Title: To Have and To Hold
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Thirteen - Found and Bound.
Author's Note: Nasty things happen to Peter and Wendy while captives of Hook, so be prepared for painful things, drama and angst. Nothing unpalatable will happen to our heroes, but expect some bumps and bruises along they way, as in the movie. Pirates will be pirates, after all is said and done.
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Wendy's collapse seemed to be a signal for the pirates to rush forward, en mass, to capture Peter while he crouched next to her body. Rough hands pulled him away even as he fought to stay beside her, the pirates not adverse to throwing several punches, pummelling him into submission. When they finally parted, having bound his arms behind his back, Peter was bruised and bloody, his coat gone, his shirt nearly torn from his body with their violent handling. In the melee he'd lost sight of Wendy, his desperate fight carrying him away from where she lay. When the pirates stepped back he saw she was being carried, still unconscious, in the arms of a brawny pirate standing next to Hook, the pirate Captain watching Peter's struggle with a malicious gleam in his eye.
Battered but not beaten Peter glared defiantly up at Hook from the ground, kneeling on a map of crushed ferns, the plants flattened from the fray. Hook smiled to himself, casting a glance at the insensible girl in Grant's arms before sauntering across to Peter to gloat.
"Oh the cleverness of Hook. Peter Pan finally snared, bloody and bound at my feet...how delicious."
Peter spat blood from his mouth before speaking. "How did you...?"
"How did I find you?" Hook interrupted him, his hand sliding into his coat to withdraw the slim volume stolen from Wendy's bedroom back in London. Holding it up he waggled it, a smirk painting his lips below his moustache. "Easy when you know where to look."
Peter dropped his gaze and stared at the ground.
Hook raised his eyebrows and casually replaced the book inside his coat. "What? No protest?...No threats? But of course, I hold the ace, do I not? You don't want to risk losing sight of that, do you?"
Turning to his left, Hook glanced over at Wendy, gesturing for Grant to bring her closer. Peter gritted his teeth and struggled to free his hands, aware that anything he said to threaten Hook could have consequences for Wendy.
"A pretty piece, under all that dirt. I almost thought she'd recognize me in the bookshop, but women are silly creatures, they only see what they want to see...and she really didn't want to see me!"
Reaching out his hand Hook brushed the back of his fingers down Wendy's cheek, flicking it lightly before moving away. Peter strained against his bonds but the ropes were too well knotted, his corded muscles conveying how much force he was using to free himself even while he schooled his face to show as little as possible.
"Leave her alone you bastard!"
"And what if I choose not to? You're not in a position to do anything if I decide to take fair Wendy and have my wicked way with her, she is, after all, a wench and they are in short supply in these islands."
"Touch her and you die!" Peter raged, incensed beyond reason at the thought of Wendy being violated by Hook. As he struggled to rise to his feet, Hook lifted his leg and placed the toe of his boot on Peter's chest, kicking him violently and sending Peter sprawling, unable to save himself with his hands bound. The watching pirates all laughed uproariously, hooting and whistling, encouraging Hook who circled his enemy with a grin lightning his saturnine features.
"I have waited many years for this opportunity...to have Peter Pan at my mercy, a rich revenge for this!" Hook held up his missing hand, the gleaming double hook flashing in the sunlight. "And the many other wrongs done to me over the years, not least of which was sending me to my doom in the jaws of that infernal crocodile." A kick followed Hook accusations and Peter bit his lip hard to stifle a cry as the blow caught him in the ribs. "I want you to suffer as I suffered," Hook continued, pacing around his captive like a hyena around its prey. "It took every last breath I had before I could slice the beast open and free myself. Even then it tried to drag me down to Davey Jones Locker, only the force of my will, to be revenged on you, kept me from drowning." Hook swiveled on his heel, Peter flinching away from the black boots as they came close to his head. "Now I have you...maybe not old and certainly not alone," his eyes flicked briefly over to Wendy's prone body still clasped in Grants arms. "But most definitely done for!" His eyes glittering redly, Hook suddenly knelt down and punched Peter in the face, knocking the young man insensible as his head snapped back from the force of the blow. Straightening up, Hook stared down at Peter and curled his lip in satisfaction.
"Put the brat over your shoulder Duncan...we head back to the Jolly Roger at once. The rest of you swabs go back and pack up the camp and follow at the double! Grant...bring the wench."
Within minutes the trampled clearing contained only Hook, his two henchmen and their unconscious captives, the crew having gone to carry out their Captain's orders. The burly sailor called Duncan heaved Peter up and onto his broad shoulder with little or no effort, as if his burden had been no heavier than a feather. Grant stood waiting for his orders as Hook paced the jungle glade between the two men.
