TinkerBell and all related characters ©Disney.
"Bring the boy to me," said Ronalde, as he watched the mortal teen with seething disdain. The crewman untied Mike from the mast, and dragged him close to the captain's quarters. It was pretty painful, being dragged across a wooden deck, as a couple of splinters found their way into his backside, making him scrunch his face up. Belle turned her head as much as she could, to see her boyfriend taken through this. Yet, as much as she tried, the blue pixie dust kept her strength, physical and magical, too limited to make a move.
From their little hiding spot below the bow of the ship, Queen Clarion, Zarina and Vidia witnessed the happenings. It was evident, that it will not be an easy task to accomplish. One false move, could cost Michael his life, as well as Periwinkle.
"We'll have to wait until the deck is clear," Vidia said, watching the crewman retying Mike to the side of the captain's quarters, "we don't want to risk him or the others getting hurt."
"No telling what he has planned," added Zarina, "this brings back too many memories for me," slightly shuddering at her ordeal long ago.
"Yeah, that was something," said the fast flying fairy sarcastically. The pixie dust alchemist recalls the youthfulness of the one who became the nefarious Captain James Hook. This person, Ronalde, who claimed to be Hook's son, acted in the same manner. It brought back vivid, yet uncomfortable, memories for Zarina.
To think she could have been that gullable back then, was so unlike her. Considering what happened at the time, when she left Pixie Hollow after nearly destroying the dust depot in that botched experiment, she realized that she was very naïve back then. TinkerBell warned her about using two pieces of that speck of blue dust, and through that, she learned her lesson. Since then, pixie dust alchemy has become an integral part of the changing of the seasons. Not a complete replacement, but an addition to nature's alterations. How she allowed herself to be lured in by Hook's faux sincerity befuddles her to this day. Yet, that is in the past, and now, her friends needed to be rescued.
All the while, the queen was being very observant, of little things that were occuring. As a monarch, she had to; she was very much in tune with the various fairies, sparrowmen and talent guilds of Pixie Hollow. Thus, why the Queen's Review existed, to see the preparations and hard work of the ones she presided over.
The various happenings aboard the Jolly Roger provided much information into going about freeing Mike and Belle, and saving the very ill Periwinkle. And how things were going, it was unpredictable. Glancing at the sky, they could see dusk setting in.
"And to believe this had to happen on Christmas Eve," said Vidia in disgust, "this is no way to spend the holidays."
"Think about what those two are going through right now," added Zarina, thumbing upwards to the deck.
"As long as we stay hidden," commented Clarion, "we can end this ordeal when daylight comes in a few hours."
The three were silent, until it was broken.
"What do you think he has planned for them?" asked the fast flyer.
"I don't wanna think about it," said the pixie dust alchemist, shaking her head, "I just want to free them, get Peri, and get back home."
"We'll have to wait then," said their queen, as the gentle ocean breeze calmed their nerves for a while.
Back in Pixie Hollow, the entire pixie dust tree was lit up with lanterns and decorations. Fairies of every talent did their last minute preparations for the big holiday celebration being held all day on Christmas Day. To many, this was the culmination of a calander year full of changes, especially with the winter and summer becoming a bit harsh due to the alterations in Earth's atmosphere. The fairies and sparrow men of all talents celebrated almost like the humans on the mainland, but with their own traditions.
"I wonder how they're doing," said Fawn as she helped hang more lanterns around the tree.
"I hope they make it back here for the holiday celebration," commented Iridessa, also helping with the lantern hanging. "It'll be the first time a human has ever attended this, Mike will be so surprised."
"Yeah," said Rosetta, "the look on his cute face will be priceless," as she thought about her love interest, Sled, the winter animal fairy.
"I'm sure they'll make it back," added Silvermist, "I've never seen Tink, I mean Belle, this happy," as her thoughts drifted to that of the magical muscle girl's boyfriend. She slowly started to blush, as the light fairy caught a glance. She smirked.
"Don't tell me you have a 'crush' on the human," she said sarcastically. This surprised the other three; Iridessa was not used to using sarcasm.
"Uh," the water fairy was filled with embarassment, blushing a heavy red on her Oriental-influenced face. "I...gotta go," as she flew off, flustered. Rosetta and Fawn gazed at their other friend.
"What?" she said absent-mindedly. The other two shook their heads.
