My Wilted Heart
Chapter 3 – We Meet
By first light of the next day, the Jolly Rodger skimmed the waters of Neverland and ported in its usual bay.
"Drop the anchor!" The captain yelled from atop his perch on the captain's deck. The anchor thudded on the soft sand underneath the hull, creating a small tremor through the ship. "Is she still unconscious, Smee?"
"Yes Cap'n." The plump, balding man piped from behind Hook's shoulder. Hook nodded and turned to the door, but to his surprise, there stood Leah frantically looking around her. When her eyes landed on Hook and Smee, she stared, dumbfounded at what it was she saw.
"Ah, the pretty one is awake!" Hook said stepping foreword towards Leah who stepped back in fear. "Do not be skittish young Lady. I Captain James Hook shall not harm you." He bowed deep with sincere courtesy. Leah stood staring up at him as Hook crossed the rest of the space between them, taking her hand and pressing a kiss upon it. Hook stared at her as she just stood there looking out past him at the rest of the ship and crew, and the landscape of Neverland behind it. Where was she?
"Do you speak Lady?" Smee asked, standing behind Hook's right shoulder. Leah shifted uncomfortably as they gazed at her. She became more uncomfortable when the rest of the crew took perch all around the Captains deck, talking in grunts and openly pointing at her as if she were a painting in an art gallery.
"Do not frighten the young lass men." Hook remarked, hugging the girl around her shoulders. "Now dear one, please join me in some breakfast." He turned her around and guided her back through the open door, leaving the rest of the crew behind.
"She's a pretty one ain't she?" A man with an eye patch said from atop a barrel. The rest of the crew nodded in agreement. "Does the Captain plan on using the same method as before Smee?" Everyone turned to the small man as he began to walk through the door.
"Oh no. The Cap'n has a better plan this time. One more enjoyable to watch then any of the others before it." Smee grinned and closed the door behind him.
On the other side of Neverland…
It was a glorious morning where the birds sang brightly, the sun shined, the leaves were wet with dew and the harmonious sounds of young boys could be heard throughout Hangman's Tree.
"And you said they were noisy when they were awake." Peter said, smirking at the small fairy sitting on his shoulder with her dainty fingers stuffed in her ears. She replied with annoyance. Peter left the tree and the boys sleeping to enjoy his morning, Tink following him not far behind.
He flew over Neverland in ethereal happiness; arms spread wide occasionally touching the trees and water that flew by below him.
"Ah, this is the life Tink." He cracked open one of his eyes when Tink didn't answer, only to find that she wasn't following him. "Tink? Where'd you go Tink?" Peter skimmed the land around him then shrugged and flew on. She would do this occasionally, nothing different this time. As Peter neared the bay, he caught sight of a familiar black flag whipping in the wind above the trees. He smirked and descended to hover just above the water next to the ship, preparing to spring and surprise the ship's crew and it's Captain. But before he could he heard something peculiar coming from the open window at the bow of the ship. Gliding over the water, he positioned himself under the window for better eavesdropping.
From inside the compartment above him, Peter heard a haunting melody which sound filtered through the window and caressed his ears. The music had him yearning to hear more, to peer through the window to discover the sweet entity in which the sound emanated from. But just before he was about to blow his position under the window, the song ended, snapping Peter sharply back to reality. He flattened against the ship, ears straining to hear what was going on above him.
"Beautiful. Simply marvelous my dear." Hook praised, clapping his hands. Leah stood before him, her hands tightly clasped in front of her. Hook had asked her to sing for him, and hesitantly she did out of fear of what he might do to her if she didn't. Hook rose from his plush burgundy chair, handing Smee, who stood a short ways away from him, his glass of brandy. "Where did you learn to sing so beautifully?" Leah gazed at him in sharp perspective; he knew she would not speak. "My dear," Hook said smoothly, placing his hands upon her shoulder. "If we are to have some sort of friendship, then you must speak to me. Alright?" Leah nodded her head, and then looking up at the captain, she averted her eyes to the window.
"A...Alright." Her voice was quiet but unmistakably heard. Hook smiled broadly.