"I want two men guarding him when he comes around, make it clear Duncan 'tis death to anyone who aids him or allows him to escape, is that clear?"
The pirate nodded, shifting his burden to a more comfortable position on his shoulder. The pendant around Peter's neck suddenly swung free, having been caught on a thread inside Peter's shirt until that moment. Seeing the chain, Hook snagged it on his finger and lifted it clear of Peter's head. Dangling it in front of his face, Hook smiled.
"Her precious acorn, memento of her first visit to these fair shores. Mine now I think." Bundling the chain and acorn in his hand he slipped it into a pocket of his frogged coat. "Let's be on our way gentlemen, the Jolly Roger awaits."
Taking the path already flattened by his men on their way back to camp, Hook led his two henchmen through the jungle, heading back towards the coast and the hidden cove sheltering his ship.
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Wendy opened her eyes and stared up at the leafy canopy passing over her head, shielding her from the sun. She appeared to be in a canvas hammock of some sort, suspended from a pole which was being carried by two men across their shoulders. An almost transparent muslin cloth had been thrown over the pole and draped over the hammock on either side. The whole thing swayed gently from side to side like a swing accompanied by the grunt and puffs of the laboring men and the crunch of their boots on the trail. Bemused, Wendy tried to remember how she came to be there, her brow wrinkling as she endeavored to recall her last memory before waking. As she raised a hand to rub at her forehead, an image suddenly flashed into her mind and she felt a cold shiver shake her from head to toe.
"She be awake Captain!" One of the porters bellowed, the hammock ceasing its swaying motion as the men halted, Wendy still suspended between them. An all too familiar figure appeared beside the palanquin and lifted the sheltering cloth with his gleaming hook.
"Awake at last m'dear. I'd be obliged if you'd stay where you are for the time being, so much more comfortable than tramping through these accursed jungles don'tcha think?"
Bewildered by his urbane attitude, Wendy could only stare up at Hook like a butterfly pinned on a board. Taking her silence for compliance, Hook dropped the muslin cloth and signaled the men to start walking again, Hook remaining at her side as they traveled.
Wendy swallowed on a dry throat and ventured to speak.
"Wh-a-at have you done with Peter?"
Hook smiled down at her and waved his hand airily. "Oh the lad is about here somewhere."
"Is he alive?"
Hook pretended to be shocked, his eyes opening wide as he returned her frightened gaze. "Do you take me for a monster? The lad is in fine fettle, or he was when I last saw him. Of course that situation could alter if I find myself having to chase after you because you thought it would be fun to escape me?"
Wendy nodded her understanding of his veiled threat against Peter, averting her eyes to stare down at her nervously twisting fingers. Hook smiled, quite sure that Wendy was not about to try anything with her lover still his secure prisoner. Girls were so predictable.
He walked beside her for a few steps before speaking again. "I have something of yours." He waited for Wendy to turn her eyes to his once more. Slowly he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the length of gold chain with the acorn still attached. "Yours I believe?"
"It is mine," Wendy informed him. Lifting up the thin curtain between them, she held out her hand. "Can I have it back?"
Smiling, Hook dangled it above her palm but suddenly snatched it away, dropping the pendant back into his pocket. "I think not. You see I know how important that small trifle is, in the grand scheme of things."
Wendy pulled her hand back inside, disappointed but not surprised that Hook had kept the acorn. "What grand scheme?"
Hook wagged his finger at her and grinned. "Come dear Wendy, do you take me for a fool?" He reached inside his coat and pulled out the book, Wendy's audible gasp confirming his assumptions. "You know what this is, it came from your very own bedroom after all."
"You stole it!"
"Of course." Hook smirked.
Wendy turned her face away, fighting the well of tears that threatened to fall, desperate not to let her enemy see them.
"Sulking m'dear? Never mind, we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other again when we're aboard the Jolly Roger."
Wendy's head snapped back and she gaped at Hook.
"What makes you think I'd be remotely interested in getting to know you? I am your prisoner, not your guest!"
"But you have to admit, you're not being treated like a prisoner are you? I know about the prophecy, it's all written in here." He tapped the book with his hook. "But it doesn't stipulate who the two have to be, so I'm thinking, why not you and me. We could rule Neverland together, you and I."
"You're mad!" Wendy exclaimed, too shocked to be prudent.
"Why mad?" Hook looked surprised at her outburst.
