Warnings;

. Swearing (As usual)
. Angst (Again)

This chapter's quite light, I think.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

The suffocating and unnerving tension in the air was so thick that not even Helena's trusty knife could cut through it. It was clear on each of their faces that they hadn't anticipated Cassie's refusal to answer Harry's question, and the obvious bewilderment each 'captor' expressed was - at least to Cassie - quite hilarious.

Much to the little cat's slight astonishment, it was Helena who came to her senses first.

The Queen of Hearts swiftly dropped to her knees in front of the bucket Cassie had puked into only moments ago. "Don't be stupid, pussycat," she said, the softness of her voice somewhat tainted by the subtle threat that Cassie immediately noted. "I mean, you're what... like, fifteen?"

"Sixteen," the little cat corrected with a small shrug.

"Okay, sixteen. You've been hiding on this Isle for sixteen years, I didn't even know you or your daddy were here until Hook told me. And you can keep your identity a secret." Helena was clearly desperate, her wide eyes frantically darting between Cassie and pirates. "Just tell us who spelled you. You do that, and Harry will keep his mouth shut," she seethed the last word with a firm glare in Harry's direction, her features switching back the minute she faced the little cat. "Please."

Cassie gave a small huff of feigned annoyance and slumped back into the chair they'd tied her to, her dark eyes staring up at the ceiling. Hateful words and violent threats she could handle; To a certain degree, anyway. Heartbroken expressions and begging, however, had always been rather foreign to her.

The Cheshire Cat had been dubbed a criminal and thrown on the Isle, yes. Did that make him a criminal? No. From what her father had told her, he was far from a villain, and he hadn't raised her to be one either. His main priority had been self-preservation, and he'd instilled the exact same habits and mindsets onto his daughter. He'd been a master trickster back in Wonderland, and he often enjoyed the suffering of rather unpleasant people, Helena's mother included. But he hadn't been cruel or ruthless. In fact, he'd treated Cassie with an astonishing amount of affection and 'love' when she was growing up, and so she'd never quite found the need to cause harm to others.

Cassie was a little odd when compared to the other villain children on the Isle. She wasn't good, but she wasn't entirely bad either; She just was. Never in a million years would she willingly risk her life for someone she didn't know, and though her 'urges' were selfish and unneeded they kept her happy and sane. However, she'd never hurt someone else for the fun of it, and she wouldn't go seeking a fight merely for the sake of boredom or as a way to keep up some foolishly made reputation. She could be harsh if the situation demanded it - a small fact Harry should be well acquainted with by now - and she had no issue with being violent if she was cornered. But Cassie could be kind and understanding. Her complete willingness to give Helena the little bracelet she'd had made for her son was a clear example.

The Queen of Hearts obviously had her flaws, but even Cassie had seen the adoration and love she held for her baby; Two things the Isle was severely lacking. Helena might have her own reasons for wanting to get off the Isle, but the most noticeable of all was that she just wanted to get herself and her little one away from danger. And though Cassie herself wasn't a mother, she couldn't help but sympathise just a little, and to now see the Queen herself on her knees, and begging no less... well, it truly hammered the nail in harder.

Cassie knew full well that if she really did know someone on the Isle with magic, then she would have gotten herself off the damned Island way before Harry found her, and that if she had known of Helena and Gilzean then, she would have gladly taken them with her. But the harsh reality of it was that no one on this Isle had magic, and the only being capable of letting them out was the Fairy Godmother, who was busy living it up in the land of happiness right across the pond. The little cat didn't have magic, and she didn't know anyone with magic.

But there was no way in hell she was admitting it to these three.

"I'm not telling you shit," she stated, her dark eyes wandering to where a furious Harry stood. "Tell them, I dare you." The fire in the red pirate's eyes, along with the harsh grinding of his teeth, was a clear sign to Cassie that he knew just as well as she did how fucked they'd be if he went mouthing off to the Isle residents. After all, he and the crew were bad but they weren't the worst the Isle had to offer. If he really did go blabbing that she knew someone with magic, even the notorious villains themselves would attempt to find her, and there was no way in hell he or his Captain could get to her then.

Cassie gave a small, disgruntled groan as a sharp tug at the back of her head tilted her face upward, and a sharp sting started in the centre of her throat. "Ow."

"Listen up, pussycat," said Helena, her gentle tone from before long gone by this point. "If you don't wanna play nice, fine." Cassie felt the blade press further into her skin, accompanied by a tiny trickle of warmth running down the little cat's neck. "Tell me how to get off this fucking Isle or I'll take your head off."

"Hmm, okay, first of all," the little cat began, her index finger nervously twitching against the metal armrest. "I don't work well with violence. Just ask Harry. And second, if I die then so does everything I know. You kill me, you don't get the answer. Got it?" Her stomach was frantic, and the urge to vomit again grew greater by the second, but she was in the company of three... well, two vicious villain kids, and she couldn't afford to show weakness now. She just had to swallow it down and hope to Hades they didn't see straight through her.

It took more time than Cassie was comfortable with, and a rather brutal glare from Helena, before the Queen of Hearts let her go. The moment she moved away Cassie knew with certainty that - at least for now - they all needed her alive.

