Chapter 10

Peter pressed his body against the door to make sure Hook didn't come through. Of course! Hook is here for Maria! Peter thought. He glanced over at the bed and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to come up with a plan.

Hook tried to reopen the door but found it stuck. "Peter! Open up right this second!" he demanded. He crossed his arms impatiently and sighed.

"Give me a minute!" Peter zoomed over to the bed and shook the beautiful, sleeping Maria. No response.

"I said, OPEN UP!"

"You know, it's not nice to visit someone with out letting them know in advance." Peter was attempting to buy himself some time to think. If Maria wasn't waking up, the boys might. So he crouched down and shook each of them frantically. None off them
/would respond. He was alone on this one.

"When have you ever cared about manners?!" Hook scoffed.

"Right now!"

"Says the boy who cut off my hand!" Hook raised his hook and shook it angrily for emphasis but realized that it did no good. Peter couldn't see what he was doing.

Peter sighed. He had a point on that one.

Hook stood around outside for a moment and chuckled quietly to himself. He knew he won that fight. All he had to do after that was win the real fight. "Peter, if you do not open this door in ten seconds, I will kick it down!"

"Why do you want in here so badly?" Peter asked, purposely acting stupid.

"I know you have my daughter! And I want her back!"

Peter cringed when Hook confirmed the reason he was there. Peter stood up and turned to face Maria. She was sleeping hard. He couldn't figure out why she wouldn't wake up. When Hook began counting, he had to decide what to do. "Ten!"

Peter spotted a rope laying on the ground and slowly reached for it. "Nine!"

He quickly picked it up and turned back to Maria. "Eight!"

It was at that moment that Peter knew what he had to do. He was running the risk of Maria hating him for the rest of her life, but he had no other good ideas. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to a post that made the house stay intact.
/"Seven!"

Peter set her down gently and brought her hands behind the post. He then began tying them together tightly. "Six!"

He hated tying her up; she was his girlfriend! He wanted just to be able to hand her off to her dad and tell him that she fell asleep here, but Hook could become suspicious! "Five!"

Peter struggled to tie the knot; he never could find the hole to pull the rope through. "Four!"

After he found the hole, he finished the knot, stood up, and looked at Maria. "Three!" Hook's yelling was becoming very aggressive.

Peter continued to stare. He was super nervous that Maria would wake up and think that he betrayed her. But what else could he do? "Two!"

He gulped, flew over to the door, turned the knob, and opened it just as Hook said, "One!"

Hook, who was waiting impatiently for Peter to show himself, had his hook ready to stab the obnoxious boy. He swung at Peter, but he moved out of the way. Seeing that Peter was dumb enough to not have his dagger ready, Hook swiftly caught Peter by the
/throat and pushed him against the wall, making him squeal in fear. "Where is she?" Hook demanded through his gritted teeth.

Peter grabbed Hook's wrist and tried to pry his hand off of his neck, but he wouldn't budge. "Where is who?" Peter taunted. He smirked and reached for his knife.

Hook smacked his hand away with his hook, yanked the knife out of his scabbard, and tossed it all the way to the other side of the narrow hallway. "You know who!"

"Sorry, that name doesn't ring a bell." Peter chuckled, but his air was quickly cut off by Hook. He was airborne-not in a good way. Hook had lifted him into the air, trying to hang him. Peter kicked around a little and squeezed his enemy's wrist, desperate
/to get free.

"Where is my daughter?" Hook pressed his hook against Peter's stomach. Peter's eyes shot wide open. He was terrified, and Hook knew it.

Peter panicked. He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't get away! He wasn't sure what to do. He needed to stall for as long as he possibly could, but he was going to need air.

"Well?" Hook grumbled. He was getting very impatient. He started to dig the tip of his hook into Peter's shirt. "Answer me, and I won't kill you right this second."

Peter felt lightheaded and knew he had to divulge Maria's location. He weakly extended his arm out to the left and lifted his finger.

Hook followed Peter's movement and tightened his lips when he saw his daughter tied to a pole. He released Peter and began walking to her. Peter fell to the ground and coughed from the lack of air. Then he crawled over to his knife and inspected it. Luckily,
/it seemed undamaged. He sighed in relief and then remembered to focus on the fact that Hook was in his hideout.

While Hook was stomping over to Maria, mumbling curse words under his breath, he accidentally squished one of Peter's uneaten berries that was still on the floor. He bent down, picked up one of the rounder berries, and inspected it thoroughly. "Did my
/daughter eat these?" he asked while staring at the purple thing.

"Yes," Peter answered while struggling onto his feet.