"You are the evil we have to keep the Oracle away from!"
"Evil? I would hardly regard myself as evil." Hook appeared to consider the prospect. "A rogue maybe, a bastard to be sure, even diabolical when my temper is roused, but evil? I think not, certainly no more so than any other of my breed."
"You are a pirate." Wendy stated, as if that said all that needed to be said.
"Yes but is piracy not a necessary evil?" Hook retorted smoothly, raising an eyebrow.
"I beg your pardon?" Wendy was having trouble grasping that this was actually taking place, her conversation with Hook bordering on the ludicrous.
"Granted m'dear of course. But talking about piracy, if you didn't have pirates, there could hardly be any excuse for having Peter Pan, now would there? Of course he has rather grown out of running around half naked with a bunch of grubby brats, but without me Peter Pan would be nothing more than a savage climbing trees and getting into mischief with the natives."
"You are mad." Wendy stated faintly again, her remark ignored by her genial goaler.
"I am here to give Peter a purpose, don't ya see. What would Neverland be without James Hook? Just as what would Peter Pan be without his Wendy?"
Amused by his own warped logic Hook laughed loudly at himself. His men, those close enough to have followed the conversation, laughing along with their Captain.
Wendy lay in her swaying hammock and despaired. If Hook truly believed that he could be the one named in the prophecy, then what hope was there for Peter or herself?
Having grown tired of their discourse, Hook sauntered ahead and left Wendy with much to think about, the motion of the hammock and the increasing heat making her drowsy until she slipped into a deep sleep populated with strange dreams of herself being crowned queen and Peter reaching for her with hooks instead of hands.
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Peter watched Hook pass by Wendy and march to the front of the line of pirates. He longed to know what the wretch has been speaking to her about, his position too distant to hear anything of their conversation. When Hook laughed along with the pirates around him, Peter ground his teeth, sure that Hook had insulted his Wendy. A hard prod between his shoulder blades prompted him to start walking again as the line surged ahead once more, winding its way through the thick jungle along a well marked trail.
A few hours earlier Peter had recovered from Hook's blow within minutes of it being struck, his head ringing more from being held upside down over a burly pirates shoulder than the actual punch. He'd squirmed and the man had quickly dropped Peter to the ground, grasping Peter's arm in an iron grip to prevent him falling over as he fought a wave of dizziness from being so suddenly upended.
Blinking, Peter tried to get his eyes to focus, his head twisting to find where they'd taken Wendy. "Where is she? What have you done with her?"
His guard lifted a thick arm and pointed past the heads of the men in front and Peter craned his neck, seeing two men carrying something on a pole between them.
"Move!" A tug on his arm propelled him forward and he started to walk, still a trifle lightheaded but clearing with each step and deep breath of the humid air.
His body ached from its pummelling by the pirates, his lip quite swollen and a bruise swelling on his cheek from Hooks cowardly blow which had knocked him senseless. The man assigned to guard him was a taciturn individual with a chest as broad as a barrel and a face that would curdle milk. Peter tried to engage the man in conversation but received no answers to his questions, giving up after a few minutes when his goaler decided to curb his tongue with a back handed cuff that left him seeing stars.
Peter was glad that Hook was taking due care of Wendy, but he feared for their future, the odds stacked unfavorably against them. Hook seemed to have brought most of his crew with him on this sortie, all the men heavily armed and probably the hardiest fighters in the ships company. Even if the men on the Nymph knew where Peter and Wendy were, they'd be hard pressed to wrest them away from Hook with this force of pirates to fight. Sweat trickled down his face and Peter looked up at the trees lining the trail, the heat rising from the ground and beating on his head seeming to increase as the morning slipped into the afternoon. He longed to ask for a drink but gritted his teeth instead, not prepared to show any weakness.
Hook finally called a halt as the sun started to dip, the shadows offering a welcome coolness after the scorching heat. Peter dropped to the ground on legs that felt rubbery, his lungs heaving to draw in the humid air. He tried to see where the men took Wendy but there were too many bodies between them and he could only hope she was getting better treatment than him. His guard sat beside him and took a long pull from his water bottle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, never once offering the bottle to Peter.
Exhausted, Peter slipped into a doze, the feeling long gone from his bound hands, his arms aching continuously from being pulled behind his back. With his head almost touching the ground as he bent over his knees, he didn't see Hook approach. Suddenly his hair was gripped by long fingers and his head jerked up and tilted so that Hook could see his face.
"Tired are we Pan?"
