Chapter 12 – The Finest Captain
"'Tis not a natural storm, Captain!" Starkey shouts over the tempest.
"This? It's nothing to fear," Hook assures his superstitious crew, making his way carefully across the rain lashed deck. "Come on Lads. We aren't in Neverland anymore. Storms are no longer the purview of malevolent adolescents."
He says it lightly, although loud enough to be heard over the crashing waves, to calm his worried crew, but he has his private doubts. Pan isn't the one controlling the storm. He knows that and is grateful for it, but he has no idea what to expect from Maleficent. For all he knows it could be her storm. It is getting worse as they near the inlet that will lead them near her castle. That said, he would pit his skills as a captain against any storm if need be, including magically conjured storms. There are some he would rather find an inlet and wait out, and this would be one, but he suspects it would keep right on until he either sails past it or wrecks. But he is a better captain than she is magician, however powerful she is.
He continues shouting directions to the crew. It surprises him that the prince is still doing as he is told.
"Can you keep us upright?" the prince asks, shouting to be heard over the crashing storm. "We're sailing up a river. We could run aground at any moment."
"And I assume this comes from your vast sailing experience," Hook says flatly. "So far the soundings are alright. Leave the navigating to the people who know anything about the water. If I need someone to do something princely, I'll come to you first. Starkey!" Hook calls to his quartermaster. "We need to run lighter in the water. Lighten the load from the holds."
"Captain?"
"Do you want to run aground? Lighten the load!"
The rest of the crew is not as eager to throw loot overboard in pursuit of their captain's revenge so they use some of the rigging to swing it out away from the ship, onto the banks of the river for later retrieval. Some of it lands in the river anyway and sank immediately or was washed away with the current. The lighter ship moves faster up the river toward the Forbidden Fortress.
Flashback:
Maleficent appeared in King Hubert's court out of thin air. "Hello your Majesty."
"Who are you?" the man demanded, jumping to his feet. "Guards. Guards!"
"You invited me," Maleficent said with a smile. "You wished for help and here I am." She didn't have her wand, and didn't have her wings, but that didn't mean that she couldn't do a little mortal magic.
"Yes. I rather expected… someone else."
"I'm sure," Maleficent said smoothly. "But I answered the call, she didn't, and while I'm here you can just think of me as your fairy godmother." She walked across the room and started trailing a finger over the stones of the fireplace.
"It doesn't matter who you are. I need help. Ogres are killing my people."
"And your wish would be what? For them to go away?"
"Yes. I want that more than anything."
"I hear your wish. It is no small thing so there are preparations to be made but I will grant it. There is a poison that can be altered by the alchemists to destroy the Ogre threat once and for all."
"I'm not going to wipe out an entire race to win a war!" the king said in horror. That didn't worry her. He would be desperate enough soon.
"If that is your choice, so be it, but if you change your mind all you have to do is look up at the night sky, to the blackness between the stars, and make your wish."
Present Day:
Even bereft of its cargo, the Sea Serpent's hull finally scrapes the rocks at the bottom of the river. The Jolly Roger was lighter and more maneuverable and would have made it farther up the river, but Hook knows now is not the time to dwell on that.
"Drop anchor!" he orders, shouting to be heard over the battering wind and rain. Several of the crew grab mooring lines and make their way to the shore on either side of the river to tie the ship to trees and rocks, giving it added stability against the storm. The rest of them gather in the captain's cabin, where there are maps and shelter from the storm.
"Starkey, Carver, Mullins, Gilly, stay with the Sea Serpent. If anything goes amiss cut the mooring lines and maneuver her down river, back to the sea, and we will meet you here," Hook says, indicating a sheltered cove on the map with his namesake. "The rest of you come with me. I'm going to skin a Crocodile."
"A crocodile?" the prince asks.
"The Dark One. Rumplestiltskin. The sparkly, scaly monster you were keeping in your dungeon until a few weeks ago."
The prince smiles. "I'm somewhat familiar. I've heard him called Imp before, but never Crocodile."
"That is a lengthy tale," Hook says with a dismissive hand wave, "perhaps longer than you would believe, but you must concur it suits him."
"I can see it."
The storm is still howling outside the ship's cabin and everyone except Hook is stalling, hoping it will abate before they have to step back outside, although everyone is already soaked to the bone from sailing in this weather.
"Enough lollygagging. We'll have to go on foot. The river is far too swift and flooded now to make it upstream in the longboat."
It's a difficult slog through the marshy terrain. Hook wonders more than once if it is normally marshland or if it is all the fault of the storm. His crew grumbles most of the way.
