Darling Ellie

Chapter 13

Elaine

Dinner was uneventful that night. The meal ran similarly to lunch. Daniel and I sat together and talked with the other boys. Many times, I began to talk, and I could feel Daniel listen intently to me. I turned to him a couple of times his expression soft and whimsical, as if enraptured by me. Pan made me feel...I don't even know how to describe the feeling, but Daniel made me feel special and respected. It almost seemed like I fascinated him.

"So, Elaine, what's Wendy like now days." Anthony asked.

I made a face to show I was thinking as I shallowed a mouthful.

"Well, when I left, her thirty-fifth birthday was in a month's time. I don't know when it is over there now because of the whole-time thing."

"Thirty-fifth Birthday? She's Thirty-five?" Joseph asked, clearly shocked.

"How old was she when she came here?"

"The first time she was fourteen, the second time she was sixteen. Here it feels like it's been years and still no time at all since she's been gone."

"Well, she's almost thirty-five now. She has three sons and is one of Richmond's most popular hostesses."

"Hostesses?" Anthony asked. I suddenly realised that the group of never aging boys may not be completely aware of ladylike activities.

"A hostess is someone who opens there home to their friends or anyone really. They have cocktail parties and dinner parties or any meeting with a group of people. Wendy's very good at taking care of people."

"She always was." Daniel smiled softly, lamenting his time with Wendy.

"So, you all knew her?" I asked the boys.

"George and James didn't. They're the youngest, technically speaking. They didn't arrive until after Wendy left." Daniel answered turning his gaze towards

"What do you mean, technically the youngest?" I asked.

"Both of them were almost sixteen when they came to Neverland while some boys were fourteen or only just gone fifteen, but they have been in Neverland for the least amount of time which makes them the youngest. They for example, if as you say Wendy is almost thirty, would be a few years younger than her if they lived in normal time. So mid-twenties. Whereas many of us would be anywhere between fifty and three hundred years old or something similar in the real world. The oldest being Felix." Joseph answered.

I understood the logistics of what Joseph said but the way time worked here was hard to wrap my head around. The fact that some boys could have been born hundreds of years before me at yet be my age was startling to say the least.

"And how old is Felix?" I tried to keep my voice hushed even though I knew Felix was away with Pan.

"No one knows really, most of us think of him as the first lost boy. He likes us to think that even if it's not true anyway. All we know is that Pan is older than all of us." Daniel explained.

"But he can't have been brought here like all of you, he runs Neverland." My statement was more of a question.

"Some of the boys say that Pan was the first boy shadow brought here. That Shadow used to be a separate being and when Pan arrived Shadow bonded with him so Pan could control Neverland. But...that's not for us to question unless we want a couple nights in the cage." Joseph answered.

I was desperate to find out the truth from Pan when he returned, but weary of spending any more time in that suspended prison. I finished the last few bites of my dinner and waited until Daniel finished his. We cleared our plates and went to leave together, however, before we could, Alex, the boy who seemed to have it out for me, pulled Daniel aside, whispering in his ear. When Daniel joined me again I looked at him quizzically.

"It was nothing, just Alex being Alex." D reassured me.

I nodded but felt strange feeling that something wasn't right, or that this may come back to haunt us. Once outside the dinner hall we walked hand in hand to Pan's cabin. "Should I come in?" D asked.

I nodded.

"Go to your tent and wait until everyone is asleep or at least in bed, then come see me."

"Okay Miss Sneak." D teased.

"You love my sneaky side." I grinned.

"I do indeed." Daniel walked away coolly, as I opened the door and stepped into the cabin. The space was quiet and peaceful. Pan's scent still lingered in the air, signs that he was here such a short time ago were present everywhere. I was careful not to move anything out of place, but I closed Pan's doors to separate his space from mine. I changed into the clothes I had taken to sleeping in, and started reading, waiting for Daniel to arrive.

D appeared at the door a few hours later once the camp had fallen silent. I opened the door allowing him to slip into the cabin, hopefully undetected. He hugged me tightly, leaning down to lightly kiss my lips.

"I'm so glad Pan's gone." Daniel whispered.

I nodded, never returning the statement, I didn't want to lie to Daniel.

"He has a lot of books doesn't he." Daniel laughed.

I smiled, "Do you like to read?"

"I like to listen." I lightly pushed Daniel towards the chaise lounge.

I skimmed through the bookshelf, my sights landing on a particular favourite. I clutched Sense and Sensibility tightly sitting between Daniel's legs on the chaise. I opened the book,

"The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex. Their estate was large, and their residence was at Norland Park, in the centre of their property, where, for many generations, they had lived in so respectable a manner as to engage the general good opinion of their surrounding acquaintance. The late owner of this estate was a single man..." I read on for a while and we fell asleep together to the sound of my voice.