"I thought I smelled something foul," Gresham said as he and Porter stepped between me and the stranger, attempting to block me from his view. Langley stayed back with me, helping me to my feet.

The stranger chuckled. "You sure it wasn't yourself?"

A growl rumbled low in Gresham's throat, and Porter put a hand on his shoulder. "What do you want, Mathias?"

The stranger, Mathias, craned his neck to peek over Porter's head. He was wearing a large tricorn hat that held a single white plume. His eyes caught mine. One was amber, but the other was white and cloudy. A jagged scar split his brow, down over the milky eye, and down his cheek. A grin split his face. Deep crescent-shaped lines decorated both cheeks. "I just want to see the girl that has Pan in such disarray." Then, he rocked back on his heels and brought his eyes back to Porter and Gresham. "I'm also curious as to why she's out here with you lot and not your Captain? I've heard he's quite fond of her as well." He arched an eyebrow and peeked back at me, but I averted my gaze.

"That's none of your business," Gresham snapped, stabbing a finger at Mathias.

Mathias chuckled again, putting his hands up in mock surrender. "Fair. A bit touchy, but fair. Now, should we talk about terms?"

"Terms?" asked Porter.

Mathias shrugged, straightening his hat. "You're trying to get her to Pan aren't you? Well, it just so happens that I'm headed that way, and—"

"What makes you think we would trust you to take her to Pan?"

Mathias planted his hands on his hips and tilted his head, studying Porter a moment before saying, "Under normal circumstances, I would say that you couldn't." My stomach twisted slightly at his admission, at the way he said it so nonchalantly, and I found myself stepping closer to Langley. "However, everyone knows that if anything happens to her, Pan would have their head, and I'm quite a fan of mine."

"I'm sure," Gresham grumbled. Mathias smirked, but said nothing. Gresham and Porter shared an uneasy look before peering back at Langley and I.

A low rumbling sound emanated from low in Langley's chest before he drew his head back and spit at the ground between us and Gresham, Porter. "I do not trust him," Langley stated.

Mathias let out a heavy sigh. "I thought you might say that, but unfortunately for you lot, this only ends one way."

Three more men appeared behind Mathias, and shuffling drew my attention back behind us to the other end of the alley where four others appeared. They stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking any chance of escape, their weapons drawn. We were outnumbered two to one, and I didn't have a weapon. Not to mention that we were exhausted from the heat and from the rough storm the night before. None of us had slept, and by the looks of the men standing at either end of the alley, they were well rested and prepared to do whatever it was that Mathias commanded.

That didn't stop Langley, Gresham, and Porter from drawing their weapons in response, and it certainly did nothing for the panic that rose in my gut.

"If you want her," Porter said, nodding back towards me, his eyes never leaving Mathias, "then come get her."

Mathias' lips twitched as he drew his own sword. "Gladly."

"Wait!" I said, but no one seemed to hear me. Mathias and his men began to make their way forward, and Langley, Porter, and Gresham had slid into defensive stances. I stepped around Langley and pushed myself between Gresham and Porter and in between them and Mathias just as Mathias brought his weapon up over his head. "Wait!" I shouted, my hands up.

Mathias and his men hesitated.

"Move out of the way, brat," Gresham snarled at me a moment before I felt his heavy hand on my shoulder.

I whirled on him, my hands still up. "Just wait! Can we all just wait?!" My voice was climbing, hysteria beginning to sink in. I peered over my shoulder at Mathias and asked, "You'll take me to Pan?"

"Holly." Porter said my name, a warning, but I ignored him.

Mathias nodded, but it was obvious in the way he searched my face that he was waiting for something. He didn't completely trust my question, and he was second guessing his own answer.

"And you know what will happen if anything bad happens to me? Even the smallest discomfort?"

Mathias lowered his weapon with a scowl. "Are you threatening me?"

