Extra Darling

Chapter 26: After Effects

A/N: Song above seemed really perfect to set the mood of this chapter so please either listen before or during. It's from my favorite soundtrack on earth. Enjoy!

Arthur walked solemnly beside me on our journey back to the beach. Lately, that place has felt more like a home than any other place on this bloody island. Every time I'm looking for an answer, or just when things start to go terribly wrong, the sea seems to have the solution. And in leading Arthur back to the sights and sounds he has spent his whole life around, I'm hoping it will lessen his misery about the loss of his compass. It wasn't too long ago that he led a quite distraught me through these trees and gave me something to distract myself with on the sea. It truly is incredible the healing properties it possesses.

We both trudged through the dark jungle, our clothes burned to a crisp and our faces covered in ash. I stole a glance at him as we passed over a fallen tree trunk, but he didn't look in the mood to talk.

I wanted to comfort him, to tell him that we'd find the compass and everything would be fine, but I couldn't. Truth was that we could never going back to Pixie Hollow, and so his compass was really gone.

I released a heavy sigh that formed a puff of smoke around my face, due to the bitterly cold night air. It was certainly winter time in Neverland, and the ripped fabric of my once beautiful gown did very little to keep me warm. I crossed my arms over my chest and kept moving, hoping to reach the beach and the warmth of Arthur's ship as fast as possible.

"Are you cold?" Arthur asked, startling me with a break of silence.
I rubbed my hands up my arms and nodded.
Without pausing to think about it, Arthur shrugged off the remnants of his suit coat and gingerly draped it over my shoulders.

When he did, his hands lingered for a moment around me. I looked up at him and tried to give him an encouraging smile. His lips tightened into the best smile he could muster, and then he moved away, beginning to walk slowly ahead of me with his hands in his pockets.

"Arthur," I called as I ran to catch up with him, slipping my hand through his arm, "I'm sorry about your compass. It was nothing more than a terrible accident."
He pulled my arm closer to him and brought his other hand up to hold it, "Unfortunately that's not true. It wasn't an accident. It was my own foolishness. If only I had left the compass back on my ship or in the hut, I wouldn't have lost it."
"But you've said it yourself. Lost things have a way of getting back to us."
A faint smile tugged at his lips, "I only wish that were true."

I shook my head, attempting to gather his full attention, "If you're going to blame anyone you should blame me. I'm the one who misspoke in front of the Queen and caused her to call the Fureen on us. It's my fault your compass is gone."
"The truth of the matter would have come out eventually. Neither of us are particularly convincing fairies, blondie."
"Excuse you," I raised my eye brows, "My performance skills are quite impeccable. In case you've forgotten, Captain, I've managed to pretend my way out of three sticky situations now."
"That just means you're good at playing make believe." He chuckled, "Not that you're a good fairy."

For some reason his words struck me oddly. Playing make believe. I hadn't truly played make believe since before Wendy, John, and Michael had left for Neverland in the first place. I cast it off as an unnecessary, childish behavior. Who needed make believe when all that mattered was real life?

But as I walked with Arthur, the beach coming into view as we stepped through the trees, I wondered. Could going to the one place that made me want to stop being childish actually make me more childish? Did playing pretend and believing in all the magic of Neverland make me a child once again? And, most importantly, was that what I wanted?