Peter Pan Fan Fiction ❯ Opening Closed Windows ❯ Deaf man ears ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

4. Deaf man ears.

It was getting colder really fast and Peter could tell that the winter was coming rapidly. The wind was
swirling around his body and he pulled his coat closer to his body. He really needed a winter coat, but
that would mean he would have to ask Bianca for it. Something he'd rather not do. Asking her would
mean admitting defeat to something he could not quite name. He liked to pretend he was just fine,
not something hard to do. He was the king of make believe after all!

He could imagine a dinner so rich that not even the most wealthiest in the world had ever eaten it.
He had thought up a home for himself and could even fly! There was nothing he couldn't do, so he
would always be just fine. Even if he was not fine, he could always pretend to be. No one had to no
he had his own weaknesses. That would make him to vulnerable for attacks of emotion. Something
Peter Pan detested more than anything. Emotions.

Of course the truth was that he no longer could imagine a big dinner. He could not imagine a house
and the worst of all was that he couldn't fly anymore. He did not have the freedom to fly anywhere
he wished it. He could no longer ride the winds back till dawn. He was no king anymore. He was just a
boy, like Wendy had said before she'd left him. He was deficient. How was his deficient? He was just
a boy. Just a boy!

Back then he had loathed the words for their meaning. He was not a mere boy! He was brave,
fearsome and everything the Lost Boys wanted to be! No one should have even dared to tell him that
he was just a boy. He had been so much more than that. She was deficient for not being able to see
that!

Yes she was! Peter thought as he crossed his arms and stared at the brickwork right in front of him.
He had promised to go to school today. Why he had done that was beyond him. There was absolutely
nothing that school could teach him he didn't already know. No one needed to learn how to write, do
math or learn about history. Everything useful in life, Peter already knew. He knew how to talk, run,
hunt and fight. There was nothing else to life that a man should learn. London just didn't knew this
yet and Peters teachers wouldn't believe him when he told them.

His complaints always fell on deaf men ears. Here, at school, he was being taught the silliest things.
They had even spent a couple lessons learning how to act around girls. How to behave when you
were going to meet her parents and what to do on certain dates. Peter snorted and crossed his arms.
As if!

He was never letting a girl get her claws into him. He would never be caught and changed. Because
that was exactly what girls did. They told you that they liked you and then they wanted to change
every single thing about you. It would be stupid to allow it. Peter would never allow it. He could smell
those horrible girls from miles away. They would never catch him! He would never be changed! He
was a free spirit. A free spirit that had to go to school.

Peters face fell and he sighed. He stepped over the threshold of the school however. Peter Pan never
came back on his word, or broke a promise. Not ever.

~*~

Wendy sat on a fauteuil in her mother's parlor and stared at the letter in her hands. Mrs. Darling had
handed her the letter just moments ago. It was addressed to her father, but Mr. Darling had wanted
his daughter to read it. He wanted to know what she thought about it and the truth being told,
Wendy had been waiting for this letter to arrive. But now she held it firmly in her hands, the content

---

didn't seem to matter anymore. She had already known her father was to receive it. It had only been
a matter of time and courage.

She already knew what the letter entailed, but she read it anyway. Only because it was the most
polite thing to do and Wendy had always been proud on her good manners.

'Mr. Darling,

With the writing of this letter I am hoping to ask a question that is weighing heavily on my chest.
Please allow me to introduce myself before asking my question. By doing so I am dearly hoping not to
be disappointed by your answer.

My name is Christian Montgomery. My father is the honorable judge William Montgomery, a man
well known in London. At this moment I am attending my final year at St. Helena' School for pristine
young men, but will start at Oxford next fall. I'll be attending Law there, hoping that one day I might
be able to step in my father's shoes and make London bigger than it has ever been.

The reason I am telling about my prospects in live is due to the fact that I have been quite taken with
your daughter, Wendy. I have never approached her, although we have had a conversation now and
again. For this matter however I would like your consent before asking Wendy's opinion on the
matter. This could very well be a turning point in our relationship and to avoid trouble I thought it
wise to inform you first sir.

For quite some time now I have been contemplating the idea of asking your daughter out to the
Alabaster's costumed ball at Halloween. Hoping that spending some time with her would form a bond
between us that can only grow stronger as time passes. Perhaps grow into something more than just
friendship. I would be able to make your daughter a very happy woman.

With all of this in the back of my mind I respectfully ask for you permission to ask Wendy out to the
Alabaster's Halloween party.

Awaiting your answer,
Christian Montgomery'

"Your father thinks he's quite the little slime ball," Mrs. Darling broke the silence and Wendy looked
up from the letter. Her mother had a smile on her face. Apparently she didn't share her husband's
opinion, cause a moment later she whispered: "I believe he's got a talented way with words. He
sounds very ambitious."

"He is." Wendy sighed. Mrs. Darling cocked an eyebrow, but didn't say a word. In her eyes being
ambitious wasn't a bad thing at all. It would mean that the boy would be very capable of providing
for her daughter, might this turn into a marriage. Christian's father had a real reputation in London.
He was ever impartial in judging people of crimes. For him gray didn't exist. There was black and
there was white. There was good and then there was bad. No middle way. You made your own
decisions and you alone could be held accountable for them.

It was something Mr. Darling could very well understand. Mrs. Darling saw things differently
however. That didn't mean she didn't respect Mr. Montgomery. She had to and he was a very nice
person. His son seemed nice enough in his letter to, but she preferred that her husband would meet
with him before letting Wendy leave the house with him. Just for safekeeping. She only had one
daughter and she had thought she'd lost her one time before. It had been horrible.

---

Mrs. Darling waited for Wendy to tell more about the boy, but she remained silent. So silent even,
that Mrs. Darling felt obliged to ask about the boy. "How did you two meet Wendy?"

"Oh it was nothing mother," Wendy answered. "I was waiting for Michael and John to leave their
school building and he waited with me. We talked about petty things such as the weather and
oncoming social events. I didn't think I'd given him any reason to pursue me until Susan Bowler told
me about his plans."

Wendy made a wide gesture with her hands, as though she wanted the conversation to move on. But
Mrs. Darling didn't say anything and just looked at her daughter as she looked back awkwardly. The
teenager bit her lower lip and loudly breathed in. "Do you think that father would give Christian
permission to ask me out? Even if father thinks he's a slime ball? The ball of the Alabasters is over
four days already. It's a costumed party. This needs to be sorted out as soon as possible mother."

Mrs. Darling didn't answer. It seemed that Wendy was moving on. There had been a while when her
daughter seemed to be sulking more and more. She had looked miserable in the period when she
had just returned home. Of course the boys had told all about their visit to Neverland. But not
Wendy. Wendy had never told stories about what had happened to her whilst being in a land where
everything was possible. Mrs. Darling had prompted her to tell about it once. Just once and it had
been terrible.

Wendy had looked as though someone had just torn a hole in her heart and turned pale. Her hand
were balled into tight little fist, crumpling up her dress. And her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes had
been looking at the nursery window. It was open every night, like she was waiting for something.
Normally looking at the window gave her a hopeful look, but now she look inconsolable. She had
closed the window that night and every night since then. Even when she had moved to another
room, she would still check the nursery window. It had to be closed.

In truth Mrs. Darling had lost her daughter when she went to Neverland. But what exactly had her
daughter lost by coming back to her?

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