Lieutenant Hawkins and the Angel of Death

Chapter One

Two hundred years ago, in the Kingdom of Longbourn…

The Captain of the naval ship once known as the Jewel of the Realm, was dead. Liam Jones had been killed on a dangerous mission to a scarcely known island in a distant realm called Neverland, to retrieve what he'd been told was a plant containing medicinal properties with the power to cure any ill. However, in a vain attempt to disabuse his younger brother of his unbending notion that the plant was really a poison which the brothers' King hoped to use to destroy their Kingdom's enemies, after the island's only inhabitant, a teenage boy who called himself Peter Pan, had told them the truth of the dreamshade's power. It wasn't long after Liam's death that the younger Jones and the Captain's Lieutenant, laid his brother to rest within the deep dark blue waters surrounding them, as every naval officer and sailor who died at sea was.

After the funeral, the new Captain Jones and his crew made their way to the closest port for food and supplies which included barrels of gunpowder and even rum despite the Jones brothers' former rule there was to be no drinking while aboard the ship and on duty, as well as new apparel that would show anyone the crew would ever come across they were no longer the naval officers they had been until that morning, but pirates willing to do everything it took of them to bring down the immoral King they once served and to destroy their corrupt Kingdom.

Finally, hours later within the Captain's quarters recently bestowed to him upon his brother's death, after reluctantly taking up the reigns as the ship's new Captain, Killian Jones stood within the middle of the room and stared ahead of him at nothing while lost in the memories forefront within his mind. The crew remained above deck drinking and celebrating upon becoming pirates, as they were excited to begin their mission which their Captain proclaimed hours earlier. However, Killian wasn't in the mood to celebrate anything, the pain of his brother's death still weighing very heavily on his mind.

Killian thought of Liam, all he had ever done to protect him in their years trapped as slaves, and of his brother's stubbornness to trust in him enough that ultimately led to his death a second time only moments after they landed back in the ocean within their own Kingdom because they had left Neverland, despite the boy's warning to him that they better not leave the island unless they were willing to pay the price for the cure which had saved the older Jones for a brief time.

The Lieutenant had tried to find Pan again so he could pay the price the boy sought not knowing what it would be. However, Pan never reappeared to them again, knowing the brothers would eventually give up and leave the island to return home with their debt unpaid as though their lives were nothing more than a game to him.

At last, Killian finally broke from his thoughts about what he had lost that day, and glanced down at the tray of food and goblet of rum the man whom he had right away appointed to be his first mate, had brought him some time ago. And for the first time since he and Liam had survived the angry storm at sea which had liberated the brothers Jones from slavery, Killian grabbed the cup and drank the bitter drink that burned in his throat, yet went down as smoothly as it used to back when he used to drink too much to try to quell his pain and anger over the many years trapped under Captain Silver's control.

When he turned to face the small square mirror hanging up on the wall above his bed beside him, he reached down for a knife he wore in a scabbard on his belt after staring at his reflection for only a few seconds and started to cut his hair, beginning with the queue he wore tied up behind his head, then continued on by cutting the rest slightly shorter until his hair was messy and unruly, yet styled to be so as another way of showing defiance against the code of the Royal Navy he no longer served in.

While he cut, Killian's mind wandered back again to that morning just after his crew dropped his brother's body into the ocean, when he had given his men his first speech as their Captain. He worryingly began to question whether or not he was doing right by Liam by giving up the good man he had worked so hard to become since becoming a naval officer like he promised his brother he would, all to become a pirate he knew he needed to be now in order to bring down the corrupt King and their Kingdom.

A few years earlier…

Killian Jones stood in the center of his men who all surrounded him as they laid his older brother's body to rest within the sea and once the ceremony ended, one of his crew handed their new Captain Liam's satchel containing the golden sextant that was a map of Neverland's stars while he said softly, "This belongs to you now… Captain."

The younger Jones took it from the man and tenderly caressed the golden insignia within the latch of the satchel while he whispered sadly, "You'll never leave my side, brother."

"We are sworn to serve the King and the realm," he then spoke out to address his men who still surrounded him, in order to give them their new orders under his command and handed off his brother's satchel once more before taking a flaming torch into his hands as one other member of his crew did as well. "They sent us to retrieve an unthinkable poison, one that killed our dear Captain."

"Never again shall anyone set sail to that cursed land," Killian continued on upon turning to the pegasus sail which had made it possible for them to fly off to Neverland, and immediately ran across the deck to climb up within its reach, then set fire to the sail to burn it before tossing the torch away. "And never again shall we take such orders…"

The crewmen eagerly began to comply with him as they murmured, "Yes! Here, here!"

He cried out again, "Serving the King… fighting his wars!"

"No!" his men shouted in agreement.

"That is the way of dishonor!" Killian continued calling out to them in anger. "And all you who disagree, flee now or walk the bloody plank! For those who stay will be free men, and I will be your Captain."

All of the men around him shouted out again as they cheered between his words, "Aye!"

Their Captain further added fervently, "We'll sail under the crimson flag and we'll give our enemies no quarter. We'll take what we please! And we'll live by our own rules… For that is the best form of all! Our Kingdom is corrupt and immoral. They took my brother from me, and now I'm gonna take everything they've got… Starting with this ship! Bring the paint from below!"

"Sir?" one of his crew questioned him.

"It's time we rename this vessel," the younger Jones darkly answered him, as he stripped off the jacket of his naval uniform, and tossed it away into the ocean to get rid of it. "We no longer sail as the Jewel of the Realm. We now sail as the Jolly Roger. And when they come for us, I want them to know exactly what we are… Pirates! For at least among thieves, there is honor!"

