The Black Castle
After running for what seemed to be an eternity, Clara, Hook, and Bruce all stopped. They were somewhere near the ocean, the captain wasn't sure where since his vision was blurred, and all that could be heard was the sound of their loud gasps intermingling with the waves.
While trying to catch his breath, the captain glanced Clara, who had her hands resting on her knees. Although she was terribly disheveled, there was no denying that she was an experiencing an adrenaline rush and relishing in the thrill of the escape. Her eyes burned with such alertness and passion, and the slightest of smiles ghosted the corners of her lips. Her hair tumbled about, tangled and wild and free. There was almost a glow coming from her, as if the sun itself was trapped inside of her.
Hook knew that she was already addicted to danger, just as he had been long ago.
"What happened?" Everything in his mind was so muddled and unclear. Hadn't he been tied to a stake just a little while ago?... And then they had escaped.
"We saved you! That's what!" Clara beamed at him, while standing up straight. "We fooled them so good! Aren't you proud of us?"
"How did you manage to get the Lost Boys into this?"
She beamed.
"Let's just say I used my womanly charms and manipulations skills. Which of course I picked up from watching a certain pirate."
She puffed up her chest and placed both her hands on her hips as a ridiculous grin lit up her entire being. And seeing that familiar smile again made the captain realize just how much he had missed seeing it, and it sent surge of warm feelings he had not felt for a long time.
And if Bruce had not spoken up again he would've grabbed a hold of her and kissed her right then and there.
"Did we lose them?" His voice was raspy and close to a breathy whisper. Clara glimpsed back over her shoulder, and the big man mimicked her actions.
"I think so."
The sounds of battling Indians and Lost Boys could no longer be heard from the now far away forest.
"Let's get to the boat now." As Clara and Bruce began talking, Hook frowned, and scanned his new environment.
They stood at the mouth of a looming, medieval stone castle. The ancient structure more like a water cave rather than a piece of architecture, for the inky waves had worn it down little by little with each passing century and at times had completely engulfed it.
He froze.
"Where are we?" He asked despite knowing. His vocal chords still ached.
"The Black Castle."
Air left his lungs and a heavy burden of dread settled in his chest. His fuzzy mind was gripped with a sudden surge of clarity, and his senses sharpened.
Clara then turned to Bruce. "Where did you put it?"
This was where the beast had swam to after swallowing him whole. He had spent three days here, freezing and starving and on the brink of insanity. Nightmares he thought he had forgotten came flooding back into his mind like the tides that continued rushing in.
"Smee said he left it on the other side. But you can only go there by going in."
He could feel it. He could feel the burning sensation in his throat as he suffocated. He could feel the walls of the beast's belly closing in on him. He could feel the slimy skin constricting more and more around him, and death creeping closer and closer.
"Well alright. You can lead the way then."
He could hear it. The ticking and tocking and growling of that wretched beast.
"Captain, we should go inside now."
He remembered how pitch black it was inside the creature, and so cold and wet. But it was still dark and freezing outside of the beast, inside of the crumbling cave they stood in the mouth of.
"No." What on earth was wrong with him?! He hadn't even batted an eyelash when marching to and being tied to a stake.
"No?" Clara frowned.
"I am not going in there." His heart thrashed, and his eyes darted around searching for the monster to jump out at any moment. He clenched and unclenched his fist, and Clara noticed.
"No. You can go, I'll stay here."
The strain in his voice made Clara step forward.
"Why?"
He didn't seem to hear her words. Clara did not fail to see how ghastly pale he had grown, nor how he twitched ever so violently. Every part of him was so tense, ready to pounce at the first thing that came for him.
"Captain?" She reached out and barely touched his shoulder. Hook flinched before springing away as if he had been burned. And there was such a wild expression of sheer terror, he was like a cornered animal staring right into the eyes of death.
"Why are you standing around like an idiot? Go already!"
She flinched, and quickly lowered her hand while recoiling. She wasn't terribly offended, mostly just confused.
"I'm sorry...No need to get angry now. I'll...I'll go in then." She turned to Bruce, but continued studying the captain from her peripheral vision. "Could you stay with him?"
