A.N. Ciao Bella! Ahh it's great to be back. The trip was amazing! Thank you all for your well wishes and wonderful comments. Reading them in Internet cafes in London and Italy was tons of fun. ^_^ Faerie dust for you all, in pill or sparkle form, whichever is your pleasure, and I did get a chance to visit Peter in Kensington Park, where someone had just left him fresh yellow lilies. Oh, how I love England.
Chapter 14-
The Jolly Roger creaked and groaned as it was rocked by cold sea swells that were slowly growing as the moon began to rise and exert its power over the water. Mists seeped from the warm land and crept out over the water as the cool evening air descended over the Neverland. Three shadows immersed themselves in the mist, and skimmed with it over the surface of the sea, salt water stinging their eyes as it sprayed up from the swells and dampened their grinning faces.
The mist reached the bottom of the ship, and broke around it. The shadows broke as well: one towards the bow of the ship, the two others around to its starboard side. Slowly, soundlessly, as if submerged underwater, the two shadows on the starboard side drifted up the side of the ship's belly, pulling up with their hands and arms to make sure they stayed nearly flush to the ship. The mists rose up the sides with them, as if anxious to watch what the shadows had planned. The vapor spilled up and over the sides of the ship, crawling along its deck and over the feet of the pirates who patrolled it.
"What the- Bloody black magic!" A heavy pirate yelped as he tried to lift both feet out of the mist by standing on the bucket he'd been rinsing his mop in.
"Huh? Ah, Christ. It's just fog you half-wit. Get back to work!" barked Mr. Starky, who'd been overseeing the cleaning.
The identical shadows chuckled quietly, then slid to the deck with the mists. They darted around the mops and buckets of the gnarly pirates who were swabbing the decks, and down into the belly of the ship.
The independent shadow circled round the Captain's quarters, ducking behind some barrels of rum as drunken pirates swayed by, singing loudly-and badly-about wenches and treasures aplenty. The shadow crept out once they had passed, and pressed itself against the wall next to the Captain's door, listening carefully for movement inside. Hearing normal moving about sounds, the shadow quickly darted back onto the deck and up into the rigging, making a piercing seagull call.
The twin shadows heard the call and knew that it was safe for them to continue on. They tiptoed down more stairs until they came to the very bowels of the ship where the holding cells were. The floor was slick with algae and mildew, as it was always damp. Wet rats scampered about, their eyes flashing red as the light caught them and sent them screeching away to the dark corners. A fat and seemingly very drunk pirate sat half on and half off of a stool that was barely big enough to sustain his weight. The stool creaked and groaned its effort as the ship swayed back and forth with the waves, carrying the man's weight back and forth with it. The twins grinned at their luck, and quietly made their way towards the cells, carefully checking each one for their quarry.
One twin snapped his fingers at the other, and pointed to the single occupied cell on the end of the hall, and the other twin joined him in looking through the small grated window in the steel door. They both nearly gasped at what they saw.
Mary lay curled up in the far corner of the small cell, shivering violently. She was making small noises, no doubt having a nightmare in her fevered sleep. The twins frowned angrily at each other as they looked away, and immediately darted back to the inebriated guard to retrieve the keys. They carefully and quietly unclipped them from the man's belt, holding their breath to avoid his stench. Floating back to the cell, they fought with the keys to find the correct one, then slowly and quietly turned it in the door until it clicked, causing them to wince and hold their breaths again as the sound reverberated throughout the room. The drunken guard did not stir, so the twins shrugged, tossed the keys on the floor and pulled open the heavy door.
They crept forward and knelt on either side of Mary, not quite sure what to do.
"Hell, she's burning hotter than a pissed off Tink," one twin whispered, snatching his hand back after placing it on her forehead.
"Well no shit, look at this place. Cold, and near to half and inch of water on the floor. It's lucky she ain't got things growing on her yet." The other concurred.
"Yeah, well, we haven't turned her over yet, so let's hope she don't."
Both twins grimaced at that, and one carefully rolled her on her back. Mary whimpered, but did not wake, only curled her injured hand protectively to her body.