"No." Peter feigned indifference but had difficulty focusing on Hook's face, the man's features blurring and fading from Peter's vision.
"Has he had anything to eat or drink?" Hook addressed Duncan, his hand still holding Peter's head by his hair.
Duncan shrugged and shook his head. For a long moment Hook stared down into Peter's face, his pale eyes roaming over his captives bruised features, meeting Peter's defiant gaze, green clashing with blue in a battle of wills.
"Still fighting I see." He released Peter's hair and watched as the young man flopped forward, exposing his bound hands which looked swollen and bloody. "Re-tie these ropes Duncan, I don't want him to lose his hands...yet. Then get some water into him and food, we still have some way to go and I don't think you'd fancy carrying the scrape-grace all the way back to the Jolly Roger."
Stalking away, Hook left his battered foe to the tender mercies of his henchman. Duncan pulled Peter upright so that he was kneeling, giving the pirate access to the rope tied around his wrists. Peter tried to endure the pain of having the ropes removed, but the returning feeling in his hands was excruciating and he cried out when the man pulled the rough rope from around his skin. Seeing the torn and bloody flesh, the pirate called one of the other men over and gave him a muttered instruction. While Peter writhed from the pain in his arms and hands, Duncan rummaged in the trunk he'd requested, pulling out several lengths of cloth and jars of ointment to treat Peter's wrists.
With surprising gentleness Duncan silently dressed Peter's hands, wrapping them in strips of cloth after smearing ointment on the torn skin, Peter watching the process with gritted teeth against the pain, his eyes meeting and holdings the pirates gaze for a few seconds before the man finished the last bandage and sat back on his heels.
"I have to rebind ya hands." Duncan growled, picking up the length of rope and running his fingers down it.
Mutely Peter held his hands out, wincing as his shoulders protested being pulled behind his back again. Once more, with un-looked-for gentleness, Duncan re-tied Peter's wrists, the rope no longer so tight that it chafed, but knotted securely for all that. His prisoner secured, Duncan then held the bottle of water to Peter's swollen lips, keeping it there while the young man drank his fill, gulping the cool liquid thirstily before twisting his head away. All around them the pirate hoard were preparing to make camp for the night, tents popping up like mushrooms under the trees, a fire bursting into life despite the sun being not yet below the horizon.
"Eat." Peter opened his mouth as ordered and savored the course bread shoved between his teeth. Chewing was painful but he relished the morsel, swallowing it quickly when his guard offered him more.
"Feedin' the Capt'n's Pet are we?" A pirate jeered from nearby, Peter ignoring the taunt as he accepted another morsel of food from Duncan's fingers.
"Followin' Captain's orders, so bugger off Chaz."
"Never thought I'd see the day tha' Hook caught Peter Pan so easy. And that girly of 'is...a pretty piece for sure."
"Get about ya business Chaz." Duncan warned the man, popping the last of the bread into Peters mouth before dusting his hands off and getting to his feet. "This be my prisoner and you ain't 'aving a piece of him."
"Better take care the pet doesn't do a runner then, cos if'n he does, your 'ed will be for the chop!" Giving Duncan a crude gesture, Chaz finally left them alone. "Stupid bastard!" Duncan muttered before resuming his place beside Peter.
With his thirst and hunger taken care of, and the worst of his injuries tended, Peter lay on his side, his legs drawn up and tried to sleep, weariness stealing over him and sending him quickly into oblivion despite the noise of the pirates setting up camp around him. Duncan, noting that his prisoner was once more unconscious, stolidly pulled out a knife and started digging at his own filthy fingernails.
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Wendy was jolted awake when the men stopped on Hook's order. She accepted Hook's hand to help her out of the hammock, her legs not wanting to support her as she struggled against the dizziness making her sway.
"Steady as she goes now." Hook admonished her, keeping an arm about her as he lowered her to the ground. "Sit here while I organize the men."
Hook remained standing beside her, his voice barking out orders, his men hurrying to obey. A tent was quickly erected, more ornate than the others, and Hook signaled for his second in command to approach.
"Miss Darling will need a change of clothes and water to bathe in." He looked down at Wendy's bent head. "Sorry we can't stretch to a full bath, but I'm sure that won't matter for now. You can manage, I'm sure, with a bucket and cloth?"
Wendy lifted her head and cast Hook a weary glance. "I can manage."
"See to it Grant. Let me know the moment the tent is ready."
"Yes Captain." Grant gave Hook a small bow and hurried away, shouting orders to the men.
From her position at the side of the trail she tried to spot Peter, keeping her movements as unobtrusive as possible, her eyes searching for any sign of him.