"She's right," the Queen groaned, the knife firmly held in her right hand as she crossed her arms. She stood next to Gil, her eyes warily dancing between Harry and Cassie. "What happens now?"

That was a very good question: One that certainly had Cassie wracking her brain for an answer. Whether Helena and Harry liked it or not, they needed Cassie alive, and though it gave the little cat a pleasant certainty it didn't quite save her from whatever their sadistic minds were capable of conjuring; Harry's especially. If she'd learnt anything since meeting him, it was that he was no stranger to inflicting pain on another, if anything the bastard enjoyed it, and Cassie was positive he'd take great pleasure in being able to dig his hook into her skin.

'Oh. Shit.'

The way out of her predicament appeared in Cassie's mind in perfect clarity, and she had to push down the smile of relief and excitement straining to make its way onto her face. She couldn't throw her suggestion into the air right away, since Helena and Harry were rather clever and would notice what she was doing before she'd even attempted it. She had to ease them into her 'deal'. Although, her main objective right now was Harry.

"What does happen now?" she asked, lightly shuffling around in the chair.

Harry hummed in thought, his eyes rolling about before they eventually came back to Cassie. "I could hurt ya," he suggested, taking slow steps toward the little cat. "We need ya alive, but ya voice is tha only thing ya need intact." He used his right foot to slide the bucket away from between Cassie's legs, his nose crinkling in disgust as he did so, and placed his hands over Cassie's bound wrists, resting a good portion of his weight against her arms as he leaned down.

Cassie winced at the sudden ache in her bones, the pain worsening as Harry leaned onto her further. She closed her eyes for a small moment and sucked in a deep breath of reassurance, willing herself to stay strong and fight back. It hurt, and she was sure her skin would bruise, but this was nothing compared to what he would do if he found out she wasn't as useful as he and his Captain once thought. After everything she'd put him through, Harry would make her suffer, and it was this screaming thought that had her biting down on her bottom lip as she tried to ignore the pain in her wrists.

The little cat opened her eyes, somewhat startled to find his face a mere inch away from hers. It came as no surprise to her that his ever-present grin still remained in place, the obvious twisting of her facial features as he hurt her delighting him in some way.

"Does that hurt, little kitty?" he taunted, pointedly pushing down harder until a squeak of protest snuck its way through her closed lips. "Ya can make it go away, ya know." The urge to break was hard to ignore, and staying quiet was even greater a task for her. "Jus' tell me what I wanna know, Cassie, an' I'll make it stop."

The fear she felt right now was unbearable, especially when paired with the overwhelming agony her small wrists were currently being subjected to. If Harry truly did use his full strength against her, her wrists would crumble and snap, and she'd well and truly be fucked. However, the adrenaline coursing through her veins gave her a bit of a boost, reminding her that - though she was losing this round - she had a little weapon she could used against him. One that could, and would, break him.

"You're right," she whispered, a small gasp passing through her lips as he lightened his hold. "I'm the only one who knows who cursed me, Harry. But I have more than one secret, yah know." Cassie prayed to anyone that was listening that he took the bait she was throwing, and by mere luck he seemed to have taken it.

"Is that right?" he inquired with a small chuckle, his hands moving from her wrists to instead hold onto the sides of the chair. "A secret for yar life, eh?" Cassie nodded vigorously, the relief of not having him crushing her bones surging through her form like a wave.

The little cat's relief was short-lived, however, when Harry's right hand darted to the back of her neck, his fingers gently caressing her skin. Cassie had no choice but to submit, her head falling back as small goose bumps lined her arms.

A large part of her had hoped he'd forgotten all about her little 'spot', and just how content it made her despite her circumstances, but he hadn't. The asshole had gone and stored it in the back of his mind as a way to get to her. Just as Cassie herself had done with the little buttons she'd seen on him.

"Tell me what ya know then, love," he muttered, drawing out the pet-name into her ear.

"I haven't told anyone else this, just you," she began, moistening her lips with her tongue as she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do. "It's not as big as who spelled me." Cassie attempted to seem, at least a little, guilty about the fact she wasn't telling him who on the Isle had magic. After all, she still had to play it up a little.

"As long as I get somethin' out o' this, love, it don' matter," he told her, his lips moving against her cheek as he spoke.

"You do," she reassured with haste, briefly wondering if she was playing this out too hard. If she kept making this seem like she really did have some big secret to tell, and she got his hopes up, he was definitely going to kill her at the end of it.

Harry removed his hand from the back of her neck and Cassie stammered a breath of relief. Instead, he gently held the side of her face, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw. "Then tell me, Cassie."

Truthfully, she did have more than one secret. The person who spelled her, though severely lacking in detail, she knew, and it wouldn't benefit the pirates in any way. Another big secret she had could help them in some way, and she could have easily told Harry about it, but she wasn't going to. He was half of the reason she was in this mess in the first place, and fucking with him was so easy.

"I wanna make a deal with you, Harry. What I'm about to tell you." She took a pause. "It means a lot to me, and someone else. I wouldn't tell you if I wasn't desperate. If I tell you this, I need you to guarantee that you won't hurt me again. I need your word."

"Harry," called Helena, and both he and Cassie looked back at the Queen of Hearts. "You can't make a deal unless you know what it is. She's too valuable to us."

