When I heard a soft groaning coming from the bed I nearly jumped a foot—the events of only an hour ago flashing through my mind. I quickly remembered that Hook was tied to the bed, and slowly felt the tension leave my body. Sinking back into the chair, I turned my gaze to Captain Hook and watched as he cracked his eyes open. He tried to sit up, but quickly realized he was bound. At this his eyes shot open and he let out a cry.

"Smee! Help! I've been kidnapped!" he cried, looking around wildly.

Finally he noticed Mr. Smee sitting at his bedside, staring calmly at him. I knew this was a façade. For the past hour I'd watched as Mr. Smee wrung his hands together and fidgeted, talking about how he had never done something like this before, and how he just knew the Captain would kill him for it once he was released.

"Let me go!" he growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously at Mr. Smee. His face drained of all its color, and for a split second he started reaching for the ropes binding Hook. I cleared my throat and his hands froze. A mask of confidence came across his face, and he leaned back.

"No, Captain."

Hook's face blanched. His lips moved, but no words came out as he simply stared at Smee in silent shock. Finally, he regained control of his speech and began yelling.

"What did you just say to me?!" he raged, tugging at the ropes binding his hands to the bedposts. "You will release me this second or I'll gut you like a fish and feed you to the crocodile!"

Mr. Smee turned white as a sheet and started trembling, and I knew that it was my turn to take over. I narrowed my eyes at Hook and stood, drawing his attention to me.

"No!" I stated, my voice coming out more confident than I actually felt. I could feel my hands shaking, so I crossed them behind my back so Hook couldn't see. I set my jaw and raised it slightly. "We tied you to the bed because you flew into a rage and tried to kill me for something I didn't do—"

"I would never give you her dress!" he yelled as he thrashed around, trying to free himself.

"Do you remember telling me she died? Do you remember telling me that I was like her? That I had curls like her?" I asked gently, trying to quell his anger.

He suddenly became very still and I could see the shock on his face. Very slowly, he turned his piercing gaze to me. I could see surprise and disbelief, but also pain. Those words also seemed to make him angrier. I could see his chest heaving and the fire burning in his eyes as he looked away. When he didn't respond, I continued, "There's no other way I could have known that. If you can't remember telling me that, then don't you think it's possible you can't remember giving me her dress? I took it off and put it back in the closet, but you need to know what happened—"

"It doesn't matter. You tied me up—this is mutiny! This is punishable by death! I should strap the both of you to an anchor and make you walk the plank!" Hook was seething.

I glared right back at him. "Listen to me! Mr. Smee and I are done being pushed around by you! We're both tired of being tossed around and yelled at and threatened. I will not be treated like dirt on your boots! Prisoner or not, I am a lady and I expect to be treated as such!"

Mr. Smee gave a nod. "I agree with her, Captain."

Hook was too shocked to speak for a couple moments, and I was all too glad for the silence. It gave me time to calm my rapidly beating heart. For the last few days I was so scared of Captain Hook, but now that I had stood up to him, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Last time I was in Neverland and stood up to him, I was forced to walk the plank. I knew he wouldn't do that this time, despite his threats, because I was a valuable pawn and he still needed me, but I knew he had the power to make my life more miserable than it already was.

Before he could say anything, I added, "But I do apologize, Hook." At this his shocked look grew. The way he treated me was wrong, but I wasn't above apologized when I made a mistake. "It was insensitive of me to wear the dress, considering what it must mean to you. I only wanted to get out of these men's clothes, and the dress was so beautiful, and you'd said I could wear it, but...you were drunk at the time. I'm sorry I didn't think of how you would feel about it afterwards."

At this Hook closed his eyes, as if to concentrate. There was a long, tense silence that seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, Hook opened his eyes and said in a calm voice, "I have listened to your requests…now release me this instant, and…" He grit his teeth and practically breathed out his next words, "I promise no harm will come to you."

That was good enough for Mr. Smee, whose hands shot forward immediately and began loosening the ropes. He gave him his hook back, and he cut the ropes binding his feet with it. As soon as he was free he swung his feet over the edge and stood. I held my ground even as he stepped around me, holding my breath and hoping he wouldn't fly into a fury.

He rubbed his wrist, where the ropes had been digging into his skin no doubt. When he looked back up a few moments later to see us just standing there staring at him, his expression changing into anger.

"Get back to work, Smee!" he yelled, striding over to him. "Before I change my mind about gutting you!"