I turned slowly towards him, still not entirely sure if the men at my back weren't about to lunge forward with their weapons blazing. Meeting Mathias' gaze, I shook my head. "I'm in no position to make a threat," I said, my voice calm despite my hammering heart. "I'm simply telling you that if you or your men cause Hook's crew or myself any trouble that it's my word against yours when it comes to Pan. And I think he's much more inclined to believe me over you."

His nostrils flared. "That sounds like a threat to me."

I took a breath, trying to keep my voice steady as I continued to stare down this man who terrified me. "How you interpret it isn't my concern. Now, do you want the bounty or not?"

One moment passed. Then another. It seemed that everyone was holding their breath, waiting for Methias to make his decision. There were only two ways that this could end, and I was certain that, either way, I was going to end up on Methias' ship on my way to Pan. It was whether or not it would be on my terms and whether or not my friends would be safe that would be left up to Methias.

Slowly, Mathias returned his sword to its sheath. "He's offered a fortune large enough to keep me and my men living large for the rest of our miserable lives," he said. With a wave of his hand, his men stepped down and lowered their weapons, although there were a few who were obviously unhappy that they wouldn't be able to take me by force.

Porter frowned. "Pan doesn't deal in riches."

Mathias took a swig out of a flask he pulled out from the inside of his worn coat. "Pan, the Leader of the Lost Boys, doesn't deal in riches, but Pan, King of Mystasia, does."

"What did you say?" I asked, my mouth going dry. There was a ringing in my ear. Mathias' words seemed to echo endlessly in my ears.

Porter was at my side in an instant, his hand on my elbow, but his eyes were on Methias. "Pan's no king." His voice was steady enough when he said it, but there was doubt in his eyes. I could tell he was trying not to look at me, which made me all the more sure that he doubted his own words.

"Perhaps not," Methias replied, "But he didn't waste any time storming the castle with his band of Lost Boys and putting the king's crown upon his head." He shot a glance at me, and his eyes seemed sad for a moment.

My knees threatened to buckle beneath me, but I had to ask the question that was sitting on the tip of my tongue. "What of my father? Is he…?" I couldn't finish the thought. An acidic taste spread over my tongue and I had to breathe through my nose to keep from being sick.

He had already taken John from me. My father was the only family I had left.

"Thrown in the dungeon last I knew."

The relief was dizzying. The edges of my vision began to go dark, and I could feel my knees finally give way. Someone said my name, but it sounded far away, like I was under water. Someone caught me, and the last thing I remember before everything went black was that they smelled of soap and roasted coffee beans and that they had to have traveled far to the southern islands to get them.

###

When I woke up, Mathias was pressing a wet cloth to my cheek. Porter, Langley, Gresham, and a few of Mathias' men stood over the top of us, looking down at us with varying amounts of worry or boredom.

"There she is," Mathias said with a smile as I came to.

"Are you alright, Lass?" Porter asked, kneeling down next to me and I nodded.

Slowly, with Mathias' help, I sat up. He offered me a drink from a canteen, and I took it. The water was cold despite the hot day, and it was difficult to only take a few swigs.

"I'm sorry," I said, my tongue feeling swollen as I spoke.

"Don't be," Porter said, patting me on the shoulder. "It's been a while since you've had some good news."

It wasn't exactly good news, but I would take it. My father was alive and, right now, that's all that mattered. The faster I could get back to Mystasia, hopefully the longer I could keep him alive.

I looked over at Mathias. "You'll take me to Mystasia?"

He nodded.

Langley grumbled, "I still don't trust him."

Mathias' clenched his jaw, but said nothing. Thankfully, Gresham answered for him.

"It's not our call, Mate. It's the brat's."

I met Mathias' eyes, and he arched a brow. "What do you say, Brat?" He couldn't keep a straight face as he said it, and by the end, a smile pulled at the corners of his lips. "Are you willing to put a little trust in me and my crew?"

"I think it's my best chance."

Now, Mathias really smiled. "I think you're right, Princess."

I hope I'm right.