"I'm not a bloody idiot, princess," he snapped, earning himself a harsh glare from Helena. "I know 'ow ta make a deal." Harry swiftly took back his hands and stood to his full height, his brows raised as he stared down at the little cat. "Terms?"

"You don't hurt me again. I'm not asking for freedom, Harry. I'm asking you not to torture me. You guarantee me that and I'll tell you my secret." Her terms were plain, but only when said. If Harry took this deal, and he would, she'd be out of the salon by the time the sun came up.

Harry chewed his bottom lip, his eyes roaming over her as he thought. "This secret, 'ow important is it ta me?"

"Very." Cassie didn't waste a moment. She had his attention, now she had to seal their deal. "Uma said you pirates take your word seriously, and I hope you feel the same way about that." Bringing up his Captain might not have been the best idea, but Cassie wasn't taking any chances with this one.

"Aye, we do."

"I'm not a liar, Harry. My secret is very important to you, and I wouldn't give it up unless I had to. All I want is to spare myself from any pain, not just from you." Cassie's dark eyes flickered to Helena and Gil pointedly. "All of you. You don't hurt me, they don't hurt me. No one hurts me. Those are my terms."

"You don't want your freedom?" the Queen inquired sceptically.

"I do, more than anything, but I know you guys can't let me go. I understand that. Just...don't hurt me, please."

Helena sighed and gave a small shrug. "I dunno, it's your call," she huffed, looking at Harry.

"Aye, it is," he grumbled, humming a small tune to himself as he weighed the options of his decision. "A'right, here's my terms though." He took up his former position once more, and Cassie jolted as she felt the familiar pressure come down on her wrists. "If ya're lyin' ta me, an' this secret isn' that important, I'll fuckin' kill ya. I don' give a shite if ya know a way off the Isle, I don' like liars, kitty. If this secret o' yars means nothin' ta me I swear on my hook I'll gut ya, got it?" Cassie nodded her head and - much to her relief - the pressure disappeared once again.

"So," she breathed, gently turning her hands over with a small grimace, the pain in her poor wrists evident. "Do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal."

"Oh, thank Hades," she groaned, only basking in the momentary glow of happiness for a second before she got straight to the nitty gritty. "First of all, you take a few steps back," she told Harry, amused to see the confusion on his face as he did as she asked. "Second, you guys heard right?" She spoke to Helena and Gil. "No one hurts me. He breaks the deal, he goes back on his pirate-code, right?" The two nodded their heads.

"What's tha secret, Cassie?" asked Harry, a sudden twinge of uncertainty in his tone. Even she could see he was thrown by her change of demeanour, the desperation, sadness and sincerity she'd shown only moments ago replaced with confidence and slight mischief.

"I told you I wasn't a liar, and I meant it," she opted with, instead of answering him right away. "No one else knows this, and you will get something out of it." Cassie was covering her bases by this point, the unnerving twinge in her stomach reminding her that - though he stuck to his word - Harry was quite the temperamental one, and the chances of him trying to kill her again were high. "It's also very, very important to you." Her dark eyes moved to focus on his left hand, her gaze lingering until he noticed where this conversation was going.

Harry noticed it alright, and Cassie visibly brightened as his body movements switched the moment the gears in his head started turning. His right hand moved to grasp the sword held to his side, the fingers of his left hand stretching and twisting as she rather brutally reminded him of the valuable object he'd lost to her two days ago.

"Harry?" questioned Helena, also noticing the obvious changes. He didn't acknowledge the Queen of Hearts, the same way he hadn't noticed Uma on the night of the 'challenge'. He was pissed, and he had his target locked.

Cassie wanted to let him stew in his anger and possible self-loathing for a little longer, but she knew the longer she made this last, the greater the risk was that he'd kill her. So, instead, she decided to get straight to it.

"I still have your hook."

~...~...~

The Isle was a dark and torturous place. Numerous acts of brutality and violence were acted out in the streets and behind closed doors, both in the dark and light. It wasn't a place for the weak-minded, and their suicide count had to be through the roof. Strength was a great gift to have, but it wasn't a necessity. If your mind was strong and unbreakable, then maybe you'd survive. After all, strength could be limited and drained, but the mind was the most powerful tool any villain, V.K., and simple ruffian could wield.

For example, Cassie couldn't stand pain, and she absolutely loathed the idea of fighting someone head on. However, when left to her own devices for a long period of time she could quickly summon an escape route and back-up in case things went to shit. She always had to be at least one step ahead of her attacker, and it had certainly gotten her to this point.

It would also get her through the night.

"Walk a little faster, yeah?"

Cassie pursed her lips and looked over her shoulder at Harry. "Why?" she taunted. "You scared?" A harsh tug of the metal chain connected to the offending object around her neck was a stifling reminder of her current dilemma, and that she couldn't keep pushing him if she wanted to survive.

"Jus' walk," he grumbled.

Cassie stayed quiet and wordlessly complied, her footsteps moving a little faster. She swallowed as she turned into the alleyway, a small shiver of displeasure shaking her body. She didn't quite fancy the idea of sneaking through the narrow space without the use of her arms, but there was no way in hell Harry was going to untie her. For the time being, she just had to bear it.

