A Castle Made Of Dreams

WALLACE HAD EMERGED in a place that seemed as cold and lonely as a frozen tundra.

When the mermaid said that it was an abandoned island, Wallace hadn’t imagined that the whole island would be a giant rock with caverns and pits that led to pools of water. Indeed, the place was void of life. Not even the seagulls dared to fly overhead. If not for the sound of waves crashing against the spiked rocks, the entire area would be deadly silent.

The walls were dripping with either rain or seawater that had been splashed through the night, sliding down the jagged rocks and making them glisten under the harsh light. On this island, there was only one way forward and that was into the cave. The mouth of it was a large opening that led straight to the seas. It was big enough for pirate ships to sail right in, provided they were skillful enough to avoid the rocks that might send them down into the treacherous waves.

Wallace walked along the thin stretch of land by the walls of the cave. He had to place one foot directly ahead of another in order to stay on land. Even so, the water brushed his ankles every once in a while, soaking his shoes down to the soles, wrinkling his skin into the appearance of a prune.

The sound of water dripping echoed every three seconds, a continuous, smooth, and consistent hum that created a rhythm in Wallace’s ears. He had walked for only a few minutes when the light from the outside stopped streaming in all at once.

Jarred, Wallace turned back with wide eyes only to catch the sight of a pirate ship sailing right into the mouth of the cave. He crouched down instinctively, curling himself into as small and inconspicuous of a ball as possible near the walls of the cave. The ship sailed by, barely noticing that there was an additional shadow shrouded by the darkness of the cave. The wood of the ship barely missed Wallace’s shoulder, skimming by just barely.

When they made it through, the water that was split to let them pass crashed back together, sending saltwater spraying into the air with a loud roar.

Boisterous laughter and rambunctious voices reverberated through the cave from the pirate ship. The pirates were conversing of a thousand topics all at once, their words mingling so that Wallace couldn’t even tell what they were talking about.

He caught a few words such as ‘captain’ as well as ‘returned’ but that was it. Those two words formed a vague image in Wallace’s head but it wasn’t enough information to go off of. Besides, truth to be told, he didn’t care much for the ongoings of Neverland. His only mission was to get Paige and get back to the orphanage.

In the end, they passed by him and into the void, leaving Wallace very much behind.

It was only then that had it snapped for Wallace. With the pirate ship in front of him, that meant that they were closer to reaching Paige — who was most likely still inside, than he was.

Remembering that fact, Wallace abandoned all reason and started to sprint along the thin sidewalk. His feet bounced off the rocks with speed, almost slipping more than once.

However, even though he ran with abandon, he was still too late.

When he arrived, a group of pirates had encircled a small pile of gold. In the very center stood Paige, tall on her feet and a sword in her hand.