SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, it's probably not mine. Don't bother sueing me, I'm broke anyway. *grin* Eleanor and Lynn, however, are mine. You're welcome to use either of them if it takes your fancy, but please let me know. I'd like to see what they get up to.
Author's Note: The rating has changed for this chapter, due to the use of innuendo and a not-so-subtle chapter ending. Nothing too explicit, I think, but just something some of you may wish to take into account before reading this. *grin*
This chapter took on a life of its own and has grown to be somewhat longer than I anticipated. Hope it doesn't drag on too much. It will, however, probably be the last chapter for a week or so, since I'm going away and am unlikely to have access to a computer (let alone an internet connection). I'll see if I can get one more chapter up before I leave tomorrow, but I can't promise anything. Sorry.
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Chapter 5: The Fight
Hook simply stood and stared. The playing wasn't perfect, but Eolynn's voice was sweet and clear. It was the words that caught him, however, and the emotion with which she sang them. Was it a request? Had she chosen that particular song deliberately, or was it coincidence? And if it was a deliberate request, could he even dream of being able to give so much? How could someone filled with such self-loathing and anger be capable of the self-sacrifice that real love required? Did he even want to try?
The answer to that one is simple, he told himself as he looked down at the young woman before him. She had hidden herself amid that cloud of raven-black hair again, and he carefully caught some of it back with his hook so that he could see her clearly. She peeked up at him through her lashes before dropping her gaze again. Quietly, he said, "That was lovely, Eolynn. You have a beautiful voice."
She shrugged. "I don't know why I chose that." Now her voice was hesitant and uncertain. "I wrote that years ago, and I haven't even thought of it since, much less sung it. It just came to mind when you asked me to play for you." Hook was impressed to hear that she had written the song herself. It gave him an insight into her mind. Are we really so different? he asked himself. She feels lost, and alone, and in need of someone to stand with her. And a romantic, it seems. He had long ago given up on the idea of romance – it was yet another thing that life seemed to have denied him. Yet now he wondered if there was still hope.
As swiftly as the thought rose in him, he squashed it. What hope was there? She was young, beautiful, intelligent, daring... all the things he could possibly ask for in a partner, yet how could he expect her to throw her life away on an old man with a broken body, a bitter past and a harsh outlook on life? Even as his face hardened and he prepared to say something on the subject, there was a sharp knocking on the cabin door.
Spinning to face the door, he growled, "What do you want? It had better be important!"
Smee, the bosun, opened the door and peeped around it apologetically. "Sorry to disturb, Cap'n, but the lookout's just sighted Pan, and we thought he might be lookin' for the young lady." It's too soon! Hook's mind spun. He had yet to decide what he was going to do with Eolynn, and he couldn't stand the thought of Pan coming and forcing the issue just yet. Needing to see for himself, he sprang for the door. The patter of feet behind him told him the young woman followed.
His eye glued to the spyglass, he scanned the skies over Neverland. After a moment, he spotted it: the small hovering shape over the trees. It hung for a moment, and then dropped into the canopy. Not too close, and the afternoon was drawing towards evening. Perhaps it wouldn't be until tomorrow that the boy would think to look here. Handing the glass to Smee, he turned to Eolynn. "If Pan comes looking for you, there's likely to be a fight. I'd like to know that you're safe if that happens, so would you stay in my cabin?"
She looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Why should I hide, Captain?" Her voice was under control again and, he was surprised to note, slightly colder than it had been at any point in their dealings so far. "I see no reason why I should stay hidden away like that. I can fight as well as you can." Brave words, but ones that made the rest of the pirates burst into rough laughter. He had difficulty in keeping his own face straight as she scowled at them, until she spun back to face him, eyes flashing. "I can fight," she repeated hotly. "Give me sword and I'll prove it."
Hook's lips twisted with amusement. The little wench was actually challenging him to a duel! Perhaps this was what he needed to take his mind off the song she had sung for him. It had been too long since he had a fight that wasn't with Pan, and he found himself welcoming the opportunity to match his skill against an unknown quantity. Besides, maybe she is as good as she says , he mused. His eyes flicked towards the crew. "You heard the lady, you dogs! Give her a sword!" He bowed extravagantly to her and added, "We shall see if you are as good as your words."