As different scenes of how this night could go played out in her head, Cassie carefully pondered each and every one, her mind conjuring an answer to each moment that could possibly happen. In the worst case scenario, she'd be forced to take Harry up into her beloved 'den' and give him his hook, in which case she'd have to fight against the armed pirate. The better, and preferred, option was that he'd somehow fall off the ledge leading up to her home and meet a gruesome demise, but even Cassie knew the chances of that happening were small. There had to be something in between those two, one that meant she'd escape unharmed and still alive.

Taking Harry back to Bargain Castle hadn't exactly been at the centre of Cassie's mind back in the salon, but she couldn't deny that the uncomfortable thought of having to do such a thing had entered her mind on more than one occasion. After all, she'd handed him the deal knowing full well what it meant, and it was painfully obvious he'd want his treasured heirloom back from her. She couldn't entirely despise her current predicament, since she'd thrown herself into it, and her plan to get out of the damned salon had worked rather well.

"I still have your hook."

The room went completely silent at Cassie's supposed 'secret', the dangerous tension it left lingering in the air felt by all. Even without the aid of her feline senses, the little cat was certain that - in this moment - she'd be able to hear a small pin drop from two rooms over. A part of her was scared shitless of Harry's reaction, though that was overridden by the intense satisfaction she felt at knowing he couldn't touch her after their 'deal'. She'd baited him again, and he'd fallen for it... again.

"I swear ta fuckin-" Harry's loud and threatening voice was interrupted by Helena, the Queen of Hearts taking a rather daring step between the pirate and little cat.

"You can't touch her," she pointed out with a grimace, taking a wide-stance as she aimed her knife in Harry's direction. "You made the deal, remember? She didn't lie to you, did she?" Helena's words were like a dagger to his stomach, mainly because what she said was true.

The son of Hook paced frantically, his fingers running through his short, dark strands of hair and giving a quick tug. He was pissed, and who could blame him?

"It means that much to you, huh?" the Queen noted, taking a slow and small step back toward Cassie.

"He carried it around with him everywhere," the little cat spoke, the feigned sympathy and understanding in her voice greatly conflicting with the delighted smirk on her face. "In his left hand," she added. "Now he just looks like every other trashy pirate on the Isle."

A bellowing yell of anger from Harry was quickly followed by an ear-shattering smash, the red pirate's fist having collided with one of Helena's salon mirrors.

"Hey!" The Queen of Hearts shouted indignantly, still firmly rooted in her spot between Harry and Cassie.

The tense moment between all four V.K.'s was broken by a shrill scream coming from the next room. It seemed that Harry's vocal anger, along with the sound of a now-destroyed mirror, had woken up baby Gilzean.

"I'll go," offered Gil, hastily rushing through the red-curtain the moment he received a grateful smile and small nod of acceptance from Helena.

"Okay, now I'm pissed," the Queen seethed, her dark glower flickering from Harry to Cassie. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get him to sleep?! No, you don't. My salon is trashed, and now my teething baby is awake, so someone had better come up with a solution before I cut off both your heads!" In her angered state, Helena's cheeks and neck had flushed with a faint red, a family trait she most likely received from her deceased mother.

"I want my fuckin' hook back," demanded Harry, picking small shards of glass from his wounded knuckles, apparently unmoved by the sight of blood dripping down his arm.

"Where's his hook, pussycat?" the Queen huffed, blowing a curly strand of hair away from her face as she turned to Cassie.

"Somewhere. Anywhere. And only I know," the little cat responded. When Harry growled and took another threatening step toward her, she playfully tutted in his direction. "No, no, no, love," she sang, putting special emphasis on the irritating 'term of endearment' he always gave her. "You. Can't. Hurt. Me. We made a deal, remember? Or does the code not apply to you?" Cassie was being especially cruel towards him tonight, but she was happy to admit that she was taking great pleasure from tormenting him further, since he seemed so eager and desperate to do the same to her.

"I swear ta fuckin'-"

"Another empty threat?" she wondered, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You're full of disappointments lately, aren't you Harry?" Oh how he was going to hurt her for this later.

Harry paused and chewed hard at his bottom lip, his eyes practically murdering her on the spot. "I might not be able ta hurt ya tanight, little kitty, but when tha sun comes up I'm gonna enjoy meself."

"Hmm, maybe," she muttered with a feigned expression of deep thought. "Maybe not. I'll be gone by then." Not a complete lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. If they kept her here then she'd still be here when the sun came up, and they'd be witnesses to her transformation. Cassie just hoped she could get out before then.

"What? 'Cause o' yar curse?" Harry chuckled humourlessly. "I don' give a shite. I got no problem skinnin' a fuckin' cat."

"Well I don't doubt that. You had to do something while your crazy daddy was ignoring you as a kid," she remarked, a small giggle passing through her lips as he moved once again, only to be pushed back by the Queen of Hearts. "Okay, okay," she said loudly, dimming her amusement for a moment. "I'm not completely heartless. I won't tell you where it is, but I'd be more than happy to show you."

That caught his attention. "Eh?"

"Uh-huh. I'll show you where it is. Just untie me, and I'll take you there. Only you though, Harry."

