The Time Ring

“So” Mousy was restrained by her bad thoughts. She was scared to wander around because she was more than sure she would get lost and drown somewhere. She was always around the Doctor. On the other hand, Jeremy was acting like a kid. “This place is harmless?” The Doctor chuckled.

“I wonder if we will actually meet Captain Hook, too” He turned to the Doctor for a response. He only shrugged.

“I don’t know. It’s my first time here” Mousy stopped and glared at the Time Lord.

“Excuse me, what?” The Doctor shouldn’t have said that. Jeremy shook his head and patted the older man pitifully. “How did you know about this place, then?” The Doctor smiled and patted her head.

“I knew about it. When I was a kid I used to talk to my mother about this place. I never got the chance to come here until now” Jeremy raised an eyebrow. He was confused about something.

“Don’t you need coordinates to get here?” The Doctor shrugged and started to walk. Mousy and Jeremy glanced at each other.

“He has a mother?” Mousy glared at her brother and hit him lightly. Jeremy scoffed and ran after the Doctor.

That left Mousy all alone. She was all alone in the middle of nowhere. She started to walk on her own, hoping she would eventually meet the boys. She kept the hope until she realized she wasn’t going to find them anytime soon. She didn’t have any idea where she was or where she was going.

She walked aimlessly until she decided to take a break near a lake. It looked safe enough. It was getting darker and she had to find shelter for the night.

“Why did I have to open my big mouth?” She squatted and stared at the water. “Why Peter Pan? I could have said Sherlock Holmes or even better, Merlin! But no. I said Peter Pan” She shook her head and leaned on her knees.

She had her eyes closed when she suddenly heard something in the water. She raised her head and leaned closer to the shore. She saw bubbles; like the ones a person does when it’s under water for too long and drowns. The bubbles stopped after a few more seconds. She was really curious and spread her hand over the water. In a matter of seconds, a hand rose from the water and caught hers. She tried to get back but the other person had a tight grip on her wrist. She gulped. She was going to drown. The hand was ready to pull her into the water but someone grabbed Mousy by her waist and pulled her back really hard.

“I almost died. Again” She was trembling. Dying because of the ring was bad but dying in the water was worse.

“Are you alright?” She turned towards her savior. It was a boy who looked really young; 13 years old young. He raised an eyebrow once he noticed her biting her lip in frustration. “Well?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and started to sway from one leg to the other.

“You” She pointed at him in amazement. The boy rolled his eyes. She got on her feet and continued to point at him. She walked closer and pocked his cheek. The boy narrowed his eyes at her. “You are real”

Mousy was confused. If the boy in front of her was one of the Lost Boys, then Peter Pan had 50% to be real.

“Don’t you know that mermaids like to play around? Anyway, who are you?” The boy glanced warily at her. She looked old.

“Mermaids? Like half humans and half fish? Mermaids?” The boy scoffed. She didn’t respond to his question. She coughed and straightened. She had to look like someone important. “My name is Mousy. What is yours?” The boy suddenly pushed his chest forward and grinned cutely. Mousy’s heart melt at the sight. He looked adorable and had dimples.

“My name is Peter Pan! I am the leader of the Lost Boys. Neverland is my home” The kid was growing excited and he started to rant about his high position. On the other side, Mousy’s mind was trying to find a logic explanation. She couldn’t find one. It was just mind blowing. Peter Pan was right in front of her. A kid who was probably 13 years old was ranting about his magnificent persona.

“Peter Pan, huh?” She mumbled and rubbed her forehead. It was going to be such an interesting week.

“So tell me, where are you from?” After they introduced themselves, Peter became nicer. His bubbly attitude and curiosity regarding everything unknown was hard to contain.

But, Mousy found herself captivated by the young man. He was such a bundle of joy and silliness. He was representing every kid’s childhood. He was the boy who never grows.

“I’m from England. That’s really far from here” And probably unreachable. She came with the Doctor. He was the key between the two worlds. Of course, she couldn’t tell him that. He was only a boy.

“That sounds familiar. Oh! I had a friend once who came from a place called England!” That was and wasn’t a surprise. If Mousy remembered correctly, he was probably talking about Wendy. “She left a long time ago. She said she had responsibilities. Ha!” He scoffed and started to skip the rest of the way to the Tree House. Mousy followed him closely. She was stunned when she saw the house.

