The "Magic" Kingdom story - ch. 21 posted (Apr 22)

Ok I’ve been reading this for 12 chapters so far and I have decided you need to send this to Disney so they can turn this into a movie or a video game (reminds me of Kingdom Hearts)

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Thank you for your kind words. :slight_smile:

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But what happens next?

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Sorry for the hiatus. I’ve been extremely busy with things revolving around my parents upcoming move. I’ll try to get more written soon!

No apology needed! I’ll look out for it when it’s posted! Good luck with the move!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Tavern

“What are you going to do with him?” I asked.

Mickey sat, huddled with his back against the rocky wall, clutching his knees tightly to his chest, shivering. There were no bars, no prison cage, just shackles made of what appeared to be long strands of seaweed chaining him to the spot. And despite the fact he had tried to kill me, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He was scared and desperate, not much different than myself. Scared what Captain Hook might do to him once the captain found out Sarah and I had managed to escape under his watch.

“He shall suffer the fate he deserves,” the mermaid’s voice sang out.

“And what, exactly, is it that he deserves?” Sarah asked, hesitantly.

“An eye for an eye, as you humans are known to say. This man tried to drown you. It is only fitting we do the same to him.”

Mickey’s gaze connected with mine, if only for a moment, then fell back to the stones beneath him.

After a long pause, the guilt of knowing that I would end up being complicit in this man’s death even if not responsible for it wrenching inside me, I said, “Not all humans say that. There are some who say we should turn the other cheek. Offer grace.”

“But he doesn’t deserve grace.”

I smiled at this, because it was as I could hear the words of my mother and father in response. “If he deserved it, then it wouldn’t be grace.”

“Are you saying we should let him go unpunished?”

Exchanging looks with Sarah, we both nodded. “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. Only, he can’t be trusted. And, well, we could use him.”

It took another fifteen minutes of haggling before the merpeople agreed, and another ten before Mickey would stop thanking me long enough to start discussing the plan. His seaweed shackles fell away and retreated into the water as the merpeople left us.

According to them, Ursula would never risk this side of the island, for she knows how dangerous they are to her. But the other side of the island, just beyond the drop off, we might find her, for that is where she recruits poor, unfortunate souls to do her bidding. To get there, we could sail our way around, only we had no boat of our own.

“What about Hook’s ship?” Sarah asked. “We could take his.”

Mickey nearly choked. “No, silly girl. Hook would kill us for sure!”

“But only if he caught us!”

“No,” Mickey said. “You don’t understand. Hook never forgets. He never gives up. He’s still trying to catch Pan after years and year. And Pan only makes matters worse by making Hook into the fool each and every time he comes close. Once Hook puts a price on your head, you will be on the run for the rest of your life!”

“But what if we get home, first? He can’t follow us back home, can he?”

“Of course he can!” But Mickey seemed unsure. “And even if he can’t, do you want to take that risk?”

“What about you? Hasn’t Hook put a price on your head?”

“Hook thinks I failed him, not betrayed him. He’ll kill me if he finds me, but he won’t go looking.”

“Fine,” I said. “Then our only other option is to cross the island on foot.”

“It won’t be easy. It could take days or weeks if we follow along the perimeter.”

“Why would we do that?”

“Because,” Mickey said, sounding exasperated, “Otherwise we have to go through Thunder Mountain. And there’s nothing easy about Thunder Mountain. Not to mention, no one friendly along the way.”

I pondered this. Back home, Big Thunder Mountain was basically a railroad. And so there had to be a railroad here, as well. But when I mentioned it to Mickey, he shook his head.

“Thunder Mountain Railroad hasn’t been operational in years. Since before I was born, in fact. The train engine just sits, rusting away, at the station, and part of the track has been destroyed.”

That definitely put a damper on that idea. “Okay, then. I have another thought. The Lost Boys.”

At that, Mickey’s face turned pale. He stammered a bit before finally saying, “You trust the Lost Boys?”

Sarah glanced my way, then said to Mickey, “We trust you, don’t we? Why wouldn’t we trust them?”

I didn’t want to admit to Sarah that I didn’t trust Mickey. How could I after what he’d done? But she was right at least that we had little choice but to try to trust him, if only because it would make our parents proud. Besides, we wouldn’t know our way across the island ourselves.

“Because,” Mickey said. “No one can trust the Lost Boys. They do whatever they feel like, whenever they feel like!”

“Sounds perfect, then. We head toward Thunder Mountain and try to find the Lost Boys along the way. Once we find them…or perhaps once they find us…we can ask them to help. And if not, we climb over the mountain.”

“But…” Mickey started before I raised my hand to protest him saying another word.

“We head out come day break.”

I’m not sure any of us slept well at all. The ground was hard, and my brain was a flurry of fears. We were heading into an area I didn’t know to find a place I’d never seen to entrap a witch we didn’t know how to defeat to bring her to a king we didn’t know in hopes we could find a way back home, which we didn’t even know was possible. And then there was the issue of why Ursula had wanted Sarah to begin with. We didn’t know anything! I finally manage to drift off, at least for a short while, after convincing myself that doing something was better than being stuck here doing nothing at all.

Next morning, we ate a breakfast of fish that Mickey had caught–flounder, I think it was–and headed out of the cave. From this vantage point, we could see the lagoon, and Captain Hook’s ship still there, bobbing gently on the waves. And further beyond that, rising up in the distance, was Thunder Mountain. Had to be, since there were no other mountains to be seen.

We skirted along the shore for a while, keeping just inside the line of trees so as not to be seen, before we faced our first obstacle. For there, directly in our pathway was a small tavern where we could see and hear pirates milling about. And standing just outside the doorway was none other than Captain Hook, just beneath the sign that read, “Tortuga Tavern.”

