Red Rebellion

Chapter 9

The Lost Boys had come back the previous night raving with excited tales of besting their opponents. They laughed triumphantly while sharing dinner over the fire; even the smallest of the boys seemed to have a story to brag about. Meanwhile Elizabeth sat there and begrudgingly listened. Though at first Peter was amused by her adorably tenacious fury with him for not allowing her out of camp, he eventually felt the discomfort of her relentless icy gaze.

The next morning started off early. Now that the boys had the freedom to set off into hunting parties, the camp emptied out at the crack of dawn. Elizabeth, to no one's surprise, was the first out of her bed and dressed. By the time the boys came downstairs to retrieve their weapons; she had already sharpened her knife and fetched one of the leftover swords.

As part of the established morning routine, the boys gathered outside to split off into the groups. Elizabeth pushed through the crowd to find Peter contently watching from an idle distance behind the four older Lost Boys picking their teams. Peter immediately caught sight of her, fully dressed and armed, and let out a bemused laugh. "Are you going somewhere, Princess?"

"I told you yesterday," she protested. "My parents are out on the island. If I can't see them, then at least let me make their lives a little easier."

A few of the boys chuckled behind her. She ignored them and kept focus on Peter, "The fewer enemies they have to face, the better."

Peter cocked his head to the side in deliberation. She sighed with dropped shoulders, "C'mon Peter. You can't keep me here like some caged animal." He frowned in contemplation for a minute longer before dropping his head with resolve.

Peter looked back up at her with a crooked smile. "I guess it's only fair that you start to learn the island on your own," he muttered. Elizabeth beamed brightly, restraining the strange urge she suddenly had to run over to him. Peter inwardly indulged in seeing her smile; it had been nearly two days. Silence followed their exchange before he turned back to Felix. "Well, go on."

Felix looked out into the crowd with a newfound conflict. He gripped the handle of his club before nodding at Elizabeth, "I want her."

She looked at him with a skeptical smile, "Wait, really?"

"I crossed you once, girl, and learned a quick lesson from it," Felix calmly swung his club over his shoulder. "Only the best fighters go to the Southern parts of the island with me. Lost girl or not, you most certainly fall in that category."

Under orders of the ship's Captain, the crew of the final vessel reluctantly stayed behind while the Captain took a small party to the island. King George, still headstrong despite his churning stomach, stubbornly ventured out with the Captain. The small rowboat glided onto the soft shores; the waves seemingly pulled the group to the island as if under orders. The two lieutenants, as well as a few of the other hooded soldiers heaved the small boat up the beach with ease.

"God," one of the lieutenants groaned after dropping the heavy weight down. He straightened out his back, leaning onto the tips of his toes to stretch his calves before looking around. "So this is it... Neverland."

King George stiffly marched up the beach. The Captain warily followed his settled footsteps in the sand. "Alright men," the old king began, "we must find a way to regroup with the remaining regiments. Surely there must be some way we can establish contact with another area of the island."

"To what, phone a militia camp?" The lieutenant with shaggy black hair grumbled. "The regiments are gone by now. You'll be lucky if you can gather a single force of men, my lord."

"You'd do well with some manners, boy," George snapped. Beneath the sagging skin of his eyelids, the king's gaze heated.

"Don't pay him any attention, Highness" the Captain spoke up and shot the young lieutenant a warning glare. "The uneasiness of his stomach from the seas often gets the better of his reservations. He'll prove his worth in battle, I assure you."