Here is the next chapter. I'm trying to finish up Maggie's past as quickly as possible, so that we can fast-forward into the future soon. These chapters are quite important because they are setting up events for the future of the story when Maggie finally is sixteen.

A special shout out to my faithful reader who's review brightened my day: anonymousgal1990.
This chapter is dedicated to you.

Chapter 5:

"To Protect Myself"

"No way". One of the twins shook his head vehemently at my request.

Folding my arms in my best imitation of my older brother I shot back with, "why not?"

"For one thing, you're a girl and girls don't fight with swords."

"Yes, they do."

"We've never seen any, and we've been here a long time. It's just not done."

"What about Xena? She's a warrior and she fights with swords, and even beats up bad guys." I insisted, not willing to let this matter go.

"Who?" The two brothers looked at each other, shrugged simultaneously, and turned back to give me an equally blended look of confusion and suspicion.

"None of the girls in Neverland ever fight. That's why we are the ones who stand against hook." Ace stated proudly.

"But there are no girls in Neverland — I've never seen any. So, just because there are no girls here, that doesn't mean that girls can't fight with swords." I felt very proud of my logical argument, but it seemed that the boys were not done.

"Sure there's girls in Neverland!" Don't Ask laughed out loud. There's Tink, the mermaids and Tiger Lily — and they don't use swords at all."

I huffed in annoyance and stomped my foot. "Well of course Tinkerbell doesn't fight, she's a fairy!" I counted off the girls on my fingers as I named them. "Mermaids have tails and can't get out of the water, so how could they ever use a sword properly? As for this Lily you mentioned, is it some kind of magic flower?"

At this the boys started cracking up, one even ended up rolling on the ground, howling with laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"Tiger Lily is the Chief's daughter. She got kidnapped by Hook a few times in the past and Peter Pan had to save her. Girls don't fight pirates, so they don't need to use swords," Ace concluded.

"That's dumb. I want to be able to protect myself. Sometimes nobody is able to save you. If I had a sword I could protect the people that I love as well."

Don't Ask shook his head. "We're not going to teach you anything, you'll just get hurt. Anyway, Rufio is the one who decides which lost boys can start training with swords. It can be dangerous if you're not careful enough."

I stopped pursuing the matter when I noticed that I would not get any help from this quarter.

Instead I took to observing the lost boys' training sessions while hidden from view. I would follow along with their movements while using a straight-ish stick. I felt so proud about my sneakiness and deception, and often imagined amazing everyone with my deadly and awe-inspiring sword feats.

Several days had passed. It was not uncommon to see me sitting on the platforms higher up in the tree at sunrise, where I would often be leaning against the trunk and staring off into the distance - hoping against hope to see Rufio returning with my brother.

One such evening I saw a glowing speck fly up toward me, seemingly getting larger as it approached. Finally it came to rest on my right knee and the glow faded slightly, revealing a rather small person dressed in leaves.

"Tinkerbell, why are you here?" I asked disinterestedly as I continued to gaze out into the horizon.

Tinkerbell flew up to my face until she was eye-to-eye with me, and waved her finger at my nose, practically making me go cross-eyed as I tried to focus on her. "Don't think that I haven't heard about you secretly spying on the lost boys' sword practice sessions. What would your father say?" To this I suddenly felt my eyes start to tear up and I sniffed, before giving the fairy my most stubborn expression.

"My daddy would be proud of me - he would want me to be able to protect myself. If he was still alive he would definitely train me himself!" I glared at Tinkerbell through angry tears, seeing her looking down with an awkward expression on her face. I hated feeling like this, like by my very presence I was making people feel uncomfortable. I pointed a finger at myself and demanded, "How unfair is it that the daughter of Peter Pan can't do anything useful? That she is this weak, pathetic crybaby that everyone feels sorry for?"

Tinkerbell floated back down to my knee, sat down and wrapped her arms around her legs, her chin coming to rest on her knees. She glanced up at me saying, "I do know what it's like to lose a loved one, although as a fairy I experience it differently. Here in Neverland people do not age, although it is possible for them to die. Magical creatures, such as fairies and mermaids see death as an inevitable end for many humans. Their deaths, like their lives, tend to be rather fleeting. I have seen many pass through Neverland - one such person was your grandmother, Wendy. She was not a skilled fighter, nor was she knowledgeable in any particular craft. However, she did possess something that was quite impressive. She was incredibly brave, and would stand up for those that she cared about in any way she could. On several occasions she even talked back to Hook, never allowing him to intimidate her, and her unwavering faith in Peter Pan was something to be marveled at. What's more, I have never heard her beg - even when faced with inevitable death. Do you know that one time when she was forced to actually walk the plank, she did so with poise and dignity? Wendy was one of the bravest girls that I have ever met, and she never had to fight with any weapons to prove it." Tinkerbell smiled up at me.

I looked down at my knees, not meeting Tink's gaze as I thought about what she had said. I felt something touching my hand and glanced up. Tinkerbell had tapped me to get my attention and motioned for me to follow her. "Wendy actually left a small legacy behind, something that stayed in Neverland long after she had returned to your world. Come."

I followed her down the tree and along a path that took us off to the side of the main camp. We soon found ourselves in a peaceful grove of trees that was blanketed in a multitude of flowers of various colours.

"Peter often came here after Wendy had left. It was like a tether that helped him retain his memories of her. Neverland has that effect on most of the beings that live here. After a prolonged period of time without access to reminders of events or people from the outside of Neverland, most of the inhabitants of this magical land tend to forget all about them. Peter was no exception to this phenomenon, however he visited Wendy often enough to keep his memories of her alive. I tried encouraging him to forget her and get him to focus on his own people — the people that he was sworn to protect."

I turned to her in surprise. "Why did you want my daddy to forget Wendy?"

Tink sighed and turned toward one of the oaks, running her palm over the rough bark. When she turned back her eyes were lost in thought. "She was stealing him away from us. The more he thought about her, the less he concerned himself with us — his own people! I watched him drifting further and further away. I knew that Neverland was losing its one and only protector. In a desperate attempt I tried to make him see reason — we got into an argument, and as a result he stormed off to see Wendy. The next time I saw him he was a man. He had married a human girl and they were expecting their first child. He looked so happy. It was at that moment as I peeked through the window that I realized I had lost him. I had failed Neverland."

Tinkerbell looked so disheartened that I could not help, but try to cheer her up. "It wasn't your fault Tinkerbell, daddy fell in love with my mommy. Mommy always said that Daddy was very stubborn, and that she could never change his mind if he really decided on something."

Tinkerbell's expression hardened. "No, I am duty bound to guide the protector of our land — to give him advice and steer him on the right course, so that he is better able to offer protection to his people. I had failed in my duty then, but I will not allow it to happen again." She glanced at me with a pointed look. I smiled back at her encouragingly.

Just then we heard loud whooping, a clanking of metal that acted as makeshift bells, and excited shouting coming from guard tower and the entrance of the encampment.

Rufio had returned.

Endnote:

The next chapter will be pretty fun to write, as there will be quite a bit of interaction between the two. I find it fascinating to have to view the same situation from two points of view that are not just different due to the characters' pasts, but also their ages. It can be a bit of a challenge some of the time, as I automatically find myself wanting to write Maggie as someone who is a bit older. I hope that I am managing to keep Maggie in character well enough; there were even times when I tried to make her innocence shine through. Please let me know if I succeeded.

- Rampant Id