Winter couldn’t believe what she had just gotten herself into. She found herself in a raised padded square area similar to that of a boxing ring. It even had the stretchy ropes! She noticed her hand wielding a laser sword was trembling. She tried her best to stop it, but couldn’t beat her nervous ticks. All around her were dozens of Lost Boys, still drinking as if they were sports fans waiting for a UFC fight to start. The whole area smelled of sweat and dude. Standing across from her was Slightly, cool and calm as he always was. He went to his corner of the ring and stood on the ropes like he had already won. As he put his sword up in the air, all the Lost Boys cheered. Winter looked back to her corner and saw Peter. She wasn’t sure if he was nervous for her, but he gave her a small smile, supporting her.

She wasn’t quite sure why she was nervous either. She had just finished a battle with Hook’s men. Perhaps it was because Hook’s men were just a bunch of amateurs, where it seemed like Slightly was more of a pro. Maybe it was because there was a crowd around her where everyone, except maybe one, was cheering against her. But she believed that the real reason she was so nervous was that if she did terribly here, there was a next to zero percent chance she would actually be able to survive and would never become a resident of Neverland. If what Peter said was true, she had to succeed here. “Winter,” Peter called to her. She turned back to him and saw him hanging in her portion of the ring as if he was her coach.

“I’m not going to let you talk me out of this,” Winter said.

“Slightly is probably going to be smug and take it easy on you at first. Use this to your advantage. He won’t expect you to be headstrong. He’s expecting your nerves to get the best of you,” Peter explained.

“You want me to do well?” Winter asked surprised he was actually advising her. “Even after all that talk of taking me back?”

“We’ll deal with that later. This is more fun! Focus on this. If it makes you feel any better, I bet that you were going to win.”

“How much did you bet?”

“Don’t worry about that. I also bet you were going to lose too. Just in case you know?” Winter gave a disgusted look.

“Oh, you’re going to lose money betting against me, Pete,” Winter said as she turned to face Slightly.

“Yes! You’re angry! Use that!” Peter cheered her on. Winter wasn’t sure if Peter was telling the truth about his bets, but that didn’t matter in this moment. She headed toward the center of the ring and met Slightly.

“Alright love, this is very dangerous. We’re using real swords here so I’ll do my best not to slice off an appendage.” The Lost Boys laughed at Slightly’s snide remark. He looked their way with a grin, clearly proud of his performance so far. “So why don’t we try this nice and easy-” he started, but was cut off by Winter jumping at him with her sword. Winter’s sword clashed with Slightly’s and she twirled it around so he lost his grip, causing his sword to fall on the ground. Slightly went to reach for it, but Winter stopped him with her sword to his neck. Winter got him.

The Lost Boys erupted. Their king had been beaten. Multiple calls came from the crowd teasing him. It was clearly all in good fun though as Slightly grinned. “I wasn’t even aware we were starting,” Slightly explained as he picked up his sword. Winter wasn’t sure if that was true or if he was just making excuses. “So, you’ve got some skill then?”

“Fencing. 10 years,” Winter said producing a glare as she backed away. That’s what you get for underestimating me, she thought. Slightly made a face that screamed Not bad, as he began circling Winter.

“Fencing? Hmm. I never liked it. Too proper.” Slightly lunged at her instantly. Winter put up her sword ready to defend. Slightly gave a brief stab to her right. She prepared the counter and put her sword where his was headed, ready for the block.

But that’s exactly what Slightly wanted. He quickly changed positions and swung the other way, knocking Winter’s sword right out of her hand. The Lost Boys cheered for him. “Thought this would be easy huh?” He motioned with his head for Winter to pick up her sword. Winter’s walk to get her sword felt extra lengthy even though it had hardly gone two feet. Winter was completely embarrassed by that strike. It was such a beginner’s move and she fell for it. She picked up her sword and took a deep breath.

“Winter!” She heard Peter scream from his corner. “You got this!” Winter nodded and returned to her fencing pose. She nodded at Slightly, signaling she was ready. Slightly stood casual, as if he was having a conversation at the water cooler.

“Did they teach that stance in fencing class?” he said walking slowly toward her. “Another reason I hate fencing, too much finesse, and not enough brute!” Slightly gave a heavy swing on top of Winter. She put up her blade and was successful in the deflect, but the force of the swing knocked her down on her butt! The Lost Boys roared in laughter. Slightly was much stronger than his physique gave off.

Even though Winter was knocked down, Slightly didn’t ease up on her. He gave a hard swing down on her. Winter blocked, but his sword came slightly closer to her body. Normally this would be fine, but since their swords were made out of lasers, her own sword would cut her if it got too close! Their swords trembled, with Slightly slowly gaining the advantage pushing the swords towards Winter.

“Sweep the feet! Sweep the feet!” Peter yelled. Taking Peter’s advice, she swept her leg toward Slightly’s. Slightly jumped up to avoid it and in the process, he had to lift his sword up. This gave Winter enough time to recover as she twirled on the ground and returned to her feet. She quickly turned around expecting another one of Slightly’s heavy swings toward her, but he was simply twirling his sword, taunting her.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I should remind you. It’s the Lost BOYS, not girls,” Slightly smirked. Winter eyed him with playful malice. Winter took note of Slightly’s calm and playful demeanor. Even during a battle, he was having fun. That was something she needed to do. She calmed her mind and drowned out all the background noise so it seemed Slightly and herself were the only people in the room. She let out a breath of relief and glared at Slightly. “There you go, love,” Slightly snickered.

