Trapped by Neverland

Epilogue

For Those Who Like Tidy Endings

Wendy stood on the ridge and surveyed the work crews carefully disassembling the booby traps lining the stretch of sand on the easternmost beach. Dismantling Peter’s legacy on Neverland would take months, if not years, as the workers had to move so slowly. But Peter languished in prison, the Lost Boys had been adopted by various wonderful people (Wendy made sure of it), and her brothers had joined the crew of the Jolly Roger. Unfortunately, Sophus and the Drunken Kraken were still at large.

As another bit of good news, Horas and Shaye had returned. They arrived with their adult-sized “baby” sheerie, named Cendis, a couple weeks after the big battle. Sheeries didn’t marry, per se. Their courting rituals took place away from everyone they knew and lasted about a month. Wendy didn’t know anything about juvenile sheeries, either, as the mated couple appeared at the end of that time with an additional sheerie, who looked and behaved like all the rest of them. If she hadn’t witnessed this behavior before, she would have simply assumed Cendis was a friend they found.

Footsteps approached her from behind, and she smiled, recognizing the sound. James slid his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. After watching the painstaking work below for a few minutes, he casually said, “I’m thinking about visiting your mother and stepfather with a large group of people. Mostly the crew of the Jolly Roger and a few friends.”

Wendy tipped her head to look at him. “Why? He already agreed to let John and Michael apprentice under ‘an upstanding merchant such as yourself.’ Why else would you willingly interact with that man?”

He kept his gaze on the sea. “It’s customary in Sharamil to bring a full complement of friends or family to a marriage proposal. I will even honor the Jocestrian ceremony and find a nice shell, just for you.”

When he winked at her, she couldn’t resist teasing, “Sorry, George doesn’t believe in polygamy.”

James turned her, resting his left wrist on her shoulder and clasping her other with his right hand. “I want to marry you, goose.”

“I caught that, actually.” She bit her lip, then smiled widely anyway.

He let out a fondly exasperated noise and kissed her for good measure.

Wrapped in each other’s arms, they faced the sea. Wendy could hear the steady beat of his heart as she rested her head on his chest.

She felt him pull in a deep breath. “I did have a nice little speech prepared.”

“Compliments, promises, and the like?” she asked.

“Exactly.” His jaw brushed against the top of her head as he shook his. “Then you turned everything upside-down.” He ran his fingers up and down her back. “Just like you turn everything in my life upside-down. For the better.”

Wendy squeezed him tighter.

“I thought my life was fine. The resentful bitterness—”

“Redundant,” Wendy whispered under her breath, then laughed when he poked her in the side. “Sorry, keep going.”

He played up his sigh. “Anyway. I got used to carrying around my bitterness while preparing to fight Pan someday, but I didn’t expect someday to come so soon. Or maybe ever.”

Wendy hummed an acknowledgement.

“Nor did I realize how set in my ways I had become. The way you see the world is exciting, and you have such a definite way of viewing right and wrong.”

“I prefer the term ‘idealist,’ ” Wendy said to his vest.

“Well, you are ideal for me.”

“And you’re the right blend of realistic and stodgy for me.” She tilted her head back to smirk at him.

“Stodgy?!”

“I mean, practical and reliable.”

“Much better,” he said dryly.

“I know!” She lifted her hand to cup his bearded cheek. “You anchor me. You keep me on a steady course, and you weather the storms with me.” A playful frown crossed her face. “You’re also strong, handsome, and a good provider. Now that I think about it, I’m definitely getting the better end of this deal. What’s in it for you?”

James chose not to answer verbally, and Wendy found his arguments quite persuasive.

“I thought about dragging you back to that pseudo-island and proposing to you there,” he mentioned a bit later.

“Mmm, surrounded by the perfume of dead croc. How romantic,” she deadpanned.

He laughed. “I’m sure the waves have relocated it sometime within the last five months.”

“You made the better choice, don’t second-guess it now.”

“Wendy! James! It’s time for dinner,” a young voice called.

The pair turned to see Michael running up the path toward them. John followed at a more “grown-up” pace. He had been determined to showcase his maturity at every opportunity since signing the apprenticeship paperwork. If Captain James thought he would make a fine merchant one day, then by golly, he was going to start behaving that way from the start.

Wendy secretly thought, or hoped, that once the newness and hero-worship wore off a bit, John would return to his fun-loving, creative personality. A little maturity went a long way, and he had plenty of time to grow into it. They let the boys herd them toward camp.

Michael still insisted on bunking with John and keeping a light on all night. But each day brought out more of the familiar Michael, who felt safe and loved. Wendy had every confidence that he would make a full recovery. She also expected him to thrive under the influence of James and the others, away from his one-path-to-success father.

Here on the island, surrounded by her family—given and chosen—Wendy knew all was right with the world. Sure, Peter was still imprisoned while the authorities launched a “thorough” investigation into his crimes, but she expected the bureaucratic court systems to find him guilty in the end. Executions weren’t really her thing, but she might make an exception for him.

James was positive that the corrupt Editor who helped Peter publish a false History was creating trouble in other arenas and needed to be stopped. Wendy agreed. The Jocestrian government had gifted Neverland to the crew of the Jolly Roger in honor of their work, and Captain James was now more correctly Sir James. They planned to make Neverland their base of operations while they continued using their merchant travels to dig up dirt.

If the royals believed us to the point of granting land and a title, why isn’t that good enough for the courts? she groused privately as they ambled down the path. When her stomach growled, she remembered her tendency to perceive the world less charitably when she hadn’t eaten.

Perhaps sensing her need for distraction, her husband-to-be began outlining his plans. “I was thinking we could build the house by the coconut grove.”

Wendy scrunched her nose.

“Too close to the Singing Rocks?”

“The mermaids have been insufferable since Peter left. They no longer sing, they whine.”

“It’s pretty bad,” John agreed.

“What about somewhere on the north shore?” Wendy suggested. She tripped over a rock, but James’ hand in hers prevented a tumble.

“That would probably be the best location for a permanent harbor,” he mused. “Then the question becomes: How worried are we about visitors from the mainland?”

Wendy rolled her eyes even as she smiled. “Yes, some of them may become nuisances, but we can build a second home in a less convenient—for them!—spot.”

“How rich do you think I am?” he teased.

“Pretty dang. You forget, I’ve been helping Smee with the ledgers.” She pumped her eyebrows. “We can afford it.”

“Yes. We can.” James stopped in the middle of the path to kiss her.

The boys made noises of protest, but Wendy didn’t care. This was the life she had to look forward to. And this was the man she planned to spend the rest of it with.

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Want to explore more in this world of faeries and humans? Check out Book 1 of my Redacted series, Erased: the REAL Sleeping Beauty Account.