A/N: Thanks so much for the interest in the first chapter! Hope you enjoy this one - let me know what you think :)
Slowly, I looked up, my breath catching in my throat.
A boy was grinning down at me, amusement dancing in his blue kohl-ringed eyes. A worn pirate hat sat lopsided on his dark hair as tilted his head, studying me.
"Well, yeh not from around here, are yeh lass?" he continued. He gestured to my attire. "These clothes, they would have been wrecked in an instant. No…" His grin grew broader. "Yeh from Auradon."
My eyes widened and I took another step back. He merely took a step forward, towering over my short frame. He was clearly enjoying my discomfort.
I glanced around as I continued to back up, hoping for some way to escape this situation. There was none.
A few steps later and my back slammed against brick.
The boy smirked, raising his left hand. Something glinted in the lamplight and I flinched. The boy must have noticed, as he brought his hand up to brush against my jaw. I stilled as cool metal grazed my skin.
There was no doubting who stood before me now.
"Cat got yeh tongue?" He let out a laugh and leant forward, his eyes gleaming wickedly. "I am curious though. What is a young princess like yerself doin' on the Isle?"
"I am not a princess," I ground out.
That was technically a lie. My mother was a Queen, which by birth made me a princess, but I certainly didn't consider myself one.
"Ah, so the pretty girl does have a voice. Now, the question is, does she also have a name to match?"
I clamped my jaw shut defiantly, trying to look anywhere but those dazzling blue eyes.
"Hmm. Perhaps if I told yeh my name?" the boy asked.
I tried not to wince as the tip of his hook moved to my trace my throat; my heart was thundering at a hundred miles an hour and I was sure he could tell.
"It's Harry, Harry Hook. No doubt yeh've heard of my father."
He clearly meant it as a threat, but personally, I thought the moustache-wearing Captain Hook that depicted in our textbooks was completely ridiculous, although I wasn't about to tell his son that.
Harry's eyebrow arched when I didn't respond, and his hook dug slighter harder into my skin – a warning not to keep him waiting.
"Crimson, my name's Crimson." The words flowed out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Stupid.
"Crimson… a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Uma's goin' t' love this. We don't get so many Auradon girls on the Isle." His gaze returned to mine as his hook continued to play with the collar of my dress. "I imagine yeh could fetch us a pretty penny." He reached up and used his hook to brush a stray hair off my face. "Gold coins… silver goblets… diamonds… Really, it's such a shame I'm goin' t' have to hurt yeh first."
He reared his arm back. I knew what was going to happen a fraction before it did.
I ducked, thanking the genie for my quick reflexes. Harry's arm swung forward, his hook slamming into the brick wall where my head had been only moments before.
I didn't stop to think, diving under his arm and sprinting towards the entrance of the alleyway.
"Ah, so the little princess wants t' play a game?" I heard him call after me. "Yeh won't win this one, darlin'!"
I didn't dare stop as I dove left onto the main street with no idea where I was heading. All I could pray was that it wasn't a dead end.
I could hear Harry's footsteps pounding behind me as I rounded the next corner. People scattered as I teared through a building decked out with a plethora of market stalls, jumping over displays of spindly furniture and sliding under tables filled with tarnished and battered trinkets in an attempt to throw off my pursuer. From the angry shouts behind me, it wasn't working.
I was so distracted with what was going on behind me that, as I neared the end of the hall, I nearly didn't see as a man pulled a rickety wooden cart piled high with rotting fruit straight into my path. Panicking, I jumped, my leg catching on a rusty nail as I rolled off the other side. I let out a cry, stumbling on the landing as pain seared through my calf. Tears burned in my eyes, but on hearing shouts egging on my chaser, I forced myself to keep going, staggering out onto the street.
With a quick glance both ways, I headed down the busier street, hoping to lose the pirate amongst the crowds. My breaths came in ragged breaths as I fought my way through the people, twisting at every crossroad.
It was only when the crowds started to thin that I ducked into a doorway, crouching behind a foul-smelling trashcan.
Moments later I heard Harry round the corner and stop, cursing. I held my breath, praying that he wouldn't try to search for me.
Seconds passed. It felt like hours. I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard footsteps slowly approaching.
Suddenly, there was a yell of frustration, shortly followed by what sounded like an empty can clattering noisily against a nearby wall. I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop my scream.
"I will find yeh, princess!" he shouted out. "There aren' many places t' hide on this Isle, and when I do, ye'll regret this!"
I flinched, but didn't dare move. It was only when the footsteps began to fade away that I let out the breath I had been holding.
Still uneasy, I waited a few minutes longer before I emerged from behind the trashcan, hobbling over to the nearest light to check on my wound.
