It was bright outside when I awoke. I found I was no longer tied to a pole, but covered in a blanket laying down on the floor. I sat up in confusion to find a girl sitting on the floor next to me, reading a book.

She looked to be about ten years old. She had reddish gold hair, a tan but still light complexion, and captivating gray eyes.

The girl looked up from her book and smiled. "it's good your awake. I was beginning to think I hit you too hard."

She led me to the room I had seen before, that I now definitely knew to be the kitchen.

It was made entirely out of wood. The dishes, the sink, the forks, spoons, and knives. All of it was wood.

"eat this and the come meet us outside. Just walk through the doorway and look left." The girl said, handing him an apple and some cheese, and walking out the door.

Now, you may be asking "branch, why aren't you questioning this girl?" well, I have been knocked out too many times for asking questions, or being in the wrong place. So at this time, I'm keeping quiet.

Now back to the kitchen.

It was a cheery place, with a window that shown light across the entire room. The kitchen had an air of peace about it, like nothing could ever go wrong. Like you could just sit and relax in the sun. And that's exactly what I did.

After I finished my food and rested for a moment at the table, I headed out the door to find the others.

I stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and looked left. Sure enough, just like the girl said, there was a door.

I pushed on the door and it swung out, spilling bright sunlight onto me. I stepped through, the wood below my feet giving way to grass.

I looked ahead and saw a group of people talking. Two of them looked to be teenagers, the other eight seemed to have ages ranging from seven to twelve.

The older teen was the first to notice me, followed by the rest. The teen walked up to me and shook my hand, his grip firm but gentle.

"hello, and welcome to Neverland. My name is Peter Pan, but you can just call me Peter. We are really sorry about the whole pirate confusion. There has never been an adult here that was not brought by the pirates before, so I'm sure you can understand the mistake." Peter let go of my hand and gestured to the people behind him.

"this is my crew. The Lost Boys."

The three girls included in this started to raise their weapons in a bored manner, but their intent was clear.

"And girls." Peter added quickly, "Lost Boys and Girls."

The weapons were lowered. The red-haired girl from before, smiled and fist bumped another girl with dark skin and small flowers woven into her braided hair.

Peter then introduced them. The red-haired girl was named Cat, and had been the one that knocked me out.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Fingers, the boy from last night, was the youngest of the group at seven, and was the resident artist.

Flower was from Africa, and was the best hunter.

The other teen, Raven was the second in command. Cat, was his sister.

Simon was Irish, and could talk to animals. His best friend was a fox named Wyatt.

There were still others, but time has swept their memory from me. All that is left of them is fleeting images.

"Now, " Peter said, drawing my attention back to him. "I've heard part of your story from Fingers, but I would like to hear the whole story from you." And with that, we all sat down, and I told them the whole story. I left nothing out. From meeting Nic, to over hearing the men talking, to the mysterious green light I saw, to following the golden orb.

By the time I finished my story the sun had moved a significant amount in the sky.

The Lost boys, and Lost girls (man are they scary!) sat in silence, contemplating my tale.

The quiet was finally broken when Cat said "well, I don't know about the green light, but we can tell you what the golden orb is! It's Tink!" her eyes bright.

As if it heard her, the golden orb appeared out of nowhere, like magic. Which I had to remind myself, it probably was.

The orb flew up to Cat and started to make angry bell noises.

"sorry, I didn't know you wanted no credit in saving his life." Cat said, crossing her arms in a show of annoyance.

"okay, let's back up a few steps." I said in confusion. "Who is Tink, and how did she save my life?"

Fingers looked up from a carving he was putting the finishing touches on. "Tink is a pixie, and she saved your life by leading you to us."

"you mean into the ambush where you hit me over the head?" I asked sceptically.

"it was us or the pirates you were about to walk into, take your pick." Cat said, pointing toward the coast, where I could just see a harbor with several boats of various sizes.

"got it, thank you Tink." I said quickly. No need for them to think of dropping me off there, I prefer to live.

Tink make a couple of short bell sounds, which I assume meant 'your welcome'.

Peter stood up and addressed the group. "okay, now that the formalities have been dealt with, how do we get Branch here home? Assuming you even want to go home. "

I thought for a moment. Everything I could do here ... But at the same time, there was too much I had left unfinished and unsaid back home.

"Neverland is an amazing place... But I need to go home." I said with determination.

"alright then!" Peter said brightly, "back to business. Anyone?"

The group thought for a while, each making their own plan in full before deciding whether or not to present it.

Finally, Simon, the boy with the fox, spoke keep up. "we could smuggle him onto one if the out going ships?" he offered.

"No way," said another boy named Sailor, "they thoroughly check the boats. No stowaway would go unnoticed, let alone survive."

"we could steal a boat." someone offered and was quickly rejected.

Many ideas came and went before a great one was found. We were all so focused on needing a boat we forgot something until Raven reminded us.

"hey Branch, " Raven asked. "what happened to your ship?"

"last I saw it, we were in the gutters of a hurricane. I...doubt it survived." I answered, my voice cracking on that last word.

"what if it did?" Raven asked quietly.

I looked up in surprise.

"from what you told us the storm was rather average for experienced sailors. So, I think its entirely possible for them to have survived." Raven continued. "if so, we don't need to steal a ship, we just need to get you to that one."

Cat snapped her fingers. "the Faye! They need the magic from Neverland so they can't take you all the way back to the mainland, but they can go just outside the vale. And I bet your crew hasn't had time to sail back yet."

"um, what's a faye?" I asked.

The entire group looked at each other... Then they started smiling... And I broke into a cold sweat.

My experience has said it is a bad sign when children smile evilly.