Chapter 13; Take A Left Turn To Neverland's Waterfalls

"It's harder to fall asleep at night when you miss someone."

~ Unknown

-

Alice's P.O.V

-

    I can't sleep. I toss and turn on my bed, which only succeeds in making me more awake. I should be sleeping, but I can't seem to, no matter how hard I try. I'm too busy worrying about Will and Lewis, they must have noticed that I'm missing by now. Peter thinks that the reason why I haven't been trying to escape or fight back is due to me accepting my fate and that I'm stuck here for good.

    But he's wrong. I haven't accepted anything, I'm just biding my time until an opportunity shows itself. I've never been away from Lewis and Will for this long before. The longest I've stayed away from the both of them is a few hours. I miss the two dufuses. I hope they're okay. I plan on asking —no, I plan on demanding— Peter to let me see Will and Lewis tomorrow.

    And with the comforting thought, I close my eyes and fall asleep.

****

    I wake up a few hours before dawn the next morning. Yawning, I throw the covers off myself and make my way over to the dresser. I look at myself in the mirror and realise that I haven't showered in quite some time. I shudder as realise how disgusting that is. I grab the nearest pair of clothes, and with a new outfit in my hand, I head towards the tent's entrance to look for Peter.

    Fortunately —or unfortunately, in my case— it doesn't take me long to find him as we collide into each other the second I walk out the tent. We both to fall onto the ground with a thud. Peter is the first one to recover, he stands up and wipes the dust off his trousers.   "Are you alright, Alice?" Peter asks, extending his hand towards me.

    "I'm fine," I say, gratefully accepting his help. "I was just looking for you."     "Oh. Well, what can I do for you, Alice?" he asks.    "I want to see my friends," I say.    "No. That is out of the question," Peter says, firmly.     "Please," I beg. "I just need to know if they're alright."

      Peter sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "Fine. I'll let you see them tonight. Now, is there anything else you need?"     "Yeah. I was just wondering if there was any place I could go to take a bath," I say. "I haven't showered in three days and I could really go for a bath."

      "I'll have one of my Lost boys take you to the cave after our training," he says.     "Don't worry, I'll have someone I trust take you there," Peter assures me when he sees my nervous expression.     "Okay," I reply. "If you say so..."

****

    "Really?" I ask, shaking my head. "Of all the people you could've chosen, you chose Felix?"      "Why? What's wrong with Felix?" Peter asks, sheathing the swords.     I sigh, wiping the perspiration off my forehead. "Couldn't you have chosen Ray instead?" I ask.     "No, Felix is the only person I trust to look after you," he explains.

      I groan as the said boy approaches us.    "Come on, the cave's this way," says Felix, nodding towards the path, his mace slung over his shoulder.     Sighing, I follow the blonde boy down the path, holding clean clothes in my free hand.     "So... How long have you been on Neverland?" I ask him, breaking the awkward silence between us.

      "A couple hundred years," Felix replies monotonously.     I stop in my tracks, trying to process what he just said.     "Time stands still in Neverland," Felix says over his shoulder.    "Yeah," I reply. "So I hear..."    

****

    The sight before me is absolutely breathtaking. The Sun's rays—stream thought the hole in the cave's ceiling and—glisten(s) off the crystal clear water, causing beams of light to dance back and forth on the cave walls. But what really catches my attention is the majestic waterfall near the lake. The wind blows tiny beads of water onto my face as I get closer the waterfall.

    Felix sits beside the vines which covers the cave's entrance and places his mace next to him.

    "Are you going to stare at me while I bathe?" I ask him, raising an eyebrow.     "Not if I want to get decapitated," he replies calmly, as if he were talking about the weather.     I am taken aback at his response.     "Is that what Peter said?" I ask, placing my clean clothes near the area where the water meets the soil.

    He doesn't reply. He just pulls the hood of his cloak over his head, covering his eyes.    I look at him skeptically. After awhile, when I'm certain that he can't see me, I begin undressing myself.

    I cast my dirty clothes aside and step into the cold water. I flinch when the water comes into contact with my bare skin but I get used to the cold temperature after a few seconds. I glance back towards the place where Felix is seated, and stare at the blonde boy.

