Okay new schedule plan. I'll follow this and then I'll return to my original Wednesdays update plan, I just want to introduce my OC ASAP.
Chapters:
4)The Darling Pirate- 12/21/13
5)That One Lost Girl- 12/23/13
6)The Will to Escape- 12/26/13
"I take it by your tone, perms are bad." Hook calls out to Emma, who was paces ahead of him now. He set off to catch up to the rest of the group when he hears the stiff call out, "Up here! We made it." Hook walks up to see all them standing in a row looking out over a ledge. He walks around them to join the line, leaning against the tree closest to Mary Margaret.
"Pan's lair should be just right-" Regina cuts him off before he can continue, "Where? All I see is jungle."
Hook resists the urge to roll his eyes at the whine that never seems to leave Regina's voice. "Aye the Dark Jungle," He pauses in order pull his telescope open with his mouth. As he surveys the jungle he continues, "It's, uh, grown somewhat since I last stepped foot in Neverland."
"So this nature hike was for nothing." Hook wasn't sure if he could take much more of Regina's complaining.
Of course David steps in to make everything better, "Hook may have led us astray," Hook didn't have to look at David to know the prince held a smug look in his eyes, "But at least we're in a good position to start combing the jungle."
"Not exactly," Hook interjects, "The dark jungle's the last place you want to set foot, we'll have to go around it." He shrugs as if he hadn't just made their task more difficult than it already is. "In order to do that, we're gonna need our strength. I suggest we make camp."
Regina turns indignant at the suggestion of camp, "You want to sleep while my son is out there suffering?" She gestures towards the Dark Jungle.
"If you wanna live long enough to save the boy," Hook gives a slight pause, letting the boy's family ponder the implications of his statement. "Yes."
David sighs, sheathing his sword in an act of submission that allows Hook to take charge of the walks back into the treeline, David and Regina following. Mary Margaret and Emma stay at the ledge and Hook can hear the beginnings of their unique mother daughter time. He leads the other two down a hill and to a clearing that would serve well as a rendezvous. They collect firewood, both David and Hook zoning Regina out as she continues to rant about the jungle. When it come time to physically start the fire they face a problem, "Just do it manually." Hooks repeats for the fifth time, "It's not worth wasting magic on."
"Then you can start it manually." Regina feels the need to exercise her magic for no logical reason, and it's starting to irritate the men. Emma and Mary Margaret join them and sees whats transpiring.
"For God's sake, I'll do it!" Emma goes over and starts the fire in no time at all. David and Mary Margaret lie down together, Emma sits down somewhat close to them, and Regina goes to the edge of the campsite to lie down. Hook lies down, wondering if he'll be able to fall asleep in Neverland, a place he hasn't been in so long. He drifts away and into an extremely fitful sleep.
The wind whips Hook's face as he steers the Jolly Roger around the Neverland sea. He has sailed these waters enough to know that even the ocean holds a dark, mischievous intent when in Neverland. Smee scurries across the deck, squeaking out orders in his usual manner, meaning he really shouldn't. The pirate in the crow's nest hums a nameless tune and the rest of the crew nod along. Shift change rolls around and the entire crew, save the one who was singing, goes below to crash into the hammocks that rock violently. Hook stops to talk to the girl, seeing her throw herself on the railing of the ship and settle into a sitting position.
"Are you finding it difficult to fall asleep Darling?" His concern is true, despite his teasing tone.
The girl's lip curls at the nickname, "Why am I called Darling? Of all the terrifying pirate names you could have given me, Darling? Am I that unimposing?" And that is exactly what Hook thinks. The girl had been with them for twelve years, but she is stuck in a limbo looking the age she was when she first met Hook; stuck at the adolescent age of seventeen. Wearing a loose-fitting emerald shirt and trousers doesn't help her seem mature. In fact, paired with her strange unevenly cropped hairstyle, she looks younger than her years; she appears to be fifteen in a certain light. Hook smirks and joins her on the ledge of boat, taking care to grip some of the Jolly Roger's riggings to secure himself.
