Sorry for the delay my dears! This chapter has a bit more action in it, hope you enjoy. Reviews are always appreciated :)
Rumple wasn't surprised when he was practically ambushed upon leaving the hut. "We need to head for a different island; my friend knows where Henry's portal came out, Marooners' Rock." He said to Hook. Hook nodded.
"Not very far, we can be there within a day but how do we know Henry is still there? We should head straight for Pan and stop Greg and Tamara before they reach him. There's no point chasing after them, if Pan gets hold of Henry it'll be extremely difficult to get him back." Hook said. The worried looks on the groups' faces deepened.
"Hook's right," Emma said, to everyone's surprise. "There's no way we're going to catch them like this before they reach Pan."
"And what if Pan finds us first? He's not big uninvited guests." Rumple stated.
"I'd rather risk him getting to us than Henry." Regina said defiantly. Rumple could clearly see he was outnumbered on the decision.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Rumple gestured sarcastically and began walking back to the ship. The rest of the group began to follow.
"Why is it we always have to follow that son of bitch?" Regina asked Hook, clearly still frustrated at not being able to sit in on the conversation inside the hut.
"I don't mind, I'd rather have him in my sights than out of them." Hook stated, stepping towards Regina and wrapping one of his strong arms around her waist. She tensed slightly at first.
"I can walk on my own you know." She snarked.
"Oh I know, I feel in need of a bit of support though." Hook winked at her and smiled his cheeky crooked smile. Regina couldn't help but grin back.
Henry had lost track of the days, how long had he spent being dragged through this endless jungle by his captors? He had no idea. His captors were stressed out however, Henry could tell that they didn't have a plan now they had reached their destination. They were looking for someone, that much was clear, Greg had a device that he seemed to think was tracking this person. But either it wasn't working or Greg wasn't pleased with what the device was showing because whenever he looked at it he would growl or shout. Henry was scared of Greg, he had a dangerous temper. But whenever Henry felt himself getting too scared he remembered what his mother had told him once when he was scared of his nightmares "No matter how scared you're feeling Henry, just remember that I'm here, I'll always protect you, even when I'm not with you, I will always protect you." She used to whisper those words in Henry's ears while she stroked his back and he would fall asleep with the knowledge that no matter what his mother would be there to save him. But where was his Mum now? Henry wondered. Back in Storybrooke, no doubt fighting fiercely to find a way to get him home, a small smile broke over his face as he pictured Regina and Emma working together to get him home. Maybe once they found him, they will start to get along, Henry thought.
"Get up kid." Henry was snapped out of his thoughts by Greg who shouted at Henry from across a clearing where they had been resting. "You've had enough rest." Greg added as Henry approached them glumly. They began another trek through the humid jungle. Greg got out his tracker again. "Look at this," he gestured to Tamara to inspect the screen. "We're on the wrong ISLAND." he yelled, startling Henry and Tamara who visibly winced at the sudden outburst. " We need to find the shore, now." Greg suddenly turned and began marching in a random direction.
Tamara paused, a worried look on her face. She shook her head lightly, looked down at Henry and grabbed the collar on his shirt. "Come on kid." She said, and Henry had no choice but to follow.
Once the group were back on the Jolly Sailor, Hook decided he might accept some help on the next stage of their journey, he set them all specific tasks in order to make their journey to Pan's island as smooth and fast as possible. Regina had been stationed closest to the wheel so her and Hook could still throw each other quick glances, and when Regina wasn't busy with her tasks they could talk and speculate more about what Rumple wasn't telling them, Regina was sure there was something.
By sundown that same day the group aboard the Jolly Roger had almost reached their destination. Therefore, instead of staying put for the night, Hook decided to carry on sailing and set up camp on Pan's island. This was a risky decision as they could run into mermaids on their way. It was well known in Neverland that mermaids are nocturnal and only hunt at night. They had been fine on their previous nights in the middle of the ocean because Hook had anchored the boat, the mermaids couldn't necessarily tell they were there, nor did they bother with prey that attempted to shield themselves, they preferred to target the foolish ones, the boats who willingly sailed through their seas in the dead of night. Hook shuddered as he stood at the wheel of his ship, remembering the last time he had sailed through Neverland during the night, he'd lost five members of his crew that night. But they were not powerful sorcerers and knights and saviours, they had been mere sailors. The mermaids wouldn't stand a chance against Hook's new crew.
