It had been five years since Tiger Lilly and Peter Pan had seen the now dead Capitan and his brother. In that time, her body had stopped aging and she now looked like a girl of about 16 years old. Her lithe body had slight curves, her ebony hair had grown longer, and she had grown slightly taller.
She still maintained a strained friendship with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. They had a mutual understanding and sometimes Tiger Lilly would go visit them at their Compound. For the most part she stayed away from them, as the years had gone by she had noticed how ruthless Peter Pan really was.
Despite the agreement the two had made all those years ago, her people were still being tourmented by him and the Lost Boys. He did keep to his agreement that if they came into his land, he had the right to "play" with them. However all except for the Sky Tribe's village belonged to Pan, something the boy had convinently forgotten to mention to her when they struck the bargain.
"Silverfish," Tiger Lilly said lazily one day. The two were swimming in a pool created by the river that ran through Neverland.
"Yes, Tiger Lilly?" he asked. The boy had not finished aging yet, every year he got a little older.
"My father says that I am to build my own shelter, now that I am old enough to wed"
"You are chief Little Big Panther's daughter, of course you will be married" Silverfish stated simply.
Tiger Lilly gave a bitter laugh. "The day that the village stops fearing me will be the day"
Silverfish sighed and swam over to her laughing "They don't fear you they just think you are odd."
Tiger Lilly sighed and splashed her friend. "Come on, we need to get going."
Silverfish nodded.
They both climbed out of the water and got dressed. A stick cracking caused the two to jump and turn quickly.
"What was that?" Tiger Lilly asked.
"Probably the Lost Boys, we need to get going." Silverfish stated grabbing onto Tiger Lilly's hand.
Tiger Lilly shook her head and yanked her hand away. "Those boys wouldn't dare mess with me." She muttered more to herself than to him.
Silverfish scoffed. "The word of Peter Pan means nothing… you know that. The boys are going to kidnap us and do who knows what to us."
Tiger Lilly was about to turn back towards her friend before a sack was yanked over her head. She struggled and kicked as she was yanked off her feet and carried away. The last thing she heard was Silverfish calling her name.
When Tiger Lilly awoke, she was leaning against what she thought was a post. She looked up only to realize that it was the mast of a ship. She moved to stand only to find that bother her wrist and ankles were bound together painfully tight by rope.
She looked around violently trying to find her bearings. She was aboard a ship and from what she could tell it wasn't moving because the sails were down. Most likely anchored somewhere. She struggled to stand, using the post for leverage only to fall back down painfully onto her side.
She opened her eyes to see a pair of black boots stop before her. She craned her neck, looking up to see black pants, a black jacket, black vest and a white shirt. His hair was the color of honey and cut short, but it was the eyes that she remembered so well.
"I know you…" she managed to say.
"My name is Capitan Hook now," he stated flashing a hook were his left hand once was. "And I know you, Princess Tiger Lilly. I know how you and that devil Peter Pan killed my brother."
Tiger Lilly struggled up to her knees. "We warned you" she said.
"You said that magic came with a price. If I had known that the price would have been my brother's life I never would have let him drink the water."
"The water wasn't the problem. Your brother died because you left Neverland. I tried to warn you."
"You did nothing of the sort, you and that little bastard killed my brother" Hook's voice raised as he grabbed her by her bound wrist with his hook and yanked her to her feet.
"Here's the deal, Tiger Lilly. If you tell me where Peter Pan's compound is, I will let you be free".
She looked him in the eye before turned her head upward in what she hoped was a haughty manner.
"Very well, Princess…I have another plan for you. You will be bait to capture Peter Pan" he said putting his hand on her face and tilting it towards him so she was forced to look him in the eye.
"We will just have to wait for the tide to come in"
Tiger Lilly felt her dark eyes widen a bit with surprise. He was really going to use her as live bait, for Peter Pan? What did this man know about Peter Pan? He knew first hand that Peter was a murderer, he lost his own brother.
"Still want to keep it a secret?" he asked again.
"I will not tell you." She said simply before feeling the strong sting of a slap on her face and falling back down to the ground.
"Then you will drown during high tide." Hook stated as stomped towards his cabin and slammed the door behind him.
A few hours later, Tiger Lilly was seated in a row boat with Capitan Hook and his first mate, a portly man with a red hat he seemed rather proud of.
