Julie felt out of breath, feeling as though she had been running a very long time. She heard loud noises all around her, then a scream. All of a sudden, there was a sharp pain in her left shoulder.
"NO!" Julie jumped awake. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, realizing she had only been dreaming the same peculiar dream. However, looking down at her hand, something unfamiliar was there. She was holding Wendy's sword. She looked at it closely, and then at the belt she kept it in that was far away from her bed, hanging on a branch.
"How did I get the sword from all the way over there?" She wondered to herself. She got out from the covers, and put the sword back in its proper place, deciding to forget about it. She yawned and stretched as she looked out at the beautiful sunrise. She went over to her green converse shoes and tied them on. She was about to pull her sweater over her head, but she couldn't. It was really hot for such an early morning. So, she left her sword in her room and went out through the flowering curtains.
Surprisingly, many of the Lost Boys were awake and running about. Julie watched them as they climbed down the vines. She looked around curiously, seeing many places to go down to the main level. She noticed a wooden swing with vines as straps over to her left. So, she decided to try it out. Julie hopped onto it, assuming it would begin to lower her down. But, nothing happened. She bounced it a little, but it wouldn't budge.
Then, two small voices came from behind her, "No! You don't do it like that! It's a swing, so you go back and forth! Here, let us help!"
The two twins pushed Julie so hard that she lost her grip and fell off of the swing. She gasped fearfully as she fell. However, she didn't fall very long. In no time was she in the arms of Peter.
"Good morning!" He smiled as she held her, lightly floating down towards the ground.
"Oh, good morning! Sorry, I have horrible balance!" She smiled nervously. She had never been this close to him before; at least, not awake.
They finally landed on the ground, "That's alright. That will be our first lesson for today!"
"Lesson?" Julie questioned him curiously.
He knocked her on the head with his fist playfully, "Forget about the battle already? You've got to be a brilliant swordsmen if you want to fight Hook and his mangy pirate crew! I'm going to teach you all I know about fighting, focus, and balance."
Julie looked at him daringly, "How could you teaching me everything you know about fencing be of any help? I beat you the last time we fou-"
But Peter covered her mouth as quick as he could, "SSH! The Lost Boys are just beginning to forget about that! You don't want to remind them, do you?"
"Oh, I don't know, you've asked me for a lot already. Let's see, training with you, helping you in the war, telling you and your Lost Boys all my stories! What do you plan to give me in return?"
Peter narrowed his eyes at her thoughtfully, seriously for the first time that day, "I don't know yet. But, it will be something great, I promise you! Sometime before the war; when your training is over."
She sighed agreeably, "Alright." And then she smiled at him. Peter smiled back, he absolutely loved Julie's smile. She had rosy lips, and big dimples when she did. She was such a pretty girl. Then, the two noticed that they were still in each other's embrace.
Instinctively, they separated as fast as they could. They looked at each other awkwardly, and then Julie spoke abruptly, "I'm gonna go eat breakfast, the Lost Boys are probably expecting me to tell them on of my stories!"
Peter agreed, "Yes, I promised I'd help Tom with his bow and arrow at breakfast!"
They both headed down towards the pathway to the dining hall, and bumped each other. They looked at each other inelegantly, and Julie went ahead of him, as he backed off and flew there instead. They ignored each other all during breakfast, both of them thinking of one thing the entire time:
Julie talked with a group of the boys about Jack Sparrow, all the while thinking to herself, 'Don't think about it! Don't think about it! Yeah, he held me in his arms, which are really muscular for a thirteen year-old! But no, he doesn't think about that! He's just a blonde haired, beautifully blue eyed kid who just wants to have fun! He's not-'
'…thinking about me! She'd never do that! She's too mature to think about me; she just wants to save her friend! She's just a responsible smart girl who's eventually gonna go back to London anyways! Even though her eyes are just the frosted brown trees in the new year, with the full and luscious brown hair she always keeps hidden in that bun! NO! No, don't think about it, think about-'
Peter was interrupted in his thoughts by Brinkley, who came over to him and said loudly, "Hey Peter! Me and the boys were wondering if we could help you and Julie with her training today!"
