A/N: Hey team!

So this chapter's pretty dark. But there's also a lot of hope. =]

Thank you to my reviewers and followers and favouriters! I love you guys! xx

Freedom

11 Years Ago

Mei wouldn't give her captors the satisfaction of screaming as a centralised burning turned her arm to ash. She knew it wasn't actually melting away her arm, but it may as well have been. The man inflicting the pain wasn't paying attention to her, but he was getting annoyed by the constant clenching and releasing of her bicep. Mei couldn't help it though, and to be honest she didn't particularly care. Let him screw up her prisoner number; they were going to hurt her anyway.

It was over quickly.

Mei's skin was red and raw. As she looked over at her right arm, she no longer saw her pure white skin. Instead, she'd been gifted with a more permanent reminder.

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She was shoved roughly from behind as another soldier forced her forward into a cell. She fell in a heap, the kick he had leant her assuredly leaving a bruise on her lower back.

"You may not have talked yet girl," he spat at her, as she was thrust into the dirty cage. It smelled of blood and sweat and time – time that she knew she'd be spending there incarcerated. "You're our prisoner now. And we have lots of ways to make you talk."

With that he snapped shut the cage door and locked it with a complex looking mechanism that had no key, only a combination that she had no way of knowing.

And she was left alone with her thoughts – her first night as a prisoner of war.

Present Day

Ella had to face Pan the next morning. He eyed her knowingly, his nimble fingers tapping lightly on his crossed arms. "Where were you last night?"

"I was tired," she murmured in response, avoiding eye contact. Truth was, she'd been talking with Hook into the late hours of the night before he'd had to row off back to his ship, and her to her cavern, forgetting all about Pan's expectations for the night.

"You were with Hook," Pan answered, and she dropped her eyes. She didn't want to admit how refreshing the pirate's company was in comparison to the boy before her. At least his words weren't going to really do anything to her. Pan's on the other hand…

"You can never leave me Ella," Pan warned her, stepping forward and sliding his finger along her jaw. A shiver ran through her at his touch. His breath caught upon her eyelashes as she looked up at him. He was gazing at her with a curious expression, one foreign to her, it almost seemed like pity. "Now go inform your Pirate."

Ella didn't know when Hook had become hers, and she was a little disconcerted by Pan's sudden order, until she realised just what she had been sent to inform Hook of – what Pan had finally, mercilessly, done to destroy all possible hope that she could have.

He'd ordered her to stay.

11 Years Ago

"…try from the artery rather than vein…"

"…don't want to kill her…"

"…it won't…bronze blood…healing…"

Mei awoke to the sound of a dripping bucket. She tried to zone in on where it was coming from, but her open eyes led her to see that the dripping sound was in fact coming from her arm. Captured by chains, she completely unable to move and unable to help the steady flow of bronze liquid that fell into a vial below her elbow, capturing the blood for further study.

Bronze blood was a myth. It was said that it was magical and had healing properties back before she could remember. She'd grown up with the legends of the elixir that saved thousands – and now it was being drained from Mei's body.

But the flow was slowing; her blood clotting around the site of the wound. She watched as it slowed to a stop, drying over her skin which was pale as paper because of blood loss. Her eyes widened as she saw the amount of blood sitting in the bucket below her. Mei knew that no normal human being could bleed that much – and with that thought, she began to struggle against her bonds once again.

"Lieutenant Fain," a voice said as a loud metallic bang brought her eyes to a door. A tall man stared her down from across the dungeon-like room. "I suppose you've earned my name."

"You're the one that put me in here," Mei couldn't help but spit. She was surprised they hadn't gagged her; she could remember screaming as loud as she could before they knocked her unconscious.

"All's fair in war," he commented, shrugging against the wall, eyeing her arm warily. He pulled the bucket out from underneath her before saying, "You're a difficult lady to keep under."

Mei had no response to that. Only to stare at the unsightly man next to her with loathing.

"You're lucky," he continued, eyeing her evenly. "You're being moved today."

"Where?"

He didn't answer; Mei didn't really expect him to.

"Your healing blood's been drained," he explained, his back facing her as he poured her bronze blood into more separate tubes. "There's nothing more you can do for us here."

"Where am I going?"

He considered for a moment before deciding that seeing her torment would be much more fun that Mei's persisting questions, "Bahnen Nain."