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Darkness

“We could go around,” Sarah whispered.

I had the same thought. But looking at the landscape, I wasn’t sure if that would be possible. The tavern sat along the bay, on low ground. But the jungle rose quickly behind it and in our way. Of course, we’d face Thunder Mountain either way, but climbing such a steep slope now seemed daunting compared to Thunder Mountain’s gradual incline in the distance ahead of us.

Mickey concurred. “One of the reasons Hook prefers Mermaid Lagoon is because it is isolated from the Lost Boys. They only have one way in, and we’re looking at it.”

“So, what’ll we do? Swim?”

He thought for a moment. The idea of facing the mermaids again soured his expression quickly, and I wasn’t even sure if Sarah could make it all the way across safely.

Captain Hook’s gaze swept across the lagoon, prompting us to retreat into the thick branches. We couldn’t stay here. We couldn’t swim for it. We seemed to have little choice. The jungle was the only option.

“Okay, Mickey. We have no other option. We have to go up and around.”

“But…” he protested.

“No,” I said, cutting him off. “I’m in charge here. Not you.” Turning to Sarah, I pointed up the steep slope. “Do you think you can make it?”

Sarah didn’t even look, and instead, stood up tall with indignation. “I can do anything you can do!”

Trouble was, I wasn’t sure if I could make it, myself.

“Fine. It’s settled then. Let’s double back a ways to make sure we’re out of earshot, and then we climb.”

Mickey gulped.

Thirty minutes later, we’d only made it up about a hundred yards. It was less like climbing up a hill and more like clambering up a ladder made up of tree trunks, roots, weeds, and brambles…not to mention all the insects I was trying my hardest to pretend weren’t there. Mickey had fashioned a rope from some vines, tying us together so if one of us started to fall, the others would become the anchor, although as we climbed, I couldn’t help but worry that if one of us started to fall, the vine would pull all of us to our deaths!

We were soon drenched in sweat, and my arms ached from having to pull myself up higher and higher. On occasion, there would be enough of an opening in the tree canopy that I could see out over the bay, Captain Hook’s ship now well below us. I thought back to the monorail, and how I was afraid to jump the gap from the platform. If I could go back and tell myself that I’d practically be traversing a cliff hundreds of feet up, I wouldn’t have believed myself.

Mickey led the way, Sarah in the middle, and I took the rear. Thirst soon set in, but we had no choice but to press on.

Another thirty minutes, and Mickey stopped.

“Okay,” he said, puffing with exhaustion. “We have to rest. But I think this is high enough. See? The ground is starting to flatten slightly. Enough that I think we can start circling around.”

Sarah wedged herself between a tree trunk and the slope and I did the same. As we sat, the sounds of the jungle came alive. I hadn’t noticed before, being so focused on not falling to my death. But as the day’s heat increased, I could hear the buzzing roar of june bugs, the creaking of swaying branches, the rat-a-tatting of a woodpecker. Mosquitos happily feasted on our flesh, as well, which I ignored. Swatting them away would mean letting go my firm grasp.

We rested maybe ten minutes before we started traversing around the lagoon perimeter. It wasn’t long before we were passing directly over the Tortuga Tavern. Even though I was sure there was no way they could see nor hear us, I found myself holding my breath, moving as silently as possible. At one point, we encountered an opening in the tree branches enough that we were hesitant to cross.

“What if they see us?” Sarah asked.

“They won’t,” Mickey said, assuredly.

I wasn’t sure if he was actually certain, or just hopeful, so we shimmied across the opening quickly. Mickey was across, then Sarah. And then, halfway across, something caught in my peripheral vision. What was it? A bird? Nevermind, I told myself. I took another step sideways, lodging my foot on a protruding root. But then, there it was again! Bright and green. I halted, and glanced around, trying to find what it was.

“Come on, Ian!” my sister cried out as quietly as she could.

I took another step just as whatever it was darted past again. This time, I lost purchase and slipped. With the humidity and the sweat soaking my skin, my fingers failed to hold tightly enough to the tree branches and I felt myself falling downward, knocking lose the earth. The sudden force jerked Sarah free from her perch as well, and soon we were both plummeting.

We were, once again, about to die. Unless I could grasp onto something tightly, and fast, we would end up falling about a hundred yards. Even if the fall didn’t kill us, Captain Hook would! I crashed into a trunk, Sarah right on top of me. Mickey, however, had remained in place, and the vine rope between us and him stretched taut. I glanced up and saw that he had leapt to the opposite side of a tree, allowing the trunk to act as a kind of pulley to balance out our weight.

My heart thumped rapidly in my chest, adrenaline pumping. Minutes passed, it seemed, before anyone said anything.

“Are you okay?” I said to Sarah.

She nodded.

“What were you thinking?” Mickey called down. I flinched at the sound of his voice echoing around us.

Down below, I could hear sudden activity. I looked, and saw Captain Hook and several of his pirate crew glaring up at us. We’d been spotted. Great. But at least we were still several hundred feet above them. A safe distance, for the time being.

“We have to get out of here,” I said. “Fast!” But then the bright green object fluttered by again. “Did you guys see that?”

“See what?” Mickey said as he tried maneuvering himself into a position that would allow me and Sarah to hopefully pull ourselves back up.

“I don’t know what. I thought it was a hummingbird or something.”

But before either of them could say anything else, the tree trunk next to us burst open like there had been a mini explosion. The wood splintered around us. Then, almost immediately, came the sound of a gunshot. On the shoreline, pirates aimed long rifles up at us.

