Welcome and thank you to whoever is reading this! This fic is based on some Hook dreams that I had, in fact the first six chapters are just the dream, after that I try to make a story of the thing. This is a post-Neverland story, set after the events of the Peter Pan movie. It is a slow burn but will eventually have romance between Hook and an OC. Fair warning… This story is not a serious one. It's not going to be a masterpiece. Give it a go if you like, and see what you think.

Please listen to the song Stay With Me, by Shakespeare's Sister, while reading this chapter.

1670

Our location was unknown

(but we were almost certainly off course)

It was as a result of a lifetime of bad decisions and worse consequences that Anna-Maria and her elder sister, Charlotte, ended up in a creaking longboat in the middle of the blue sea, with no food, no oars, and precious little drinking water.

To be more specific, the aforementioned bad decisions belonged almost entirely to Anna-Maria. It was one of her few good characteristics, she thought in a moment of introspection, that she rather wished that all the consequences for her actions were her own as well. But unfortunately, here Charlotte was. Dear, stern, increasingly long suffering Charlotte, Anna-Maria thought fondly.

Her sister was cross with her. This, over recent years, had become more of a given than an exception to the rule. The sun rose in the east and set in the west. God reigned in Heaven, and Charles the II on the throne. Things fell down when they were dropped and Anna-Maria had done something to earn the ire of her sister. This time, she had to admit, the thing she had done was very bad and so Charlotte was very angry. But what else was there to do other than talk to one another? There were only so many hours she could spend looking at the endless flat expanse of the sea.

She'd best make a go of it, she decided, as she resisted the urge to drink all the luscious-looking sea water. At the very least, it would be a distraction, and who knows, it might actually get her somewhere this time.

She began "Sister dear-"

She was immediately cut off. "I won't hear it, Anna." Charlotte did not even look away from her inspection of the horizon. "Not this time." Anna-Maria waited for a few moments, stifling the hurt that had twisted in her chest. Charlotte looked out with that steady, hazel-eyed gaze of hers. Could she really believe she would see their ship out there? Or any ship? They had been in the longboat now for the better part of two days. Anna-Maria herself had decided to save herself the disappointment and had given up on rescue entirely, until it should present itself. She was not a despondent person, merely a practical one. On the first day, she had yelled and screamed for rescue until her throat was hoarse. For all the good that had done them.

She tried again, instilling sincerity in her voice. "Charlotte, truly, I am very, very sorry we are here. Most of this, really pretty much all of it, is my fault." When no interruption came, she continued contritely. "I truly am very sorry that we're going to die out here, but since we are, perhaps we could pass the time with some conversation?"

For the first time in hours, Charlotte's gaze ticked from the horizon to look her in the eyes. Her expression was both weary and thoroughly unsurprised. "Most of it?"

"Well," Anna-Maria defended herself weakly, "I can hardly think I should be blamed for the storms." She waited for an agreement; even a begrudging huff would have been enough. But there was only silence. "Oh Charlotte, really, you must admit that the storms were entirely coincidental!"

Charlotte held her gaze for one more moment, before turning back to her vigil. "You're not sorry. You're never sorry." She muttered. No resentment on her face. No real expression at all, really. Anna-Maria had long since lost the ability to shock, or even disappoint, her sister.

For lack of anything else to do, Anna-Maria peered into the water again. There was barely even a ripple, the surface was so calm. She tried not to lick her lips. There was only the barest ghost of a breeze to relieve her. The sisters wore little more than the undergarments and hats to shield their faces from the sun, but still, it was dreadfully hot. She wished again that she had not lost the oars, then she could have made the pretence of doing something, for all that she had never rowed before. She would not have even had a destination, since it was all water as far as the eye could see. Still, surely even exercise could be better than this mind numbing tedium.

She spent the rest of the afternoon wondering how bad fortune could bring her storms, but not a stiff breeze.

