C aptain Hooks Daughter

Chapter 1

James Hook, was only 9 the night his parents died. Unfortunately, they had fallen ill with cholera a few months ago and it was unlikely that they were going to survive. Every night as James lay in his bed listening to the rain thrashing down on to the pavement like heavy whips he prayed that he would not wake up an orphan. But the dark shadows that surrounded his bed by night caused him to have nightmares. Every night he would wake up screaming, dripping with sweat. His old nurse Cathy Swann had long since stopped coming in to check on him when she heard him screaming. She was a cold, Unloving women who had never cared for him anyway.

The night his parents died James stayed up late into the night staring into the dark, unforgiving sky and prayed harder than he had ever prayed before that he would not wake up an orphan.

The truth was that his parents had never really cared for James. In fact, they had very little time for him. But, they had a lot of money and so James was very spoilt. When James' parents first became ill he hardly noticed. It was just as if his father was still sat in his study and his mother was in her library. But as time went on James realised that if his parents died everything would be ripped from him and he would end up living in an orphanage as he had no family to go to and he knew his mother and father would not have made any other plans for him.

Around midnight James climbed into bed and allowed the dark shadows to swallow him up pulling him into his nightmare. James woke as usual around four in the morning screaming and crying for help. The night was silent and as James lay in the dark he could almost sense deaths presence. Suddenly, he knew that he was alone in the world and when the forbidding sun came up he would start his new life as an orphan.

9 years later….

James stood with his back against the wall in the park watching children run around playing as being pirates and fairies completely care free in a way that he wished he could be. He had been forced to grow up so fast in a very short space of time since the night his parents had passed away. He would do anything to be a child again and have fun. To erase his tortured past from his head. The air was hot and humid but the sky was dark with the promised storm that was to come later that day.

It was almost an hour before James moved from his positon against the wall. By this time nearly all the children had been dragged away from their games by their parents and the park was almost empty. That's when James saw her, a beautiful girl was stood at the other end of the park. It was obvious she had been crying her cheeks were wet and her usually beautiful, bright, brown, chocolate eyes were red and bloodshot. She ran to James and they embraced. Burying her head into his chest the girl continued to sob.
"Evelyn," James whispered to her in a concerned voice. "What's wrong?"
"They found out about us. My m-mother and father found out about us." Evelyn gasped through her sobs. "J-James?" she stuttered hesitantly. There was a long pause as James stroked Evelyn's long sandy hair soothingly. "There's something that I need to tell you…" Evelyn let out a huge sob; "I'm pregnant," she declared finally. There was a sharp intake of breath from James and for a moment even the trees blowing in the wind seemed to stop to watch the couple. "They've thrown me out James," Evelyn said finally.
"Shhh," James hushed softly. "It's okay," he murmured. "We'll be okay. We'll be just like a proper family."

James spent the next couple of months trying to scrap together enough money to pay a doctor to see Evelyn when the baby came. They were staying in James' one room that he had hired. But they were even struggling to pay the rent on that. James had spent the last few years of his life as a beggar and theif on the streets. That's where he had meet Evelyn.

She had caught him trying to steal from her but instead of calling for the help she had handed over her purse and told him to spend it well. It had been that money that allowed him to rent the room in the first place. After that James watched her walking home each afternoon and she always smiled at him. Before they knew what was happening the two of them were meeting in secret. They had known that if Evelyn's parents ever found out about it the consequences would be bad. But for that moment they didn't care.

Due to a stroke of luck James managed to steal enough money for a doctor to come visit Evelyn and he was just in time as the next day Evelyn went into labour. On the night that the baby came James couldn't bare to be in the room and listen to her suffering. Leaving the house he went for a long walk around the busy streets of London and tried not to think of his love or the baby.

It was almost twenty four hours before James could pluck up the courage to return to the house to check on Evelyn. The sky was dark and stormy now. What a coward she must thing of him, not being able to stand by her as she delivered the baby. But as soon as he came to the room he sensed it. It was the same as he had felt it 9 years ago, death was lingering here.

Dead.

Evelyn was dead but the baby had survived. Lying helplessly in the doctors arms unaware of the crime it had committed. Killing James' one true love. The only person that he was ever sure he had really loved his whole life. The baby had might as well have been planning the murder from inside the womb. James never thought he could hate anyone as much as he hated the helpless little creature lying in the doctor's arms. He decided then that he could have nothing to do with his daughter.