When Mathias' men shouted that Mystasia was on the horizon, I didn't move. I pulled my knees tight to my chest. When they dropped anchor, I ground my teeth together and tried to focus on my breathing. When they put out the gangplank, I swallowed the sick feeling and dabbed at the sweat that formed at my brow before slowly getting to my feet and making my way to the door.

I opened the door just a crack, barely wide enough to peek out through.

"Oi!" Mathias shouted, leaning over the edge of the ship. "You two! C'mere!" He motioned to two people I couldn't see. There was a response of some sort, but their words didn't quite float up over the railing. "Because I need to talk to you," Mathias continued to yell.

Whoever he was speaking to must not have wanted to give Mathias the time of day, because I heard him swear before he shouted after them, "What are you doing wandering the docks if you aren't here to help? Worthless brats!"

"Leave 'em alone," came a new voice accompanied by the sound of boots coming up the gangplank. "We don't take kindly to being harassed. Doesn't matter what kind of cargo you're carrying."

I knew that voice, and my suspicions were confirmed as the owner of the voice made his way on deck. His long, dark hair was held back by a frayed ribbon, and he carried a belt of knives on his waist. He stood tall, and carried himself in a way that let you know he was calculating every movement. You weren't going to surprise him; he was already thinking a step ahead.

"I thought you Lost Boys weren't scared of anything," Mathias quipped, unconcerned with Benj and his threatening tone. "Those two went running away like I was Pan himself."

"They're new recruits," Benj replied, motioning back toward the dock with his head. "They're still a little skittish. Now, what is it you want, Mathias? You weren't due back here for another fortnight or so. I can't imagine you were able to get everything on your list. Pan won't like that."

Mathias grinned. "No, but I got something much better."

Benj arched an eyebrow, studying Mathias skeptically. When Mathias invited him to join him in his quarters, Benj didn't move at first.

"I don't have time for nonsense," Benj said.

"Neither do I," Mathias replied and motioned towards his quarters once more.

It wasn't until I opened the door farther and Benj's eyes found me that he finally moved. He seemed to completely forget about Mathias, pushing past him without looking back.

"Holly?" His dark eyes searched my face, his brows knitted together like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. As he came to stand almost toe to toe with me, he put his hands on my shoulders, his fingers digging into my flesh. "What the hell are you doing here?"

There was a tightness in his voice, an anger that I didn't quite understand. Before I could answer, he glanced over his shoulder, then pushed me farther inside Mathias' room. Mathias attempted to follow us, but Benj rounded on him before he could.

"I need a moment with her," Benj stated before trying to close the door.

Mathias stuck his boot in before the door closed completely. "If you think I'm just going to leave you alone with her—"

"If you value your other eye," Benj growled as he pulled a knife from his belt and pointed it directly in Mathias' face, "then you will give me a moment alone with her."

While they scowled at each other, waiting for the other to step down, I put a hand on Benj's shoulder. "It's okay, Benj. We can talk." Then, I looked at Mathias. "You'll get your bounty. Don't worry."

Benj lowered his knife slightly. Mathias stared at Benj a moment longer before he huffed and turned away. He hadn't denied that he was worried about getting the bounty. That didn't surprise me. We weren't friends. I was a way to collect a small fortune, and he didn't want anyone or anything to compromise it.

After sheathing his knife and closing the door, Benj turned back to me. We studied each other, the silence stretching between us.

"You seem surprised to see me," I said. I fiddled with the fabric of my dress, unable to keep his gaze for too long. Benj had always had intense eyes, but standing alone in a room with him, that gaze focussed entirely on me, made it impossible to maintain eye contact.

He had one hand on his hip, the other rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't say I'm entirely surprised," he admitted, his voice tense "I figured once you caught wind of us coming here that it might only be a matter of time before you showed up."

"You sound disappointed."

"You shouldn't be here," he snapped, startling me.

I told him that I didn't have a choice, the same thing I had been telling everybody else. But like everybody else, Benj didn't seem satisfied by it. He rolled his eyes.

"Of course you had a choice!" His voice was rising with each word. "What's left for you here anyway? Jon's dead! And your father—"

He stopped, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

"What about my father?" I asked as calmly as I could, but my voice shook. A cold sweat broke out in my palms.

