2 – Pirates?

A bright light flickered from behind Mira's closed eyelids. As she blinked them open, she was confronted with an outrageous sun blaring directly into her eyes. She snapped her eyes shut as she sneezed violently, the way she did when she walked outside on a particularly sunny day. The ground beneath her jolted suddenly and she was sprayed with salty water.

"A successful landing, Captain!" a voice called.

Mira pushed herself into a standing position so to get a better look at where she was. However instead of gaining any insight, she lost her balance and fell face first into the wooden floor.

"Ow." She groaned, looking down the length of her legs to find the cause of her unbalance. At her ankles, she found a thick, twisted rope wound around them; her wrists were also bound together. Mira let out a distressed, but quiet, whine; as she wasn't sure if making a lot of noise would worsen her already uneasy situation.

Her body lurched forward as the timber floor beneath her gently swayed from side to side. Mira was becoming increasingly alarmed, and as she looked upwards she observed enormous pregnant sails overhead.

A voice bellowed around the ship, shouting orders to the bustling crew. Mira swivelled around to face the direction of the voice, and caught sight of the ghost from her room. The same glint of waist metal and sharp brim slicing through the air, which existed frozen and dead in his presence. From beneath it, hair dark as coal settled royally upon his shoulders in waves much like the ones he commanded, still rocking the ship from below. But of all the man's features Mira was consumed by his eyes. They were a cruel and lustreless red, resembling spots of blood splattered across stone.

A strong leg kicked Mira back towards the ground, leaving a distinct boot print on her shoulder.

"Stay down! Stickin' ya head out too far gets it chopped off!" snarled an ugly man sporting a scar down the side of his face. Mira glared back at him, but didn't make a sound.

"Now now, Clef." Came a calm voice belonging to the Captain. "We must welcome our guest."

The atmosphere turned cold and Mira tried to hide the hairs now erected on her bound arms as the red eyes veered to pierce her own.

Clef lunged at her once more making Mira blink. A second later, when the scene was once again before her eyes, Clef had a silver hook pressed to his neck. Her eyes followed the hook to a wrist and all the way to the red spots embedded in a chillingly neutral face. It was as if the Captain could rip through Clef's throat and wouldn't take the time to watch him fall. Mira watched as Clef's skin spared a single drop of blood, and with that, the Captain lost interest, pulling the hook away from him.

"Thank you Captain. Sorry Captain. Won' happen again Captain." Clef rushed between anxious breaths whilst stepping back and promptly leaving.

The Captain's eyes remained fixated on Mira. Her body betrayed a tremble which forced one side of his mouth to kink upwards in satisfaction.

"Are you scared of me, girl?"

The truth was that Mira was more confused than she was scared. However, the Captain, Captain Hook as it was, had a particular talent for making those around him particularly unsettled. Mira's voice was caught in her throat and so instead of responding to him, she sat a little taller and gave him a similar crooked smile. Captain Hook's eyebrows hitched up the tiniest fraction, as if Mira had impressed him. For a moment Mira relaxed a little, however her blood ran cold when the kink of his lips split into a revolting grin.

He bent over to look into her eyes directly, and with a breath that was brown and rotten, he whispered, "Fool."

Captain Hook retrieved a sword from its scabbard. The blade was enormous with a handle that was encrusted with precious gems. Captain Hook held it up to square Mira in the chest before a small glow suddenly appeared on the Captain's shoulder. He tried to shoo it away but the small creature then landed on his nose, and then his hat, and then his boot; until it had the Captain spinning in circles trying to catch the culprit. The small glow zoomed past Mira's eyes and in that moment, Mira could see that the small ball of light was actually a lady with wings, no taller than two inches. The little lady zoomed around the Captain until he lost his balance and landed heavily in front of Mira. Mira couldn't help but let out a small giggle and a second later, she knew this was a mistake. Captain Hook's eyes, alight with fury, locked to hers. Mira paled and struggled to put some distance between the Captain and herself, but eventually hit the wooden wall of the ship, designed to stop people from falling over the edge. The Captain began to close the space she had created, raising the sword again. Mira pressed herself into the wall, willing it to fall away or for some opportunity to escape the lunatic in front of her.

"Captain Hooooooook!" Came a voice followed by a hearty laugh. The Captain yelled in familiar frustration and looked up into the sky above him, directing the attention away from Mira.

"PAN!"