⊹ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ ⊹ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ ⊹ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ
( Two - War of hearts )

WITH HER HAIR giving off fragrances of botanical flowers and honey, she danced around River. He let out a laugh, one he hadn't let out in a while. That was the thing with the new arrival, Autumn. Ironically, like her name, she made everything that felt close to death, feel alive.

The purpose of the season autumn was to put the past to an end. The season, made the past seem strikingly beautiful. So, that when you look backwards, you'll only be reminded of the beauties of letting go, and not the pains of the past.

"Your hat is so lovely." She twirled by, and patted Wyatt on the head, leaving him astonished.

"Thank you Autumn! Great to see you again!" The thirteen year old boy self-consciously lifted his palm and reached for his hat, smiling to himself. "Here you can have it, my welcome gift to you. And, you can call me Wyatt."

Grabbing a plate, Wyatt placed it before her, it clanged onto the wooden surface. The tent's fabric started to flap about, before settling again, an early sign of night time approaching.

She had only arrived. Yet, they were already so polite and showered her with gifts. "That's so kind of you, Wyatt. I shall treasure it forever!" It sat gracefully upon her head.

Not questioning what was organised on her plate, Autumn happily scoffed the vegetables down. Her stomach grumbled in response, clearly pleased with the nutrients and food it was receiving.

Elijah smiled softly at the girl, chuckling at how she eagerly nodded when River offered to add more vegetables to her plate. "You might want to slow down, or you'll have a nasty stomach ache." He leant forward and cover the side of his mouth with a palm, "Especially when Blythe cooked the food today." He whispered.

"Hey man!" Blythe protested, nudging Elijah's side. "My food is delicious, look you've eaten all your casserole. So, obviously I am a good cook." Proudly, he raised his eyebrows and continued to eat. He triumphantly grinned at her lively laughter.

"I have to say, all of this is so heavenly." Shimmying in her seat, she dug her knife and fork into the casserole, and tilted her head back at how great it was. Without missing a beat to ask a question, "So I take it you're Pan?" she queried.

The once high spirited room fell silent, Elijah shook his head and lowered his glass of water. "No, no, no. Pan's in his tent as usual, he rarely comes out any more." He sat up straight, "I'm Elijah, but you can call me Eli."

"Oh alright, well, it's nice to meet you Eli. You already know my name." Autumn felt safe around him, the kindness within his gestures made her feel homely inside. She knew she made the right choice in befriending him.

"Yes, yes!" He exclaimed. "I have to say, you run really fast. It's quite handy."

"I've had practice let me tell you." She thought hard, "But, what would I run from?" Suddenly intrigued, she lowered her fork. It scraped slightly along the surface of the plate.

All the boys peered at one another, having a mutual agreement to inform the bright girl.

"Captain Hook and his crew of pirates." Wyatt spoke up. His voice wavered, the way his hands shook whilst holding the ladle for soup, it was an indication of fear.

Perceiving this, Autumn's pulse rapidly pulsed. "Pirates? You mean actual pirates? Like people who go 'ahoy matey' and swing swords around and hunt for gold? I didn't think they were real."

Her throat ran dry, if they feared the crew of men this bad, then what else was there to fear in Neverland?

Grey sniffled, his eyes brimmed with tears. For, he was far too frightened of Captain Hook. "Pirates are really really real. One of them stole my teddy bear from me when they invaded the camp. I never got Sir Fluffy back." He pouted, trying his hardest not to cry in front of her.

"That's absolutely horrific Grey." She whispered, and wiped away at his fallen tears with her handkerchief. A glint could be seen within her eyes, suggesting that she had an idea. "You know what, I have a passion for sewing. With right materials, and the right description. I could make you Sir Fluffy, it would be like he never left."

And just like that, the despondency Grey felt was gone. "Oh goody! Thank you so, so, so, much Tumtum!" flinging his arms onto her outstretched arms. She realised that when she was around the five year old, her insides felt mellow.

Grey had this affect on so many others as well. He held so much sunshine, that he made the ball of gas that hid behind the forest to feel so belittled. Autumn swore to protect the boy from all the harsh things in the world. Especially pirates that stole teddy bears.

"Wendy used to be like you, until-." Blythe broke the moment.

Untangling from her arms, Grey hurried away and found a seat on River's lap, clearly not wanting any contribution in the conversation. Soon, the rest of the boys left the dining room, leaving Blythe and Autumn alone.

"Wendy? Isn't she the lady we're not allowed to talk about?" Carefully speaking, she knew that Wendy was not an easy topic to talk about.

Blythe displayed all kinds of anger and annoyance on his face. "Yeah but . . ." His expression turned into a lour, "We should. She was once our friend. If you were to disappear one day, you would want people to remember you, right?"

Slowly inclining her head she understood, "That's true, I would." She sat back into her seat. "What was the reason of her departure?"

Blythe looked like he fell into a deep void of pain. "Because of Pan . ." He gulped thickly, "I loved her," His eyes were puffy, it was pink rather than white around his pupils. Tears fell uncontrollably, "I was going to tell her that, but Pan killed hr."

Staggering backwards, his jaw dropped. Realisation hit him far too hard, Blythe had told Autumn the one thing Pan forbid. Though, he didn't regret it one bit, for she had the right to know. To know what a terrible monster Pan was. So that, Autumn had a chance to escape.

So that, she didn't end up like his Wendy.