Title: Asking to be Panned
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Nine - A Pirating We Go, Yo Ho!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
"I think it's too bad of you not to provide some form of transportation, my poor feet are positively blistered!"
Wendy's shrill complaint, number one hundred and three, floated to Hook over the heads of his pirates and smote his ears. It had been the same ever since they'd left the hollow tree, the girl finding fault with everything, whether it be the smell of his men, the quality of the food or the condition of the trail they followed. Nothing was good enough, in Wendy's opinion, her complaints aimed at Hook, but clearly heard by everyone within a mile of the heavily armed troop.
Stepping to the side of the path, Hook waited with ill concealed wrath for the annoying wench to come abreast of him, her honey blond hair attractively cascading in disarray over her creamy shoulders, her hands tied in front and attached by a rope to the man before her. The man's expression of resigned irritation wrung a wry smile of sympathy from his Captain, Hook well aware that for every complaint pitched for all the world to hear, there were a dozen more audible only to the men in front and behind the troublesome harpy. Looking a little closer, Hook noticed that some of the men that passed him had rags stuffed in their ears to drown out the constant whining of their prisoner. As Wendy drew level with Hook she opened her admittedly pretty mouth to utter another complaint but found her words cut off as his hand clamped tightly around her neck. Dragging the girl towards him, Hook held her remorselessly as she struggled to free herself, her wide blue eyes holding a hint of panic as he easily resisted her feeble attempts, his fingers preventing her from uttering a sound. The entire column had halted and his men watched with ill-concealed glee as the girl that had proved a bane on their wretched existence was silenced most effectively. After listening to the half gurgles issuing from Wendy's lips, Hook leant down and held his cheek against her, his lips against one shell-like ear.
"Hold your tongue or I will cut it out."
Abruptly Wendy's struggled ceased, her eyes becoming impossibly wide as she stared in horrid fascination up at the man holding her so easily. For once she found her usual repertoire of feminine tricks had deserted her, the pirates long fingers wrapped firmly and effectively around her throat, gagging her succinctly with one utterance.
"Do you understand what I say?" Hook asked, dragging his cheek against hers, bringing them back face to face. "Or do I have to snap this pretty neck to make my point."
Barely able to move, Wendy managed to swallow before moving her head fractionally from side to side. Hook grinned, his eyes sparkling, his humor returned with her acquiescence. "Good girl. But one more thing, if I hear so much as a squeak out of you before we reach the Jolly Roger, I will find a much better use for you than just being decorative." Before letting her go, Hook ground his lips against hers in a bruising kiss, his men cheering and whooping in the background. Abruptly he let Wendy go, the girl falling backwards to be caught by one of his men and set on her feet, her face scarlet while her mouth opened and closed like a fish, her wrath almost palpable. Hook only had to raise one finger and her mouth clamped shut like a vice, her head tossing as she turned to face the front, her back rigid with rage.
"Proceed." Hook waved the column of men forward and the trek began, some of the men whistling in the sudden silence as they tramped past their leader. Hook stood nonchalantly by the trail until the pole carrying Peter Pan rolled up in a net reached him. Hook signaled for the men carrying their prize to halt. Within the tangle of netting, Hook could see glimpses of sun golden skin, a tawny tousled head at one end, bare feet at the other. As he approached, Hook distinctly heard what sounded like a snore coming from the netting.
His men stared stolidly ahead, the pole resting on their brawny shoulders, the net swaying slightly as Hook came closer. In disbelief, Hook realised that his arch enemy was fast asleep, comfortably cocooned within the confining netting while his men sweated to carry the brat back to the ship. Hook almost laughed out loud.
"Let me know when his lordship awakes," Hook chuckled, waving the men onwards, a snuffling snore the only comment from his captive.
