Here it is! Chapter 4. I really hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Peter Pan or any other characters from the book, but I do own Captain Scarcosta, Dawn, and the other new pirates mentioned.
Dawn slipped her fingers through the knots steadying her finely laced maid's apron to her hips. She pulled, setting the knots loose and whipping the bundle of cotton from the front of her black maid dress, in one quick motion. She stood in the gray shadows of the night, on the top of a mansion roof gazing down upon the marvelous views. Dawn threw her apron into the night and watched it flutter down to the street. All was quiet in London as it rested, covered by night and dim starry sky. Undisturbed were the midnight dews on the grasses and quiet were the cobblestone streets.
"Peter… do you come to London often? I mean, what made you decide to come tonight?" Dawn inquired, glancing to her right at the magical boy. Peter's eyes flickered to her and then back at the rooftops nearby. He stood with his hands on his hips, with a serious expression on his face as if he was pondering deeply about her question. He suddenly smiled and turned to Dawn.
"Tonight? Well… I have always come often. I came everyday for a while, but every time I came to the Wendy's house men were everywhere working on it day and night. I couldn't ever get in." Peter explained looking slightly saddened by this fact. Wendy smiled thinking fondly of the way Peter had called the Darling residence "Wendy's house," as if she was the mother again. She suddenly looked at Peter with an expression that resembled shame. She stepped closer to him, carefully, not wanting to lose balance on the roof. Everyone floated slightly not putting their full weight on the mansion's roof since there was no completely flat surface for them to stand on.
"Oh, Peter, you came every day?" Wendy asked her voice shaken. She realized at that moment how many chances she had to fly away with him. She waited so long, dreaming each day of Neverland. It captured all her thoughts and played in her dreams, teasing her, waiting for the time when Peter would once again glide through the nursery window. Peter nodded in response.
"Of course! Neverland isn't really fun without you." He commented smiling a toothy grin.
A blush crept over Wendy's cheeks, and colored her face in the pale moonlight. "Oh… why thank you Peter." She said. John suddenly perked up as if realizing something. In truth he had been off in thought as he stared down at the London streets thinking of the thrilling pirate adventures he had been burying his nose into, reading diligently until Dawn screamed.
"Hook…" he whispered. Peter crinkled his nose in disgust. He made a "pfft" sound through his lips and his eyebrows furrowed. The boy crossed his arms.
"What about that ole codfish?" Peter scoffed.
"He is dead right? I mean, he did perish in the crocodile didn't he?" John asked adjusting his spectacles.
"Of course he did. Neverland does not speak of that old man anymore. He was a dirty scallywag. Not even the other pirates speak of him. He is the most hated man that ever was, that Hook." Peter explained his arm still crossed in a defiant manner.
"The… the other pirates?" John asked, his expression suddenly brightened. Dawn gazed at the Darling boy's eager features in curiosity. She began to wonder what it was that made Neverland so fantastic. Was it the pirates? Dawn pondered over this, envisioning a filthy scurvy ridden pirate pacing the decks and screaming orders at the crew. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she thought. It was strange really. There was just something about all this talk of pirates, no matter how filthy they might sound, that sent a pulse of adrenaline through Dawn's frame.
"Yes. There are at least three ships… well maybe two now. I would bet that Captain Scarcosta has already been rid of the 'Feather Phantom, and its captain." Peter suggested.
"Pirates..." Dawn whispered under her breath, thinking aloud. All attention suddenly turned to the dark haired maid as she stared off into thought peering at the London skies.
"I think you will quite enjoy the pirates. Why, the way you pulled that knife on Peter was fantastically brave for a girl. Wendy never fought the pirates, Peter always protected her. You though… well I must say Dawn, Peter must teach you to fight!" John said excitedly turning to her. Dawn suddenly snapped from her thoughts and took a second to comprehend what John had said. She just nodded afraid that any attempt to speak would result in a jubilant scream.