Flashback:
Maleficent did not rely on the Ogres. They couldn't be trusted, although killing people and burning villages was their specialty. She needed to make sure it was the right people and the right villages. She lured the beasts to useful towns sometimes, or just attacked on her own, hidden beneath an illusory Ogre. She would slaughter the king's entire land if that was what it took.
She also didn't wait for him to grow desperate enough to call on her again before making preparations. He would be desperate enough soon.
She loved her stable where she kept the rarest of creatures. She kept her own bloodline of unicorns, a hydra with eighteen heads on short stumpy necks, a chimera in an acid proof stall, and the last Pegasus known to exist.
She led the Pegasus out of his stall and out into the fresh air and sunlight. She brushed him down and gave him a carrot when she was done, just like she usually did before a ride. He stood still for the flying saddle and the rest of the tack.
"Not today Cirrus," she said gently. "I'm sorry." She plunged her hand into the magnificent creature's chest, withdrawing its heart. "I'm sorry," she whispered again. "All magic has a price and this is the only way. I can't get enough feathers any other way."
Present Day:
"I transported us this far," Hook says, looking up at the Forbidden Fortress rising sharply ahead of them. "Looks like you're up Your Majesty."
The prince gives him a skeptical look. "I can't just knock."
"Which is why my boys and I are at your disposal," Hook says with a mocking bow. "Need I remind you that you are the only one among us who has successfully raided a castle held by a sorcerer. Did you not steal your current home from one?"
"In my defense, she took it from Snow first." The Prince narrows his eyes. "Why am I defending myself to you?"
"I have no idea. I am far more likely to throw stones at a prince rather than a thief."
"I'm not a… fine. The difference between then and now is that then I had a loyal army. Now we just have them." He waves a hand at the gathered crew slouching in the mud.
"A loyal army of what? Farmers, shepherds, and Dwarfs who happen to be fond of you and your pretty little wife?"
"Watch yourself pirate," the prince growls.
"What? I saw the wanted posters same as everyone else and I'm not blind. Not the point," he says a little louder over the prince's next objection. "The point is that you had a loyal band but they couldn't have been all that useful. My crew may not look like much Mate, but they are, to a man, seasoned fighters. They've been practicing longer than you would think."
"But they're pirates. They don't know the meaning of loyalty."
"Don't mistake me," Hook says, a hard edge creeping into his tone. "They aren't loyal to kings or thrones or strangers getting people killed in their own petty wars. But these men have followed me to hell and back so question their loyalty to me again at your peril. Are we clear?"
"Fair enough," the prince says, raising his hands in mock surrender. "But, loyal or not, that is a very small band against, worst case, two powerful sorcerers. Blue helped when we took the Evil Queen's Castle."
"You just worry about Maleficent. If Rumplestiltskin is in there, he's mine."
Flashback:
"I hear your wish," Maleficent said, appearing on the balcony beside the king.
"My people are dying," King Hubert said, not quite meeting her eyes. "We can't keep up this fight forever. You said there's a way?"
"Yes. A poison. I can help you retrieve it."
"What's the cost? All magic comes at a cost," the king said.
"I'm a fairy, not a sorcerer My Dear. I don't need paying. This is a wish granted, not some dark curse cast." There would be a cost of course, but not one she was charging to the king. After all, he wasn't going to get the reward of this quest.
"This box contains a sail made from the feathers of the last surviving Pegasus and a sextant that will guide a ship to impossibly distant shores. The newest ship in your fleet is made from enchanted wood, as I am sure you are aware."
"How will I explain sending my men to retrieve such a ruthless weapon?"
"They're your soldiers. They'll do as they are told, don't you think? Or don't tell them it's a poison. I don't care. All I care about is your kingdom's safety from the Ogres." Maleficent smiled. "If you care about the same thing then you have to do this." She turned to go but look back to give one final message. "And if you truly wish success in this matter, place the ship in the command of your finest captain, Liam Jones."
Present Day:
Eventually Prince Charming decides to knock, creating a distraction for the rest of the crew to go around the back way. Their orders are clear, to find the Dark One's dagger if it is anywhere in the castle and bring it to Hook while he and the prince keep whoever is inside distracted. Hook wasn't sure that knocking politely on the front door was the best way to go, but in the absence of any better plans he decided to go with the prince.
There is no answer but the massive front doors swing open wide. Both men draw their swords and Hook lets the prince go in first, letting the other man be the first to take any magical attacks or run into any traps.
"Hello," the prince calls to empty air as they make their way slowly into the darkened hall.
"Oh, that's a brilliant plan Mate. Tell them exactly where we are why don't you," Hook hisses into the prince's ear.
"I'm not your mate. And I think they already know where we are."
"I don't intend to help them along," Hook insists
They make their way down the rest of the hall in silence. If Hook is being perfectly honest, which he rarely is, their footsteps sounding eerily in the silence is no more reassuring than the prince's voice had been. Toward the end of the hall another door opens.