Watching the cavalcade wind it's way through the jungle, Hook wondered briefly if it would have been better to leave the annoying brat where he was. Shaking his head, Hook strode past his laboring men to the front of the column, past the snoring Pan, past the glaring, but gratifyingly silent Wendy and beyond, his good humor restored by the ridiculous behavior of his captives.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Wendy felt exceedingly sorry for herself when they finally halted to make camp in the late afternoon. Her poor delicate feet were aching abominably, the toes pink and sore and she dabbled them slowly back and forth in the bucket of water given to her for that purpose by one of the men guarding her. Taking Hook's threat very seriously, Wendy had kept her tongue between her teeth and not uttered one word of complaint or otherwise as the day dragged on, her wrath at his rude treatment of her keeping the pain and hunger at bay, her spine rigid as she stared straight ahead, ignoring the snorts and sniggers of the men around her.
But, once they had stopped and she had been left tied to a tree while the men worked to set up their camp, the discomforts of the day rushed back and tormented her. Keeping her eyes demurely lowered, she surreptitiously watched what was going on, while appearing to be uncaring. She had seen the men enter the clearing with the pole suspended from their shoulders, the netting wrapped body of Peter carried beyond her sight. She chewed her lip in consternation and wondered what Hook had done to her beloved Peter to render her hero so quiet and still throughout the day. The pirates must have done something dastardly to Peter, drugged him or knocked him out. Her poor darling must be in agony, and need her desperately. Feeling the swell of righteous indignation rise in her softly pillowed bosom, Wendy shook the water from her abused feet as she removed them from the bucket and stood up, fully prepared to go in to battle for her beloved.
"Have we forgotten so soon, precious?" Hook's silky drawl from behind her made her jump and she spun to find the dangerous pirate standing behind her. Keeping her lips firmly closed, Wendy mimed as best she could with her bound hand, for permission to speak.
"Only if you refrain from bombarding me with your unceasing whining." Hook told her, his expression wary.
Well aware that her previous tactics has proven useless, Wendy decided to try something else. Batting her ridiculously long lashes at her captor, Wendy casually dropped one shoulder, a curl of hair instantly flopping over it to lay against the expanse of creamy skin above the neckline of her dress. As expected, the man's eyes were drawn to the small movement, the heat of his gaze sending tingles down Wendy's spine.
"I only wanted to ask what you have planned for us," Wendy purred softly, her body leaning fractionally forward to better display her assets to the Captain. "For me." She added, tilting her head to one side so that her impossibly long neck stretched like an offering, the pulse visible in the evening light. Hook appeared mesmerized by her performance, his eyes eating her up hungrily.
"You really are a naughty minx, Miss Darling. I'm sure you found all those lovely little tricks worked just beautifully on your beau's back in merry old London. You've obviously enslaved the boy, but do not think to ensnare the man as well." Lifting his metal hook, the Captain slid the cold steel down and over Wendy's bared shoulder, capturing some of her hair and twisting it around the curved appendage. "As for what I intend to do with you both. I rather think I'll keep that as a surprise."
Wendy froze, her pretty mouth turning down at the corners even as her eyes narrowed accusingly. "What have you done to Peter?"
Keeping her hair wrapped around his hook, he tugged the skein, forcing Wendy to tilt her head backwards to ease the tension on her scalp. "What do you think I've done?" Hook asked, a smug smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "The boy is safe and sound, wrapped up in the net to prevent him flying off. As far as I'm aware the devious scamp has slept the day away, if the snores I heard earlier were anything to judge by. Apparently you wore him out, poor boy." He lowered his face, pressing his whisker roughened cheek against Wendy's. "You really are a tigress, aren't you."
Jerking her head away Wendy glared up at Hook, her bound hands, forgotten by Hook, reaching forward to grab at the front of her tormentors trousers. Feeling the firming flesh beneath she dug in her fingers nails and pinched hard, twisting for good measure. Hook reacted like a man suddenly stung by a scorpion, his body springing backwards while his one hand clutched at his groin, his bottom lip held between his teeth as tears sprung to his shocked eyes. Wendy also moved, scuttling backwards away from the pirate Captain, her expression a mixture of fear and grim satisfaction.