Winter attacked Slightly, this time with more confidence. She slashed toward him, which Slightly blocked with ease. It’s okay Winter, she thought, he can’t do this forever. In all of her fencing classes she was always the best at quick and fast chops. She had amazing stamina and agility that not many could not match. She used this to her advantage and began her technique of fast attacks that never let up. Slightly was still able to defend, but was getting slower with each block. The girl was just too fast!

In a quick break, Slightly had to wipe the sweat off his brow. He was getting tired of defending constantly. How was she not tired? He wasn’t just tired physically, however, he was annoyed mentally. He had to finish this soon. In an act of desperation, Slightly backed up allowing some space to breathe at Winter’s next slash. With the extra time he had, he gripped his sword with both of his hands. This could possibly drain the energy out of him, but the risk was worth it. He utilized all his strength and hurled one of his strongest blows at Winter. She successfully blocked it, but was knocked back into the ropes.

Slightly gripped his sword once again with both hands, preparing for another deadly attack. Winter recognized this and knew she probably wouldn’t be able to survive another one. The last one nearly knocked her down again. Even though she had incredible stamina, everything drains at some point. She charged at him with a quick stab.

Slightly abandoned his plan and put up his sword to block, falling right into Winter’s trap! Using the same technique Slightly used on her, she quickly changed the stab direction at the last minute and leaving Slightly wide open for a slice on his abdomen. Slightly screamed and retreated back to his corner. The Lost Boys screamed, cheering on Winter.

Winter could keep attacking, but instead used this time to catch her breath. She smiled at the cheering crowd. She had bested him, and everyone knew it. Slightly looked to the crowd while catching his breath. He had to end this. He was tired, but also a tad embarrassed. Glancing toward Winter, she gave a slight bow with her hands opened, signaling What else you got?

Slightly allowed both of his palms to clasp over his sword hilt, making sure Winter knew exactly what he was doing. She prepared a defensive stance, knowing he would hit her with all he’s got left. Slightly was still a little too far though, he had to charge her to gain the remaining distance. Winter thought he would charge and strike, giving a heavier blow than any of his previous charges. She began thinking of ways she could counter him when Slightly flung his sword at her head!

She ducked barely missing the flying blade. When she resurfaced, she was met with Slightly running right at her! She couldn’t comprehend what he was doing. Nothing in any fencing class prepared her for this. Winter brought up her blade to strike when Slightly grabbed her free hand and her sword hilt with a tight grip. He jumped and turned into a flip, still having a tight hold on Winter, bringing her sword and hand with him. As Slightly flipped, he gave a tiny turn in his body causing Winter to lose her grip on the sword. Before she could react to Slightly’s technique she heard a hush go over the crowd as Slightly landed behind her. Winter’s whole body went stiff. She had to turn around to face Slightly, but she had a feeling she already lost.

She turned and saw Slightly with a grin, holding her own sword now to her chest. “Well done, love.” Slightly turned off the sword and threw the hilt upside down to himself then presented it to Winter. She hated that he bested her, but hated him even more so for besting her with such a dirty trick. And with her own sword!

She grudgingly grabbed the hilt from Slightly, but he kept a constricting grip on it. She tried to take it again, but he wouldn’t budge. She gave out a sigh of frustration and made eye contact with him. “Hey, if it were up to me, you’d be with us.” Slightly winked and released the blade to Winter.

Winter couldn’t help but smile. Even though she lost, she had clearly won the respect of Slightly and possibly all of the Lost Boys. Slightly headed to the center of the ring with confidence. “She nearly bested me boys!” Slightly yelled out to the crowd. “Anyone think they can beat her faster?”

The Lost Boys erupted with cheers and cackling. Multiple hands went up wanting to fight Winter. She smiled at this proudly in the ring, knowing she had gained the respect of the Lost Boys. What would her mother think of this, she thought. Hell, even her dad would be proud. After all, he was the one who got her into fencing in the first place. Her dad stayed in her mind for a moment. She thought about what he was doing right now, but just for a bit. Then the crowd’s yells came back into her mind. Forget him, this was her life now.

She went back to her corner and found Peter giving her a slow clap. “Not bad!”

“I would have won, but that was a cheap move back there.”

“Yeah, but in real life, cheap moves keep you alive,” Peter explained.

Winter looked down in sorrow. Even though she almost won, she still lost. Slightly was right. Her fencing was too proper. Had she been a bit dirtier she may have won. Peter could tell that Winter wasn’t feeling the best even though she just gave a great performance. He thought back to when he first came out here and how defeated he felt. But he remembered what Hook did for him.

“It’s alright lad! Next time use your flying to your advantage!” Hook’s words rang in his ear. More memories of Hook started to flood his brain but he quickly stopped them.

“Hey, Winter?” She looked up at him, bracing for a lecture on how this place isn’t for her and how she needs to return to Earth. “Next time, aim for one of his arms. He can’t use that brute strength with one hand. Plus, he’ll get immensely frustrated.”

“Thanks,” Winter said surprised with how genuine he was being. He was just trying to help after all.

“Looks like you got another contender if you’re ready,” Peter motioned behind her. She turned to see a Lost Boy with a cybernetic eye with a sword in hand.

“Fancy a duel, eh?” he stated. She raised her sword and moved toward the center.

“En garde!” she screamed. The crowd went wild again. Back in Winter’s corner, Peter looked over all the Lost Boys searching for Slightly. Once they made eye contact, Peter nodded his head to a nearby open table, motioning to Slightly to meet him there. They had a lot to catch up on. Hook was still planning something and Peter was determined to find out what.