Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Peter Pan. I only own any new characters.
Summery: A new pirate shows up in Neverland. The Captain, strangely enough, is a beautiful young woman of 20 with a tortured past that is slowly eating away at her soul. Can Hook save her and melt her frozen heart before it's too late? Hook/Lihana; Fire/Ice- the perfect combination!!
Chapter 2: The Fight
Even with her cool composure, I somehow sensed a deep wound that she kept hidden from everyone; a wound of the spirit, as if she had been hurt badly and never healed; a cancer of the soul, slowly eating her away to nothing.
"Yes?" I asked, not knowing what to say. In my mind I wondered where the captain was and why he had sent a woman to come meet him in his place.
"I am the Captain." She answered as if she had been reading my mind and had seen my unasked question. She smiled slightly and her eyes glinted with pride as she spoke. I stared at her in disbelief for the second time that day. A woman… captain of a ship?! "My name is Lihana." She added. (Pronunciation- Lee-ON-a)
"But you're a-"
"A woman, yes I'm quite aware of that." She said tightly and looked past me at the crew. "And I can see that little fact has not gone unnoticed by your crew either." I turned my head to see my crew almost falling all over themselves, staring at her. "I always have better control of my crew. When we go somewhere they know, for I have trained them, to stand ready and not get distracted; even if we're on our own ship." She glanced back at the three men standing behind her with their hands on either a sword or a pistol.
"Get back to work before I have you all beaten and thrown overboard!!" I ordered angrily. Everyone ran to do their different tasks but they kept looking back at her. Lihana sighed, pleased and annoyed with the attention.
"Straight to the point then, I have come to challenge you to a duel." She said flatly.
"You?!" I asked in surprise. "But-" She cut me off.
"Are you afraid to fight?" she asked.
"No!" I said quickly.
"So do you accept or not? You have nothing to lose." she said grinning evilly but still not showing any emotion.I wasn't sure if I should fight her. I was surprised that a woman was being so violent. Every woman I have ever met would never speak of such things; let alone fighting a full grown man. Also it is a long standing rule that man should never hit a woman but I couldn't turn down a challenge, then my crew would think that I'm getting soft.
"I accept." I said and pulled off my jacket. She smiled.
"The first one to separate the other from his sword and pin him to the deck wins." She said. She was cocky. The fact that she said 'him' instead of 'him' or 'her' meant something. She was not planning on loosing.
"Not to the death?" I asked and raised one eyebrow. She shook her head and pulled off her jacket.
"I can't risk that and to loose would be death enough for me." She said. "So do we have an agreement?" She held out her hand meaning for me to shake it.
"Aye, that sounds fair." I said and shook her hand. Her skin was so soft and cool. I just wanted to go on holding her hand forever but she drew her sword and the fight began.
I was surprised at how good she was. It was as if she had had a sword in her fist since she was a child. The fight went on for a long time; our talents seemed to equal out each other but then she leaned close to me so our faces were mere inches apart. I could feel her breath on my cheek. I hesitated. I could have stabbed her, she was wide open, but something stopped me. She leaned away and twisted her sword with mine, around and around until my sword flew out for my hand and landed about thirty feet behind me. In the same instant she tackled me and pinned me to the hard wood of the deck, pressing her sword against my neck, one knee on my chest. She had used the oldest trick in the book, and I fell for it. She had won but I couldn't just let her go. I couldn't let her humiliate me in front of my crew. I sunk my hook deep into her calf. She frowned slightly against the pain but other than that her expression didn't change much, though I know that it must have been excruciating.
"I saw that coming." She said breathlessly. I stared up at her and raised my hook from her leg, causing her, even though she tried to hide it, to wince. A strand of her hair slid off her shoulder and brushed my cheek. I reached up and touched her face. She glared at me and pushed away.
"Damn you, Hook." She muttered as she glanced at her bleeding leg. Then she smiled. "You shouldn't get distracted so easily. I see now that the dreaded Pirate, Captain James Hook isn't as strong and deadly as everyone seems to believe." She said and smirked, proud of herself. "Don't worry I'll be back. Maybe you'll do better next time." She shrugged carelessly. I felt like slapping her. She turned to go but I grabbed her arm yanking her back roughly.
"You may be a Captain, or so you say, but this is my ship! You are in no position to be speaking to me that way! You have no right! You are at a disadvantage, my dear!" I said darkly and a red haze covered my eyes as I lifted my hook to the tender skin of her throat, still not letting go of her shoulder.
"I am feared everywhere! I have slaughtered many people! Don't think that just because you have a pretty face I will spare you!" I said, outraged, and drew my hook along her neck causing her to bleed profusely. One of the men who had come with her stepped forward quickly but she held up her hand to stop him.
"No, wait." She said then looked at me and smiled coldly, her violet eyes turning almost black unnaturally fast. "So are you going to kill me now?" she asked slowly, daring me. She looked right into my eyes. They looked dark and cold. I couldn't bear to look into those black eyes; I looked away. Then, hot rage filled me. How could I be so easily distracted by one girl?! My hand closed on her neck and raised her several feet above the deck. I swung her over the side and let her dangle there. Instinctively she reached up a hand and grabbed on to my arm so that she was not just handing by her neck alone. There was a movement in the water and she gasped.
"Mermaids!" she said. I grinned evilly.
"Yes, mermaids! Maybe I should throw you to them! They would know what to do with you!" I said and tightened my hold on her neck.
She struggled against me for a minute then gasped and hung limp, her face growing pale and slightly bluish from lack of oxygen. I pulled her back over the ship but she was still hanging several feet above the deck. Then I dropped her. She hit the deck hard and lay there very still. The anger that had made my blood boil vanished as I stared at her still figure. She looked up at me.
"Damn!" I said under my breath as I stared at her; at the two flesh wounds I had carved into her body and the horrible bruise she had gotten on her face when she hit the deck. There was blood pouring from her leg and her neck. She stood up and brushed herself off. She kept her back straight, rigid, and refused to let herself shake even though the pain, he knew, was terrible.
"Fair enough." She said quietly but smiled slightly. She was smiling at him, and he had almost killed her. "Until later, Captain Hook." She bowed and reached for the hand of one of her crew members as he helped her into their little boat. And then she was gone…
So what do you guys think? Like it? Please tell me! Thanks to Leigh A. Sumpter and Yuki Asao for reviewing! I'm hoping to get some more reviews before I update again (At least 5). So if you want me to put up a new chapter, please tell me! REVIEW!! :) By the way I'm still open to suggestions! I'll try to update soon!!
-Leah/ blacklace-and-roses