“Move!” I shouted up at Sarah. “Now!”

Another explosion hit, seemingly inches from Mickey’s head, following by the delayed reverberation of the gun that fired.

Within seconds, Sarah had unstuck herself and moved enough to allow me to follow. We scurried sideways, trying to find cover under the tree canopy again. But now the vine tethering us to Mickey was wrapped around the tree, keeping us from going further. Terrific. The clever act that Mickey had used to save us would now be our doom!

Desperately, I untied the vine from around my waist. Once freed, Sarah shot upwards, screaming, as Mickey’s counterweight fell downwards. He managed to cling to a branch, but now Sarah was dangling in plain view. A perfect target!

“Hang on, Sarah!’ I yelled, then climbed up to meet her. As I did, the ground where I had just been erupted from gunfire.

“Help!” Sarah cried out.

I had been so stupid to let a little bird distract me like it had, but I had to push such thoughts aside and free Sarah. Another couple of feet and I was close enough to reach her. I shoved her upwards enough that she could grab onto a tree root as I then managed to untie her from the vine. That was it!

Together, we shuffled sideways to meet up with Mickey. I’m not even sure how it all happened. We just moved without thought, focused more on keeping from being shot then worrying about falling again. The shooting had stopped. We were clear of the clearing. But now Hook knew where we were heading. This whole thing may have been for nothing.

“What’s that!” Sarah said, suddenly.

I glanced over to see it again. Not a hummingbird. A dragonfly, maybe? But then, dragonflies don’t glow like that. Do they?

Whatever it was flew straight at Mickey, almost seeming to shove him over. Mickey lost his grip near the stump of an old fallen tree and then…disappeared!

“Mickey!” I yelled.

A moment later, the dragonfly seemed to just grab onto Sarah, pulling her to the same stump before she, too, disappeared. And I knew I was next, because the creature came for me next. I tried to swat it away, but it just darted around, avoiding my hand with each futile attempt. Then, I, too, found myself being shoved, surrounded by darkness.

Jump to chapter 15.

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So I haven’t finished all of this story, but I read the first few chapters last week. Yesterday in the bathroom of a theme park, my daughter leaned into the mirror and I honestly had a moment of crazy panic.

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That’s funny. I’ll have to add a subtitle, or perhaps a tagline, to the story: “Beware the Mirror”

FYI…I plan to get chapter 15 done sometime this week.

Nice one.

Really enjoying this (though the amount of time I spent reading it this am while I should’ve been working may bring a bunch of guilt on later)… I know someone else said to send it to Disney, but I actually think this has the makings of an amazing children’s/teen novel for real - you should send what you’ve done so far out to real publishers. They’d have to work with Disney of course, but it’s captivating and funny and in line with so many young adult series’ subjects… Even though I don’t know how this one will end, I can totally see further books (like a Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe type series where Ian and Sarah go back when they’re a little older) - it’s a total cash cow. Seriously. Try and publish it.

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Just so you know some of us are still waiting.

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Hehe. Sorry. I haven’t forgotten, but having a hard time finding time. I will try harder! :slight_smile:

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Flight

I’m not sure how far it was, but we didn’t exactly fall. More like slid through a black tunnel, winding around wildly until…

“Oomf!”

“Ouch!”

I felt myself splayed on top of Sarah, who was, herself, splayed on top of Mickey like a big heap of dirty laundry. It was lighter here, but not bright like it was outside. The light kind of flickered, as though from candles, and I could make out enough to see we were inside some kind of hollowed out room like a cave or something. Only, the walls didn’t look like rock, but dirt and twisted tree roots.

“Get off me!” Mickey cried, futilely trying to shove us off.

A sound came from across the room.

“Shhhh!” it hissed, then a voice of a boy. “A little less noise, there. A little less noise.”

I rolled off Sarah and thudded to the dirt floor before looking up to see the back of a figure crouched over something in the corner of the room. I couldn’t quite make out what he was doing, but the figure didn’t stop nor look back at us.

Mickey managed to free himself as Sarah stood, spinning slowly, taking in the room. I did the same. It looked familiar, somehow, like I’d been here before. Which was impossible, I knew. I had to be going insane. This entire thing was just a terrible hallucination, and any moment I’d come to my senses and find I had passed out in the hotel and this was all just a dream or something. But when I reached out to touch a nearby table, it felt solid in my hands. Rough like a knotted tree. Could I hallucinate something so real?

Then, the green flash of light I had seen before zipped past me, straight to the figure in the corner, pausing at his ear and moving about as though angry at something.

“Tinker Bell!” came Sarah’s exclamation just moments before I came to the same realization. And if that was Tinker Bell, then the figure in the corner must be…”Peter Pan?”

The boy then spun around, brandishing a short, gleaming sword, taking up the stance of one ready for a fencing match. At first I thought he was threatening all of us, including Sarah and me, but then I realized he was pointing the sword squarely at Mickey.

“Halt, or I’ll lob off your head, you good-for-nothing pirate!”

Mickey froze halfway between where he had landed and what appeared to be an alcove with a ladder climbing upward. “Please,” he said, pleadingly, “Don’t hurt me!”

Tinker Bell then tugged a long length of rope and flew around Mickey until the rope had wound around his arms and body.

“Why shouldn’t I kill you on the spot?” Peter said, shaking the tip of his sword, threateningly.

“I’m not a pirate. At least, not any more.”

“Not a pirate? Ha! I recognize you from Hook’s crew! Do you deny it?”

Mickey shook his head, violently. “No, no. I don’t deny it. I was part of Hook’s crew. But…but…”

Then, unexpectedly, Sarah charged forward and stood between Mickey and Peter. “He’s our friend!”

