BtS--Book 1, Chapter 5

     There was a sunrise. Possibly the coolest sunrise ever. The best part was, in Jocelyn’s mind, that she could see the sun rise. Literally see it rise and not feel pain. As the sun rose higher, the light spread releasing Neverland from the cloak of darkness.

     Reggie and Ariel started racing each other by cloud jumping. Belle was trying to perfect what was dubbed the “Pocadive” after her good friend Pocahontas. By the time Jocelyn figured out what she was doing, she was far below Belle. Aladdin grabbed her and pulled her to the rest of the group as they watched Belle practice.

     “Now Belle steps up to the edge. A cloud diver for the past three years, Belle Fontaine will now attempt the elusive Pocadive…She’s ready now…Her path is clear…She backs away to get a running start…There she goes! A perfect leap…her form is straight…she’s nearing the end, all she needs is to hold her angle and she’ll be solid…Oh no, a blast of wind from the north…she…she’s losing it, she’s losing the angle, he head is too far forward…Oh dear, she can’t seem to recover her original position…Thank goodness she’s not in water, because that was one nasty flop.” Reggie cleared his throat, finishing as they flew to meet Belle.

     “Are you okay?” Wendy reached her first.

     “Yeah, yeah I am. Boy that was fun. I really need to work on my angling, though. I keep slipping with the breeze.” She stretched back on the cloud. “Mmm cloud diving is great.” Relaxing on the cloud seemed like a good idea and soon everyone was sprawled out.

     “So what do you usually do in Neverland?” Jocelyn was gathering up bits of cloud to form a pillow.

     “Go on adventures or play games mostly.” Alice rested on Reggie’s stomach.

     “So what should we do today?” Jocelyn asked.

     “How ‘bout musical chairs?” Reggie was contemplating braiding Alice’s hair or just running his fingers through it. When Jocelyn looked at him a moment later, his brow was furrowed in concentration as he braided that large mass of oh-so-shiny hair.

     “No, we just played that in the Queen’s garden.” Ariel lay on her back, kicking up bits of fluff. “What about air races?”

     Jasmine shook her head. “No, no, no. Don’t you remember what happened last time? I would prefer not to have cannons shot at me again.”

     Jocelyn raised her head. “Cannons? You mean from a pirate ship?!”

     “Uh yeah.” Came Aladdin’s drowsy reply.

     “There are PIRATES here?! Can we play with the pirates?” Jocelyn sat up now.

     “Oh I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Belle lifted her head up.

     “I think it’s a great idea. We would just need to come up with a good game.” She tapped her chin, thinking. “Something like…like…like Capture the Flag!”

     “NO!!” the unanimous response surprised her.

     “I mean, oh Jocelyn, while that is a fun game, we haven’t played it with the pirates in a long time.”

     “How come?”

     “Well…uh…” Alice shrugged at the rest.

     “It has been a long time, they must have forgotten by now.” Ariel replied.

     “Oh must have. Pirates aren’t exactly known for their brains. Well any pirate who’s not a captain. Well any pirate or captain who’s not sober.” Wendy smirked.

     “Let’s do it then!” Jocelyn jumped up.

     “It is her first time.” Jasmine spoke what they were all thinking.

     “Alright but we need to go find the pixies to start the game.” Aladdin took a running leap off the cloud. Jasmine was close behind and the remaining left the cloud in an attempt to not smack into one another.

     Neverland, or its proper name Never Neverland, had been filmed several times over the years. There was just something magical and exciting about it that kept directors coming back for more and come back they did. The landscape was just right for an adventure. From the cool waters of Mermaid Lagoon to the edge of Indian Camp, Neverland had room for all the adventures in the world plus one.

     The tree house where the group now found themselves was the same used by the Lost Boys in the popular 90s version of the tale. It wasn’t used by Lost Boys anymore of course, they had a new secret location elsewhere.

     It should have been easy to land in the treehouse, but it wasn’t. Jocelyn tried to copy Jasmine’s dainty landing but she lost her footing and fell into Wendy which started a domino effect. When the dust settled, Jocelyn, Wendy, Belle and Alice were a mass mess of tangled limbs. Laughter filled the room as they were helped up and Jasmine led the girls to a side room. “Aladdin, call the pixies!” She disappeared with the rest of the girls.

     “Now this is one of my favorite parts,” she said as clothes went flying.

     “We’re playing dress up?” Jocelyn held up a delicate lace dress.

     “Not that one.” Wendy took the dress from her.

     “You wouldn’t want to wear regular clothes while playing Capture the Flag, at least not when you’re in Neverland.” Jasmine’s voice could be heard from behind a screen, her day pants hanging over the top.

     Pursing her lips, Jocelyn searched through the odd arrangement of dresses, tops and bottoms. Only Ariel remained in the room when Jocelyn was ready. Ariel’s hand was on the doorknob. “You ready?” She waited for Jocelyn. Nodding, Jocelyn smiled.

    “Let’s play.”