Terence sat on the dandelion with his head in his hands. His heart broke at the memory of seeing Tink touch that boy. He couldn't explain it but he knew there was some sort of connection between the two. And he didn't like it one bit.
"Some king and queen we make. Not ten minutes into our trip and we're already fighting," he said angrily.
Terence was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear pirates stomping around behind him. He didn't see them stop and notice him and get really excited. He wasn't aware of any of it until he felt someone grab him around the middle and yank him up.
"Hey!" He beat on the pirate's fist to let him go and the pirate lowered his face, smiling an evil smile. He squeezed a little harder and Terence gasped for breath, feeling the air leave him.
"Don't kill the wretched thing! The Cap'n will want to talk to it. Find out where the treasure is."
"The Cap'n can't talk to no fairies. They don't talk."
"Then how do you think they communicate wif each other? Idjit!"
"I'm not no idjit. Take the vermin then." The pirate threw Terence into a bag and pulled the rope tightly. Terence's light shone through the bag and he beat on the inside.
"Let me out of here! Let me go right now!"
"Oy, do you hear that?" The pirates leaned closer and heard the sound of jingling bells. The pirate who had captured the fairy chuckled.
"It's cursing you out, mate."
"It's you it's cursing out. Come on, let's get back to the Cap'n. He'll probably reward us for our find, he will."
Exhausted, Terence slipped to the bottom of the bag and his wings drooped. Great, just great. He had fought with his Mate and now he was captured by pirates. Could this day get any worse?!
Tink flew as fast as she could, calling Terence's name. She knew he wouldn't answer; he was furious with her and she couldn't really blame him. The puzzle of why Peter could all of sudden understand her mystified her. She had felt some sort of…well, connection, she supposed. She would never admit that to Terence but she had definitely felt something when she touched Peter. And she thought Peter might have felt it too. Shaking her head, she scowled.
"It's Terence you should be thinking of right now. Your Mate! Your true love. Not some human boy!" She fluttered her wings and hovered over the dandelion field, wanting to collapse into the soft flowers and cry.
"Oh Terence, where are you," she sobbed. The sound of laughter reached her ears and she turned, frowning. Two crows had landed a few inches from her and were cawing loudly.
"Yes, I saw them heading back to their ship. Fairies who travel to the Jolly Roger never come back. SQUAWK."
"How do you know it was a fairy," the other crow said, ruffling its dark feathers. "It could have been a number of things in that bag."
"With a light that shines through a cloth bag? It was a fairy, I guarantee it. It will be like all of the others. They won't tell the pirate what he wants to hear and so he'll kill them. Why do you think there are no fairies left in Neverland?" Tink frowned and moved closer to the gossiping birds.
"There are fairies in Neverland! They're just in hiding. It's why we never see them. The pirates have tried to wipe them out."
"No they haven't. But they've tried to find the ultimate treasure and no fairy will ever reveal its location. This fairy will be no different."
"Should we go to the ship and watch? I do so enjoy seeing how many different ways the pirates come up with to kill fairies." The birds guffawed and took off in flight. Tink watched them go, her jaw hanging in horror. Her heart was sinking to the bottom of her tiny chest as she realized she knew whose light those birds had seen. She had never flown so fast in her life and felt that she could have easily rivaled Vidia, as she took off toward the ship.
Suddenly wishing she had someone with her (her mind drifted back to Peter for a moment before she slapped her forehead and shook her head) she flew above the deck and perched on the mast so she could clearly see. Hook was growling at his crew, his steel hook held high in the air.
"What are you bothering me with this time?"
"We found something you might be interested in, Cap'n," the pirate said shaking the bag. Hook's eyes narrowed.
"You'd better hope this is worth my time, you worthless bilgerats."
"Take a look, Cap'n." The pirate thrust his hand in the bag and when he withdrew, he was holding something between his fingers.
Tink cried out when she saw the pirate holding a struggling Terence by the wings. Terence looked positively terrified but he didn't move around too much for fear of damaging his wings. Flying was still his ultimate weapon. No one else on that ship could fly and it might save his life. Hook's eyes narrowed again.
"You bring me a lightning bug and think it's worth my-?!"
"Take a closer look Cap'n!" Hook grabbed Terence by the wings and Terence winced in pain. The pirate dangled him in front of his face and an evil grin turned up in the corner of his mouth.
"Well done, boys," he said softly. He snapped his fingers at his second mate, who handed him a handsome glass lantern. Opening the glass, he flung Terence inside and slammed it shut. Terence beat against the glass, his wings fluttering in panic but to no avail. Hook leaned down and grinned.
"If you tell us where we can find the ultimate treasure, I promise no harm shall come to you. Refuse and it shall mean your life. We have come up with many interesting ways to kill you vermin. Shall we see if we can discover a new way today?" Terence swallowed and backed up from the glass, shaking his head. Tink's hands covered her mouth and she knew what she had to do. Quick as a flash, she flew from the mast and back toward shore. Terence's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of green zooming through the air and it made his heart hammer painfully against his chest.
"Tink," he moaned, his palm pressing against the cold glass.