"You fed her bloody barbiturate berries?!"

Peter didn't know what those were, but he didn't want to look stupid in front of Hook. So he lied. "Yes!" Then he came up with the most brilliant lie. "I wanted a rematch, so when she came in because of the rain, I tricked her into eating those berries.
/She was out like a light! Then I tied her up and waited for you. But I didn't think it would take so long for you to get here." He beamed at his cleverness. He leaned against the wall and smiled proudly

Hook scowled. Bearing his teeth, he growled, "Fine, you want to fight? Then let's fight!" He relaxed his shoulders and quickly swung at Peter with his hook. Peter caught it in mid-strike and felt his arm strain under the pressure.

Hook then shoved him backwards and laughed as Peter struggled to maintain his balance. Seeing a great opportunity to badly wound his opponent, Hook waved his cutlass at Peter's shins. The boy leaped backwards though, avoiding the blow. He landed flat
/on his back.

Peter didn't even have a chance to get up because Hook towered over him with a sword hovering about six inches over his chest. "Release my daughter," Hook threatened, "or I'll run you through!"

"You don't scare me," Peter said confidently. "And why would I let her go when I haven't won yet?"

Hook snarled at Peter and thrust his sword at him, but Peter rolled to his side quick enough to not get stabbed.

Peter then stood up. He had to get the advantage. He zoomed through the air around Hook and halted when he was face to face with him.

Peter swung at Hook, but Hook blocked it easily. They exchanged blows for a few minutes while traveling in circles around the room. At one point, Hook nearly tripped over the rug in the center and got sliced on the chest by the insolent boy.

Peter watched as Hook took a momenteq to recover. He saw his chance and quickly flipped the cutlass out of Hook's hand and into the air. Hook had a pained expression on his face when he saw Peter fly up into the air and point his knife at his throat.
/"Ha!" Peter said

Hook stiffened up a little, not scared, but amused. "You're going to kill me?" he began. "You do realize that if you do, you'll be the sole reason Maria's an orphan, right?"

Peter lowered his knife a little. He had never really considered that before. He couldn't kill Hook no matter how much he wanted to. He couldn't do that to Maria.

Hook smirked, knowing he got inside Peter's head. "And Emily would be so disappointed in you right now," he continued. "You promised her that you would take care of her, but instead, you use her as bait for me."

Peter looked down at his feet. She would be disappointed in him, and he knew it. Before Peter even realized it, Hook kicked him in the back of the leg, making him crash onto the floor. Hook took his sword back and pointed it right where Peter's heart
/was. Peter kicked it out of the way and flipped himself back onto his feet. He parried Hook's blow and backed up. After a few seconds, his leg brushed against Maria's foot, making him stop abruptly. She shifted a little, and Peter gulped nervously.
/He had to free her before she woke up, but how was he going to with Hook advancing on him?

Not knowing what to do, Peter shifted to his right and continued to back up until he hit the wall. Hook charged at Peter. He dove out of the way into the air while attempting to slice the ropes that held Maria, but he ended up slicing something way worse.

Maria whimpered quietly in her sleep. Even though she was practically unconscious, she could still feel the pain coming from her arm. She didn't know why it was stinging, but she still wasn't able to wake up no matter how hard she tried.

Peter twisted his head to see what happened but flew right into a wall. He collapsed to the floor in pain and curled up into a ball, hands grasping his aching skull. Hearing Maria's whimper and Hook's gasp, he knew he was in trouble. He flipped himself
/over onto his back and held out his dagger. That's when he realized what he had done. There was fresh blood on the tip of it-not Hook's, but Maria's.

Peter then saw blood on Maria's left forearm and panicked. He did that to her. She was bleeding because of him. He threw his knife down, not wanting to be the reason she was hurt. He gulped and looked up at Hook. He knew he was in trouble. Hook's eyes
/were filled with anger and hate.

He grabbed Peter's collar and pulled him up to his feet. Peter was scared for his life. "You hurt my daughter, I hurt you." Hook said with an evil smile.

"It was an accident," Peter whispered.

"I don't care! You still cut my little girl!" Hook swung his hook into Peter's nose. Pain flooded through it, and he fell backwards onto the floor again. While Peter cradled his aching, bleeding nose, Hook came up and put the end of his blade against
/Peter's throat. He pushed down a little making a tiny spec of blood come out. Peter but his lip and moaned loudly from the pain.

"Say a prayer, Peter Pan. You're going to need it where you're going," Hook spat in Peter's face and pressed harder.

