After what seemed forever, Tink finally nodded, and without so much as a chime, flew over the deck, spreading every inch of it in a flurry of gold dust. Taking up her post back on Peter’s shoulder, she frowned. “Only because you’re taking the mother girl.”
Jack fought to keep a straight face. Lucky for them, the pixie detested the girl for some reason. He turned and walked over to the railing, lest his control slip and he burst out laughing. Lori should be there at any minute. The sun was setting and soon the Jolig Roger would take to the sky.
The water glowed with the last dying rays of light, but there wasn’t as much as a ripple. The Never Sea was still and foreboding. His heart sank. What if she didn’t come? What if she chose to stay in Neverland?
Long moments passed and the last rays of daylight left, leaving the ship to sparkle in the night like bright piece of gold in the sea. He swallowed and fought back tears.
“Boggs says it be time to go,” Beckett appeared at his side. “We can’t wait any longer for her. I’m sorry, lad. We have to set sail if we’re going to go back.”
Jack nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Lori wasn’t coming. She’d made her choice—and he was going to have to let her go.
No, he thought. Her memory would never leave him. He wouldn’t let it. There had been too many lost things in his life. Lori wouldn’t be one of them. I won’t ever let her go. She’ll always be with me, here or there, wherever I am, my heart will only ever belong to her.
THE SHIP WAS quiet as it sailed into the night. For the first time since he had been on the Jolig Roger, the pirates below deck were silent. There wasn’t any singing or dancing and Jack wasn’t sure if it was Smithy’s death, the presence of Peter on the ship, or the fact that everyone knew tonight would be the end of their stay in Neverland. The tension seemed to settle on the Roger as thick as the blanket of fog that had covered the sea.
He lay on the hard deck, pillowing his hands behind his head and watched the boy at the mast. He’d taken it upon himself to watch him throughout the night. Peter still hadn’t woken up, and more than one pirate had passed by, fingers twitching at their side where a blade or pistol could be easily reached. Jack was certain that his presence was the only thing that kept them from finishing Peter off and then throwing him overboard.
Not that he didn’t deserve it, Jack noted, but to kill someone while they had no way of defending themselves was wrong.
When morning came and Peter Pan was awake and his normal cocky self, Jack might very well change his mind. But for now, he was his to watch over. He turned his attention to the sky.
The stars were barely visible, winking between the thinner bits of fog like tiny, silver fireflies high above them. He expected them to lower, evidence of the ship rising into the sky, but their positions stayed the same.
He heard Beckett mutter curses under his breath on the quarterdeck as he carefully steered the wheel, his eyes also locked on the sky.
“Cursed fog,” he hissed. “It be like Neverland knows we be wanting to leave.”
Jack moved up to be closer to Beckett, though he made sure he was close enough to keep an eye on Pan He needed a friend to talk to, someone who could make his thoughts turn to the life he was returning to. Staying close to Peter was only going to make him remember all of the time he had spent as a Neverling and if he got too far away from him, all he would think about would be Lori.
“Beckett, tell me more about Boggs and my mother,” he said, swinging his legs over the side of the quarterdeck.
John Beckett smiled, his eyes still locked on the sky. “Boggs and Natasha. Ye remind me of yer ma a good deal now that I know who ye are, lad. Ye have her looks, but no doubt ye’ve got your fair share of Boggs, too. If ever a man fought for what he loved, ’twas him.”
Jack waited. Beckett was a good storyteller, if you waited for him to sort his thoughts and begin. True to form, after a long moment, he continued.
“I met Boggs first. He was on his way to get her, ye know. The Duke of Cardona had taken her and so Boggs was going along the back roads so as not to be seen.
He found me and a handful of ruffians in a brawl, there in the middle of the dust and the dirt. I’d just gotten off a pirate ship and was meanderin’ down the road with a bit of gold in me pocket and more than a good deal of rum in me belly. Sad I am to say, I was rather drunk when the thieves found me and decided to relieve me of what booty I had left.