Bruce nodded, and with that Clara slipped away. And as soon as the girl was gone, the big man whipped his head towards the captain and shot him a nasty glare.
"You ought to treat her kinder."
Hook frowned, not liking the evil eye he was receiving nor the tone being directed at him.
"I do not recall asking for your opinion."
The big man eyed his superior for a quiet moment, before speaking.
"That was an order, sir."
Before Hook could respond, Bruce's eyes suddenly widened as an arrow came flying straight towards them. Acting quickly, he shoved his superior away and ducked under as well. Both crashed onto the rocky ground below uninjured.
"Bruce! What in the devil..." Hook's words faded away, and every part of him tensed when he saw what the huge man was looking at.
In the distance, Tiger Lily stood.
"Hook!" Her call drowned out the sound of the water, and it was joined by a faint rumble of thunder from the distance. She began marching towards them, a sinister smile stretching across her features.
Her once elegant dress was ripped and tattered, and splattered with paint. Her hair was a mess and various foods and mysterious liquids dripped from her form. Her eyes no longer shined bright with victorious pride, no. It was ablaze with insatiable rage, and her need for violence was made all-to-clear when she lashed at them both with a hatchet.
Which was dripping with someone else's blood.
They barely dodged in time. Hook reached for his belt out of habit, only to find no weapon to grab.
"You left so soon! Before the real fun even began!" She laughed, and it sounded very wrong in their ears. "After you ran away, there was a game to see who could slay the most little boys! Of course I was the winner. I always win!" She threw down her empty quiver and her useless bow aside.
She swung her tomahawk again without warning, aiming straight for Hook's face. Bruce barely deflected the flying ax with his sword, and the captain had been able to jump back in time.
And almost fell into the water.
Bruce tossed the captain a spare sword. The Tigress threw herself forward with a shrill cry. As she tried reaching the pirate captain, the mountain man continued playing the role of a protective shield.
Meanwhile, Clara found that the interior of the rotting building was even more menacing than the exterior.
Clara was looking into a dining room of sorts, only now it had been commandeered by the sea. Staircases that abruptly stopped or continued on indefinitely spiraled all around, and they were all made of ancient stones that crumbled away more and more with each passing century. Shuddering, she eyed the weathered boulder which still had skeletons chained in to them, with their hands raised high above their skulls. There was water all around the center, and it casted an eerie glow that drowned everything in green and blue.
Ghostly chandeliers swayed up above. Abstract shadows danced in unexplored corners. Haunting whispers echoed and bounced around with the sound of murmuring waves.
Despite the rapid palpitations of her heart and the nervous sweat that layered her skin, Clara mustered up her courage and continued treading on in darkness. She had to lean against the slimy wall to inch her way under the drop gate and towards the nearest staircase. She grimaced upon feeling the sticky substance smear across her back, but she was too busy trying to keep her feet within the edge of which the "ground" ended. But eventually, the small piece of footing stretched to a full bridge, and Clara was able to walk straight.
But she did her best not to look down. And she did her best to avoid any eye contact with some of the human remains that still had a little flesh left on them.
There were several open arches and holes within the walls, and she spotted a balcony up ahead. And on the balcony, there was something covered by a large cloth.
Rushing out, she found herself in front of miles and miles of the angry ocean, and next to the edge was the large object. Clara walked over lifted the large sheet which had once been a sail, and doing so revealed the promised rowboat which had been hiding underneath.
An echo of a gunshot came from inside. Jerking, she whipped around. Straining her ears, Clara was able to pick up the sounds of angry shouts and clashing metal. Was there a struggle?
Another ghost of a firearm going off. Had they been discovered?!
A spike of panic. Before she could return inside to investigate, she spotted the head of Tiger Lily's fiancé pop out. Barely suppressing a gasp, Clara managed to duck behind a rock and crouch into the shadows. She could hear his soft feet as they padded against the jagged ground.
"Who's there?"
It took every ounce of self-control not to squeak. Ashkii's voice was slightly accented, but it was still rather high-pitched as a boy's should be.
