Tick. Tick.
As I stare through my spyglass, I see the boy playing on the beach with the other eight Lost Boys and the new girl. I can even make out the glow near his head that means the divine Tinker Belle is, as usual, with him. I suck in my breath as he jumps off of a mini cliff and floats down to the Mermaid Lagoon. This boy is impossible to kill.
Tick. Tick.
"How could he be of any worth to anyone?" I wonder as I graze my hook along the spines of the books in my cabin on deck. I hook the edge of The Adventures of Blackbeard and open it to the first page. Unscrewing my hook, I screwed on my single finger and licked it, ready to turn the page. I read for an hour or two, losing track of time. The only thing that pulled me from my book was my stomach. I was extremely hungry, and my stomach just confirmed the fact. "SMEE!" I yell. The small round man skitters into the room. "Yes, master?" he asks. "Get me something to eat. Something nice. I think I'm in the mood for some caviar. Or maybe some lobster." "Yes master. Right away master." The idiot of a man scurries away, eager to do my bidding. He knows how temperamental I can be, and is always on edge. I like to keep him that way.
Tick. Tick.
Half an hour later, he comes back with a plate of shrimp. "What's this?" I ask, scornfully picking at the limp shrimp with my screwed on fork. "Where's my lobster?"
"We don't have any lobster in this area, sir." Smee replied, slowly backing away from my fork. I could be lethal with the utensil, as his bottom has told him multiple times before every time he tries to sit down. I sighed. "Very well, Smee," I say, and I start to pick at my shrimp. "By the way, have you had any sighting of the beast?"
"No master, none today. The croco-" "DON'T SAY ITS NAME!" I screamed, jumping to my feet. My boots clicked and my coat swished as I stalked toward him menacingly. "How many times must I tell you! DON'T SAY THE NAME! It shall be called the beast and that is final." I glared at the little man cowering in the corner, his bandana slipping over his eye. "And you are an idiot or a liar. That beast has been around here somewhere. I hear its ticking constantly, it is almost like it is in my head! Don't lie to me, and keep a better lookout! I'm watching you Smee. Always watching." "Yes master," he whimpers as he scurries away.
Tick. Tick.
The faint sound of laughter carries on the wind toward the ship, and transports me back to a time of laughter and games. I close my eyes, and in my mind I see a large ship sporting the Jolly Roger resting in the water. It's the midday meal for the crew, and as they eat, a young boy runs around trying to find his brother and sister. Running out the door of the mess hall and onto the deck, the boy crashes into a tall man staring out to sea through his spyglass, the same one sitting on the desk in my room. "Hello, James. What are you doing here? Go back inside this instant." Gazing upwards into the man's handsome face, the boy could sense something was wrong. "What is it, Father? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, James. The lookout has just spotted a ship on the horizon. It is sporting pirate colors, and might be an enemy. I want to evade all conflict, but it might not be possible."
The man, my father, was right. The crew of the other ship was our enemy, and was intent upon boarding us. After a long and violent battle, I had to swim away like a coward to save my own life. Reaching an island, I sat on the beach and cried, not able to rid my mind of the image of my brother being speared by a cutlass, of my sister being forced into a dress and whisked away by the captain, of his foul mouth pressing upon hers. Nor could I rid my mind of the sight of my father being goaded along the plank with his hands tied behind his back, of him turning right at the edge of the board and saying "Bad form, my dear sirs." Then turning to the ship, he says "Mors ultima linea rerum est," knowing I will hear him. Death is everything's final limit. With those words haunting me, I stood up and wandered the beach, until I reached the nearest village and asked where I was. "You are in the land of the Queen, long live her majesty, Victoria."