They’d pinned me down and were about to stick a sword through me when Boggs came across us and helped me fight ’em off. Two against six was better odds and we beat ’em and they turned tail and run.”
He frowned at the sky and turned the wheel a half a turn to the right. Seeming to be happy that they were once again on the correct course, he continued on with his tale.
“I owed him, so when he told me what he was going to do, I offered to help. We broke in to take her back and had to fight through all o’ the Duke’s men to get to her. We finally got her out, though not before your da fought the Duke and marked him with a long cut to his face and a promise that next time he would do much worse to ’im if he ever came near her again.”
Beckett shook his head and grinned. “Never saw a man fight like that before. Boggs was a man to be reckoned with that day, slashing that cutlass around. No matter what the Duke did, Boggs was ahead of him. It were as if both heaven and hell were on ’is side and the Duke knew it. Blood a-runnin’ down his face, he ran off, coward that he was.”
“Boggs and Nessie were married the next day.” Beckett looked thoughtful, a wrinkle creasing his brow. “I sat and watched ’em promise to love each other to the end of time and lookin’ at their faces, I knew they meant it. What they had was a special thing—something that comes once in a lifetime.”
He smiled wryly, his gaze dropping from the sky for the slightest of seconds to land on Jack. “Two promises were made that day. They made the one to each other, the second I made to meself. Should I ever find a love like what they had, I’d hold onto it tight. What they had was a special thing. Love like that comes one time. If ye ever find it, ye should ne’er let it go.”
The ache in Jack’s heart grew. He’d found that special love Beckett spoke of—and he’d let it go. Now it was too late to make it right.
9
A Game of Sorts
“LAND HO!” STEWART called down from the crow’s nest as the first rays of dawn came.
The shout stirred Peter, and the boy groaned and sat up, blinking. His movement woke Tink, who stretched from her perch on his shoulder. Realizing that Peter was conscious and awake, she happily reached over and patted his hair, a huge grin lighting her face.
Peter, on the other hand, looked baffled. He glanced down at the ropes tying him to the mast, then looked up at all of the pirates standing around him. His usual arrogant smile wasn’t on his lips and the look in his eyes was uncertain.
“Runt,” he whispered to Jack, who sat against the rail, watching him. “Could you tell me what happened? The last thing I remember was flying here for something, though I can’t seem to remember why.”
“Wendy and her brothers wanted to go home,” Jack answered, and left it at that.
“Oh,” Peter answered. “I must have to come to help take them back then.” He frowned for a second. “Are the pirates going home too?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
What is wrong with him? Jack wondered. The boy seemed to have forgotten that he always fought the pirates—that it was one of his favorite games. There wasn’t a bit of the usual anger that Jack expected from him. Instead he seemed very…accepting…of it all.
“We’re at the blasted island again!” Stewart called down, even louder this time.
Jack felt as if a sudden weight had been lifted from his shoulders. They were back at Neverland—back to Lori.
The rest of the crew wasn’t nearly so delighted to have returned. If anything, they looked downright murderous…and as they started toward Pe
ter, he could tell who they were blaming. Blades and pistols were popping out everywhere.
“Wait, wait!” he said, hopping up to jump in front of Peter. Dumb idea. Dumb, dumb idea, he scolded himself. This is the last person in the world I should protect.
And Peter was the first person in the world that every pirate on the Roger wanted to kill.
Jack put his hands out in front of him, hoping to calm the men down. “We need him. Leaving Neverland didn’t work for us, but he will know why. He is always coming and going. He can tell us how to leave here.”
After a painfully long second, the weapons were slowly lowered, and while the pirates still didn’t look happy, they did at least appear to be listening to his logic.
“Is this true?” Boggs had just come up from the steps. Seeing where they were and hearing the last bit that Jack had said, he pushed his way through the throng.
Jack saw Peter nod out of the corner of his eye.
“All right. What say ye we have a bit of a trade then, eh?” Boggs suggested. Jack caught a gleam of mischief in his eye. “Ye tell us how to leave, let yon pixie take us back, and we let ye go.”