Mei's fear flashed across her face. It was the place every soldier was taught to fear. The hell of all war camps – the place where you went to die slowly and painfully. It was the place that gave the bravest soldier nightmares.

And Mei couldn't help but feel, at that moment, her endless hope and optimism, beginning to fade.

Present Day

"What's wrong love?" Hook must have seen the anger radiating through Ella as she jumped off the railing of the Jolly Roger. Her skin was dripping as she rung out the edges of her shirt, shaking the water from her hair and flicking it onto the wooden deck. Anger was all she could feel if she didn't want to let hopelessness and terror consume her. If she could last, just on those feelings alone, she would be fine. She would be Ella Hart. She would be fine.

But Hook asked the question with such sincerity that Ella couldn't hold it in. Her rage wasn't directed at him, it was aimed at herself, for actually letting herself belief that she could have gotten out of there alive and whole. Ella finally spoke dangerously even.

"I don't care about leaving anymore Hook." Tears were threatening to reveal themselves in her eyes. "I'll still help you get off the island. This isn't a one person job, remember. We need two to get down to Dead Man's Cave."

"But-" Hook eyes her warily, closing the distance between them. "This is all you wanted, to escape Pan's hold."

"And I could have," she replied, her gaze holding his as she revealed wearily, "if Pan hadn't ordered me not to leave."

"But surely his orders aren't all encompassing," Hook frowned, scratching absentmindedly at his wrist. "If we get out of here, you can protect your family no worries."

"It's not that, Hook, and you know it," Ella groaned, side stepping him as she began to pace across the deck in frustration. "You know what I am to him. I have to do what he says."

"No you don't darling," Hook reminded her, taking her by the arm to stop her from walking away. "I've been around; I know how slave bands work."

Ella ignored the feeling that spread through her when Hook said that. It made her question once more who she was dealing with. How much did she really know about Hook before he came to Neverland…

But it was like she could only feel one emotion at once. She couldn't dwell on that and instead, felt defeat swoop in on her once more. Her ability to pull herself out of Hook's grasp was lost within her, and she slumped, her muscles releasing as her eyes shut. Fighting back tears, Ella didn't realise that Hook was suddenly standing in front of her. His hand was moving northward up her arm and taking her jaw its roughened texture, her eyes shooting up to his in confusion. He knew her usual reaction to being touched was to jerk away – but she couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't care less. She may as well be dead.

"Ella," he murmured, his cerulean blue eyes looking at her carefully. But she looked away, not realising that his lips were drawing infinitely closer. She barely felt his breath against her cheek before he pressed down gently upon her lips with her own. He didn't use any force whatsoever as he coaxed a response from her. And she was willing. In that moment, Ella was willing to forget about Pan – forget about Shang – and be lost in the pirate's passion. But when air became an issue, so did the returning of conscious thought. Breaking away suddenly, Ella's face became a mask of shock.

"How long have you known my name?" she asked, looking up into his eyes as she fought to catch her breath, trying to catch up with what had just happened. "I never –"

"You aren't the only sneaky one around here love." His mouth curled in smile at the corner of his mouth. Momentarily, she felt something cool sliding down her hand like water. Distracted, she lowered her eyes to look at his hook. Ella was confused, and then realisation dawned on her as she saw that Hook was holding a golden band on his silver hook, and her arm was free.

The slave symbol fell to the ground with a loud metallic clang, any power it had, completely depleted.

"But how?" her eyes looked back up to Hook, still not fully grasping what had just happened. Ella's mind was hazy; did Hook really just do what she thought he did?

"In my experience," Hook began, taking a step back to give her room, "and believe me, love, I've had many years of it. The way that slave bands work is by reminding you that you're a slave. Physically, they can do little more than base magical pain at a master's discretion. In itself, it doesn't keep the slave bound to the master. What does keep you bound, is the state of mind that submission lends you."

"So…" Ella thought that over for a moment, "Basically what you're saying is, I could have broken out of this at any time."

"Not exactly," Hook hesitated. "You had to forget, just for a moment, that you were a slave."

Ella was silent for a moment before she erupted, grabbing the nearest thing she could find which turned out to be the Captain's Log, and began to hit Hook with it. As she attacked his shoulders and face, he held his arm up in defence.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you, woman?!" Hook was crying out as Ella continued to advance. "Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Happy?"

