It was odd to be on land once again. It was almost as if the lands were moving in time with her steps as Alexandra move forward, her puffy skirt a foreign feeling compared to the pirate's where she was so used to. Her father was escorting her to this ball, although she was usually left behind whenever he had to go on "princely duties".
In normal circumstances, having the famous Prince Thomas as a father would make his daughter a princess. But Alexandra had been raised on the sea, and she would much rather take a sunburn and binoculars to her eyes than pinching heels and pretty tiaras any day. Her mother, Cinderella, had disappeared before Alexandra even got to know her, and so her father was her best friend and life source.
They had partnered together ever since Alexandra had turned eighteen to sail the seas in search of adventure, only returning to land in the event of some wedding or ceremony or another. The king had things covered back home, and couldn't care less when Prince Thomas was up to, much less his daughter.
Speaking of weddings, this one was quite extravagant. Everyone sported dresses as ridiculous as Alexandra's; although none of the women looked nearly as uncomfortable as she felt. The couple that would later say their vows were Snow White and Prince Charming.
"I'm sure you'd rather eat something than listening to royal chatter for the next few hours. Go have some fun, you're a grown girl now. Find a husband, why don't you?" Her father gave a little jab on the shoulder, ruffling her hair a bit before setting off with trudging steps toward a largely obnoxious woman to the left.
Alexandra was happy to get away from the dancing crowd of royals. Instead, she made a home by the snack bar, grabbing pastries and cheese and grapes in handfuls.
"Got quite the appetite there, have you?" A man in all black leather popped out of the shadows behind the tables, almost as if he had appeared out of didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the crowd, bedecked in shiny leather. His face was obscured by the shade still, and he held his hands behind his back. "We don't get many pastries when we're out on the sea."
Alexandra turned up her nose, assuming that this man, like all these other royals, would not appreciate her stories on their ship, "The Adventure".
"Would you dance with me?" The man held out a hand, bowing to her. She winced a little but hid it with a smile when the man looked up at her through his thick eyelashes.
"I don't really know how to dance. Court things have never been my strong suit; I'd much rather be outside right now, actually." "Well then, I'll lead." With that, Alexandra was swept into a flurry of colorful skirts and wealthy people.
A slower dance came on and, as promised, the unknown man took the lead, making it easy enough for Alexandra to follow along.
"So, mysterious man, who might you be?" She prodded, stepping squarely on the man's foot and grimacing. If the man noticed though, he certainly didn't show it.
"I'm a man of the sea as well."
"A captain? What kingdom do you sail for?"
"I never said I worked for a kingdom, did I?"
He sent a smirk her way before his eyes began scanning the length of the ballroom. "You're looking for someone, aren't you? And if you work for no kingdom, and yet you sail the seas, could you be a trader?" But that wouldn't make sense; why would a fisher or even a merchant be at a royal wedding?
The man laughed at the questions, "You're a curious one, aren't you? Fine, I will answer the questions I don't mind sharing. Yes, I'm looking for someone. However, no, I am not a trader in any sense."
"You snuck in here, didn't you?" Alexandra gasped, nearly stepping out of the dance. The man held her firm though, and they kept dancing as if everything was alright. "I'd better not get caught up in anything illegal!"
"Trust me, love, I'm doing everyone a justice by hunting this man down. The crocodile's supposed to show up sometime soon. He always tries offering some kind of dark magic too powerful couples as they marry that tears their marriages apart in some way."
"So you're an assassin."
"Assassin, thief, sailor, charmingly handsome bachelor; any of them work, although I prefer the term pirate," The pirate paused his scan of the room to wink down at Alexandra.
"You're a pirate! How wonderful! And here I was expecting you to be something awful, like an ambassador or something."
"That's not usually the reaction I get, but if you're so fond of pirates, perhaps you'll help me with locating this crocodile? I can take you back to my ship later perhaps, as compensation?"
"I have my own ship already, and I'm practically co-captain as it is," Alexandra answered, completely missing the hidden meaning in the pirate's suggestion. The pirate suddenly stopped his side of the waltz, and Alexandra fell into him as she twisted her ankle at an odd angle, not knowing the next step without the pirate's guidance.
