Emma Pan and the Lost Lesbians
Captain Regina Hook was not one that many people messed with without expecting her to hold the grudge until they took their dying breath—usually she arranged when and how they would reach their death. She was feared as a ruthless pirate in all of Neverland; the Indians didn't mess with her. The mermaids didn't dare come within a mile of her ship. The only person that wasn't scared of her was Emma Pan.
Emma was a woman of 28 years. She had been 28 for as long as she could remember. She didn't have any memories of her parents or her childhood at all. The 7 women she lived with also had no recollection of who they had been, so an agreement was made among them to stay together, just to look out for each other. They all lived in a man made hole under a tree, which kept them safe from wild animals that roamed the forest. There were miles of the Forgotten Forest that were overrun with wolves and bears, though the bears mostly stayed in the mountains.
Emma was the unofficial leader of this band of lost girls; and each of them had a particular taste. That is to say, they preferred the company of women to men, which is one of the reasons they had all chosen to live close together. Although at times, Emma had to admit, the drama was a little too much. Women living together in a crowded space was just asking for trouble.
"Mary Margaret, where the hell did you put my cloak? Don't try to deny it, I saw you wearing it last night!" Ruby stomped her foot and glared at Mary who was lying on a hammock, looking at the irate brunette calmly.
"I hung it back on the peg. Maybe you need to get your eyes checked, Rubes."
"Right, okay. Let me just go to the nearest optometrist." Ruby retorted.
"Girls, can we just all calm down and take a deep breath?" Belle, the fairy of the group, tried to plant herself between the two women.
"Shut up, Belle!" Both Mary and Ruby said in chorus.
This was a normal day in the little hole under the ground, and Emma was getting so sick of it. It wasn't like she didn't love the women she lived with; she did, with all of her heart. But sometimes they acted so childish, it made her wish that they weren't stuck at the same age. She wasn't sure how many years she had been in Neverland. Not that she was complaining. Neverland was a comfortable enough place. Everything she could possibly want was at her disposal. Mermaids, food (even though she had to kill it, which she was quite good at), fresh air, and when she got really bored, she would go to the Indians' camp and party with them.
The only thing she wanted that she couldn't have was Henry.
Some time ago, Emma had found a little kid in the Forgotten Forest, who was half-starved to death and had no family to speak of. When she found him, he was a feral boy, almost wild. He was very withdrawn, and he had learned to hunt and kill his own food. Overcome with pity, she had taken him under her wing. She taught him how to hunt with a bow, how to read, and clothed him and kept him fed well. For the better part of a year she let him stay with her. He soon trusted her enough to tell her things about himself. His name was Henry, and he had been abandoned by his parents long ago. He began to grow to love Emma, and she loved him too. He was exceptionally smart; the books that she had he would read voraciously, and then read them again. He read Tom Sawyer five times. Emma remembered that because sometimes she would read to him, and sometimes they would curl up on Henry's bed and he would read to her.
Emma bit her lip and looked at her hands. She needed to see him, no matter what it took. She climbed out of the hole and out into the open air without so much as a goodbye. Ruby, Belle and Mary Margaret would likely get mad at her later, but whatever. At least Mulan, Aurora, Ashley and Kathryn were gone. They were probably out hunting. Lucky for her that they didn't know about the suicide mission she was going on.
Emma grabbed her bow that was hanging on a low branch of the tree. She strung it, just in case. She doubted she would run into many wild animals, and it wasn't her turn to hunt, but there was no harm in being prepared. Her blonde locks bounced around her face as she ran in the forest, the cool air refreshing her. She was wearing a green tank top, corduroy pants and brown boots. It provided good camouflage, which was imperative for survival. Not that that would do much good once Emma got close to Regina's ship. But she had to do this; she had to see the boy she had come to regard as a son.
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Regina breathed in the sweet ocean air, content with the sailing conditions. She knew that there were no ships to pillage that day, because the neighboring kingdoms were all scared to send trade ships on the sea next to Neverland. As such, Regina planned to sail out far from Neverland, to go pillaging for booty. She was a pirate, after all. It would do no good to let her reputation slip. She placed her hands on the deck and opened her mouth to give the order to hoist anger, when a flash of green caught her eye. She craned her neck to the starboard side, pulling her sword out. She knew who was here. Frankly she was surprised that Emma Pan hadn't come last week. This happened often enough, whenever Miss Pan got an urge to see Henry. The boy that she had willingly given to Regina.
