Chapter 9:

Tala didn't wake until the next morning. Immediately, she found herself surrounded by the familiar and comforting smells of the sea and salted wind blowing through the little window in Hook's cabin. Slowly she stirred, and when her back shifted against the silk sheets under her, she winced. The pain from the lashes she endured was still pretty fresh it seemed. It made her not want to move at all.

"Easy, pup. You're going to be sore."

Despite the ache, Tala pushed herself upright when she heard his voice. Her big, bright eyes found his darker orbs almost immediately. He sat sunken deep in a chair opposite to the bed. When she jerked up, he pushed himself up to his feet. His shaggy hair fell over his eyes as his gaze dropped to his feet. The way his lips turned down made her worry suddenly.

"You met with my people. Didn't you?" She asked him desperately. "James, I wanted to go home."

"You are home, as far as I'm concerned," he sighed, turning his head towards the window to look out at the rising sun. "Can't you stay here, love? Can't you be happy here?"

"Aboard a pirate ship?" Tala frowned. "I am no pirate. I am a warrior, Hook. You promised I could return to my people once negotiations were over. My mother... my father... They must be worried. They must miss me."

"Please... try. Try to be happy here."

"Hook, this is not my home."

"Why can't it be?" He nearly pleaded. His voice was shaky, pained.

"Because my family is not here. I'm supposed to be protecting my people. That's what I was raised to do. Hook, I will miss you, but I must go home."

Her longing was breaking his cold, rusted heart. To tell her the truth would be to inflict as much pain as the Lost Boys had when they stole her from the ship, and Hook couldn't bring himself to do that. He didn't want to hurt Tala, even if the truth required him to do so. Instead, he needed to craft a cushioned lie, no matter the consequences it brought.

"I have made a decision, Tala. During negotiations, I realized I didn't really want to give you back to your people. Even though they begged me... I declined their offers. You're staying here, little wolf."

"You promised!" She shouted, throwing a pillow as hard as she could at him. He caught it with ease, then tossed it into the chair he had been sitting in all night. Her hands balled into fists in the sheets. "You lied to me. I thought I could trust you, Hook."

"I'm a pirate, darling, of course you can't trust me." He forced out each and every word. Hook painted a wicked grin on his lips and looked up at her. It was the only way he could sell the lie. Even if he was made a villain once again, he wanted to spare her the pain of the truth. He knew what it was like to be cast out, to be unwanted. If he could spare Tala from such a feeling, it was worth the cost.

Tala began spouting off insults in her native tongue. She forced herself onto her feet, though she staggered and fell against the bed again when she tried to walk towards him. Hook kicked the chair aside, then walked out of the cabin before she could reach him. He pulled a key from his pocket, turned, and locked the door so she couldn't escape even if she wanted to.

"Smee!" He called. The stout man hurried to his side.

"Yes, Cap'n?"

"Set course for the Isle," Hook ordered, sulking away from the cabin door. Smee jumped a little in fright as a sudden pounding began on the other side of the door. He looked to Hook for an explanation, but none was given "Mr. Smee, that is an order."

"Aye, Cap'n," Smee frowned, hurrying off to alert the crew to the new heading. The Isle was far from Pan or Tala's tribe, but perhaps that was the purpose. Smee trusted Hook, but he knew, deep down, that something was wrong. Hook seemed troubled, but Smee wasn't going to upset him by prying.

Tala sat on the wooden floor by the cabin door, slumped over after exhausting herself. The welts on her back were stinging and burning, but she didn't pay them much mind. She had managed with worse wounds before, as a warrior trained to defend her people. She once hunted down a wild boar alone with a spear wound on her thigh.

The outward pain wasn't enough to distract her from the ache that Hook's betrayal caused. Tala couldn't believe she had been so foolish as to trust Captain Hook, the leader of the pirates that were known for stealing and killing. How could she let herself fall into such a well-crafted lie? She was supposed to be smarter than that, more cautious. Her mother taught her to trust no man.

When the door creaked open, Tala didn't even flinch. Hook came in, as she expected, and it took him a minute to find her. He only saw where she was when he pushed the door closed behind him.

"Tala..."

"Don't speak to me," she hissed angrily, bringing her knees up to her chest. She suddenly hated that she was wearing his shirt. She especially hated how it smelled like him and that comforted her. Tala wanted to hate him so badly, but her heart was only filled with hurt, not hatred.

"One day, you'll forgive me, Tala."

"I am your prisoner, Hook," she muttered. "Do slaves often forgive their masters?"

"You are not a slave, Tala," he corrected in frustration. "I wish you would remember how I looked after you before. You will be cared for on this ship, as you were before. Your life does not have to be full of misery while you are aboard the Jolly Roger."

"Why, Hook? Just tell me why you lied to me."

"I didn't mean to lie to you, little wolf."

"Then what is it? You need an extra hand on deck? Am I meant to be a thing to parade around like some kind of exotic animal in a cage?" Tala asked him, her voice trembling. "Why can't I go home?"

"Because I don't want you to," he said through his teeth. His resolve was weakening the longer she pleaded with him. She really was like a pretty, caged bird, trapped aboard his ship because he didn't want to tell her that her people traded her for safety. She was so proud to be a warrior for her tribe. It would devastate her. "Because I have you in my clutches, and I decide what to do with you."

"Fine," she relented finally. "Use me however you'd like, Hook, but I will never be happy on your rotted ship."

She turned her face from him, but the lantern light above her made it more than obvious that there were tears rolling down her tanned cheeks. He wondered if it was worth it, in that moment. Was it really merciful to spare her pain by inflicting it himself? Was he willing to let her hate him so that she didn't know she was no longer wanted by her tribemates?

Hook kicked himself a few more times, then stormed out of the cabin. What could he do? He thought it would be better to lie. He wanted to protect her. Instead, he seemed to have only made her hate him. The happy, smiling Tala he had grown to cherish was so far away from him now, and it was his fault.

He climbed down to the lower deck, then fetched himself a tankard of rum. If anything was going to numb the ache in his chest, it would be rum. He had a few tankards before he called it a night. As shameful as it was, Hook didn't even return to his cabin that night. Hook stayed below deck, with the rest of the crew, an empty tankard dangling from his fingers while he slept.