A Castle Made Of Dreams

“WHAT ARE YOU doing still standing there like an idiot?” Juliet barked once Paige was out of sight, hands on her hips and eyebrows furrowed fiercely. “Go after her!”

Snapped out of his trance, Wallace jolted before dashing off, scrambling to get through the halls. The doors hadn’t even opened fast enough for him, nearly causing Wallace to run headfirst into the heavy doors if it weren’t for the sliver of space that had cracked open.

“Paige! Wait, Paige!” He yelled at the top of his lung, racing down the now-familiar halls in a desperate attempt to reach Paige in time.

However, he was just a second too late. By the time Wallace had reached the courtyard, Paige had already mounted her broomstick, kicking off the ground with both hands gripping the handle, knuckles white like bone. She soared off without even a glance back, knowing full well who it was that called her name but she no intention of acknowledging despite that.

Wallace slowed down to a stop when Paige disappeared like a speck of dust into the vivid sky, swerving past white clothes and becoming one with Neverland’s tangerine sunlight.

By the time Wallace trekked down the mountain which atop sat the Neverland Orphanage, the sun had already descended. Deep within the forestry that surrounded the way down, the song of birds was masked by the vulgar cawing of crows, rebounding against the thick trunks of wood.

Each step Wallace took resulted in the crunch of dried leaves and fallen twigs beneath his feet, adding to the eerie gloom of the night. Mud clung to his shoes and the hems of his pants, darkening them to a rusty brown shade that contrasted against the khaki of the cloth he wore.

Wallace had always flown in the skies with Paige, almost never leaving her side. Ultimately, he was unfamiliar with how the paths on the ground worked. He could only navigate by straining his ears and listening to the roar of the waterfall, following the sound of gushing waters in an attempt to locate the sapphire pool at the bottom which served as the mermaids’ dwelling.

Mermaids knew everything about Neverland, that was what Paige had once told him when he first arrived. If Wallace wanted to know where Paige was in this vast land he was still new to, the only way to find her would be through the mermaids.

Not long after, melodious giggles could be heard. It overpowered the sinister rustle of leaves and the sound of birds in the woods, filling the air with sounds of splashing water and laughter. Following that, Wallace crept towards the sound, pushing at the shrubbery to gain a stable footing on the uneven forest floor.

Where he had ended up was on a short cliff that overlooked the gleaming lapis lazuli pools of water that almost seemed to glow from within. In the waters were rocks made of crystals, a handful of mermaids perching on each one while some played around in the water. In total, Wallace counted twelve mermaids, all of which had different scales and hair colors, their skins variating from a pale ivory white to the same shade as the beautiful night.

While some mermaids played with the water, some others sang and strummed instruments, in their hands were lyres made of shells and luminescent silver strings of unknown material. Some held flutes while others strummed lutes that were pastel in color. The most prominent instrument was the power of the mermaids’ voices. Each one was beautifully unique, harmonizing together like a choir that even angels couldn’t match.

Lulled by their sirenic music, Wallace took a few steps too far before he realized his foot was off the cliff. He snapped back into reality right as he plummeted, gravity tugging at his body as he dipped through and air and under the water’s surface. The splash he generated startled the mermaids and most, if not all, gasped in surprise, swimming a short distance away. Some dipped their heads underwater to take a good look at who it was that had invaded their private pool.

Maybe it was because Wallace looked the furthest from menacing but once they realized it was just a harmless youth, many of them returned to their crystals, perched high with their gleaming tails swishing with interest.

When Wallace broke surface again, he took in a deep breath, gasping for air as his arms splashed about to trap water and keep himself afloat. He shook his head a few times to get the water out of his eyes, sputtering our water as he went.

Once he regained his vision, he opened his eyes to see all twelve mermaids sitting a distance away, their eyes trained on him. Some had the expression of pure curiosity, some wore beguiling and seductive grins. However, Wallace couldn’t miss the sharp glint in some of their eyes, laced with the intention to kill.