Night fell languidly. It was balmy but no longer scorching. She slept deeply, her head against her sisters leg. Despite sniffing once in indignation, a veritable explosion of emotion, Charlotte made no move to dislodge her.

The sun rose, and with it, glory.

Charlotte had already begun her hopeless vigil by the time the younger sister awoke. She yawned, stretched and flailed about for the water flask. She groaned to find that it was empty. Charlotte must have had the last of it in the night. She could not really blame her. Sighing, Anna-Maria made her decision. She would have some of that sea water, madness be damned. What did it matter when she was doomed regardless? If she must die of hunger and exposure, at least she would not die thirsty. Reaching out a hand, she leaned over the side of the boat, and saw it.

Money, sweet, sweet money. Well, not money in its proper form, pound notes and such, which would have been ridiculous. But beneath the surface of the blue blue sea were things that could be turned into money, which was almost as good. And so close that she could nearly have reached out and touched it. She could have wept for joy.

She stared in wonder and began to grin a wide grin. There was a ship made of solid gold in the water beneath them. Had she ever seen such a beautiful sight? The immense ship looked cast from a single vein of gold; mast, deck, helm and all. Strewn about the golden deck were chains, ingots, plates, rivers of gold. Curiously, she found that the longer she looked, the clearer the water seemed to become, as though she were some hawk gazing down upon prey. Further down, still within swimming distance by her reckoning, she saw golden chests of treasure littering the sea floor. From within, she saw light spilling out. Gems, she knew instinctively. They would be the size of her fist, her heart whispered to her. More than even she could spend. All she had to do was reach down-

She heard, as if from a great distance, Charlotte tutting under her breath, asking what on earth she was looking at, foolish girl, and then she too gazed into the water, and fell abruptly silent.

Anna-Maria whispered hoarsely. "Do you see it, sister? Do you see it?" She needed to know that Charlotte could see it. She had to know this was not some fever-dream, but true deliverance.

She leaned forward, heedless of the boats tipping, and caressed the water as a mother might caress a sleeping babe. She felt, rather than saw, her sister nod. She thought that if she could bear to rip her eyes from the fortune, her fortune, she might see a look of real shock on her sisters face. Certainly such loveliness was impossible to grasp with cold hard reason. Her hand slipped further into the water, past the wrist. The gold gleamed at her encouragingly. Anna's ears were filled with a lovely ringing, the song of her delight, and her heart filled with lust. She must have it. She must have it. She had come so far, seeking salvation from her poverty, and here was the answer to her all prayers. It was nearly over. The years of regret, and shame, and apologising. No more. Beneath the waters lay deliverance.

The boat lurched back as Charlotte stood up suddenly. The movement was enough to make Anna-Maria look up. Looming above her, fair hair tumbling down red shoulders, her sister divested herself of skirts, hat and jewellery until she stood in her small clothes. She was going to make a go of it, Anna-Maria thought giddily. The sea sighed in approval. Charlotte took a step, breathing in deeply, her eyes filled with tears, longing, and a sweetness that Anna-Maria had not seen on her in years. Her mouth hung slack and her hands convulsed at her sides. Something niggled at her, but she could not place it. She simply could not bring herself to worry.

Anna-Maria whooped in approval, and began to undress herself. They would bring the treasure up together. These last few weeks, the current situation with the longboat notwithstanding, proved that there was very little the two of them could not do when they were united, however rare such unity might be. "Think of it sister! All debts paid! All sins forgiven! We will go home to England rich, rich women!" She began to laugh as she undressed. She cast another look at her sister and slowed when she saw Charlotte weeping, gazing into the water.

''Mother.'' Charlotte whispered in a voice torn by love and hope and grief. "I am coming."

Something curdled in Anna-Maria's stomach. Her breath left her. She felt as though she was trying to wake from a dream. "Charlotte?'' She whispered. Something was not right. Mother... mother was dead. She had been for long, long years. Why could she not see the gold? Perhaps she had gone mad. For the first time in her life, her sister was about to do something stupid. Her heart was cold, deathly cold, within her breast. ''Sister, wait-''She lunged for her. Too late.

