Chapter 26
And you want three wishes:
One to fly the heavens
One to swim like fishes
And then one you're saving for a rainy day
If your lover ever takes her love away
You say you want to know her like a lover
And undo her damage, she'll be new again
Soon you'll find that if you try to save her
It will lose her anger
You will never win
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Hook was running through a forest of darkness, hearing a taunting laughter from behind. Suddenly, he reached a dark meadow, and then he saw her: Belle. She had her back turned towards him, her chestnut curls hanging lose down her back, but he recognized her nonetheless. A strong feeling of relief conquered his heart as he breathed her name, reaching out his arm to touch her. But all of a sudden, he was freezing in motion, unable to move any part of his body. A cheerful giggle filled the darkness and his ears, and Belle turned around to face him. Hook just stood there, frozen in place and staring at the beauty in front of him. She was beautiful as ever, and yet, completely different from the woman he knew. Her blue, shiny eyes were several shades darker than normal, almost black, and a beautiful but somehow cruel smile was plastered across her face. In her hands, she was holding a small, golden box, caressing it almost lovingly with one finger.
"Belle!" he breathed, trying desperately to order his body to move again. "You must go. It's not safe here!"
But Belle just let out another of those disturbing giggles, smiling brightly at him, but never moving.
"Belle, please!" Hook pleaded once again. "I don't know how much time we have!"
"All the time in the world." a smooth dark voice announced from the shadows.
Hook blinked and suddenly, Pan was standing next to Belle. But his appearance was different as well as he seemed to be older than the teenager who terrorized the island and Hook's life – more like the young man Hook had seen in Sahakawe's flashback.
The young man put an arm around Belle's waist and drew her possessively closer which earned a guttural growl from the pirate.
"Let her go!" Hook hissed and flashed his eyes darkly at Pan.
Pan just laughed and shook his head.
"I don't think so." was his simply reply, and Hook's blood boiled as he observed how Pan's thumb started to draw tiny circles on Belle's pelvic bone.
Hook forced his gaze to move back from Pan's hand and he looked at Belle's face instead. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, and her lips still curled up into a taunting smile.
"Belle, my love." Hook began softly, addressing the beauty directly, and her eyes narrowed further at the endearment. "Come with me, please. I'll bring you back home."
"Home?" he heard Pan ask tauntingly, and watched as the young man took the small golden box from Belle's small hands. Pan's eyes were now firmly fixed on the shiny object as he traced the rim with one finger.
"Don't you know, Hook?" he finally continued and raised his gaze to look straight at the pirate, a toothy grin across the young man's face.
"Home is where the heart is."
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Hook's eyes shot open, and his heart was pounding rapidly in his chest. Breathing heavily, he sat up, trying to force his mind to focus on reality again. He let his eyes wander through the small wooden room, and it took him some time until he finally remembered where he was. According to the heavy darkness that was greeting him through the tiny window on the opposite side of the room, it was already past sunset. He apparently had been able to get some sleep after all, as last day's exhaustion finally had been too much for his body to bear. But his rest had been far from peaceful as dark nightmares hadn't allowed neither his mind nor his heart to have a break.
He groaned to himself as he buried his face in his hands, remembering the dark dreams that had haunted him. There definitely was a reason why they say that sinners never sleep. Belle was still gone, and it was his fault. Hook sighed heavily as he finally got out of the bed and walked towards the small window of the room. As he gazed out of the small wooden hole, his mind wandered back to the images of his nightmares. He remembered clearly Dream-Belle's aloof, dark eyes that had stared coldly at him, and the memory made his stomach clench. He still had no idea why Peter Pan needed Belle, what he was planning to do to her. But one thing was certain: Hook needed to find her as soon as possible, and he just hoped that Belle would be able to resist long enough to whatever that evil demon had planned for her.
Hook was just about to make his way out of Tink's home when his gaze suddenly fell on the small illuminated table in the corner of the room. When he moved closer, he spotted a glass with shimmering streams of light in it and a piece of paper lying next to it.
Hook,
Pan has brought Henry to the Echo Cave. I'm going to follow the others and help them to get him out of there. We'll return as soon as possible.
I'm still not allowed to tell you anything about the past, but there is one last hint I can give you:
The best place to find the answers you seek is a small hill close to the River of Broken Tears. Take the lamp on the desk, it will lead you the way and will make sure that no one will be able to see you.
Remember what I said: Maybe it's a flicker of light in the darkness of night that can help you find what you seek.
Best of luck,
T.
Hook smiled softly to himself. Tinkerbell sometimes seemed to be coldhearted and aloof, a broken fairy who had been wronged by those who she had loved and trusted most. But in the end, she has always been and always will be a fairy godmother to those who needed help, no matter the consequences. And in Hook's opinion, that made her the best fairy he had ever encountered.