Mr. Smee raised a hand to his forehead in a salute. "Yes, Captain."

As Smee scurried out the door he turned to me. Strangely, I no longer felt afraid. Standing up to him had given me a boost of courage. Whether or not it lasted remained to be seen. As he stared at me I could see the slightly pink flush in his cheeks, and realized he was embarrassed. He had every right to feel humiliated, I suppose. His first mate and prisoner had tied him down to the bed, then demanded respect. There was a palpable shift in power, I could feel it. I was no longer the girl prisoner who would be pushed around. I was a lady who, despite being held here against my will, would demand respect at the very least.

After a while the silence and staring sent my stomach into a nervous frenzy. Finally, he spoke.

"I overreacted earlier. It won't happen again." With that said, he turned around and walked out the door. That was probably the closest thing to an apology as I'd get from him.

Later that day Mr. Smee brought me some bread, which I gobbled up greedily, glad I wouldn't have to eat yet another bowl of soup.

"How is Hook?" I asked, though I wasn't entirely sure why I so desperately wanted to know. I suppose it was to make sure he was treating Mr. Smee better. At my question he gave me a smile.

"He's about the same, but he had this sort of humbled look about him, though I pity any man who dares to say so to the Captain. It was a right brilliant idea, Miss, standing up to him like that."

"I'm just glad I could help you. It takes a special sort of person to stand by Captain Hook like you do. Hopefully he'll realize that and appreciate you more."

"Aye." He gave a nod, and then a smile that once again looked like it held a secret. "I hope he does the same for you too, Miss."

I was a bit stunned by that comment. Me, stand by Hook? What was he talking about? Before I could question him he took the tray and walked out, closing and locking the door behind him.

Captain Hook returned in the evening and crossed the room without glancing at me. He seemed to be particularly good at ignoring me lately…not that I was complaining. I settled down into the covers as I watched him. I had no idea why, but I wanted answers. Maybe I expected his secrets to just come spilling out of his mouth if I stared at him long enough, but knew it would be near impossible to get anything out of him. He had drunk himself near to death before he told me just a little bit about Maria. I highly doubted he would ever talk about her again after that earlier slip up. Suddenly Mr. Smee's words rang through my ears, telling me that Hook was different around me, and that I might be able to get him to open up.

Hook settled into his seat, picked up his quill, and dipped it in the ink. Making the most of the daylight before the sun set, he began writing in his log. As I continued to stare Hook's eyes suddenly snapped up. As our eyes met I quickly ducked my head and stared at the patterns on the blanket. A few moments later I glanced back up. Hook looked up at the same time, meeting my gaze. Once again, I dropped my eyes back down to the bed sheets. I heard the quill hit something, and my eyes snapped back up to meet his angry gaze.

"What is it?" he snapped.

I wasn't sure how to begin, but now that he was talking, I might as well ask about Maria. Except, I didn't quite know what to say. The smallest of things might set him off, so I had to approach the subject delicately. "When you were drunk, you…told me about Maria," I began, and watched for Hook's reaction. He remained stone-faced, the angry expression not once wavering. "You mentioned she died. I was wondering…well, what exactly happened."

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at me for a moment or two more. Then, he took in a deep breath.

"How did she die?" I asked, but Hook remained silent. "Please?"

When he heard the begging tone in my voice he raised an eyebrow. After a second he looked away. I let out a sigh and was about to just drop the subject when Hook spoke up.

"I used to be a privateer for King William the Third," Hook began, but when I remembered what I'd learned about the King's in my history lessons, I just had to interrupt.

"Wait, but he was the King of England in the 1600's!"

"Yes."

"But that…that makes you over two hundred years old!"

A wry smile played on Hook's lips. "Well, looks who's good at arithmetic!"

"How do you know Mozart and Beethoven?" I asked, mentally cursing myself. He was finally willing to tell me what happened, and all I could do was ask how he knew the work of composers that came after him.

"You would be surprised at how things from the outside world find their way into Neverland." He cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I was a privateer for the King. I did whatever he asked of me, and raided more enemy ships than all his other privateers put together. But then he refused to pay me what he had promised, so I…well, I took my revenge. I raided a couple of English ships to show him that I was not to be trifled with, but instead of finally paying me what I was owed, he declared me an outlaw."

