Maggie blinked a few times, until the word ‘girlfriend’ faded into the air. “There’s one more item to collect,” she murmured, avoiding looking at Peter.
The King of Neverland eyed her shamelessly, the words left unsaid passing between them. It was a simple question, one that was hardly intrusive, but Maggie suddenly felt as though her inner thoughts were being revealed to the Lost Boys. The moment they uncovered the final ingredient, Maggie had every chance of going back to the human lands, of going back home, of ending all she had accomplished.
Maggie met Peter’s gaze.
Is that a chance she will take?
14
On the western point of Neverland, an old fable whispered over campfires foretold that an underground community of goblins lived and prospered. Goblins weren’t unusual to be seen across the island. They never pressed into town and avoided the beach at all costs. Only nighttime saw their faces, and those with adventurous spirits could uncover them in the dark trenches of midnight. According to Peter, the underground system stretched beneath the entire island, giving the goblins an untold amount of space to live and grow.
Maggie’s hand tightened around Peter’s as they pressed further toward the rocky cliffside of Neverland’s island. Short mountains stood on the western point, with a series of winding caves opening up within the stone. Only a handful of the caves actually led to the underground system, while the others were used as booby traps. Maggie’s fear quieted when Peter insisted on knowing which was the right cave, but there was something that remained nervous within her. She looked up at him, unsurprised at the confident expression he wore. There was a leather pack on his back, one that jingled and creaked as they walked. Maggie wasn’t entirely sure what he insisted on carrying, but she knew she’d figure it out eventually.
“This is the last piece to our puzzle,” Peter said as he confidently strode forward. “Once we’ve got the carved copper eye, we’ll be off to Hazel’s again.”
“And she’ll craft the potion?”
He nodded. “Hazel’s always a great help. The potion will be finished in no time, and the moon coral will be back to normal.” Though the words he spoke were inherently positive, there was a crass edge to his voice, one that almost betrayed his true feelings.
Pretending that she didn’t notice it, Maggie let her mind focus on the witch instead. “I don’t suppose I ever expected Hazel to be so nice to us,” she murmured. “Or to help us without expecting something in return.”
He raised a brow. “Whatever for? Hazel’s a doll.”
“Perhaps you’d understand better if you spent more time in the human world,” Maggie replied.
“Really?” Peter frowned thoughtfully.
“I grew up only hearing dreadful things about witches,” Maggie explained. “They were things to fear, things to avoid. Anything magical, really, but there was something harshly poignant about witchcraft.”
Peter listened attentively, his surprise not at all sugar coated. “It’s quite a different story in Neverland,” he mused. “Witches like Hazel are like you and I in the barest sense of the term. People, plus some magic. And, like you and I, there are good people and there are bad people. Hazel, regardless of magic or not, happens to be especially kind and empathetic, after all she’s been through.”
Effortlessly, Maggie’s curiosity piqued. They were diving deeper into the mountainous region, the road underfoot rocky and sharpened. She clutched Peter’s hand as he easily scaled the mountain side, keeping one arm hooked around her at all times.His words kept her mind off of what was at present, and how a sudden cliffside loomed dangerously to their right side.
“What has she been through?” Maggie asked.
Peter glanced over at her, the words pausing in the back of his throat.
“Oh,” she murmured. “Don’t feel pressured to tell me, Peter. It is her story, after all.”
He remained quiet for a few more minutes, only lifting her over a rough patch of jagged stone. When he placed her down in front of him, on solid rock, Peter’s hands lingered on her curved hips, his grip growing warm over her skin. His eyes searched Maggie as though the answer lied within her face.
With a deep sigh, Peter pulled his hands away and reclaimed his grip over her hand. “A long time ago, Hazel once had a daughter.”
“A daughter?”
Peter nodded slowly. “A baby,” he continued. “In Neverland, you see. There was one day, as the story goes, that Hazel and her child took a rowboat out into the sea. Not far at all, only as far as she safely could go, but the currents…well, the currents are strong enough to pull a pirate ship out into the depths. You can only imagine how easily it might capture a flimsy rowboat.”
He barely reached the climax of the story, and Maggie’s breath was already caught in the back of her throat. Anticipation grabbed her heart with a steely grip as she waited with bated breath for him to continue the tale.
“It wasn’t long until a storm met them in the far reaches of the ocean,” Peter murmured. “The island was too far to even see. For Hazel and her baby, no help was coming.” A shadow passed over his face. “The storm overtook them and the boat capsized. As far as I know, Hazel managed to right the boat and get the baby back on it. Unfortunately for Hazel, she wasn’t strongenough to get herself back on the boat. So, Hazel was dragged one way, and Hazel was dragged the other…”
Maggie raised a hand to her lips. “But the baby –”
“No one knows what happened to her or the boat. The storm passed on, and the current pulled Hazel until she washed back up on Neverland’s shore. The only difference –” his expression was grave “ – she was all by herself.”
A sadness far heavier than Maggie expected washed over her. She imagined the emotion to be like the waves themselves, to have overtaken her just as it pulled the boat upside down. To be barely born and already succumbed to one of nature’s most deadly accomplices pulled a shiver out of Maggie’s spine. What did the baby see as her mother drifted away? Could the baby even know how much her mother loved her, how she already sacrificed her own safety for her? The thoughts ran amok in Maggie’s head, growing so loud that she lost her footing and tripped over some loose rock.
Peter snatched her elbow before she had the chance to fall.