"Ready when you are Captain sir." Grant's voice made her jump and she stared up at the man.
"Good work, bring him here in about an hour."
"Aye sir."
Once more Hook helped Wendy to her feet, keeping his hand curled around her arm as he all but dragged her across to the ornately decorated tent and pushed her inside.
"There's water and towels behind the screen, and a change of clothes. Tidy yourself and meet me out here." Hook ordered. Wendy remained where she was and glared at him.
"I don't think so."
Hook had been pouring himself a glass of madeira at a small side table. He paused fractionally then continued what he was doing. "You look as if you've been to hell and back. I'm offering you a chance to wash off the dust and grime of your ordeal and dress in something other than the dirty rags currently on your back."
"And I want nothing from you."
Hook lifted the glass to his lips and took a drink, the gold liquid sliding down his throat with a welcome burn. "Be that as it may, you will do as I say or I will instruct Grant to come in here and undress you, bathe you and redress you without the benefit of privacy."
"You are a monster!"
"I take it you would prefer to take care of yourself?"
Closing her eyes briefly, Wendy nodded, her lips pressed together in a thin line. Hook downed the last of his madeira and placed the glass back on the table. "The tent is surrounded by my men, so don't even think of making your escape under the canvass, it would only mean an undignified scuffle and you being returned to me with a new collection of bruises to show for your efforts."
"Why are you doing this?" Wendy cried out, fear making her voice harsh.
Hook looked over at her and raised a dark eyebrow. "I am only trying to make your stay as pleasant as possible...you are my guest, and I expect my guests to be clean before they sit down to eat with me."
"By threatening them with force?"
"The choice is yours m'dear..." He smiled, waving his hand in dismissal and sitting down on a small chair, crossing one leg over the other in the casual manner of a man completely at his ease.
For a moment Wendy stood irresolute, biting her lip as she considered her options. She could resist and call his bluff, but a tiny voice cautioned her against testing Hook's resolve, her knowledge of the man too sketchy to accurately judge if he would carry out his threats. All she really knew for sure was that he was capable of great cruelty and not adverse to using manipulation to attain his ends.
Bowing her head she turned and headed for the screen set up in the corner, ignoring the smirk painting Hook's lips as she slipped behind the painted canvas and prepared to wash the grime of the past few days away.
Thirty minutes later she emerged from the behind the screen transformed. The dress provided was a far cry from her usual blouse and skirt combination that covered most of her body from neck to ankle. The confection she was currently wearing was more suited for the ballroom than the jungle and she couldn't help feeling grossly overexposed as she sidled further into the room. Hook watched her pluck nervously at the taffeta skirt with an appreciative eye, the nip-waisted style accentuating Wendy's youthful curves with a ribbon drawing the eye to her shapely bosom and then down to her slender waist. Her arms were bare, the sleeves mere puffs of organza that drifted over the tops of her shoulders, the skirt draping over her hips and down to her feet, a little over long but clinging to her legs without petticoats to push them out. The pale blue slip with its filmy over gauze made her skin look even paler than usual and made her eyes appear as blue as sapphires in the diffuse light of the tent. Her hair had also been brushed ruthlessly into order, the light brown tresses hanging loose almost to the small of her back.
"A prime turnout!" Hook exclaimed, indicating with one finger for her to turn around. Wendy stood stock still and refused the silent request.
"Still defiant, but I'll let it pass this time." Hook murmured, rising to his feet and indicating for his guest to seat herself in the other chair.
"I'd rather stand."
Hook narrowed his eyes but didn't make a comment, reseating himself and once more crossing his legs. He had shed his heavy brocade coat and sat in his shirt sleeves, long embroidered waistcoat and breeches. The dark blue silk of his shirt and sapphire velvet of his waistcoat and trousers a nice accompaniment to Wendy's pale blue dress.
"We make a pretty pair, don'tcha think?" He didn't wait for her to answer but instead lifted a silver bell off the table and rang it twice before putting it down. "As you are now suitably refreshed, I think we can eat."
The canvas wall of the tent was pulled back half way and Hook's henchman, Grant appeared, waving in several of the crew who all carried plates and bowls of food, one also carrying a tray with a jug and goblets which were all placed on trestles pulled into the center of the tent while Hook looked on, Wendy backing away until she came up against the wall of the tent. The men set up the tables as quickly as possible, then were ushered out, but not before they had all ogled Wendy, her face burning from their bold, knowing looks. Grant remained behind and looked to Hook for further orders. His Captain rose to his feet and pulled his chair over to the trestle, then the other chair which he placed beside his own, holding it out courteously, waiting for Wendy to join him.