Her sister dived, her body cutting through the sea. As she hit the water, the waves broke the sight of gold. Something within her snapped back into place. Anna-Maria blinked, bleary eyed and panicked. What was happening? She screamed her sisters name and looked into the water. When the water stilled, she could see nothing but riches, but they did not sing to her now. Charlotte was gone. She screamed her name again. Something began to move up from the deep, towards her, its shape blurred and shifting. She dared to hope. Charlotte could swim like a fish after all. It broke the surface.

A necklace of fine gold links, with a single, egg-sized diamond hanging from it. As rich as her father had been during their better years, such a jewel as this had been beyond even their means. Her heart ached with longing. The jewel seemed to become bigger, brighter. Despite herself, she leaned towards it. Going for the ship was foolishness, she saw that now, but this one necklace could settle all her debts, for no real risk. She could no longer remember what it was that bothered her. The ringing sound returned and sang a fever pitch in her ears. She felt dizzy, her head swam, but still she did not snatched up the necklace. She would not. Something was very wrong, but what? It came to her in a flash. Charlotte, Charlotte, she is still beneath the water, she needs to come up for air-

The boat tipped. She barely had time to draw in a shocked breath before she fell into the water like a stone.

She pinched her nose shut and looked wildly around her, eyes wide with desperation and fear. All about her, the water seethed with random, tumbling images of treasure, as fleeting as the air. The images were strangely flat, like poorly drawn pictures. A chandelier dripping with diamonds sailed past her weightlessly. None of it had been real. It had all been a mirage. A ship of gold beneath the sea… Ridiculous. How could she have believed it? Still the images boiled about her, and the chaos was such that she almost missed her sister beneath her, but her fair skin drew her eye. And lurking underneath her... a dark, twisted shape with a viciously barbed forked tail.

She forced down her fear and swam as fast as she could. It was not so far, and warmer than the lakes she was used to. Almost in passing, Anna-Maria realised that she did not feel a need to breathe. Her lungs were not burning for air. She had never been as good a swimmer as her sister and should have been struggling by now. The whole thing was like a horrible dream. What was happening?

As she drew closer, she could see the thing more clearly. It had the hair of a woman, but its face was obscured by a shadow and she could not perceive any one feature. Its head was turned up towards her sister as if in rapture. She held Charlotte with long arms in a terrible grip. A demon? A mermaid? Whatever kind of creature it was, it had made her see jewels that were not there. It had given her hope that she could have a future. She hated the beast like she had never hated anything. It would not have her sister.

As she grabbed Charlotte's arm and kicked upwards with all her strength, the things face snapped towards her. She felt the whole of its attention upon her. Her vision shuddered and for a moment, she saw herself in another life. Bedecked with jewels and on a kind mans arm, in a room with a roaring fire. Her sister looked at her with pride and love shining in her eyes. The room was filled with music, and the air...

This could be you. She heard a sibilant voice whisper in her mind. All that you desire could be yours. Just be happy, that's all you need to do. Be happy.

With one last heave, she tore her sister away from the thing. Charlotte came to almost instantly. As they kicked towards the surface, her mind filled with hate and rage, she spared it one last look. Though she still could not see its face, she felt something from it. Loss. Hunger. Regret? It reached out its arms towards them.

Everything went black.

Anna-Maria woke up freezing cold and soaked through. Mixed in with the sound of waves crashing upon a shore, she could hear her sister weeping. What had happened to her? One moment, she had been resisting that foul thing in the water, and the next she was lying face down in sand. Her head pounded and every inch of her ached.

She raised her head from the sand and coughed up the ocean. She panted and lay there for an interminable time. She had seen enough to know that it was evening now. When some measure of strength returned to her, she flexed her fingers, feeling the silky sand beneath her. It felt marvellous. She had never thought she would feel it again.

