Warnings;
. Swearing (As usual.)
. Angst (As usual.)
. Violence toward the end.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Cassie's moment of relief and slight self-pride was short-lived, since the uncomfortable weight of exactly what she'd just done came down on her shoulders with a wave of dread. Knocking him out had been her only option, and she knew that with certainty. However, the brutal war between herself and the hooked pirate would - if her guess was right - only ever end with one of them at the bottom of the ocean. And since she had no desire to kill anyone tonight, the chances of Harry doubling his efforts to find her after he woke up were inevitable, and she worried greatly over the thought of what he would do when he eventually found her again.
"Oh shit," the little cat muttered, fretfully toying with the edges of her hair as she stared down at the unconscious pirate. He was clearly out of it, with no obvious signs of waking soon. But Cassie had been knocked out herself, and once she thought back on that painful occurrence, the memory of how long it took her to come around forced its way into the centre of her mind.
Cassie inhaled a deep breath and released, attempting to soothe her frantic mind as she rushed to search her hideaway for anything remotely close to a piece of rope. If she was right, which she really hoped she was, she had an hour or two before he woke up. And since she had no intention of being present when Harry eventually did wake, she had to tie him down fast.
The little cat moved quick, her steps hurried and - much to Cassie's embarrassment - clumsy. For someone usually so graceful on her feet, the worrisome thoughts of what could happen if Harry woke up before she had a chance to keep him rooted in one place turned her into a bit of a klutz.
When the fact that she had nothing to tie him with settled into the little cat's mind, she decided to get a little creative. It meant sacrificing one or two of her blankets, but her need to stay alive and unharmed overrode the usual desire to snuggle into a nice and warm nook at night, and so she got to the task of tearing apart her blankets until she had numerous strips of fabric, knowing full well it would take more than one piece to keep Harry securely tied down.
Now came the hard part.
Cassie's hideaway was - in the plainest terms - an attic. It hadn't been built to house anyone like the other rooms down below, so the large wooden beams and numerous pipes trailing along the walls and floor were bare, and much to the little cat's luck, suitable for holding someone against their will.
Cassie carefully moved back toward the sleeping pirate, nudging his chest with her foot to ensure he was still out cold. Only when she was safely satisfied that he wasn't waking up did she put her plan in motion.
"C'mon girl, you can do this," she muttered with forced reassurance, stepping toward Harry's head and leaning down, her slender fingers wrapping around Harry's right wrist.
Her decision on exactly where she was going to tie him up hadn't been a split-second thought. The pipes in the room were thick, but rusted, and too much pressure and force against them would cause them to crumble and break. It had to be one of the beams, and Cassie had no problem using every ounce of her strength to get the pirate where she needed him to be.
The plan was short and simple, though the reality of it all was much different.
"Damn it, Harry," she cursed, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she strained to drag him to the other side of the room. He was tall and muscular, two problems on their own let alone together, and if his heavy weight was anything to go by then Cassie could safely assume he was well fed over on his side of the Isle.
By the time the little cat got him to her selected beam, droplets of sweat were running down her face and neck. All she had to do now was prop him up against the large, sturdy piece of wood, and get his wrists tied. A task she soon found was much easier than dragging him across the damned floor.
When it was all over and done with, Cassie stood to her full height, her right hand grasping at her long strands of hair and holding them against the back of her head. Heavy-lifting was certainly not her strongest skill set, but she'd done what she had to do, and she was confident that the strips of blanket binding Harry's wrists wouldn't break for a good while.
The little cat huffed and slumped down onto the hard floor, giving herself a moment or two to gather her breath and thoughts. She glanced toward the window, anxiously wondering if she had enough time to do everything before the sun came up.
Cassie flinched as a faint groan came from the unconscious teenager in front of her, her dark eyes bouncing from the perch to Harry. She'd hoped he'd be out for at least an hour, much like she had when he'd decided to knock her out only a few nights ago, but from the looks of things that wasn't about to happen tonight.