"What's this here?" one twin whispered, carefully taking Mary's wrist and pulling it away from her body. He uncurled her fingers, and gasped at the wound Hook had left there. "Bleedin' Christ, right here's why she's feverish. Hooky's gone and let this go green." The twin gingerly touched the infected wound.
Pain, oh pain. Lot's of it, God STOP it...please...please...stop it...Holy Jesus have mercy on me, let me die, just stop this!
My eyes finally won their battle to open, and my mouth with it. I cried out in agony as pain seared from my hand and up my arm. I thought Hook had re-pierced my hand, right through the first hole. Mother of God, I'd never felt pain like this before, and I prayed to every holy entity I could think of that I'd never feel it again. I felt a hand on my mouth, but I didn't care, all I wanted was for whatever was touching my damn hand to get the hell off. I kicked, I thrashed, which in retrospect, wasn't that great of an idea because it only jarred my hand more and caused me more anguish. But I couldn't reason just then, I could only feel pain, and I wanted it to stop.
"Son of a bitch!" One twin cried and snatched his hand away.
"Bloody, keep in down, will ya?" The other growled.
"She bit me," the first twin said incredulously.
"Well that's what you get. You don't just poke at people's wounds, genius, crikey."
"I was inspecting, not poking. I'm trying to help her and she bites me. Unbelieveable."
"You know, for a couple of Lost Boys who are supposed to be infiltrating an enemy's ship, you're pretty goddamn loud."
The twins jumped at the unexpected voice and pulled out their respective daggers. They turned to the figure in the doorway who just scoffed and walked towards them.
"Knock it off. Did you find her?"
"Yeah, Boss. She's here."
"She's not doing so good, though," one twin warned as Peter crouched lower to look at her.
He frowned as he laid a hand on her arm and felt her shivering. "What's wrong with her? She's so cold, and pale. Is it poison?" Peter growled.
"Not the kind you're thinking," a twin replied, and held up Mary's wounded hand.
Peter's face darkened as he saw the wound Hook had inflicted upon Mary. Hook would pay for this, oh-ho yes indeed. Peter gently took Mary's wrist in his own had, and slid his eyes to her clenched face as she whimpered. He lay her hand gently in his lap and ripped a strip of cloth from his tattered pants. He bound it around her hand, and winced as she cried out again as he knotted it tightly. He scooped Mary up then, and placed her in one of the twin's arms.
"You know what to do. Take her back to the tree house."
"But, aren't you coming with us?"
Peter didn't answer, just shook his head and fingered the dagger at his waist. His eyes swept the holding room and hesitated over the guard.
"Peter, come on, we've got her, and she needs help, she's not well. You're the best with plant medicine; you have to come back with us to heal her. Deal with Hook later-"
"No."
"Peter," the other twin tried to reason. "This wasn't part of the plan-"
"Go."
"But-"
"Go. Now." Peter growled, backing up into the cell.
"We won't leave you to fight them alone-"
"No, I mean get out NOW! Take Mary and run, the guard's stool is about to-"
The twins twisted around just in time to see what Peter had. A rat had crawled up into the lap of the drunken guard, and that extra bit of weight was just enough to shatter the already abused stool. The third leg of the stool snapped in half, and the drunken guard bounced heavily to the ground with a grunt.
One twin scooped up the keys, and the other held tight to Mary as they both immediately took to the air with Mary, and floated right over the guard's head as the man tried to figure out why he was on the floor. One twin dropped the keys next to the confused man on their way out, and Peter quietly shut the cell door, locking himself inside.
**^_^**
A.N. Hokay, so...