Benj studied me for a moment, his dark eyes full of sadness and pity. His next words held the power to destroy me, to rip away the last bits of my old life.

"He's not well, Holly," he said after a moment, and I felt my knees get weak. Not well wasn't good, but it meant he was alive. I opened my mouth to ask him about more, but Mathias' harsh rapping on the door interrupted us.

"Alright, I've given you your minute! Now let me in so we can discuss my payment!"

Benj sighed heavily, but opened the door. He brushed past Mathias and stated that he was going to fetch a carriage to take us to the palace.

"Us?" Mathias asked.

"Aye, us," Benj clipped. "I don't have your payment on my person. You'll have to get it from Pan himself."

Mathias swallowed hard, and his shoulders stiffened. Apparently, he hadn't expected to collect his bounty from Pan. He had hoped that dropping me off would be enough.

Benj pointed back towards me before he gave Mathias one last order. "Make sure she stays hidden until I get back. We don't want anyone else catching wind of her arrival. It could get nasty for you. We wouldn't want that now would we?"

Mathias shook his head, but said nothing as Benj disappeared down the gangplank.

###

When Benj returned with the carriage, he also brought some wandering, curious gazes. When Mathias and I followed him down the gangplank, the whispers started, and I was grateful to be hidden by my cloak. I couldn't imagine the reactions of those if they realized who I was.

The ride to the palace was tense. All the coverings on the windows were drawn tightly closed, casting us all in shadow. Even sitting in the carriage, I kept my hood pulled up over my head, my eyes focussed on the shaking hands in my lap. Benj sat beside me, perfectly still, while Mathias' knee bounced relentlessly across from me.

Uneven cobblestone streets quickly settled into the worn ruts of well-traveled paths before turning into smooth stone that only belonged to our city outside the palace gates. For the first time since settling into the carriage, I lifted my head and attempted to peel back one of the window covers to peek outside.

Benj gently grabbed my wrist and placed it back on my lap. "A lot has changed in a short time, Holly," he said to me, and I could feel the heaviness in his voice. "I wouldn't recommend looking until you're sure you can handle what's on the other side."

A knot formed in my throat that was difficult to swallow and chills rippled over my skin, but I nodded and left the cover alone. Mathias, who had also been reaching for a window cover, let his hand fall away. Apparently, he wasn't sure he could handle it either.

We continued on without interruption until we reached the palace gates, but even then, our delay was short-lived. Before I knew it, we were off again. It wasn't long until we came to a complete stop and Benj was throwing open the carriage door and letting the sunlight pour in.

"You first," Benj said to Mathias, motioning towards the door. Mathias glanced between the door and Benj, hesitation and skepticism written plainly on his face. "Go on, then. Out."

Reluctantly, Mathias did as he was told, leaving Benj and I alone in the carriage.

As I moved to climb out of the carriage myself, Benj's hand wrapped around my wrist and his lips were at my ear. "You have more allies than you know Holly, but you need to be careful, now. Not everyone is who they say they are."

His words rang like Tink's in my mind, and I wondered if that was a coincidence. I didn't have time to ask before Benj slipped out of the carriage and held his hand out to me. I took it and slipped out onto the smooth stone path that stretched in front of the palace doors.

There were servants, guards, and Lost Boys milling about, and all of them had paused to look and whisper about our arrival, ducking their heads to guess who their new guests were. While the Lost Boys looked on freely, I could see that the servants ducked their heads and kept their hands busy so as not to seem idle and the guards averted their gaze to seem as though they weren't interested, but I could tell they wanted to know.

Benj and Mathias made their way ahead of me, and as Benj ordered the guards to open the palace doors, I reached for my hood.

And dropped it onto my shoulders.

Gasps erupted around me as I met the eyes of each person standing before me. Many were shocked, their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. Others looked relieved, as if my presence somehow freed them from the prison that their kingdom had become. But regardless of the emotion on their faces, each person, excluding the Lost Boys bowed respectfully and did not move from that position.

Keeping my eyes on Benj's back, I took one steady step after another, my hands clasped tightly at my sides to keep them from shaking. I held my head high, my shoulders back and my back straight as I passed through the palace doors like I had a thousand times before. I reminded myself that this was my kingdom, and I had every right to be there.

