Wendy blinked up at Peter, confusion in her deep brown eyes.

"What's going on?! This is impossible!" She gasped.

"Wendy Darling!" He scolded, hands on his hips. "... anything's possible!"

And to prove it He rose up into the air. Wendy gasped and fell back onto the ground. Peter laughed gleefully.

"This can't be real! I-I'm hallucinating." Wendy exclaimed, the mark under her collarbone glowing a bright green.

Peter hissed plummeting down from the sky. The mark on his arm burned.

"Wendy try to calm down." He replied in a placating tone.

But still she lay there on the ground trembling.

"Wendy. I'm not going to hurt you."

"What are you?!" She glared.

"I'm a Fae."

She scowled at him.

"I don't believe in faeries!"

He glowered at her. "Well you'd better start!"

Never had a creature looked so helpless yet spiteful. Wendy shivered in her white nightgown.

"You're cold. Come, lets go to camp. You can warm yourself by the fire." Peter said softly, reaching down to help her up.

Wendy seemed to think for a moment as she regarded his hand.

Then her eyes lost a bit of their venom, as she took it.

Peter smiled in what he rather hoped, would be a comforting way, and started to pull her up.

Then the dirt Wendy flung from her other hand contacted his eye.

He howled in pain and dropped to the ground.

And Wendy made graceless crashing noises as she rushed through the forest.

-~- (Wendy's P.O.V.) -~-

My breath came in uneven gasps as I ran blindly through the forest.

This can't be real, this can't be real, this can't be real. I repeated it like a mantra in my head.

"Faeries aren't real, Portals aren't real. I've really lost it!" I panted.

Then that twinkling noise came again. Zipping around my ears.

I swatted at the creature.

"Blasted bug! Buzz off!" I hissed in annoyance.

My head was wrenched back as something pulled my hair.

"Ow!! Leave me alone!"

With a ring of a bell, The glowing bug grew in size until...

"Pick on someone you're own size!" The voice was strident and very ticked off.

I blinked at the petite blonde woman in front of me.

She narrowed her vivid green eyes at me. "Well say something you giant blundering oaf!"

I frowned at her, "I beg your pardon, but who the hell are you?!"

"I'm Tinker Belle." The woman glowered.

I took her in. Her skin had a golden glow and she was clad in a giant leaf that didn't leave much to the imagination.

"What do you have to say for yourself?! Picking on poor Peter like that!!" She squeaked.

"Poor Peter...Poor Peter?! The man kidnapped me! And I'm pretty sure he kidnapped my brothers too!"

The pixie bit her lip, "Kidnapped is... a strong word."

"But the right one in this context!" I shot back.

"Tink." Peter spoke up, materializing out of the forest.

I started, and glanced up at him.

Pan leaned against a nearby tree, "As much as I appreciate you defending me Tinkerbell. It's not necessary. I can take care of myself."

"Besides,"Peter continued with a rougeish grin. "I can handle one little human."

Tink huffed at Peter, shot one last glare at me. And shrunk down to the size of an acorn, zipping off into the forest.

Peter looked down towering over me.

"Look Wendy. Please understand. I'm trying to help you."

"How?! How can I trust you?! How do I know that you aren't going to..."

"What...Kill you?"

I swallowed dryly.

Peter sighed as if annoyed by my incompetence. "Wendy if I wanted you dead. You'd be dead already." He said matter-of-factually.

I nodded slowly, that made sense.

"Then what do you want with me?" I asked softly.

"You are to be my... Neverland's queen."

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline, and my legs turned to jelly.

"N-neverland?!"

"Yes." Peter gestured widely to the forest around us.

I slid down a nearby tree as my legs gave out.

"B...but, why me?! I've never even been here before! I know nothing about this place or you!!!" I shrieked.

Peter crouched down to my level, putting his finger on my lip.

I froze and stared at him. His eye was red rimmed, and I felt a momentary twinge of guilt for throwing that dirt at him.

"You've met me before... you just don't remember."

He moved slowly as if approaching a startled animal.

"Let me help you remember."

He put a hand on either side of my face and slowly brought his forehead down to meet with mine.

My eyes closed as the mark on my chest burned, and I was flung backwards in my own memory to that fateful day so long ago...

I was out playing in the garden. I had a little table set up for tea time with my dolls.

"Miss Sofia would you like one lump or two?" I asked, loading invisible sugar cubes into one of the mismatched teacups.

I nodded as if hearing Sofia's reply-

"Lovely! And a cookie?" I asked.

The wind picked up, flapping my pink dress around my ankles.

Somebody cleared their throat.

"I don't suppose you have any tea leftover miss?"

I flung my gaze over to the back of the garden, where a handsome man leaned on a nearby tree on the other side of the Iron gate.

I gasped.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you!" He exclaimed flashing a thousand watt smile.

"I-it's alright." I replied, the picture of manners.