Peter reached for his knife but was too far away from it. He couldn't do anything! Hook was finally going to get his revenge. "Ah," Peter cried quietly. "Stop, please!"

No response. Hook remained heartless and continued pressing his sword deeper into Peter's bleeding neck. A burning sensation filled his throat to the point where it felt cold. "OW!" And with that, Peter dug his teeth into each other and prepared

himself for death. He glanced over at Maria, who was just starting to wake up. He grimaced and then looked up at Hook. He had gone full pirate, and nothing was going to make him stop hurting him.

Maria heard Peter's cries, and she slowly opened her eyes, still exhausted. What she saw made her heart stop. Hook was piercing Peter's flesh, and Peter wasn't doing anything to stop it. She tried to get up but found herself unable to. "Huh?" she mumbled.
/She looked down her arm to find that her hands were bound together and that her arm was spilling out blood.

Hook lifted his sword off Peter's neck and spun around quickly to lay his eyes on his daughter. Peter sat up, nose and neck bleeding, to get a glimpse of Maria before collapsing back down.

Maria slumped a little, trying to figure up a way that Peter was not the reason for all of this. Very quickly, she realized that was no point in trying to think of a reason because he did it. But she wouldn't just accept that! She couldn't! "What's going
/on? Why am I tied up? And why is my arm bleeding?" she asked firmly.

Peter gulped, not wanting her to hear his lie to Hook

"I'll tell you what happened." Hook started. "Peter tricked you into eating barbiturate berries. And then when I found you, you were tied up. And he wouldn't let you go until we fought. And when we were fighting, he cut your arm on purpose!"

Peter shot up. "What?" he argued.

Maria didn't speak. She couldn't seem to get anything to come out. Her heart felt like it had been ripped out and torn to pieces. Her eyes began to water as she gazed at Peter. She couldn't believe Peter would do that to her! He was so sweet to her and
/even saved her! He wouldn't have hurt her on purpose, would he?

She quickly looked down at her knees, purposely avoiding eye contact. "Dad, untie me, please," she said quietly

"Sure," he replied softly. He then traveled over to the post and sawed the ropes until they fell off of her wrists.

She quickly stood up once her hands were free and held her wounded arm close to her body. It was burning and stinging, and it was all because of Peter. She accidentally caught a glimpse of him all bloodied up. Before, she would have cared, but she didn't
/that time.

Instead, she just turned her head and walked outside, trying to keep her composer.

Peter stood up and couldn't decide whether to go after her or not. If he didn't, she would hate him forever, and he wouldn't have even tried to change her mind. If he did, she might forgive him, but Hook would become suspicious. But he had to try! He
/would be stupid not to! He attempted to fly after her but stumbled back down. He couldn't think of anything happy enough to lift him up. He was grounded. Frustrated, Peter stormed outside and found Maria slowly walking into the growth. "Maria," Peter
/said just loud enough for her to hear him.

No answer.

Peter's heart sunk low. He couldn't bear the fact that she was ignoring him. He sprinted over to her, grabbed her arm, and spun her so she faced him. "Maria, let me explain," he said.

For a response, Maria slapped him hard on the cheek. Peter yelled in pain and rubbed his stinging cheek. "How could you?" she asked pitifully. Her voice cracked, and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sor-!"

"I trusted you! I thought you were actually nice! But you're not! Your just a selfish jerk who doesn't know when to stop playing!"

Peter pouted. "This is all just a big misunderstanding. You see-"

Maria rolled her eyes and began to walk away. She couldn't even look at him. He was such a traitor. "Tell it to someone who cares," she interrupted. "I'm never talking to you again. And next time your in trouble, don't count on me to save you!"

Peter watched her walk into the distance and will away her tears. He felt like such a jerk! But it wasn't even his fault! He had to make everything right. "Maria, wait!" he yelled while running after her. "You gotta hear me out!"

Maria heard Peter calling her name which made her stiffen with fear. She searched for somewhere to hide, somewhere to avoid seeing his beautiful, brown eyes. She looked left and right, but there was nowhere! She heard the voice becoming louder and decided
/it was best just to try to get to the ship before he did. Someone would stop him there.

Peer saw a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye and knew he had found Maria. "Hey! Wait!" Maria knew he had caught her. He sped up his running. Eventually, he was right on top of her. He threw his arms around Maria and held her close to him. She
/began squirming, but he had a death grip on her. "Maria, please stop!" he begged. He was exhausted physically and emotionally, and he didn't know how much longer he would be able to hold her.

"Get away from me!" she demanded.

"No! Not until you listen to me!" He spun her quickly around to face him again.