The word came out dangerously crazed. And yet, it seemed insane; her reaction, and the possibility. Her possibility. Dropping the book on the deck, her emotions changed like the rapids of a waterfall, one minute angry and the next laughing in hysterics. Hook watched the change completely astounded. Try as hard as he might, he would never understand women.

And the next moment, Ella was crying, hiccupping as tears flowed freely down her face. And Hook simply stood a metre away from her, wondering how exactly the girl could be so up and down. It was after a while watching her that Hook finally realised her tears were of happiness.

Her left arm kept tracing the bare area on her right, from her tattoo to her elbow, she seemed so amazed that the skin was even there. It had been eleven years since she'd felt the soft area. Finally, she stilled her tears and shaking, and returned her eyes to Hook.

"Thank you," she finally managed, surprising herself with the strength in her voice. "Honestly, I don't know how I'll ever repay you-"

"You don't," he continued, taking one last look at her and turning away. "You don't have to. Ever. Just go home; and sleep alone."

Ella took a few steps, backward, feeling the weight of slavery lifting from her with each step she took. If she could be freed from slavery…surely there was a way to free her from Pan's contract. That was the next step. The next step for her to leave Neverland. She was almost there…

And Hook didn't know it, but he had done the most important thing of all. Everything that Pan's words had taken away from her, Hook was beginning to return to her. And it couldn't be that she felt something for him –

No, she thought, pushing it aside oh so quickly. But he had put the seed of hope in her heart once more.

Hope that maybe, just maybe, she could be Ella Hart and not just Pan's plaything, once more.

10 Years Ago

Mei was sitting against a hard brick wall in the darkness. Raucous yells were sounding around her as she clutched her knees to her chest tightly. The shackles around her wrists were keeping her tightly to the wall by a thoroughfare walked by Bahnen Nain's prison guards.

On the other side of the wall she was bound to, Shayan's soldiers were dying.

As Mei shuffled in discomfort, trying to avoid the eyesight of the lonely leering prison guards, she found herself hissing in pain.

Don't move, she reminded herself, feeling the healing wounds on her back coming apart. She groaned silently, not letting tears escape her. Who knew how fun it was to break Shayan's only captured female soldier? Everyone milling about around her, who had each brought a scar to her skin, simply proved every tale that escaped the prison; this place was everything she'd been warned against.

A single prison guard came over to her and she flinched in order to prepare herself, clenching her muscles in fear of what was to come. But no pain came, instead, a cool metal began to snake its way around her arm. Mei's eyes looked from her arm to the guard's face. For once, they didn't want anything, in fact the guard's eyes were looking downcast, as though he was ashamed of what had just been placed around her arm.

Mei looked at the band with a resigned sigh; this was it. Sometime very soon, someone would own her. And she would no longer be anything, or anyone.

A metallic clash signalled the door opening. A cool breeze swept in as a hooded figure stalked into the room. From beneath their hood, the man looked directly at Mei and she felt a shifting of fear envelope her. That was quick.

"If you're selling," the hooded figure commented, his head jolting towards the girl attached to the wall. Mei couldn't help but flee into the wall, turning her head away into the bricks. "I want her."

"She doesn't make it easy, kid."

A hand came out from beneath the cloak and the guard began to shiver, clutching at his throat. He began to rise magically off the ground as the unknown figure's hand stayed thirty centimetres away from him, using magic to choke the man. The figure didn't seem angry, just bored.

"Is she untouched?" he asked evenly; dangerously.

The man's eyes were wide in fear. Physically, Mei's scars were plain upon her, but they had orders not to taint her. Soon, she was going to the slave markets. And she was worth more if she was still pure. So the choking guard nodded vigorously, fearing for his life.

Dropping him in a heap on the ground, the boy walked swiftly past all the guards before coming to face the girl. He removed his hood, revealing the face of a boy who couldn't be any older than she was, his body darkened by the low candlelight in the room.

"Peter Pan," the boy said, a fierceness dwelling within his dark brown eyes. He was eyeing her face appreciatively. "Are you ready to get out of here then, slave?"

And Mei had no choice but to let her hands be unlocked by magic, and follow the teenage boy to Neverland; wondering all the way why she hadn't just been left to die on the battlefield.