As everyone seemed agreeable with this arrangement, Jack moved out of the way to find Peter nodding. “Yes, that sounds good to me too.”
“So what be the secret?” Boggs asked. “Yon pixie covered the ship with dust last night. Surely we should have seen our own seas this morning, yet here we are.”
Peter offered a half-hearted shrug. “It’s easy. It only takes a happy thought. Untie me and I’ll show you how it works. I give you my word that I won’t leave until we are finished.”
Several pirates grumbled, but Boggs held up his hand and they quieted. Then he looked at Jack. “Untie him, but if he flies away from the ship, every one of ye have permission to shoot him.”
That information was received well. Jack worked the knots free on the rope as the crew checked the powder for their guns.
“All right,” Peter said, rubbing his sore wrists. “When I want to fly, all I have to do is think of my one happy thought.” He looked up toward the sky, as if expecting to fly, but then he stopped, a look of sheer terror on his face.
“What is it?” Jack asked.
For the first time in the entire time he had been in Neverland, he saw Peter look truly sad. Tears filled the boy’s eyes. “I can’t fly. I can’t remember my happy thought.”
Jack remembered the last time they had sailed away from Neverland. Patch and Beetles had been with them then, but they had ended up gaining some of their memories back.
Had this trip had the opposite effect on Peter Pan? If he had forgotten—truly forgotten—how to fly, then he would be as helpless as any other Neverling on the island.
Jack found himself hoping that it was true. If Peter spent time with his troupe instead of flying off whenever the mood suited him, he might learn to appreciate them more and care for them.
Boggs was busily chewing on his bottom lip, as if deciding what to do next. “Well,” he said, “we should have enough happy thoughts between the lot of us to get back home. Will ye stand by your word and let the pixie take us back tonight?”
Peter’s bottom lip quivered. “Yes.”
“Then it be settled. Jack here can take ye back to the island. When night falls, send your pixie back to us,” Boggs said. He glanced over his shoulder and addressed his crew. “Ye heard me, lads. Get a boat ready! The rest of ye get the ship to rights. Tonight, we leave this place.”
Once he was certain that everyone was following his orders, he pulled Jack to the side. “Lad, I’ve seen the look in your eye. Whoever she be, ye have until tonight to find her and bring her with ye.” He gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Take me advice. If ye find the one ye love, don’t leave without her, else ye will regret it for the rest o’ yer days.”
Jack gave him a quick, resolute nod before jumping in the boat behind Peter.
“Be back by dusk,” Boggs called out to him as the boat was lowered down to the water.
Either I’ll be back with her—or I’ll never again try to leave this place, Jack promised himself as the boat landed with a splash into the sea. He unhooked the ropes and picked up the oars, gesturing to the other set to imply that Peter should follow his lead.
Now was the time to see if the boy truly couldn’t fly, before they were away from the ship. Peter grasped an oar in each hand and mimicked the motion the Jack made as he dug into the water and pulled.
It was a clumsy attempt, but an attempt all the same. Had he been able to fly, it would be doubtful he would keep up this charade now.
Peter was quiet for a moment as they set off toward the shore, but his words caught Jack completely off-guard when he finally spoke.
“I remember that I brought you here and that you didn’t want to come, though for some reason I can’t remember why. It seems I might have made a mistake. I am sorry for that. I shouldn’t have brought you here.”
Never had Jack thought an apology from Peter Pan would be possible, but there it was. His mouth was hanging open, and likely he looked as Smee would have put it “a bit daft,” but he couldn’t help it. One night on the Roger seemed to have completely changed the boy.
“It’s…all right,” Jack managed. Actually, it wasn’t all right. He’d spent years upon years of his life in Neverland, as far as he knew. He’d lost so much that he didn’t dare think of how many things could have been different if he hadn’t been stolen away. Still, Peter truly did look remorseful and what was done was done. And Neverland hadn’t been all bad. While Jack had lost things—he’d also gained some important ones, too. “Apology accepted,” he told the boy who was now making faces.