Hook sent everyone to bed as soon as he was satisfied the ship could sail smoothly through the night. At least he hoped. Regina tried to stay up with him, but her eyes kept drooping as they spoke and in the end Hook had to take her in his arms and put her to bed himself so she wouldn't resist sleep any more. Regina looked so peaceful when she slept, so innocent, it was beautiful. Hook couldn't help but linger for a few moments after he had tucked the blankets around her. Eventually he realised he needed to get back up to deck so he kissed Regina's forehead lightly and stealthily returned to his post. Hook didn't become very drowsy until around three o'clock in the morning. He was used to long nights on his ship, although usually they would have been spent in his cabin with some company. Hook was jerked back to his senses when he felt something hit the side of the ship, it didn't really move the ship, but Hook had felt it. He approached the side it had come from. Leaning over the side Hook saw the flash of a large turquoise fish tail catching the moonlight. The mermaids had spotted them.
Hook immediately ran down to the cabins and roused his 'crew', and told them to get up to deck as quickly as they could, he flung his cabin doors open and woke up Regina.
"We need to get up on deck, my darling, the mermaids have found us and they are not going to be happy. We need to get to land now, we shouldn't be too far from Pan's island." Regina nodded, attempting to snap out of sleep fast. To Hook's surprise, Emma, Charming, Snow and Rumple were already following his instructions to get the ship moving faster when he got back up on deck. But it became apparent that their efforts may well be in vain as Hook spotted dozens of glistening tails approaching the boat on both sides.
"Quick, arm yourselves." Hook shouted.
"With what?" Emma retorted. "They're hardly going to be able to climb aboard, how are our swords going to reach them?"
"They may not be able to climb up here, but don't underestimate how good they are at getting you in the sea." Hook said seriously. Emma nodded, still a little reluctant.
"Will fire help at all?" Regina asked, creating a fireball in her right hand as she spoke. Hook grinned.
"Yes it will, they can't stand fire, but don't use it on them just yet, we don't want to anger them further before they've even reached us."
Rumple noticed Regina igniting a fire ball and did the same himself, positioning himself on the other side of the ship to her. The mermaids reached the ship and careered into it on both sides, the Jolly Roger shook and swayed violently, Hook attempted to steady her with the wheel, but the mermaids were already swimming away in order to slam into them again.
"There's not enough wind!" Hook shouted frustratedly.
"Then why don't we make some." Regina said calmly, catching Rumple's eye.
"What an excellent idea." Rumple stated almost bitterly. They both doused their flames and positioned their hands towards the ship's sails. Regina could feel the magic coursing through her body like adrenaline and suddenly the air shot out of her hands and straight into the biggest sail. The ship began to move extremely fast, faster than Hook had ever seen it go. Emma looked behind her and saw the mermaids swimming furiously towards them, but they were far behind and losing ground, or sea, by the second. She smiled, she had to admit it was helpful having the two extremely powerful sorcerers on their side. In no time at all the island came into view, it had a looming mountain situated at its centre with miles of deep jungle surrounding it. Hook lay the anchor down once they were close enough to the island.
"I think we'll be safe enough sleeping in our cabins for the rest of the night, the mermaids would have given up by now, they won't be able to find us now we've stopped. We got away too fast. Thank you Regina." He stroked her arm affectionately.
"Yes well done Regina." Rumple said sarcastically.
"Thank you too Crocodile." Hook spat. Rumple smirked and stormed off back to his bed. Snow smiled at Hook and Regina kindly before leading her family back to the cabins. Once they were gone Hook wrapped an arm around Regina's waist and pulled her in for a kiss. Regina wrapped her arms around Hook's neck and leaned into his chest.
"You're welcome Captain." she said, out of breath slightly from their embrace. She grabbed his hand and led him down the steps and below deck.