Her eyes were scared and heartbroken. "Let me go."

Peter hated himself for doing this to her. "Maria, I'm-"

"Hey!" Hook boomed from not too far away. "Let her go!"

Peter turned his head to see Hook coming toward them with his sword in hand. Peter quickly released Maria and watched her plummet to the ground. She quickly looked up her father to see him hovering over Peter. "Go," he said. And with that, Maria got back
/on her feet and began running again, even faster than before.

Peter glanced at Maria and then at Hook. Hook had two weapons, whereas he was weaponless and doomed. He was spontaneously shoved against a tree, arms pinned above his head. He shrieked with fear.

Hook placed his hook against Peter's already punctured throat, trying to intimidate him. "Listen, Boy. If I see you touch my daughter ever again," he drug his hook across Peter's neck and made a ripping sound. "Do you understand?" he asked firmly, almost
/like how a father would scold his child, except much harsher.

Peter couldn't speak; he was so paralyzed with fear. Hook hadn't ever threatened him like that before, not with that much intensity.

Hook was frustrated that Peter was making something so simple so complicated. All he had to do was say his answer! So to wake him out of his little daydream, Hook smashed his hook into Peter's temple. He enjoyed hearing his pained cry.

Peter slid down the the coarse bark until he landed on the soft, muddy ground. Hook kept his hands in his grasp, not allowing him to cradle his badly hurt head, furthering his enjoyment. "I asked you a question," he growled. His hook hung near Peter's
/pointed ear and shimmered in the moonlight.

In between heavy breaths, Peter choked out an answer. "Yes."

Hook's lips formed a smile and he released Peter's wrists. They dropped down lifelessly to his sides. He had no energy left. The sparkle in his eye was gone. "Very good. Now if you excuse me, I need to go find my daughter." And without another word, Hook
/stomped away, pounding the earth under his boots with every step.

Peter studied Hook as he left him. It seemed like he had grown a foot, his glare seemed way more terrifying, and his hatred for Peter had clearly doubled. He had gotten stronger than Peter. He knew how to get under his skin now.

Thinking made his head pound, so he quit for the moment. Instead, he peered up at the stars and then closed his eyes, ready to go to sleep and dream this all away.

Meanwhile, Maria was sprinting through the woods, not knowing if she was being followed or not. She was almost to the beach, which meant she was almost home. She wanted nothing more than to bury her face into her pillow and hide from everyone. She felt
/as if she didn't even have a happy thought in her. Her boyfriend had just betrayed her, and her dad wouldn't be able to understand what she was going through because she couldn't tell him.

As she stepped onto the packed sand, she slowed her breathing and her pace. Her legs felt like noodles and her arm was stinging.

Two figures in the distance caught her eye and she turned her head to see who it was. Although there wasn't much light to see, she could see the two were holding hands.

Holden and his girlfriend.

She wondered what they were doing up, but it didn't bother her for long. Tears streamed down her face, and she collapsed down onto the ground. Her hands trembled, her body shook with every sob.

Holden smiled as Dancing Moon, his girlfriend, rested her head on his shoulder. Her straight, black hair draped over her shoulders and down to her waist. It was luscious and full. Her big almond eyes closed as she walked along the shore with him. And
/behind those closed lids were the most deep brown irises anyone had ever seen-they looked like chocolate chips.

Her full lips were as pink as the sunset in Neverland, her neck was slender and long, and one arm had an elegant tattoo in the shape of a flower. She was wearing a snug fitting, tan dress that went down to her knees and had a sweetheart neckline. Graceful
/legs came out from under the dress, and when she walked, it almost looked like she was floating. She was the most beautiful girl in Neverland, and she was all Holden's.

He loved Dancing Moon; she made him truly happy. She was not only pretty, but she was kind, smart, and brave as well. She was the only reason he considered staying on he island. But he was not content there. "You know," he began, "when I leave Neverland
/one day, I'm taking you with me, we'll get a nice flat, I'll get a job, and we can have a family."

Dancing Moon giggled flirtatiously- her cheeks turned red. "My father would never let me leave," she responded, "especially with a pirate."

"Yeah, but what do you want?" He turned to face her. They were close enough to feel each other's warm breaths.

"I want to marry you," she whispered. She leaned in for a loving kiss, but stopped when she heard quiet weeping.

Holden twisted his head to the sound. He saw a bent over form near trees. Quickly pulling out his sword, he moved toward it until he realized that the thing was Maria. He furrowed his brow in confusion. Dancing Moon followed behind nervously. "Maria?"
/he asked. "Why are you out here? Are you okay?"

