. : Laura of Neverland : .

Laura hovered at the door to the Circus pavilion, watching with sharp eyes as Agatha and Tedros distracted Sophie. Evers streamed past her in a stampede of colourful fabrics and floral scents. Sebastian skidded to a stop next to her.

"What do we do?" He asked, looking at her expectantly.

Laura blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "I figure you've fought a witch or two in your time, what do we do?"

Laura glared at him. "How old do you think I am?" She snapped. "And besides, I've never even met a witch."

Sebastian huffed, but joined her at the door, shepherding the Evers through.

Laura watched, waiting until everyone was through, excluding Tedros and Agatha.

"Let's go!" Sebastian shouted, and Tedros turned.

Sophie hissed once at them, before tugging back on the hood of her cloak and vanishing through the Never doors.

Tedros and Agatha ran past them, heading to the Good castle, and Laura and Sebastian pulled the broad doors of the Pavillion shut.

Laura jogged behind the Evers, ensuring that everyone was in front of her and entered the tall glass castle. It was stained grey in the dark morning, light trickling faintly over the horizon.

She spun once everyone was inside the castle, and threw one hand up, blocking the bridge and door into the Good castle with a wall of fire. Her magic cackled, happy to once again be used to its full extent.

"What do we do know?" Someone called.

Laura shook her head, tugging at her brown hair. "I don't know, they aren't going to attack for a while so we are best off getting some rest."

The Evers mumbled, but filed out, heading into the towers. Laura followed slowly, holding her magic tight to ensure the door remained covered.

Once in the common room, she collapsed into a colourful chair, ignoring the surroundings as the Evers trickled up to their bedrooms. Agatha sat nearby, and she was faintly aware of Sebastian's magic as he paced the room, his sword lose in his grip.

Tedros and Nikolas stood outside the entrance to the room, sweaty and bleeding, but determined to protect the good tower.

The fire in the once-cozy room was now extinguished, and Laura flicked her hand, sending roaring flames cackling up. A deep sense of melancholy flooded the room as Evers limped by, faces bruised and bloody, their clothes torn and muddy.

Sebastian looked at her from across an oaken coffee table. "I forgot how exhausting war is."

Laura hummed her agreement, staring into the flames.

~~~

There was nothing from the Nevers, so by early evening, restless Evers began to creep around the castle to bath and change.

Laura stood in her room, pulling on her old Neverland clothes, which she had washed and dried early on in the semester and stored under her bed to avoid them vanishing. If a battle was to occur, she would be far better off in the pants and tunic than her uniform.

Laura joined the Evers congregating in the large dining hall, where the enchanted pots insisted on continuing to cook, despite the fairies darting around nervously. Most of the Evergirls had shortened their skirts, or shaped them into mismatched pants, making it far easier to run if needed.

She stepped past the door and walked to the end of a table, faintly acknowledging the way the crowd parted for her to walk through.

She sat by Agatha and Tedros, across from her were Nikolas and Sebastian. The silence was listless, and Laura poked at her food until Kiko's voice rang through the silent dining hall.

"You know we are still okay, right?" Her voice was high and airy. "If we still wanted, we could still hold a ball."

Laura glanced at Nikolas and Sebastian, the former having asked her to the ball.

"I cannot think of a less appropriate time to hold the ball," Sebastian murmured, stabbing his spoon into his gelato.

"We did spend a lot of time preparing," Reena's voice cut through the hall. "Our dresses are ready."

Laura shook her head as murmurs of agreement. "Now is not the time," She called out. She didn't need to raise her voice. It rang clear through the dining hall.

"Laura is right," Tedros' spoke loud and firm, his voice carrying through the quiet room. "If we want to have a ball, we need to first kill the witch."

"Tedros!" Sebastian's voice was sharp, with a level of scolding that Laura hadn't expected from him.

"We don't know who controls the fairytales, who the School Master is, or if the woods are even safe anymore, and you want to go hunting the witch that wants me dead?" Agatha hissed at her prince, her eyes leaden.

Laura thumbed at the edge of her spoon.

"I'm the captain of the school, and I say we attack," Tedros retorted, glaring at the four people crowding around him.

"Tedros, do you trust me?" Agatha asked, her hand gentle on Tedros' bicep.

Tedros huffed, breaking eye contact. "Back to the towers."

Laura hummed her approval and stood as Tedros stormed off.