"I'm not hungry." Wendy avowed, meeting his narrowed eyes with a defiant stare and an obstinately raised chin. Hook let go a long suffering sigh and crooked a finger at Grant. The pirate immediately walked around to where Wendy stood and carefully, but forcefully dragged her to the table and sat her down, standing behind her chair to obviate any attempts to get up again.
Infuriated, Wendy glared at Grant before turning and staring stonily across the trestle at the wall opposite.
Hook ignored her and poured water into the two goblets.
"You must be thirsty...drink."
Apart from a tightening of the lines around her mouth, Wendy didn't move or indicate that she had heard him.
"This becomes tedious. Bring him in Grant and let's see if our guest can be persuaded to cooperate."
Wendy's eyes flickered to Hook momentarily before watching Grant move across to the tents opening and look out, beckoning to someone outside. She could hear a commotion as if the men were wrestling just beyond the tent and then the flap was pulled back fully and she saw the men manhandling their captive, pitching him forward so that he sprawled face down into the ground at Grant's feet.
"Peter!" Wendy had surged to her feet on seeing him, her face chalk white as she moved to go to him. In a flash Hook had fastened his fingers about her wrist and held her still, her frantic twisting not dislodging his grip one iota as Grant hauled Peter to his knees.
"Oh Peter!" Wendy moaned, seeing the bruises and blood marring his face and body, her eyes filling with tears as she strained to release her arm from Hook's grip.
"Wendy!" Peter's cry of relief at seeing her unharmed turned to pain as Grant fixed a painful grip on his hair to force his head back.
"Oh stop, stop you're hurting him...please...please let him go!" She turned to her tormentor and fixed her tearful gaze on him, begging him to release her. "Anything, I'll do whatever you say, just stop hurting him."
"Do as the Lady says Grant, let Pan go." Hook purred, still maintaining his bruising grip on her wrist as his henchmen let Peter's hair go and stood back, his captive slumping forward in relief.
"Oh Peter!" Wendy whispered, the tears flowing down her face as she continued to twist her arm in a vain attempt to free herself from Hook's grasp.
"Now, I believe I asked if you would like a drink..." Hook drawled, yanking downward and forcing Wendy back into her seat. He could feel the tremors shaking her slender frame as she stared at Peter's down bent head, tears still sliding down her face.
"W-w-what?" Wendy asked bewildered, turning to face him again.
He released her wrist and held out a goblet to her, but she shook her head emphatically. Putting it down he raised his hand and Grant once more hauled Peter upright by his hair, Peter's face contorted with the effort of not crying out, his teeth bared as he denied Hook the satisfaction of hearing him in pain. Wendy wasn't so strong and she whimpered in agony, wanting desperately to go to him.
"Are you thirsty now Wendy?" Hook once more held up the goblet and this time Wendy understood, snatching it from his hand and tipping it shakily to her mouth. Hook smiled.
Grant released his captive and Peter once more slumped forward, his breath hissing between his teeth as his discomfort receded.
"I think we understand the rules of this little game now." Hook speared a slice of meat on his hook and held it out to Wendy, who hesitated only a fraction before holding out her plate for Hook to fill.
The meal seemed interminably to Wendy, the food dust in her mouth, but she didn't give Hook cause to torment Peter again, her body responding to Hook's commands like a puppet, accepting the food and drink as if pulled by strings but her eyes always on the figure kneeling on the ground in front of them. At last Hook was done and signaled for Grant to have the table cleared. With the food gone and the trestles pushed to the side, Wendy could only sit with her nerves stretched taut and wait for Hook's next move. Except for when he'd first been brought in, Peter hadn't raised his head or looked at Wendy again, his body bowed and bound, helpless before his enemy.
Hook alternated his glance between Wendy's strained face and stiff demeanor and Peter's apparently abject submission, his eyes glacial as they swept over the young man's ragged appearance. Night had drawn in outside the tent and braziers lit along with several candles to provide illumination inside.
"Well now, what do you suggest I do with him?"
Wendy jumped and turned to stare at Hook. "Do with him?"
"I was thinking I should have a cage built and placed prominently somewhere on the ship, then I can gloat to my hearts content and you could be sure to see him everyday...would you like that?"
"You are despicable...let him go."
"M'dear you ask too much."
"You have me...you have the book, the acorn pendant..you don't need Peter, let him go."