Maria, who's face was buried deep in her arms, shook her head no. Holden crouched down next to her and rubbed her on the back comfortingly like a big brother. "What's going on?"

Dancing Moon popped out from behind Holden and observed Maria. That's when she noticed her arm. It was still bleeding, nothing to stop it. "You're bleeding!" she yelled. Instantly, she went into action, ripping off a piece of her dress off and covering
/Maria's wound.

Maria looked up at the girl for a moment, eyes red and puffy from crying, and then gazed at Holden. "Peter tricked me," she said at last. Her voice was weak. "He never liked me."

"What?" Holden asked.

"He used me as bait for my dad. He also cut my arm on purpose." She began shaking uncontrollably.

"Oh. Maria I'm really sorry," he cooed.

Dancing Moon pressed against the gapping cut. "It's going to need proper treatment. Come, I'll take care of you in my tent," coaxed. Holden stood up and helped Maria to her feet.

But before they could get far. Hook appeared on the beach, searching helplessly for his daughter. "Maria, where did you go?" he shouted. As he scanned the surrounding area, his eyes caught a glimpse of her. "MARIA!" He took off in a full run after her,
/needing to see her face.

Dancing moon's eyes widened in fear and she glanced at Holden, who was equally scared. "Go! I'll take care of her," he explained.

She looked down at the shivering girl and then sprinted away.

Holden put his arm around Maria, and they turned around to face Hook. Hook slowed his running as he approached the two. "Sweetie, are you alright? How your arm? Did he hurt you anywhere else?" he asked, concerned.

Maria stood with hunched shoulders. "I'm fine," she lied. Of course she wasn't fine! How else was she supposed to react to Peter's betrayal?

Smee, who ran up at the same time Hook had, panted heavily. He had absolutely know idea what happened, and he assumed that Maria was just being careless. "Maria, where have you been?" he scolded. "I've been worried sick!"

"Not know," Hook hissed. He could tell Maria was upset, and he didn't want Smee making her feel worse. "Come on. Let's get inside." He gestured for Maria to come to him, and she obeyed. She fought back tears as her dad guided her into the ship. The oil
/lamps dimly lit the family room. The old, red couch sat in the corner of the room, which is where Maria decided to curl up on. She wrapped a blanket around herself. She wanted to be alone; she needed to be able to think of what to do. She wondered
/how Sasha would act if a boy did this to her. She knew that she wouldn't take it well if someone betrayed her.

Hook squeezed Maria's hand tightly and smiled nicely. "I'm going to clean myself up," he told. He then turned to Smee, who was staring at her. "Mr. Smee, will you take care of her for me?"

"Aye, aye, Captain," he muttered. He was so disappointed in Peter and somewhat in Maria. He felt like she should've known better than to fall for her dad's worst enemy. Smee was also disappointed at himself! He should've dragged Maria home the night she
/went on her first date.

Once Hook had left the scene, Holden plopped down next to Maria and embraced her.

"I was afraid this was going to happen if you dated him!" Smee said while pacing the floor.

"You were right," Maria sighed sadly. "I should have never trusted him." She avoided eye contact and stared at the floor.

Smee lightened up after she had spoken. He could tell she was heartbroken. "I'm sorry. I know you liked him."

"I am, too."

Smee saw her eyelids getting heavy. She looked exhausted. "Why don't we fix your arm up so you can go rest for a little while? You've had a pretty long day." Maria nodded, and Smee went jogging into another room to find the stupid first-aid kit, which
/was always getting lost.

Holden felt Maria rest her head on his shoulder, making a little smile appear. It didn't take long for her to be out. "Thanks for not ratting me out to my dad," she yawned.

"Isn't that what crew mates are for? Not telling the captain stuff?" he joked softly. Maria giggled at his remark. She needed some humor right then. She wears still upset, but Holden had a way of making her feel a whole lot better. She kind of wished
/that they had gotten along better before.

Smee hurriedly cleaned and wrapped Maria's arm and sent her off to bed. No matter what she did, Maria couldn't fall asleep; she had way too much on her mind. All she could think about was Peter. How can anyone see him as a hero? she thought. He doesn't
/actually care about anyone! All he wants is a good fight!

With that thought, Maria burst into tears. She wondered if she overacting, but then again, she knew she had the right to be upset. She didn't have to be strong. So she let the tears drip onto her pillow and cried herself to sleep.

Hey!

I'm so sorry it took me such a long time to post this chapter. It needed a lot morework than I thought it would. I hope you liked it!Please Favorite, Follow, and Review!

Thanks,

Kacibubbles