She seemed to notice the touch of irony in his words, for she frowned at him for a moment before turning to examine the swords that were held out to her. At least she didn't take the first one that was offered , he thought. A pitiful weapon, indeed . It was several moments before she made her selection: the second best sword on the ship, bested only by his own blade. Impressed, he conceded that she did at least have an eye for a fine weapon.
A few experimental slashes tested the sword's balance. She seemed impressed with it as she sighted along the length of the blade, then she was in front of him with it raised in a taunting salute. A wild, reckless light had entered those sea-grey eyes and he answered it with a feral grin of his own. As he drew his sword and returned the salute, her eyes flicked between it and his hook. "I've never fought a left-hander before," she murmured with a small smile curving her lips.
"Now you get your chance." His own smile widened a fraction as he took the first swipe. She parried and sidestepped, and the fight was on. They circled for a while, each getting the measure of the other, before coming to a wordless agreement and beginning to slash at each other in earnest. As they worked their way across the crowded deck, the pirate crew scrambled clear and took up stations along the railings where they could watch.
Eolynn had a good fighting stance, Hook noted with admiration. She kept herself well balanced as she stepped delicately across the gently swaying deck. Her grip on the hilt was sure, even if she did occasionally need to add the strength of both arms to block a particularly heavy blow from his sword. She gave as good as she got, too, striking out at him with precision and a good deal more force than he would have expected from such a slight frame.
He soon realised that he was enjoying this fight more than any other that he could recall. She was a skilled opponent, well able to challenge him at every step, and the way her eyes shone as she backed towards the steps leading to the upper decks suggested that she was finding just as much entertainment in their sparring as he. Her free hand groped behind her for a moment, then her grin turned decidedly wicked and she leaped onto the steps as she slashed down at him. "That was careless of you, Captain," she purred. "You've lost your height advantage."
For the first time, Hook found himself at eye level with the diminutive woman. Grinning as he parried her blows, he returned, "Ah, but you'll need another step to gain the advantage, little one." Knocking her sword aside into the wall, he added with an ironic twist of the lips, "And that gives me room to join you up there."
"You wish to join me up here, do you?" Her voice was rich with amusement. To his vast surprise, she backed up to the next step even as she redoubled her attack. He advanced eagerly, now intent on pushing her back up onto the deck. She did her best to hold her position, but he still possessed the greater reach and in the confines of the stairwell she was less able to dodge his blows.
As he slowly forced her back, he remarked casually, "I think you might be the one who was careless, my dear. You did better when we were in the open."
She laughed. "I guess that depends how you define better, Captain. I'm holding my own, aren't I?"
As they reached the flat surface of the deck, he had to admit that she was right. He hadn't expected her to be this good, and he was revelling in the exhilaration of a good fight. She was grinning wildly now, and he realised that in forcing her back out of the stairwell he had played right into her hands – once more she was free to duck and dodge. He acknowledged the fact with a salute of his hook, which elicited another laugh from her.
It occurred to him that he hadn't made use of his hook in this fight at all. Then again, he wasn't really trying to hurt her – in fact, now that he thought about it, he really didn't want to hurt her. Far from distracting him, the movement of her slim body and the wicked challenge in her eyes was awakening feelings he had long thought buried.
"You're slipping, Captain, if you're not taking advantage of it when I do." She was taunting him, but the worst of it was that he knew the taunt to be true. He had spotted the opening she had left just before she spoke, but by then it was too late to do anything about it. He needed to keep his mind on the fight, not waste time on introspection.
"You just look to your own defences, little one," he warned, reversing his stroke abruptly and forcing her to jump back out of the way. Still, perhaps it was time to end this match now, before his distraction led to a possible defeat. Besides, it might be interesting to test her mettle in the process: in spite of everything that had happened, he had still to see her show any fear of him.
He pressed forward viciously, expecting at last to see a flicker of fear in her eyes. Surprisingly, when he gazed into their depths he found only excitement and laughter. He pushed his astonishment aside and forced her back until her heel bumped a barrel and she fell against its slope. Hook was on her in an instant, his sword pinning hers against the side of the barrel and the tip of his hook resting lightly against the smooth curve of her throat.
She stared up at him with her eyes alight and her lips slightly parted. "I surrender," she whispered.
Hook could feel the soft line of her body under his. It made his blood race and his head feel light. How had she managed to turn him upside-down so completely? And how could he tell her? She ought to be disgusted at the very thought of the effect she was having on him. Yet something in her expression gave him pause and he couldn't help asking, "You're enjoying this far too much, aren't you, little one?"
