18. March

CHAPTER 18

MARCH

I watch the others travel through the forest in the direction of Wonderland. Part of me is sad, only because I was looking forward to seeing my Hatter and Clara Bee again. It's been so long, too long. I haven't had a good cup of tea in ages.

Beside me, Aniya stands, her face twisted into a permanent sadness. Her creatures surround her, a cacophony of small birds and creatures, only broken up by the occasional larger creature. The Lost who escaped Neverland with us remains at her side, the beast mostly a silent sentinel. He only moves when Aniya moves even when she tells him he can move freely. The creature has decided Aniya is the only priority and I can't be angry with it.

She's all of our priorities.

Peter and My Pretty Lily stand on Aniya's other side, their eyes watching the rest of our party leave us behind. It's necessary if they're ever going to make it to Wonderland. Whatever is happening there, Wonderland clearly needs help, and the longer we deny the truth, the longer it would have taken them to get there.

What is the truth? The truth is brutal, painful, and beautiful all at once.

Aniya. Aniya is the truth. Our daughter. Our World Breaker.

"It'll be okay, firefly," I tell her. Despite the pain it causes, I place my hand on her shoulder. Already, her power is evening out the further the group gets from us. "We can go back and help Jupiter and White."

"Why does it feel like I'm being punished?" she asks softly.

My Pretty Lily tenses, her face stricken. Of us, she seems to have the hardest time with her daughter's power. Not because she's afraid of her, but because she's afraid for her. No mother wishes the kind of weight Aniya carries on her shoulders upon them. No mother likes seeing their daughter hurting. Not good ones at least. And My Lily is that.

"Because sometimes, living feels like punishment," I answer honestly. "Sometimes, life is brutal and all-consuming, but usually, there comes a moment that makes it all worth it." I turn toward her fully and kneel before her. "For me, that moment was meeting your mother. Destruction comes at the worst of times, but the prettiest flowers bloom after a forest fire, firefly." I boop her on the nose. "It's hard now, but it'll get better. I promise."

"You can't promise something like that, March," she sniffs. "Not with how the worlds are right now."

"Of course I can promise that," I declare, frowning. "Why couldn't I?"

"I'm a World Breaker," she says, and the words feel dirty, like a damnation.

"And I'm the March Hare," I answer, nodding. "Your father is Peter Pan, and your mother is Tiger Lily. You are our daughter. You are a fierce and wonderful young lady and one day, you will make the worlds shake. That doesn't have to mean their destruction. That doesn't have to be bad. Only you can decide what that means." I look around me and find a few tiny flowers where I kneel. I pluck one of them and hold it up. "Here, eat a flower. You'll feel better."

Despite her worry, Aniya can't fight the smile that tugs at her lips. "That one's poisonous, March."

"Only for someone who can die," I shrug, holding it out to her. "Can you die?"

We haven't asked. I know My Lily didn't want to know, but Aniya knows. She knows everything. She has since she was small, since she first recognized the stars inside her.

Her expression grows serious. "No," she whispers, so soft, I almost miss it. "Not as I am now."

I nod, already knowing her answer. "Funny. Neither can I. Proof that you're my daughter!"

The smile returns and she takes the flower from me. I pluck another one immediately, but I don't offer it to My Lily or Peter. We're not sure if the Daughters have retained their immortality now that Neverland is gone. And Peter, he's died before, or so we thought. No need to bring up that trauma again.

Together, we both take a bite of the flower. It tingles on my tongue, like it's eating me back. My stomach cramps a little but otherwise, I'm fine.

Aniya's smile brightens. "It does help me feel a little better."

"See!" I declare. "Your March Hare knows best. Which means whatever I promise is true." I stand and offer one hand to her and one to My Lily. They both thread their fingers into mine. "Now, let's head in a direction the worlds approve of and we'll get to work."

Aniya looks up at me. "Are you sure you're not afraid of me?"

I laugh. "Firefly, I've been ripped to pieces by a gathering of Bandersnatch. I've been cut up by the Red Queen. I've been destroyed completely only to be remade." I lean in and touch my forehead to the top of her head. "You could never hurt me the same. So no, I am not afraid of you."

Peter steps in front of us, his eyes bright with emotion. "Your stars are showing, Aniya," he warns.

"Let them show," I declare, raising my chin. "She is who she is. That will not change, and we should not encourage suppression."

Peter's eyes flick to me. "You're right." He glances at My Lily, and she nods despite the bite of pain at the power flickering around Aniya.

"Don't hold back," her mother encourages. We don't know what will happen should her power be suppressed for too long, but it can't be anything good.

Aniya winces, but her stars ease out, surrounding us, floating in the air.

"Look at you," I breathe. "An entire universe. The cosmos wearing human skin. So beautiful you are, firefly. So perfectly celestial."

The stars follow us into the forest, surrounding us, throwing us into space. And I wouldn't change it for the world. I lean closer, where I know the others can't hear, only because Aniya wouldn't want them to. She knows how it worries her mother. And Peter? Peter is a little afraid even if he'll never admit it.

"The stars should be proud that their atoms created you, firefly," I rasp. "Just as I'm proud of you."

She looks up at me, overwhelming emotion in her eyes, stars sprinkled in her hair. The World Breaker who will shake the worlds. The World Breaker who will prove it doesn't have to end with her.

The World Breaker who will know what it's like to be loved so much, she could never destroy the worlds.