"What about Maria? Where does she fit in?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Maria was my fiancée, and I had planned on using the gold I got from the King to wed her and start a family. So as soon as I learned that I was a wanted man, I planned to sneak into England and get Maria out of there. I knew she was in danger just because of her connection to me, and I was right…but I was too late. I found her murdered in her house." I raised a hand to my mouth to silence the gasp. I could see a glistening in his eyes, of tears I knew he wouldn't shed. "It was the King. He killed her in retaliation for the ship's I had raided."

"Is that when you set sail for Neverland?"

"No, I never set course for Neverland. We just found ourselves there one morning. It was a few years after my Maria died, and after I had built up a fearsome reputation as a pirate. I still have no idea how we ended up in Neverland. All I remember is that the day before we had just raided the largest ship to set sail from the English port. That night we celebrated. We got drunk, and when we woke up in the morning, we found ourselves in Neverland. Despite that wretched boy, I liked it there, so we stayed for a while, and before I knew it, centuries had passed. I became a prisoner of time, just like everybody else here." He drew in a breath as he stood up. "But that is another story entirely, and, quite frankly, none of your business. I told you what you wanted to know, now stop staring at me."

After that I laid down on the bed and turned over, thinking over what he had told me. No wonder he was so bitter and angry all the time. It certainly didn't excuse his cruel behavior, but made me understand him just a little bit more…and realize why he and Peter fought so much. After all, two people so alike are bound to clash.

They were like two sides of a coin—one and the same. They were both broken in some way. They had some pain in their past, and deep down, they were both lonely…but the way they dealt with it—that was the only difference. I knew Peter was hurting, because I knew that he once had a family. He left them and when he came back, his family had moved on without him. Peter lived in denial of his pain, and tried to distract himself by playing games and refusing to grow up—because then he would never have to face it.

Hook, on the other hand, was just the opposite. He never forgot his pain, but instead let it turn him bitter and hard-hearted. He refused to face it and let go of the past, and that kept him from moving forward. He used it as a crutch to fuel his anger and placed it on a target—Peter Pan. I guess that was why I chose to leave Neverland: I was capable of moving on. I could let myself forgive people, but never forget, so I could learn from my mistakes. I remembered the past, but didn't let it drag me down, that was what made me so different from those two.

I had tried to show Peter that growing up wasn't so bad, but finally realized that he really was the boy who would never grow up. And you can't really change a person, can you? Not their core—who they are at their center. With Mr. Smee's words still fresh in my mind—that Hook was different around me, I was rethinking that. Talking about the pain of the past was a good sign, right? Would it be possible to change Hook, and get him to let go of the past and his anger as well?

If I could, then maybe I could also secure my freedom.

I woke up to something shining in my eyes. Was it morning already?

I stretched out in the bed and finally cracked my eyes open—only to find that the room was completely dark. Well, except for a shaft of moonlight spilling in the room. I moved my tired eyes over to the three-paneled windows. The curtains were drawn open, and the silhouette of Captain Hook stood in front of them, staring out across the dark, still waters.

He held a paper in his hand. When I squinted I could just make out the fancy calligraphy written on the page, but not the words. Who had written the letter? A sudden thought occurred to me: maybe it was from Maria. We had been talking about her earlier, so maybe he wanted to read a letter she had written to him all those centuries ago.

His eyes scanned over the page and then he set it down on the alcove, on top of an envelope. Beside it rested two other envelopes. He reached into the one underneath the letter on and pulled out something small that reflected the moonlight. What was that? As I readjusted my body the bed creaked and Hook spun around. I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped he believed I was asleep. A few moments later I heard the creaking of the windows and I opened my eyes just a crack, watching as Hook pushed them open.

I opened my eyes fully when I realized his back was once again facing me. He looked down at the small object in his hand before curling his fingers around it and reeling his arm back. He threw the object out the window and a couple seconds later I heard the faintest sound of it plopping into the water. Hook then bent over and stuck the note back inside the envelope before walking over to his desk. He pulled open a drawer and tucked them all inside, then walked back over to his spot in front of the fireplace.

I closed my eyes and wondered what the letter said, and what could have been in that envelope. If it was from Maria then whatever was in that envelope must have been from her, but if it was, then why would he pitch it out the window? Something wasn't adding up here. I had to find out what was in that envelope, and what was written in that letter. To do that I would have to sneak into Hook's desk when he wasn't in here, and find the letter.

Well, I was wrong. It didn't take long at all to write this! I just hope the next chapter comes as easily as this did to me. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the update! Good or bad, let me know what you thought. :)