Suddenly she realized that the hand that had been hidden in her skirts during the dances was not a hand but a shiny metallic hook. Thinking it rude to make a comment, Alexandra asked, "Have you seen something?"
She lifted her skirts to peer down at her bruised ankle. When she tested it with a little pressure, she felt no pain, and she deemed it okay to walk on. When she looked back up, she couldn't help but feel her eyes drawn to the silver hook that took the place of the man's hand.
"The crocodile," The pirate's eyes narrowed, and he reached for his sword belt, which Alexandra hadn't even noticed beforehand. She had only just now noticed two crucial details and felt quite unintelligent for having seen them before.
He started off in the direction he had been staring, and Alexandra followed along behind him like a lost puppy, a shadow in his tracks. He was headed straight for her father, Prince Thomas.
Was her father the crocodile that the man had been speaking of? Did he plan on killing him? Alexandra suddenly rushed to block the man. "You can't kill him, he's my father!"
"You're father is the bloody crocodile? Hell, and I thought you were halfway decent!" The pirate rolled his eyes quickly before moving forward once again in the same direction. He was a man on a mission.
But Alexandra was a woman on a mission, and she had been raised with the mannerisms of a pirate and the class of a lady. She knew exactly how to get the attention of the entire ballroom on this man, and that would definitely get him away from her father.
But just as Alexandra opened her mouth to begin screaming and making a scene, a pulsing glow erupted from behind her, where her father was. A man with scaly, dry and peeling skin was holding her father in a death grip, his other hand full of a ball of violet light that looked almost static. The crocodile.
It was obvious then that the pirate had not been targeting Prince Thomas but this dark magician with some kind of skin disease. The name was fitting, of course.
"That man's the crocodile, isn't he? You have to stop him! He's got my father!" Alexandra dug her fingers into the pirate's arm, leaving a fierce red mark he wouldn't notice until late that night. When the pirate didn't respond, Alexandra asked, "Bloody hell, do I have to do everything myself?"
Alexandra pulled the sword from the pirate's own shield and dashed toward the unfolding scene.
"Alexandra, stay back! Go back to the ship and sail away! Far away! Just forget about me! Save yourself!" Her father aimed the remark into the entirety of the ballroom, most likely hoping not to call the crocodile's attention to his daughter so that he would know what she looked like.
Alexandra didn't back down so easily though. She was still moving up behind the attacker when a blast of light sent everyone within a ten-foot radius of the two flying through the air. From the ground, Alexandra grabbed the sword off the ground and tried to leap forward to swipe at the attacker's legs.
"You should have repaid our deal! You'll repay the price with your life! No one breaks a deal with the Dark One!" The man drew out a jagged knife and plunged it into Prince Thomas's chest, then disappeared without a trace, the sound of his echoing laughter and the death of Alexandra's father the only clues that he had been there in the first place. She had been too late.
The pirate from before came up behind her, whispering in her ear, "They'll question you. They'll pity you. Best get out of here as soon as possible. You don't need a body to be able to mourn."
He said it almost as if he had experienced the same thing as Alexandra was now. He whisked her off the palace grounds without a word. It was as if her nerves had permanently shut down. Even after stubbing her tripping on the same bruised ankle as before, Alexandra felt nothing whatsoever. Once they were outside though, Alexandra's heart hardened.
"I'll be going back to my ship now. Go, shoo!" She said as little as possible, wanting absolutely no human interaction at the moment.
"You'll be the captain now, Captain Alexandra."
And, in a totally out-of-line gesture, especially under the circumstances, the pirate kissed her full on the lips.
Alexandra went to smack him, but he was already leaping off the pathway into darkness with a salute.
"I'll get you back for that, common pirate!" Alexandra roared, her rage of her father's death and the incompetence of this man making a sudden appearance.
"You're nothing but a pirate now too, love! And for the record, the name's Hook. Captain Hook." A glint of silver struck Alexandra's eyes. That was all she would ever see of Captain Hook. But her lifestyle aligned with his in uncanniness after that night, and "The Adventure" became a ship of pirates, captained by the ruthless Captain Alexandra.