"How'd you guess?" she drawled in response. She paused for a moment, then a smile of pure mischief touched her lips and she added, "I rather think the same can be said of you."
He couldn't resist drawling back, "How'd you guess?" What he wasn't prepared for was her response: she angled her body so that it pressed against the length of his – and drew his attention to the new bulge in the front of his trousers. His mind froze for an instant. Could she truly have such a profound effect on one as jaded as he? More importantly, could she truly have noticed it and not be shrinking from him? Curious, he leaned closer to her and asked softly, "Does it frighten you?" She smiled and shook her head, her eyes never leaving his. "Disgust you, then?" Another shake, this one quite emphatic. He hesitated a moment before dropping his voice to a mere whisper to ask uncertainly, "Excite you?"
"Yes." The word escaped on a soft hiss of breath. "You're a very... exciting man, James Hook. In more ways than one."
It was far from the truth to say that Hook never smiled, but it was rare indeed that his smile was not one of cruelty or, at the very least, bitterness and irony. Now, however, his lips curved in a smile of pure pleasure and his voice was husky as he purred, "And what would those ways be?"
"The promise of adventure, and of companionship... and maybe more than just companionship?"
"More? You would join me, then?"
"Join you, yes. Maybe even join with you, if you allowed it."
"If I..." Words failed him for a moment. Seeking to cover his surprise, he stalled with, "I didn't think that the heroine was supposed to be so eager to follow the evil pirate?"
She chuckled. "So I'm to be the heroine am I? What makes you think I would choose that role if I were given other options?"
"Then what would you be?"
"For now? Just a young woman enjoying the company of an attractive man. Later? Who knows?"
Attractive? Hook could hardly believe what he was hearing. As far back as he could remember, no woman had ever called him attractive. By the time he was old enough for such a thing to be an issue, the marks of cruelty had already etched themselves on his soul. It seemed to cause most women to shy away from him and was, he realised with a sudden start, much of the reason why he had wanted to flee from society and thus ended up here in Neverland. He turned from such thoughts and spoke with heartfelt sincerity: "You are welcome aboard this ship for as long as you wish to stay, fair Eolynn. And perhaps, while you stay, you would not object to sharing my cabin?"
"Object?" She gave a rippling laugh. "How could I possibly object to such an offer?" Her eyes were warm as she smiled up at him. She half-raised her left hand, then halted as her smile grew uncertain. "I... I've been wanting to touch your hair... to feel if it's as soft as it looks..."
His breath caught in his throat and all he could do was nod silently. She lifted her hand to the mane of dark curls that hung around his shoulders, letting the thick strands wind loosely around her fingers. He swallowed convulsively, his mouth suddenly dry. He wanted to ask her what she thought, to say something that would seduce her to his side as surely as she was capturing his heart and soul. He was able to manage no more than a quiet: "And?"
Her eyes were full of wonder and she seemed to also be having trouble finding words. The tip of her tongue ran nervously over her lips – Hook found himself mesmerised by the sight. He almost didn't hear her breathe, "Soft... so soft..." Her fingers lingered in his hair a moment longer, then ran gently along the line of his jaw.
The touch jolted through him like fire. Before he had time to consider his actions, he had pressed his lips to hers in a searing kiss. He was dimly aware of the double clatter as two swords fell from fingers no longer interested in holding them. All that mattered was the warm body in his arms, the small hands twining in his hair, the responsive lips that met his with such passion.
It was the sound of cheering that brought their awareness back to the world around them. They sprang apart almost guiltily and looked around to find the crew still standing about, applauding the show. Eolynn's cheeks flushed pink and she hid her face in the front of his shirt with a shaky: "I'd forgotten we had an audience!"
Hook glared around at his men, but he was sure they could tell his heart wasn't in it. He felt better than he had ever felt in his life! Who could possibly be angry on a day like this? He felt as though he could take on the world! But not just yet , he amended silently. "Perhaps we should retire to the privacy of... our... cabin?" he murmured.
Eolynn's face was still flushed as she raised it to look at him, but it fairly glowed with joy. She stretched up on her toes to plant a soft kiss on his cheek before stepping away. "I don't suppose... I could bathe first?" She glanced self-consciously at the torn, stained nightdress and the feet caked with mud and leaves. "I'm filthy, and it somehow seems... wrong to bring such filth to the bed."
