When Peter Pan disappeared one day, he left his sword behind, hanging above his bed. The Lost Boys didn't worry he was gone, not for the first few days, and they didn't worry his sword was still there. He rarely take his weapon with him when he left Neverland to see Wendy. It always irked Tinker Bell. She said again and again that one day Hook would use the opportunity to attack him, but Peter always laughed to her face. He was too fast and too cunning for Hook to catch up before he left Neverland.
After two days of waiting to see Peter appear on the horizon, the Lost Boys worried. They looked at Peter's sword when passing in front of his room. The youngest Lost Boys' eyes were full of hope Peter would come back any minute now. The oldest Lost Boys' eyes were full of doubt.
Where was Peter?, they asked to themselves, but not aloud, never aloud.
The older boys asked around discreetly, to not worry the youngest. Peter wasn't in his old room under the Lost Boys' tree. The mermaids hadn't seen him. He hadn't set foot in the Indian camp for the last eight days.
On the fifth day, Tinker Bell came back, alone, and locked herself in the clock that served as her room. They knocked on her door, but she refused to open it or answer their questions.
Rufio understood what it meant. Peter had left them for good. Rufio didn't find it surprising at all. He was used to being abandoned. What surprised him was that he was the only one who understood. They were all Lost Boys. None of them were here because their parents had loved them. Before Peter found them, they had been beaten or left behind. They should have seen the truth like Rufio did. He felt a rage growing inside him, a rage he hadn't felt since he came to Neverland. Peter had no right to do this to them, and it was unfair that Rufio was the only one to see the truth. It hurt him to see the others look at the sky all day long, waiting to see Peter's silhouette appear above the clouds. Rufio wanted to yell they were all stupid, to open their eyes, and to see Peter never loved them like they loved him. He didn't. Rufio wasn't even better than them. He was looking too.
When Peter came back, Rufio would kick his ass to teach him not to worry about them. When he came back, not if. In the end, Rufio was as stupid as the others, as gullible. He, too, refused to believe that Peter wouldn't come back. It made him so angry, with Peter and himself. When Rufio came to Neverland, he believed he would never have to get angry again and that everything would be nice and fun. Peter had promised. And here he was, alone again, struggling not to scream and break everything. Rufio wanted to throw Peter's sword into the sea. All his other things, too. Let everything rust under the sea, let nothing remain. He felt more violence brewing inside him, just like before. Peter had taught him not to be angry all the time. But now...
Now he could see the danger. Even if they had kept quiet about Peter's disappearance, Captain Hook would soon realise something was amiss. They needed to prepare for a pirate raid on their house. The problem was that Rufio was the only one to think like that. For them, Hook must have captured Peter. They needed to raid the pirate's ship themselves to free him.
"Absurd." Rufio stopped them when someone finally said it aloud, about ten days after Peter left them. "If Hook had captured Peter, he would have let us know days ago."
"Not sure. He could be up to something big. It's Hook we're talking about. He always has a plan."
"Always," the others approved.
"But he loves to brag too much," Rufio insisted. "He would already be here, parading with Peter on the rope's end like a dog. But he isn't."
"If he's not, where's Peter? Do you have a better theory? Peter wouldn't let us down and you know that!"
Rufio rolled his eyes and kicked the door to leave. He needed to breathe some air, but no matter how slowly he breathed and how sweet the sea breeze was, he didn't feel any better. The others were right about one point. Hook always had a plan. They needed to be prepared.
Passing in front of Peter's room, Rufio stopped. The setting sunlight made the sword glow.
"If I were you, I'd be ashamed, Peter," Rufio whispered. "You had no right to abandon us. To abandon me."
All that for what? What was there out here making it worth leaving Neverland and the Lost Boys? They were Peter's family! It must be that girl's fault. Wendy, she was called. Rufio had never met her. He came to Neverland shortly after she left, but he had heard stories. But it didn't matter. Rufio wouldn't find an excuse for Peter. He had better things to do.
First, he should deal with their Hook problem, since no one else had the common sense for that. Rufio needed to see Tinker Bell.
The little fairy still hadn't left her clock house. Rufio knocked and knocked, but she gave no sign of life.
"I know you're here!," he screamed. "Open the door!"
"Go away!"
"Not until you open the door."
"I could send you up in the air thirty feet above the bay. Go away."
Tinker Bell could be mean, but she would never hurt them on purpose. In other circumstances, it would be fun, but Rufio didn't have time for fun these days. He insisted.
"Bring Peter back. Now."
"I won't. He made his choice."
"A stupid choice! He had no right to leave us. Bring him back!"
Tinker Bell finally came out. Her eyes were red.
"Peter made his choice. Neverland isn't a prison. If he wanted another life, he had the right to do so. The next boy who tries to make me get him will be lucky if I drop him from thirty feet up onto the sea."