Hook's men had been keeping away from the pair, but as Hook bent double and wheezed audibly, they crowded closer, two of the men grasping Wendy by her upper arms and holding her between them, her feet perforce dangling several inches off the ground. Another approached Hook only to narrowly avoid being eviscerated by the metal hook, the pirate Captain hissing like a snake as he slowly straightened, his white face making his eyes appear to glow in the dying light of the day.
"You'll pay for that!" Hook gasped, turning away and hobbling painfully back towards his tent.
"Wotcha want us to do with 'er?" One of Wendy's jailer's asked of his retreating Captain.
Hook paused, turning his head to peer over his shoulder at the unrepentant girl still held by the two men. "No food or water, gag and tie her hand and foot, I don't want her slipping from out grasp tonight, you hear?"
"Aye, aye Captain sir...she'll be right and tight and trussed like a chicken." Using his free hand to salute, the man waited for Hook to resume his pain filled trek before looking over at his mate who held on to Wendy's other arm. "You 'eard the Captain."
Within minutes Wendy was summarily bound and gagged, Hook's henchmen handling her quite rudely as they tossed her onto the ground, her eyes blazing impotently at them as they dusted off their meaty hands and sauntered back to what they'd been doing, leaving her to rage in silence.
In his tent, Hook collapsed gratefully onto his narrow cot, his legs drawing up in an attempt to ease the sting between his legs. The pain had been initially blinding, knocking the breath from his lungs as he doubled over in agony. Hobbling to the tent had only delayed his reaction, Hook now pulling up his knees as he curled into a ball, his good hand cupped protectively over his abused genitalia, a thin, high pitched whine of pain issuing between his lips as he started to rock back and forth.
His personal attendant and first mate, Mister Smee, having heard from one of the witnesses what had happened, clucked like a mother hen around his charge, offering hot towels and soothing cordials, all of which Hook rejected with curses and insults and dire threats of what he was going to do with his first mate if he didn't stop hovering like a blow-fly.
"Tut, tut Captain, you won't get better if you don't let me see the damage." Smee hopped from one foot to the other, craning his neck to see over the Captain's shoulder.
"She nearly emasculated me, you fool. And no, you can't look!" Hook ground out through clenched teeth, the agony in his groin reduced to a throbbing ache. "God's blood, I'll have her eyes for this!"
"But such pretty eyes," Smee gushed, still hovering, a steaming towel held in readiness over his forearm. Slowly but surely the pain started to recede and Hook found himself able to uncurl from his hedgehog-like position, his hand still cupped over his abused manhood. Smee stepped back to give the man room, an encouraging smile on his wrinkled face.
"There you go now, all right again. Sure you don't want a warm towel to help ease the swelling?" Smee twittered.
Hook opened his mouth to snap off his first mates head, but thought again. A warm, soft cloth might just help sooth his injury. "All right Smee...let me get out of these cursed breeches."
While Hook gingerly eased himself out of his flamboyant velvet trousers, his first mate resoaked the towel in the water keeping hot over the small brazier, wringing it out and carrying it back to where Hook was just lowering himself carefully back onto his pallet. Clad in only a thin pair of Parisian silk drawers, trimmed with an abundance of trumpery French lace as was his want, Hook delicately laid the cloth between his legs, his eyes clothing in bliss as the warm towel eased the ache. Sighing in relief, Hook lay supine while his first mate bustled around the tent, disappearing briefly to organize food and drink for his Captain.
Not far from Hook's pavilion, Peter had finally woken up and was exploring the limits of his confining prison, while not alerting his guards to his conscious state. He had been awake some time, but with everyone assuming him still slumbering, it made it easy to watch the coming's and going's around the camp without anyone stopping him. After the hasty bundling out of the bed and into the bare necessity of clothing, Peter had found himself quickly swathed in the netting before he could do more than make a token protest, Hook not allowing him so much as a glimpse of the outside without being encased in restraints. Faced with an unalterable situation, Peter made the best of things and decided to catch up on his sleep, a luxury that had been denied him previously for reasons he wasn't about to dwell on for fear it would distract him from his purpose. He'd seen the altercation between Hook and his Wendy, cheering silently when she'd disabled the pirate so effectively, wincing as he watched Hook hobble back to his tent in obvious discomfort. Now he just had to wait for darkness to fall to effect his own plan of escape.