"A second, Harry," muttered Helena, shoving his left shoulder as she moved to stand near the entrance to the salon. He followed her slight demand, and the two huddled together, trading harsh whispers that were incoherent to Cassie's human ears.

In the meantime, Cassie took this 'break' to completely figure out what she was going to do if Harry took her up on the offer. Fighting him was absurd, and trying to run from him wouldn't be too wise of a choice. But this was her side of the Isle. She knew every alleyway, wrong turn, and the quickest ways to get home if she was in a troubled situation. This was her territory, not Harry's, and she could certainly use that to her advantage.

"A'right little kitty," he sighed, coming back into the room with the Queen of Hearts behind him. "I'll come with ya."

"Okay then," she said with a small smile, gently tugging at her bound wrists. "Yah wanna let me out?"

"Not jus' yet," he admitted, his right hand reaching into the inside of his red coat. "This is more of a... guarantee, than anythin' else, surely ya understan'." His anger had completely diminished by the time he retrieved the object from inside his coat, that smirk Cassie was becoming so familiar with slithering right back into place the moment her dark eyes widened.

"Fuck no," she objected, eyeing the object between his fingers with as much disgust as she could muster.

"Fuck yes."

The Cheshire Cat's daughter stopped in her tracks, a deep sigh of reluctance escaping her mouth when they came to the end of the tunnel. She let her dark eyes roam over Bargain Castle, the ruins of what was once a beautiful building enhancing her already anxious state.

A hard yank forced the little cat back a few steps, and a gasp of air passed through her lips as she stumbled into Harry's chest. A faint blush covered her cheeks as her hands, that Harry had made sure to tie behind her back, mindlessly grasped at a certain part of his anatomy that she really shouldn't have.

"It's a bit late for that, love," he laughed into her ear, the index finger of his left hand hooking around the red collar securely tightened around her neck. "Now," he pressed. "Where's yar hide-away?"

Cassie wordlessly gave a sharp nod towards the eerie castle and took a small step forward, only to be pulled back once again.

"Ya didn' mention ya were one o' tha dragon lady's little... cronies," he growled, apparently aggravated by the thought of her running around with the Queen of all villains.

"I'm not," she rushed to explain, a small breath catching in her throat as Harry gripped the collar tighter. "I just live there." A small sliver of relief washed through her when Harry released her, the red pirate now storming toward the castle entrance with haste.

The little cat struggled to keep up with his strides, her bound hands throwing off her balance, and her short legs moving in a light jog to avoid being pulled onto her face.

"Harry," she muttered, and the pirate ignored her. "Hook," she tried, her voice much louder and firmer than before.

"What?!" he exclaimed, stopping suddenly and turning to face her.

Cassie yelped as she came chest to chest with Harry. "You're going the wrong way," she told him, her neck craned painfully to look up at him.

"Well," he sighed, taking a quick glance from left to right. "I don' see another way."

Cassie rolled her eyes and decidedly took the lead on this one, carefully sliding around Harry to move along the wall. Her motions remained interrupted, and a small part of her was rather grateful that he hadn't pulled on the damned leash again.

They turned the corner, Cassie following her familiar path while Harry kept a small distance between them, and eventually the metal staircase came into view.

Now this was the hard part. Going up the stairs would be easy enough as long as Harry stayed behind her, and she could do it with her hands tied with no problem. The tricky part was when they'd eventually reach the small wooden plank at the top. For that, she would need her balance, and much to the little cat's utter annoyance, Harry was currently in control of it.

"What's wrong with ya?" he demanded, and Cassie realised that - during her moment of thought - she'd slowed down.

"I...uh, kind'a need you to untie me," she admitted, words of explanation flying off of her tongue the moment he opened his mouth to shut her down. "There's a part at the end and I need my hands for it!"

"No fuckin' chance," he stated, shaking his head from side to side. "Yar off yar rocker if ya think I'm lettin' yar hands go."

"Fine." Cassie grumbled petulantly, straightening her legs to root herself in their current spot. "I'll just fall to my death then and you'll have to look through this big ol' castle by yourself. You probably won't find your hook either, but what does that matter?" At the end of her long-winded rant, Cassie averted her eyes to the scenery surrounding them, patiently waiting for the pirate to cave and untie her.

It took a little less time than she anticipated, but soon enough a huff of irritation escaped the pirate and he was forcefully turning her around.

"If ya try anythin' I'll push ya off this thing myself."

Cassie moaned in delight as the rope around her wrists disappeared, the harsh material no longer scratching at her already sore and bruised skin. "See?" she muttered playfully. "Was that so hard?" A sharp sting radiated through her left ass cheek, and Cassie gaped, looking back at an unabashed Harry.

"Move yar arse, kitty," he demanded, and she rolled her eyes, her movements a little faster with the threat of Harry spanking her again taunting her mind.

When Cassie came to the end of the staircase, and right outside the doorway to Mal's bedroom, she held onto the railing with both hands, her right leg lifting up and over the barrier separating her from the plank of wood.

"Are ya fuckin' mad?" the pirate seethed, gripping the back of her dress to stop her from moving.

"We're all mad here," she replied with a small shrug, bringing her left leg over to join the other. "What's your point?"