It was late afternoon in the sea, as the ship sat there, non moving. The three fairies, staying hidden, waited patiently, listening for any chance to make a move. Then, when boredom set in, a door opening was heard. Clarion, Zarina and Vidia peeped over the edge to see what was happening. They had moved to the opposite side, where Mike was being held. It was apparent that the captain just stepped out of his quarters. Closing the door, he walked to his male captive and squatted before him.
"Wake up, youmg man," he said into his ear, rousing Mike out of his little nap. Opening his eye, his sight focused, to see the captain in front of him.
"What do you want?" he asked groggingly, with a sneer.
Ronalde grinned. "Oh, I just thought that you'd want to hear a little story, that's all." His teeth were pearly white, his British accent full of youth.
"Is it going to put me to sleep again?" he asked, a bit more alert than before.
"No, not really," said the captain, "I think that it'll clear up a bit about who I am. You interested?"
Mike sighed. He needed to know where this guy came from, that'll clear up a lot of questions in his head. "Yeah, might as well," as he adjusted himself, the pain of having his arms bound behind him not as much prominent.
"From what my mother told me," Ronalde started, as he squatted in front of the American teen, "after his battle with the one known as the Pirate Fairy, he decided to get away for a while, and went to the mainland."
This especially caught Zarina's attention, now learning what happened to him after their taking of the captain's frigate that time. He continued.
"There, he disguised himself as another person, and lived a nice life for a few years, met up with a young lady, and fathered her child." He gazed right into Mike's eye.
"Do you know who that young lady was related to, hmmm?"
Mike was getting a bit pissed, yet was powerless to do anything. "Who?" he asked coolly.
"Your girlfriend might have known a lady by the name of...Wendy Darling," gazing over to her. Belle's eyes shot open at the mention of her friend's name, one she was hotly jealous of way back then, when it was just her, Peter and the Lost Boys. When Wendy came into the picture, it caused her to express emotions she never knew she had. After a good century, she regretted it after returning to Pixie Hollow from her adventures with the flying boy. But the young captain wasn't finished.
"Every now and then, he would come to London and check on us, brought us gold from his plunders to pay our bills and buy us food and such. He was very good to us. My mother loved him so. But sadly," he said in a depressing tone, "one day, about eight years ago, he didn't come to see us, and I wondered why. I was sixteen then. Mother said that he'd be out on the high seas, conducting business, and that's when Mr. Smee came to our door, informing us of their captain's demise...at the hands of Peter Pan," his voice dropping down to a angry growl. He then turned back to Mike. "Do you know how it feels to lose a parent, one you wanted to be around all the time, knowing that they lived that kind of life?" saying it now with a snarl.
Mike scooted back up against the wall, not in fear, but to keep away from this guy. Now he understood, yet he felt like countering.
"Do you know how it feels to be mentally manipulated, almost taken away from your family, and living seven years in a mental hell?" He was clearly angry. "My father did what he did to rescue me, and yours didn't care about anyone but himself," calming down, "though I have pity on his demise, he got what he deserved at the time."
Belle remembers that time very well: apparently, Hook had found a way to the United States, discovered where the family lived, kidnapped Michael and Ashley, and had Peter come all the way to Never Land to get them back, all in the name of revenge. Back then, as TinkerBell, she had a fierce loyalty to Peter, and would do nearly anything for him. She flew all the way from the United Kingdom to get him, when she saw that his children were being held hostage. From the time she met Michael as a child, she nurtured a strong crush on the boy, and willingly risked all she was to save him from Hook's hook. His kind and humble nature moved her heart, and captured it, in ways no one could.
Right below the bow, the three fairies were hearing things they have never heard before. TinkerBell's adventures have taken her further than any fairy in Pixie Hollow's history, and in spite of that, she has made many friends as well as enemies. Clarion was aware of some things, but that she was so jealous of Peter's friend to where she wanted her dead, was unfathomable. She was not mad, knowing that the tinker fairy had atoned for what she did. But to know that Wendy's daughter carried on a relationship with Hook, and gave birth to his son, was shocking to say the least. They knew that Tink could be a handful of trouble at times, but to hear this? It left them speechless.
Ronalde's anger cooled some, as a pleasant grin adorned his face. "It seems you don't get it," as he stood up and looked down, "though I might let your girlfriend go, I will think about the other fairy," gazing to his quarters, "but you are staying, here."