Unknown to his enemies, Peter, despite his devil-may-care attitude and carefree spirit, was not one to ignore the practicalities, having had sewn into his clothes a number of handy items to aid in nearly any situation he cared to find himself in. Careful to move slowly, so as not to attract unwanted attention, Peter felt for the blade concealed in his shirt, the short, thin and very sharp piece of metal quite sufficient to slice through the bonds confining him. With his body shielding his hands, Peter worked the blade free of the seam, sliding it out and palming it between his fingers as one of the pirates came close to peer at him through the netting. An overpowering waft of rum soaked breath washed around his head for a few seconds, the fumes making his eyes water behind their closed lids before the man decided that Peter wasn't worth missing out on the man's meal and the pirate wandered off again. With night drawing in, Peter started to saw away at the thick netting, parting strand after strand while keeping his movement all but undetectable to the men grouped around the fires on either side of him. After some time he felt that enough of the strands have been parted to allow him to slip free, his eye kept slitted to allow him to observe the pirates. The men were, for the most part, content to loll around the small blazes watching their food cook, the smell of burning meat heavy in the sultry air. Peter waited until his guard had wandered off to accept the offering of a haunch of some unfortunate animal, before slithering free of the entwined netting, shucking his shirt in the process and quickly arranging the netting once more around it to give the appearance, in the gloom, of him still being prisoner. As his guard started to turn around, Peter shot up into the air and into the branches of the overhanging trees, only a rustle of leaves to betray his passage. The guard ambled back to his post, sitting down heavily beside the net and only casting a cursory glance at his supposed prisoner before settling down to consume his blackened meal. Peter's eyes gleamed wickedly at he watched the man, and the other's for any sign that his escape had been detected. Satisfied after a few minutes that all was clear, he launched himself once more into the air, clad only in his half breeches, and swooped above the trees, looping around to bring him closer to where his adored Wendy lay trussed and gagged on the ground.
Wendy lay tormented by the sounds and smells of the food being cooked and eaten around her, her stomach setting up a near continuous rumble of growls as the faint breeze tickled her nose with the scents of cooked meat and strong drink. It was full dark now, the jungle around them full of shadows, made strange by the leaping flames of the fires scattered around the encampment. Hook's tent had remained closed since he'd hobbled back to it, her satisfaction at rendering her tormentor so incapacitated short lived as she wriggled to find a more comfortable position on the hard ground, her hands long since lost to feeling within the tight bonds confining them.
She had tried to listen to the men as they talked and joked, hoping that she'd hear something about Peter's fate, as well as her own, but between the men's impossibly cant phrases and almost unintelligible mumbling, she managed to make out nothing, her nerves stretched to breaking point making her jump every time one of the uncouth louts burst into hearty laughter at some crude joke or other.
When a warm hand touched her face she shrieked behind her gag, her body leaping in fright, as much as it could, tied as she was.
"Shhhh it's only me," Peter's voice whispered into her ear, his hand moving from her face, past her shoulders, feeling for the ropes that bound her. As he passed the gag keeping her quiet, Peter tugged it down, his fingers laying across her lips to keep her silent. Those self same fingers then trailed down her chest, quite improperly copping a quick squeeze of her lush breasts before moving down her arms to her hands and working on the knots. Wendy had bitten her lip to stop from crying out her relief at having Peter free and effecting her own escape. In the shadows, he looked like one of them, his hair, face and body unnaturally dark. While Peter worked on her ropes, Wendy craned her head back to keep a sharp eye on her guards, the two brutes currently passing a flagon back and forth over the fire and keeping only a cursory eye on their captive, made confident that she was not able to move more than a little and certainly had no hope of freeing herself anytime soon. Suddenly her hands were free, her arms flopping forward, still numb. Wendy almost groaned out loud as her shoulders protested having been pulled back for so long, Peter's hand once more coming to mask her mouth as if he realised that her need to express her discomfort was expedient. Gritting her teeth, Wendy twisted her head away from Peter's hand, her eyes watering from the pins and needles stabbing at her hands and arms. Peter was now working on her legs, his fingers brushing her skirts back, once more taking advantage of her supine state and running his hands up and down her legs even as he wrestled with the knots. Wendy felt both a violent urge to pummel the living daylight out of him for his insolence, and an equally violent urge to give in to his wicked temptation and make love there and then, despite the dangerously close audience a few feet away. Abruptly her feet were free, the ropes falling away as if by magic. Peter was once more by her head, his fingers warm against her face as he cautioned her to silence again. A loud burst of laughter from the campfire was all Peter needed, the noise sufficient to mask the rustle of Wendy's clothes as he lifted her into his arms and sprang into the air, straight up into the dark night, the ropes left lying on the ground like so many discarded snakes. Wendy had wound her arms about his neck, her face pressed cheek to cheek with him as he carried them to safety.