The pirate put the note in the pocket of his leather coat and observed the enchanted lamp on the wooden desk. As soon as he reached for it, the light blue streams suddenly started to shine brightly, illuminating the entire room for a brief moment. When Hook opened his eyes again, the streams had formed into three shiny fireballs. Two of them were still hovering inside the magical lamp, the third, however, was floating right before his eyes. Confused, Hook stared at the strange fireball before him. He reached out one hand to touch it, but before he was able to do so, the shiny blue fireball was suddenly moving out of the window.
"No, wait!" Hook screamed. He grabbed the lamp and started hastily to climb down the corded ladder. When he reached the ground, the leading fireball was already waiting for him, hovering in the darkness of the night like a huge firefly.
Hook took a deep breath and eyed the small light with slightly narrowed eyes.
"So…" he finally said a little bit unsure. "…lead the way?"
And the fireball started to move, leading him safely through the thick mist of the Hazy Forest.
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Hook followed the glistering lightball for quite a long time. He had no idea where he was going, and with every step, he felt more and more uneasy. What if this was just another of Pan's traps? What if the lamp and the note hadn't been written by the green fairy, but the evil demon himself? Just when those dark thoughts threatened to cloud his mind completely, the fireball suddenly stopped. Confused, Hook stopped as well, and looked around. He was standing at the beginning of a steep hill, right next to a glistering river.
"That must be it!" he whispered to himself, the relief plainly audible in his voice.
Driven by hope and excitement, he started to climb up the hill, excited which answers would probably await him on top of it.
But when he finally reached the summit, the small spark of hope in his heart vanished. Whatever he had expected, it had certainly been more than … well … nothing. He was standing on the grassy top of the hill, looking at the wide landscape of Neverland in front of him. Sure, it was a breathtaking view, but certainly not what he had been looking for.
He turned towards the bright fireball that was still hovering next to his head.
"I think this is not where you were supposed to lead me." he said sharply as if to expect an answer from his magical companion.
Of course, the bright blue ball didn't answer. Instead, it angrily circled Hook's head several times before it vanished into thin air.
Exhausted, Hook let himself fall onto the soft grass, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. This simply had to be a very cruel and absolutely inappropriate joke – and he certainly would kill the green fairy for playing with his feelings and hopes. He had expected to find some clues here, another magical creature perhaps, or maybe a building or book or whatever that would be able to provide answers. But there was simply nothing else on top of this bloody hill. Nothing at all.
"Any suggestions?" he asked the remaining two light balls inside the magical lamp mockingly, but was greeted with nothing but silence.
"Thought so." Hook sighed sulkily and turned his head to look up in the dark night sky.
He lay there for quite a long time, party indecisive what to do, and party because a small part of his heart and mind still hoped for a miracle to appear out of the darkness of the night. But the minutes passed and still, nothing had happened.
"No fairy godmother around when you need one." he muttered angrily to himself as he stared up into the sky.
The full moon was standing high and was surrounded by several glistering stars. Each one of those sparkling diamonds reminded him of Belle's glistering eyes and his heart ached again. Never had he thought that he could possibly feel as much for a woman again as for Milah. As much love, but also as much pain. He would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to Belle – and he most definitely wouldn't survive losing yet another woman to a demon.
Hook sighed heavily. In order to save Belle, he needed to find out what had happened long ago, what kind of magic Belle possessed and how Pan was trying to use it. But how was he supposed to find answers if no one was there to provide them?
The pirate settled his gaze on the brightest star in the night sky: the evening star – l'étoile du soir.
'Oh, life would be so much easier if stars were able to talk, wouldn't it?' he thought angrily.
His mind wandered back to his childhood, especially to what his father used to tell him when he was young.
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When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
will come to you.
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Hook smiled softly to himself as he remembered those words and his childish simplicity. Back then, he really had believed his father, that stars would be able to fulfill his deepest dreams. He recalled how, one night, he had been sitting on his father's ship, gazing up to the sky, eyes firmly fixed on the brightest of them all. His father, a famous captain who was sailing for the royal crown, had joined him. He had smiled brightly at the young boy, patting his hair with one hand and gazing up to the night sky.
"You can have three wishes" his father had said.
"One to fly the heavens,
one to swim like fishes.
But then, my boy, one you are saving for a rainy day
for if your love ever takes her love away."
When Hook had become older, his childish faith in wish-granting stars had of course disappeared, even though he had sometimes secretly hoped that they really were able to fulfill his deepest dreams – especially after Milah's death. But no star, no magic on earth or above was able to bring back the dead, and this realization had destroyed the last bit of childish belief that had still been existing in his heart.
He didn't want to face the same fate again – losing another woman he loved to a bloody demon, knowing exactly that when she was gone, she would be gone forever.
