Chapter 3
Maggie
Peter might not have been a child, but he surely dug his heels stubbornly into the ground like one.
Their hands were tightly intertwined as Maggie led the way to the Everything Plants.
For the longest time it had always been Peter guiding her, showing her the path forward, leading the way through Neverland’s expansive island.
But Maggie felt as though the island was as woven into her veins as the human lands were, though she still wasn’t entirely sure what that meant.
Maggie was acutely aware of Peter’s distaste in going to the Everything Plants.
Even before she had a chance to mention why they were there in the first place, Peter acted as though he would’ve rather stayed in the treehouse all day.
But Maggie went forth all the same, her determination a quality she had no plans of being without.
The rows of plants came upon them in no time.
Water steadily flowed through them from the mermaid’s cove, and light from fairy huts twinkled inside their leaves.
Everything that Maggie believed to have been disrupting the plant’s way of living had been cured.
All that was left was to uncover the missing artifact, a precious item that had called the Everything Plants its home for quite some time.
Within the rows of plants, shrouded by their long leaves and shaded from the sun, was a circular divot in the sandy ground.
There was an impression left in the sand, still showing the faint shape of whatever symbol had been carved into the foot of the missing treasure.
Maggie’s hand left Peter’s as she approached it, crouching down to get a better look. When she straightened up again, the King of Neverland pouted and avoided meeting her gaze as much as he could.
She laughed, unable to take his upsets seriously. “Peter Pan,” she huffed, finally catching his attention. “You know we have to talk to the pirates eventually, don’t you?”
Peter’s shoulders deflated and he kicked the sand as he walked up to her. “I know, I know,” he murmured.
“Really?” Maggie teased.
He remained reluctant to joke, the frown only deepening across his handsome face.
Jeez, Maggie, she thought to herself. How can you think someone’s pretty even when sad?
But it wasn’t hard at all. Peter Pan was the image of perfection in Maggie’s eyes.
Even when despair clouded him, the beauty remained.
She breathed a sigh and closed the distance between them, her arms snaking around his waist as though she had been doing it all her life.
Peter never once jolted away as she pressed her cheek to the center of his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. His hands only found her back, rubbing along her spine until their breathing quickly matched each other.
“What’s wrong, Peter?” she spoke against his clothes. He smelt strongly of cedar, of freshly carved wood. “You have been clouded for days. I can tell. If it’s the pirates, we –”
“Of course it’s the pirates, Maggie,” he replied.
Maggie pulled her head back to peer up at him. Shadows danced across his face. “What about them then?”
His hands slid from her back, suddenly grasping at her biceps.
The touch wasn’t harsh at all, or harmful.
But there was a possessiveness about it, a surety Maggie wasn’t quite familiar with.
Never before did she consider herself to belong to anyone, whatever that word really meant.
But in that moment, a voice, strong and confident, spoke firmly in the back of her mind, with words she would not readily forget.
You have always belonged to Peter Pan, haven’t you?
Maggie brushed it away. “You can tell me, Peter.”
“I know, Magpie.” Peter pinched her button chin, his eyes crinkling with a loving smile. “And that’s just the thing, isn’t it? I should tell the person it has to do with, shouldn’t I?”
Fear strung through Maggie’s heart. Perhaps she spoke too soon. What could be plaguing him so much that had to do with her? “W-Well,” she stammered, “Peter, I-I –”
“The pirates are dangerous,” Peter interjected. He watched her confidently, with the regal air of the King he was. “After seeing you on Hook’s ship, trapped in his arms…I…” He drifted as he looked away, his grip tightening.
“Peter –”
He looked back, suddenly and intently. “I’m not putting you in harm’s way again,” Peter stated. “Besides, don’t we have other things to focus on?”
Maggie blinked, her heart caught in a whirlwind. “Other things?”
“To heal the Everything Plant’s, Magpie.” Peter tilted his head at her. “The last thing that’s keeping you from going back to the human lands.”
Her lips parted, the words trapped behind her teeth.
Peter flashed a stunning, life-altering grin. “Is it so bad to admit I don’t want to let you go just yet?” The grin widened. “Or ever?”
Everything hummed beneath Maggie’s skin.
There wasn’t a time before in her life that she could remember being brought to a similar feeling.
It was as though the walls were collapsing in on her, despite being outside.
But at the same time, a feeling that was once so suffocating quickly grew into a burning flame in the center of her very being.
The flames simmered and smoldered until they roared with passion and truth and desire.
Maggie hardly knew what she was thinking anymore.
“I – uhm, I’m –” Maggie shook her head again, blinking until the world stopped spinning all around her. She laughed, the sound more like a breath stopping in the back of her throat. “You trained me to use a sword, Peter. If there’s anyone who can handle the pirates, it’s me.”
Something deflated in him, but he kept up the grin. “And?”
“A-And I’m sure that there’s something we can negotiate with them,” Maggie continued.
Peter let his hands course up her arms, catching a few strands of hair around his long fingers. “And?”
“Peter,” she murmured, ignoring the quiver in her voice. “What do you want me to say?”
“Tell me you haven’t given it any more thought, and I won’t believe you,” Peter said. His hold over her loosened until he could hold her around the waist. “You’re avoiding what I really want to talk about, Maggie.”
“Is that so wrong?” she blurted.
Peter sighed. “Maggie.”
If a stormcloud could have rolled over them, Maggie wouldn’t have minded.
There was a storm raging in her mind, another jostling her heart.
Thunder crashed into her thoughts as lightning set them all ablaze.