"Of course." He'd have given her the moon if she'd asked for it. A bath was hardly out of the question. Turning his eyes back to the crowd of pirates, he bellowed, "Smee! Have a bath prepared in my cabin! The rest of you, find something useful to do!" If there was more sniggering and murmuring than would normally greet such an order, he chose to ignore it as he led Eolynn back to his cabin and held the door open for her. "I'll join you after you have bathed, little one." What had once been a rather tongue-in-cheek name was now said as a caress, and she smiled warmly at him.
"I look forward to it... James." She brushed her lips against his briefly before disappearing into the cabin and leaving him feeling as though his heart was about to burst.
It had been difficult to keep the grin from his face as he waited. Hook was sure that his crew must think him crazed, but found that he didn't care. For the first time, he had found something that made him truly happy. Once he had thought that he could make himself happy through cruelty and pain and destruction, but that was a pale shadow of the elation that filled him as he thought of the dark-haired beauty in his cabin.
Had it been long enough? Then again, did it matter? I'll be seeing her unclothed soon anyway , he thought with a chuckle. With quick strides, he crossed the deck and reached the door of the cabin just as Smee trotted up to him.
"What do we do if we see Pan, Cap'n?" he asked.
Hook frowned a little. There was still that problem to consider. Finally he snapped, "Distract him. Send him on a wild goose chase. Do whatever you have to do to make him go away. I'll deal with him in the morning." Turning back to the door, he pushed it open and stepped inside. The sight that greeted him was enough to strike him totally speechless.
Eolynn had finished her bath, and had also washed her nightdress and hung it on the back of a chair. Instead, she wore one of his own shirts with the sleeves rolled back and a great deal of shapely leg showing beneath the hem. She had also managed to find a comb and was now sitting on the end of the bed combing her hair. The last rays of the sun slanted in through the window and set that silky darkness alight with flashes of bronze and copper that had been hidden until they were lit like this.
She looked up as he entered, smiling shyly at him, and he kicked the door shut behind him. A muffled yelp suggested that the bosun had been on the verge of following, but he ignored it. Crossing the room, he took her hand in his and raised it to his lips. "My lady," he murmured.
The sound of the door opening brought him around, and he glowered at Smee as the pirate poked his head through the opening. "'Scuse, Cap'n, Miss, but..." The bosun's voice died away as Hook drew in breath for a thunderous reply, but the reply never came. Eolynn had risen to stand beside him and placed finger against his lips. Looking down into eyes that were sparkling with mischief and laughter, he smiled in return and subsided, content for now to see what she had in mind.
Smee's mouth fell open in amazement as she walked slowly across the cabin. He couldn't blame the man – it was a nice enough view from the back, and it must have been even better from the front. Reaching the door, she smiled sweetly. "Mr Smee?"
"Yes, Miss?" His voice was shaking.
"Goodnight, Mr Smee." She gave the man a gentle push in the chest, then shut the door with an emphatic thud. Turning back, her smiled broadened as she watched him struggle to keep from laughing aloud at the effectiveness of her solution. He held his arms open in silent invitation.
She came to him.
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Author's Note 2: Well, this was the root of the story (so to speak). I had this vision of Hook and a young woman enganged in a (relatively) friendly swordfight, trading jibes as they traded blows, and culminating in a kiss. I'm still not entirely sure I did it justice, even after the three re-writes it's undergone. However, this is as close as I can bring it to the things going on inside my head, and any feedback would be gratefully received. Who knows, if enough people have enough things to say, I might even go for a fourth re-write! *grin*
And a big thank you to all the people making me feel loved:
SerenBunny - *grin* The song is called "Chase the Ghosts Away", and sadly it's not the one available on his website (www.rossryan.com if you're interested). And no, sadly I don't have the whole story typed up yet. I'm typing about a day ahead of what I post, to give me time to re-read it before I post. :) Not sure what you mean about them growing up together though...
Amadna Snape - *giggle* Your friends don't know what they're talking about. I mean, sure he's older - at least a couple of hundred years older! And once the numbers get that big, who cares? Besides, he's attractive, darkly sinister, and incredibly sexy. So who cares anyway? ;)
Yuki Asao - Well, here's an update and a half. :) Glad you're enjoying it so much.
Wordwiz8121 - Sweet... Hmm.... not entirely what I was going for, but not too far off I guess. *grin* One of the joys of writing is always seeing what readers make of your work, and comments like this make me go back and re-read my own writings in a new light. Thanks. :)