The little cat waited patiently for him to come around, her bottom lip clasped between her teeth as she watched his head tilt from side to side, while his legs straightened out in front of him as he mumbled incoherently.
"Hmm... ow," he whispered, his eyes tightly shut as a grimace of pain crossed his features.
Waiting for Harry to open his eyes was unbearably awkward. Cassie could clearly see that the pirate hadn't quite come to the full conclusion of exactly where he was, or what had happened to him. If she could venture a guess as to what he was feeling, her assumptions only backed up by what she herself had gone through, she had to assume he could only concentrate on the pulsating pain in the back of his head at the moment.
"Wakey, wakey," she sang gently, straightening her posture the second his eyes fluttered open. "Hey there."
Harry's eyes slowly moved about the room, his mind obviously attempting to put the pieces together in its semi-conscious state. "The fuck?" he mumbled sleepily, his head falling forward in a small effort to better survey his surroundings.
"Careful," the little cat warned him, drawing his focus back onto herself. "Don't strain yourself."
"Cassie?" he wondered with great confusion, his brows furrowed.
"Uh-huh," she said with a small shrug.
"Oh for fucks sa-" Harry's half-hearted rambling ended when he let his head fall back against the beam, a large hiss of pain passing through his lips as the tender spot on the back of his head collided with the wood.
Cassie winced with a somewhat sympathetic grimace. That had to hurt.
"What tha fuck did ya hit me with?!" he exclaimed, his bleary eyes zeroing in on her once again.
"Your hook," she replied simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
The red pirate chuckled humourlessly. "I thought ya weren' a liar?"
"I'm not!" Cassie frowned, petulantly crossing her arms against her chest. "You asked me if your hook was in the stash, I said it 'should be'. Which was true." Her half-assed attempts at defending her actions wouldn't settle well with the pirate, and she knew it. But she had to at least try, right?
"Oh, ya're a sneaky little prick aren't ya? Jus' wait until I get me hands on yah." His threat would've been more effective if he could keep both eyes open, a physically draining task if his obvious displeasure was anything to go by, and Cassie couldn't quite find the will to tame down her obvious delight in seeing him in such a pained state.
"You should be a little nicer, Harry. After all, I'm not the one tied up, am I?" she said pointedly, a small smirk of happiness tugging at her lips as Harry's eyes widened.
The pirate moved to lunge forward, his actions halted due to the awkward position she'd tied him up in. "Cassie," he growled, his arms tugging against the beam.
"Just think of it this way, at least we're even now," she said joyfully, a small giggle bubbling up in her throat as Harry continued to try, and fail, at breaking the ropes around his wrists. "You knocked me out, I knocked you out. I was tied up, now you're tied up."
"I'm gonna kill ya for this," he swore, eyeing the little cat with distain.
"Probably," she agreed with a small nod. "But not tonight." With a large smile, that Harry returned with a harsh glare, Cassie got to her feet.
"Ya can' seriously think these stupid things are gonna keep me 'ere."
Cassie gave a long winded sigh, her eyes rolling skyward as she feigned deep thought. "I know," she soon replied. "But when they start breaking-" she gestured to his tied wrists, "-I've got more. But they should hold you long enough."
Harry stopped his attempts and raised a single brow. "Long enough for what?" he inquired curiously.
Cassie sucked in a deep breath, rummaging her mind for a reason not to tell him what she was going to do that night. "I have some... loose ends, to tie up," she replied, settling on giving him a little, but not enough. After all, the last thing she needed was to give Harry good motivation to rip out of the ties around his wrists, since it was already high in probability given the strength she could only assume he had.
"Ya're jus' gonna leave me 'ere, unattended?" he wondered. "Bit of a stupid thing ta do."
"Hmm, maybe," she sighed, lightly shaking her head. "Maybe not."
"Oh, it is," he told her, a small chuckle bubbling up through his throat. "I'll be outta these things before ya're back, love."
"You're probably right," she agreed, and the pirate's eyes widened with slight surprise. He didn't think she'd agree with him on that, in truth he'd anticipated a bit of a fight from the little kitty.