"Who is Captain Hook?" she suddenly asked curious as to what everyone had been conversing about. A wide smile spread over all of the Darling children faces as they remembered their adventures.
"He was fierce." John replied.
"Dangerous," Wendy added.
"Conniving," Michael spoke up.
"He was the most feared captain in all the seas." Peter half whispered for dramatic effect. Wendy went on to explain their encounters with the vicious Hook in her story telling talent. She spoke of Peter cutting Hook's hand off thus causing Hook to gain his feared name and look. Wendy told of the crocodile with the clock and how it longed endlessly for Hook's taste. With the help of Peter, who made the clocks ticking noises with impeccable accuracy, the story came alive in Dawn's mind. The events were told in such detail and with such fluency, that even the most stubborn of high society would believe in pixie dust, pirates, mermaids, and Indians. Wendy and Peter finished the tale with the lines the Lost Boys had used to describe the event.
"Thus perished Hook. Old, alone, and done for in the belly of a croc." They had said. Everyone watched the expression on Dawn's face as the information suddenly hit her. It was so against everything that she had been exposed to that she was in pure shock. Her mind broke all connections to maid service, dining, serving, cleaning, and acceptable high society methods. She felt at that moment the thrill of standing so near to Peter and just the pure childish dream that came along with him. Dawn came to a point at which she couldn't believe that this was all real. There had always been that feeling in the Darling house. That certain tweak of mystical mischievousness that lined the walls. The drawers in the nursery were always filled with that golden, glittering dust. The shadows always seemed to play in the night when no one was looking. Everything that had always been hidden away as a little fairytale in the Darling house was suddenly utterly and completely real. Dawn suddenly got the feeling that she was always meant to experience this. It was a feeling she had received ever since she walking into the Darling's door for the first time. She had been touched by a certain magic of a certain boy, and there was no turning back.
"Dawn?" John asked urgently as he watched her expression carefully. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yes I'm fine. I just… It's all so-"she started but stopped abruptly as she was interrupted by a muffled crash in the distance. The house roof everyone was balancing on shook slightly.
"I say! Did everyone feel that?" Michael asked shocked. Wendy nodded and Peter stared curiously into the dim night searching for the source.
"W-What was that?" Dawn asked shaken. She stared nervously as lamps flickered on in buildings around them one by one. The once dark silver streets were now glowing with a yellow tint from the light. Heads peeked out of windows gazing in the direction of the disturbance.
Another crash was heard this one closer. A deafening bang shuttered close by, shaking the houses violently. Michael covered his ears and trembled. Peter, Dawn, Wendy, John, and Michael all hovered in the cool night air now, shaken off the roof.
Boom. Another crash. Suddenly there was a shadow of black descending rapidly down from the sky. It pierced the clouds, and collided with the thankfully clear street below, sending stones soaring into the air.
The ground shook and dust filled the air, blackening everything. Dawn trembled as she floated straining to retain her happy though to stay suspended. She urgently glanced around squinting through the black dust desperately searching for anyone.
"Peter! John!" she screamed feeling as if her voice would be lost in the thick panic. "Michael! Wendy!" she called again, hearing no response. Dawn strained to hear anything. Now there was mass shock and panic in London. People screamed afraid of what had happened. She could hear rapid footsteps treading on the stone streets.
"Dawn!" someone called, their voice muffled in the dark. Dawn tried with all her balance to fly toward the voice. She shut her eyes as she traveled through the dust. Suddenly she ran into a figure and stumbled back through the air. A familiar grasp caught her wrist steadying her.
"Peter!" she gasped thankfully. Dawn still felt uneasy however. She wasn't exactly bonded with Peter yet. The code of old Neverland and the Lost Boys was sacred. It held a certain unspoken feeling that seeped ever so quietly into the unconscious of Peter's gang. One that has been in contact with Peter can never argue that they have never seen or been told of the code, for it is embedded in their mind. Even the Lost Boys today in sitting quietly in their leather chairs sorting credits and calendars, will always know the code. Peter was after all the leader, and he ultimately decided who would be in his gang. Peter sensing Dawn's nervousness answered he unspoken question, reading her reactions expertly.