Everyone at the table looked up at him when Brinkley said this, including Julie at the other end. She and Peter locked eyes. Then, patting Brinkley on the back, Peter thanked him, "No Brinks! I just need you boys to be our audience at the end of the day! We will be having a duel; see if her training actually paid off! Thanks though."
Brinkley sighed, but smiled and went off with Tom and the others that followed. Peter and Julie were left at the table, alone. He nervously swallowed his saliva, and then said with confidence, "So, let's begin! Pull out some fairy dust and follow me!"
Then, with no delay, Peter shot up into the sky. Julie hurried to put some onto her, and slowly followed him.
Back on the ground, Brinkley watched the two go, very disappointed that he couldn't help Julie out. But then, he thought of something, 'I'm sure Peter will need my help with her eventually; maybe he didn't want everyone to come, but just me!' So, picking up his dagger, he ran towards the zip-line, planning to follow the two into the jungle.
"Took you long enough!" was all he said as she flew up next to him. Without a word, he flew like a lightning bolt through the sky, heading towards the jungle.
Flying through the air, Julie struggled to see where Peter was heading. She squinted as she watched him fly dead ahead. But suddenly, she saw him drop into the thick trees. She flew faster, then went straight down after him whispering to herself, "You're not gonna leave me behind!"
She flew through the tree branches, dodging them as the pathway grew narrower. Then, she found herself stuck. Julie looked around, forming a path for herself. She had to rely on her sense of direction to find the stubborn boy. Then, trying to get through a small hole between trees, Julie found herself locked in a thorn bush.
Julie pulled and pulled to get herself free, but nothing worked, and she had left her sword at the fort. She looked around, hoping to find anything that could help her. Then, she saw it. There was a branch just a few feet ahead of her. Julie reached her hand far out, desperately trying to grab hold.
Feeling the branch with the end of her finger, she curled her three fingers around it. She pulled herself out a little, grabbing the branch with her fist now. Julie pushed the thorns off of her shirt and felt herself fall out of the trees to the hard ground below.
With a thud, Julie landed on the green grass. She coughed a little, looking up at the sight around her. She seemed to be in a coliseum in the middle of the thick forest. Not stoned or bricked, but just a free area with a few stones here and there, with a waterhole in the corner. She stood up and covered her eyes from the patch of sun that shone through the sphere of grass. She looked around her, and found the rest of the thick forest was dark.
"Very good. Better than I expected!" A voice boomed out of no where. Julie turned and saw Peter sitting high on a boulder. He bent over and told her, "You passed the first test. That was your second lesson."
"First test? Second lesson? You mean, my flying ability was just a test?"
"Yes, and relying on your sense of direction and capability of saving your own skin shows much promise for the battle."
Julie crossed her arms and looked at him captivatingly, "And what am I to learn now? What is there left for you, great master of all that moves in Neverland, to teach me?"
In a flash, Peter's eyes went from tiny specks to marble sized. Julie jumped back in surprise gasping. He grinned slightly and answered, "Reflexes! You must be quick in your instincts! We'll practice with these!"
He flew behind the boulder and brought out large disks. He floated down onto the rock and quickly asked, "Ready?"
Without time to respond, Julie watched as Peter flung the disks at her. Julie dodged the first one barely, but received a blow from the second. Still flying the disks at her, Peter yelled out, "Use your agility! Move!"
And she did, Julie jumped and used her surroundings to keep the disks from hitting her. Every time Peter ran out of disks, he flew around and picked them up, then started over again. It grew harder for Julie, as Peter began to move from the boulder and fly all around her. Julie got hit a good number of times, but she never gave up.
She couldn't for two reasons: One, she had to train herself so she could be able to successfully beat the pirates and save Lynn. And two, Peter would not stop the aggressiveness. She had never seen him this serious or angry before; she had no clue whether she had really upset him, or if it was just his training technique. Either way, she didn't want to worsen it.
