Chapter 16
The Boglin was beginning to disappear into the far off distance.
The beach in which the Everything Plants resided upon curved eventually, once one was far south enough, and became a jagged series of rocks and boulders than a stunning, pearly white beach.
By that point, the Boglin would be capable of lunging from rock to rock, effectively stopping anyone who was daring to try and follow him.
Even in the darkness, Maggie could make out the ebony rocks near the end of their path, and could even see how much the Boglin pushed himself to reach that point.
He was afraid of the King of Neverland, that much Maggie was sure of.
Without a word of warning, Peter suddenly swooped towards Maggie and swept her off her feet.
She let out a gasp as he grabbed a hold of her, tightly pressing her against his chest before quickly taking off into the air.
The wind rushed around Maggie’s face as he moved with an incredible speed, one she still wasn’t at all used to.
Peter moved with a surprising determination.
The man might’ve looked carefree before, or perhaps too laid back for his own good, but Peter was nothing like the Lost Boys, at the end of the day.
He was there to do what needed to be done, no matter the cost.
The darkness of the evening made it feel like Maggie was soaring through the sky with her eyes closed.
She could hardly see a thing, and only just barely held onto the image of the Boglin leaping through the widening shadows.
Peter pushed himself further and they soared forward, the wind whipping so hard that it felt like Maggie’s cheeks would be riddled with short cuts by the time they landed.
Peter soared through the wind for an extra minute before diving back down toward the earth.
While he might’ve landed on any other occasion, Peter simply hovered above the ground, his grip tight and firm around Maggie’s limbs.
In front of where they landed, the Boglin came to a sharp stop.
“Stop running now, Boglin,” Peter called out in a booming, demanding voice. “And I might show mercy on you for stealing those fairies!”
The Boglin released a shrieking noise rather than speaking.
With a quick glance to his right, the Boglin bounded in the opposite direction, his leaps now more fervent and determined.
Peter made a groaning sound in Maggie’s ear, the annoyance plain on his face.
Without a word, he shot into the air another time, pushing himself to new lengths to be able to cut the creature off before he managed to get too far.
“Peter,” Maggie said once they were leveled in the sky.
He glanced at her but didn’t speak, even though he looked like he had something to say.
“Relax,” she whispered. “Good always wins, doesn’t it?”
“Those fairies –”
“I know,” she interjected, her hands tightening around his shoulders. “It’s driving me off the walls to think about them and him and all of it. But we’ll get them. Because good –”
“Always wins,” he finished, eyeing her with a small smile. “Thank you, Maggie Hart.”
“Why do you do that?”
Peter raised a brow. “Do what?”
“Use my full name.”
His smile grew till he was beaming from ear to ear. “Do you really want to know?”
Just his reaction alone was enough to make Maggie really want to know. “Of course I do,” she said. “Why do you do it?”
“Maggie Hart,” he whispered again, his smile teasing. “It’s a beautiful name, isn’t it?”
She shrugged, feeling embarassed. “If you say so.”
“I do say so.”
And suddenly, Maggie no longer remembered how to use her words.
Peter weaved through the air silently, effectively using that as his answer to her question.
Perhaps she might’ve demanded more at another time, but Maggie could hardly think.
Not only was there the Boglin situation at hand, but Peter’s sudden and blunt word choice drove something into her chest, something that she was in no hurry to unload and figure out.
“There he is again,” Peter grumbled again.
Down below, the moonlight struck the Boglin as he weaved around the Everything Plants. Peter kept a close eye on him until he shot them forward suddenly, and pounced back down on the ground a few feet ahead of the frog-like creature.
The Boglin released a surprised shout another time and remained in place, obviously exhausted.
Breathing heavily as sweat streamed down the sides of his oily face, the Boglin snatched the jar at his belt and raised it above his head.
Twisting the top, the Boglin reached in quickly to snatch one of the fairies up in his padded claw.
“No!” Maggie shouted.
Rushing forward, she leapt out from Peter’s tight grasp and desperately tried to close the gap between her and the creature.
With the fairy raised above his head and almost about to be dropped in his wide mouth, Maggie’s eyes grew wide.