She peeked out, but it was at the wrong moment. The same time she had popped out from the boulder, the boy's gaze fell onto it. And his eyes immediately lit up, and he thrust his sword out in front of him with both hands.
"You! Show yourself!" His gruff voice was strained with fear. He was badly bruised and cut in various places.
Clara stood and stepped out.
"Stay still! If you move any closer I'll kill you."He was glaring at her, but his hands trembled. Clara raised both of hers up in surrender, and did her best to relax every part of her.
"Boy. Don't be scared of me… I will not hurt you. All I ask is for you to do the same."
"Liar." He narrowed his eyes further and bared his teeth.
"I do not have a reason to harm you. You have not wronged me. Have I wronged you in some way?" Clara remained still, keeping her voice soothing and her expression calm.
The young man was taken aback by the gentle tone that was being directed towards him. It was quite unlike the stern orders he received, nor the ominous threats.
"Ashkii, that's your name, right?"
He blinked, before nodding. He didn't notice how his grip on his weapon loosened.
"I'm Clara." She held out her hand, and the boy eyed it as if it was poison.
"What do you want from me?" He aimed his blade at her heart. And he couldn't shake off the sense that the young woman's kindred eyes reminded him of another. The other girl he had not forgotten.
The one Tiger Lily had taken.
And Clara's sharp eyes did not miss how agitated the teen was, nor his inner conflict between trusting her or attacking her.
"I want the same thing you want. To escape in one piece. To get away from the cheiftess." Clara knew her words struck a chord with the boy, for he made eye-contact with her and didn't break it. "She scares me."
"Yes... She scares me too." Ashkii sounded so much like a six-year-old child.
"Does she hurt you ever?"
He averted his gaze.
"Only when I disobey or displease her. She..." He bit his lip.
"Go on, it's okay to tell me." Clara's reassuring tone sent a wave of relief across the young man.
"She's very displeased with me right now... I … I had refused to partake in killing any Lost Boys earlier. I... I did not think it was honorable to do so."
A shudder crawled down Clara's spine.
"Are they? Are they..."
He cast his gaze to his feet.
"They're all dead."
Clara held back her gasp and blinked back the sting in her eyes, and forced herself to keep her composure.
"Look at me."
He obeyed.
"I'll make you a deal. I will lie to Tiger Lily and say that you died. All you have to do, is take that boat and row away to wherever you want. If you want to, you can even join the pirates." She pointed at the modest sea vessel, and the boy followed her gaze.
His eyes sparkled the slightest, and he met her gaze again.
"But... Betray my tribe?" He bowed his head again. He and Clara both failed to notice his sword now was hanging loosely by his side, and that his grip on it was slipping more and more by the minute.
"Do you have family?"
"No."
"Friends?"
"Not anymore."
Clara's heart ached, and she couldn't control the compelling urge to touch his shoulder. Upon feeling the warm contact, Ashkii spoke again with calmness lining his features.
"Will the pirates kill me?"
"They are not evil monsters. They are criminals yes, but they are just men. They may not trust you at first... Seek out Mr. Smee. He is a stout, round old grandpa with glasses. Tell him I sent you and that you wish to become one of them."
"Why?"
She glanced at him.
"Why what?"
"Why are you helping me? Why... Why are you not trying to kill me?"
She offered a small smile.
"Well then why aren't you trying to kill me?" A short chuckle. "You are still a growing boy, Ashkii. I don't think it's fair for you to grow up so soon."
And Clara kept the thought that she had now grown up in her time on the island without realizing to herself.
"What will you tell Tiger Lily?" The edge returned in his demeanor. And Clara placed her hand on his arm again, and the warmth from her touch eased the boy's senses.
"Don't worry. I promise she won't come looking for you."
"Thank you."
Another gunshot came from inside.
"You have to go."
As the two began to move, meanwhile on the inside of the cave the Tigress and Bruce continued their dangerous dance of flying blades, with Hook trying his best to assist.
"Fight me like a man Hook! Don't be a coward." Tiger Lily slid under Bruce's legs so that she was before the captain."Don't you remember this place? It holds so much fond memories for us doesn't it?!" She growled while swinging her hatchet.