"And have him come after me blood the minute he's out of me sight?...No, can't be done."
"If I was..." Wendy faltered, then started again. "If I..was to promise I would stay with you..voluntarily and not try to escape...would you let him go?"
"What are you suggesting? You are already my guest...what makes you think you have anything to bargain with?"
"I-I..." Wendy stammered, her mouth dry as dust as she contemplated exactly what she was intending to do. Before she could answer Hook a movement drew her attention to the figure which had remained silent and still throughout the meal. Peter was getting to his feet, albeit with difficulty. Grant made a move to stop him but Hook signaled for his henchman to stand back.
Peter managed to get to his feet and stood with his legs braced apart, his head up and tilted arrogantly, green eyes blazing. Briefly he washed his gaze over Wendy and she felt scorched by the contempt blazing from him before his eyes turned to Hook.
"She has nothing to bargain with, and no right to make false promises. I don't let go of what is mine and make no mistake, I intend to hold on to her despite her treachery."
Wendy felt the blood drain from her body. Peter thought she was here with Hook willingly, that she had betrayed him for a meal and clean clothes. Feeling sick she stared down at her hands laying limp in her lap.
Hook stared at Peter and then laughed, slapping his knee with his hand and banging on the side table with his hook.
"Oh a merry jest...you intend to hold her...with what?" Hook snarled, the laughter dying away to be replaced with a cold anger. "You are in no position to dictate anything...boy!"
Wendy sat as if carved from stone, Peter and Hook not sparing her a glance. A gust of wind buffeted the canvas wall beside her and she flinched. Grant still stood, his arm crossed, just inside the opening of the tent, his eyes flickering to the peaked ceiling and the walls as the wind outside seemed to pick up. Hook and Peter continued to glare balefully at each other, oblivious to anything beyond their battle of wills.
"You think you can best me boy? You are too old to fly and too young to be taken seriously. If I choose to fulfill the prophecy there is nothing you can do to stop me."
"You don't have the Oracle and you don't have the thimble...without those, the prophecy will be nothing more than an empty riddle."
"Too true...but you do have them, or know where they are and for the price of her safety, you will part with them willingly...or I will have to use stronger forms of persuasion on you..." Hook suddenly looked sly, "...or maybe I'll just inflict them on her!" He grinned malevolently. "How long would you hold out if you had to watch her being tortured Pan?"
"Touch one hair on her head and you'll die at my hands Hook!"
The wind outside was now screaming around the tent, the canvas snapping back and forth and straining the guy ropes, shuddering with each slam of the wind against its side. Peter and Hook remained oblivious, but Wendy and Hook's henchman stared at the walls of the tent with apprehension. In the distance Wendy could hear a growling sound as if a thousand lions were roaring their defiance and she started up out of her chair. Grant also heard the sound and stepped forward.
"Captain sir...outside...something is happening!"
The growling noise was rising to a scream and Hook suddenly rose to his feet, his verbal sparring with Peter forgotten in the face of an unknown threat.
"See what it is Grant," he ordered, lashing out without warning and backhanding Peter who staggered and fell to one knee. Wendy instantly ran forward and dropped to the ground beside him, her arms surrounding Peter as he swayed, dazed by Hook's blow.
As she steadied him he raised his head and stared at her. Blood trickled from the freshly split lip and she dabbed at it with a cloth napkin she been holding clenched in her hand without realizing it.
The screaming wind was still rising, battering the tent walls and making the poles sway, several of the guy ropes snapping with a loud twang and making the tent sag alarmingly. Wendy held Peter's face between her hands and saw him close his eyes, a line forming between his brows as he concentrated fiercely, a muscle in his cheek twitching as he clenched his jaw.
Hook was standing at the entrance to the tent and staring out in disbelief at the chaos being wrought among his men as a tornado twisted its way towards them, the trees either side whipping back and forth in the gale, tents, belongings and men flying up into the air. Grant had run back to Hook and now stood beside his Captain dumbstruck with horror at the carnage being wreaked on the trail by a force of nature never seen before. Lightning flashed and both men flinched, their arms raised to shield their eyes from the intense light.
Taking advantage of their captors distraction, Wendy fumbled to free the ropes confining Peter's hands behind his back. She sobbed as she wrestled with the knots, her fingers shaking so badly she almost cried out with frustration. Peter made no sound as she worked, all his senses focused on the storm outside, his body thrumming with energy as if infused with the wild fury bearing down on them. By now the wind had extinguished all the candles and braziers and the tent was plunged into a maelstrom of lightning and noise, Peter and Wendy abandoned to their fate by Hook and his men, the tent only held to the ground by a few guy ropes, the canvas walls flapping uselessly.
