Of Hooks and Pans

Chapter 11: Sailing Along

As I wake, I hear faint melodies of a crew back and forth with orders. My body stretches out in a soft bed that is still not mine. At my feet is a disheveled man with hair eating his face as his body lies half on the mattress, half sitting in a chair. I chuckle and shuffle my feet, hoping he will wake up gently.

"Damn you Crocodile!" Hook jumps from his spot and stabs the mattress with his hook.

I curl up to protect myself.

"Damn it all," he says, noticing the hole in his bed. "This is why I take my weapons off before sleeping. Oh, Petunia, you are awake."

"Yes," I shoot back, "and glad I am not the only one with nightmares."

"I must go see where we are," Hook says. He stands to straighten out his attire and says, "It will be a long day for you. For both of us, really. Hope you are ready."

"As ready as I can be," I reply.

He leaves the cabin and I get out of bed. I notice supper had been cleared off of the table and replaced with apples and pears. I take a pear and bite into the grainy sweetness. I hear shouting outside. Trying not to meddle, I simply creak open the door to eavesdrop. To my surprise, Hook is yelling at Bax for sailing in the wrong direction. He declares we need to turn westward towards The Lost Boys' Hideout. Apparently, we are not heading to the Mermaid Lagoon. Seeing Hook storm towards the cabin, I back up and bite my pear to seem innocent.

"I thought I told him where we were going last night." Captain drags his hook along the door as it closes. "Did I not tell them?"

"Um, you told me we were going to Mermaid Lagoon, but I might have been drunk and not listening to you." I reply.

Hook searches me for more of an answer. He lowers his hand and says, "I never told him, did I? That we are going to see your Mother. I fell asleep talking to you."

I nod. I don't want to say anything else. Hook paces for a moment, feeling silly for yelling at Bax. I'm sure he is trying to conjure an apology of some sort.

"Well, shall we press on then?" He asks. "I am sure you would like to sail the ship."

"I would. What about Bax?"

"What about him?"

I shake my head. "Are you going to say sorry for scolding him? I mean, you never told him we changed destinations. It wasn't his fault."

"He will be fine." Hook opens the cabin door.

Walking up to the helm, I see Bax and immediately feel bad for him. He stands with most of his weight on his left foot. His ragged red vest accentuates arm muscles that match anyone on steroids. Under the sun, his skin is more light than dark. There is one tattoo of some sort of bull on his hand.

"Bax," I say. "Captain wants me to work on my steering. Gotta get that license, ya know?"

"Here, My Lady, it is all yours." He steps back and I take the helm.

Even with Hook next to me, I say to Bax, "By the way, we never told you our change of plans for where to go today. So on behalf of Captain Hook, I'm sorry."

Bax remains quiet. Hook begins shining his weapon-hand.

"Yes, Bax, my apologies. This girl caused me much grief last night, and I must have forgotten to tell you. We are going to see her Mother."

"This girl?" I repeat. "This girl spilled her heart out last night because someone was interested. I don't want to hear it. Bax did nothing wrong. Now, with the wind in our sails, we are maintaining great speed. How long until we are there?"

Both men have their eyes widened and mouth agape. Did I say something wrong?

"We shall arrive by mid-day," Bax replies. "The Lost Boys' Hideout is not too far. We sail in a wide half-moon so we are not seen by anyone."

"Yes, where we are going is on the other side of Neverland's main body. We came from Pirate's Patch, a peninsula off of Neverland. I must show you a map later on," Hook explains to me. He adds, "Where the Marketplace is, that land was fought for between us and the Indians. Those savages killed a majority of my best men."

"Oh," I say. "Those savages who wanted to keep me safe and celebrate me. They are the bad guys, right?"

The tip of Hook's hook digs into the railing. "They celebrate you because you can save Neverland from disappearing, nothing else. If it wasn't for us pirates, they wouldn't be safe either."

I try not to peel my eyes off of the water. I ask, "What do you mean? Surely they can defend themselves."

"A while back, before Pan brought Wendy here, there were disputes between the Indians and another tribe. This tribe lives in the deadliest part of Neverland, and we will not speak of them for too long. Their tribe thrives off of voodoo and eating human flesh. Cannibals, Miss Pan. They thought it wise to try and expand across Neverland. We sided with the Indians only to keep our trade with them alive. The Cannibals learned that gunpowder is more efficient than spears and rituals. Unfortunately, not all of them died. And humans, even flesh-eating ones, reproduce." Hook's words seep into my eardrums.