~~~

They had been in the common room for a few hours when Beatrix stormed in, carrying a black envelope. "They're coming!"

Laura made a grab for the black envelope, but Tedros snatched it first.

"I knew it," He hissed. "Everyone, attention. The Nevers are planning revenge on our school, we storm their castle in at nine."

Laura glanced at Sebastian and he nodded. They both slid to the edge of the crowd and stepped into the hallway. A moment later, students flooded past them, crying about war. The boys headed to the armoury, and the girls to find other tools that could be used as weapons.

"This is a huge problem," Sebastian whispered. "Tedros is unhinged right now. We can't trust him to lead Good into anything. Especially not a school full of Nevers."

Agatha came skidding out of the room. "Laura, I need you to let down the fire at the doors."

"How come?" Laura asked, looking down at her friend. There was a sharp calculating look on her face.

"I'm going to go see if I can get Sophie back," Her voice was hard. Determined. There was no use in bargaining with her. She had made up her mind.

"And that's what makes you one of the good guys," Laura spoke, squeezing her arm. "Stay safe, we will not be far behind you."

Laura let the magic stop for a second, the thrumming in her soul letting out a twinge of relief after being extended for longer than usual. She watched Agatha vanish through the doors and threw it back up again.

Tedros exited the room soon after and looked at the two of them. His nostrils flared in rage. "I need you to drop the door to the school."

Laura shook her head. "Absolutely not, you are being stupid by attacking the Nevers, and walking into a trap."

Tedros snarled and pressed the point of his sword at her throat. Laura waved her hand as Sebastian stepped forward. "I've been threatened by more than one sword in my life."

"Drop the door so I can go kill the witch."

Laura huffed. "If I do it, do you understand the choice you are making?"

Tedros pressed the sword harder into her neck and she smiled, twisting her hand so the leather grip on his sword began to heat. "I do," He spoke.

"Fine," She slammed her hand down and the firewall dropped again.

"You two will stay here, and guard the castle," Tedros snapped, as Evers began to stream out, heading like an angry mob toward the door. It was an order.

They stood silently, watching as the castle emptied, the students ready for war.

Laura waited until they were gone, before breaking into a sprint up the stairs. "Follow me."

She didn't look behind her to see if he was following but assumed so by the pounding of his feet on the glass stairs.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"Up high," She called as they hit the very top floor of the staircase and dashed down the hall to a large glass window. Laura flung it open and stared down.

The tunnel of trees was dotted with torch lights, bobbing as the Evers headed to the Evil castle. At the broad doors, Laura could see Agatha's minuscule figure vanishing inside.

She spun around to look at an out-of-breath Sebastian behind her. "Have you ever used pixie dust?"

She grabbed her necklace and twisted the vial open. Sebastian's eyes widened. "No, I haven't. Do we really have time for you to teach me how to fly?"

Laura shook her head and grabbed him, positioning him with his back to the window.

"A very quick lesson. There are two different ways to fly with pixie dust. Either happy thoughts, or the way I am going to teach you."

She took a tiny pinch of the gold, blue, and purple dust, tossing them over him, and then herself. Sebastian sneezed.

Laura shouldn't have enjoyed the feeling so much as she suppressed a smile.

Sebastian narrowed his blue eyes at her, blue dust coating his face. "What? How do I learn?"

Laura let the grin break through, and stepped forward, giving him a firm shove, and he toppled straight out the window.