After the disks, Peter pulled out a bow with a bunch of arrows. He pointed to the painted target on a tree at least forty feet away. Julie looked at him very doubtfully, but he only looked at her and positioned her the correct way, telling her the best ways to shoot. After the strenuous practice, Julie went over to the waterhole and dunked her head in, completely exhausted.
However, with a tap on her shoulder, Julie got up and took the wooden sword that Peter held out to her. That practice took the longest. Julie never realized how many ways there were in the art of fencing. Even still, she was amazed that she had beaten Peter days before.
Then, finishing the sword fighting, Peter said, "Alright! I think you've had enough! Let's get something to eat!"
However, they were very far from the fort, and Julie didn't know if she could fly all the way back. But, Peter didn't fly off of the ground. Julie followed Peter to the top of the boulder, where he sat down and looked up at the sky.
"What are you doing?" She asked curiously.
"Having you get our lunch!" He stated, handing her a bow and arrow.
Julie looked up at the sky, finding a cluster of duck sail overhead, "Oh no! No! I can't!"
"You can't? Oh come on, your not afraid to shoot a bow and arrow are you? Maybe you are just a silly little girl!"
Julie looked at him crossly, realizing where she had heard that before. Without hesitation, she held up the bow and positioned the arrow. Then, with a fling of the wrist, she shot the arrow high into the sky.
Happily, Julie held out her arms as the lifeless duck fell down to her. She grinned at Peter as she jumped off the boulder, preparing a fire for the meal.
Peter smiled to himself saying, "Passed the second test."
After the duck was cooked to perfection, Julie watched the boy eat. A question had been growing in her mind for a while, and she was very curious if what she thought was true.
"Pan," She said, still watching the fire, "You really didn't fight me the other day, did you?"
"What are you 'alking about?" He said with a mouthful of food.
Julie took a stick and poked the fire, "When I first came to your island. When I was masked. You knew I wasn't a pirate."
"Julie, I don't know what you're-"
"Yes you do! And don't lie anymore! You knew I wasn't a pirate even though you told that to the Lost Boys. You put on a show for them, because you knew you could beat me easily. But, you wanted to let me feel as though I won, even though you had no idea who I was. Why?"
Peter finished the duck and threw the bones into the fire, "I wanted to see how good you were. I knew you were a girl."
Julie looked up at him surprised, "What? How? Did you see me when I climbed up to the forts before everyone?"
"No, I could tell." He stated plainly.
"How?" Julie asked, looking at him over the fire.
Peter smiled faintly, "You'll laugh."
"No I won't, I promise! Now, tell me."
He sighed, and gave in, "Alright. I could tell by the way you smelled."
Julie gave him a nervous stare, "Umm, okay?"
"No, you see, I have a very good sense of smell. I know the smell of Hook and his pirates, I know the smell of the Lost Boys, the Indians, the mermaids, Tink and the fairies, and you. It's quite easy to sense which is which; the mermaids are like the salty sea, the Indians smell of the wheat and dust of the fields, the pirates smell of rum, and the boys are consumed in mud."
Nervously, Julie asked, "And me?"
Peter shyly smiled saying, "You smell like the wild flowers that grow in the meadows of the heart of Neverland, mixed with the honey berries only found near the roaring waterfalls on the island. I've never come upon a more lovely scent."
Julie chuckled aloud, "Yeah, except Wendy's."
As soon as she said this, Peter looked up at her from the fire. But she wasn't looking back, she only looked away from him. So, Peter rose from the ground and went over to her side and sat down next to her. He laid his hand on her shoulder, causing Julie to turn to him.
Comfortingly, Peter said, "No, not Wendy's, nor anyone else's. Never have I ever met anyone like you Julie. And, even though I let you win the other day, it wasn't by a whole lot!"
Julie smiled a little, and Peter continued, "You are truly different from anyone else I've ever met before. And that's what I like about you, you're unusual."
