"The red rose whispers of passion, and the white rose breathes of love; O, the red rose is a falcon, and the white rose is a dove."

~ John Boyle O'Reilly

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Alice's P.O.V

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    It's been five days since I accepted Peter's challenge. Well, I think it's been five days. You can never tell in Neverland. The bloody island is timeless. Five years could've passed and I wouldn't have noticed. What if I'm too late? What if Will dies before I find my way back to him? What if I lose the game and have to stay here forever?

    I hate "what if"s. They symbolize the doubt nagging me at the back of my mind.

    I've come to know Peter as someone who always, and I mean always, gets his way. I can still remember what Ray said to me when I told him about Peter challenge; You were foolish to accept Peter's offer; Peter will undoubtedly win the game, he always does.

    Maybe Ray is right. Peter always seems to be three steps in front of me. It's like I'm just another pawn in his giant game of chess. He's either an excellent actor or is unable to feel anything. I hope it not the latter, because if it was, the game might as well be over.

    Maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew this time.

    I shake my head and push the negative thoughts from my mind. I can't afford to have those thoughts now. I have to win this game. I can't leave Will all alone. I owe it to him to win, to get back to him.
     Peter has made a few changes to my lifestyle on Neverland, one of which is my living quarters. I'm currently sharing a room with him.

    It wasn't my idea. Peter thought that this new arrangement would make his game more interesting. I didn't bother arguing with him. When Peter has set his mind to something, he'll move heaven and earth to get whatever he desires. That's just one of the few things that the two of us have in common.

    My training with Peter this morning was surprisingly uneventful. We just worked on my swordplay. Peter told me that with enough training, I might be able to beat Andrew in a duel. Which believe it or not, is a huge complement.

    I begin undressing myself until I'm left in my undergarments. I then dump my dirty clothes inside the woven bamboo basket next to the dresser. Yawning, picking out a baggy, dark green T-shirt and black shorts from the wooden dresser. I turn around and walk back towards the bed that I'm currently sharing with Peter.

    The sound of the doorknob turning stops me in my tracks.

    Oh shit.

    The door swings open without so much as a creak, and Peter pads in, completely oblivious to the fact that I'm underdressed. It only takes a millisecond for him to notice my attire.
    He raises his eyebrows. "Resorting to seduction, I see," he tsked. "I thought you were better than that, love."

    I roll my eyes, ignoring his comment. "Would it kill you to knock?"
    "I don't think I'd have to, seeing that this is my bedroom and all," he says.
    "Well, you could have at least asked if I was decent. Like a gentleman would've done," I say.

    "I think it should be clear to you by now that I'm anything but a gentleman," he says, taking a few steps forward.

    Touché.

    "Get out," I say, pointing at the door.
    Instead of complying, he just walks past me and gets into bed.
    "What are you doing?" I ask, crossing my arms.
    "I'm getting into bed," he replies matter-of-factly. "It's something normal people do."
    "I said get out."
    "No."

    He takes off his shirt and balls it up. He then throws it across the room and it falls into the bamboo basket.
    I groan. "At least turn around."
    As usual, he ignores me.
    "Fine. But don't look, okay?" I say, turning around.
    "No promises," he replies.

    With my back facing him, I slip into my nightwear. The hem of the shirt falls mid-thigh, covering my shorts. I then turn around and crawl into the huge, King-sized bed with Peter.
    "You didn't look away, did you?" I ask, glancing at him.
    "Nope."
    I sigh, looking up at the ceiling. "Why do I even bother?"

    "Is that my shirt?" he asks.
    "Yes," I answer. "Why? Is that a problem?"
    "No, I'm just wondering why you're wearing my clothes," he says.
    "They're comfortable. Plus, the majority of my clothes are dresses," I say.
    "You look good in my clothes," he says.

    I roll over so that my back is facing him. "Goodnight Peter."
    "Goodnight, Alice," he replies.
    I close my eyes. For once, I'm greeted with good dreams.

****

    My eyes flutter open. It takes me a few seconds to realize that I'm not home, that I'm still in Neverland. I had dreamt that I was back home with Will, and that Lewis was still alive. A tear slids down my cheek and I hastily wipe it away. Wait a minute... Why is my pillow warm? And... moving?

    I blink a few times, waiting for my vision to adjust. My eyes widen and I recoil back in alarm.
    It is not a pillow that my head is resting on, it's Peter's bare chest. What shocks me even more is that my arm is draped across his abdomen and Peter's muscular arms are wrapped around my body in a protective hold. Our legs are intertwined together.

    How did we even get into this position? And more importantly, how am I going to get out of this position? I study his face. It doesn't seem like he's going to wake up anytime soon. Maybe I'll just wait until he wakes up. Yeah. That's probably best.

    Yawning, I lay my head back onto his chest and close my eyes.

****

    Peter is nowhere to been seen when I regain consciousness. I sit up on the bed and rake my hand through my messy locks. I begin to get up but stop when my foot brushes against something. I jerk my head towards my feet. Lying on top of the pearly white blanket is a brown parcel with a note attached to it.