"I don't like it," Hook says quietly. "We shouldn't let our host decide where we go."
"I agree," the prince says, moving to one of the other doors.
"After you Your Highness," Hook offers, half bowing and gesturing at the door.
The prince rolls his eyes but moves to open the door. It doesn't budge. He puts his shoulder into it and eventually Hook helps, but nothing happens. They try that with a few other doors before deciding, by process of elimination, to go very carefully through the only open door.
The massive room on the other side of the door is mostly empty, except for one woman, sitting alone by the fire.
"What are you doing in my home?" she asks calmly.
"I have a few questions for you," Hook says, stepping forward. The light from the fire gleams off his sword and hook, both held up threateningly.
"We both do actually," the prince says more calmly.
"Prince Charming and Captain Hook, a rather surprising team," she says, still sitting calmly by the fire, clearly unintimidated.
"Where's Rumplestiltskin," Hook demands.
"And surprisingly we both agree on the first question."
Hook brings up the sword tip until it rests against her throat. "I need an answer, Witch."
"And why should I tell you anything?" she asks, looking surprisingly unconcerned by the sword. "Either of you?"
"Because he's a danger to the entire realm and everyone in it, including you," the prince said.
"Because if you don't I'll use this sword. Not enough to kill you. I expect you can heal fairly well with your magic but I doubt it would be pleasant."
"We're not going to torture her," the prince says.
"She's in league with him," Hook replies bitterly. "She deserves whatever she gets."
"Technically the prince is right." She vanishes and reappears behind Hook. "You aren't going to torture me, but not out of some sort of moral high ground." Hook spins, striking at her with his sword but she vanishes and reappears behind him again. "Believe me; Prince Charming has made enough dark deals in his time to have lost all right to that. Did he mention to you all the times he has gone to the Dark One for help when things are going even slightly wrong? It's almost habit by now."
"My quarrel is with Rumplestiltskin, not Prince James and not you, unless you make it with you," Hook says reasonably.
"I'm not concerned with your petty quarrel Killian Jones. I know what you are doing here and I might even decide to help you along. My interest is in the prince. Tell me David," – The man tenses. Hadn't he introduced himself as Prince James? Hook was sure he had. So the squeaky clean prince has secrets. – "Do you still have the Blue Fairy in your household? Have you ever asked her the price of her magic?"
"No. It's good magic. Fairy magic doesn't have the same cost as black magic," the prince says. "I've never heard anyone accuse her otherwise." Hook tries to edge around to get a good strike against Maleficent if he decides that is necessary.
"Until today," Maleficent says evenly. "She just isn't the one paying it. Do you think she would come if you called?" She vanishes again and appears behind the prince. "Make a wish Prince Charming. If she comes when called, I'll let you go. If she confesses her sins, which she should be used to since the curse, I might even let her go."
Hook frowns in annoyance. Whatever is going on between the prince and Maleficent is getting in the way of his vengeance. He spins the sword in his hand, trying to decide how to get answers.
"She's far more powerful than you will ever be," the prince snaps. "I wish," he says in a calmer voice. "I wish. I wish."
"You might want to wish a little harder Mate. I don't see any fairies swooping to the rescue."
"Come to think of it, shouldn't you be swooping to the rescue?" the prince points out.
"Go ahead and die trying," Maleficent says. "Or leave him here and go find your Crocodile. I'm sure your bilge rats have found various artifacts that might help while they have been ransacking my castle. Yes, I knew about them." One of the doors into the massive room opens and Carver and Smee are tossed into the room. Hook frowns. He did agree to work with the prince, but only while it was mutually beneficial.
"Hook, don't listen to her. We can still get out of this if we work together."
"Sorry Mate. I have a Crocodile to hunt. He's obviously not here. I would like to stay and help you, but it's not worth dying for." He turns away from the prince. "Come on boys. Let's get back to the ship."
"Don't do this Hook. Hook!"
Author's Note:
I'm back. Sorry about the lengthy hiatus; my muse apparently went on strike. But I'm back now and ready to hit the ground running. I've got some work done on several more upcoming chapters, so you shouldn't have to wait too long. Oh, and flashbacks, I have lots of flashbacks being planned and written as I reveal more about Maleficent's backstory and why Blue is such a shady character.
I'm sure you can guess but for the purposes of this fic 4A never happened. The curse's unmaking happened a few months after Snow Drifts/There's No Place Like Home and as of that point: Most importantly Belle still had the fake dagger and believed she had the real one, Rumplestiltskin was still in Storybrooke. There were probably adventures of some sort going on because several months is too long to assume that there was no one threatening Storybrooke but if that becomes important it will come up in flashbacks.