I wasn’t so sure that was such a good idea to admit, given the circumstances. In fact, I wasn’t really sure if it was true. Companion, maybe. Guide? I’d heard it said to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, which felt more like what we were doing with Mickey. Keeping him as close as possible for fear he’d betray us as easily as he’d betrayed Hook.

“Friend, you say?” Peter asked, loosening his stance briefly as if pondering this. But then, he pressed forward, brandishing the sword more firmly, now aimed directly at Sarah’s neck. “Any friend of a pirate must be as good-for-nothing as he is!”

“No, you don’t understand,” Sarah said, seemingly fearlessly. “He risked his life to help us escape from Hook. He’s trying to help us get back home.”

At this, Mickey nodded his head feverishly. “Yes!”

“Hmm. Then why aren’t you dead? Hook doesn’t take kindly to mutineers. You should have been fish food by now.” Peter paused, then glanced my way. “And what about you?”

I watched as Tink managed to finish securing the binds around Mickey’s wrists before swallowing down hard the lump that had formed in my throat.

“My name’s Ian, and this is my sister, Sarah. We’re…well, we’re not from around here. And Ursula the sea witch tried to kidnap my sister…”

“…She did not…”

“…and then we were intercepted by Captain Hook, and then…the mermaids…and…well, we’re just trying to get back home before our parents think we’re dead. Or maybe they think we’re dead already, and….” My voice faltered.

Peter stood there, incredulously, before lowering his sword slightly. “That’s the most unoriginal story I’ve ever heard in my life. Where’d you hear it? In a bedtime story or something?”

“No. Well, sort of, I guess. I mean, parts of it…”

“…And you expect me, Peter Pan, to believe any of it? Especially the part about having parents? Ridiculous. Everyone knows parents are just grown-ups who lose their children when they stop caring about you! Just ask any of the Lost Boys. They’ll tell you.”

Sarah pursed her lips, then stepped closer to Peter. “That’s so sad. You mean, you don’t have a mother?”

Peter shook his head. “I had a mother. Once. Her name was Wendy. She came from a place far away called London.”

At this, Tinker Bell whizzed around the room, knocking over bowls and table chairs, angrily.

“Stop it, Tink!” Peter reprimanded. “She’s gone. You don’t have to worry. She decided to…grow up. You know that.”

“Please,” Mickey began pleading. “Please don’t kill us. We’re all good now. And, well, they were always good, but now I’m good, too. And, well, maybe I was always good and just didn’t know it. But please!”

Peter shrugged, then in one swift motion, sheathed his sword through his belt. While he didn’t untie Mickey, he eventually invited us to share some food, what little of it they had to offer, and to tell him the whole story, from the beginning. I started back in the park when Ursula took Sarah, and how we ended up at Space Mountain and was saved by a flying carpet. You could see the glimmer in Peter’s eyes as he listened, as though he could see the whole swashbuckling tale exactly as it had happened.

“…and that’s when we ended up here,” I finished after what felt like at least an hour. I dragged a bit of bread through the remnants of my soup and popped it into my mouth.

“She’s definitely up to something,” Peter said, turning to Tink.

But Sarah wasn’t happy, again. No matter how hard I had tried to tell her, she still insisted that Ursula hadn’t kidnapped her and that she was nice, and just needed their help.

“Help with what, though,” Mickey said before leaning back over his bowl, trying to lick up it’s contents like a dog, his hands still bound.

Tink fluttered about, then zoomed to the alcove and up, out of sight.

Peter sat there, contemplating what he’d heard for quite a while. “There’s a battle brewing. I’m sure of it. Hook and Ursula have been enemies for as long as I can remember, ever since her pest of a pet crocodile bit off his hand. But before that, they say, they ruled the seas together, terrorizing anyone they could.”

“But Ursula disappeared,” I said. “And we don’t know what happened to her.”

“Oh, she’s still around. In fact, she’s probably on the far side of Neverland right now, waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“For you.”

I exchanged glances with Sarah. “Why us?”

“You said you want to get back home, right? And there’s only one place I know of where that might happen.”

I waited, expectantly, for Peter to tell us. But instead, he leapt to his feet. “Let’s go!” And he quickly started up the ladder.

Sarah and I both raced after him, but Mickey could only hop, then teetered, almost falling over the chair. Moments later, Tinker Bell flew past us before setting Mickey free of the ropes. She paused in mid-air, shaking her fist at Mickey, threateningly. He raised his hands in surrender, before she dashed back up after Peter. Soon, we were all climbing until, finally, we exited into the open air where sitting in front of us was a large canoe. There was no water to be found, but Peter urged us to climb inside. We did, perplexed by this when suddenly Tink scattered something glittery all about us. Within seconds, the boat lifted from the tree limbs upon which it had been rested. Peter took out an oar and paddled into the air. We were in a canoe in flight!

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Thank you can’t wait for your next installment.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Fleet

The flight in the canoe was a gentle one, and as long as I didn’t lean over the edge. I made the mistake of doing it once, just to make sure we really were floating above the trees below and not in some unseen lake. We started spinning, and I thought, for a moment, that we would be flung out into the darkening sky, only to realize it was just my head reeling from my fear of heights. Sarah was enthralled by the magic Pixie Dust had bestowed upon us, and once my dizziness passed, I had to agree with her. It was an amazing feeling that we were soaring in the sky with the same ease as drifting lazily along a river.

From here, it seemed we could see all of Neverland. Behind us, the mountains falling way to the sea below, and the lagoon where the mermaids lived, and in front of us, forests and hills and more mountains as far as the eye could see. The tallest was growing nearer, and I presumed it must be Big Thunder Mountain, for it looked ominous, with a threatening dark sky above it.

