chapter one - Neverland
As Wendy felt the ship stop in its tracks, she looked up at the island. They had stopped right on shore, where the rocks laid in the deep ocean, the waves crashing on them. The island had seemed so small from the distance, but now she didn't see the end of it.
She managed to land on a rock when she jumped from the latter, leading off the ship. She saw a sudden shallow water and got safely to shore. The sand was white and clung onto her damp boots as she walked.
Hook was now staring at a compass in his hand. He closed it a couple times and checked again until he got it right. He signalled the crew to follow him into the dense jungle.
"Wendy!" she heard her father call out. She turned and he began toward her. "Wendy, darling. I want you to hold onto this", he said and gave her the compass.
"Alright", she said.
"No, no, no", Hook said scoldingly. "It's valuable, love. When the time is right, I need you to get the water and bring it back. And this compass will show you the truest desire of your heart, which is the water." Of course it was the truest desire of her heart, giving her father something he desired. He was her father, after all.
"Of course", Wendy said.
They began toward the forest. The sun was almost set, and they set camp before nightfall. The crew was sitting in silence around the campfire. Suddenly Wendy heard Hook speak up. "It's just a myth."
"What is?" Wendy asked him and he looked at her.
"Nothing", he said dismissively. The man who had spoken before looked at Hook in astonishment.
"Why Peter Pan of course", he said to Wendy. Half of the crew laughed and the other half froze in fear. "He's not a myth." The scared part of the crew nodded in agreement and the other half began to warm up to the idea.
"Oh no?" Wendy asked. She'd heard some stories about Neverland and Peter Pan from her mother when she was little. But in her version, he was a nice boy who had a fairy help him bring children to Neverland to have adventures. But it was far from the truth.
"He's said to be the most cruel man who ever lived", Crook said and Pintel nodded. They were brothers, grew up as pirates and Hook took them in his crew before Wendy was even born. They were tight knit and always by each others side. Crook, the older brother, was hardly the smart one, but he was smarter than Pintel, who was the submissive one; always agreeing with his brother and following his orders.
"Yes, he is", Pintel said, but Crook huffed and turned to him. "I'm telling the story!" Pintel nodded and turned away quickly.
"Yes, he is said to be that", Hook said and some of the crew laughed in agreement, mocking Crook and his brother.
"Tell me", Wendy said, ignoring the rest of the crew.
"Alright."
Their camp had cleared out by the time Crook began talking about Peter Pan. The only other crew members left were Hook, Wendy and Pintel.
"No one has ever left the island without his permission, you know", Crook said quietly, leaning in toward the fire that had begun to fade.
"Then where do the stories come from, I wonder", Hook said. Crook huffed and Pintel looked at his brother, about to say something but Crook shot a threatening look at him.
"Pirates have fought him on their ships, not on the island", Crook said to Hook and he didn't say anything, just shrugged. "He too has a crew, the Lost Boys", he went on. Wendy was listening carefully to his words. "They say, he left his boys to die in the hands of pirates as he flew by, laughing. There was a girl too, Tiger Lily, the daughter of the chief of his tribe in Neverland. Pan saved her once, only to then leave her to die at sea. The Sirens got her."
On their way to Neverland they too faced Sirens. Vicious creatures they are; they lure men to them with their singing. Legend says, a Siren's kiss gives man the ability to breathe underwater, and when he comes real close, they snatch them, drown them and eat them.
"He much rather watches one being killed than doing it first hand." At this point Hook was beginning to look a bit scared of Crook's sayings and got up.
"Stop filling my daughter's head with silly stories", he said and took a sip from a bottle half full of rum. "We have a long walk up that mountain tomorrow." He pointed at the tall mountain North from the camp, where the compass was pointing. That's where the water must be, Wendy thought.
Wendy woke up at dawn to the crew talking to each other and getting ready for the journey. The only light yet, was the aglow of the few burnt out logs left in the camp fire. She got up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked up. The crew was ready to go and Hook was looking at his map again. She rolled her eyes and gathered up her weapons to her waist.
The way up the mountain was going to be a few day long, tiring journey. She checked the compass once more to make sure she was leading the crew to the correct direction.
"Stop", Hook said to Pintel, who was approaching a bush filled with black leaves and thorns, dripping of a syrupy liquid. He looked up and Hook moved the branches with his cutlass, "Dreamshade."
Wendy had heard of it. The poison will kill you in mere days, sometimes even hours.
"Let's go", he said and lead the crew further on past the bushes.
"Father", Wendy said and took Hook by the arm. He smiled and stopped. "Why do you want me to get the water?" It must be because he can't do it himself, he would never trust me with such a thing, she thought.
"I think it's time you begin living like a true pirate, don't you?" he said and kept walking. I guess so.
A/N: please tell me what you think in the reviews!