Nothing But a Pirate

Chapter Five

Centuries ago…

Weeks after Hook returned to Neverland, Pan finally sent him out on his first task, giving him a map to help show him the way. The pirate walked across the island throughout its jungle for miles until he finally came upon the outskirts of a camp belonging to an Indian tribe, Indians who were the only true natives to the dark island. Along with the map, the demon child that Hook believed Peter Pan to be since the boy's first deception a few years earlier had also given him a message for the tribal leader. The Pirate Captain didn't follow Pan's orders out of any kind of loyalty or respect. He simply needed information that only Pan could give him, so long as he could deceive him into believing that he was trustworthy long enough to get it.

Smee spoke up from behind him saying quietly, "I'm not sure I like this, Sir. It's not that I'm not pleased for the opportunity to discover more of Neverland with you, but… Confronting this island's natives so soon is a foolhardy thing to do, without knowing exactly what it is we're up against. Are you certain this is wise?"

Without looking back at the smaller man, Killian answered with frustration, "Not hardly. For once I agree with you, Mr. Smee. However, I wasn't given a choice in the matter. You know we have to follow Pan's orders from here on out, or that is until I say the time has come to leave his employ."

"Yes, but to meet with Indians…" the soon to be first mate began to respond until he was suddenly cut off when a dagger was suddenly forced to his throat. "Captain?"

"Release him now, or you will force me to kill you and I would really hate for us to start our relationship off in such a manner," Hook said coldly as he pulled his pistol from his belt and pointed it directly at the Indian now standing before him as the pirate turned around to see what made Smee so worried.

Another one of the natives stepped out from a tree as she replied, "Tell me who you are and what you're doing here and we might just let you leave with your lives. We don't like outsiders coming to our camp unexpectedly, nor do we take kindly to threats."

Three more Indians appeared around them as the pirate slowly lowered his weapon, holstered it again, then he turned back to the young girl appearing to be in charge of them and answered calmly, "Have you never seen a pirate before? Although I suppose you wouldn't see many adults here in a land run by children."

"You are not the only grown-ups here on this island, though there are few left," she responded sternly. "My father is among them. And he's the Chief of our tribe, Chief Great Little Panther. He's a brave and strong man who is even less understanding of strangers than I am. I will only ask you once more, who are you?"

"My men call me Captain Hook," Killian replied with a bow. "You can do the same, Princess Tiger Lily I presume?"

The girl appearing to be only slightly older than Peter, though in truth no one knew Pan's real age thanks to the magic of the island, glared at Hook as she asked again, "And how is it you know who I am?"

Hook walked over to stand with Smee as he pulled the knife and the Indian's hand away from his colleague's throat with his hook while he answered, "I've come with a message for your father from Pan. I understand you and the Lost Boys have an uneasy relationship at best. Will you take me and Smee here to see your Chief?"

"You can give me the message and as Pan has passed it along to you, I will pass it along to my father," Tiger Lily responded coldly.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the Pirate Captain replied curtly. "I was given explicit orders to give the message directly to the Chief himself. If you refuse…"

She interrupted him by stating, "You're not afraid of us at all, are you? Very few outsiders stand against us with such boldness."

Killian smiled as he answered smugly, "There is little I fear and a few Indians certainly isn't among them."

"Perhaps you'll feel differently when you're amongst an entire tribe?" the Princess responded coolly. "If you value your life, you will hand over whatever weapons you carry to my friend now standing in front of you."

"I fear I cannot hand over all of my weapons, as this hook is all I have in place of the hand that was stolen from me by a Crocodile," Killian replied brazenly as he raised his hook up for her to see it better, so that she could see that he wasn't lying about it being attached to his arm when one of the few adults whom the native child mentioned before held his hand out and stared at him impatiently, waiting for Hook to give it up. "You wouldn't force me to meet with your father as less than the true man that I am, would you?"

Back in the present…

After Peter left those loyal to him to tend to getting Henry and Hook back to their camp, the leader of the Lost Boys flew across the island and landed upon the strongest branch of a tree under which a girl with long black hair and red tribal paint on her face sat as she wrote within a small book in her hands, then he spoke up saying casually, "Hello again, Tiger Lily. I'm surprised to find you here in the outskirts all alone."

She kept her eyes on her book as she answered coldly, "Who says I'm all alone? You shouldn't be here, Peter. I warned you the last time we spoke that if you ever returned, I would send the warriors of my tribe to kill as many of your boys as we can before you and your shadow can overpower and defeat them."

"You're right," he responded, then jumped down so that he was now standing in front of her. "But what if I told you that I've come with a way we may be able to build a truce between Lost Boys and Indians?"

"I would say that you have lost your marbles, as Rufio did just before your pirate friend slaughtered him," the Princess replied angrily as she finally looked up at her enemy.

Pan chortled and then answered, "It's funny you should mention Hook. Because he's the reason why I've come actually. He's returned. And I've managed to capture him because it just so happens that he's foolishly fallen in love with a woman who will never love him back because she can't. She calls herself a Savior, while he's a ruthless pirate."

Tiger Lily quickly stood as she asked angrily, "You mean to say that he's gone soft?"

"I captured him because he was trying to rescue the Savior's son for her, whom I have also captured many days ago," Peter responded smugly. "I would be willing to hand him over to you and your tribe so you can have your revenge, for a price of course. And in so doing, we will no longer have to be enemies. What do you say? Do you want to see Hook dead for the pain he's caused you?"

"More than anything," she replied cruelly. "Very well, we have a deal. You and the rest of your army can bring him to our camp at the time of sundown tonight. In so doing, I promise you that no harm will come to any of you. Will that be satisfactory?"

Pan smiled as he held out his hand for her to shake in agreement, then said eagerly, "I would expect nothing less. It'll give us plenty of time to have some fun with him first. But don't you want to know what I want from you in return aside from peace between us?"

The Indian Princess looked into his eyes as she said coldly. "I've known you a long time. I certainly know you well enough to know that there isn't anything you would ask me for, that I wouldn't give you in order to make Captain Hook pay for killing my father."