Neverland Rebel

Chapter Twenty

(A/N: trigger warning, there's some blood in this chapter.)

So. It's my day of vengeance against all the boys who tried to bring me down. This is the day Pan and I prepared for last night. We practiced sparring and archery late into the night until we were both confident that I could outfight and outshoot anyone here. I don't wake up early today, rising at the same time as anyone else. When Pan calls us to archery practice, I grab my bow and choose a target. I feel the eyes of the Boys who judged me burning into my back, but I calmly notch an arrow and fire. Thunk. It hits dead center. I grab another arrow and release, watching it fly into the center again. I fire again and again, smirking when they all hit the center. I step forward to take my arrows from the center, taking side glances to see all the boys looking away. Consider that one test passed with flying colors. After archery practice, Pan announces that it's time to fight. I catch some glances from the Lost Boys who insulted me, knowing they expect me to lose. However, I know I'm going to win.

Before I know it, I'm beginning my first fight. I duck under his clumsy lunge and whirl behind him, stabbing and slashing under his guard. Before long, I trip him and he falls to the ground with my weapon at his throat. The first battle in this war has been won. I walk a few paces away, watching as a few more fights take place and then it is my turn again. This time, I'm against another boy, tall and imposing. However, he is slow to recover after an initial attack, and I use that to my advantage. I feel like I'm running circles around him, and I end up winning once again. I extend a hand to help him up, but he knocks it aside to get up himself. It doesn't matter, the damage has already been done. For my final fight, a boy named Jason cockily steps forward. I heard him muttering to his friend a few moments before he stepped up to me, saying "This'll be an easy fight. She's just a girl." I feel my rage burning through my veins, and I try to channel it to give myself more energy instead of simply charging in. Across the area, I see Pan scowling in my peripheral vision, and I know he heard exactly what Jason said, but it doesn't matter. This is my revenge. Jason and I circle each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. It turns out I don't have to wait long, as Jason grows bored of the waiting and moves his sword forward. I easily parry his blade, and the fight begins. Jason is a fair fighter; he has quick reflexes, but he is unsure of when to attack and ends up being predictable. I knock his legs out from under him and he falls to the ground with a loud thump. He lets out an angry grunt and takes a few steps backwards while getting up. He puts his hand out behind him, as if he's waiting for something, and one of his friends shoves another sword in his hands. Suddenly, I understand why he wanted to fight me. He wishes to prove me useless to Pan, and he's willing to do anything to make himself look better. This includes cheating in our fight. He swings his second weapon out, and I am forced to parry both swords at once. As we exchange blows, I notice his style has changed now that he has two weapons. Before, he could use his other hand for balance, but now that he is holding something, Jason often brings his secondary sword forward whenever he is a little off balance, as he's doing now. I take advantage of this and hit him hard in the legs, bringing him down with both arms behind him. He tries to get up, but it's harder than he thought while holding two swords. He brings his hands together to one side, hoping to boost himself up, but I smash his hands with the pommel of my weapon. He grunts in pain, losing both weapons. I execute a perfect kick to his stomach, and he is knocked onto his back, dazed. I stab my sword into the ground to hold it, and grab the handles of his swords. While he is down, I stab the tips of each sword into opposite sides of the ground right near his neck and force the handles together. Now, Jason cannot get up without severing his head. I lean over him and whisper one thing in his ear before backing away. "Am I still just a girl?" I see the rage flash in Jason's eyes, but I am already walking away and in one swift motion, I put my sword back into its scabbard on my back. A few of Jason's friends crowd around him to help him get up, but as I keep walking forward, I notice the glint of glee in Pan's eyes. I smirk at him, and head back to camp.