Then, he blocked his eyes from the sun above and took a deep breath, "Man, it's so hot out today!" He stood up, took a bucket out of the waterhole and dropped it over the fire, causing it to burn out, "Let's go cool off! What do ya say?"
Julie smiled, but then asked, "Where?"
"YAHOO!" Peter screamed as he jumped off the cliff above down the giant waterfall into the chilled water below. Julie peered over the cliff, watching him insanely do it.
"There's no way I can do that! I think my fairy dust ran out!" She yelled down to Peter who floated on the surface of the water.
"It doesn't matter if you can fly! Just jump!"
"But, I'm afraid of heights!" Julie yelled down to him.
Peter began to laugh, "How is that possible? I've seen you fly threw the air, and jump off a cliff half this size to catch a vine! There isn't a difference!"
"Oh yes there is! I had magic! And I left my necklace back with your sword! Maybe I could just go and get it-"
"Oh no you don't!" He hollered up to her, "You come down into this lagoon right now! Don't make me come up there and push you!"
"You wouldn't!" She gasped.
"I would!" Peter laughed.
Julie looked at the drop panicky. There was a difference when she had fairy dust; she knew she couldn't fall no matter what. The other day, when she fell off the cliff by accident, Julie felt as though she could never get over that moment. And now, Peter was asking her to jump off a waterfall. She felt she should just turn around and go back to the fort.
Feeling she was chickening out, Peter sighed, and decided to give her some advice. So, he yelled out, "Julie, you have to believe you can do it; just believe you can jump down here safely into the water, and you will! Trust yourself above all else!"
Julie moaned angrily, she hated the fact that he gave her good advice. Groaning, Julie closed her eyes, "Okay!"
Her lips quivered as she blindly walked towards the edge. She felt the grass of the cliff end, and knew it was time.
"Just picture yourself hitting the water…safely!" She told herself. Then, she bent down, and leaped into the air.
She spread her arms out like wings, but didn't fly the least bit. She shrieked, opening her eyes in shock as she fell down the waterfall. She felt the cool drops of water from the falls on her face as she dived, calming her greatly. Then, as she came close to the bottom, she did a quick flip, making her plunge quite graceful.
Peter whispered out loud as Julie still sank into the water, "Passed the third test."
Then,he laughed as she came up towards the surface saying, "I so did better than that!"
Julie narrowed her eyes, keeping only her nose and eyes out of the water.
"What? You don't believe me? I'm the best there ever wa-hey!" Without warning, Julie squirted Peter with a mouthful of water.
Peter returned the favor by pushing Julie's head under. She quickly responded by punching him in the stomach, and kicking water into his face. They laughed and swam the entire afternoon.
"Julie! Peter! Can you hear me?" Brinkley yelled into the deep jungle. He had been looking for the two for hours and hadn't found any trace of them. He was sure he had gone in the right direction, even though he was still close to the seashore.
Suddenly, he heard a crunch of a branch behind him. He turned quickly, but nothing was there. He thought it was one of the boys, so he called out, "Tom, is that yo-"
But a giant hand covered his little mouth before he could finish. Trembling, Brinkley looked up into the face of his capturer. He gasped as he gawked at Captain Hook and his pirate crew.
Sweetly, the Captain told the boy, "Listen to me carefully son, otherwise, I will gut you in the belly and be rid of your body so no one will ever find it! I want you to deliver a message for me!"
"And then the headmaster of my school comes in, finding old Ms. Bogglesworth jumping around with the old toad glued to her hand!" Peter and Julie laughed as she told him
They flew back to the fort together toward five o'clock, even though none of them kept the time. Julie landed gently on the wooden bridge high up in the midst of the treehouses. Peter landed next to her, and began to walk her to her room.
"So, it sounds from all the trouble you caused at your school, you were quite the rebel!"
"I was, but only in the second part of that semester was I extra rebellious!" She laughed aloud.
Curiously, Peter asked her, "What caused you to want to drop out of school? Is growing up really that bad?"