"Oh the cleverness of you!" Wendy cried out, squeezing him tightly as he lowered them both to the broad branch of a huge tree, the lights of the pirate camp still visible through the leaves. Peter set her on her feet but kept his arm around her, his eyes bright in his dark face. Wendy reached up an exploratory finger and flaked off some of the mud disguising his usually sun-bronzed skin, the dark earth falling away as Peter also reached up to scratch at the drying dirt.
"So that's why you seemed like a shadow...how very clever of you," Wendy cooed, helping Peter to divest himself of his grubby disguise, the mud showering off him until only a few flakes remained, his hair sticking up in stiff spikes until he ran an impatient hand through it to rid himself of it's itchy coating of mud.
"It was rather clever of me, wasn't it," Peter agreed, smiling smugly as Wendy snuggled close to him, her head resting on his shoulder. "And I thought you were jolly clever as well, what did you do to Hook to make him hobble so?"
Wendy giggled and raised her head. "Oh, I just happened to grab a certain part of his anatomy," she paused fractionally, "and then pinched him as hard as I could," Peter winced, "before twisting it quite savagely."
"Ouch!" Peter yelped, feeling his own manhood flinch in sympathy for the Pirate Captain's suffering. "Remind me not to get you mad at me."
"Silly boy..." Wendy simpered, smirking to herself. "I wouldn't want to damage such an important part of your anatomy, it would be a crime against nature to render you a eunuch at such a tender age. I have so many naughty things I still want to do with you." Plumping up her impossibly pillowy chest while at the same time batting her incredibly long lashes at her lover, Wendy offered up her lips for his delectation and Peter was no slow-top, devouring her mouth in a hungry kiss, his hands once more roaming over her other charms in a proprietary manner that Wendy heartily encouraged.
After several deliciously heated minutes, they drew apart as noises started to issue from the direction of the pirates camp.
"I think they've found that you've escaped." Peter remarked, his voice muffled as he continued to explore the creamy expanse of her neck and shoulders with his lips.
"Poor old Hook will be so cross to have lost both of us. I do believe he had all sorts of wicked things planned for us, especially you." Wendy murmured, her blood starting to heat as Peter and his nimble fingers worked their magic on her all to willing flesh.
Voices were starting to shout garbled instructions, the fires suddenly flaring as the pirates banked them up to provide more like. Hook's voice could be heard shrilly screaming invectives at his men, Peter imagining his face turning purple with rage. Suddenly a wicked grin split Peter's face and he disentangled himself from Wendy to put two fingers in his mouth, a piercing whistle cutting through the night and all but deafening his lady love.
"Good grief, you might have given me some warning!" Wendy cried, her eyes ringing from the carrying sound. Peter only grinned.
"Watch the sky Wendy." Hunkering down on his haunches, Peter cupped his hands, the fingers overlapping, over his mouth, his cheeks acting like bellows to blow air through the gap left between his tightly clasped hands. A haunting sound emerged, Peter playing his hands like he played his Pan pipes, the tune rising and falling, drifting over the tops of the trees. At first, Wendy could see nothing unusual, her eyes straining to see anything in the moonless sky, then she heard a rustle, like the wind getting up.