Finally Wendy freed his hands and Peter slowly drew them in front of his body, his shoulders screaming in pain as he flexed his fingers and stared down as the bandages covering his wrists. Slowly he rose up, his hands hanging at his sides, his head tilted as if listening for something despite the deafening cacophony from outside. Wendy stood beside him but didn't touch him, her body shaking with cold and apprehension, unsure whether to flee or stay put and trust Peter to keep her safe. As she cowered, the tent was suddenly ripped from its tenuous moorings and whirled up into the sky, all its contents, bar the two people at its center, whisked away and smashed, scattered like the rest of the pirate camp. The tornado was now directly upon them and Wendy had to hide her face from the flying dust, her skirts lashing her legs and making her stagger. Peter's hand reached out and drew her close, the wind swirling around them but somehow not battering them with its full force as if they stood in a protected bubble, everything else around them feeling the full force of the storm and being swept away in a maelstrom of destruction.
"It won't hurt us Wendy...look up, it's beautiful."
Peter's quiet voice drew Wendy's head from its place against his shoulder. She stared upwards and gasped at the marvel above them. The tornado was directly overhead and swirling in a long funnel reaching up towards the stars. The walls of the wind storm swayed and undulated, weaving back and forth as it strived to maintain its funnel shape, debris and dust swirled madly about its fringes. At the bottom stood Wendy and Peter, both staring up into the heart of the tornado, Wendy's hair blinding her as it writhed around her head in the gyrating wind currents.
Peter's face held a look of intense satisfaction, a crooked grin stretching his swollen and bloody lips. Wendy clung to him and shivered, fearful of the forces unleashed around her. Of Hook and his crew there was no sign, all evidence of their existence wiped from the trail, their bodies and belongings blown into the jungle, hammered and terrorized by a force of nature never experienced before.
Peter started to move, walking slowly forward with Wendy at his side, the storm somehow moving with them, swirling over their heads and still wreaking havoc on the ground around them , but not at its heart which maintained a strange calm. Carefully they picked their way over the littered ground, moving within the storm and leaving the pirates and their destroyed camp further and further behind.
Step by step they made their way through the jungle, the tornado starting to lessen its destructive force, the winds slowing and battering the trees less violently the more distance they traveled away from Hook.
When they were completely out of sight, the wind abruptly died and the silence seemed loud to Wendy's ears as they stood and glanced around. The jungle was as black and impenetrable as ever, the sky above their heads spangled with stars, a few remaining clouds drifting away even as they watched.
"Is it over?" Wendy whispered, her fingers clenching and unclenching on the remains of his shirt, her body still shaking with shock.
Peter let go a deep sigh, his formerly tense muscles relaxing as he let go of the feelings he'd needed to keep himself at a fever pitch of rage which created and fed the devastating storm. "It's over."
"H-how did you..." Wendy started but a finger on her lips silenced her.
"We need to get further away, we're still too close...come, I know somewhere we can hide until daylight."
Taking her hand he led them through the dense undergrowth following a path invisible to Wendy among the shadows. After a short trek they reached a clearing where a dilapidated hut leaned drunkenly to one side, its roof sprouting weeds and its door hanging brokenly on rusted hinges. It looked vaguely familiar but Wendy was too exhausted to care and gratefully followed Peter inside to find the floor piled high with windblown leaves. She allowed herself to be pulled down onto a thick heap and quickly snuggled up against Peter's side, wrapping her arms around him as he did the same for her.
They lay there in surprising comfort and warmth, Peter's eyes sliding shut as the events of the day and night stole over him. He felt Wendy move and opened his eyes to find her leaning over him, her face in shadow.
"I didn't betray you Peter...I'm not a traitor."
"I know."
"Then why did you say those horrible thing?"
"I wanted Hook to concentrate on me, not you...so I pretended to hate you."
"Oh."
"I don't hate you Wendy."
"You don't?"
"No...not even close. I need to sleep now...I'm so tired." His voice slurred and his eyes closed again.
As he slipped the shackles of consciousness, he felt Wendy's lips meet his in a light kiss.
"I love you too, Peter Pan."
Smiling he let go of the conscious world and new nothing more.
Beside him, Wendy looked down at his relaxed face, the bruises marring his handsome features not lessening her love one whit. If anything they were badges of courage and she kissed each welt as lightly as a butterfly before settling down once more at his side and closing her eyes.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
TBC...