Hook deflected her attack, and barely avoided having his other hand cut off. He was profusely sweating, which was terrible for someone so dehydrated. His body swayed from side to side as if he was drunk, and with each passing second his mind blurred away more and more.
The Tigress missed slitting his jugular vein. She sprang forward, and he successfully avoided being impaled into the stone wall.
Barely.
He jumped upon seeing the slightest of movements. But even that sense of panic was welcomed, for it was proof that he was still alive and not yet slaughtered.
Bruce approached from behind, both arms raised as he tried slicing the crazed woman into two. But she whirled away and left a cut on his exposed side in the process. A grunt from the man, before he erratically swung around his sword.
Tiger Lily dodged time and time again, and when the big man's movements began to lag she sprang forward. As she roared, she kicked the pirate's only weapon out from his hand, and once he was defenseless she hacked into his torso over and over again, leaving multiple cuts both deep and small. Howling, Bruce was brought down on all fours. And the Tigress seized her window of opportunity by driving her foot into the man's temple.
A loud crack before he crumbled to the floor in a heap much too easily as his eyes slowly shut.
And almost immediately the warrior whipped around to face the pirate as she pointed her blade. Her face had distorted to become rage itself, and her mouth was curled into a permanent snarl of a hungry predator. A sinister look lined her blazing eyes, and every part of her trembled with pure hatred.
Looking into her ominous gaze, he couldn't help but feel he was looking at a past reflection of himself.
"Finally. It's now just you and me."
"And you claim I am the one with a lust for blood." Panting, the captain raised his sword.
Lunging, she reeled her weapon her weapon once more, her arm moving in powerful arches. Each swing showed off the sinewy muscles of the Tigress, and each swing whipped dangerously close to skin.
Tiger Lily almost lost footing from the uneven ground, and in her glimmer of vulnerability Hook slashed her thigh. She cried out and hurled her axe, allowing it to fly out from her fingers. Hook's arm moved on its own and blocked it with his sword. He hissed as a small bite was left on his cheek where the tip deadly had briefly touched it.
Before he could kick her fallen weapon over to the water, she lurched forward and plunged a small dagger deep into his side before ripping it out.
A burst of red blinded the captain's vision as he howled and blindly lashed his arm about. Tiger Lily flew back and retrieved her weapon, and Hook stumbled back to lean on the wall while clutching his side.
Everything throbbed. The heavy burden of weariness consumed his entire being like a raging fire, and because everything burned with pain he couldn't tell where he wasn't injured. His fresh injury continued releasing a flood of blood, and each precious drop took with it more and more pieces of his remaining energy.
His limbs shook. Everything shook. The world merged into a nothing but shadowy blurs, and all he could hear was the pulsing of his heart and his ragged breaths. He could only watch as his enemy stalked over to him.
Tiger Lily straightened her posture, and she smirked before grabbing a fistful of hair. She repeatedly drove his head into the stone wall again and again. And each time his skull hit rock, an electric shock of pain jolted across his senses. When she released him he slumped to his knees, and then to all threes.
Tiger Lily's eyes grew lightness as she pulled out a dagger raised her arms up.
But right before she could swing it down and crack open the captain's skull, Bruce suddenly lurched up from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. He let out a cry as he desperately hurled himself backwards and took the Tigress with him.
They tumbled to the ground into a writhing heap of grunts and huffs with the bigger man on top. Tiger Lily swung her knee up, hitting her assailant square on the nose. A loud crack resonated across the air, before crimson began sputtering out. He crashed flat onto his back, and the Tigress toppled on top and pinned him under her weight.
Clara entered back inside at the exact moment the chieftess pulled out her small dagger once again. Eyes widening, the girl quickly ducked behind a hiding spot, and horror caused every part of her to completely freeze. Gripping the knife with both hands, Tiger Lily raised her arm high above her head while, before swinging down with all her might and stabbing the man underneath right in the heart.
A breathy gasp escaped from the man. The blade was buried deep inside his now slowing heart, and with a short laugh the Tigress pulled it out once more. Bruce glanced up at his killer, his eyes shutting and rolling back.