The initial pain had faded into a dull throb and I winced as I looked down and saw a particularly nasty graze, blood as dark a red as my dress starting to scab over.
As soon as I could find something to clean it with, I would, but until then, it would have to wait. It didn't look too bad, but I didn't dare think about the last time that cart had been washed down. Right now, however, I needed to get away before Harry came back with reinforcements.
Quickly checking both directions for movement, I headed in the opposite direction to which I'd come, staying close to the shadows of the buildings and moving as swiftly as I could. I passed several rundown establishments, their gaudy neon lights buzzing as they blinked on and off. I dared to glance in a couple of broken windows, immediately cringing at the filthy interiors crammed full of inebriated villains. Even as I moved on, their ruckus and shouts could be heard for several blocks.
Suddenly, I missed the calm and the peacefulness of Auradon. Feeling crowded and overwhelmed, I quickened my pace. Drizzle began to fall, a fine mist filling the air and dampening my dress.
I barely felt it, my brain in a fog of its own. In truth I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. Yet the further I ventured, the more desperate I became, moving faster and faster through the streets, almost running, until the untidy shacks and tumbling brick walls disappeared and I suddenly came face to face with the black waters that surrounded the Isle.
I stopped, an ugly lump forming in my throat as I choked out a cry into the night air. Panic was bubbling inside me and I stared across the unfamiliar inky depths. My eyes swept along the horizon, searching for the faint lights of Auradon beyond the rolling mist that had collected at the dome's edge. When I finally spotted them, twinkling in the far distance, tears pricked at my eyes once again.
How I wished I could take back this day. Why hadn't I fought the King's decision? Why hadn't I stood up for myself?
The truth was, I hadn't expected this to happen. I had thought I was safe in Auradon; I had thought they were the fairest people in the land. But what they had done to me was not fair. They may as well have sentenced me to death.
My eyes trailed left as I followed the orangey glow, unconsciously searching for the tall turrets of Auradon Prep. However, before I could spot them, my gaze caught on a large looming structure at the water's edge. Squinting, I tried to make out what it was. It looked like some sort of… bridge?
It suddenly dawned on me. This was the bridge that connected the Isle to Auradon! Perhaps there would be a way to barter my way back, some trolls who guarded a gate?
The lump in my throat cleared as a spark of hope ignited itself inside me, and I rushed down the boardwalk as fast as I could.
There didn't seem to be anyone about as I approached, all prior wariness forgotten at the chance of going home. The fact that there was no one guarding the gateway didn't register until, as I ran at the gateway, I hit something solid.
I bounced back, my face glowing red despite the fact there was no one around.
Of course it wouldn't be that easy to return, what had I been thinking?
The spark of hope within me flickered and died as quickly as it had come, and I suddenly felt exhausted as I stared out again at the lights of Auradon in the distance. A sob rose up in my throat as I placed a hand on the barrier separating me from home. I was never going to get back. Not without a miracle.
I was so focused on my own sorrow that I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. So, when someone tapped me on the shoulder just moments later, I turned rapidly, my back slamming against the barrier as I let out a scream.
A girl was stood in front of me, staring at me suspiciously.
Neither of us said anything for a moment.
"Who are you?" she asked finally.
I swallowed nervously, trying to avoid answering as my eyes flittered left and right, looking for a way to escape. This girl didn't seem quite so dangerous as Harry, but I wasn't about to take any chances.
"Okay," the girl continued, flicking her blue locks behind her shoulder. "Then will you tell me where you got your dress from? I've never seen such beautiful material."
She reached forward to touch the delicate lace skirt of my dress and I immediately shrank back, The girl stopped, looking at me curiously.
"You're not from here, are you?" she asked softly. "That's why you were staring at Auradon just now. You're from over there."
I avoided her eye contact, making a mental note to find myself some new clothes first thing in the morning. However much I loved this dress, I couldn't afford for anyone else to realise where I was from, and anyway, it was far too cold on the isle for a summer dress.
"It's okay," the girl said, clearly sensing my unease. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Evie, by the way, daughter of the Evil Queen." She stuck out her hand.
I looked at her warily, before cautiously accepting her hand.
"Are you going to tell me your name?"
"I'm Crimson."
"Well Crimson, I guess I can't really leave you here, so you're going to come with me. You're lucky someone from Uma's gang hasn't found you already."
I swallowed, not really sure what to think. Could I trust her?
"Don't worry, you're not coming to my castle. I'll take you to the den. You can meet the others and perhaps Mal will let you join our gang." She paused, smiling coyly. "I do have one condition though."
"Okay," I said warily.
"You have to tell me all about Auradon and the princes."