"You've been here for how long now?" He asks rhetorically, "Yet you never bore of complaining. You're namesake comes from my first stowaway's family. As I've told you a thousand and one times before, he came to Neverland to save his Darling family."
"His darling family? Or his family Darling?" She jests at him and he responds with a chuckle.
"The pirate girl has a joke? I am shocked, Darling." She smiles and stands up, balancing with her arms out as she precariously stands on the edge. Hook reaches out to secure her, but she jumps out-of-the-way, arms swinging in a windmill motion.
"See, I like Pirate Girl. It has a nice ring to it." She slips off the edge of the ship and turns in circles, arms still out. "I'm the Pirate Girl!" She yells with a giggle.
"Yes, yes. The Pirate Girl who should be sleeping, but instead is standing at the helm twirling like an idiot." Hook gets off the edge also, deciding to take over steering, much to Smee's dismay.
She stops spinning and looks at Hook, "I have troubles sleeping." The newly dubbed Pirate Girl grows somber. "This place is great, but it's hard for me to fall asleep."
Her somber attitude is met with Hooks grim expression. "I don't think you will ever find a peaceful rest here, Darling."
Pirate Girl let out a sigh and fell to the floor splaying her body like a starfish. "Oh woes is me! I cannot find peace!" She starts to move her arms and legs in a fashion similar to making a snow angel. "Captain, I would feel better if I could do another shift as lookout. I would be able to sleep after a time spent in the crow's nest." She smiles at him in a pleading manner, lifting her head from the deck in order for him to see the smile.
Hook's right eyebrow raises, "I don't usually condone this Darling, but I trust your vision more than Jarvis's. Feel free to return to your tower."
Pirate Girl stands up, clapping her hands in excitement. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She hops around for a bit before looking back at Hook. "Don't be mean to Jarvis, he tries his best."
Hook scoffs, "He only joined he crew of the Jolly Roger in order to escape death from age."
"He's not that old."
"Well, if he's so young then he can stay in the crow's nest." Hook gets her to stop talking with his threat. The conversation dies as Pirate Girl stands there with her mouth open enough to catch flies. She rapidly shakes her head back and forth in an act of defiance, her hair clouding around her face as she moves her head at a fast paced rhythm. "Nononononono. I'll take his place. I'll take his place!"
She approaches the crow's nest and starts to climb up, scaling the riggings faster than anyone Hook has ever seen. Half way up she stops, gripping the rope tight and staring into the distance.
"Lost Ones!" She calls out as she scurries down towards the deck. "They're coming!" The crew is thrown into a panicked pushing and shoving match in hurry to get things ready, while Hook pulls the girl off the rope and starts dragging her below deck.
"That incompetent old bat! I swear I will throw him off this ship next chance I get." Hook mumbles as tugs the girl along.
"It's really not Jarvis's fault." She tries to cover for the aged pirate but Hook will not allow it.
"Really?! Really Darling? If he's not to blame than who is?" Hook opened the hatch that had another a lifetime ago and shoved the girl into the storage area. "You saw the Lost Ones and you weren't even in the crow's nest!"
"Captain?" The girl looks at him with a terrified expression. "Are you sure? Are you sure about the hiding spot?" She's trembling at this point.
Hook smiles to lighten the mood. "Your skepticism is insulting. This isn't my first time Darling." She smiles back halfheartedly. The Pirate Girl hoists herself off the floor and perches on the beams above, hiding out of the way while staying in plain sight. He closes the door and returns above deck in time to see the Lost Boys fanning out around the deck. Felix stands there, sullen as Hook remembers him. Hook walks up to him, a subtle scowl on Hook's face and a not so subtle scowl on Felix's. "Ahh Felix, I don't think I have any young boys hanging around me, and I doubt he wants any of my crew. So the question becomes: why are the Lost Ones on the Jolly Roger?"
"He felt a disturbance." Felix supplies in an annoyed clipped tone. "There's an intruder in Neverland, and given your... history, I assumed you are offering sanctuary to the impostor."