Despite my original curiosity as to where Peter was taking us, I found myself dumbstruck at the landscape. But as twilight gave way to darkness, a chill crept over us, and I began to worry. What if the Pixie Dust wore off? Or what if in the blinding darkness we crashed into the towering trees or a mountain cliff?

“Where are we going?” I finally asked.

Peter continued rowing, and at first I wasn’t sure if he even heard me. His long, gentle strokes seemed more like someone meandering peacefully than someone in a rush to get anywhere in particular. But then Tink broke him from his reverie, kicking him in the arm with a huff.

“Hmm?” he finally said. “Oh. Sorry. I was…planning.”

“Planning what?” Mickey asked. “Care to clue us in?”

Peter tucked the oars inside the canoe and faced us straight on.

“On the far side of Neverland, there’s another lagoon. The Lagoon of the Seven Seas. And along the shoreline, you’ll find a piece of land known as the Hundred Acre Wood full of strange and fascinating creatures. And in the middle of the Hundred Acre Wood there’s a magical castle. Where, at one time a Prince used to rule. But long ago, before even I lived in Neverland, a sorcerer cast an enchantment over the castle. And ever since, no one has ever been seen entering or leaving the castle, for it has been said it contains a magic so powerful that no one from Neverland could ever wield the power.”

“No one?” Sarah asked, incredulous.

“Well, not no one. No one from Neverland. And so it has sat seemingly abandoned for ages. Oh, there have been those who have tried. Including, I’m afraid, Ursula. Only, she was just as unsuccessful as everyone else. And so that’s what I think she’s up to. She’s figured out how to storm the castle. How to pierce the magical protections and seize the power inside.”

The idea spurred on my imagination. Could it be true? It sounded like something from a Disney movie, frankly. A fairy tale. And yet, here we were among the fairies and in the midst of those who lived only in movies and books. Tinker Bell, Peter Pan, Hook, Ursula, Neverland.

“But what is this power? What is it that Ursula hopes to gain?”

Peter shrugged. “No one knows, really. It has been the stories of legends here for years. A bunch of guesses. No answers. But if Ursula wants it, whatever it is, it certainly isn’t to spread joy and happiness.”

The thought was sobering. Ursula’s power was already incredible. Somehow she was able to leave Neverland and find her way to our world. And back in the ocean, facing off against Hook, she was able to vanish along with her ship without a trace. And why a ship if not to reach the Seven Seas lagoon?

And I couldn’t help but realize what was now obvious. Ursula needed someone who wasn’t from Neverland. My gaze fell on Sarah. That’s what she wanted my sister for! Sarah was going to be the sea witch’s ticket into the castle. It had to be.

“Sarah,” I said, gently. “I know you think Ursula didn’t kidnap you….”

“She didn’t! I told you that a billion times!”

“Yes, I know. And I’ll admit, I didn’t believe you. Or at least, I believe that’s what Ursula wanted you to believe. That she was your friend.”

“She was. She was nice to me. And she said she needed my help, and that she didn’t know what to do. I told her not to worry. I was good at helping people. And she said she would bring me back as soon as she could.”

“But what? What did she want your help with?”

Sarah stared at me blankly. “She didn’t say, exactly. She just asked me to help. And I said yes, and then we ended up here, on her ship. But she never made me come. She was nice.”

I looked at Peter, and he just nodded as if knowing what I was thinking. Sarah was going to be Ursula’s way into the castle. And so I couldn’t help but wonder why, then, we were heading there now.

“We should go back. Hide. We need to get away. If Sarah is Ursula’s ticket to power, we have to stay as far away from the castle as possible.”

There was a long pause, before Mickey spoke up. “I understand now.”

“Well, I don’t!” I shouted. “Why are we going there?”

“Because,” Mickey said. “There’s more to the legend. According to legend, there is within the highest reaches of the castle a portal, and it’s through this portal that one can come and go from our world to the other world. There are other portals, of course. It is how Peter Pan came to Neverland to begin with, and how you got here, and how Ursula got to Sarah to begin with. But no one knows for sure where the portals are located. They come and go. Ursula must have figured this out. But there is only one portal, according to the legend, that remains fixed. That is the one in the castle. Legend also says that is how the prince disappeared.”

“So,” Peter continued, “the only way we can keep Ursula from obtaining the power of the castle is for you and Sarah to break into the castle yourselves and find the portal.”

“Me and Sarah?”

“Yes. Remember? You’re not from Neverland, too. Which means you both have to go.”

I was fine with this. Why would I want to stay behind and send Sarah on ahead? I wanted to get back home and Mom and Dad just as much. Seemed easy enough. And I said as much.

Tink skittered about, like she was angry at something. Actually, she always seemed angry at something, but this seemed worse.

“You’re right, Tink,” Peter said. “Calm down.”

“What’s she saying?” Sarah asked.

“It’s just…it won’t be easy. For, don’t forget, between us and the castle lies the Hundred Acre wood, full of bears, and tigers, and heffalumps, and woozles.”

Tinker Bell shook her fist, saying something else indecipherable.
“Yes, yes. And owls.”

I gave him a sideways glance. Owls? Who’s afraid of owls?

“Owls have a taste for fairies,” Mickey said, answering my unvoiced question.

“Yes, and so we have to wait until sunrise now. It’ll be safer then. For all of us.”

I peered again over the edge of the canoe, still hovering in place. It was dark, for sure, but with the light of the moon, I could still make out the vast expanse of trees. Still. Quiet. Foreboding. As if the end of the world was about to come and the whole earth was holding its breath.