But there were too many unanswered questions, too many secrets standing in the way of rescuing her.
His eyes wandered back to the evening star.
"I really wished I knew what happened to you, Belle." he said silently to himself. "I really do."
Suddenly, the evening star shone much brighter than before, and small glistering, blue crystals were starting to float down from the night sky, gathering in a glistering cloud right next to him. Startled, Hook immediately jumped up and tightened his grasp around the handle of the sword, making hastily some space between him and the swirling cloud of mist and light blue crystals. Both amazed and cautious, the pirate watched in awe as the cloud began to rotate faster and faster around its own axis, until it finally exploded. Hook protected his eyes with the sleeve of his leather coat, fearing that one of those blue crystals might hit and harm him. When he put down his arms again, his heart skipped a beat. The cloud of blue mist and crystals was gone – instead, a beautiful blond woman dressed in a long, white gown was standing right in front of him, her entire body shining brightly. But what startled him even more than the woman's sudden appearance or the strange shimmer that was surrounding her, were her piercing blue eyes that were staring straight back at him.
The woman in front of him had Belle's eyes.
"Who are you?" Hook finally said, holding his sword up high.
The mysterious woman cocked her head and smiled softly at him.
"The one to answer your questions." she replied with a sweet voice, moving one step closer.
"I suggest you stay where you are, love." Hook ordered calmly, but the threat was plainly audible in his voice.
The woman in front of him let out a melodic giggle that made Hook's heart somehow feel lighter in his chest.
"Belle really likes the feisty handsome ones, doesn't she?" the woman chirped playfully and gave him a wink.
Hook narrowed his eyes, glaring at the shimmering woman, but didn't reply.
The woman sighed in response and the broad smile across her face slowly started to fade away.
"There is no need for that, Killian Jones." she finally stated and pointed at the sword in his hand.
"My apologies, mylady." Hook answered and offered her one of his seductive smiles. "Under normal circumstances, I always appreciate the sudden appearance of a lovely woman on an abandoned hill. But the situation is far from normal."
The blond woman cocked her head and eyed him for the longest of moments.
"Indeed it is." she finally replied softly. "And yet, you won't need your sword. I'm the one you were looking for."
"Oh believe me love, you're not the first woman who tells me exactly that." the pirate purred.
The strange woman rolled her eyes.
"Oh of that I'm sure." she said with an amused tone in her voice. "But that's not what I meant. I'm the one Grandmother Willow told you to find."
Hook slowly started to lower his sword, but the tight grasp around it remained.
The blond woman gave him once again a reassuring smile before she continued.
"My name is Evangeline." the woman introduced herself. "Even though most people know me better as 'Evening Star', or … well 'Morning Star'." she let out another soft giggle, "Well, depending on the time of the day of course."
Hook's eyes widened and he took one step away from the strange woman.
"You're kidding me." he whispered, earning yet another soft laugh from Evangeline.
"Funnily enough, that's exactly what Belle's father said when I had met him for the first time."
When the shocked disbelief on Hook's face didn't vanish, the blond woman stopped giggling and let out an exhausted sigh instead.
"You don't believe me." she stated with a neutral tone in her voice, it was obviously not the first time she had to deal with such a reaction to her introduction.
"Well, as you see…" she said and pointed one finger towards the night sky. "… I'm not up there anymore, am I?"
Hook followed the direction of her finger and gasped as he noticed that the brightest star of them all was gone.
"How's that possible?" he asked with furrowed brows, his eyes wandering back to the beautiful woman in front of him.
Evangeline shrugged her shoulders.
"Well…" she said and her smile reappeared on her face. "… you made a wish upon a star, and here I am."
"No worries." the woman added, laughing cheerfully. "Happens more often than you might think! And the reaction is always the same."
Hook closed his eyes and shook his head vehemently. He must have fallen asleep on the grass, there was simply no other explanation for what was just happening.
Apparently sensing his feelings of doubt, Evangeline continued, a little bit more impatiently than before.
"You are not dreaming, Killian Jones. I'm really here. But my time on earth is limited. So if you really want to know what happened to Belle, if you really want to know about her past, we should hurry."
Those words made him look up again, and he furrowed his brows as he noticed the sudden emotional change on Evangeline's face. Only seconds ago, her eyes and mouth had been smiling brightly at him, as well as her entire body. But now, the pirate could clearly see the serious look of concern and worry on her face, and the bright shimmer of light that had surrounded her body was much weaker than before. Hook really wanted to trust her. But the last time he had trusted a beautiful woman who had suddenly appeared right in front of him, that one had turned into a dark shadow, trying to deceive and kill him.
"Why exactly should I trust you...?" the pirate asked with a low voice, eyes firmly fixed on the woman's face.
Evangeline smiled sadly at him, and the shimmer around her body continued to fade away.
"Because I'm Belle's mother."