Chapter 2: Finding An Escape
Hook growled as he threw open the cupboard under the sink,
"Where are you?" he demanded before smirking after hearing a giggle come from above him and looked up to see a little blond haired toddler sitting upon one of the room beams,
"There you are you little pirate" he teased before holding up his arm and the little girl instantly jumped into his arms, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck,
"Papa found me!" she yelled happily and Hook chuckled, pressing a kiss to her forehead before letting her down to the ground and she quickly ran to the window and giggled at the sight of blue birds flying by but pouted when the magical barrier prevented her from even pointing to them,
"Papa, when will I be able to leave?" she asked and Hook sighed before sitting down as Alice went over to him and he lifted her onto his lap,
"One day papa's gonna find a way to break your bond to this tower and then we'll sail far away from here" he told her as she rested her head on his chest and snuggled into him,
"Ok papa" she said before closing her eyes and fell into a peaceful nap.
Hook used his namesake to mark Alice's height on one of the wall frames and smiled,
"look how tall my little pirate is getting" he said to the five year old who giggled before hugging her papa's side,
"I is all grown up now" Alice said brightly and Hook chuckled as he had still been working on Alice's ability to master full sentences,
"Yes you are. Now how about you and papa try and make you a birthday cake?" he suggested and Alice instantly started bouncing up and down in excitement,
"Yes Yes Yes!" she squealed before pulling Hook into the kitchen area.
Alice had become able to read by herself at the age of 7 and it was now at the age of 11 that she sat upon her bed reading a book of fairy tales and she looked towards her father with a curious manner as he made hazelnut soup,
"Papa?" she called,
"Hmmm?" Hook acknowledged as he stirred the soup,
"I know you told me the reasons why I can't leave the tower but... You never told me what was stopping you. Do you share my curse?" she asked, standing from the bed as she hugged her book of fairy tales close to her chest and Hook soon paused in his actions but didn't meet his daughters eyes,
"No" he murmured,
"I stay because I vowed never to leave you. Plus I'll find a way to break your bond to the tower once I've managed to find the right spell in one of the wi... your mother's spell books" he faltered but Alice approached him and put her hand over his to stop him from stirring the soup,
"Papa... You know as well as I do that if their were a spell in one of these books to break the blood bond then the witch would have used it a long time before she met you" Alice reasoned and Hook looked down sadly,
"I... I can't leave you, Alice... I would be lost" he murmured but Alice quickly put her book down and hugged her papa whom instantly hugged her back,
"But you will come back and find me again... I know I'm safe as long as i'm here" she whispered and Hook sighed before looking down at her unsure,
"Alright... I'll travel into town in the morning to see if their is any knowledge I can gather. What do you do if a stranger climbs the tower?" he asked causing Alice to giggle before picking up a frying pan off the counter,
"Give them a good old whack on the back of the head with this" she recited as she had done many other times before and Hook smiled brightly,
"That's my girl and what do you do if a stranger climbs the tower and you don't get the chance to hit them over the head?" he asked and Alice rolled her eyes,
"Call Uncle Rumple" she replied but Hook raised an eyebrow,
"Uncle Rumpy" she corrected and Hook chuckled before pressing a kiss to her forehead,
"At a girl. You know he hates being called that" he said and Alice hugged him once again before beginning to help him with dinner.
Alice sat within her chair, staring at the roof beams with a bored expression before sitting forward and looked at the chess board before her with a puzzled expression and moved a peace,
"Your move" she said before spinning the board around and wore a surprised expression,
"Oh excellent move" she praised before smiling brightly,
"Thank you, Alice" she replied to herself,
"You're welcome" she bid before rolling her eyes and stood up, going over to the couch and fell back on it, falling silent for a moment before sighing,
"Uncle Rumple!" she called and he soon appeared within a cloud of smoke,
"You're only meant to call me in emergencies" he reminded her with an amused expression,
"This is an emergency! I'm bored!" she yelled causing Rumple to chuckle as she sat up and he sat beside her,
"Well it just so happens that I need your help" he told her but Alice rested her head on her hand with a sad expression,
"I won't be much help. I literally can't go anywhere" she grumbled,
"Don't worry. I don't need you to go anywhere in order to help me" he assured her,
"Do you remember the story I told you about myself and your auntie?" he asked and Alice nodded, sitting up with a curious expression,
"Yes, How you finally both got your happy ending together and now she waits for you in heaven but you can't join her until you break your curse" she said and Rumple nodded in confirmation,
"Indeed, Well it seems that I must go on a journey to find the keeper of my dagger. Only the true guardian has the power to free me from my curse" he explained before waving his hand, allowing the dagger to appear in his palm and he held it out to her,
"It is too dangerous for me to take this with me so I need you to keep it safe until I am able to find the guardian, bring them here so that he can release me from my bond to the dagger" he told her as Alice carefully accepted the dagger into her hand as her uncle had never allowed her to touch it before,
"Maybe the guardian has the power to break my bond to the tower" Alice pondered,
"Perhaps so but until I can find him... Will you please take care of it for me?" he asked and Alice nodded,
"I will guard it with my life" she vowed before hugging her uncle with a smile whom could only return her hug with his own smile upon his face.
Hook and Alice soon developed a routine where they would share breakfast in the morning followed by Alice preparing her papa a packed lunch, he would leave to search the outer villages for knowledge that might help him free Alice from her bond to the tower, Alice would play chess by herself whilst he was gone and then have to make him a nice warm meal at the end of the day due to him being in a bad mood because he had once again been unsuccessful in his mission,
"Don't worry, papa. You'll find a way" she reassured him as she always did but jumped when her papa suddenly flipped the table with the chess board on causing the pieces to go flying,
"I have searched each village around the tower and there is nothing that can help! You're fifteen Alice!" he yelled before sighing and Alice soon moved and began picking up the chess pieces and offered him a gentle smile,
"Then you'll just have to travel further than the outer villages" she told him but Hook slowly shook his head,
"Alice... I can't" he murmured but Alice stepped towards him and placed her black rook piece within the palm of his hand,
"You'll always know where I am, papa" she whispered and Hook felt a tear fall down his aging cheek as he looked down, spotting his white knight piece and he knelt down before picking it up and standing and placed it within his daughter's hand,
"A white knight to always protect my little girl" he told before pressing a kiss to her forehead and reluctantly pulled away, moving towards the window,
"If... If I don't go now I'll..." he tried,
"You'll never be able to leave me here alone" she finished for him gently,
"Go. I'll be right here waiting for you when you get back" she assured and watched her father vanish through the window and she finally allowed a tear to fall down her cheek.
As Hook traveled in search of a way to free his daughter he was unaware that a new chapter in his story was just beginning and his daughter's story was finally about to start.
Review for Chapter 3! Heads up! Alice is going to be a bit OC as I don't really know her character all that well and I want her to act a bit more like her father. Also there shall be THREE count them THREE Happy endings in this story! Oh yeah!
Review For Chapter 3!
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996