Harry stared at her as though she'd grown another head. "What the actual fuck are ya doin'?"

Cassie paused, her brows furrowed in slight confusion as she looked at Harry. For the first time since she'd had the misfortune of meeting him, he looked... well, scared. "Harry," she whispered slowly, her dark eyes picking up on the tiny darting movements of his eyes. "Are you scared of heights?" His silence and small glower in her direction was enough of an answer, and she couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm not scared," he objected. "I jus' don' quite fancy tha thought o' fallin' to me death, a'right?" He looked over the side of the railing and swallowed hard, the darkness below restraining either one from seeing just how far down the ground was.

In his small moment of weakness, Harry had thoughtlessly let go of Cassie's dress, and the little cat slipped through the opening with a speed he hadn't exactly counted on. They were on different sides now. Harry still stood on the firm and safe metal floor of the staircase, while Cassie balanced perfectly on the thin plank of wood beneath her feet.

"Scaredy-cat," she taunted with a raised brow, almost daring him to come after her. A part of her hoped he'd give into his fear and let her go, giving her a chance to find another place to hide away in. However, a more mischievous and playful part of her wanted him to take that jump, just for her to see how desperate he was to have his hook back.

Harry's jaw clenched, his brows furrowing as he eyed the little cat with something akin to resentment. He obviously knew she was betting against him, the amused smirk on her lips said as much, but it gave him a drive, so to speak. If he gave up and went home, Cassie would never let him forget it, but if he followed her the rest of the way then he could finally get his beloved object back, and he could put an end to the little pest once and for all.

"Fine," he grumbled, stepping away from the railing. Harry removed the heavy coat from his shoulders, the red material falling down to the floor of the staircase, and moved back toward the edge.

He had persistence, that much was true. Although, Cassie suspected his motivation was fuelled by the idea of being able to kill or hurt her.

With the worrying notion that the plank might crumble under both their weight, Cassie smoothly slid up the trail and onto her 'perch', her fingers firmly holding onto the edge as she leaned out to watch his struggle. She was going to enjoy this.

As Harry recounted the steps she'd taken to get onto the ledge, Cassie moved her hands to the back of her neck and fiddled with the clasp, determined to get the irritating leash off of the collar.

"Oh fuck." Harry's mutter of terror drew Cassie away from her current task, and she quickly abandoned the chain attached to her, her dark eyes decidedly focussing on the troubled pirate.

"Idiot," she giggled quietly, somewhat pleased to see him so worried.

In full honesty, Cassie hadn't expected him to get this far. She hadn't even thought he'd climb over the railing, but he had. Now, however, he was stuck.

Crossing over the plank was easy enough for her. But she had been doing this for years now, and could probably do it blindfolded. However, where she was rather small and thin, Harry was everything but. For her, it was a simple thing of one foot in front of the other, and one arm raised against the wall with the other outstretched for some added balance. The pirate, though, had gone for a more obvious approach. His large and boot-clad feet side-shuffled along the plank, his entire upper body pushed into the wall behind him as his arms stayed close to his sides. If he kept it up and carried on moving, he'd get to her with no problem, but his fear had overridden his brain, and his gaze seemed to be securely locked on the dark abyss below them.

"Harry," she called, the small smile slipping away from her face as he ignored her voice. "Hook?" Silence was yet another answer.

'You know what you have to do," her inner voice pointed out, and the little cat wrinkled her nose in evident displeasure. She wanted to let him stay there for the rest of the night, maybe even after. He did deserve it, especially after all the shit he'd happily put her through. However, the little cat's inner morality pestered her relentlessly, shoving another - and less desirable - thought into the front of her mind.

'Nope. No way. Not a fucking chance.' She gave a small pout of indignation, the two very different sides of her mind waging war in her head.

'Do it.'

'No.'

'Now.'

'No."

'Now!'

'Damn it. Fine.'

Cassie groaned and straddled the wall, her right leg firmly planted against the floor of her den, while her left hung down against the outer wall. She carefully shuffled closer in Harry's direction, the fingers of her right hand holding onto the beam on the inside of her den.

"Harry," she called once more, her frustration building as he ignored her again. "Hook!" she yelled.

"What?!" he finally shouted back, his head whipping in her direction.

For a moment, Cassie could only stare back at him. He was hiding his terror well, but not well enough. She could see it clear as day: From the noticeable tremor in his fingers as he drummed the digits against the wall, and the slight widening of his eyes every single time he made the poor decision of looking down. In times like this, the better option would be to soothe the person suffering, or somehow lull them into a faint sense of security. The biggest problem, however, was that Cassie couldn't possibly do it with Harry. With the amount of bad blood between the two of them there was no way in Hades she could do nice with the pirate, and even if she could, the little cat held a strong suspicion Harry wouldn't react too well to it either.

Realistically, Cassie only had one option.

"You're so pathetic, you know that?" she told him, her lips twitching downward into a disapproving frown. "I mean, you act all big-and-bad out there-" she nudged her chin toward their surroundings, "-but you're nothing. I mean, who'd of thought it? The infamous Harry Hook, scared of a little drop."

"Ya're playin' a dangerous game, Cassie," he warned her.