She flew away before Rufio could talk to her about their Hook problem. Sooner or later, one of the Lost Boys would suggest they go free Peter from the pirates on their own. Such a raid without Peter and Tinker Bell would be doomed. Rufio needed to stay on the lookout. He wasn't sure what else he could do. How did he hated this! He hated to be the voice of reason. Rufio wanted to be just another Lost Child. Peter's absence forced him to grow. He would never be an adult, but was he still a child? He felt like he had gained a few inches. Peter would have to pay for that too, when he got back.
A week later, they were all woken up by a cannon shot coming from the bay. Rufio jumped out of bed and ran to see what was happening. A second cannon shot made the tree shake. All the Lost Boys leaned over to look at Hook's ship, getting ominously closer to the centre of the bay. He hadn't turned to them yet. The cannonballs had fallen into the ocean. It made no damage, but if the ship came closer, it could do serious damage to the tree. It was Rufio's worst nightmare. He had tried to convince the others to prepare themselves for an attack. He had really tried. He had failed. They had waited too long, and now it was too late.
"It's Hook!" one boy yelled out what they all already knew. "What do we do?"
Rufio grabbed him by the tunic before he could run away.
"We do what we always do. We arm ourselves, we beat him and we send him back from where he came from."
"But how? Peter isn't here!"
Rufio saw red.
"Peter! But we don't need Peter to beat Hook. Peter never beat him alone, he does it with us. Together, we can beat him."
The Lost Boys looked at him with big, bewildered eyes, as if he had grown a second head.
"Come on!" he shouted. "Move!"
This time, they set off in all directions. A moment later, the bell rang, bringing the other Lost Boys out. Rufio heard the last stragglers get out of their beds while the others looked for their weapons. He didn't leave his position, watching the pirate ship get into position to fire directly at the tree. Two questions were running through Rufio's head. What would Peter do if he were here and why wasn't the ship firing now that it was in position?
Concerned, he kept his watch. A few floors below him, the Lost Children were getting ready to aim at the ship. Even with catapults and slingshots, they couldn't hit him from this distance, but they would try anyway. Besides, pirates were stupid. They couldn't resist the idea of landing for the assault, and that was when the Lost Boys would get them like they always did. They didn't know how to fight on land.
Something still felt wrong. Hook had dared come so close to the tree with his ship. Usually, he just prowled around their hiding places to kidnap a Lost Boy and force Peter to fight him on his own turf.
Rufio slapped his forehead with his hand. He was stupid.
Hook wasn't on the boat.
"To the other side!" Rufio yelled. "Look at the land! Hook's hiding there!"
He jumped onto the platform below. The sound of cannons firing at them drowned his call out. Rufio dropped to the ground by reflex, but fortunately, the pirates didn't know how to aim. They didn't hit the tree. Or it was just warning shots, meant, meant to distract them from what Hook was doing. Rufio wasn't sure what his plan was, but there was none at his disposal. This was bad. He raced as fast as he could, running down the stairs three at a time to reach the others and warn them. How was he going to convince the Lost Boys the threat wasn't in the bay? Peter would know how to convince them, but Rufio was just Rufio. How could he rally the others?
Suddenly, he just knew the thing. Rufio ran the other way. It was his best chance to convince the others to follow him. His only chance.
Peter's sword was still hanging above his bed. There was dust and dead leaves everywhere. No one had entered the room since Rufio. His hand stated, two fingers from the sword. It was so beautiful, so bright, even in the first daylight. All Lost Boys dreamed of brandishing the sword, but they didn't really want to do it, not if it meant Peter was gone.
"It's your fault," Rufio spat. "I don't want to do this! I don't want to be the leader, I don't want to grow up, even just a little! You're the one who should be here, you coward!"
He angrily kicked the bed, scattering the pillows and blankets, but he had no time to yell to Peter's absent shadow. He wanted to, but he had to be the reasonable one since no one was these days, not Peter, not Tinker Bell. How he hated that! Being serious was too close to growing up. No way Rufio was going to end like Hook, or worse, like his father. Never. He wouldn't let that happen.
Rufio took a deep breath and took the sword. He didn't expect it to be so heavy. When Peter wielded it, it looked so light. In his hand, its light seemed to dim.
Too late to wonder if Rufio was the one who should have carried it. He tried to ignore the cannon's thunder, rushed out of the room, found a rope, tied it to the railing, and slid down to the lower floors where he found fifteen Lost Boys arguing over whether they could it the ship from that distance. He didn't have to wait long for them to notice him. When the pirates reloaded the cannon, he used the silence to shout.
"Hook's trying to attack us from behind! Lost Boys, with me!"
He raised the sword above his head. His hand barely shook.
The look they gave him... You would believe he was the one who'd betrayed them and not Peter. Two boys opened their mouths to protest. Rufio raised Pan's sword higher to shut their opposition. He defied them silently. Most of them looked away and lowered their eyes. They couldn't pretend anymore. One still crossed his arms.
"If Peter was here..."
"Is he? I hold Pan's sword. I'm the one in charge now. If Peter wants it, he can ask me to give it back."