Julie sighed, sliding her hand along the rope railing, "No, it's not the growing up part that's bad Peter. It's the ones around you who cause you to want to remain a kid forever. All growing up brings is a world of pain and responsibility. That's all I had at that place; I thought it would change when I moved to London, but it didn't. I still have that pain deep down."
She pulled her wet hair out from her bun and let it drape down. Peter watched her silently, and looked at her dreamily.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.
Slowly, he said, "I've never seen you with your hair down before, even if it is wet, it is still very…beautiful."
Julie looked away from him nervously, and laid her other hand on the rope railing. However, she didn't realize that she would touch Peter's hand which lay there was well. The two froze at the moment, both confused and scared to do something. Then, Julie took her hand quickly away from his and turned to her fort which lay before them.
She looked back once, and quietly said, "I'll see you at dinner then." And swiftly went through the now blue and green flowered curtain, away from Peter.
Like waking up from a dream, Peter shook his head and flew off to his own room, with much on his mind.
Inside Julie's room, she paced the floor, talking to herself, "No no no! There's no way! I won't let it happen again! Especially with him, because it's a fact it'll never be; he's an immortal boy, an innocent immortal boy who can't have feelings like that! No! I won't think about it! Ugh, these clothes are sticking to my skin!"
She touched her soaked jeans and purple tank top, "I need to get out of these clothes! I feel disgusting! But I have nothing else to-"
She stopped herself. She bent over her blanket bed and pulled off two blankets. One was a thick white sheet, another was a blue plaid blanket. Julie went over to her navy coat, hanging in the corner and checked the pockets.
"Lynn gave me the stupid thing for my birthday, and I thought I'd never use it! At least not until now!" She triumphantly pulled a small box out from her pocket, which was actually a emergency sewing kit.
She took out the mini scissors and began to cut the sheets saying, "It's a darn good thing I went to that private school; otherwise, I wouldn't have taken three years of home ec!"
After lots of cutting, sewing, stringing, and tying, Julie had finished what she thought was a work of art.
"I really wish I had a mirror!" She sighed, looking down at her new ensemble. She had turned her white sheet into a long sleeved shirt, and her blue plaid blanket was now a pair of tight pants. She even managed to make some socks to replace the wet ones.
So, she tied the old leather belt around her waist and fastened her sword into it. As she tied on her green all stars, she heard a voice from outside of her room, "Umm, Julie?"
She smiled happily, knowing who it was. She opened the curtain and came out towards Brinkley, who stood timidly near the rope railing.
"Hey kid! You wanted me to tell you and the boys another story tonight?" She came up to him and nudged him in the arm, passing him.
"Uh, no. I actually need to tell you something, wait no, give you something."
Julie turned and looked at Brinkley carefully this time, seeing that he was in great distress. She came back up to him and bent down, looking him square in the eye, "Brinkley, are you alright?"
"I have to give it to you, or else…" He trailed off, causing Julie to panic.
She grabbed his shoulders and made him focus, "Brinkley, what happened? What do you need to give me?"
All he said was, "Once I give it to you, I leave, and nothing else. I am to say nothing to no one!" Then he pushed a letter into her hand and ran off.
Julie held it, but only watched the boy run away. She didn't understand what had happened, but she knew he was spooked to death. So, thinking of doing nothing else, she opened the letter which was labeled, Juliet Wendy Annesley.
She read the letter once, then, she read it another time, not believing it the first. She looked out towards the sun, seeing it was almost sun set. She stuffed the letter into her coat pocket, and ran back into her room, grabbing her locket. She opened the locket as she ran over the unstable wooden bridges. She took out a little bit of fairy dust then threw the locket into her coat and jumped off the edge of the bridge into the air. She soared through the sky as fast as she could, thinking of nothing but what was in that letter.
Gravely, Tinkerbell watched as the girl flew away. She looked below the wooden bridges, finding that no one was aware that Julie had gone. Tink thought a moment, fighting with the emotions in her head. Then, she finally made up her mind. She watched Julie's figure disappear out of her sight, knowing something was about to happen.