Anger welled up inside Mike, though he knows not to lash out at him; he held their lives in the palm of his hand. He finally sighed in submission.
"Okay," he relented, "let Belle and Peri go, please, they're sisters, and they need each other."
Hidden under the bow, the three fairies heard of his willing to stay, but the let the twins go. Ronalde's eyebrow cocked.
"Sisters?" he asked.
"Yes, they were born of the same laugh long ago, the one in your cabin is sick." This had wheels turning inside the captain's head, on how to exploit this opportunity to the hilt.
"On the other hand," he said with a thoughtful aire, "I might not let them go," Mike cursing himself.
Why in hell did I say that? he thought, as the grimace and moment his his face, that was Belle's only chance to get Peri and head back to the cottage, gazing over to his girlfriend, a sorrowful look on her face, I'm sorry Belle, I screwed up big time. He then heard a yawn, and looking up, the captain stretched his arms.
"I think it's time for some shuteye," he said in his British accent, "I'll think about what I can do with you three, while I rest," opening the door to his quarters, "good night all," as he began to shut it. Seizing the opportunity, Clarion took a risk, and flew for the door as it closed. Zarina and Vidia were caught off guard by the queen's abrupt action, but looking down, they noticed a few lines in pixie dust, scrawled below them.
Free Michael and Belle, I'll get Peri was all it said. The alchemist and fast flyer looked at each other in confusion.
"When did she come up with that plan?" Vidia asked.
"I don't know," answered Zarina, "I didn't realize that our queen can be so impulsive."
"But we might as well go along with it," as both peeped above the bow of the ship. Making sure no one was around, except for the occasional crewman standing guard, the two waited until the man was dozing off, to make their move.
Inside the room, Ronalde laid down on his bed, the same one slept on by his father long ago. The thought of fulfilling his wish permeated his being, knowing that a piece of the puzzle that eluded him would now be eliminated. Since the actual Peter Pan can not be there, his son will be a perfect sacrifice. In his mind, Mike will know the true meaning of loss, by paying the ultimate price.
Hidden behind a barrel by the door, Clarion looked around. From what the girls regaled to her after Zarina's return, Hook's cabin hasn't changed a bit over the years. Much of the cabin remained intact, all the intricate things as they were since that adventure to get the blue pixie dust back. Since Clarion modified her appearance to that of a regular fairy, she was undetectable; if she had the faintest sign of pixie dust, he would sense it.
As he put the light out, the queen observed her surroundings, noting everything in place. Her eyes were very sharp, having been the ruler of Pixie Hollow for a very long time. Gazing upward, she set her sight on a lamp. Sharpening her sight, she gasped in shock and sadness.
"Periwinkle," she muttered. The frost fairy laid motionless, barely breathing and fully devoid of color, not even a touch of white in her spiky hair. Steel resolve filled her eyes, as she conjured a plan to save her fairy.
Outside, the two fairies sought their opportunity to free their friends. Looking around, the plan came to fruition.
"Listen," Vidia said, "you free Mike, I get Belle, okay?"
"Gotcha," said Zarina, as she started to take off, only to be stopped by the fast flyer.
"But go around the froont of the boat, that way no one will see you," she added. Nodding yes, the alchemist flew around the boat, and to the side where the magical muscle girl sat.
On the other hand, Clarion was calculating the best way to get to Periwinkle, without waking the captain. Using the slightest bit of pixie dust, she zipped from piece to piece, undetected so far. Being a former fast flying fairy before becoming queen, she still had her speed and stealth. Even with her legs and feet exposed, she is slightly taller than other fairies, but a good bit shorter than her long time love, Lord Milori.
Having reached the desk where the lantern stood, the queen kept an eye out for anything that might compromise her position. Finally reaching the lantern, her heart was saddened at her frost fairy. As far as she knows, TinkerBell and Periwinkle are the first and only twin sister fairies to live in Pixie Hollow, ever. Now it seems fate has different agendas in mind.
Using pixie dust as a lubricant to silence the hinges of the door, she carefully opened it, and slowly walked in. If TinkerBell was in bad shape during the time she was sick, her twin is fairing no better. Picking her up without making a sound, she performed the same manuever that got her there.
"Hold on Peri," she whispered to the unresponsive fairy, "we're getting you out of here."