Chapter 9
Maggie
Why did I let Dash convince me into this?
The short dress Maggie wore clung tightly to her curved frame.
It was meant for swimming, leaving the material thin and molding to her skin.
The rosy red suit was off the shoulder, revealing her collarbones and rounded arms. The sleeves went down to her wrists, comfortably fitting her though she had never worn it before.
The bodice cinched at the waist, following the natural hourglass shape of her body.
The skirt, ruffled and made up a few different shades of red, stopped halfway down her thighs, leaving most of her legs exposed.
The wind sliced against her as she flew above Neverland, trying her best to ignore what she was wearing.
Dash had pulled her aside before she had a chance to get dressed, the bathing suit already in hand.
According to him, red happened to be Peter’s favorite color, and it had already been fitted to her exact measurements – so who was she to say no?
Maggie remembered hesitating but the excited look on Dash’s face was enough for her to offer no disagreement.
It was a beautiful outfit for sure, but Maggie never considered herself pretty enough to pull off something like it.
The skirt was shorter than anything she was used to, even the dresses the Lost Boys had already gotten for her were longer.
Though the color made her happier than she realized, Maggie still itched to try and force the dress to be longer than it really was.
Peter almost skidded into a tall tree before swooping in the opposite direction, his hold tightening around Maggie’s limbs.
He carried her through Neverland’s skies as they went toward the oceans, reaching the bay where they’d meet the sisterly Princesses.
It wasn’t the first time in their trek that he had almost slammed into something.
His balance was entirely off, too, making him lean back and forth, making her stomach sway in a way that was very unamusing.
Maggie could give a few reasons as to why she’d be distracted, but not him.
He was dressed in a bathing suit like her, though that mainly meant a pair of loose fitting trunks.
Everything else was bare and uncovered, her hands pressed against his warm skin.
Though she had already seen his bare chest before, there was something about being pressed against him in the middle of the sky, in the middle of the day, that brought a newfound embarrassment to Maggie’s cheeks.
She tightened her arms around his neck, though it only brought her even closer to his naked chest.
Shoot.
Maggie’s eyes snapped up to catch Peter looking down at her in an odd way as he held her.
He quickly jerked away from her, looking up just in time to narrowly miss a jutting cliffside.
Peter skidded by a series of mountains, ducking and weaving as though he hadn’t been paying attention the entire time.
Once they reached the opposite side, where there was hardly a thing in his way, Maggie tried to gather up her courage.
“It’s because of how silly I look, isn’t it?”
Peter looked at her as though he was surprised to hear her. “What?”
Don’t make me say it again. But she drew in a long breath and forced herself to put on her big girl pants once more.
“Look,” she said, “I knew this outfit was ridiculous the moment Dash handed it to me. I-I don’t know what I was thinking of actually wearing it!
It’s silly. It’s silly and I look silly. I know.”
Peter raised a brow. “Don’t tell me that’s what you actually think, Magpie.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” She laughed, though it sounded more like she was choking. “I mean, look at me!”
“I am,” Peter replied with a smirk. “Believe me – I am.”
A fire began to smolder beneath Maggie’s skin. It wasn’t like he had said anything outrightly naughty, but his eyes said everything, making her a blushing mess in his arms.
“Haven’t you noticed how badly I’m flying?”
Maggie shrugged, though she very much knew.
“I can barely remember where we’re supposed to be going,” Peter admitted, still grinning. “How can I be expected to remember when you’re looking this good?”
The heat surged ten fold as Peter began to fly lower, the water coming closer and closer.
Maggie wanted to bury her face in his neck, to demand that they go back to the treehouse so she could simmer in her embarrassment and happiness.
She wanted to spend the entire day simply looking at him and remembering the words he spoke.
He was distracted by her. He couldn’t concentrate because of her.
He almost slammed face-first into many things because of her.
Maggie held back her girlish giggle as they neared a pair of heads floating in the rolling waves.
Just below Peter’s feet, Coralyn and Selina waded through the water.
Their colorings exactly as Maggie remembered.
Coralyn favoring blue and Selina glistening in pinks.
They matched seamlessly, despite the very different colors.
“You ready?” Peter asked in her ear.
She gave him a small nod, and they dropped into the water alongside them. Suddenly, both swimming in the waves, trying to keep their own heads above water.
“Maggie!” Coralyn wrapped her arms around Maggie’s neck in a tight embrace. “Love that suit!”
Selina offered her a wide smile. “I feel almost underdressed!”
Maggie swallowed her overwhelming embarrassment and hung clung to Peter as the warm ocean waves enveloped them. “Thank you both for helping us,” she called out.
Selina beamed. “I’ll always take the opportunity to show off my inventions!”
“Inventions?”
“Don’t worry,” she reassured her. “This spell is tried and true, just ask Coralyn.”
Her sister nodded, though there was a bit of hesitation in her blue eyes.
“I have crafted magical bubbles that will surround your entire body,” Selina explained.
“They will last for however long you need them to, until the very moment you wish to pop them. The thing about mermaid kingdom isn’t being able to breathe underwater – it’s being able to reach the bottom of the sea floor.
Luckily for you two, my invention is capable of doing just that. ”
Peter nodded. “So how would we pop them when the time came?”
“You’ll need to tell them to pop,” Coralyn replied. She lifted her finger, demonstrating popping the bubbles as though they were along her skin. “And poke them, too.”
Selina readied herself. “Are you both ready?”
Maggie entangled her fingers around Peter’s beneath the waves, the firmness of his touch enough to give her the courage she needed. She gave the mermaid sisters a nod. “We’re ready.”
