Chapter 20: The New World
The crossing was uneventful, barring a medium-sized storm and a brief bout of seasickness on the part of Alice. Jareth popped in for a visit during the worst of it, popped out again, and returned minutes later with a potion from Mirana which cured it completely.
"She couldn't bear the thought of your being ill on your honeymoon," he explained.
Jareth came to spend more and more time with them on board ship as they crossed the halfway point towards America. He told them in great detail about his experiences with Sarah in his Labyrinth, and Wendy was especially fascinated by his tale. She agreed to join Alice and the Hatter in attempting to arrange a reconciliation between Jareth and the girl who had defeated him.
Wendy and Alice became close friends during the voyage, and Wendy enjoyed the gentle, formal friendship of the Hatter as well. Captain Hook, on the other hand, she did not know what to make of. He was ruthless and authoritarian as a captain, but in their personal interactions he acted very much the gentleman. She didn't understand the dichotomy, and wondered which one was the "real" James Hook? She mentioned as much to the Hatter once, to hear his opinion.
"I am sure he must needs be harsh with his men, Wendy," he observed seriously. "Else they'd surely mutiny upon him. They've not the delicacy of temperament that the rest of us enjoy—except, perhaps, for Mr Smee, and possibly Starkey," he added thoughtfully, as Smee was well-liked by all, and Starkey had used to be a gentleman before taking up piracy. "But I believe neither the captain's harshness with them, nor the good humor that he shows to me, nor the gentle kindness that he shows you, are the real James Hook. Rather, he is all of them combined, and probably more."
The Hatter knew all about trying to balance different facets of one's personality.
By the time they arrived in the "colonies," as Hook still called them (as a loyal Englishman, it would take more than a hundred years for him to accept that they were now an independent country), all five of them had become close friends and were Christian-naming each other. Except for the Hatter, who preferred to be called "Hatter" by everyone, but preferred "Tarrant" when he and Alice were alone.
Jareth had to do some magical interference so Hook's ship wouldn't be discovered by this world's modern technology, and then he did some recognizance and discovered what college Sarah was currently attending.
They decided it would be best for the two young ladies to approach her first, together. Jareth warned them about the very different social culture they would be entering. "Interactions between men and women are very different in this time," he explained. "You may see and hear things that shock you, but that are not at all shocking to the people who live here. Do not be alarmed if no one looks twice here at things that would be scandalously indecent in your own time and place."
"Thank you, Jareth," Wendy said.
"We are duly prepared," Alice agreed. "Have you found the best place for us to meet your Sarah yet?"
Jareth nodded. "I'll transport you there. She's studying in the library at her university."