❝All at once I've lost my way. I'm blinded with pain, far from the innocence I'll never find again.❞

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CHAPTER SEVEN:

INNOCENCE

                    The room was empty when the fairy flew in, landing on the cold floor without making a sound. A frown crept up to her pale face as she glanced about, confused as to where the troublesome girl could have gone. Knowing Emery, she ventured to guess the kitchen had been her destination in mind when leaving her room.

However, as her green eyes fell upon the tall window, Tinkerbell froze. It was open, as expected — she knew Emery would never have it any other way, as it would keep Peter Pan locked away. It wasn't the fluttering, cream-colored curtains; or the grains of sand touching the white, marble floor next to them.

The jingling sound of bells echoed in the air as Tinkerbell rushed over and lowered her tiny body to loom over the green glow. Her eyes widened as realization crashed over her like a shower of gelid water, freezing her on the spot.

Peter Pan, you—

Her incoming trail of curses came to a sudden halt as a shadow darkened her sight, and the fairy looked up to meet the eyes of Emery.

"Emery," she acknowledged in a serious voice — her indignation was evident. After all, as the proud being she was, having her pixie dust — the pride of fairies — stolen was intolerable. "Where is he?"

Something is wrong, the fairy noted.

Her brown gaze was cold, void of the adoration and trust the girl always regarded her with.

"Who knows?" she drawled lazily, uninterested, as she stepped inside and walked over to her wardrobe.

Tinkerbell followed her, determined not to let Peter Pan get away with what he had done.

"He stole pixie dust, Emery." Her hands clenched upon noticing the casual shrug Emery gave in response. "If my superior finds out, I'll be seen as a traitor and will be banished from my homeland!"

Pulling her head out of the wooden wardrobe, Emery surprised her by giving her a nonchalant glance.

"That must be terrible," she mused. "I guess it's a good thing I don't remember where my true home is... I should be thankful for the life that's been given to me, right?"

Colour faded from the fairy's face as her words hung between them, and Tinkerbell felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach upon catching the accusation tone in her voice. She had been right — something was very wrong.

Emery seemed to sigh, yet her eyes held no remorse as they locked on the small woman.

"What did you do to me?"

Tinkerbell knew then, that no matter her reasons, Emery would not listen; the girl was asking for an explanation, but trust was gone.

"You are right. I don't trust you anymore," Emery suddenly snapped.

The fairy faltered, shocked at the realization she had read her mind.

"How did yo—"

"It doesn't matter. Let's just say I've been practicing my... magic," she interrupted, walking over to the window as she spoke. "You played me, Tinkerbell. I want my memories back."

Tinkerbell floated before her narrowed eyes for a fleeting moment, before her wings fluttered and carried her to the top of the wardrobe.

"I don't think I can give them back to you."

She suddenly found herself hanging upside down, mouth agape and staring at Emery from the opposite side of the room. With blazing eyes, the girl gritted her teeth and glared at her coldly. And for a second, Tinkerbell was afraid for her life; she knew what Emery was capable of, the potential threat to the world — all of them — breathing within her body. She had seen it with her very own eyes: pirates drowning in the sea while she laughed at their torment with those sirens; children crying after falling for her pranks while she simply stood there, grinning in delight. Tinkerbell had witnessed many things, both terrible and beautiful — enough to fear the unpredictable teen.

"Why?"

Tinkerbell gasped as the invisible force held her upside down.

"There's only one way to get them back," she stammered. "But I can't help you."

A hum.

"Then, you're no use to me."

Her words felt like needles, piercing through her heart and making her tiny body go numb. However, Tinkerbell never had the chance to open her mouth; a gust of wind wrapped around her and sent her flying out of the window.

A whisper sailed the air towards her, words so full of hatred time seemed to stop as they stabbed and her heart bled out. Friends once, now but broken souls filled with pain and solitude, their paths separated by secrets and wouldn't become one again in a very, very long time.

--

Neverland had never felt so quiet; the splendorous moon glowed up in the night sky and traced the sandy beach with its white tears, a cold breeze blew ever so softly between the leaves of the trees, and a deafening silence surrounded the island.

Peter Pan gave a huff before rolling on his back and standing up. His feet landed on the sand soundlessly, and he scanned the wild sea in search of approaching pirates whom he would spend the night messing around with. Unfortunately, no lights shone on the horizon.