I'm sure you're all way mad because this is so short, and I didn't want to post anything at all under 10 pages, but at the rate I'm going, I have no idea how long that would have taken. After all the emails and reviews I've gotten begging me to update, I couldn't resist holding back the tiny bit that I had anymore. I'm so sorry, I don't mean this to be a tease, I just wanted you all to know that I am indeed still living and *gasp* even writing, the going is just a bit slow right now. I've got a lot on my plate, and it won't lessen over the summer as I am planning to take 2 summer courses and starting a new job where I will no doubt work around 50 hours a week. I'm so sorry, friends, but life gets in the way. I love you all, don't give up hope! Peter Pan comes out on video May 4th...and I'm sure that will inspire me. ^_~
Chapter 14-
The Jolly Roger creaked and groaned as it was rocked by cold sea swells that were slowly growing as the moon began to rise and exert its power over the water. Mists seeped from the warm land and crept out over the water as the cool evening air descended over the Neverland. Three shadows immersed themselves in the mist, and skimmed with it over the surface of the sea, salt water stinging their eyes as it sprayed up from the swells and dampened their grinning faces.
The mist reached the bottom of the ship, and broke around it. The shadows broke as well: one towards the bow of the ship, the two others around to its starboard side. Slowly, soundlessly, as if submerged underwater, the two shadows on the starboard side drifted up the side of the ship's belly, pulling up with their hands and arms to make sure they stayed nearly flush to the ship. The mists rose up the sides with them, as if anxious to watch what the shadows had planned. The vapor spilled up and over the sides of the ship, crawling along its deck and over the feet of the pirates who patrolled it.
"What the- Bloody black magic!" A heavy pirate yelped as he tried to lift both feet out of the mist by standing on the bucket he'd been rinsing his mop in.
"Huh? Ah, Christ. It's just fog you half-wit. Get back to work!" barked Mr. Starky, who'd been overseeing the cleaning.
The identical shadows chuckled quietly, then slid to the deck with the mists. They darted around the mops and buckets of the gnarly pirates who were swabbing the decks, and down into the belly of the ship.
The independent shadow circled round the Captain's quarters, ducking behind some barrels of rum as drunken pirates swayed by, singing loudly-and badly-about wenches and treasures aplenty. The shadow crept out once they had passed, and pressed itself against the wall next to the Captain's door, listening carefully for movement inside. Hearing normal moving about sounds, the shadow quickly darted back onto the deck and up into the rigging, making a piercing seagull call.
The twin shadows heard the call and knew that it was safe for them to continue on. They tiptoed down more stairs until they came to the very bowels of the ship where the holding cells were. The floor was slick with algae and mildew, as it was always damp. Wet rats scampered about, their eyes flashing red as the light caught them and sent them screeching away to the dark corners. A fat and seemingly very drunk pirate sat half on and half off of a stool that was barely big enough to sustain his weight. The stool creaked and groaned its effort as the ship swayed back and forth with the waves, carrying the man's weight back and forth with it. The twins grinned at their luck, and quietly made their way towards the cells, carefully checking each one for their quarry.
One twin snapped his fingers at the other, and pointed to the single occupied cell on the end of the hall, and the other twin joined him in looking through the small grated window in the steel door. They both nearly gasped at what they saw.
Mary lay curled up in the far corner of the small cell, shivering violently. She was making small noises, no doubt having a nightmare in her fevered sleep. The twins frowned angrily at each other as they looked away, and immediately darted back to the inebriated guard to retrieve the keys. They carefully and quietly unclipped them from the man's belt, holding their breath to avoid his stench. Floating back to the cell, they fought with the keys to find the correct one, then slowly and quietly turned it in the door until it clicked, causing them to wince and hold their breaths again as the sound reverberated throughout the room. The drunken guard did not stir, so the twins shrugged, tossed the keys on the floor and pulled open the heavy door.
They crept forward and knelt on either side of Mary, not quite sure what to do.
"Hell, she's burning hotter than a pissed off Tink," one twin whispered, snatching his hand back after placing it on her forehead.
"Well no shit, look at this place. Cold, and near to half and inch of water on the floor. It's lucky she ain't got things growing on her yet." The other concurred.
"Yeah, well, we haven't turned her over yet, so let's hope she don't."
Both twins grimaced at that, and one carefully rolled her on her back. Mary whimpered, but did not wake, only curled her injured hand protectively to her body.
"What's this here?" one twin whispered, carefully taking Mary's wrist and pulling it away from her body. He uncurled her fingers, and gasped at the wound Hook had left there. "Bleedin' Christ, right here's why she's feverish. Hooky's gone and let this go green." The twin gingerly touched the infected wound.