When the heavy doors shut behind me, when the whispers of awe and shock disappeared and I was left standing in the empty grand hall, my confidence faltered. My eyes bounced from shredded banners to broken furniture to shattered glass. Images from nightmares past began to flood behind my eyes, and I wondered if this was what I had seen, if this is what all of my nightmares had been leading up to.

As we drew closer to the doors of the throne room, my legs felt like they were full of lead, but I knew that if I turned to flee in that moment that they would be light as a feather and carry me as far as I could go.

But I couldn't flee. It was too late for that now.

We all came to a stop in front of the tall mahogany doors, and it was then that I could hear the chaos erupting on the other side.

Howling laughter.

Crashing glass.

Splintering wood.

The sharp crack of a whip and a woman crying out.

Benj placed both hands on the door, then paused to peer back at me.

"Ready?"

I nodded once, my neck stiff. I didn't trust my ability to speak. He nodded and pushed the doors open.

The chaos dimmed once the doors opened and Benj and Mathias stepped inside. For a moment, I stood frozen, unable to bring myself to take another step forward.

"Your Majesty," Benj called above the noise, but Peter was preoccupied.

At his feet was a crumpled servant girl, the back of her dress torn open to expose her back, which had been sliced to ribbons. Bits of broken glass stuck out of her shoulder blades, and the remaining parts of a broken chair were sprawled around her. Sobs shook her body as she begged for him to stop.

Lost Boys littered the throne room, drinks in their hands as they stood by and sneered. Some even went so far as to laugh. None of them paid us any mind.

Peter stood above her, his hand raised, a whip in his hand. His eyes were wide and filled with malice, a sick smile twisting his face as he brought the whip down again with a sickening crack!

I flinched at the sound, fear settling like a boulder in my gut.

"Your Majesty," Benj called again as Peter brought the white down again.

"Not now, Benj," Peter called back, his tone steady and calm despite his heavy breathing and the sweat beading on his forehead. "I'm in a foul mood!"

Crack!

The girl's screams made me shudder and I thought about all the times I had been on the receiving end of Peter's rage. All the times he had made me bleed or broken a bone or left bruises on me that didn't disappear for weeks.

Before Peter could bring the whip down again, Benj shouted, "I think I have something that will change that!"

This made Peter pause. In fact, it seemed that Benj's statement finally created enough curiosity that everyone seemed to look at us at the same time.

All eyes were now on us, but the only pair of eyes I noticed were Peter's.

Deep green eyes that reminded me so much of the jungle. Green eyes that I had looked into many times. Sometimes they belonged to a Lost Boy, but, most of the time, they belonged to a monster.

Silence settled over the hall as Peter and I stared at each other.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears as he lowered the whip, his lips parting slightly like he was going to ask a question and then closing again. Emotions flashed across his face faster than I could identify them.

Finally, one word escaped his lips, sounding like a prayer. "Holly."

"Hello, Peter," I said, my voice shaking, but Peter didn't seem to notice. Before I could get the words out, he had dropped the whip, stepped over the cowering, bleeding servant girl, and was running to me.

Just as I was sure he was going to crash into me, he stopped, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Wild green eyes darted over my face, searching for… something. Slowly, as though he wasn't sure, he lifted his shaking hands to my face and took my face in his palms. The warmth of his palms was familiar yet strange, but I didn't have time to think about it before Peter leaned in and pressed his lips against mine, sending my head spinning and my heart hammering.

"Welcome home, Lost Girl," he whispered against my lips when he pulled away, his breath hot as it fanned across my face.

Unable to trust my words, I did the only thing that I could that would tell Peter everything he needed to know about how I felt.

I pulled him in for a deeper kiss and hoped that he wouldn't call my bluff.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, this is the final chapter of Little Lost Princess! The third (and final) piece of this story is in the works and the release date is to be determined!

I never thought when I started this journey a few years ago that it would ever turn into this. I was just trying to write a cute little original fanfic for fun, and now it's turned into a trilogy! I couldn't have done it without any of you! Your endless patience and words of encouragement have done more than you know, and I will never be able to thank you all enough!

Please keep an eye out for the next story! I can't wait!

With love always,

Miss Faery