The Never War

Harrow wiped beads of sweat from her forehead and gazed up at the sky. Through the breaks of leaves she could see spots of bright blue and puffs of white clouds. They were still trekking through the wooded area with careful motion, William nearly oblivious to her actions behind him.

The sounds of Indians had died down a bit ago but William was still set on maneuvering his way around the thick trees. “How much further?” Harrow finally called out.

“We’re going back to the tree house,” he answered simply.

“Because that answers my question completely,” she muttered. More than anything she wanted to be next to her sister, protecting her, but instead she was following some random boy in a forest. “How long have you been here?”

“For as long as I can remember.” He glanced over his shoulder to her and she saw a glint in his blue eyes. “How long have you been here?”

“Long enough.” A smirk passed his lips before he looked forward. “You and Peter are pretty close then.”

“Like brothers.” He pushed a stray branch out of the way and waited for her to pass before dropping it. “He saved my life.”

“How nice of him.”

Several minutes passed with silence engulfing the two young adults. Harrow stepped where William stepped and avoided getting slapped in the face by the branches he moved with his hands. Her mouth was dry and her skin was sticky. She watched as he looked from side to side and adjusted their direction. “Do you even know where we are going?”

“Of course I do,” he stated. He pointed in front of him. “We are going to the tree house.”

“Which sounds lovely and what not,” Harrow began, “but we’ve been going in circles.”

“It seems like we’ve been walking in circles,” he clarified, “because all these trees look the same. Unless you have a trained eye you wouldn’t know up from down or left from right.”

“I think you’re full of shit.” She was irritated. Holland could be at the bottom of the lagoon for all she knew and it was driving her absolutely insane not knowing what was going on. “I think you’re stalling.”

“Stalling for what?” His facial expression gave away his irritation as well. “I’m taking you where I’m supposed to be taking you when we get separated.”

“For all I know you could be leading me to the edge of a cliff to shove me off. I don’t know you and you and you don’t know me!” If her face wasn’t already red from the heat, it would be now from her anger.

“Maybe I am!” He took a step toward her. “Maybe I think having you and your sister try to help us win this war is a terrible idea. But it doesn’t matter what I think because for some unknown reason Peter is taken by your sister. He’s taken by your abilities to survive this long on the island by yourself. So because he feels it’s in all of our best interests I’m taking you to the tree house.”

“What do you mean taken by my sister?” She narrowed her eyes at the boy and saw the panic momentarily flash across his face.

“Nothing, I didn’t mean anything.”

“How long have you been watching us? Has he been following us?” Harrow’s voice was low, a sign of her about to explode in rage.

“It doesn’t matter.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“You’re going to tell me what the bloody hell is going on or I will rip you a new one.”

“He fancies her, alright?!” His voice rose above the tree tops. “He likes her adventurous side and how she’s fearless. He’s known about you since the first night you both showed up on the beach.”

“So it’s just convenient that you decided to pull me away from my sister when we were attacked. To give him a chance to be alone with her?”

“No, no that’s not why I pulled you away,” he sputtered. “Look, Harrow, he sees things way differently than you and I do. Peter fancies your sister in a way that he knows she will be good at his side in a fight. He knows that she feeds on excitement and adrenaline.”

“The hole you’re digging yourself in keeps getting bigger.” Her arms were crossed and her hip was jutted out slightly. He let out a sigh.

“Had we all stayed together the Indians would’ve captured us and taken us back to the Chief and she’s someone you don’t want to mess around with. So I grabbed you because you were closest to me in order to give us the best chance of making it out unscathed.”

“And what about Peter? Are his motives for my sister to make sure that she gets back safely?” A snarl escaped her.

“As far as I know, yes.”

“As far as you know.” She pursed her lips and dropped her arms to the side. “Well as long as you say so.”

“Let’s just get to the tre-“ before he could finish his sentence Harrow swung her left fist up and connected with his jaw. He stumbled backward tripping on a tree root and fell onto his side. Harrow took off sprinting. “Harrow!”

Ignoring him, she pushed herself toward the thinning line of trees and felt her heart flutter when she finally broke through. Her eyes burned from the change of light but didn’t miss the danger ahead. Before she could fully stop herself her feet slid on the rocky ground sending her momentum forward. Her arms flailed and her eyes widened.

She was falling off of a cliff and there was no water at the bottom to catch her.

