Shatter Like Glass-Cinderella Retold

Straight On Till Morning: Peter Pan Retold

-This is a sample from the fifth book in the Rivals Saga, Straight On Till Morning-

Peder of Viridian kept his hand at his sword. His fingers gripped the hilt tightly as he crept through the forest. It was deep in the night, and treetops blocked the view of the stars. No stars meant no light. No light meant it was very dark.

Peder did not have a problem with the dark. He could see just fine. His hearing made up for any sight issues. Then men behind him—his men—were not like him. Their mortal eyes and ears were not prepared for trapesing around in near-total blackness. Every so often, one of them would trip or step on a branch. They would make a sound, any sound really. That sound told whoever was lurking in the forest that they were there.

The captain glanced back at his men. He could see Caius—one of the newer recruits—trembling slightly. Javier had been a reluctant member of their hunt. His entire life he had grown up hearing stories of Fairies. Other kingdoms painted the nature-loving creatures as do-gooders. They helped people with their blessings. Viridians knew better, especially those in the colonies. Those like Javier knew that Fairies gave curses, not blessings. They knew that Fairies were more likely to rip a human limb from limb than do them any favors. To them, going into the forest was suicide.

Peder wondered what Javier would do if he knew Peder's mother had been a Fairy.

He need not have wondered. Like everyone else in Viridian, he would have killed his captain. Peder would have done the same, were the situations worse. Fortunately, his eyepatch covered the only telltale sign of his Fairy blood—his golden eye.

The shade of gold had gotten more obvious the older he had grown. As a child, it had appeared light brown. Peder's father was the king, so no one looked too closely. When Peder's eye was cut by his late brother, Emlen, Peder decided to take advantage of the situation. People thought his eye was gone. It was there, though, and a purer gold now.

He did not look often.

"Stop," Peder said quietly. His men did their best to stop in their tracks. The effort was noisier than Peder would have preferred, but at least no one screamed. They had earlier, fearing a Fairy or some other creature was ambushing them. After that, Peder had expected them to lose the trail completely. While Fairies would lead them on to kill them later, pirates were not so vicious. They were more likely to run, yet this one had not. They had stayed.

That worried Peder more than anything.

"Captain?" one of his men questions. He was whispering, so Peder could not recognize his voice.

"Did you hear that?" Peder asked. They had not. He had learned, though, to pretend they could have.

"Yes," one lied.

"I heard something," said another.

That was exactly why. They wanted to look good in front of their superior. Even when Peder was merely a soldier, not a captain, the others had not wanted to look stupid. Therefore, nearly everyone claimed they had heard or seen whatever he had. No one questioned him because no one knew that the others had not noticed either. His secret was safe so long as he gave no reason for someone to question him.

"Footsteps," Peder said, supplying them with an answer. Now they would be on the lookout for more. If everyone was quiet, and everyone was paying attention, they were more likely to notice something.

It worked every time.

"There," one of them hissed. Peder glanced in their direction. The soldier pointed off towards the right. Peder craned his head. Then he heard it, too. Thud, thud, thud. Boots. Thick ones. No twigs snapped beneath them. No leaves rustled. This pirate knew at least something about stealth. That or they were used to the forest. He suspected the former. They had been trained to stay quiet. He had never heard of a pirate from the forest. No one really left the forest. Pirates preferred the sea, anyway. Even if they had come from somewhere like Jade, why would they return?

Peder shook his head, certain he was overthinking things. This man was a mere pirate. He knew it was a man. The footsteps were too heavy to be a woman's. Unless her boots were really heavy. Perhaps she was stomping. It could have been an intentional diversion.

Yes, he was definitely overthinking things.

"Move towards the sound," Peder hissed. His men obeyed soundlessly. Well, they were mostly soundless. Javier was still a mess. Peder should have dismissed him. Maybe it was because he shared the name of Peder's father, or perhaps because he seemed so eager to help, despite his fears of the forest. Either way, Peder had gone against his better judgment in bringing him. Hopefully, his accompaniment would not ruin things. Peder had caught pirates in worse circumstances.

Only three had ever gotten the best of him, and it said something he had still survived.

Rather ironically, those three pirates were related. Even more so, one was a girl.

Peder heard one of his men cry out. He whirled, drawing his sword. Just in time, too, for it clashed against another's steel. They parried, with Peder managing to drive the attack back towards the stranger. They were alright with a blade. He had to admit, they were better than alright with the sword. Their technique was successful enough, but he could tell by the angle of their blows that their grip was wrong. He focused on pressing them backwards. If he applied enough pressure to the sword, they would drop it. Strength was not a problem for him. Among the other abilities his Fairy lineage provided, he was stronger than most humans.

Sure enough, in less than a minute and drove his attack downward. The blade slipped from their hands. The pirate did not have a chance to react. Peder slashed through the air, and, as a result, through his opponent. They fell to the ground with a thud.

His men took down several more pirates, though several cries told him not all had been successful. He did not get the opportunity to find out who had perished. More pirates came. One ambushed him from the front. He parried with them only to he bashed in the head from behind. Peder stumbled and whirled around. He did not miss a beat. He cut the arm of the second attacker. The first pirate cut Peder's upper arm. Peder turned on him. Not for the first time, he wished he carried a second blade. Few did. One person, however, had given him the idea. The pirate who had beaten him more than once, Ashen of Azure, wielded two glass blades. He found it most remarkable. In the two months since he'd crossed paths with her, he had considered using an additional sword. It worked extremely well for her. The idea of following a pirate's example did not sit well with him, though. Especially since that pirate was the one who murdered his brother, and her father had murdered his.

Their acquaintance was odd to say the least.