If Peter came back, he would have to beg him on his knees for Rufio to obey. Rufio didn't say that. He wouldn't push his luck.
Hook was waiting for them on the other side of the wooden bridge that connected the Lost Boys' tree to the island. He was so busy yelling that he didn't even see their approach under the tree foliage.
"Peter! Show yourself! Fight me!"
If Peter was here, he would have flown around Hook to snatch his hat before landing right in front of him, close enough for the pirates to shoot him point-blank, but ready to fly away at the last shoulder, laughing. But Rufio wasn't Peter. He motioned for the others to stay crouched under the trees, sheathed his sword, and stood up straight.
"You want to fight the Lost Boys, Hook? We're here!"
Hook's gaze passed above him. He screamed again. His face was redder than his coat.
"Peter! Where are you hiding? Show yourself!"
Rufio paled. He knew he wasn't and would never be Peter, not to Hook, not to the Lost Boy. He could never compete, but Hook insulted him by ignoring him and he couldn't let that pass. Rufio swore to make him pay.
"Peter's gone, Hook," he said, finding a malicious pleasure in talking in false nonchalance.
"Gone?" The pirate choked. "Gone? Where?"
"None of your business."
"He has no right to leave! We need to fight! Peter Pan and Captain Hook, the eternal conflict, the unending fight... He must come!"
"Well, he's not there."
Hook looked close to apoplexy. He yelled and stormed, kicked bushes, and screamed at his men until he was out of breath. Rufio would have laughed at him if he hadn't reacted the same way. When Hook turned to him, he lost all desire to laugh.
"Gone," Hook finally said in a worryingly false calm. "Poor little Lost Boys, ditched by their beloved Peter Pan in the hands of the terrible Captain Hook. He didn't love you enough. And when he had enough, he abandoned you. He must have been so relieved to be finally rid of you all. I should do him the favour to end you all. I'm sure he would thank me."
His words hit, but Rufio refused to break down.
"Excuse me, Hook, are you talking about us or you? Are you going to claim that you're not furious to finally see that you mean nothing in Peter's eyes? That your little war meant nothing to him? Pook Hook can't torment the child he wanted to hurt. Are you afraid you can't find enemies of your own size? Hook, the famous pirate who can only fight children because he's too poor of a pirate to fight men!"
Hook's face froze.
"And you, who do you think you are? The new chief of a gang of brats who are only good at slingshotting squirrels and jumping in mud puddles? I've seen worms and tarantulas who would be better to succeed Peter."
Rufio drew the sword, his sword.
"I have Pan's sword! I'm your opponent now!"
Hook laughed. Rufio refused to let his handshake.
"You? You're not even worth half of Peter's shadow! What's your name again? Rupo? Rousio?"
"Rufio."
He clenched his teeth so tightly that he could hear them grinding. "Rufio, Rufio," Hook sing-songed nonchalantly. "You have his sword, but can you fly? You stand up to Hook, but can you shout his cry?"
"I don't need to fly to fight you. You won't make fun of me anymore, Hook."
Rufio roared Pan's cry. The Lost Boys screamed back at him from the tree. Thirty or more powerful and resolute cries proved once and for all that they didn't need Peter to fight. Rufio felt invincible.
His enthusiasm fizzled out. Hook jumped on him. In three movements, he knocked Rufio to the ground. Rufio could barely parry. He fell to the ground. Pan's sword spun in the air, falling pitifully to the ground, too far away for Rufio to grab it. With an icy grin on his face, Hook put his sword to his throat.
"Pathetic. Just pathetic. You know what, Rufio? I'm going to let you live. I'll even let you keep his sword and play at being Peter Pan. For now. But one day I'll kill you. And I'll be the one who kills Peter Pan. In a year or thirty years, I don't care, but I will kill him. That bunch of screaming brats will have rejected you long before that."
He turned his back on him and went back to his men. He was sure Rufio wouldn't get up to resume the fight. The worst thing was, he was right. Rufio lay in the dust, tears of rage in his eyes. The other Lost Boys stayed away, but he could feel their eyes on the back of his neck. Hook was right, Rufio was pathetic. He had Pan's sword. He let out his scream. Even more, he had an idea or two about how to show the pirates what the Lost Boys were made of, with or without Peter. Rufio would humiliate them like never before. He would train and next time, he would be the one holding Hook at the end of his sword. Rufio swallowed his anger and stood up. He picked up and raised Pan's sword high above his head.
The joyful screams started again. Hook had left. He had abandoned the fight. It was still a victory, one they would celebrate, but it tasted like ashes in Rufio's mouth. He didn't know that victory could taste like this. He knew that whatever he tried, Rufio would be nothing but the shadow of Peter's shadow, and he hated Peter a little more every minute for it. If it were up to him, no one would say Peter's name from one end of Neverland to the other again.
Peter Pan was gone. Good riddance. Rufio would be the Lost Boy's protector from now on. He put away the sword and went back to the others, his head down, a little less of a child than before.
Actions