Bax interrupts us to say, "The sun is getting higher and hotter. Prepare yourself, Miss, we shall drop anchor shortly to row in."

"Wait a minute!" I shout. My hands are trembling, "Cannibal Cove? It exists? I thought that was just a fear factor added to stories I have heard. And, about rowing in, do we have a plan?"

Captain Hook takes the helm from me. He can tell I have anxieties crawling up my spine.

He says, "Of course we have a plan. You, Kale, Smee, and I are rowing in. Carmen offered you black magic lessons. It is your one and only shot to do what you need to do. And we shall talk of Cannibal Cove some other time. As I said, we mustn't talk too long on the topic. Whenever we do, bad things occur."

I am shaking everywhere. I ask, "You are expecting me to kill her today, aren't you. I merely wanted to see her, study her, or absorb the fact that she is my Mother."

"Dear, you do not have to murder her on this day. You would not be able to. All of us have tried, trust me. Ask her questions. See if she will give out any clue as to end her."

"Land Ho!" Bax yells into the air.

Hook spins around and looks over the ship. He yells, "Drop anchor!"

"Hook?" He doesn't hear me.

"Smee," Hook shouts at the crow's nest. "How are we doing?"

"All clear Cap'n," He shouts back. "Nothing in sight except Crocodile Creek seems to have a fallen tree at its entrance."

"Damn it all," Hook says. He quickly walks to the deck and calls for Kale.

Suddenly, the Jolly Roger is jolted backwards a few feet. I assume the anchor has fallen to the ocean floor by now. There is a moment of serenity as Smee climbs down to ready the rowboat. Hook disappears into his cabin and I hurry down to follow. Inside, Captain Hook is tightening his hook and sharpening it. He whips his closet door open and shuffles through a mess for something.

"Here," He comes straight for me. Without saying a word, he is hiding a dagger in the back of my gold sash. Back to facing me, he sees I am caught off guard. He says, "Dear, I wasn't going to harm you."

"No, that's not what I-"

"We must go," Hook grabs me and yanks me out of the cabin.

Just as adventures begin, I am too overwhelmed by what has fallen on me to keep track of what we're doing presently. I am sitting in the rowboat, squished against Captain Hook. His thigh is against mine. Above, the sun is beating my face with heat as we are lowered into the water. Smee and Kale row, as usual. Under his spiraling tattoos, Kale actually appears frightened. Smee, on the other hand, is just peachy. He is focused as much in his rowing as he is in breathing. Next to Hook are everyone's weapons. While mine is hard on my lower back, I know it is secure.

"Petunia," Hook snaps me back to reality. "Promise me one thing."

It is hard not to stare into his eyes right now. I glance up and feel a wave of nerves crash in my abdomen.

Taking my speechlessness as a cue, Hook replies, "Do not tell her we are with you."

"I'm going in alone?" My voice squeaks. "No way, no way. She will kill me. She will set some monster after me. No."

Captain rests his hand on my knee. "She will not kill you. Do you know who lives in the Lost Boys' Hideout?"

I try sounding excited, "Han Solo?"

"Tinkerbell." Hook says. "She has been watching over this part of the land since Peter left. She knows who you are. She will protect you if we cannot reach you in time. Nothing is going to harm you, my sweet."

It takes me a minute to feel that my body is melting. Hook has lifted my chin with cold iron. I gulp and feel his gaze deepen. He simply smiles and winks.

"Cap'n," Smee whispers. "Shall I let you off here, or would you like me to try rowing past that mess of a fallen tree?"

"Here is fine. Petunia, are you alright?"

I nod. With one last calming inhale, I get off of the boat with Hook. We step on a set of rocks leading to land. Grass beneath our feet bends and sticks to soil. Ahead, we can see thick fog resting between each tree of the vast forest. Smee tosses up Hook's sword and scabbard. I immediately help him attach the scabbard around one shoulder and diagonal to his hip.

"You are very red, my dear." Hook states. "Do you feel sick?"

Great. Now Captain Hook has said aloud my worst feature: blushing over everything. I shake my head and hide a smile. He shrugs and takes my hand in his. Thank you genetics for giving me shaky-hands. I bet they are sweating, too. With interlaced fingers, weapons ready, and bravery covering our fear, we enter the Lost Boys' Woods.