"For what it is worth, Hook. I am sorry about what happened to your brother. It is a tragedy to loose someone so close to you." Tiger Lilly said sincerely. She really did understand his loss, and she truly felt guilty about the death of the man's brother.
He was staring at her intently through those mesmerizing blue eyes. "You really mean that, don't you" he stated more than asked.
She nodded.
"You have lost someone?" he inquired. She could tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted to say more, talk about loss as something that no one else could understand.
"You have suffered another great loss, the tattoo on your arm. I cannot read it…but it was not there before" Tiger Lilly said.
"Milah…she died…" He trailed off.
Tiger Lilly remained silent until she finally asked the question. "What makes you think Peter will come for me?"
"Because he loves you" Hook stated simply.
She almost laughed at him. "Pan doesn't love anyone but himself"
"Then he must have a soft spot for you. He will come"
Tiger Lilly laughed then. "You will be drowning me for no reason. I will not tell you where his compound is…nor will he rescue me"
Hook sighed. They had arrived at skull rock, he and the man whose name was Smee hoisted her and the heavy anchor out of the boat and onto a rock.
"The tide will come in quickly, love" Hook mused.
She glared at him.
"You can still be saved".
At this she turned away with another haughty look.
Hook tried a different approach then, he stepped forward he was already knee deep in water, and Tiger Lilly could feel her feet begin to get wet with the rising tide.
His hand rested softly, almost lovingly against her cheek.
"T'would be a shame to drown something so beautiful" he said.
She turned to look at him again, but remained silent her eyes narrowed.
"If you would just tell me…" he trailed off as he moved closer, his lips just a breath from hers, his eyes looking from hers to her full lips and back to hers. As if asking the question that was buzzing through Tiger Lilly's mind Is he going to?
She saw a different look in the man's hurt and angry eyes then. The same look that the braves in her village got when she danced.
"I would rather drown" she replied. She saw him raise his hook, as if he were going to kill her then and there. She clenched her eyes shut.
Instead he used that hook to drag her to her feet as he pressed his lips to hers in a firm kiss.
He shoved her back down to the rock, his lips still on hers until he unhooked himself from her ropes and stepped back.
"I'm sorry" he whispered touching his fingers to his lips before turning and sloshing through the water towards high ground in the cave.
Tiger Lilly watched him as he disappeared into the shadows, but quickly looked down when she noticed that the ocean water was up to her mid calf.
This is a way to die. She thought to herself. She knew that crying for help was pointless, no one would hear her and the mermaids could care less about her.
She sighed, well no one could say that she was a traitor. She literally took Peter's secret to her grave.
The an hour passed and Tiger Lilly felt the water continue to creep up her body. It wasn't until she was chest deep in the water that she heard a noise that she never thought she would hear.
The crow of a rooster that signaled the arrival of Peter Pan.
"Hello, Princess" he said as he floated above the water looking at her.
She couldn't help the smile that played on her lips, but instead it turned into a warning. "Look out!"
He turned just in time and drew his small dagger to block Hook's hook from piercing his back.
She watched as the fight continued, Hook and Pan chasing one another among the rocks, each trying to dominate the other. The fight quickly moved out of Tiger Lilly's limited line of sight.
She could only hear the sound of metal meeting metal and the occasion yell of anger from Hook. At some point she heard him yell for Smee.
The water was up to her lips now. She tilted her head back trying to keep her head above water only to have a wave slosh over her, causing her to swallow a mouthful of sea water.
She coughed and gasped for air as another waves passed over her head. Then another.
She closed her eyes when the water was finally above her head, keeping them clenched shut to keep from having to see her watery grave. In the Sky Tribe it was considered bad luck to look upon the place where you would be buried before your time. She figured that this was the closest thing to a burial she would ever get.
Looks like she was right after all, Peter Pan didn't care for her if he had he would have come to her aid by now.
Suddenly her body felt lighter as the weight of the anchor was released from her body and a pair of lean but strong arms pulled her up out of the water, cradling her against him as he flew through the sky.
She coughed up water and looked up to see Peter Pan holding her, she wrapped her arms around his neck slightly afraid of him dropping her as he flew back to the Indian Village. She wouldn't admit it, especially to him but she was deathly afraid of heights.