Everything she had been telling herself, the responsibility she had carried for her entire life, fought against what stood in front of her.
More than that – it fought against the island itself, everything it was already giving her.
It fought the Lost Boys and their handsome King.
It fought the connection she fostered with Hazel, with the fairies, with even the pirates.
There wasn’t a linear thought in her mind.
“Peter,” Maggie said again, drawing in a breath to calm the blush rising to her cheeks.
It didn’t take much to melt her, and his questions were more than enough to whittle her into a blubbering mess.
“Tell me what you would have me do. Stay here, on the island? Live with you and the Lost Boys forever?”
“Why not?”
I was kidding, she wanted to say, but there wasn’t enough air in the entire world to get her lungs to work ever again. Not an ounce of humor dared touch Peter’s face. He was entirely serious about every word. Maggie stared up at him as though she were made of stone, unflinching and enamoured.
Peter touched her cheek. “Why not, Maggie Hart?” His gentle touch caressed her skin.
“I like you. I want to be around you. I want you to be around me.” Peter beamed sheepishly, his own cheeks beginning to glow their own shade of scarlet.
“We’re good for each other, Magpie. Even a blind man could see it. ”
His confidence was almost staggering. Maggie only wished to one day be able to wield it herself, with the ease Peter always did.
But even as much as his confidence shocked her, it was hardly enough.
Logic and common sense lived as prominently in Maggie’s mind as love and magic did.
There was a way certain things were done, a way that Maggie always had assumed would happen for her.
Sure there were things that were always bound to change, but falling in love? Courting someone before settling down?
It all meant something to Maggie, even if she wasn’t entirely sure what exactly.
“There’s a certain way to do these things, Peter,” she finally said, her voice quiet and shy. “We’ve only known each other for a few months. Don’t you think talking about forever is a bit soon?”
“Maybe for some people.”
“Not you?”
Peter smiled, his eyes kind. “Neverland is about dreams being answered, Maggie Hart. For all those who dwell on the island.”
She frowned. “I-I know that.”
“So?”
Maggie blinked, thrown for another loop. “So what?”
His laugh was carried by the wind until it almost ruffled all the Everything Plant leaves. “What would you do then?”
“You mean with a –” she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper “ – partner?”
“Yes, Maggie.” Peter’s grin was infectious.
“Well,” she drawled, pulling out of his grasp to walk around the plants, entirely aware of how his eyes were clinging to her figure, “I’d expect to date first, you know?
To get to know one another over a long period of time.
Marrying, once the time was right. Moving in together. ” She shrugged sheepishly. “You know?”
There was no denying that Peter listened when she spoke.
His short nods and head tilts telling Maggie more than any words ever could.
For a moment – for just a split second – Maggie wondered what it would be like to be Peter Pan’s wife.
What would that even mean? A life of untold adventure?
A life that always kept her moving, always on her feet?
Happiness?
Peter nodded as he approached her, gently taking her hand in his once more. With a slight mischievous twinkle in his eye, he raised her fingers to his lips, leaving a phantom kiss against her skin. The contact seared through her and she gasped.
“If you really think you’re ready,” Peter said, “I will take you to see the pirates tomorrow.”
Maggie jerked back. “W-What?”
“The pirates, Magpie.” He gave her a lazy, casual smile, slightly swaying her hand through the air between them. “Remember?”
No one else on the planet was capable of throwing her for a loop.
At least, not in the way Peter Pan managed to do on multiple occasions.
He effortlessly changed the subject, acting so nonchalant and at ease.
Maggie wasn’t uncomfortable, of course, but with the previous topic hot on her mind, she was sure that they would’ve been discussing it for some time.
Something was going on behind Peter’s gorgeous eyes, but she knew that there was no point in trying to uncover it.
The King of Neverland was as stubborn as he was courageous.
Maggie sighed and let her shoulders fall, impersonating the same ease he wore so well.
Even if it was a sudden change in conversation, Maggie was glad to hear it.
She’d been waiting in anticipation to meet with the pirates, even if her first encounter with their mysterious captain wasn’t entirely a good one.
“I remember, Peter,” she finally said. “Tomorrow, then. You are serious, right?”
Peter laughed sweetly. “‘Course I am.” His eyes twinkled mischievously again. “When am I not?”
Maggie bit back a scoff as she let him lead her out of the maze of Everything Plants, and back toward Cricket Hollow.
The sun was beginning to rise high in the sky, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight to block its way.
In the distance, the marketplace came steadily to life, a blur of colors from fairy wings hovering in the air.
What would life be like, she wondered, after Neverland?
She hadn’t quite imagined it, after all that time.
What would it be like to wander through the human lands, without an ounce of magic in sight?
She would be forced to return to the hiding state she hated so much, only allowed to use her abilities in the shadowy night.
Discretion would be her middle name as she searched for another new start, another new home, another bakery.
But wasn’t that the point of living? To work for it, to strive for it, to push for it?
There would always be a wall, but it was human to climb over it.
Maggie was lost in thought when she realized they were already over the bridge, already nearing the sound of a busy early afternoon.
It took only a few simple words for her life to be turned upside.
Everything she thought she wanted hung up in the air, disappearing, as though she never wanted it in the first place.
But Maggie was just as stubborn as the next, and she wouldn’t be giving up on her dreams that easily.
Her eyes clung to the back of Peter’s head.
If he wanted her, he would just have to prove it.
Maggie tightened her hand around his own.
Game on, King of Neverland.