The last thing he ever saw was the glint of metal blade dripping with his own blood, before all of him went limp.
Clara screamed the same time a crash of lightning erupted and momentarily blinded the world. Outside, the sooty gray sky and clouds darkened to an ashy black, and everything grew colder and more chaotic. The wind began to moan and weep like a banshee, as if it sensed the loss of a life and was now in mourning.
In the deepest trenches of the ocean, the sirens were awakened once again. Their sharp teeth flashed as their gaping mouths stretched into a grin, and their demonic eyes glanced in the direction of where the immense despair came from. Their entire beings craved to consume the flesh the ominous emotion originated from, and their slippery forms darted across the waters towards the Black Castle.
But all the Tigress did was retrieve her fallen tomahawk from earlier before standing tall. Pride swelled from her being over her victory as she faced the captain once more. If she noticed the sudden wild thrashing that possessed the ocean, she chose to ignore it as she began striding over to where the Hook remained sprawled on the ground.
She deliberately took slow, measured steps and allowed her tainted axe to drag on the ground, creating a prolonged shrill wail of metal scratching against rock.
The captain glanced at Bruce's fallen body. And that dull, solemn weight of remorse settled inside his chest. Every limb felt like leaden and dead, and he could feel more and more energy leaving him as more and more of his blood drained from his body and pooled at the cave floor like the corpse's. His eyelids were beginning to droop, and the same chilling sense of calmness from the morning execution filled his being once more.
She stopped in front of him.
Silence. The calmness in which she had suddenly fallen into chilled Hook to the very bones. It was a striking contrast compared to the rampart ferocity at which she had pursued him just minutes before. She continued to just stare at him for few moments, before sending a sudden kick to his injured side. A grunt from him, but no effort to fight back.
"To die would be a great adventure."
Hook kept still despite the searing pain of his stab wound.
"I've heard it's a rather dull one." With that, he watched as she raised the scythe, and he braced himself for the final blow.
"Enough!"
A hysterical shriek of a banshee rang across Neverland, and a crash of white blinded everything momentarily. The chieftess jumped and nearly fell over, her eyes widening as everything exploded into a maniacal storm of brutality.
The captain winced but dismissed the sensation of ripping flesh as he sat up.
"Enough killing! Enough for one day!"
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, but that wasn't the disturbing part at all. The disturbing part, was that it was the exact voice of Tiger Lily.
"Too many deaths! Too much! What have you done mortal woman?!"
Another eruption of lighting.
"Who are you, stranger?" The dark woman's eyes were wide like a rabbit's and she quaked like a fragile leaf, even though just seconds before she had been a vicious predator.
"I, am Tiger Lily. The mighty and noble Chief of the Piccianies Indians!" There was mockery in the tone. The echoes brought Hook to a flashback of the exact time a similar incident had occurred to him. He blinked, and looked up at the endless staircases spiraling upwards.
But no one was there.
"If you are Tiger Lily, then who am I?" She drew pointed her weapon at the air, frantically still searching for the speaker.
"You, are a vicious murderer!"
"No! I am a mighty warrior following tradition!"
"Tradition or not, you are still a killer!"
"And you are an evil spirit!" A thin layer of cold sweat broke out across her skin.
"That's right. I am the spirit of death, and you have displeased me greatly."
The warrior's breathing hitched.
"Atlantow..."
"Yes. I am Atlantow."
Hook frowned upon hearing the very English pronunciation of the name, but the Indian leader did not seem to notice. She was too petrified to catch the subtle error.
"What wrong have I done?"
"You slaughtered and innocent children and men, and you have failed to protect your betrothed."
Hook heard a slight crack in the voice, as if the soul it belonged to was pained. He glanced at the agitated waters, and spotted the mermaids that had begun to swarm about.
"The man that could have been your husband is dead, all because you insisted on coming here."
"What?" The bride's faced paled.
"Ashkii is dead, because your lust for blood. He has joined with the one he was originally supposed to be with. If you had not followed your prisoners here, he would not have died. Go outside and see for yourself! He is gone. A rock has fallen and struck him, and he has fallen into the water and drowned. The mermaids have taken him already, and now you can never marry him."