The men all around their Captain began to cheer him on enthusiastically while they chanted over and over, "Long live Captain Jones! Captain Jones! Captain Jones! Captain Jones! Captain Jones! Captain Jones! Captain Jones! Captain Jones! Captain Jones! Captain Jones!"

Once he finally broke again from his thoughts as he finished cutting his hair, Killian had made up his mind that he had no choice but to become a pirate in order to accomplish what was needed of him. Longbourn's King had to pay dearly for taking his brother away from him and for sending them to a God forsaken island for a poisonous plant meant to help wipe out their enemies.

He reached down to pick up the goblet of rum again and took another drink to push down any trepidations he might have still carried about taking on this new mission and in becoming a pirate in order to get his revenge, then at last ripped off what remained of his naval uniform so he could change into the new apparel he purchased for himself in another port.

A knock soon sounded on the other side of his quarters' door and he finished buttoning his black shirt as he called out, "Come in!"

"Captain… we've nearly reached port just south of the Kingdom's castle," the first mate quietly informed him upon entering the room, noticing his Captain's new hairstyle, but then also saw that he hadn't eaten and questioned him on it. "You haven't eaten anything?"

"I'm not hungry," Killian responded curtly when he glanced over at him, then continued to finish dressing and changed the subject. "You said we've nearly reached our destination?"

The crewman nodded as he replied, "Yes, Sir. What are your orders?"

The younger Jones looked into the mirror again in order to make sure that his vest he now wore was straightened and then he answered, "Allow the crew to enjoy the rest of the night however they wish. They deserve to have their fun before this bloody war begins. It won't do us much good to attack as long as they remain in their drunken state, so we'll remain beyond the port where we won't be sighted. And then in two days time, we'll take the first step in making the King pay for his crimes."

"Aye, Captain," his first mate responded, then turned to leave the room again to return above deck to join the rest of the crew, until Killian called out to him.

"Mr. Bombay… Please see to it that no damage is done to the Jolly Roger while the crewmen continue to grow drunker by the minute," he ordered sternly. "And should any damages occur, the men who cause it will be forced to walk the plank. This ship is going to help us in our endeavor to make the King learn who we are and that he never should have sent us on such a foolhardy mission. It's to remain shipshape. Do I make myself clear?"

The man nodded again as he replied, "Perfectly, Sir. I'll see to it."

Once he was gone, Killian faced the mirror again to at last observe his new image upon becoming fully dressed. He then looked down at his apparel to admire his long black leather duster, a dark red vest to wear over his black button up shirt, a leather belt with a fancy silver buckle, a new scabbard for his new cutlass with a black ivory hilt, and tall leather boots. It was definitely the look of a vicious pirate and not that of a man who still fought within the Royal Navy. It was a look he realized he was quite proud of in fact. Or at least so he pretended to believe. In truth, Killian wasn't proud of what he was becoming in the slightest. But he thirsted for revenge and he no longer cared what he became to get it.

Present day, in what little remained of the Kingdom of Longbourn…

Upon the shore of the beach behind the ruins of the castle she had grown up in, an elegant woman born a Princess and her husband, a former member of the Royal Navy himself, now both of whom looked young in age despite having been alive for over two centuries, stood as they stared out at the sunset before them. The soldier then pulled off the coat he wore and wrapped it around his wife's shoulders by way of offering her comfort upon seeing sadness as well as anger in her eyes. However, she immediately shrugged it off and then turned to face him at last as she finally spoke.

She looked at him crossly as she stated, "I'm not looking for comfort right now, Jim. Not when we're this close to finding the man who murdered my father after all these years. I only want justice."

"You seem to forget that this man also killed the man I looked up to and saw like he was my own father," the former soldier answered in frustration. "I want to see that he suffer from all he's done too. But we need to be cautious and patient when we journey to this strange new land we're about to travel to so we can find him. We'll be strangers in a land unknown to us and therefore, that slave will have the advantage."

"The advantage will actually be yours," a man from behind them coldly responded, as the couple turned around to come face to face with someone who's traveled to many lands and many realms thanks to the power he wielded through his hat. "The heroes there won't know you're coming. If you're smart and you don't reveal yourself to your enemy right away, then you ought to be able to take him by surprise before anyone's able to stop you."

The Princess looked at the hatter sternly while she asked, "So… did the antidote I gave you for the poison killing your little girl work?"

Jefferson nodded and replied, "It did. Which is why I've come, even though I'm betraying some people I once considered to be somewhat my friends. Somewhat. I take no pleasure in my opening you a portal to Storybrooke. But you saved my Grace. And anyone there who knows me, knows that my daughter comes before everything. So… we have a deal. Are you ready?"

"We're ready," Jim answered, and quickly stepped back along with his wife as they watched the hatter kneel down while he laid his hat upon the ground, then work to use it to open up a portal for them. "We've been ready for a very long time."

"Of course you have," Jefferson responded and let out a sigh once the portal at last opened. "Just remember… you'll have to find your own passage out of this new land because I won't be coming with you. A magic bean, or something. And just to be safe, I wouldn't cross the town line. There's always some sort of magical barrier over it and who knows what might happen to you if you do. Good luck."

The hatter stood up and backed away as they neared his portal to jump inside, then curiously he asked, "By the way… who is the object of your revenge?"

The woman among them cruelly replied, "He was once just a slave. To us, that's all he'll ever be, but now he goes by the name, Captain Hook."

Before anymore was said, the former Princess and former soldier from Longbourn jumped with only one thought in mind as they did so. The thought of Storybrooke where they planned to find the man who murdered those they both loved and cared about, and to make him pay for his crimes against their Kingdom which occurred over two hundred years ago.