An idea popped in his mind, and he turned to start navigating the sky.

"Where do you think you're flying off to?" the stern voice of Tinkerbell stopped him as he was about to – well – fly off.

Turning on his heels, the teen gave her a bored look.

"Why would I tell you?"

His anger was slowly surfacing; the broken expression on his only friend brought back a whirlwind of dangerous emotions.

"You must not visit Emery," the fairy suddenly stated, her features hard yet troubled.

His eyes narrowed.

"And why is that?"

Tinkerbell sighed, and it was then when Peter Pan noticed the exhaustion in the fairy's eyes. Dark badges decorated the skin beneath them, she was paler than usual, and her blonde hair stuck to her face due to the sweat.

"She found out... about us keeping her in the dark," Tink muttered while looking away.

She had barely time to step away from the boy when he snapped.

"Us?!" he growled in a low hiss. "As I recall, it was you who took her memories away and dropped her like a sack of potatoes in another land. And it was also you who decided it was best for her to spend time with her, even though she didn't know who we were," he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes tightly. "That was a mistake, and this was bound to happen sooner or later. Bloody hell, I still don't even understand the point in making her go through that; you never bothered explaining anything."

Tink pursed her lips into a frown and glared at him.

"Nonsense."

"What?" he was baffled.

"You wouldn't have been able to stay away, either way," she explained, but the statement seemed to anger Peter even more. "Let me remind you, you are linked to Neverland. No, that's not completely true. You are Neverland, the both of you are; which means this place needs you two to survive. That fact connects you to one another; but whether that's good or not... I'm not certain yet."

A sardonic smirk touched his lips.

"Should have thought about that when you took her away." He narrowed his eyes again. "But that's not going to happen, not ever again. From now on, you're not allowed to leave this island. In fact, no one is. And if you try, I will know. Because the shadow will be keeping an eye on you while I'm gone."

"You can't do that!" the fairy gasped, alarmed, but the boy grinned wickedly.

"Oh, but I can. I control Neverland," he stated and added, "I am Neverland, after all."

"And you plan on visiting her now? Think about it, Pan; she–"

"Don't," he snapped, already fed up. "You don't get it, do you? You adults are always choosing for us — giving the explanation that you do it for our sake —, but you never consider listening about what we actually want. Emery has been betrayed by enough people, and she doesn't deserve any of the pain that has been sent her way. She bloody doesn't."

Tinkerbell remained silent for some seconds, merely observing the flying boy with a thoughtful stare.

"You really think you will be able to reach out to her, don't you?" The words fell from her lips in a barely audible whisper.

Peter Pan gritted his teeth.

"It doesn't concern you whether I do or not," he sneered in her face. "I will know everything you do from now on, and you won't ever set a foot outside of this island. Things are about to change, fairy."

Frowning, she watched Peter Pan fly away, his silhouette fading quickly into the dark horizon. After some seconds of staring at a starless sky, a sigh left her lips and she turned around to step into the depth of the forest.

Eventually, she found herself replaying her last meeting with Emery, the girl she so deeply had cared about for long years – she knew things would never be the same between them, yet she was certain that devotion would always remain inside of her small being.

"I never doubted you, not even once."

Her words had cut deep; they had created significant wounds in her heart. Tinkerbell doubted they would ever heal, much less disappear.

"If I ever see you again, I will kill you."

Those eyes, Tinkerbell shuddered at the remembrance. They had been so cold, so empty; like two pools of spreading darkness. Terrifying would be an accurate definition of what she'd thought upon seeing the — once innocent-looking — girl standing in the middle of her destroyed room. However, Tinkerbell soon realized that Emery had never been naïve, not even close to childlike. Back in her time in Neverland, Emery had always been known for her tricky intentions and wild behaviour, so unexpected that it had gotten many children severely injured — if not killed. Not even then had she been harmless, if only to impose herself.

Tinkerbell stopped by a thick tree, one whose trunk worked as a stairway to a small house hidden in its leaves. Home, she thought with a slight frown, before her feet started to drag her up the steps.

Nevertheless, not even in the comfy dwelling in which she slowly began to drift off did she feel safe. Neverland did not feel the same anymore, and the fairy feared that grey night was only the beginning of a new age of chaos and darkness.

Just like it was predicted.