I 'poured' another cup of tea and left the table at the centre of the garden, carrying it to Peter.

He took the teacup from me and smiled, miming taking a sip.

"Lovely brew miss... why! Forgive me miss but I didn't catch your name!"

"My name is Wendy, Moira, Angela, Darling!" I recited, counting off the names in my head.

"What a lovely name! You know, where I come from names carry power, Wendy Moira Angela Darling."

I frowned, "Where do you come from?"

"Neverland."

He said it in such a mysterious way, my attention was immediately caught.

"Neverland? I've never heard of it!" I gasped, feeling a bit nervous about speaking to a stranger.

"Of course not! Not just anyone can hear about Neverland!!"

And now my curiosity was truly piqued. "Oh? Why not?"

"Everything that grownups don't want children to know about live there."

I frowned again, getting the distinct impression that this man was pulling my leg.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Well... all the creatures."

"What kinds of creatures?"

"Unicorns. Faeries, Mermaids."

"Mermaids?!!" I exclaimed.

"Yes. So you can see why it would need to be a secret."

"I see" I replied, trying to maintain my composure "...so why did you come here?"

He lowered his voice and leaned over the fence careful not to touch it.

"I'm on the hunt for a story teller." he stage whispered.

I pondered this new information for a moment. "...I know lots of stories."

Peter crossed his arms and looked at me reproachfully.

"Really I do!"

"I don't believe you Wendy Darling."

"I can prove it! Let me tell you a story!" I exclaimed, already picturing what the mermaids would look like.

"Well. I am getting tired of standing here..." He paused looking down at the gate.

I frowned. "Gran doesn't want me to open the gate."

"Where is your Gran now?"

"...Getting groceries."

"Well then how would she know you opened the gate?~"

I bit my lip.

"You promise not to tell her..."

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Peter replied.

"Okay." I reached up on my tippy toes and undid the gate latch.

Peter entered the garden carefully as I held the gate open to him.

I closed the gate behind him and joined him at the table.

"So what kind of stories do you like?"

"All stories!" Peter exclaimed with a smile.

"Have you heard... Cinderella?"

Peter shook his head no violently.

"Okay! So once upon a time, there lived a very good little girl. She was very happy because her Daddy was very nice and so was her Mummy."

I told him the story for a while until Peter was satisfied.

"You're a very good story teller Wendy! I should like to bring you to Neverland to meet some mermaids."

I clapped my hands together gleefully.

"I'm so happy I should like to give you a kiss!" I exclaimed.

Peter startled me by stretching out his hand towards me.

"You have no Idea what a kiss is do you?" I giggled.

"I shall know what it is when you give it to me!" Peter exclaimed, flushing red. "Besides, I assume human kisses are different than Fae kisses."

I blushed and dug in the pocket of my dress for something to give him. After all I didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Finally my fingers made contact with a thimble, I grabbed it and placed it into Peter's hand.

"Now Wendy. I should like to give you a Neverland kiss."

My face heated and I leaned towards him, my eyes closed.

I was surprised when he grabbed my arm, and gently pulled me to my feet.

He towered over me, but he stooped down, a hand on either side of my face and touched his forehead to mine.

I gasped as a burning pain blossomed under my collarbone.

"Now I shall always know how to find you."

All too suddenly everything clicked into place.

"Y-you're the reason Gran didn't want me to open the gate!" I exclaimed, shoving him away from me.

"Wendy!" Gran called into the house.

"Gran I'm in the garden!!" I shrieked.

"It's too late Wendy! You're coming with me!!"

Peter gripped my arm hard, and pulled me towards the gate.

"GRAN HELP!!"

The back screen door slammed open.

"PAN LET GO OF HER THIS INSTANT!"

Peter froze, the grip on my arm tightening.

"It's too late! She wants to come with me. I know her full name!"

"Back you demon!"

Gran pulled a drawstring pouch off her neck and started flinging salt at Peter.

His grip released on me and I ran to Gran's side.

Peter jumped onto the stone garden wall, and growled at Gran.

"It's too late Colleen. I've already kissed her."

His eyes were like a burning fire.

"She is but a child! You cannot take her yet."

"Fine. But I will return. She will be mine!"

"Over my dead body."

"So let it be." Was the growled reply.

Peter dropped down onto the other side of the wall and disappeared.

Gran pulled me tightly to her, sobs wracking her body...

I gasped as my brain jolted back to the present.

I blinked open my eyes and found Peter's bright green eyes right in front of me.

His forehead was still touching mine.

A stray tear fell down my face, and he gently wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.

"You didn't need a storyteller."

"No. I needed a Queen."

"You've got the wrong girl."

"That mark proves otherwise." he replied softly.

I covered the mark with my hand.

"Come, we must reach the camp before nightfall. There are dangerous creatures in the woods."

"Like you?"

He smirked at me.