Peter urged us to try to get a little shut eye, but I couldn’t sleep. Instead, I tossed and turned fitfully, mind racing. And after what seemed like an eternal night, the sky began to brighten. On the horizon, I could just begin to make out what must be the Seven Seas lagoon, and woods, and a tiny dot of a structure that must be the castle. As the sun rose more, slowly burning off the haze of the morning mountains, I noticed something else. In the lagoon. Ships. Not one, or two, or even five. But what appeared to be an entire fleet!

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I still say that this is amazing and it should be turned into a movie or a new version of the video game Kingdom Hearts.

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Can’t wait to read more!

Thanks. Appreciate the kind words. I’m not sure how publishable this would be, even after some serious editing (there is a lot I would need to fix), since it depends heavily on Disney’s IP…and, will, you know Disney…they don’t like no one messin’ with their IP. So, it would mean Hyperion (Disney’s Children’s book publisher) or bust.

But it is keeping my writing chops going as I’m doing research for the next book I’m planning to write.

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - Gone

“Uh…guys?” I said, reaching over to shake Peter awake. He was dead to the world it seemed, so I spoke more urgently. “Guys?”

“What’s going on?” Sarah asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Look!” I pointed over the side of the canoe to the fleet of ships on the horizon.

“What are they doing?”

They were there for us. Had to be. Which meant getting to the castle wasn’t going to be as easy as I had hoped. Panicked, I grabbed one of the paddles and tried backing away. If we could see them, I figured, they could surely see us! We needed to get out of sight, and fast!

It was an odd feeling, dragging a boat paddle through the air, but miraculously, I could feel the same resistance I would have expected as if I were pulling the canoe through a slow-moving river. I paddled first on one side, then the other, all the while trying to kick Mickey and Peter to wake up.

“Peter? Mickey?” I yelled, then cringed at the thought of my voice carrying.

“Just a little bit longer,” Mickey mumbled.

But Peter stirred, then shot upright when he realized we were moving. “Stop!” he shouted, then grabbed for my arm as I was about make another stroke.

I jerked away and kept paddling. “We have to get out of here!”

“You’re going the wrong way!”

Then Sarah placed her hand on Peter’s shoulder. “We’re trying to get away.”

Peter glanced to the lagoon, then yanked the paddle from my grasp. At first, I thought he was just going to take over, so I let him. Only, he didn’t move us away, but spun the canoe around and headed back to where we had just been.

“What are you doing?” I said, trying to grab back the paddle.

“Stop it. Listen to me. We can’t go back. We have to get as close to the castle as possible first. Just look again! They haven’t made it to shore yet. Probably loading into the boats now. If we wait, the area around the castle will be swimming with pirates and we’ll have no chance!”

I peered toward the lagoon again, looking more closely this time. He was right. I could just make out activity on each of the ships’ decks, but the shoreline was still void of anyone. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel a rock form in the pit of my stomach. A great big rock that I suddenly felt the need to throw up. And there was something else. Ursula’s ship, the one we had been on before it vanished? It was nowhere to be seen.

“Wake up, you filthy pirate!” Peter shouted, kicking Mickey hard in the head.

“Ouch!”

As Peter continued paddling closer and closer to the castle–and to the fleet–we explained to Mickey what was happening, then started working out a plan. Once we were down on the ground, we’d have to make our way through the woods, being on the lookout not only for pirates, but also the heffalumps and other creatures.

“If you see one,” Peter explained, “don’t think, don’t hesitate. Just run!”

“Run where?” Sarah asked.

“Away!” Mickey answered.

I didn’t like the sound of that. “We have to stay together.”

“Good point,” Peter agreed. “So if, for any reason, we get separated, make your way to the moat. There’s a bridge that crosses it, but don’t. You won’t be able to, because that’s where the magic begins. But we’ve got to stick together as much as possible.”

I still wasn’t happy about this. Once in the woods, we’d wouldn’t know which way is what. “Sarah? You don’t let Mickey out of your sight. Mickey, you do the same with Sarah. Okay?”

“What about you?”

“I’ll keep close to Peter. They know this place better than we do, and can guide us to the castle.” I hesitated, glancing at Mickey. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. I still wasn’t sure I could trust Mickey. If faced with Captain Hook, wouldn’t he just leave Sarah and save himself? “On second thought, you and Peter stick together. I’ll stay with Mickey.”

Mickey gave me an irritated glower, but didn’t otherwise protest. I could tell he could tell I didn’t trust him, but at the moment I didn’t care.

The canoe started to descend, dipping into the tree line. I took one last glance around, noticing the castle was still quite far off. Maybe a mile. And there were boats dotting the water between the ships and the shore. A minute later, we set gently on a patch of grass and jumped out.

“Wait a second,” Sarah said, looking around. “Where’s Tink?”

Sarah was right. In the panic of seeing the fleet, I’d not noticed she’d gone missing.

“I told you before, she’s scared of this place. Probably flew off to get away until it was safe to come back. I’m sure she’ll find us.”

We agreed upon a formation: Peter, then Sarah, Mickey, and finally me in the rear. Peter stepped forward almost silently compared to the rest of us. Our feet seemed to find every possible twig, snapping loudly with every step. It was going to be hard to stay hidden if we could be heard a mile away! But as we continued one, each of us gradually learned to follow Peter’s footsteps until the only sound was the occasional rustling of the leaves in the gentle breeze.

