I know what you meant..." With Wendy still held in his arms, Peter leapt into the air and flew them over the tops of the trees, away from the bay and away from prying eyes.

"Peter....where are you taking me....the Indian village is in the other direction!"

"I know....."

"Then where?"

"You'll see....."

Grinning, Peter swooped down low over the jungle, his keen eyes seeking and finding what he was looking for. Carefully he alighted on the ground and set Wendy on her feet.

"Oh Peter.....this is lovely."

She was standing knee deep in flowers, a riot of colour spread around her in a large circle bordered by a thicket that were also covered in large blooms, the air redolent with the scent of honeysuckle and jasmine. The flowers carpeted the ground and a short way under the trees so that it appeared that they were standing in a rainbow coloured pool, the surface only faintly moving with the passage of light breezes that wafted the scent around the glade, intoxicating the air.

"It's beautiful.......so beautiful."

"I was thinking......we could spend the night here....rather than in the tree...."

"Oh yes.....but....."

"But....."

Wendy turned and faced Peter, her hands outspread. "I so want to get out of these clothes," she grimaced, "and I must look a fright, and I'm hungry and I smell......"

Peter laughed out loud, clutching his middle as he roared with laughter, Wendy frowning at him as he fell on the ground still laughing, her eyes sparking dangerously. With her hands on her hips she waited for him to regain control over his mirth before standing over him as he lay in the crushed flowers.

"You may laugh, mister, but you're not exactly fresh as a daisy yourself.....so quit acting like a boy and lets get going to the Indian village."

Still grinning, Peter reached out for Wendy's help to get up, his fingers closing around her hand as she made to pull back. Instead he yanked her forward and she fell on top of him, rolling onto her back and crushing more flowers that sent their perfume into the air in heady waves. Peter rolled over her and braced himself on his hands, staring down into her angry face with eyes that twinkled wickedly.

"You are such a girl sometimes Wendy......" as he bent down to kiss her, a loud growl sounded from her midsection, Wendy's lips quivering into a smile as her stomach loudly protested its lack of food.

"See....I told you I was hungry."

With a resigned sigh, Peter rolled to the side and Wendy sat up, grinning down at him as he huffed.

"Come on.....we can come back here tonight...after the feast."

Resigned to the inevitably, Peter flew them over the jungle to the village, the sound of drums greeting them as they got closer. As soon as they landed a crowd surrounded them, Peter borne off by the braves and Wendy kidnapped by the women. When they next saw each other they were both pleasantly surprised at the transformations wrought by a bath and clean clothes.

Peter, surrounded by a small group of young men, rounded a tent and stopped dead, his eyes drawn to a small crowd of young women just emerging from another tent, their piping voices like birds as they fussed around someone at their centre. As the women started to drift towards the large bonfire burning merrily in the middle of the village, the figure of the person at their centre emerged, her face alight with laughter as she shooed the last of the girls away, her hands smoothing down the dress over her waist and hips. As if sensing his presence, Wendy lifted her head and her eyes met Peter's.

The men around Peter melted away leaving the two alone between the tepees. Peter walked slowly towards her, his eyes alight with the glow of flames from the bonfire, his lips curved into a warm smile as he approached.

Wendy felt herself blush under his intense scrutiny, her hands unconsciously twitching the soft deer-skin dress as she licked her lips nervously.

"You look beautiful....like a princess." Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, before standing back a step, his eyes still roving over her face and body.

Wendy, breathing a little hectically, returned the favour, her blue eyes drinking in his neatly brushed hair, scrubbed face and lean frame encased in a richly beaded sleeveless shirt left to hang out over tight deer-skin fringed leggings, his waist spanned by a beaded belt that sat low on his hips. Soft moccasins encased his feet and beaded amulets circled his upper arms. In the light from the bonfire he looked like he was carved from gold, his blond burls sparking with highlight, his eyes like twin stars as he gazed down at her.

Peter was also appreciating Wendy's new look, from her crown of soft, toffee coloured hair which hung down her back in thick waves over the short-sleeved dress, to her feet encased in moccasins like his, only more heavily decorated. The dress had a rounded neckline edged with beading like the sleeves, the fabric hugging her curves down to her knees, a belt cinching her slender waist. The pale, almost white deer-skin giving her an ethereal look, her blue eyes enormous, reflecting the flames leaping not far away. Her hair was pulled off her face at the sides by beaded plaits, the end tied off with feathers and around her neck hung a chain with a small pendant. Peter was momentarily distracted by the pulse beating rapidly in her throat then his eyes saw what was hanging on the chain and he gasped.

"My kiss...you're wearing my kiss!"

