As soon as we reach the island, I land. Keeping a firm grip on Peter's hand, I race across the sandy beach and into the forest. We don't have much time before Hook gathers his men and starts chasing after us. I dart nimbly through the trees, leading the way to safety. Peter stumbles after me, tripping over every single stick and rock on the ground. He is just as clumsy as his brother.

"Why can't we just fly to wherever you're dragging me?" he pants.

"Your brother would be able to see wherever we landed. I don't want him to know our destination. We'll have more cover in the jungle."

Slowing down slightly, I weave through the trees and lead Peter to the opposite side of the island where the trees grow so densely that their branches interlock. I stop underneath a tall wildwood tree.

"What are we doing here?" Peter asks.

"Planning an attack," I reply shortly.

"With what? Sticks? A twig? A pile of leaves?"

Without bothering to answer, I place a hand on the wildwood's purple bark and stroke it firmly. A long rope falls from the branches and lands squarely on Peter's head.

"Ouch!" he exclaims as he rubs his aching crown. "Why didn't you warn me that would happen?"

"Peter, watch out for the rope rapidly descending toward your head," I respond.

The teenager wrinkles his nose at me. "I'm much obliged for your timely warning."

"Well, go on." I shove him towards the rope. "Get on up there."

"What about you?"

"Don't ask so many questions," I order.

Peter rolls his eyes and obediently begins climbing upwards. I go back through the forest about ten meters to cover our tracks. It's difficult with cuffs still on my wrists and a chain dangling between, but I manage. I make a promise to myself that I'm going to wrap this metal chain around Hook's neck when I face him next. I don't know what insane impulse prompted me to save him from Peter's knife. It was probably because I want to kill him myself. That must be it.

When I've erased all signs of our presence, I follow Peter up the rope to my hideout. I've nailed a board over the thickly intertwined branches and draped dark green gauzy fabric around to make an ethereal home. The dense foliage and flowering boughs conceal my refuge from any prying eyes. Once I've pulled up the rope, I feel confident that Hook will never find us here. He'll probably tramp around in circles with his men like a bunch of landlocked buzzards.

"What happened? Did you find out why he's here? Are you okay?"

I hold up my hands to stem his tide of questions. There are more important things to take care of right now than satisfying his insatiable curiosity. I reach into a hollow in the wildwood trunk and pull out a wooden box. 

"What's that?"

Opening the bag, I take out some dried fruit, nuts and a flask of water. I hold some out to Peter, but he shakes his head which is fine with me. Food always comes first. Questions can wait.

"Do you just have caches of food hidden everywhere?"

Quickly, I shovel the food into my mouth. I should have eaten when I took Hook to my mountain cave, but I was in a hurry to defeat the northern devil shadow. Tipping the flask back, I drain the last drop of water. After I've finished eating and drinking, I lean back against the wildwood's trunk and sigh contentedly.

"Yes, I keep food everywhere because food is important. These are my provisions. I'm fine. He's here to get you. And the usual happened. A little starvation, a little running, a little fighting, and little tying to the mast. You know, same as always," I answer his questions in reverse.

"So what do we do now?"

"Now, we plan." I pull a thin metal tool from the box. Inserting the lockpick into the cuff around my left wrist, I jiggle it in the small hole. "Why is your brother so obsessed with getting you?"

Peter runs his fingers through his blonde hair until it stands up on end. "He thinks that I know how to make some magic object of his work."

"Do you?"

Slowly, Peter nods. Holding up his palm, he whispers a few words under his breath. A small ball of light forms over his palm. As the glow fades away, a rosebud is left in his hand. Gradually, the flower blooms until the petals are fully unfolded.

"You're a spellcaster too." I pause in my lockpicking attempt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to when we were in England, but you jumped off the roof and took us back here before I had a chance." Peter brushes my silky hair back and tucks the rose behind my ear. The sweet scent drifts down to my nose. "I learned from my brother. He taught me all the spells and elixirs and all sorts of things. But I've never seen him or anyone else able to use magic like you. You're different."

"Thanks, I think," I mumble.

"It's a compliment." Peter cocks his head to the side and observes me. "I've only heard of spellcasters or embedded magic where the users draw power from wands or staffs or things. I've never seen someone who doesn't have use anything."

"It's always been that way for me, but I can't open portals. Only fey dust can do that. And only feys can control where their portals open. That's why our stupid portal opened right above your brother." I raise my hand and finger the metal snake on my upper arm. "And now, I can't do anything except fly thanks to your stupid brother."

"I don't know how to get rid of that bracelet, but I can help you with these." Peter leans forward and touches my shackles. "Auprentiar."

The chains fall off, and Peter pulls them away. I massage my sore wrists to get the blood flowing.

"That feels so much better," I sigh in relief. "Thank you."

"I just wish I could get that bracelet off for you too."

"Same." I strip off my jacket and lean back against the wildwood's trunk. My eyes are so heavy that I can hardly keep them open. The stress of the last few days must be catching up with me. I can't remember the last time I was so exhausted.

"Do you know how my brother got here?"

"He must have come through a portal." I yawn. "He found Flicker somehow and used her fey dust to get through. We've got to figure out where she is and rescue her. Otherwise, he'll keep coming even if we send him back."

"I think he has a way to make portals open where he wants. That's how his men sent me. They knew where the portal was and then threw the fey dust after me. They used this object to make the portal open up here." Peter pulls out a small bronze sphere with strange engraved runes. "I stole it when I was on James's ship. If I read the runes correctly, this is a portal magnet. It will determine where you land after going through a portal."

"But why would Hook's men send you here when he needs your magic?" I summon all my powers of concentration to ask the question.

"Well, it was the first time he had tried it. He probably wanted to test it out on me first before he attempted it," Peter speculates.

"Right. Except..." I frown sleepily. There's something bothering me, but I can't seem to figure it out. My mind is clouded with fatigue.

"Except what?"

"If Hook used the portal magnet to draw you to Neverland, how did he get it here?"

"I don't know." Peter shrugs. "Maybe he forced your fey to send it. Can her dust transport objects?"

"Yes." I use all my willpower to keep my eyes open. My eyelids feel like they have stones attached to them.

"Do you have any of her dust with you? Maybe we could launch a surprise attack on my brother," Peter suggests.

"I only have two pouches left." Wearily, I point to the wooden box in the hollow of the wildwood tree. "There's one in there."

My head droops down as Peter crosses over to the branch and pulls out the pouch. Gradually, my body sinks down until I am curled up like a sleeping dragon. I can barely see Peter. Ripping open the pouch, he pulls out a handful of fey dust. 

"Peter, what are you doing?" I stretch out a weak hand to stop him, but my arm collapses weakly.

Peter takes the portal magnet and drops the fey dust into the bronze sphere. The shimmering powder is swiftly sucked into the device. Instantly, there is a bright flash of light. The silhouette of a young girl in a white dress appears. Peter pulls the rose out of my hair and holds it under my nose. The sickly sweet smell saps the rest of my energy. The last thing I see is Peter handing the flower to the girl before everything goes black.

Hello fellow feys,

Thanks for reading the next chapter. I'm so excited that this book has hit over 100 views! Let's keep it up! Follow and like if you're enjoying the story. I update every Thursday.

Fun Fact:

The title "A rose by any other name" is a famous quotation written by one of my favorite authors, William Shakespeare. It's from one of his most famous plays, Romeo and Juliet. This line is spoken by Juliet when she is on her balcony wishing that Romeo was called any other name, so they could be together. After all, they just met so they must be in love. 

That's all for this time! Over and out,

Commodore Caroline