I’m not sure how long we marched along. The further it was, however, the more confident I found myself becoming that we’d make it to the castle without encountering a single pirate or creature. We had to be getting close, and the sick feeling in my stomach gave way to a glimmer of excitement that we would be home soon. Once in the castle, we’d find the portal and then Sarah and I would be back with Mom and Dad. And, sure enough, through the thinning trees, I could just start to make out what looked to be the blue and grayish color of the castle’s bricks. Picking up my pace, I found myself willing Peter to do the same.

But then, Peter halted, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw. I looked around. There was no one. Nothing. What were we waiting for? We were almost there! Just keep moving!

Peter turned, finger to his lips telling us to keep silent, before inching forward, laboriously slow. He waved us closer, then pointed. There, on the other ride of a row of trees, I could just make it out. A figure, moving almost imperceptibly, crouched as though hiding, it’s back to us. I couldn’t be sure, but it had to be one of the pirates keeping watch on one of the pathways toward the moat bridge.

Great. We were so close! But, I had an idea. Glancing around, I found a fallen branch large enough to do some damage, but small enough for me to wield like a kind of club. I tapped Mickey on the shoulder, motioning him to lean in close.

“Time to put your pirate skills into action.”

Mickey pointed to his chest as though making sure I was actually talking about him.

“Yes,” I whispered. “You need to distract whoever he is. Convince him you’ve found us and you need his help. Lure him this way. I’ll be hiding behind this tree and once he passes, whack! I’ll knock him unconscious!”

“I like it,” Peter said. “Thinking like a lost boy!”

Mickey seemed hesitant at first, but then, after a few moments, must have decided there was no other choice. Peter, Sarah, and I each snuck behind trees, out of sight, leaving Mickey alone to do his job. This was it. I was putting my trust in a pirate, and I suddenly felt like I’d made a huge mistake. As Mickey started forward toward the figure, I almost reached out to stop him, but then, it was too late.

“Yo, ho!” he called out.

From this vantage point, I couldn’t see anything going on, and I couldn’t risk peering out, but I could make out what sounded like the distinctive click of a gun being primed to fire.

“Who goes there?” came a voice in response.

“It’s…uh…”

Oh, no, I thought. He was going to say his name. And by now, I’m sure Hook had made it clear that Mickey was a traitor. We’d be done for.

“…well, I needs your help! I think I found out where they’re hiding, but there’s four of ‘em.”

Crunching of leaves, snapping of twigs, then, “Where?”

“This way. Follow me. But keep it quiet!”

More noises as they approached.

“Where’s yer gun?” the other man said, questioningly.

“Uh…set it down over here.”

And soon, Mickey was in view, passing by. I clutched more tightly to the tree branch, getting ready to swing, and I could see Peter doing the same to his sword.

Crunch. Crunch. Just another few steps and then…

…a loud, horrendous cry came bellowing from the woods in front of us. Crashing, thudding sounds, like the sound of something huge barrelling down the woods. Mickey froze, and the other man, still out of sight, gave out a frightened yelp. I don’t know what happened to him after that because a moment later, we all found ourselves fleeing from a giant beast. A heffalump was charging in our direction.

Mickey took off running in one direction, Peter in another. Sarah raced after him, dutifully, and I found myself unsure if I should stay with Sarah, or stick to the plan. As the heffalump came stomping toward us, instinct kicked in and I raced after my sister. Glancing back, if only for a moment, I could see as the heffalump caught up to Mickey, reared up on its hindquarters, and then crashed down on top of him. Mickey was…gone.

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - Castle

I hesitated. Mickey was gone. But so was the gigantic heffalump. But how? I risked inching closer, my gaze firmly fixed on the place they had been. In the shadows of the trees interspersed with sparse light, the ground took on an eerie mix of dark voids and lush undergrowth. Apart from my own heavy breathing, it seemed as if the woods had gone silent. I strained to hear some sign that Mickey was okay.

Stepping delicately so as not to rouse the heffalump–he had to be hiding somewhere–I caught glimpse of what looked like the edge of a deep chasm. And then I heard something coming from down below. It was like a mournful whimpering, crying out for help. It had to be the heffalump. It must have fallen in when it went after Mickey. I felt a flare of hope that maybe Mickey was okay. I had to find out, and moved more quickly, more carelessly. I was almost to the edge when suddenly…

Snap!

The sound came not from below, but from behind. I spun around to find the pirate Mickey had tried to lure into our trap now standing a few feet away, his gun poised to take me down.

“Gotcha, you little bastard,” he said, a sickening grin forming across his filthy face.

I clutched more tightly to the branch in my hand. It was my only weapon against the man, although I wasn’t sure what good it was against a gun. Without moving my head, I darted my gaze all around, looking for some way to escape. The pirate stood between me and the direction Peter and Sarah had gone, the direction that should have led me to the castle. The chasm was behind me, now, cutting off that direction, which only gave me two options.

I had to be quick, giving no hint to the pirate what I was about to do, because I could only hope my ability to run would be faster than his ability to fire off his weapon.

“Drop the stick, kid,” he said.

So I did–by chucking it with all my might directly at him. The trick worked, if only for a moment. As he tried to guard himself from the impact of the branch, I sprinted to the left, hoping to take refuge behind the nearest tree.

“Stop!” he shouted, his footfalls snapping twigs loudly through the brush. Then I heard the gun blast.
In that moment, I lost all sense of direction. I just had to get away! I pushed harder, my chest burning. Through another bunch of trees, then veer right. That’s it. I didn’t even bother looking back. Just keep going. In the distance, I thought I could make out, once again, the gray of the castle. Around another tree, darting this way and that, unpredictably. Almost there. And then…

I halted. For as I had come around a bend, I had found Peter and Sarah. They were in front me, just standing there, arms bound, mouths gagged, surrounded by a garrison of pirates. A moment later, the pirate in pursuit slammed into me from behind, knocking me to the ground and grabbing hold of my legs. I tried to worm myself free until I heard a menacing voice.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

I glanced up to see Peter’s own sword being wielded by one of the filthy men, poised near Sarah’s neck. We were caught, and all of this was for nothing. It was over.