It had happened months ago, when the Forgotten Forest was suffering an intense draught that crippled the plants and dried up the earth. The trees withered, and the animals scrounged for scraps of food, hoping to get a few droplets of moisture. Regina hadn't suffered much; she had been pillaging along the Caspian Sea, but Neverland had suffered greatly. Emma Pan couldn't provide for the boy she had taken in, and so one night last summer, Emma Pan had shown up—Regina wasn't sure how she had gotten past her guards. Rumors were that Emma could fly, but Regina had never seen this and wasn't about to believe some stupid stories that drunken sailors and sorry miscreants made up. All she knew was that Emma had shown up at her cabin and had knocked on the door.
Regina had been trying to fall asleep, and when she heard the knock, she was sure it was Sydney Smee, just checking on her. She'd rolled her eyes and told him to leave her alone, and that she was fine. She curled up tighter under her blankets and shut her eyes. But when she heard the door creak open, she'd been up and armed faster than a flash of lightning.
Emma Pan had been standing in the middle of the room, with this insolent smirk on her face. Apparently the woman believed she was invincible. Well, Regina could change that.
And she had tried. With a quick flick of her wrist, she sent the blade of her sword towards Emma's ribs, but Emma parried with a little dagger she was carrying. She then pulled a sword from her belt, and the battle began. Regina parried and pushed, feeling Emma's breath on her face, coming out in short spurts. They were evenly matched fighters, but Regina had been determined to best Emma. She'd had enough of this woman thinking she couldn't be killed. That she couldn't be conquered. With that in mind, she grabbed the sword in both of her hands, and concentrated. She'd watched Emma's every move. Her every step, every twitch of her muscles, which were well-toned and strong. Regina had bit her lip at that point, reminding herself that this was a fight, hopefully to the death. Emma Pan's death, to be precise.
But eventually, both women had made so much racket, that half of Regina's crew came running into the cabin. At that point, Emma had thrown down her sword.
"I just wanted to talk, Regina." Emma had said.
Regina had stepped close, so that she could feel Emma's breasts brush hers. She hadn't admitted it to herself then, but she had enjoyed standing that close to her. She pushed her sword up to Emma's neck, just hard enough to draw a little blood. "Leave us," she told her crew.
Once they were alone, she relaxed, though she kept the sword at Emma's neck. "Talk." She ordered.
"Henry—he's starving. Oh right, you have no idea who he is. He's a kid that I rescued from the Forgotten Forest, and he needs someone to take care of him. Just until I can provide for him again. Can you do that for me?"
Regina had laughed at that point. A hearty, sarcastic laugh that made Emma roll her eyes. "Why on earth would I help you, Miss Pan? You are my sworn enemy."
"Why?"
Regina had snarled at this juncture. "Do you forget that you sliced off my hand and fed it to a crocodile?"
"You had magic! You got your hand back!"
"That still doesn't excuse what you did, Miss Pan. Now if you would kindly leave before I have a mind to run this sword through your neck."
"The kid is only ten years old, Regina. He needs someone to take care of him, just until I can again."
"No deal. If I decide to take care of him, it will be for however long I please. Do we have an agreement?"
Emma hadn't really had a choice. "Fine."
That was why, and this particular moment in time, Emma was sneaking around Regina's ship. She had done this 3 times before, and each time had gotten away without a scratch. Maybe she really could fly. Regina set her jaw resolutely and marched towards where she had seen the flash. One thing was for sure; Emma would not get away this time. She honed her senses to the wind; the steady flap of the sails. She was thankful that her eyes were already adjusted to the dark. She walked on the deck, her sword at the ready, when a noise from above startled her and she looked up. Sure enough, Emma Pan was wrapped around the crow's nest, watching her.
"Hello, Miss Pan," Regina called out, like she had been expecting her.
"Hi, Captain. Can I see the kid?"
"No. He's my son, Miss Pan, as per our agreement. I'm sure you remember. If you want to talk, come down and we can sort this out." Like hell Regina had any plans to be civil. In reality she wanted to lock Emma up—but it was best to at least have the appearance of good manners.
"Okay then." Emma let go of the crow's nest and made a soft landing on the ground, floating slowly. So the rumors were true.
Unfortunately, Emma hadn't had a plan to just stand there and talk civilly either. Once she hit the ground, three other women came out of nowhere, yelling and fighting Regina's crew. Her crewmen were rather short and stocky, but they were strong and held their own. Regina herself immediately began fighting Emma, musing at the fact that this is how most of their meetings went. It seemed they just naturally brought out the worst in each other.
During the fight, Ruby and Belle managed to do a sweep of the ship, and found Henry. He was sitting calmly in a cabin of his own, reading. He was blissfully unaware of the chaos outside, and once Ruby and Belle busted in, he jumped up in surprise. They dragged him out and then jumped off of the ship into a boat that was waiting for them. Henry asked what was going on, and they just replied that they were rescuing him, even though they never asked him if he wanted to be 'rescued.'
