Only in Neverland (under revision)

The Champion Prevails

We were swinging from vines, and I was laughing alongside Peter, who was releasing battle cries as he went. Yes, this was the battle, and I was focused on winning, but I was having fun at the same time.

This battle was more of an obstacle course, but winning was really up to earning extra 'adventure points'—as we all began to call them—along the way. We had just come from swimming around the waters and he had collected cooler objects than I did. I still felt confident with my current score, since I had gotten a seat at a fairy ceremony, whereas Peter, as close as he is to the fairies, wasn't invited.

This ceremony had been for the purpose of christening their inaugural fairy pope. It was probably one of the most fun things I had done since coming to Neverland and many times I got to play games, and get involved in all of their fun. It could very well have lasted all evening, though Tinker Bell, as referee and score keeper who deferred to Angela, insisted I continue with the battle.

Now we were in the final stretch, coming to the end of the vine maze. I nearly crashed into Peter as I was approaching that final mark. I panicked, fearing I would hit him. I let the hand reaching out to the next vine fall to my side and the fingers of my other hand slipped. He thought it was hysterical when I fell, but seeing as it was a 40-foot drop, I didn't find the situation at all funny. I flipped once and braced myself for a splattering land, where I was sure to break a limb or my neck. My eyes were squeezed shut and I thought that I must have landed on the ground by now, because I had felt some impact on my backside, but I was still moving. I opened my eyes and was looking away from the finish line, yet going toward it. I looked down and saw the striped hide of a white tiger. A gasp escaped my lungs. 

I passed Peter, who was still up in the vines, and when he saw me, he froze. I laughed and yelled, "Take that, Pan Man!" I continued laughing as my tiger charged across the the long line etched into the dirt, marking that we'd reached the end. Angela was there, yelling and cheering, glad I had finished first, though that wasn't the goal, and excited that I had ended on such an adrenaline-filled and adventurous note.

I turned to face the front of the tiger. "You did it, Gwendy! Yay, yay, yay!" A smile grew on both of our faces, as she acted as my personal cheerleader. She then seemed to remember that she was the head referee and said, "But who knows who won? Tink and I must talk it over." She nodded and shook my hand saying, "Well done, well done," a stoic look taking over her face.

I noticed Peter following up only about ten seconds behind, with a grumpy look on his face. I took this look to mean that I shouldn't start laughing and marching around, but I couldn't stop myself. I sat atop the tiger and rode it in circles, sitting tall and looking mighty while I laughed from happiness and triumph. The blue-eyed beast mimicked my cockiness as he strutted along holding me on his sturdy back. Even Tinker Bell thought it was funny. She levitated in the air, slightly hunched over, one hand to her mouth, because she was trying to stifle laughter.

Peter obviously had had enough of being the butt of a joke and stormed in the direction of the underground home. I immediately felt bad about flaunting what I was sure to be my victory. "Peter! We're coming, too!" I called after him.

"Don't bother." He grumbled, in a tone so angry it was almost frightening. 

"Well, I speak for all of us when I say that we're going to bother, whether you want us to is extraneous." I felt suddenly exhausted and I hated going to sleep angry with any of the others, it left me cranky in the morning and my heart would feel heavy. And I really did care for Peter, it was just that he was a difficult friend to have. 

I stepped down off my newly befriended tiger, hugged it, and lead Angela and Tink in following "Pan Man" homeward—not truly home, but close enough for the time we would be staying at Neverland.

As we tumbled down the chute, it dawned on me that it never gave me a thrill anymore. How could Peter Pan live here, going through these same motions everyday and get the same exhilarating feel out of it each time? This so called fun would start to make me nauseous, and without Peter being bubbly as he usually is, I sat along one of the dirt walls and began to think it was all so sad. Him living here with just his fairy and adventures to keep him company. He must get so lonely from time to time, knowing that he's never really had a mother or father to be proud of his accomplishments, or to tuck him in at night.

I stood up, tears now slowly trickling down from my eyes. I ran over to Peter and wrapped my arms around him. He was sitting on the one giant bed facing away from me. When he felt my embrace, his arms strained to get away. I looked up and saw the confused form his features took, and it was clear that his current position made him weary. He didn't seem too familiar with expressions of affection based on his reaction to both mine and my mother's. I pulled away realizing how embarrassed we both must feel.

"I'm sorry," I said, timidly, dodging eye contact and tucking strands of hair from my face. Crawling up onto the bed a comfortable distance between the both of us, with my feet swaying back and forth from  the side of the bed, I continued. "I just was thinking about how sad it must be for you to not have a family. Did you ever, just once, wonder  what it would be like to have people who love you always be there for you? Always stating that they're proud of you? My parents love me so much and they tell me I'm beautiful all the time, and they provide all the food and clothing and education—anything Angela or I would ever need." 

I finally made eye contact with him. He hesitated, his eyes glazed over, but then shook his head and said, in a rather matter-of-fact tone, "No, I never would in a million years." He made a face and noise to match his disgust. "Parents," he spat. "They've never done anyone any good."

To make things simple, I wanted to believe him, but I could tell that he was hiding the real truth. What a sad soul to live in such longing for human affection, but having to pretend otherwise to save face and pride. I chose to get up and go back to my usual sleeping space, in place of continuing, though I did give him a sorrowful sidelong glance.

Just before I was about to close my eyes for the final time that night, Angela cleared her throat and said in a clear voice that rang out, "Attention! We have come to a consensus on the winner of tonight's battles." As she took a pause in her statement to build suspense, I scrambled to my feet and lunged to where Angela was standing to cover her mouth just before she finished her sentence that had begun with, "And the winner is..." I clamped my hand over her mouth. Her eyes got wide and then her forehead creased in uncertainty. 

I whispered close to her ear, "Do you really think he could handle it?" I knew she was bright enough to know who "he" was, and mature enough to make the right decision. She gave me a look that pleaded for me to just let her give him the news. I raised my eyebrows, knowing how much she liked to torment Peter at any chance she could get.

She let out a sigh and said, "Never mind please carry on."

"No. I want to hear who won." Peter angrily demanded from a few yards away. "Don't think I can bear the news, yeah? Yeah? Don't you dare take pity on me!" He paused, and when Angela stood silent, he prodded, "Well? Go on!" He was practically foaming from the mouth. He acted as such a child, but sure didn't liked to be thought of as one.

"Um. Okay...." Her eyes flitted to mine. I shrugged. If he didn't like the results, he'd brought hearing them upon himself. "The winner is... Tinker Bell!"

Peter and I stood in shock for a little bit, and then he started laughing, nearly bursting at the seams with it. "See Moira? You really aren't the best!" He continued laughing like a maniac, but I wasn't very pleased with what I had heard. 

"Hey, just wait a second!" I protested, in disbelief. "I worked so hard to have a big adventure. I could've broken my arm! I wasn't even aware that Tinker Bell was a part of the competition." 

"Well, she was... and neither one of you paid her any attention, really, the entire time." Angela answered.

"But how could she have been the co-referee, if she was also a contestant?" I blundered on.

"Don't worry, Gwendy, we had it all figured out hours and hours before the competition even started." Angela paused. "But you were in second place!" 

And that put an end to "Pan Man's" consistent laughter. I gave a satisfied, "hm" and stalked back over to fall asleep on the cool dirt floor. I closed my eyes feeling none of the sorrow I'd felt earlier in the evening.