    He's still sitting in the same position. Leaning against the cave wall, hands resting under his head, his long legs outstretched with one foot crossed over the other.

    I slowly make my way toward the waterfall, trailing my hand in the water as I go. The water is waist deep by the time I've reached the middle of the lake. I cup my hands under the waterfall, and splash some water onto my face, wetting my hair in the process. I step under the waterfall, wetting the rest of my body.

    I remove the dirt from under my fingernails, then proceed to wash the sweat and grime off my body. After I'm done washing up, I walk back towards the shore. I'm surprised to see that Felix is no longer there.     He must've left while I was taking a shower, I think to myself.    I pick up my towel and start drying my hair and body, then I slip my undergarments on.    As if on cue, I hear voices calling out my name.

    It's Andrew and his friends.

    I curse under my breath and grab my towel, securing it around my body. I want to shout at them to go away but I hold my tongue, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. I almost scream when Andrew and his friends emerge from behind the vines.

    Andrew shouts my name.    "Alice—" He stops when sees me, then smirks when he notices that I'm in towel. I can feel my cheeks heat up as his eyes scan my body.    I clear my throat. "My eyes are up here."     "I know," he says. "but I don't care."     His friends laugh and whistle.

      "What do you want, Andrew?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest, trying my best to look as intimidating as I possibly can in just a towel.     "Well, Pan asked me to tell you something, but I've seemed to have forgotten it," Andrew pauses, smirking. "maybe spending some quality time with you will help refresh my memory."     I smile at him. Then flip him off.

     "I can see why Pan likes you." says Andrew. "You're feisty."     I roll my eyes. "Why don't you tell me what you need to tell me and leave?"     "I have something better in mind," he says, licking his lips as he advances towards me, his boys flanking him.

      Peter chooses that moment to enter the cave. He narrows his eyes when he sees that Andrew and his friends in the cave with me.     "What—" Peter says in a calm voice. "—Are you doing, Andrew?"     I open my mouth to explain but Andrew beats me to it.     "I was just going to tell Alice what you told me to tell her. That's all," Andrew lies.

      "Is that true, Alice?" asks Peter, looking at me.     Andrew gives me a look.     I nod. "Yes."    Peter points at the cave entrance. "You three," he says. "Leave."     "As you wish, Pan," the boys chorus, walking out of the cave.

    "And you," says Peter, turning his gaze to me. "Get dressed. I'll be outside the cave waiting for you."     And he leaves the cave without another word.

****

    "What did you want Andrew to tell me?" I ask Peter.     "You'll see in a few minutes," he replies.     I follow Peter at he makes his way through the jungle. I almost bump into him when he stops in front of a huge wall that's completely covered by thorns.

      I walk over to the thorns and inspect them, extending my hand towards it. "What are those—"

    "Don't touch them!" Peter exclaims, causing me to jerk my hand back.     "Why? What is it?" I ask.     "It's Dreamshade. This is its natural form," he explains.     "What would happen if I was poisoned by it?" I ask.    "Trust me," Peter says. "You don't want to know."

    I swallow nervously and nod my head.     He then raises his right hand and waves it over the thorns. I watch as the thorns move away, revealing a cave entrance.     "Follow me," he says.      I step inside the cave and take in my surroundings. At the far end of the cave is a waterfall.

   "What are we doing here?" I ask.    "You'll find out soon," he replies, walking up to the waterfall.    This cave is plain, unlike the one I bathed in earlier. But it has a different aura surroundings it, a magical aura.

    He stops right in front of the waterfall, so close to it that if he were to stretch out his hand, he'd touch the water.    "Show me Lewis Miller and Will Robertson," says Peter, waving his hand over the waterfall...

-

Thank you all so much for 1K reads! I can't believe I've gained so many readers within three months. I totally freaked out when I realised that my fanfic had reached 1K reads. My Dad looked at me as if I was crazy but it was totally worth it XD

ILYASM and I want to say thank you to everyone who added my story to your reading list or commented on a paragraph or even voted for one of my chapters. I couldn't have reached 1k reads -167 votes and 87 comments- in such a short period of time without you guys.

~ Alice

-

Vote, comment, rate, do whatever you want <3 xx

-

Edited: 21.11.2017