The fairy’s sharp screams ripped through the air and scarred Maggie almost instantly.
There was something about a fairy in harm's way that was simply not right.
It was as if it was much more foreboding than anything else, as though harming a fairy brought more bad luck than any other superstition.
But what was there for Maggie to do? Sure there might be magic beneath her fingertips, but the only time she sought to use it was during her baking.
How could she simply whip it out then, when she didn’t have a spell to even think up or conjure on the spot?
There was only her and the Boglin, a creature that could best her by simply jumping far enough in the air.
As if the world was moving in slow motion, the creature pulled the fairy closer and closer to his mouth as Maggie’s mind raced with what to do.
She whipped around like a madman, searching for anything that might help her save the poor fairy.
Her eyes landed on the Everything Plant.
Why was she there in the first place? What drove Peter Pan into the human lands, in search of the best cook in all the lands, capable of feeding his entire island?
The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and Maggie almost wished to have the capability of slapping herself to feel better about it.
All of Neverland was starving. All of them searched for food, and perhaps some of its natives were looking for food even before then.
What was to say that the Boglin walked around with an empty stomach, and it made him do these cruel things?
Not that it was any defense for the creature, but rather somewhere for Maggie to go now.
A way for her to save the fairy and put an end to the creatures' antics within the Everything Plant’s grove.
“Help!” the heightened voices of the fairies finally reached her. Their small size rendered them almost impossible to be heard. “Help us!” Their words quickly faded into frightened shrieks.
The Boglin was seconds away from dropping the fairy between his lips. The small girl was trapped within his padded, webbed paws, only to be released directly into his jaws.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Maggie shouted.
The Boglin froze, the fairy still clenched in his fist, just hovering above his curled tongue.
The creature hesitated, his ear practically twitching with interest. He raised the fairy slightly, just barely moving her away from his gnarly looking teeth.
“Hungry,” the beast growled, rubbing his round and slimy belly. “Always hungry. More hungry.”
“Where do you suppose eating the tiniest creature of Neverland will get you?” Maggie pointed towards the fairies as she crept closer, his defenses beginning to fall.
Around her, she had the sense that Peter Pan was near, though she couldn’t quite see him.
It was simply a feeling, and those were things she was trying to trust more.
“Satisfaction!” The creature bellowed, the words followed by a sharp ribet. “For a moment,” he added, his expression growing sour as he thought it over.
Maggie swooped in, seeing her advantage. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of chocolate, have you?”
The Boglin eyed her. His curiosity peaked for a split second, but then he was suddenly waving her off, his attention returning to the fairies.
Their shouts and squeals exploded through the air another time, much more fervently.
The Boglin grew annoyed by their sounds and readied the one within his grasp to be plucked between his teeth like a nut.
“Not real,” the Boglin croaked. “Can’t trick me!”
“Oh, no, it’s real! It’s more real than you think!
” Maggie tried and grew exasperated quickly, tearing her hands through her hair restlessly.
Surging forward, she thrust her hands forward, racking her brain for anything to say.
“C-Chocolate cake with whipped frosting! A-A decadent chocolate mousse in the center, sandwiched by the lightest sponge cake you’ll ever taste! ”
The Boglin was frozen in place. Silence spread until he lowered his fist and the fairy clutched within his fingers. “Chocolate cake, you say?”
“More than that,” she blurted, though her mind was beginning to blank. Sweets, she thought to herself. Anything sweet! “Cream puffs flavoured with coffee and accompanied by a chocolate ganache spooned over top. Filled with a sweet cheese cream.”
The Boglin made a croaking noise as he turned to face her. “More,” he demanded. “Less sweet!”
Maggie frowned. Not sweet? “Well,” she pressed her hands together, desperate for anything but unable to conjure the right words. “Well, hm. Let’s see…something savory. Let’s see…”
The Boglin released a mighty growl. “Too long! Too late! Starving!”
Maggie snapped her fingers together. “Pasta, right? You’d like pasta!”
He was eyeing her skeptically.
“A lasagna with a meat sauce, a robust tomato sauce, and a cheesy center. How about that?” She raised a brow.