She croaked her sisters name weakly. Her throat was agony. The weeping stopped abruptly. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She wanted to ask her sister to turn her over at least, but her throat hurt too much.

"Good, you are awake. We should talk."

She croaked in reply.

"Alright, I will talk, then. I think... I think that thing would have killed me, Anna. I could feel it- God in heaven, I could feel it feeding off of me. It gave me visions of Mother, and it-" She coughed to cover a sob. "If you had not come in after me, I would have died. I am... grateful, though I must say that I almost wish you had left me there. Perhaps we are both weak, after all." Charlotte couldn't even say thank you without leaving a barb. At least the events of the last few days had not broken her spirits. "I don't mean to alarm you, sister, but for some time as you lay... resting, I could see the thing in the shallows. Siren or monster or whatever it is, it has not given up on us yet. It keeps showing me Mother and Father, trying to get me to go in after it. Do not look at the sea, Anna-Maria."

Siren. It certainly matched what she vaguely recalled from myth. But how could such a thing exist in the world? Anna-Maria could not understand it. Having warned her of the danger, Charlotte rolled her over at last with a heave. Anna-Maria looked up at a glorious tropical sky, with the first stars beginning to peak out. She finally gathered enough strength to speak. "That's why it saved us? So it could continue to prey on us?"

"I think so, though I suppose we'll never know." Charlotte's tone became wistful. "I must say, all heartbreak aside, I think this might have been a good thing. We are on dry land. There must be water somewhere since the place is covered in trees. Fruit, probably. Coconuts, surely. And you finally got to see Mother. What did you think? Her portraits don't do her justice, do they?"

Anna-Maria thought for a long moment. "She was radiant. I have never seen anything so beautiful in all my life." Secretly, she was profoundly disturbed that Charlotte assumed she had seen their mother. The… siren… had shown them their deepest desires, after all. She had thought that Charlotte understood that their dreams were very different. Apparently she had been wrong.

They stayed like that until morning. Anna-Maria lying in the sand and her sister with her hand on her shoulder, gazing into a starlit sky.

When she awoke, she found that she could stand, with a little help. Her throat ached with thirst and she was abominably hungry. They had lost their food when they had fallen out of the longboat, though Charlotte had picked some little orange berries for them. Taking a handful of them, she stood up and looked around. To her English eyes, the place was a paradise. White soft sand, blue skies with not a cloud in sight, and a veritable jungle within walking distance. There was even a breeze. She firmly kept her gaze away from the sea, as beautiful as it must have looked. She did not think she would be entranced again, but she would take no chances.

As for Charlotte, she looked a little worse for wear. She had a great bruise on her arm where the creature had gripped her and her eyes were red from tears. They were both bedraggled and reeked of the sea. Anna-Maria spent a few minutes trying to pick seaweed out of her hair before giving up. She ate some berries. They tasted sweet but did nothing to sate her hunger. Their juiciness was divine though and soothed her throat a little. She hoped her headache would recede soon.

Whatever happened, it would not do to sit around all day and mope. They were English, even if they were women. Adventure, foreign lands, it was in their blood after all. Certainly there would be those who would say that being marooned on an island with little to no hope of ever seeing civilisation again did not count as an adventure, but Anna-Maria was determined to make the best of it. "If I do not drink now, I shall die of thirst this minute. Are you coming? We should explore. See what manner of island that beast left us on."

"You go, sister. There should always be one of us on the shore, looking for sails."

Anna-Maria grimaced. "You are determined, aren't you. Didn't you say last night that we shouldn't look into the sea?" Just yesterday, Charlotte had thrown herself into the ocean for a chance to be with mother. Now she sat sedately on the sands as if nothing pained her.

She need not have worried. "I think I am beyond the reach of the siren. It still sends visions to me, but the more I reject them, the weaker they are. I can barely see Mother at all now. You should go, see if you can find any water. Be careful, the island is quite large." Her sister seemed to have regained her stoicism.