"It's not the original one.....that's back in London.....but they found another one, just like it."

"Except its not damaged by an arrow this time."

"No.....its not damaged."

"You look very handsome tonight Peter." Wendy said softly, dipping into a curtsy, her eyes never leaving his.

"And you look beautiful Wendy." Said Peter, bowing at the waist as he'd done when he'd first met her so many years ago in the nursery. Extending his arm, he waited for Wendy to slip her hand into the crook of his elbow before they turned to walk towards the sounds of merriment, the feast well under way beneath the pink streaked sky.

The banquet was a noisy affair, with everyone eager to hear the story of the defeat of the Necromancer, the beer flowing freely, even the youngsters having a taste. Many toasts were made, Wendy only sipping the pungent brew, Peter also keeping his intake to a minimum, their eyes meeting frequently, their hands brushing and touching each other as they passed plates and offered food, Wendy feeding Peter slices of meat while he popped berries between her lips, both of them laughing and giggling like children, caught up in their own private moments.

When the food was gone, the dancing began, the Indians bringing out drums and pipes and rattles. Pip and Pebble were fighting sleep, their eyes drooping as the Indians leapt and cavorted in front of the fire, their shadows leaping over the audiences, each trying to out do the other in agility and prowess, the drums and music accompanied by clapping and whooping as the braves jumped and twirled. Peter got pulled up to perform and whooped with the best of them, his golden form leaping and twisting, his teeth gleaming as he grinned and yelled, each brave selecting an Indian maiden to perform for, Peter having eyes only for Wendy, showing off for her delight alone.

At the end of the braves dance, the women rose and started their own performance, Wendy pulled into the circle, following their hands movements and feet, her body swaying and dipping as they circled the fire, her hands painting pictures in the air as she copied the other women, her face alive with laughter and love as she faced where Peter was sitting, dancing for him as the audience sang along with the pipes and women, the swaying bodies like flowers bending in the wind.

At the end of the dance Peter rose and lifted her up from where she knelt on the ground, other braves doing the same for the other dancers.

As their eyes met, a silent accord was reached and they both turned to leave the circle of firelight, threading their way through the onlookers, never once looking back as they walked through the village. Out of sight, Peter lifted them into the night and he flew them back to the flower strewn glade, the colours now muted in the moonlight, the scent even stronger as the night flowers perfumed the air.

Setting them down gently, Peter stood with his hands resting on Wendy's hips, her arms looped loosely around his neck.

"This has been a magical night Peter.....I don't want it to end."

"I doesn't have to.....this isn't the end...it's only the beginning."

Slowly he bent his head and captured her lips with his, drawing her into his arms as her fingers burrowed through his hair, her mouth hungrily meeting his as they duelled, tongues and lips clashing as passion overwhelmed them, leaving them gasping and trembling. They sank to the flower covered ground, hands roaming over limbs, the kiss turning wild as fingers sought to reacquaint themselves with warm flesh. Briefly they broke apart to divest themselves of their clothes, the moonlight acting as a silver cloak, painting their skin with shadows and highlights before passion brought them back together, heat on heat, hands and mouths blazing trails all over their bodies.

As Wendy gasped his name Peter entered her, their bodies fusing, entwined, melded together. His mouth plundered hers, his body bringing her to a quivering peak, her back arching to press her closer to him, their cries filling the silence of the night. With thundering hearts, they found their release, bodies shuddering as they rode the wave of completion, their skin sheened with sweat under the brilliant star-spangled sky.

Minutes later, Peter raised his head from her neck, his body still sheathed in her heat with her legs wrapped around him, holding him to her, her hands drawing lazy circles on his back and shoulders. Wendy's eyes were closed but her mouth was curved into a small smile, a sound suspiciously like a purr coming from her throat. With still trembling fingers, Peter brushed the hair from her face, her eyes slowly opening, gazing up at him like twin sapphires.

"Oh Peter....." Wendy sighed, a bubble of laughter escaping as Peter grinned smugly above her. His fair head was surrounded by stars, from her perspective, his face in shadow, only the gleam of his eyes clearly visible.

"What think you of your heaven now.....will you like it?" He asked, dipping his head to kiss her swollen lips.

"I think I will love it....if this is a taste of how our nights will be spent....I think I will love it very well."

"I will build you a house.....just for us....somewhere new..."

"I don't need a house Peter.....all of Neverland is our house...every glade our bed, all I really want is you....."

"You have me.....and I have you, my Wendy......"

"Peter?"

"Hmmm?"

"You once said, to die would be an awfully big adventure."

"I did.....and I was right, wasn't I...."

"Yes Peter.....you were. Oh the cleverness of you......"

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The End.