Tiger Lily screamed, and fell to her knees.
"Why my love?! Why?!" The "deceased" boy's voice now rang across the cave. From her hiding place, Clara considered moving to a different place.
The grieving bride looked up.
"Is that you? In spirit form?" Despite shaking violently, she stood and wandered back inside, searching for her lover's "ghost."
"Why?! Why have you allowed this?!"
"Allow what?!" She searched and searched upwards, tears streaming down her face.
"We could have been married, but you had to come after them. Why my love? Why?!'
"I'm sorry... Please forgive me. I...I had to do it for our tribe! For us! For us to be happy! Please forgive me!"
"I will, if you let them go." Clara slipped and almost tumbled out, but was able to catch herself in time. Hook saw the pebbles falling from the exact spot the girl was at, and caught a brief glimpse of orange hair.
And Tiger Lily saw as well.
"Really?" A frown.
The captain's heart skipped a beat, and there was a pang of pain when he sat up too quickly. He winced, and for a moment all he could see was searing red.
"Yes." Clara slipped further into the shadows and venturing further up.
"All I have to do, is let them go?" She began prowling towards the moving outline like a huntress, and her eyes glinted with vicious intent. Her eyes had grown dangerously cold, and all traces of her earlier quivering and sniveling was gone.
"And all will be pardoned." Clara tip-toed up the steps without making a sound. The dark veiled her from view rather well, but the Tigress's sharp eyes did not miss the blurry, moving silhouette above her.
"Tell me, what was your name again? I have forgot."
Clara's blood ran cold.
"I am... Atlantis."
Tiger Lily's eyes narrowed.
"Oh really? I thought you were Atlantow."
"I said that!" Clara gasped upon hearing her own voice again. And quickly continued her retreat up the stairs.
A flash of white lighting filled the entire cave, and in that split-second Clara could be clearly seen standing above them at the stairs.
"You! I knew it!" The chieftess hurled her axe. The girl ducked, and the hatchet clattered off the stairs before plunging into the water.
Immediately Clara shot up steps as fast as she could.
Tiger Lily pulled out a hidden gun. But before she could shoot, Hook threw himself forward smacked the weapon out from her hand. He tried forcing the woman's arms behind her, but the Indian princess was stronger and she elbowed his injury once more before taking off after Clara while snarling like a beast.
The captain crumbled to ground again while clutching open wound sputtering with fresh blood, and gritting his teeth he grabbed the fallen pistol. Still clutching his side, Hook forced himself to stand and painstakingly dragged his rapidly weakening body after them.
And he watched in horror as the Tigress flung a knife and as it whizzed past Clara's ear. She squeaked and jerked as some skin was torn off, but she didn't stop. The dagger clattered down out of sight, and Clara continued sprinting. The Tigress was hot at her heels, snarling and clawing as she stalked her prey. The most savage form of rage ignited within the princess, and the poisonous feeling of vengeance was what propelled her on.
Eyes blazing with pure bloodlust, the princess seized one of Clara's ankles. The two both fell and slipped down a couple steps. Clara squeaked and kicked, striking an eye. The chief released her, and at her moment of distraction Clara clambered away on all fours.
About halfway, far from where the ladies were located, the captain continued hauling himself forwards while dangerously teetering too close to the verge. Hot and cold flashes racked through his core, and with each passing second it grew more and more difficult to move. His vision blurred in and out of focus, and his consciousness was draining much too fast.
She cannot die. No, she must not die.
Gritting his teeth, he pummeled on and ignored his injury that screamed out in agony. His eyes focused don the two females figures ahead of him. He swayed about and crawled on all threes, but his slow-paced chase was momentarily halted by an old man's voice.
"Captain!" Behind, Hook found Smee with others on another rowboat. They were shooting at the blasted gray creatures, who all hissed and recoiled as far as they could from the men.
"Smee!" He winced and took in a sharp breath. "Go help Clara right now!"
"But yer in great need of help sir!" Smee shot a siren that nearly grabbed onto one of the men. The small raft somehow made it near the steps that Hook stood at the top of. The crew continued shooting at the mermaids as they got off the tiny boat. Smee was the first to begin rushing up towards him, and the sound of his heavy footsteps were drowned out by the sound of more thunder.