“It looks exactly like I imagined” She smiled softly and watched it for a few more minutes. It was so amazingly childish and messy. She chuckled and entered a basket. It was the only way to get up there. Once it stopped, she entered the house. It was quite small for someone of medium height. Thankfully, she was really short.

“Guys! We have a guest!” Peter glanced at the woman over his shoulder and smirked boyishly. “A girl guest!” In no time, the rest of the inhabitants crawled out of their hidden places and lined up in front of her.

“Who’s this?”

“Why is she so tall?”

“Is she an adult?”

“Is she Wendy? Did she come back?”

Mousy took a step back. The kids had a lot of questions for her. Peter glared at his friends and shushed them. One of the boys grabbed a chair and placed it in front of Mousy. She sat down while the boy sat on the ground around her. She felt like she was a story teller in the library.

“Alright. One question at time” The boys nodded. One of them raised his hand. Mousy nodded bemusedly.

“Are you Wendy?” Mousy shook her head. Peter was watching everything from the side.

“I’m sorry but no. My name is Mousy” The boy retracted his arm with a disappointed expression.

“Do you know what happened to Wendy?” Well, that was quite a story to improvise. She had to think fast and make it believable.

“Wendy became an adult. She is no longer like you. She has her own family now” Peter watched her with such intensity that she was sure he could notice she was lying through her teeth. Fortunately, he sighed and rubbed her eyes. He looked sad. All of them did. “You miss Wendy a lot, don’t you?” They nodded.

“How did you get here?” Mousy rubbed her hand nervously. She had to think quickly of an unimaginable way that wasn’t as amazing as flying. Telling them about the Doctor and about the TARDIS was too troublesome.

“With a friend. I came here with a friend. He has this magic box that fulfills wishes” The boys leaned closer in fascination. Mousy chuckled.

“Can we see it too? Can we wish for something too?” She shrugged. She only hoped the Doctor won’t let them enter the TARDIS. That would end up as a big disappointment for the boys.

“Maybe you can. I’ll have to ask my friend” Another of the Lost Boys wanted to ask her something but Peter interrupted.

“Aren’t you too old for Neverland?” She gulped and tilted her head to the side. He was smarter than she imagined.

“Not really. Neverland is a place where everyone is welcomed, right?” The Lost Boys nodded. “It doesn’t matter how old I am. At heart, I will always be a kid” She winked at the boys when she realized she shut Peter up. She was wiser than he gave her credit for. But something wasn’t right about her. She was too wise and had the right answers for everything.

“Where is your friend?” She ighed heavily and leaned against the back of her chair.

“That’s what I want to know, as well” Actually, how far could the Doctor and Jeremy get. She found Peter Pan faster than them. It was only a matter of time until the Doctor will find him too. She only hoped it was going to be sooner than later.

“We lost my sister” It was two hours later when Jeremy realized it was too silent. He glanced around him and noticed someone missing. The Doctor didn’t seem worried at all. He looked very entranced by Neverland.

“She’s fine. I’m sure she already got in trouble” Jeremy raised an eyebrow. That didn’t sound good at all.

“If you’re trying to make me feel better, you’re doing a shitty job at it” The Doctor stopped and glanced at the young Cavington. He and Mousy were suspiciously alike. It felt like he was looking at Mousy’s child, not brother.

“Where is trouble, there’s Mousy. If there is Mousy, I’m sure we will eventually get there too” Jeremy blinked in confusion. “We’re just going to follow the trail of danger to her”

“Why are you so sure it will be connected to her? You’re a magnet for troubles as well” The Doctor chuckled. That was true. But usually, he was the one who would get his companions in danger. With Mousy, it was the opposite. “And what about Peter Pan? Where is he?” The Doctor continued to walk and ignored Jeremy completely.

“Patience is a virtue, Jeremy” The younger man scoffed.

“I wouldn’t count on that to save your ass when some dragon with two heads will come across and try to kill us” The men stopped when they heard something in the near bushes. Jeremy rushed behind the Doctor. “I’m taking it back! I’m taking it back!” Their adventure in Neverland was definitely eventless; at least, until they will probably meet Mousy. The Doctor was sure that she got into trouble already.