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Mulan, Aurora, Kathryn and Ashley all came back to the Hometree with 3 deers and one elk. Mulan was by far the best hunter in their little group of lesbians, and she took great pride in that fact. She turned gloating into a fine art, and it was one of the things that Aurora found frustratingly cute about the long-haired brunette. She wasn't sure why whenever she looked into Mulan's eyes, she had this deep stirring in her abdomen, almost similar to a stomach-ache, albeit a little more pleasant. She listened to Mulan give a moment-by-moment account of how she had trailed the elk down and shot an arrow right between its eyes, then another one in its heart. While Kathryn and Ashley were ready to burn their ears, Aurora found herself totally interested.
She helped Mulan skin the deer, even though that was her least favorite activity. Usually she just cooked the meat when it was all prepared. But she was so wrapped up in what Mulan was saying, and how dramatically she told hunting stories.
"And I—well, you remember, you were there!" Mulan nudged her friend, smiling at her.
"Well, you know I was kind of—hiding. I don't like to go hunting. I only went because I…"Aurora trailed off. Usually she was such a lady, never speaking out of turn, and certainly never just blurting out that she had a crush on someone. While the other women she lived with were totally comfortable with their sexuality, Aurora was still having trouble accepting it. So she just decided that maybe whatever she was feeling for Mulan was just a really intense friendship.
But then another side of her would tell her that that was Grade A bullshit.
Mulan snapped her fingers to get Aurora's attention. "Because you what?"
"N-nothing. I just wanted to get away from Ruby, Belle and Snow. Drama city!" She said the last two words in a falsetto voice.
"Speaking of them, where the hell are they?" Ashley strolled up to a branch, swinging one of the deer's hind legs onto it. Aurora tried not to wince in disgust, reminding herself the food would look better when it was cooked.
"I have no idea." Mulan shrugged. Aurora noticed she looked so cute when she did that.
"Well, it's dark already. We should probably go look for them." Kathryn, ever practical, began to light a lantern in preparation. Just as she packed all her things in her sack, she heard a rustle of leaves and saw Emma, Mary Margaret, Ruby, Belle, and Henry come into the clearing.
Kathryn dropped her sack in astonishment. Mulan stood up and clapped Henry on the back.
"Henry, it's good to see you." Aurora smiled at him. She could tell he was really shy, and unsure of his surroundings. "Welcome home."
"Thanks. I missed this place. But I…"
Emma noticed Henry's unsurety right away. She bent down to his eye level. "What is it, Henry?"
"I know Captain Regina Hook isn't a perfect person, but she's never been mean to me. And now she's going to come after you for taking me from her."
Emma shrugged. "I can handle her. The important thing is that you're happy."
The blonde had no way of knowing that Henry couldn't be happy, not as long as the two women he had come to care about were fighting, determined to always best the other one.
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Snow grunted in appreciation at the delicious meal that lay before them, licking her lips. The grease from the meat dripped on her lips and she slurped it up, not caring about manners. No one she lived with really did, and it was nice. It was like living with a huge family that she didn't have to pretend with. She wiped her hands on her pants and took a huge bite into her venison, oblivious to the horrified looks on Henry's face. Since he had been living on Regina's ship, he'd been taught to use these silver instruments to eat his food with. It was just weird to go back to something that seemed like a distant dream.
The next day, the whole troupe of women went to the Indians' camp, for the first day of the month. It was the first of September, and the Gonawalkee Indians always had a celebration, to symbolize the beginning of the harvest. The drums beat loud and Henry couldn't help but feel some semblance of peace. The clothes he was wearing were itchy—they were made of wool. He didn't want anyone to think he was a spoiled little kid, so he said nothing. He just smiled and lost himself in the music. The braves of the tribe were singing, deep and throaty, almost like Tibetan throat singing.
The seven months that he had lived with Regina were not terrible, he conceded. He had learned a lot; for a pirate Regina Hook had an extensive library in her cabin. She had a set of encyclopedias, and maps to just about everywhere, and a dictionary, and lots of poetry. She let him read it whenever he pleased. When he first went to live with the pirate, he was skeptical. He didn't trust that she would take care of him, even though Emma had told him that if Regina didn't, she would skin the woman alive herself. Somehow that wasn't as reassuring as Emma thought it was.
"Henry, come dance!" One of the braves, a man with curly hair and a beard, waved at him. He was wearing a wolfskin, and it hung over his head and shoulders like a cloak. Henry found out his name was Graham. He danced to the beat of the drum.
Henry laughed and danced around the circle, imitating Graham. Maybe living with Emma wouldn't be so bad.
But for some inexplicable reason, he still missed Captain Regina Hook, even though she was supposedly just an evil pirate.