In surrender, the pirate clutched me by my belt, hoisted me back to my feet, and shoved me toward Sarah. And that’s when I noticed him, among the pirates. Captain Hook.

His crude grin sent shivers down my spine. Had we really just walked directly into Hook’s trap? And the castle, now clearly visible maybe fifty yards away, so close…yet impossibly far.

“Finally,” he said. “Pan is mine.”

And then, pounding through the woods, I heard the crashing sound of what had to be another heffalump. Only, when it came through the bushes, there was a rope around its neck like a leash held tightly by–Mickey! He was still alive!

“Well done, Mickey,” Hook said, his gaze falling to Peter’s.

Peter tried to say something, and I’m guessing from the way he grunted through the gag that it wouldn’t have been polite. I decided to speak for him.

“You filthy traitor.”

Mickey’s eyes narrowed, victoriously. “Like me pet? I calls him Lumpy.”

The heffalump’s ears twitched as Mickey stroked his long trunk.

“Oh, my silly boy,” Hook said. “Did you honestly think Mickey was on your side? Did you honestly think he was going to help you get home?”

Honestly? Yes, I did. And now I could see I was the fool. Only, I wasn’t sure why. Why would Mickey have gone to all this work when he could have betrayed us to Hook back at the mermaid lagoon?

“Oh, poor, poor children.” Hook stepped closer, dragging the metal hook of a hand across Sarah’s tear-stained cheek. She glanced downward, trying not to look at him. “Did you think, this entire time, that we cared at all what happened to you? To be clear, your part in this little adventure is done. I’ll have you walking the plank soon enough. But I needed Mickey, here, to win your trust. To make you think he was one of you. To make you find the one I truly wanted.”

He spun around, and with one swift motion, sliced the point of his hook across Pan’s face. Pan grimaced, blood spilling out and staining the gag in his mouth red.

So that was it? We were pawns in Hook’s plan to capture Peter?

“So, what? You’re just going to kill us now? I’m warning you. We won’t go easily.” I said, defiantly.

“Oh, well, you see. But the thing is…I have no choice. Because the fact remains, the sea witch would still love to get her hands on you. I can’t have her ruling Neverland. And with the both of you dead, well…she’s ruined.”

He had this all figured out, I could see. But a thought came to me. One thing that might convince Hook to keep us alive–at least for a little while longer.

“But wouldn’t you like to put an end to Ursula’s power once and for all?” I asked.

Hook raised an eyebrow, curiously. I’d captured his attention.

“The fact is, if we’re dead, Ursula is still the same menace she’s always been, isn’t she?”

He seemed to think on this a moment. “I’m listening.”

“But inside there…” I nodded toward the castle, turning dramatically to face the imposing structure. “There’s still unimaginable magic. And what if you held that power instead of her? Wouldn’t you like to use that to defeat her? Because, I can get it for you. Only my sister and I can get you inside the castle. Unless, of course, we’re dead.”

For a long, interminable minute, Hook pondered this, his narrowed gaze focused on me, then Sarah, then me again.

“You sneaky little fellow. You’ve almost got what it takes to be a pirate. I like the way you think. But don’t believe for a moment I don’t see what you’re up to.” Turning, he motioned to Mickey. “Come here.”
Mickey nodded in obedience, handing the leash off to the pirate who had first captured me before coming closer. “Yes, sir.”

“You’re going to keep watch of…” He turned to face me again. “Oh, I’m sorry. What’s your sister’s name, again?”

“Sarah,” I said, forcefully.

“Sarah. Lovely. And you are?”

“Ian.”

“Very good. You keep hold of Sarah while Ian here gets me into the castle.”

But…this wasn’t what I had wanted, and my fear must have shown in my eyes.

“Oh, I just need a little insurance. As long as you don’t double cross me once inside, your sister stays alive. But if I even think you’re up to something, Mickey here will slice your dear little sissy’s head from her shoulders. You understand me?”

No. No. No! But what else could I do?

“In the meantime, keep Pan alive until I return. I’m looking forward to putting an end to this thorn in my flesh once and for all!”

And with that, Hook shoved me toward the castle.

But then Mickey stopped him. “Wait. Sir.”

“Yes. What is it?” Hook responded, irritably.

“What about Ursula? She could show up at any minute. With the girl out here, she still has a way in.”

He thought about this. “Hmm. Fine. We’ll both go. Grab Pan’s sword, though. And if the boy tries anything…”

Mickey dragged a finger across his neck, finishing Hook’s thought.

The castle rose up before us as we reached the bridge crossing the moat. The entire structure seemed to almost shimmer, the air around it fluid like it was surrounded by a shield of water. We stood, just inches away. And suddenly the same, scared feeling I’d had when I jumped the gap to the monorail came over me. Only now, the fear I’d had then seemed silly by comparison. What if this didn’t work? What if we weren’t the ones who could pass through, safely? What it had all been just a story someone made up, and we were about to touch it, disintegrating us on the spot?

I resisted moving closer, but Hook wouldn’t have it and squeezed my arm so tightly I thought it might break.

“Move it,” he said, urging me to take the final step.

But then, unexpectedly and to my horror, Sarah rushed forward, dragging Mickey with her. Like a pond swallowing a stone, they were through. They were inside the castle.

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