Hook loses his pretenses and full on scowls. "There's no boy on the Jolly Roger"
Emma rushes back into the camp, making the most noise possible in the jungle. Mary Margaret and David wake up at the ratchet, still trying to shake the sleep from their eyes. Emma stands by the fire and starts to wake everyone up. "Guys!" She yells, fully waking her parents and causing Regina to jump up.
"What the hell Emma?" She screeches.
"I met with Pan." Emma says, keeping a poker face present as the three others suddenly jump up and crowd her.
"You saw Pan?"
"What'd he say?"
"And you just stood there?"
"Regina, I'm sure she has a rea-"
"My son is out there and I can't believe that she just stood there an-"
"We have other problems guys. Emma, what did he want?" Emma stands there, clutching the sheet of paper with dear life. She looks around, noting that Hook hadn't moved a muscle throughout all the commotion. She has no time to think about Hook's unusual response being pulled back into the conversation by Mary Margaret.
Mary Margaret places her hand on Emma's arm in a comforting gesture. "Emma, what happened with Pan?"
Emma looks frustrated as she explains all that happened moments before. She finishes her story and looks out at everyone's expressions. David and Mary Margaret share a similar look of shock, and Regina's face twists into one of great distaste. They stare off into space, thinking of the possibility of finding Henry and the likely chance of Pan's deceit. It's now that Mary Margaret notices the unconscious pirate, but unlike her daughter, Mary Margaret springs into action. She goes to the slumped form and shakes him, slightly at first but growing more panicked when he doesn't stir. "Hook?" She gently prods him, but still no response. "Hook? Hook, wake up!" The panic in Mary Margaret brings everyone from the ordeal with Pan to pirate. They all go to Mary Margaret's side and try to wake him up. David eventually pulls him off the ground and places him on a trunk.
"We don't have time for this." He states, "We should be looking for Pan."
"I know, but we can't just leave Hook here. This could have something to do with Neverland magic. Or Pan could just be playing a trick on us." Mary Margaret looks at David and then down at Hook, as if debating what to do.
Regina smiles, "Then I have a solution."
"Wha-" before Mary Margaret can continue, Regina steps forward and raises her hand above her head. She brings it down in a swift motion across Hook's face before anyone has a chance to stop her. Hook's eyes snap open and his hand flies to his red cheek. "Bloody Hell!" He almost falls off the log and only just regains his balance. "What was that for?"
He doesn't get an immediate answer because a look of understanding pass between David and Mary Margaret and the both get to their feet, David unsheathing his sword. "We'll go look for Pan, he might still be around. You explain what's going on to sleeping beauty." He and Mary Margaret set off into the tree line without another word.
Hook takes inventory of the situation and sighs, leaning his elbow on his knee in a slouched position. "What did Pan do?"
Emma explains what she knows about the "map" for a second time. Hook just nods along, listening with half interest as Emma tries to understand how to read the parchment. Usually he would have paid full attention to the blonde, but right now he couldn't shake the strongest sense of déjà vu he's ever had. He didn't even notice when Emma finished her story, nor did he notice her place the paper down on another tree stump and stare at it for a long period of time. It was Regina's pacing that brought him back to the matters at hand.
Hook breaks the uncomfortable silence that he's only now noticing. "He so likes his games."
"What game! There's nothing there!" Regina argues, glaring accusingly at the blank page.
Hook groans inwardly, "If he said there's a map on this parchment, then there is."
"Great." Emma turns sarcastic. "So then if I just stop denying who I really am," She runs her hands through her hair. "Whatever that means. Then we'll be able to read this thing."
"How do we know Pan won't use it to lead us straight into a trap?" Regina asks in an annoyed tones.
Hook has forgotten what it's like to have to be around a person like Regina. But he answers her all the same. "Because he doesn't need to. This whole island is his bloody trap."
David and Mary Margaret return just before Regina has a chance to say something else. David is ahead of Mary Margaret so he is the one to tell them their findings. "There's no sign of him anywhere."
Mary Margaret catches up to him and looks towards her daughter. "Any luck with the map?"