But it wasn’t Jack who had Peter’s attention.
“Morbert is over there waving for us. He looks worried.” Peter said, looking toward the island.
Jack turned to look in the direction Peter indicated. Sure enough, there stood the Neverling, jumping wildly on the shore, his fur hat flopping on his back, red hair glowing in the morning sun.
“If I could fly, I could already be over there to see what was wrong,” Peter complained, showing a bit of his usual self. “Hurry up and row, Runt! We haven’t gotten all day to sit out here in this boat. Something is up.”
Jack gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to tell the boy that if he would quit rowing in the opposite direction it would go much faster. His arms ached by the time they made it—fighting the waves while trying to counteract Peter’s unskilled rowing had been tough.
Morbert ran up to them, freckles standing out in contrast to his flushed face. “Good thing I found you. We don’t know what to do with this,” he told Peter, then looked up at Jack. “Good to see you again, Runt.” He crinkled up his nose. “My word, you have hair on your face now. Don’t you think you’ve grown up enough? It’s only getting worse.”
Peter took charge, crossing his arms over his chest. “What is it, Morbert? Where is everyone else?”
The boy’s attention shifted from inspecting Jack’s beard back to his leader. “It’s the mermaid we caught. She…” he frowned, trying to figure out his next words, “…she doesn’t look the same and now we don’t know what to do with her.”
“What mermaid?!” Jack thundered, causing the boy to jump and Peter to take a step back. There would only be one mermaid who would come to the surface—and it would explain why she hadn’t come with him. “Where is she?”
The boy quivered in front of him, and wordlessly pointed to the grove of trees beyond. Jack took off running and soon found the footprints of the Neverlings in the sand—along with a long, deep furrow that showed they’d been pulling something…someone.
He saw Beetles first. The boy had his hands on his hips and was shaking his head despairingly. When he heard Jack’s steps, he looked up and scowled. “High time you showed up! It never takes you this long to rescue your pirates. I was beginning to think we shouldn’t have taken the mermaid, but then, you didn’t leave us any pirates l
ike you promised, so there wasn’t much choice,” he glowered at Jack. “And no one ever told us they lose their tails when you pull them out of the water. Somebody should have told us that! She didn’t have any clothes on. Scared us all so bad that Morbert wet himself.”
The red-headed boy’s face turned scarlet and he flipped his fur hat up over his head in an effort to hide his shame.
Jack pushed past Beetles and found Lori propped up against a tree, buried under a pile of furs. Two slender white feet poked out of the coverings, bound with a strip of fur, proof that everything the boy had said was true. The second her eyes met Jack’s, they flooded with relief.
“Lori, are you okay?” He knelt beside of her.
She shot Beetles a dark look. “Yes, but I’d be much better if they’d left me alone. When you went to join with the others, I came back to the surface just long enough to watch you go. That one,” she nodded at her accuser, “jerked me out of the water and kept me here all night.”
Beetles crossed his arms and looked down his nose at her. “I was upset with Runt from our last visit, though now I can’t remember exactly why. Neverland always seems to make me forget things. But that doesn’t matter. If Runt had played by the rules and left us pirates, I wouldn’t have got you. You’re the one he’s been spending all the time with, so I thought you might be important. Trust me, I won’t be pulling any more mermaids out for anything.”
He gave Jack a knowing look “They’re slippery right before they lose their tails. Then we had to keep splashing water on her or she’d complain that her skin was drying out. Mermaids are naught but trouble.”
The four other Neverlings mumbled their agreement. Apparently it had taken all of them to pull off this particular kidnapping and from the looks of things, none of them had really enjoyed the adventure.
“Pirates are much easier,” Patch explained, his rabbit ears still bobbing around his head. “No more mermaids. Next time play by the rules, Runt, and don’t take so long to hold up your end of the bargain.”
The Untold Stories of Neverland: The Complete Box Set Page 47