Selina breathed in deeply as her fingers began to glow with a dark blue magic.
Words Maggie could hardly understand left the Princess’s lips as she worked her spell, the power visible in her growing aura.
Maggie remained as still as possible as the bubbles began to form along her frame.
They weren’t like the bubbles Maggie thought they would be – round and buoyant.
Instead, the magic danced around her limbs, skimming over them in quick, shimmering loops before enclosing her in a shimmering blue translucent bubble.
The bubble gleamed across her vision – the only hint that told her it was actually there.
The Princesses didn’t wait for a second longer. They dove through the surface of the water, disappearing beneath the waves with a quick flick of their tail. Peter tugged on Maggie’s hand and they quickly followed, the world becoming a deeply aquatic blue in every direction.
At first, there was nothing at all. Maggie simply held her breath as they dove deeper and deeper, but then she got to the point where she couldn’t hold her breath any longer.
She jerked on Peter’s grip, motioning for the surface.
He shook his head, showing her that she needed to take a breath.
She was afraid, but desperate for air, she took a risk.
And… it was like breathing above the surface.
She smiled, and they continued swimming further down.
The ocean was a vast and empty space, with a growing darkness that stretched out for forever below.
Maggie was overcome with an overwhelming fear the moment the water settled all around her, instinct immediately commanding her to return to the surface.
Claustrophobia was never a fear she had to deal with, but the moment she entered the ocean’s treacherous waters, Maggie was sure to succumb to it.
Peter gripped her hand. Relax, his eyes seemed to say. Let go.
She shook her head. I can’t.
Just look around.
Maggie let her eyes shut before she dared to look around her another time.
But when she opened her eyes, and the reality of it all washed over her, her breathing evened out as she took in the wonder of it.
It wasn’t an empty space at all. Perhaps the ocean spanned on for much more than she would’ve ever realized, but she could hardly be afraid of something so beautiful.
An entire world, one that she would never be able to see every inch of, existed under the waves all the time.
The water might’ve been murky, but the sealife was nowhere near that.
The mermaids led them deeper and deeper into the ocean, and the further they went, the more life they were able to see.
Creatures Maggie remembered from her first visit beneath the waves coursed by them.
A whale as long as the island itself rode the streams as it shone a brilliant light off the stars tattooed into its body.
Constellations were imprinted onto their skin, letting out rays of light that penetrated even the darkest reaches of the expanding ocean.
Alongside them were horses Maggie recognized from the land though these ones housed long gills along their neck
The seahorses galloped on the waves before turning into the far darkness, disappearing into a place Maggie would never be able to follow.
Dolphins burst through the depths before streaking by them in bursts.
Each dolphin was colored a different shade of pink, almost matching Selina’s rippling tail.
They let out their shrill songs as they went by, eyeing Maggie and Peter peculiarly as they swam past. Maggie wanted to reach out and let her fingers course by their pink skin, but held herself back.
It probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to reach out and touch the unsuspecting wildlife
Tall tendrils of moss extended out from the dark depths below them.
Maggie forced herself not to look down below, for it was only a mess of shadows her eyes could not penetrate.
Whatever lies below them remained in the darkness.
Jellyfish lit the path forward, and Selina and Coralyn readily followed.
Each jellyfish lit up as a different color when they passed them by, their electrifying tentacles tempting but far too dangerous to actually touch.
A few smaller ones, juvenile creatures Maggie assumed, swam alongside her and Peter for a few moments.
Their pale blue coloring lit up her protective bubbles until they took a different turn, and rejoined the rest of the color-changing jellyfish.
Their destination was quickly coming upon them.
As the wildlife thinned out, a gorgeously ancient city appeared ahead.
Tall structures that looked to be made from stone rose up from the sandy ground.
Each pillar was covered in brown moss and underwater greenery, oceanic flowers sprouting at the bases.
The structures turned into buildings the closer they came, though the signs above the doors were in a harshly archaic language that Maggie could barely stomach looking at.
“Mermaidic languages,” Coralyn pointed out, as if she noticed Maggie’s twisting stomach. “They aren’t meant for land dwellers.”
Maggie opened her mouth, but paused. Was it safe?
“It’s safe,” Selina said, seeming to read her thoughts.
Maggie half expected water to rush in still, but found nothing out of the ordinary happened. “We can talk underwater?”
Selina grinned. “The beauty of my invention, don’t you think?”
They came to a pause at the front gates to the city.
Statues of mermaid people Maggie did not recognize stood on either side of the gate, their hands extended as if to stop anyone from simply entering the wide city.
Maggie gazed up at the beautiful work, entirely admiring the artist's craftsmanship.
“Somehow,” Maggie murmured, “this is more beautiful than I thought it was going to be.”
Selina sighed, not at all looking as wistful as her. “Sure, it is beautiful. But don’t let it trick you.”
“What?”
“Haven’t you ever heard of poisonous frogs being some of the most beautiful creatures around?
” Selina raised a brow, laughing shortly when Maggie looked as clueless as ever.
“What looks pretty to you is actually a bright flashing warning to predators. You can call the city as beautiful as you’d like, but let’s not forget the most important thing.
” She leaned forward, her eyes taking on a certain redness.
“To call it dangerous would be an understatement.”
Maggie knew there was little she truly knew about the magical world she was living in, and the more she did learn, the more clueless she realized she had been before.
The city was beautiful, but it was beautiful in a historical way, a haunting way, an ancient way.
Maggie only wanted to find the knowledge it held, though she was beginning to realize that knowledge might just be a dangerous thing as well.
Maggie forced a smile on her face before she gathered the willpower to speak again.
“Lead on!”