"Very good. Now, I've left you a change of clothes on the bureau, we will leave you alone to change." Hook patted her on the shoulder again, then left the room, Smee following shortly after, closing the door with a click.
Leah heaved a sigh of great relief and walked over to the bureau where on top rested a lovely cream dress. Removing the clothes she already had on, then slipped the dress over her head. She admired the way the dress hugged her in all the right places in the mirror on the other side of the room. The dress hung down just above the ground, with a form fitting midsection and a peasant style top, the whole of the dress was covered in a sheer cream fabric with a solid underneath. Leah slipped her feet into the shoes that were also placed for her and skillfully plaited her hair.
Woefully she walked to the open window and rested her hands upon the sill. She stared out at the sea and absentmindedly brushed the dust that coated the wood out to the air beyond.
Below the window Peter had covered his nose with his hand in an attempt to stifle a sneeze that was brought upon by the raining dust. Don't sneeze. Don't Sneeze. Don't – Then to Peter's horror, he sneezed. Ah, crud. From above him, he literally heard the girl jump, and then within a few seconds her eyes were peering down at him. Shrugging off his blown cover, Peter flew to face the girl at eye level.
"Um, hello."
Leah stood openly staring at the handsomest boy she had ever seen. His auburn hair was tousled and fell charmingly in front of his green eyes, which were at the moment, pinned to hers. She also noticed that he wore a cut green tunic, which fell just at his slim hips, and beige pants tucked into his brown boots, which concealed his dagger. His skin was slightly tanned, with a hint of freckles peppering his cheeks, which were hard to see through the deep blush he bore. And from the way his clothes clung to him, she could tell he was well muscled, but leanly toned.
"Yeah well," Peter started, his hand nervously reaching around to rub his neck."I uh, heard your singing and uh," He stared at her and when she stared openly back, he felt his face burn, she was quite pretty, he had to admit that at least.
Leah quickly realized that she was making the boy uncomfortable under her gaze and averted her eyes sheepishly.
"Th-Thank you." She said quietly, glancing up at the boy who seemed to snap out of his embarrassed mode and smiled broadly; she felt her face grow warm. She watched as he settled himself on the windowsill, leaning against the frame and propping his one foot up, letting the other hang outside the window.
"So, where are you from? When did you get here? What's your name?" Leah was slightly amused at his change in attitude, but she rapidly became uneasy at his onslaught of questions. She started to sink into herself becoming less aware of what he was saying until he shot out his hand in front of her face.
"I'm Pe-"
"Peter Pan! What a pleasant surprise." Peter was cut off in his introduction when Hook reappeared inside the room. In a defensive maneuver, Peter quickly shot off the window to take position outside the window, placing his fists on his hips. Hook cleared the space between the door and Leah within a matter of seconds, and wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulder protectively as soon as she was within arms reach.
"I see you've met my new companion Peter. And I do hope that she was being very civil towards you." Hook spoke to Peter with such underlying contempt that Leah was almost certain that if she weren't in the room, the two males would have lunged at each other, fighting for the others throat.
"Quite so Captain Codfish," Peter snarled back with a mischievous grin. "She was very nice towards me." He smiled sincerely towards Leah, who turned away. Hook watched this through slit eyes, unconsciously tightening his grip on Leah's shoulder.
"I don't have time for your silly games right now Pan. Miss Leah and I have business to attend to so, shoo you pesky little fly, go find someone else to buzz around." Hook quickly stepped forward and shut the windows tightly and locking them. Then he took Leah by the shoulders again and steered her out the door, where she glanced behind her once to see Peter turn and fly away.
Hook inwardly grinned. Perfect. All is going according to plan.
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Phew! So sorry that it took so long to write this chapter. We've been so busy with school and other activities that we were unable to work very much. But since Thanksgiving break is next week, we will try very hard to have the next chapter out by the first week of December. Thank you for all your reviews! They are very encouraging!
-Star and Glade
11-20-03
Re-uploaded for the sake of annoying word usage ;)
11-14-04