Shutting her eyes she watched her life unfold in her mind as the wind whipped against her skin. Flashes of her life before the island wiggled their way between those of her sister. Fear slowly bubbled its way to the surface and a single scream ripped through her chest. When she opened her eyes she expected to see the jagged ground rushing toward her but instead saw the back of William’s head. Another scream coursed through her as she collided with him, wrapping her arms around his torso.

But rather than continuing to fall she felt as if they had stopped completely in mid-air.

“Are you alright?” His voice lifted to her ears. “Harrow?”

“What the fuck is going on?” She rarely used such vulgar language but in this moment she couldn’t fight it. They were hovering. “Why aren’t we crashing into the ground?” Panic settled in her mind. “Fucking tell me right now William!”

“There’s this thing called Pixie Dust,” he started at the same time they began to move. Her grip on him tightened and she buried her face into his shoulder. “And those of us who possess it and believe in it are capable of flying.”

“There are fairies here?” She couldn’t stop her curiosity. “I’ve never seen one.”

“They don’t much like to be found.” Cracking her eyes open she noticed that they were gliding over another forest that was toward the bottom of the canyon she nearly died in.

“Where are you taking me now?”

“Since you decided to take matters into your own hands,” he trailed off banking to the right, “I suppose flying there would be much quicker and easier for me to keep you from running off again.” She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Just let me know when we arrive.”

“Are you scared of flying?” Amusement laced his voice.

“Heights. I’m scared of heights.”

“We’ll have to fix that,” Will said more to himself than to her.

Flying silently across the terrain of the island, the duo arrived at the tree house much sooner than anticipated. William slowly lowered himself to the ground and kept a smile on his face when Harrow detached herself from the young boy. Her face was white and her hair was wild from the wind. Her eyes traveled up the length of the tree and she frowned.

“This is it?”

“Don’t be fooled. Never judge a book by its cover.” William tapped a large root with the toe of his shoe. The ground let out a groan before part of the tree opened up with enough room for someone to slide through. “Ladies first.”

Offering a grimace of a smile she entered the makeshift doorway first and felt the air leave her lungs when her feet met no ground. Covering her head with her arms she slid through a tunnel of twists and turns before barreling to the ground. Dust rose causing her to cough.

“Harrow!” Her head shot up and instantly she felt relief wash over her. Holland helped her stand before the two embraced each other. William landed on his feet and brushed off his brown clothing.

“You made her go down the slide?” Peter asked his right side man with the slap to his shoulder.

“We’ve had quite the journey here,” Will said with a grin. Harrow shot him a glare.

“What happened?” Holland’s face with lit with excitement and Harrow wished she could mirror the emotion.

“Nothing important.” Holland reached up her hand to brush hair out of her face and Harrow caught sight of a bruise on her wrist. Instantly she snatched her sister’s hand. “What the hell is this?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” Holland quickly pulled away from her sister and pleaded with her eyes. “Seriously Harrow I’m alright.”

“Did he do this to you?” Harrow turned to the younger boy who was watching closely. “Did you do this to her?”

“Did I grab her? No,” he answered honestly. “Did I take her where she needed to go to protect her? Yes.”

“Protect her?” Rather than yell like he expected her to, she growled. Holland took a step back from her older sister anticipating what was about to happen. “You let something do this to her and you call it protecting her?” William went to step in front of Peter but the look Harrow shot him made him think twice.

“The mermaids get a little carried away,” Peter answered innocently. “Holland held up her own fairly well.”

“Oh! She held up her own fairly well. Then it’s not a problem at all!” Harrow felt the sarcasm in her words. Turning away from Peter she looked at Holland. “Not a problem at all.” Whirling around at a speed Peter was not expecting Harrow pinned him against the wall with her arm pressing into his throat. “Let me tell you something Peter Pan. If another bruise or scratch appears on her body at your expense, I will make it my personal mission to take a knife to your throat. Do I make myself clear?”

“Harrow,” Holland sighed.

“Do I make myself clear?!” She shouted in his face.

“Crystal.” Harrow dropped her arm and shoved away from him.

“What are you thinking?” William questioned once the two girls were out of ear shot. Harrow was angrily pointing to Holland’s wrist and whispering harshly.

“I’m thinking that she will do anything to keep her sister alive. And because of that passion, she’ll fight harder.”

“I like her,” William admitted. “She fights for what she believes in.”

“Now get her to believe in you.”