"If your dad could see you now." The little cat laughed, her dark eyes scanning his body. "He'd be so disappointed."

Whether he knew it or not, Harry had started moving again. Cassie's words were cruel but they were having the desired affect, and she found herself pressed further into the hard wall in front of her, the grip she had on the beam inside her den tightening.

Cassie truly had to wonder, though, if he knew what she was up to. He seemed irritated enough: Her words of judgement and mocking were clearly motivating him to get to her as fast as he could. But there was something unreadable in his expression. His brow had raised curiously after she mentioned his father, his light eyes surveying her face for something or other before it eventually twisted into frustration and rage. Either way, she couldn't look into it too much, not when she still had no true way of knowing how this night would end.

As Harry got closer, Cassie leaned her body to the left, the hand that wasn't gripping onto something gently placed against the wall. Her dark eyes kept a steady gaze with Harry's, her fingers twitching mindlessly as her eyes flickered down toward his feet. One wrong foot placement and - no matter how close he was - he'd fall, and the risk of death was a certainty when there was nothing for him to grab onto on the way down.

There wasn't a great distance between the plank and the window, but in order to get in he'd have to grip onto the 'perch' and swing up. Cassie had no problem with heights, she was used to being so far from the ground. But for someone with a large fear of them... well, it would be a little harder to make that final leap.

Cassie brought herself into the den, but kept her upper half outside to give the pirate some instruction. "Okay, you have to swing around," she told him, and the swift look of complete distress told her everything she needed to know about Harry's thoughts on the matter. "Don't look at me like that. There's a piece of wood in here you have to grab onto. You won't be able to hold onto it if you're facing that way."

"Oh I'm gonna fuckin' murder ya far this," he groaned.

"Tell me something I don't already know," she retorted with a roll of her eyes. "Don't think about it, just do it." Cassie still felt her entire attitude toward this situation was insane. She should want him to drop. She should even shove him off the side of the tower, but she wouldn't.

Harry tried to do as she told him and turn around, but it was a task much easier said than done. The plank was thin, and in his embarrassingly scared state, his body didn't seem to want to cooperate, his mind running wild with dark thoughts of what would happen if he didn't do it right.

Without giving it much thought, mainly due to knowing full well she'd overthink it, Cassie reacted. Her left arm darted out, her body turned awkwardly as she attempted to stay safely rooted inside the den, and grasped the front of his shirt in her small hand.

"Move, or I'll pull you," she told him, hoping he wouldn't sense the uncertainty in her threat. If she was going to get him to turn she had to give him an ultimatum, of sorts. Truthfully, she didn't want to have to push him, but if he stayed where he was he'd probably fall down eventually, and she wanted to get this done before the sun came up.

Cassie had gone sixteen years without killing another, and she really prayed she wouldn't have to do it tonight.

Thankfully, it seemed she wouldn't have to. Harry took heed of her warning and - albeit with a look of utter reluctance and resentment - slowly started to turn around. His movements were slow and frantic, and Cassie couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, the grip she'd had on his shirt loosening, though her fingers stayed close and hovered over his left shoulder until he had his front firmly pressed into the wall.

When turned, he gave her a desperate look that clearly said, 'now what?', and Cassie acted again.

"Closer." Her word of encouragement was nothing more than a whisper, but with his eyes closely trained on her face Harry managed to read her lips.

As he moved up the plank and toward the window, Cassie took small movements back, her hand precariously lingering near his forearm on the off-chance he slipped. Her stomach wound in anxious knots, a breath of air caught in her throat as she watched him. One more move and he was in.

Harry's arm reached out, his hand blindly feeling the wall until - with a little aid from Cassie - his fingers grasped the piece of wood she'd told him about.

"You got it?" she asked, her bottom lip clasped firmly between her teeth.

"Aye." His assurance was all she needed, and the little cat took large steps back into the den as Harry swiftly yanked himself up onto the perch and through the window, landing in an ungraceful heap beneath it.

The threat had been demolished, and that alone should have been enough. But it wasn't. For a tiny moment the two stayed in the after-effects of their adrenaline rush.

Harry didn't move, not at first. He stayed beneath the perch as he caught his breath, his mind attempting to soothe his body into its natural state, frantically reassuring his limbs that the threat of falling was long gone. He hadn't been that scared in a very, very long time, and he really hoped he wouldn't have to take it again on his way out.

Cassie, meanwhile, began to pace about her 'home', a sudden and unwelcome nausea bubbling up in the back of her throat. Her overwhelmed body would calm down soon, but her mind was absolutely frantic with thought.

'Why didn't you push him?!' It yelled.

In full honesty, Cassie had no idea why she hadn't shoved him from the tower. All it would have taken was one firm push. One little movement of her hand and her tormenter would be dead, and no longer able to torture her mind. So why hadn't she done it?

"Right," he sighed, wiping a droplet of sweat from his forehead as he stared at the little cat. "Where the fuck's me hook?"

'Oh, yeah,' she thought with a grimace, the stifling tension from before being replaced with something much darker.

They were in her home now: The one place Cassie could unwind and relax now tainted by the pirate's presence. No one, apart from herself, had been inside this part of the Castle. Not even her father. It was her secret place. Her hide-away. Now, though, there was a stranger here. Someone she loathed with every fibre of her being casually taking in the very little around them. To him it might not seem like much, but to her it was everything.