It's getting late, and I watch the sun set through the trees. I feel victorious, proud over my wins over the other Lost Boys. I watch as the final Lost Boys head to their hammocks to sleep through the night, and I decide to stay up a little longer, sitting near the fire. I love the way it crackles and jumps from log to log. At last, I realize night has fallen over the island, and I get up and stretch, ready to head to bed after a long night. I'm almost at the edge of the clearing when I hear a voice behind me. "Not so fast, Saramia. We've got some things we want to say to you." I turn around to see Jason and about three other Lost Boys looking angry behind me. I guess they were upset I showed them up at the fights. "What do you want, Jason?" He takes a few steps forward, threateningly, mockingly. "Well, you thought you could win a few fights earlier today. We don't like it when girls think they can do whatever they want. " I sigh. "Look, I beat you. So what? Just ask for a rematch the next time we have practice." Jason just shakes his head. "Unfortunately for you, we don't want you hear any longer. I guess that leaves us with no other choice. Boys!" Jason makes a motion with his hand, and in a split second, I realize what's happening. I wheel around to see two other Lost Boys coming up behind me, and Jason's three other friends swarm me. I try to fight back, but I'm not prepared to fight five on one. They grab my arms and hold me in place, no matter how hard I struggle. "Let me go!" I shout, trying my hardest to be free, but the Boys Jason chose are strong and I don't move an inch. "I'm afraid not, Saramia. Let's show you what we do to girls who need to be put in their place!" Jason draws a dagger and steps towards me. He slashes at me, opening a long cut across my shoulder. I try not to make any sound, but it's hard as Jason cuts another line down each of my arms. I kick at him, but to no avail. He brings the knife back and forth across my legs, and I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from screaming. They are deep cuts, and I feel the blood dripping down my arms and legs, but I do my best to keep looking Jason straight in the eyes. As he raises his arm for one final gash, I hear a voice behind him, dripping with malice. "What is this?" I see fear flash in Jason's eyes, fear like I've never seen before. "P-Pan." Of course, Pan himself walks out of the forest. "So, can you explain what this is?" Jason can't seem to make another sound. "No? Well, let me see if I know. You were angry that Saramia beat you, even though you bragged about how good you were. You were ashamed of yourself, so you thought you'd gang up on her when she was alone and cut her? Is that right?" Pan stalks toward Jason, and the boys holding me let go. "I think you'd best come with me." An icy glare spreads across Pan's face, and in a flash, he and all of the boys disappear for a second. I guess he teleported them somewhere so he could deal with them privately. However, I can't wait that long to think about it. All of the pain from the gashes hits me in a single wave, and I nearly double over. As soon as I feel myself doing that, I see Pan come back in my peripheral vision. He quickly crosses the camp, and suddenly, he's holding me up. "Mia, are you okay?" Pan seems to take in all of my cuts at once, and I see another wave of rage cross his face. "I'm going to kill him...." Pan fades off, and he helps me stumble over to a log. "Here. I need to grab some herbs, but I can heal your wounds. Just stay here for a few seconds." He disappears in another flash, and I know he's off to get some of the plants I gathered just yesterday. He comes back, holding said plants and some bandages. "Hold still." He rolls up my sleeve, exposing the wounds, and I hiss in pain as he applies some pressure when putting on the bandages and dressings. He mutters apologies and moves quickly. I feel his hands moving with the medicine, and I watch as his eyebrows knit together in concentration as he works. He glances up and catches me staring, and I quickly look away, trying my best to ignore the heat rising in my cheeks. At last, he finishes, and offers me a hand to get up. I take it, and admire my bandages. "Thanks, Pan." He nods. "It's the least I can do. I'm going to get you to bed, then I swear, I'm going to kill them." I shake my head with difficulty. "Don't. I know you might want to, but that's what they want. To prove that I need you to kill them or whatever. Banish them, punish them, I don't care. I know I can't control you there, but don't kill them." Pan nods. "You're right, but know that they will suffer for what they did." I chuckle a little. "Peter Pan, always looking on the bright side." He laughs as well, and we slowly walk over to the hammocks so I can get to sleep. As he starts to turn around, I say one last thing. "I mean it, thank you. I'm sorry my revenge over them had to come to this." He pauses for a while, then keeps moving, but I hear him whisper one last thing, and I get the feeling I'm not supposed to hear it: "Don't be sorry. It's never your fault."