Page 4 of Protector

Standing to their full height, I look at the face of a boy, a little older than me. He has tanned skin, even more tanned than mine, and I am always outside, and very short dark hair. He’s so tall, even from upstairs, I can see that he is taller than King and Dax and they’re tall for nine-year-olds. I always look so tiny next to them.

I can’t take my eyes off the boy. He looks kind and gentle, and when he spots the person running towards him, his face lights up even more. A moment later, Maria embraces him in her arms in the tightest hug I have ever seen.

My heart is beating so fast I feel like it’s about to burst out of my chest.

There’s a twisty feeling in my stomach. My hands get sweaty, and as I wipe them on the material of the skirt covering my thighs, I realise it’s because I want to stand where Maria is, letting him hold me tight instead.

I’ve heard the saying “like butterflies in your tummy,” but I don’t think I’ve ever felt it. Not until now.

I’ve hugged King and Dax lots of times, but I've never felt like this.

Is it like when Wendy wants a kiss from Peter? Is this how she feels?

After a couple more minutes, Maria takes the small backpack from the ground that was dropped by his feet, then scurries back up the mansion steps. I wait anxiously as the mystery boy takes a step closer to the mansion, and then another.

With both hands to the window, I watch him walk up the steps to the entrance, when he pauses mid-step and looks up.

His eyes clash with mine, and I instantly feel my cheeks burning red.

But everything stops when he smiles.

This boy, the first stranger I have ever set eyes on, stops in his tracks to smile at me. And I know instantly, that if I was Wendy Darling and living in my fairy tale, he would be my Peter Pan.

I run from the window, confused, with butterflies swirling, and disappear into my room.

I don’t see anyone almost all day. There’s no sign of King or Dax, and I don’t see Daddy anywhere. Maria doesn’t even bring me my food or come to teach me my lessons.

I’d hoped Maria would come for me, and I could ask her all about the boy.

It’s not entirely unusual that I don’t see anybody about, but considering there’s a visitor, and I still haven’t been thrown into my room, something feels different.

I have looked for him all day, hoping I would bump into him or see him with Maria. Just to prove he’s real.

I feel naughty, like I should’ve taken myself to my room. If Daddy sees me, he’ll probably really tell me off and one of his men will carry me to my bedroom. But I’m so excited at the thought of seeing the boy again that I don't care what happens.

I’m sitting on a bench outside, twirling one of the purple clematis from the trees through my fingers and eating a chocolate bar that I snuck out of the kitchen.

I’ve always loved the gardens, and right at the back of them is a wooded area. I don’t know how far back they go, but it’s my favourite place to play.

What I really love most about it are the purple flowers that grow on the trees around the edges of the woodland. It feels like entering a fairy tale.

I don’t like to pick them much, because I’m scared that if I take too many, they will never grow back. But every year they do, and they make me smile.

Twirling the purple flower around my fingers, I catch movement in the corner of my eye.

I turn my head and freeze when I look into the dark brown eyes of the boy who I haven’t stopped thinking about all day. The butterflies are back, and it’s like my mind has forgotten all the words I know.

“Hey,” he says casually, dropping down onto the bench next to me.

I’m still frozen in time, completely unsure of what to do. I’ve never interacted with strangers before. Let alone boys who make my heart go so crazy, it’s going to beat out of my chest.

“You have chocolate on your face.”

My cheeks heat, and I turn my head away from him, rubbing my mouth with my sleeve.

I’m too nervous to turn back to him, feeling like a little girl in comparison.

“I’m Puck,” he says, and I twist my head slightly.

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