"It's...uh-"

"Holy shite," the pirate's gasp of astonishment halted her rambling, and she quickly looked behind her to see what had caught him so off-guard. "Quite the Kleptomaniac, aren't ya?" he laughed, slowly rising to his feet.

"I told you," she muttered bashfully, slightly uncomfortable as Harry hastily walked toward her 'stash'. "I like pretty things." She honestly didn't think it that impressive, but Harry seemed to think otherwise.

"Ya don' say?" he mocked, his fingers smoothing over each object he could reach. "All o' this an' ya're livin' in this dump?" he remarked with a small shake of the head, and Cassie frowned.

"I have my reasons," she snapped, not too pleased about his comment on her favourite place.

"Is my hook in 'ere?" he inquired, gently digging through her 'stash', his eyes lingering on certain objects as he searched.

Cassie paused, her dark eyes darting toward her 'bed'. "It should be," she replied steadily, her gaze fixed on the distracted pirate as she carefully manoeuvred toward the stack of blankets near the wall.

"How the fuck do ya fin' anythin' in 'ere?" he demanded with a huff, crouching down in front of the stash to dig in further.

"I don't," she answered as she lowered herself to the floor, her right hand sliding into the thin pieces of fabric. "I play with them for a bit and then get bored." Cassie had to keep talking, and she had to be careful. If he thought she was up to something, and he moved quicker than she did, she'd surely wind up dead by the time the sun came up.

"Bit of a waste, if ya ask me," he grumbled, twisting a silver chain around his fingers before dropping it onto the pile. "Ya could make a good penny if ya sold these, ya know."

When the little cat's fingers eventually met a warm and hard object, she knew she had it. "I know," she replied, her fingers slithering around the handle. "But I don't do it for the money." Cassie held her breath as she pulled the hook out from between her blankets, her heart pounding in her ears as she moved back to her full height.

"Are ya sure it's in 'ere?"

'Don't think about it, just do it.' Her earlier words to Harry came screaming back into her mind, an added boost settling on top of every other reason on why she had to do this. It was her or Harry. One of them was bound to lose tonight, and there was no way in Hades it was going to be her again.

"No."

Before Harry had time to turn around, or contemplate the idea that it wasn't the wisest decision to keep his back to the enemy, he was out cold on the floor.

"Sorry Harry," she mumbled unapologetically, looking down at the pirate as she tossed his hook into her 'stash'. "Nothing personal."

AN;

Hello readers!

Alright, so, not much happening in this chapter. Just Cassie being a sneaky little shit, and Harry getting mad...again. And maybe a tiny, tiny moment of weakness on Cassie's part.

Review Acknowledgement Time;

Lola Vegas; :D

Sasha2702; Thank for your review! I'm so glad you liked Helena. I had to debate with putting another OC in quite early on in the story, but in the end I felt it was a bit necessary. This whole fic is based on the Isle - for now, and I really want to show how twisted and unfair things are over there. Plus, teen pregnancy on the Isle does seem likely, since I doubt Auradon have taken up the initiative to send protection over there. I mean, they send all the left-overs to the Isle...so yeah, no means of preventing a baby over there.

As for Gil stopping Harry from attacking Cassie, it's unlikely to happen so early on in this story. Gil's so sweet and naïve in the movie, and in this story, but he seems quite loyal to Uma and Harry. And since they've been friends for so long, I feel like he gets the gist on how everything works. He likes Cassie, but he doesn't know her well enough to defend her, if that makes sense?

Muddy Birdy; You're absolutely right. Most of the villain kids on the Isle have to have some kind of way of throwing off the enemy, and Cassie's is obviously making herself seem like everything's some kind of joke or it isn't that important, when really it is. She doesn't like to show weakness, and she does her best to avoid making it obvious. And in regards to her telling them her secret, right again! If she tells them she loses her only safety net, so it's understandable she'd want to keep it to herself for as long as possible.

I'm not too sure on if any other Wonderland residents will be on the Isle. I know when the first movie came out a few people thought they spotted the mad hatter, but he didn't seem like much of a threat in the 50's movie, and in the live-action movie he was basically good - but a little nutty. There are so many characters in Alice in Wonderland that I have to go through, though, so you never know, I may decide to throw a few others in here.

I'm so glad you like my OC's, and I really hope you like this chapter. Thank you for the review!

Kazumikit; Technically, the pirates didn't break the deal. The thing about the deals on the Isle is that all bases have to be covered. Cassie told them her terms, and said that no one would come after her or follow her, but she didn't specify on how long. The pirates took it to mean for that night, which is why they didn't know where she was, and it took two days for Harry to actually find her. It's all in the technicalities, and thank you for the review!

StrawberryNeko7; Thank you for the review! I'm so glad you're enjoying this story, and I'm really happy you like my OC's. And yes, Cassie can be quite sassy when she needs to be, and there's quite a bit of that in this chapter.

Anyway, please leave me a review or PM to let me know what you thought about this chapter. And much, much love to everyone who've followed and favourited as well!

Thanks!

(Any typos or misspells will be removed once I've had a proper read-through)