Regina lets out a scoff. "Don't hold your breath."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Emma whips her head and looks at Regina, mad at her last comment.
Regina takes Emma's acknowledgement as an invitation to speak out. "Don't you see what he's doing?" She asks, raising her hands and gesturing along with her statement. "Every second we spend talking about this, is another second we're not looking for my son!"
Emma returns her gaze to the map, her hands holding her forehead up. "You got a better idea?"
"Magic." David lets out a huge sigh and everyone bristles at Regina's suggestion. "If there's a lock on there I'll find a way around it." Regina walks towards Emma and reaches down to take the map, but Emma quickly slaps her hand away from the paper.
Emma's attention goes to Regina for a second. "Pan said it had to be me."
Hook tries to dissuade Regina. "I'd listen to Emma love, breaking Pan's rules will be unwise"
"Sadly I agree with the pirate." David states, crossing his arms over his chest and planting his feet apart.
Hook looks over at David and breaks out into a huge smirk. "I'm winning you over, I can feel it."
Mary Margaret brings the discussion back to the map. "And your magic doesn't exactly have a gentle touch Regina."
"Use it on the map and it might blow up in all our faces." David backs up his wife's opinion on the magic suggestion.
"Well that's a risk I'm willing to take." Regina says, her voice starting to raise.
"Well I'm not" Emma stands up with the map in her hand. "If I'm the one who's supposed to figure out this thing, I need to do what Pan says."
"Great!" With a final flourish of her hands, Regina turns away from the group.
"She'll get there." Mary Margaret says to Regina's back. She takes a few steps toward Emma, offering up moral support. "Hey, don't give up. He's playing a game." Her eyes hold her love for her daughter as she tells Emma, "You can win."
Hook feels like he's intruding on family time once again, and he wishes he had a way to escape. He gets up, nodding towards David and smiling when David huffs out in an indigent tone and goes over to be with his wife and daughter. Hook ambles over to a tree and sits down, resting his back against the trunk. He feels his eyelids drooping, but he fights it, trying to keep lookout for anything suspicious lurking about. His mind wanders through, to the dream he was having before Regina so crudely slapped him awake. He can't remember much about the dream, save a few fuzzy details. He remembers lying to Felix in order protect a child, 'It must have been Baelfire,' he thought. Content with his reasoning for the déjà vu feeling, Hook allows himself to close his eyes for just one moment.
Hook inhales deeply, tasting the salt of the ocean lingering in the air. He cracks open one eye and sees his crew going about their business on the Jolly Roger. He's lounging on a barrel, his feet propped up on the railing overlooking the rest of the ship. Hook smiles to himself and moves around slightly, searching out the most comfortable position. The girl at the wheel sees the pirate stir. "Captain, are you absolutely positive about this?" She holds the wheel more tightly than necessary.
Hook smiles at her. "Now Darling, if I didn't want to condition you for this, would you be there?"
They fall into a comfortable silence, the girl steering and Hook close by in case she needs assistance. Hook dozes off a couple times, waking up with a small jolt each time. During one of his self-awakening motions, he accidentally falls off the barrel and onto his butt. Hook looks up to see the girl biting back laughter. He raises his eyebrow at the girl, "Is something funny Darling?"
Her shoulders shake with the exertion of not laughing. "No sir," Her eyes sparkle with humor. "Nothing is funny at all."
Hook stands up and lets out a laugh. He looks at the girl and smirks. It is too much for her and she falls on her own butt letting out spluttering giggles, choking a little bit. Hook takes the wheel of the ship, seeing as the girl is indisposed. She rolls on the floor for a short time before getting up and taking Hook's place on the unoccupied barrel. Her elbows rested on her knees as she sat there, kicking her legs out in an act of boredom. Suddenly Jarvis calls out, "Lost Ones." Hook looks over the side of the ship and lets out a frustrated noise. The Lost Boys were seconds away. The girl had joined him in looking over the railing and he makes haste to pull her back.