"Come on we have to find Wendy and the others. Hold onto my wrist. I won't let you go; you're part of our team now, Dawn." Peter announced. Dawn immediately wrapped her fingers around Peter's wrist in a tight grip, as he pulled her through the night.
The Neverland seas were peaceful, ruffled a bit though by the thrust of the "Vixen's Revenge" as it buckled slightly from its cannon's blasts. Icicles were shaken off the great masts as another cannon ball was launched into the clouds, disappearing completely. The Captain watched as another one of her idiot crew members loaded yet another cannon, stuffing the black gun powder into the hole.
"Eh, you idiots! More pixie dust in that gun powder! How in blazes do you expect the cannon balls to make it all the way to bloody London without more pixie dust?!" Rosaline shouted stomping her black boot into the ice that covered the deck. She huffed in aggravation, her breath forming a small cloud in the frigid air as she breathed.
"Sorry… them fairies we caught are runnin out." A pirate explained.
"Well then catch some more," Captain Scarcosta snarled through her teeth.
"Y-Yes Captain!" the man responded nodding vigorously.
"Look at it this way boys… the sooner Pan is gone, the sooner we can take down the Indians and dominate the western island!" the Captain announced. The pirate crew just grunted in response. Scarcosta sighed.
"That means I will get more rum for all of you." She added. A cheer broke out from the men and they picked up the pace, dreaming of their savored rum. "Mongrels…" the captain whispered under her breath. Captain Scarcosta had not always disliked her crew, nor had she always been in a quite distasteful mood for the most part. Yes, there once was a time when the female pirate was happy to an extent. She had once been head over heels in love.
Now, before judgment can be made upon the woman, one must consider that she had denied her feelings just like any other self respecting pirate would do. There is, like the Lost Boy's code, a code among the pirates. Unwritten it may be, but it is handled with great care. Pirates in general, particularly pirate captains, must not ever under any circumstances love anyone. To the society of rum-based morals, love is a sign of weakness. It is a sure signal that a pirate is soft.
Captain Rosaline Scarcosta was bred in the ways of high society piracy, miles off the Neverland coast in the waters no one dared to go. Much is unknown of this portion of the Neverland star, but it does in fact exist. Rosaline was the daughter of a sophisticated pirate captain commonly known as Captain Blaze Scarcosta. There were many a ships in the Neverland ocean that traded with each other and bred all kinds of pirate captains that would one day fight for the Neverland islands. Hook, when he dominated the oceans, was most feared among these ships. He would travel deep into the waters, miles away from the islands and repair his ship, stock on rum, and often take out one of his competition. Rosaline was young then. You see if one was far enough away from Peter Pan and his touch of magic, then you would grow older. On the island no one grew old, but in the deep waters, they did. This was part of the reason that no one ventured far from the island. The Scarcosta ship, known as "Fire's Blaze" then, was partners with the "Kimorak Parrot" owned by Captain Dacod Kimorak and his son John. John and Rosaline were fond of each other, but never showed it. As they got older, they would sneak aboard a lifeboat and row to the islands to be together. They camped in caves until morning and would return by late afternoon when most pirates would just begin to rise. However this did not last. By some cause still unknown to Rosaline, Hook was the one to find out, thus creating quite a dilemma. The result was one that Rosaline regrets to recall.
Oooh. Some of Captain Scarcosta's past. I felt that the information was a bit... uhh... well, pushed out there a bit fast. Hopefully though it didn't bore you for me to explain some of her past, I just needed to get it out there. What is going to happen to London with pirates stooting cannon balls at it?! Oh dear... Anyway how did you guys like this chapter? Please review with your thoughts.