    I pick the parcel up and bring it towards me. Written on the note in cursive handwriting, is a message from Peter.
    "Really, Peter?" I say outloud even though I know that Peter can't hear me. "Honestly, could you be any more cryptic?"

****

    I'm tying the second shoelace up when Peter waltzes into the room without knocking.
    "Good, you're up," Peter says. "And may I say, you are the fairest flower of any field."
    "Gramercy, good sir," I say, giving him a mock curtsy.
   
    Peter raises his eyebrows. "I didn't know that you understood french."
    "Well, now you do," I say. "Tell me, what are going to doing on this fine morning that requires me to wear this lovey medieval dress?"
    "How did you— What makes you think that the dress you're wearing is of a medieval origin?" he asks.

    "Because it doesn't look from this century," I say. "and your previous sentence confirms my point."
    "How so?" he asks, intrigued.
    "You were going to say, "how did you know" but instead, you changed it to "what makes you think that"." I explain.
    "You're smarter than I give you credit for," he says.

    "I agree," I say, smirking. "that's why I'm going to win the game."
    He chuckles. "We shall see."
    "Come," he says, offering his arm to me.
    No doubt he wants to teleport us somewhere. I think it's safe to assume that we aren't going to be training today. But the reason why he wants me to wear this dress is beyond me.

    I make my way towards Peter and loop my arm around his.
    "Ready when you are," I say, bracing myself for the feeling that comes next.
    Peter nods, then teleports us out of the tree house.

    Teleportation is a strange feeling. If you aren't prepared to teleport, it'll feel like you're falling off a cliff. But if you are told prior to the teleportation, it'll feel like you are descending down the drop of a rollercoaster. It's scary, fast and fun all at once.

    We are teleported to a different part of the island. A part I haven't come across before. A strong gust of wind blows in my face, and I soon notice an aroma in the air. A field of flowers stretches out as far as the eye can see. Roses. Red roses to be extact.
    "Where are we?" I ask.
    "On a new part of the island. This place used to be barren, but made it the way it is now as a gift to you," he says.

    Normally I would think that it was a coincidence that Peter just happened to chose my favorite flower. But this is Peter we're talking about, there's no such thing as coincidences when it comes to him. So this is how he plans to win me over.

    Well, two can play that game. I have to cover my mouth to suppress a grin.

    "Do you not like it?" he asks.
    "No, I love it," I say, smiling.
    I stand on my tip toes and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you, Peter."
    His smiles. For once, I can't tell if it's fake or genuine.
    "That's not all," he says. "follow me."

    I oblige. Although, it's not like I have much of a choice, seeing that my arm is still looped with Peter's.
    We make our way through the field of roses, and come to a stop at a patch of soft, green grass. Peter waves his hand over the patch of grass and picnic blacket appeares, laid out on the grass. A basket full of baked goods rests atop the checkered fabric.

    "What's all this?" I ask, gesturing in front of me.
    "I trying to court you," he explains. "I believe people refer to this as a "date" nowadays."
    "I know what it means to court someone," I say.
    "Good," he says. "Then you understand what I'm trying to do."
    I nod.

    He untwines his arm from mine and gestures for me to take a seat.
    "In that case," he says. "I declare this "date" officially started."

****

    "Huh. Well, watcha look at that," Peter says.
    "What?" I ask, turning to face him.
    "It's nighttime," he says.
    I look up at the heavens. He's right. The sun has already set. I can't believe we stayed here all day.
    Peter sits up. "Look," he says, pointing at something behind me.
    I sit up and turn towards the direction he's pointing at.

    Fireflies. Hundreds of them. They surround us, their lights flashing every few seconds.

    Peter stands up.
    "May I have this dance, M'lady?" he asks, extending his hand.
    "Yes, you may," I reply, taking his hand in mine.
    He bows as I get to my feet. And I curtsy in response. He slips his hand around my waist and I place my hand on his shoulder. We then join hands and start dancing.

    He spins me around, causing me to laugh. I then lose my footing and fall, pulling Peter down with me. (Typical) Peter lands on top of me, he uses his forearms to prop himself up. Our lips are so close, if either one of us leaned in just a bit...
    "We—  We should probably go," I say.
    He helps me up and nods. "You're right."

    He then places his arm around my waist and teleports us back to the tree house.
    "I'll be back in a few hours," he says, letting go of me. "Don't wait up for me."
    "Peter, wait," I say.
    He turns around to face me.
    I open my mouth, but no words come out.

    "Thank you," I say. "Thank you for today, it was lovely."
    He smiles. "It was my pleasure."
    Then he teleports himself out of the tree house, leaving me alone with my thoughts...

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I'm so sorry that I took so long to post this chapter. It had a hard time writing this chapter :/

Anyway... Thank you all so much for 2K reads and 250 votes! (yes, I did just use the forbidden number ;_;) I cry.

~ Alice xx

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Vote, comment, rate, do whatever you want <3

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Edited: 23.11.2017