Pain, oh pain. Lot's of it, God STOP it...please...please...stop it...Holy Jesus have mercy on me, let me die, just stop this!
My eyes finally won their battle to open, and my mouth with it. I cried out in agony as pain seared from my hand and up my arm. I thought Hook had re-pierced my hand, right through the first hole. Mother of God, I'd never felt pain like this before, and I prayed to every holy entity I could think of that I'd never feel it again. I felt a hand on my mouth, but I didn't care, all I wanted was for whatever was touching my damn hand to get the hell off. I kicked, I thrashed, which in retrospect, wasn't that great of an idea because it only jarred my hand more and caused me more anguish. But I couldn't reason just then, I could only feel pain, and I wanted it to stop.
"Son of a bitch!" One twin cried and snatched his hand away.
"Bloody, keep in down, will ya?" The other growled.
"She bit me," the first twin said incredulously.
"Well that's what you get. You don't just poke at people's wounds, genius, crikey."
"I was inspecting, not poking. I'm trying to help her and she bites me. Unbelieveable."
"You know, for a couple of Lost Boys who are supposed to be infiltrating an enemy's ship, you're pretty goddamn loud."
The twins jumped at the unexpected voice and pulled out their respective daggers. They turned to the figure in the doorway who just scoffed and walked towards them.
"Knock it off. Did you find her?"
"Yeah, Boss. She's here."
"She's not doing so good, though," one twin warned as Peter crouched lower to look at her.
He frowned as he laid a hand on her arm and felt her shivering. "What's wrong with her? She's so cold, and pale. Is it poison?" Peter growled.
"Not the kind you're thinking," a twin replied, and held up Mary's wounded hand.
Peter's face darkened as he saw the wound Hook had inflicted upon Mary. Hook would pay for this, oh-ho yes indeed. Peter gently took Mary's wrist in his own had, and slid his eyes to her clenched face as she whimpered. He lay her hand gently in his lap and ripped a strip of cloth from his tattered pants. He bound it around her hand, and winced as she cried out again as he knotted it tightly. He scooped Mary up then, and placed her in one of the twin's arms.
"You know what to do. Take her back to the tree house."
"But, aren't you coming with us?"
Peter didn't answer, just shook his head and fingered the dagger at his waist. His eyes swept the holding room and hesitated over the guard.
"Peter, come on, we've got her, and she needs help, she's not well. You're the best with plant medicine; you have to come back with us to heal her. Deal with Hook later-"
"No."
"Peter," the other twin tried to reason. "This wasn't part of the plan-"
"Go."
"But-"
"Go. Now." Peter growled, backing up into the cell.
"We won't leave you to fight them alone-"
"No, I mean get out NOW! Take Mary and run, the guard's stool is about to-"
The twins twisted around just in time to see what Peter had. A rat had crawled up into the lap of the drunken guard, and that extra bit of weight was just enough to shatter the already abused stool. The third leg of the stool snapped in half, and the drunken guard bounced heavily to the ground with a grunt.
One twin scooped up the keys, and the other held tight to Mary as they both immediately took to the air with Mary, and floated right over the guard's head as the man tried to figure out why he was on the floor. One twin dropped the keys next to the confused man on their way out, and Peter quietly shut the cell door, locking himself inside.
**^_^**
A.N. Hokay, so...
I'm sure you're all way mad because this is so short, and I didn't want to post anything at all under 10 pages, but at the rate I'm going, I have no idea how long that would have taken. After all the emails and reviews I've gotten begging me to update, I couldn't resist holding back the tiny bit that I had anymore. I'm so sorry, I don't mean this to be a tease, I just wanted you all to know that I am indeed still living and *gasp* even writing, the going is just a bit slow right now. I've got a lot on my plate, and it won't lessen over the summer as I am planning to take 2 summer courses and starting a new job where I will no doubt work around 50 hours a week. I'm so sorry, friends, but life gets in the way. I love you all, don't give up hope! Peter Pan comes out on video May 4th...and I'm sure that will inspire me. ^_~