"What is that Peter?"
"You'll see. Hold on, I want to get closer to see in to the camp."
"Closer?" Wendy squeaked, barely having time to wrap her arms about his neck before he was flying them to the next tree and back towards the pirates camp. "Peter what are you doing?"
"Wait and see." Peter whispered, still grinning. The rustling sound was growing louder and Wendy twisted her head around looking for the source. Peter touched her hand to draw her attention, pointing up at the sky. Wendy could see what looked like a cloud moving rapidly across the sky, the edges shifting and moving as it came ever closer.
The pirates remained unaware of the surprise coming their way, Hook still bellowing orders, pitch torches starting to flare into life as the pirates prepared to search for their missing prisoners. Suddenly Peter placed his arm around Wendy's shoulder and used his hand to push her head down. "Keep very still and don't make a sound." Cupping his hands once more around his mouth he started to make the strange warbling sounds again, the rustling sound now almost deafening, squeaks and flapping wings adding to the unearthly rustling as a vast colony of fruit bats soared through the dark sky, passing so close to where Peter and Wendy crouched in the tree that the draft ruffled their hair, the creatures squeaking incessantly as they wheeled and spiraled around the camp. Peter lifted his head and whistled loudly, the bats suddenly dropping from the sky and down towards the pirates milling below. One of the men looked up and saw the black cloud of flying creatures descending towards them and screamed repeatedly, the pirates erupting into chaos, milling around and tripping over each other as the bats bombarded the pirates on all sides.
Wendy and Peter, watching from the safety of the trees above, were convulsed with laughter as the pirates running around below tripped over each other, some of the men fleeing into the jungle, their screams fading as the foliage engulfed them. Hook could be seen waving his arms to fend of the bats, his hook glinting in the light of the fires.
Peter was bent double, clutching his stomach as tears of mirth rolled down his cheeks, unbending just sufficiently to point at hook who was now tearing at his long hair, a bat caught in the curls, the pirate Captain whirling around like a dervish to rid himself of the clinging creature. Wendy couldn't make any comment because she was also laughing so hard her face ached, her breath coming in hiccups and she tried to rein back her giggles.
"Oh Peter - oh dear, this is too funny!" Wendy gasped, leaning weakly against the tree's trunk to stop herself falling to her knees. Down below Hook had managed to extricate the unfortunate creature that had lodged in his hair, flinging it away only to have it land full square across Smee's face, the plump man letting out a frightened yell before running around in circles blindly, his arms outstretched before him.
Pirates were bumping into each other and running hither and thither, one falling into a fire only to leap up with his trousers smoking, his hands clutching at his bottom as he yelled for a bucket of water. Another heard his scream and hurled the contents of a soup pot over the unfortunate man, getting the savory contents everywhere but on the man's blackened backside.
Eventually Peter managed to draw enough breath to whistle again, the sound high-pitched above the cacophony below. Immediately the bats ceased their frantic flapping, lifting en masse away from the pirate camp to wheel away over the tree top, back towards their normal nocturnal hunting grounds. Several loud reports from hastily primed pistols followed their departure, the pirates milling around and staring up at the sky as if expecting the creatures to return.
Satisfied that he'd wreaked a suitable revenge, Peter wiped his eyes, his lips still pulled back in an impossibly wide grin as he unbent and reached to gather Wendy close to his side.
"I don't think they'll be getting much sleep for the rest of tonight," Peter chortled, casting the disordered camp below with a final look before lifting Wendy off the branch with him. "Let's go home."
Wendy nuzzled her nose against his neck and held on tight as Peter flew them over the now silent jungle, a faint crescent moon just rising above the horizon. "Where are we going to go? Hook found our last home, and we left everything back there, all our clothes, everything!"
"I have a hundred and one homes here on Neverland. Trust me."
As they slowly flew away from the carnage they'd left behind, Wendy wondered if they would ever be safe from Hook and his machinations.
On the other hand, life was never dull on Neverland.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
TBC