“I think it's worth the risk,” he said firmly and then closed his eyes to concentrate.
The mermaid just shook her head.
“Okay,” the merman declared, “I'm ready!”
Tinker Bell sprinkled him with her sparkling pixie dust, and it settled over the merman gently. It flashed once and then faded. The merman remained on the ground.
“I swear, I'm thinking happy thoughts,” he said. “What am I doing wrong?”
“The magic knows where you belong,” the same mermaid gentled her tone. “Be happy with the sea, brother. The sky is empty and cold.”
“I suppose,” he said sadly.
I went over to the merman and held out my arms, “I think I'm strong enough to carry you. If you don't mind holding onto me.”
“Now, why would I mind that?” The merman smiled broadly as he went into my arms.
I held his cool body tight, and his muscled arms circled my waist. Then I smiled into his stunning eyes, and he smiled back. My happiness lifted us off the ground, and Laren's eyes widened. The mermaids gasped as they watched us rise higher and higher, then out of the cove entirely. Laren's tail was wide and heavy, making it more difficult to maneuver, but I was able to just float us over Neverland, and give him his first bird's eye view of our world.
“Amazing,” he whispered. “I've never seen such beauty. Look how the water sparkles from up here. And the tops of the trees are like sea sponges. I feel as if I could lay down upon them and sleep.”
“It's lovely,” I agreed.
“Thank you, Pan,” he kissed my cheek. “I will not forget this.”
“My pleasure, Laren.”
“I suppose we should return before my sister starts to worry,” he said.
“One more minute,” I urged. “Then we can go back.”
“One more minute that I will treasure forever,” he whispered.
Chapter Five
“All right, I'm ready to train,” I said as I walked back into the tree.
After I returned Laren to his sister, I had felt energized and ready to take on the challenge of Straton and his training. Tink had headed home to be with her family, and I had rushed back to the tree.
“Where have you been? Straton growled. “You can't just go running off... did you just say you're ready to train?”
“Yes, teach me to be a great warrior, Commander.”
“Are you mocking me?” Straton narrowed his eyes.
“No, I'm serious.”
“Oh.”
“So?”
“So, what?”
“So, are you going to teach me?” I huffed.
The other men were standing around the living room, their eyes going back and forth between Straton and me as we spoke.
“Yes, of course, I'm going to teach you,” Straton growled. “The training sessions were my idea.”