Facing forward again, Hook's resolve strengthened and he resumed his climb. Smee could not reach her in time.
At the very top, Clara found herself staring at a flat, empty room of sorts. But at the very center, there was an opening in the snap of a perfect circle that plummeted straight to the water. There was nowhere else to go but down, whether it was through the way she had come or through the hazardous gap.
"You."
A low whisper.
Shuddering, Clara spun around. The princess was only five steps away. Gulping, the girl stepped back, carefully going around the aperture that led to the sirens. But the chieftess was fast, and soon she was but a nose distance away.
"You killed him."
Clara could feel her hot breaths upon her cheeks.
"I did not!"
Tiger Lily lunged and grabbed Clara's throat. She rammed into solid rock behind her. She was given no time to recover, for within a second the warrior drew her arm back and smashed her fist across her cheek. A slight crack resonated in the air, and the girl gasped. Before the Tigress could begin repeatedly pummeling her, Clara sprang up and slammed her head against the chief's nose.
A louder crack rippled across the air, and a blinding flare of red consumed the Tigress. She screamed. She knew by the constant spurting of blood and throbbing that the bone had shattered.
Clara slid under her legs and scrambled towards the stairs. Tiger Lily whipped around and launched her battered body. Both crashed onto the damp ground, Clara at the bottom.
Clara writhed about, her knees frantically trying to throw her attacker off.
Blood from her nose gushed and landed on pale eyelids. The two were nothing but a tangle of thrashing limbs.
Spit, tears, and more drops of crimson sprayed everywhere. The madwoman clasped Clara's hair, and began repeatedly pounding her head against the ground over and over again.
The drop was now very close.
"Why did you have to kill him?" Tiger Lily paused to catch her breath, and Clara thought she heard the faintest traces of the grief from earlier lining her tone.
The girl's breathing was ragged and shallow, and everything spun around and grew more faint. A terrible sensation of numbness and possessed her and everything buzzed. Despite feeling as if she was being hammered into stone, she managed to speak up in a feeble whisper.
"I did not."
Tiger Lily blinked, before her fingers loosened from the tangled locks that now had stains of red.
"What?"
"He is alive. I told him to leave while he could, and he did."
"Why?"
"Because he deserved a better life, than the one he was to spend with you. Why is it that you can't see, that not everything can be how you want it to be? Are you incapable of knowing that your way is not always the right way?"
The chieftess was stunned to silence for a little bit. She just stared down at the girl pinned underneath her, who stared right back with fiery eyes.
At that exact moment, Hook made it the very top, and he spotted the two figures near the gap. His eyes widened, and silently, he readied the gun with great difficulty with his only hand.
"Why have you ruined everything?!" The chieftess wailed like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. "Everything was going to be so perfect! Just like how I had envisioned it to be! According to tradition!"
With shaking hands, he pointed the gun at the Tigress's head. But then Clara spoke up again.
"Because you were going to kill the man that I loved."
He stopped breathing for a second. Who...Who was she talking about?
"You love Hook?" A flicker of dismay darted across the Tigress's features. And a moment of silence echoed in the air.
"Yes. I do."
Time froze. Everything froze. Had he heard correctly? Or was he spiraling into delirium?
"I love him more than I've ever loved anyone else. Or ever will."
No. She was actually saying those words. She appeared so feeble, so tired. She was lying so still, obviously near the point of unconsciousness. And she was still completely unaware of Hook's presence.
But Tiger Lily was not.
She glanced up and caught sight of the look on the captain's face. And seeing how he gazed at the body trapped under her, how he felt was crystal clear. He didn't need to say anything for her suspicions to be confirmed once and for all.
It was his fault. Everything was his fault. And she was going to take what was most precious to him.
The Tigress emitted a bloodthirsty snarl before placing both hands around the girl's pale throat. She squeezed her pale neck and Clara bucked from underneath. The two small women began to roll, scraping against the sharp rocks as they struggled against the other. They teetered at the very verge.
