Tink and Tiger Lily are waiting for me on the beach when I arrive the next morning. I climb out of my dingy and look them over in the early morning light. "Morning ladies, shall we get to work?" I greet with a smirk.

"This is no time for games pirate," Tiger Lily remarks in her usual scathing tone. I guess she's not in the mood for pleasantries today. 

I roll my eyes but otherwise ignore her and turn my attention to Tink who is just looking at me carefully. "What're you thinking Tink?" 

"I think you might need more than that if it comes to a fight." I see her looking at my cutlass hanging at my hip. 

I lay a hand on it and look at her with a raised eyebrow. "I think I can handle a spoiled brat. Besides, you're the only one that's ever given me a real challenge. And you know that this isn't my only skill." I'm confident in my response and my skill. 

She doesn't respond, instead she just turns and starts to lead us through the trees. I sigh and follow her without a word. We continue on our way in a tense silence for a little while before I get a little annoyed with the tension. "Well this is lovely isn't it? I mean the scenery is nice, but the company is a little bland. Can we at least try for some friendly conversation?" 

"And what do you suggest we talk about?" Tiger Lily asks, a little sarcastically but I ignore her tone. In fact I completely ignore her. 

"So Tink, how long until we get there?" I try to put on a chipper tone, hoping to distract her from our mission. 

She doesn't even glance at me. "It is not a long journey. If you know the way." 

I grin. "Well then, I'm glad we have such a capable guide." 

It goes quiet again. They clearly aren't appreciating my attempts to lighten the mood. Fine. I can be serious if that's really what they want. All work and no play and all that. 

"Anyway, any ideas on what she is planning to do when she finds the door to the Fae realm?" I try asking. 

No one answers me right away, but I remain silent and patient. And my patience pays off as Tink speaks up. "She can't open it. Only a Fae can do that. And it must be opened to be destroyed. So whatever she is planning to do she can't have done yet." 

"Because she will need you to do it." Tiger Lily points out. 

I take a moment to think on this information though. What if this is a trap? What if she's just using this as a way to draw us in? If she knows that the map is useless without a Fae to open the door then what is her game? Even if she didn't know when she took the map, she's been out here for days looking for it. She might have found it by now and has probably figured it out. 

"What is it?" Tiger Lily asks, seeming to have noticed my sudden silence. 

I look over at her. "Was it on the map that a Fae is needed to open the door?" 

Tiger Lily furrows her brows before she seems to have caught on to my train of thought. "No. It wasn't. What are you thinking?" 

"This is a trap." I state with certainty. 

"What makes you think that?" 

I roll my eyes. "Whether it was written the map or not, she will have figured it out by now. Whatever she was planning, she either changed or this was her plan all along. She's drawing us in. She needs Tink." 

"Why, though? The Fae are no threat to her. Unless she makes herself a threat first. And what could they have that she would want so badly to attempt to cross into their realm? It is supposed to be fatal to non-magical beings." Tiger Lily talks through her reasonings. Which, although sound, don't seem to apply to our adversary.

"Knowledge." I state simply. "You've said it yourself several times. The Fae hold knowledge beyond anything either of us could ever acquire in our lifetime." 

"And what knowledge is she after?" Tiger Lily asks after a pause. 

I remember back to the conversation I had with her brother yesterday. "Eternal life." 

A heavy silence settles on us. We all know what that means. We all know what she, as an unchosen outsider, would have to do to gain what she wants. But who will be brave enough to say it out loud? 

Tiger Lily breaks the silence first with a tone that is quiet and broken. "Do you think she'll try to-?"

I close my eyes, almost praying I'm wrong. "Yes. She'll go to Skill Rock. She'll try to replace Peter as the avatar of the island's magic." 

"Can she do that?" Tiger Lily asks, worry lacing her tone. I almost want to revel in the thought of her cracking out of her impassive shell, but this is not the time. 

"Yes." Tink makes herself known in our conversation. "She can. If she can get to Skull Rock and translate the writing in the cave, she can do it." We both look up at her and she doesn't even blink or bother to acknowledge us in any way. Instead she stops her trek through the trees and gestures in front of her without looking at us. "We are here." 

In front of us is a meadow like clearing that is not too big but spacious enough. The grass is lush and green. The sun shines down into the space brightly. And in the center of the clearing is a large round stone with a symbol carved carefully into it and surrounding the large stone are several smaller ones in a circle around it. An almost unnatural sense of peace settles around the entire clearing. 

I am shocked however, that Wendy is not here. "Where is she?" 

"You're complaining about her not being here?" Tiger Lily asks in a skeptical tone. 

I roll my eyes at her tone and attitude. "You know what I mean. This was clearly meant to draw us in. So where is she?" 

"I'm right here." 

I turn at the sound of her voice. And there she is, standing at the edge of the clearing. Her brown hair is messy, her blue dress is rumpled and torn in some places. But her face is a mask of confidence and her eyes are full of a fire that I want to put out. Not in a sense that I want her dead. But in the sense that she definitely shouldn't have that kind of a fire burning in her eyes. 

"What kept you? I was expecting you to be waiting for us." I smirk, casually resting a hand on my blade hanging at my hip. 

She frowns at me before crossing her arms and shrugging. "Like the fairy said, you can't find it unless you know the way. So thanks for showing me the way." 

My eyes widen. How could I be so stupid? Of course she would need us to show her how to get here. And if she heard Tink say that all the way back by the beach, then she's been following us all day. She heard everything. She knows what she has to do and where she needs to go. This is worse than I thought. 

I tap the handle of my blade. "What are you waiting for, then? Let's dance." Maybe if I can antagonize her into a fight we can end this right now. 

She shakes her head. "I don't think so. I think your little fairy friend is going to open the door so I can close it, for good. I don't need to go through, you told me all I need to know." 

I laugh. She's not just confident, she's ridiculous. "You're not in any position to be making demands, child. Not only are you outnumbered, you're unarmed. Don't be foolish, and come quietly." 

She glares at me, her fists and jaw clenching. I know she isn't stupid. She has to see that she doesn't stand a chance trying to fight us on her own the way she seems to be implying she will be. But I can see the gears in her head turning. I know that she is trying to think of a way to turn this into her favor. 

"Well? What's it going to be?"