Anna-Maria shrugged and set off. She tramped her way up the shore and into the verdant tree line. Palms, mostly, but there were other trees she could not recognise. How far exactly had the storms blown them off course? She heard strange birds but could see no sign of them. She reached out to touch tree trunks and rocks as she walked on, revelling in the feeling of touching something solid. She was smiling before long. Charlotte's warning did not much concern her. If she lost her way, all she had to do was pick a direction and walk until she found the shore. From there she would simply circle the island until she found Charlotte. She was confident she would not get irrevocably lost. She found that the more she walked, the more the stiffness and aches in her body began to fade, which she was very grateful for.

Being trapped on an uninhabited island might have seemed bleak to someone else, but Anna-Maria was not one to wallow in misery. Even if they were both to die on this island, it was still a better fate than what they had faced yesterday, and arguably a better one than what had awaited them in England. She thought Charlotte stubborn for continuing to look for hope where there was none, but perhaps the same could be said of her. As long as they could find water and something a little more filling than berries, she really thought things might be alright.

Eventually she heard the sound of water ahead and raced up an incline. A triumphant smile lit her face as she saw a little lake of shallow, sunlight dappled water. In the center of the lake was a little heavily wooded isle, barely more than a mound of dirt. If she had not just saved her sister from a sea monster, she would have thought the place magical. As it was, her understanding of the extraordinary had been redefined somewhat. The pale blue called to her. Laughing exultantly she skipped to the water and splashed about like a child for a while before scooping the water into her mouth and drinking mouthful after mouthful. The water tasted clean and sweet. She groaned in pleasure as the pain of her throat lessened. The day was getting better and better. She thought she spied little fish flitting about in the shallows, no bigger than the size of her hand. She had no idea how they would catch them, or even cook them, but here again was hope.

She could have turned around and brought the good news to her sister then. She did not. Her adventurous spirit was not yet quenched, if anything she was more curious than ever. This place was… odd, even to her newly opened eyes. The lake surrounding the little island seemed to be almost a perfect circle. She had spent most (virtually all) of her life closeted away in the family manor and while she had never wished for any other life, now that she was out of it she had a real desire to explore, to see and understand new wonders. It occurred to her for a moment that Charlotte might be worrying about her, but she dismissed the idea out of hand.

She waded towards the island. At its deepest, the water only reached her knees and was deliciously warm. She would bring Charlotte here and they could bathe the stench of the sea from them. She reached the island within a few minutes and relished the earth clinging to her feet. She would never take land for granted again. Or drinking water, for that matter. She looked through the trees and felt a little start as she saw… something. A pile of stones? Her curiosity was piqued and she headed towards it. It was no natural thing as she had first thought. It was a well. Tumbled down and sprouting weeds but a well nonetheless. It was even sheltered by a little roof. She looked at it with a mixture of trepidation and interest. She could not believe her luck. Was this another vision? But she could see no sign of the siren, and the water of the lake was so shallow she surely would have seen it had it been there. Moreover, the well looked very mundane, with not so much as a speck of gold upon it. She reached out a shaking hand and touched the chain stretching down into it. Rust crumbled onto her fingers. This was real. Strange and near miraculous, but real.

She peered down it and saw nothing but blackness. She could not begin to guess how deep it was. Her memories of the days within the longboat were still too vivid not to at least investigate the well. She pulled on the chain with a heave, half expecting it to crumble beneath her fingers. It did not. She was not strong and it took a lot of effort to pull it up, but eventually a bucket emerged from the well. It was less than half full, but It looked clean enough. She drank it all in a long draught. It tasted a little muddy, but not bad enough to make her feel sick. It was better than nothing. Her headache had begun to subside, though she was still terribly hungry.

