She nodded. “And John?”
“John is meeting with the other Generals in the treasure room. I’m actually heading there now. Will you walk with me there and I’ll drop you at the Table?”
Wendy turned to him. “Why walk when you can fly?”
Oxley smiled. “Because sometimes it’s good to feel your feet on the ground.”
With a grin, she linked her arm through his. They walked together through the tree toward the Table, Oxley showing her various flora along the way and telling her hilarious stories of when the Lost Boys lost all their pants, or when they had to steal chickens from the mainland. The walk was too short, and they quickly arrived at the Table, where Wendy hoped there would be a suitable breakfast.
“I have one question before you go, Oxley—how exactly does one become a General?”
He looked down at her, his brown eyes glistening under his ebony skin.
“When you become a Lost Boy, you start at the bottom. You are a Pip, which means you have one of two duties: kitchen duties or chamber duties.” That made sense—it was always younger boys who had been coming to fetch Wendy’s mortifying toilet bowl. “Once you have put in your time as a Pip, you move up to a Lost Boy. That’s the vast majority of the boys here. They go on occasional raids and live on the island doing various chores here and there, and they get to have a watch on the Moon Tower. You may be a Lost Boy for ten years before becoming a General. Only a General has the right to Peter’s ear.”
“And what makes someone worthy of being a General?”
Oxley’s eyes focused on Wendy’s face. “You arrive with a pretty sister?” The annoyance in his voice was palpable.
“I didn’t tell Peter to do that. And John didn’t have anything to do with that either.”
He sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. That was rude. Here.” He plucked a small pink flower from an overhanging branch and handed it to her. “Forget that I said that! Okay? Please don’t be cross.”
She patted his arm. “I know, Oxley. You’re the nicest person here. I could never be angry at you.”
“In that case, where was I? Ah yes. Becoming a General. You must show extreme loyalty to Peter and not have any fear. When he feels you have mastered these things, you become a General. And then after General . . .”
“There is something above General?”
“Yes. Once you move up from General, then you become . . . a Swift.”
“A Swift?”
“Peter is the only Swift. It means that you have flight, forever, always.”
Wendy gasped. “That can happen?”
“No one knows how the gift is given. But once you move up from General, Peter gives you the gift. You become a Swift, like him.”
“Has anyone become a Swift?”
Oxley nodded, pushing a leaf out of his way and into Wendy’s face. “Felix. Felix became a Swift. But the night he got the gift from Peter, he flew too fast and plowed into the side of a mountain. He died there. That’s why you must be a General for a very long time before becoming a Swift—it’s a gift, but a dangerous one. Peter does not give it lightly.” Oxley dropped his voice. “Felix was my friend.”
Wendy gently placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Oxley. It must hurt to lose someone.”
“An all-too-frequent occurrence, unfortunately.”
“What do you mean by that?” The banging of the drums ceased suddenly, and then the sound of the moon bell clanged through the air. Oxley sighed.