Return

“You forgot something, Mom,“Henry pointed out, jerking his chin at the mug of hot chocolate his mother had just set down in front of him. Emma smiled when she realized what he was talking about. “Right, cinnamon,“she remembered, picking up a plastic shaker filled with the aforementioned copper powder and handing it to her son. He took it from her with a grin of his own, turning it upside down and shaking it over his drink before setting it back down on the table. Emma did the same and they clinked their twin mugs together cheerfully before starting to eat. This was their morning routine;tried, true, and normal.

*

On the roof outside their window, two boys stood watching the mother and son with similarly unreadable expressions.

The shorter of the two had his dark blonde hair tucked behind his ears and it had the appearance of being slightly gelled;a sharp compliment to his Stygian eyes that seemed to be constantly changing colours. His taller companion’s features were shadowed by a large tan hood and his lanky, yellowing fringe.

Both appeared woefully out of place in mottled cloaks and flannel scarves wrapped around their necks, in spite of the mid-morning heat. The shorter’s cloak was covered with different-coloured patches and looked about two sizes too big for him;the hem reached just past his knees.

“So you brought me back just to see the full extent of your failure?“the taller questioned in a dry tone, hefting a wooden club over his shoulder. His voice betrayed none of the exasperation he was currently feeling.

The other let out a mirthless snicker at his droll manner. “I brought you back, Felix, because I still need you,“he stated matter-of-factly, voice coming out as a heavy British drawl. His fingers rolled between them a jagged white dagger with a black handle as his smouldering eyes remained focused on the open window.

“Their memories are gone now, so they won’t see coming what I have planned next,“he declared, upper lip curling into a sneer that looked even more sinister on his youthful features than it would on those of a full-grown man. The corners of Felix’s mouth quirked slightly at his next words: “They didn’t learn their lesson the first time. Even in death, Peter Pan never fails,”

*

"Pan never fails.”

Those words floated in through the window and reached Emma’s ears, instantly drawing her attention. But when she looked in the direction the voice had come from, there was nothing but an empty rooftop.

“Mom?Is everything all right?“Henry’s voice broke into her temporary reverie, sounding concerned. She whipped her head back around to look at him. “Yeah, Henry,“she replied in as reassuring a tone as she could muster, “Everything’s fine,”