Hook shakily pointed the pistol again, but the two moved around too much, and so he could not shoot in fear of striking the wrong woman. And so, his finger simply hovered over the trigger but did not fully press down on it. All he could do was helplessly watch the blur of tangled limbs and call out the girl's name.
At the bottom of the pit, the sirens waited with their mouths wide open. They licked their lips, stares fixating on the struggling humans at the very top.
The girl blindly lashed out, but the heavy body on top of her didn't budge. Her earlier head trauma only quickened the rate at which she lost oxygen, as well as the bleary fuzziness that began to settle in her brain.
"Clara!"
Hearing him rekindled her clarity, and fear quickly seeped into her mind. She thrashed about in a bout of panic-induced hysteria, and she acquiesced to her most basic and primitive survival instincts.
She roared the same time as the crash of lighting, and inhumane strength rushed to her limbs.
Tiger Lily barely saved herself from having an eye ripped out from her socket. Before she could recover, Clara drove her knee into the bride's stomach before kicking her off.
And the Indian princess plunged into the waiting, webbed hands of wet monsters. And before she even had the time to scream, she was dragged off to the very bottom while sharp teeth began tearing off her flesh. Her shrieks and screams were no more than muffled gurgles, and her violent flails were no more but a few ripples in the water.
Clara watched with glassy eyes as the blurry gray outlines sunk deeper and deeper into nothing but blackness. And once they disappeared forever, her eyes rolled back as she finally succumbed to her exhaustion with a small sigh.
She toppled backwards onto the cold ground. But the last thing she heard was her name being called, as well as the sensation of someone lifted her up and wrapping her in their arms.
My Noble Reader,
I sure hope this hasn't been terribly disappointing. this has been by far the longest, hardest, and worst chapters I have ever written lol. It gave me writers block but I am now back on track and will enjoy finishing up the last few chapters of this very experimental story.
I do not have much experience writing the climax of stories, and although I carefully planned out this story before writing all of it a lot of editing and some minor tweaking has occurred since. My main fears for writing this far was things not making much sense. I am not exactly a professional writer, and I am more of a visual person. And because of this, I often have everything so clear and perfectly planned in my head like a movie, but transferring such visions onto paper is obviously much more difficult since you're dealing with a blank page, and everyone imagines things differently.
And so I decide not to be an utter control freak but I don't know how it worked out.
Also, I tend to day dream about my scenes repeatedly for weeks before actually writing it, and sometimes by the time I actually commence a chapter I have gone over exactly what happens so many times I fail to deliver an impactful tale/ I leave out important details.
I have thought about and had many difficulties writing these past several chapters, mainly because it took me a bit to plan out exactly what was to happen, and making sure that I wrote down all the details and explained it so that an outsider/not my brain would understand. Please tell me where I went wrong so that I may learn from the error and learn from it in the future, but I think these difficult and long chapters were good practice for me. Well, this story in general was a an experiment and I had a lot of fun and difficulty in trying out new things(you were all my test guinea pigs sorry).
I hope that what I have written is something vaguely similar to the creation in my head, and I hope that I have not disappointed you tremendously due to my inferior writing abilities. If I have, I do apologize, but I hope that some parts of the story were a little enjoyable.
I apologize for the long wait once again, but I hope the wait was forgiven as well as my inferior writing skills ahaha...
Thank you all for sticking with this amateur story so far, and I love all of you. And of course, I offer my humble gratitude to the kind souls who took time to drop a small review and make a huge impact on my day(MusicalsandMordreds, theususalguest, VelvetGoldie, and Demigodathena)
-StrangelyRamblingSoul
-P.S, I lied I kind've am a sadistic killer of a writer. But I personally viewed a certain character's death to be necessary for the sake of Clara actually having a solid motive to take the risk of confronting the almighty warrior Tiger Lily.
-P.P.S I apologize for those of you who actually liked the canon character of Tiger Lily. Again, I kind've interpreted everything in my own weird way but I still mirrored some parts of the original story. (Also there is a real book out there called Tiger Lily featuring her as the MC written by Jodi Lynn Anderson, and I think it was quite dope. Well, my twelve year old self thought it was.)