"Get away from the edge." He hissed. "It's decided. I am going to murder Jarvis." The girl looks scared but Hook is more concerned about hiding her. He spots a feathered hat* and grabs it off the floor, crushing it over her head. "Stay out of sight and don't let them see you." She nods her head and takes the wheel.
The Lost Ones board the Jolly Roger and waste no time with anything, immediately starting their search. Hook storms over and faces off against Felix, staring at the boy with an obvious angry face. "What is all of this?" He screams at Felix. "Haven't you searched my ship enough times this decade?!"
Felix was annoyingly calm. "He felt the presence of an intruder, again." Felix walks around Hook and continues to talk. "You aren't being forthcoming Hook, he knows that their on this ship."
Hook gets in front of Felix, blocking him from the wheel. "You've looked here before and found nothing. How is the intruder on my ship then?"
Hooks attempt to block Felix from the wheel of the ship fails, as Felix sprints away from Hook, climbs the stairs, and stands next to the helmsman with the hat pulled over her face. "Then who is this, Hook?" He grabs her shoulder yanking away from the helm. A crew member rushes and replaces her position on the helm. Felix pulls her in front of Hook, his fist clenching at her shirt. "No boys on your ship Hook?" He smiles ominously at Hook, his lips curling over his teeth. "He will have your head for this. Not just your life, the Jolly Roger has just lost its privilege to stay in Neverland."
Hook scowls and the girl pushes Felix away, rushing to stand next Hook. She raises her chin and Felix hisses at her. "But mister." She growls, "I am no boy." She stands in front of Hook and the feather on her hat tickles at his nose. He swats at it and she notices, looking back at him and smiling. She tips her hat to hims and spins around to face the livid Lost Boy. "I am called Darling, or other times Pirate Girl and honestly I prefer the latter." She looks straight into Felix's eye. "The captain has not broken your rules. He wasn't allowed to take any boys in, he only offered refuge to a girl who was lost."
Hook can see the wheels in Felix's head turning as he thinks of what to do. Felix growls at them. "A pirate girl in Neverland doesn't work out well for you either Hook. She's coming with us." He pauses and puts as much contempt as possible in his next words. "He will decide her fate." Hook moves to hit Felix but the girl puts a hand his shoulder stopping him.
She looks at him, taking off the ridiculous hat and throwing it aside. The Pirate Girl reaches up to her neck and pulls off a necklace Hook wasn't aware she had. It was more like a vial, filled with a clear liquid that Hook could not identify. As he looks at the vial he sees an almost gold tint to previously assumed colorless liquid. She holds it out to Hook and gestures for him to take the vial. "Here captain," Her voice barely cracks, but he notices and holds out his hands to receive the vial. "Take this as thank you. It can help you out of a sticky situation."
Hook looks down at the girl he had taken in twenty years ago. "You don't have to do this Darling."
"How touching." They both look up at Felix standing in front of them. He gestures to the Lost Ones' boats in mock chivalry. "But it's time to go...Darling."
She hugs Hook closely and then lets go. "Bye, captain. Don't be too mean to Jarvis, okay?"
Hook's eyes snap open. He looks around but nothing has changed within the camp. Regina's still brooding and the family of the year still sits there, staring at the paper. He can hear Emma go "I am Emma Swan." in the distance, but he doesn't care at all. He's visibly shaking from the dream he just had, and he reaches up to rub any sign of sleep from his eyes. He pulls back his hand and looks at the wet palm. Why was he crying?
*Imagine Barbossa's hat from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Okay so like the schedule at the top says, there's two more chapters this week...Yay! After that, as long as, like, two people say "Hey can you continue the story?" I will. This chapter was pretty long so I feel I should warn you, the next chapter will be short.
justwonderingwhoiam: I passed my quiz and did well on my project and it was awesome of you to wish me luck.
polly and her cracker: I'm glad my story can warrant hair pulling action. Samantha's story really comes into play chapter 6
Guest: I don't know your four different people or one, but you rock :)
Can you guess who's going to have the dreams next? Next Chapter: The One Lost Girl.