As interesting a discovery this was, it was proof beyond question that the island had been inhabited at some point. For all she knew, it might still be inhabited. It was a frightening thought. If they were not alone here, they could not assume their fellow inhabitants would succour them, or even tolerate their presence. Anna-Maria felt a chill despite the warmth of the day. If they were savages, it could be fatal to be seen. Suddenly she felt very vulnerable, in a way that she hadn't since she had left England. She was acutely aware of her state of undress. She looked around warily and saw no-one. Truly, the well did not look as though it had been used for some time, but there was no certainty. She needed to get back to Charlotte, she could delay no longer. They could be in danger.

Anna-Maria all but raced through the jungle, trying as hard as she could to remember the general direction the beach where she had left her sister. The birds fled at her loud approach and the jungle lay silent around her. She no longer stopped to caress the trunks or admire the exotic beauty of the place. It seemed intimidating to her now. In her mind's eye she saw enemies skulking behind every tree, and traps lying beneath the very earth she ran on. She did not know how long it took her, only that it felt too long. By the time she broke through the treeline to hit the beach running, the sun was high in the sky. She looked around wild eyed, having worked herself into a state of near delirium. Carried on the breeze, she could hear screams. Choking back a sob, she ran off in the direction they were coming from.

She was both shocked and gratified when she saw Charlotte standing alone, screaming on the sands. What was the matter? She was close enough now to hear that Charlotte was calling out her name. She cried out to her and Charlotte turned immediately. She was unhurt and beaming. In her hand she carried a large, knotted piece of driftwood.

"Charlotte, for God's sake, what's the matter? I thought you were hurt! I have news! I found water and a-"

Charlotte's hands fluttered over her mouth, silencing her. Her expression was more joyous than she had seen since they were little girls playing together. "Later, Anna-Maria! Look, look! On the horizon!"

Anna-Maria turned to the horizon and the last of her fears vanished. It was distant, but she could see it. A ship. Barely more than a smudge on the horizon, but still. Despite all odds, despite her horrible luck, there was a ship. A chance of rescue! Thank heavens one of them had remained on shore.

"Pray, Anna-Maria, pray to God they have someone in the crow's nest!"

"They will see us." Anna-Maria said with certainty. "I know it. They will see us, and we shall go back home!"

The two sisters waved at the horizon and sang and cheered, dancing on the sand with linked arms. They were exultant. They laughed and talked of how things would be when they made port, devoid of treasure but still alive. They might not be really be able to go home, but at least they could find some sort of civilisation. It was the best ending they could have hoped for, all things considered. For a time, all that lay between them was forgotten as they celebrated together. They were to be saved at last.

Before long, the ship became clearer and was obviously heading towards them. The sister sang the praises of whatever fine gentleman was in the crows nest. The ship came closer still before one of them had the sense to look up. When they did, they saw a black flag, marked with a skull and crossbones. Anna-Maria felt her heart drop to her stomach. They looked at each other for a long moment in disbelief, then back to the flag, then back to each other again. She watched as her sisters smile warped into a rictus of despair. Terror consumed her as her whole body began to shake. She had to do something to get them out of this, but she could not think of a single thing. She could not tear herself from where she stood. She heard her sister whispering to her, urging her to do something, but she could not focus on the words. Her entire world had shrunk to the dark ship inexorably approaching them, she could look nowhere else. They must have been seen. There could be no doubting it. They had done everything they could to draw the attention of the ship. In their naivete they had doomed themselves.

She snapped out of it when she felt Charlotte's nails digging into her arm ferociously enough to draw blood. She cried out in pain. Finally she could hear her sister hissing, "Move, Anna, move!" and tugging at her arm. Her fear was not dispelled but the desperation and anger in her sisters voice brought her back to herself.

She let herself be led, stumbling at first and then running, up the beach and into the trees. She cast a despairing look over her shoulder, face streaked with tears and pupils blown with horror. Was the ship closer than when she had last looked? She cried out in despair, still tugged along by her sister as they raced through the trees as fast as their legs could carry them. She could not see or hear them, but she knew they would be drawing nearer and nearer every moment. Their hunters would be relentless and without mercy. Lawless, godless men, driven only by cruelty and greed.

Pirates.