"Aye. So what do ya exactly plan on doin' tonight, love?" he asked, hoping to contain the overwhelming curiosity and - though he'd never show it - slight concern he felt at the idea of Cassie 'tying up loose ends', as she'd put it.
"Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, a small smile lighting up her features. Cassie stepped around Harry's outstretched legs, successfully dodging the pathetic kick he aimed in her direction, and stood behind him.
"Ya min' tellin' me what ya're up to?" he demanded, understandably angered by the idea of having the sneaky little pest somewhere he couldn't see her.
"Just looking for some collateral," she muttered in reply, her small hands smoothing over his neck and down his chest.
On a normal day, preferably one where he wasn't tied and unable to defend himself, Harry could've enjoyed her ministrations. But not now. The little kitty had a reason for her actions, and since he wasn't quite sure what she was hoping to find, he doubled his efforts in tugging at the binds.
"Don't hurt yourself, Hook," she mumbled, her right hand stopping as soon as she felt a familiar object just below his chest. "Oh, there it is," she declared happily, her left hand sliding beneath his torn shirt to grasp the familiar pendant.
"I 'ope ya're enjoyin' yarself there, Cassie," he told her with a scowl, his neck twisting painfully as he attempted to look at her. "Ya're gonna be really disappointed if ya think ya're ever gonna get me like this again."
The Cheshire Cat's daughter merely giggled in response, removing the pocket watch from around his neck. "I am enjoying this," she said, pulling the golden chain over her head.
Cassie toyed with the pendant in her hands and moved to stand in front of Harry once again. She knew he was right: She'd never get him in this position again. It was only by mere luck she'd managed to get him this way tonight. So she knew she had to make this particular night count.
"An' what do ya plan on doin' with that?" he asked with aggravation.
"I'm not monologuing this, Harry. I'm gonna do what I have to do to stay alive, and then I'll be back. Mkay?" With that said, Cassie moved toward the window, a small bounce in her step that irritated the red pirate immensely.
"I 'ope ya're off ta say yar goodbye's, love, 'cause the minute ya get back I'm gonna tear yar pretty throat out," he threatened, his eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at the little cat.
Cassie perched above the window and - much to Harry's growing anger - gave a small smile. "Bye, bye, love."
~...~...~
In her mission to 'tie up loose ends', Cassie soon wound up outside the salon once again. She wasn't completely sure if the Queen herself would be sleeping or not, but in the end she couldn't quite care. She wanted this sudden chaos in her life over and done with, and Helena was the first name she had to check off her list.
Cassie inhaled a deep and soothing breath, her anxiety kicking up a notch when she found the door to the salon unlocked. She cautiously pushed the door open and crept inside, her dark eyes warily scanning the room for any sign of the Queen of Hearts.
"Helena?" she carefully called out, her voice quieted now that she knew the beautiful teenager had a sleeping baby in the back room.
At the sound of her name being called, the woman herself appeared from behind the red curtain, a small frown playing at her red lips as she stood in the doorway. "Damn, I was kind'a hoping Harry killed you already," she admitted, crossing her arms below her breasts.
"Sorry to disappoint," the little cat said with a small shrug. "Believe me, he feels the exact same way."
"Hmm, I'm sure," the Queen of Hearts said with a humourless laugh. "So, what stupid decision made you think you could come back here, huh?"
Cassie pursed her lips, the small reminder of exactly why she'd come back tonight pushing itself into the front of her mind. "I owe you an explanation, I guess," she replied, toying with the edges of her hair.
"Huh, you don't owe me shit, actually," the other girl pointed out. "But you've got my attention." Helena came further into the room and pulled out one of the salon chairs, her 'perfectionist' ways thrown out the window as she slumped down into the seat ungracefully.
Instead of following in the woman's footsteps, and falling into one of the chairs as well, Cassie stayed where she was. This was only a quick stop before her actual destination, and she had no desire to let her guard down around the Queen again, especially with the aftertaste of whatever she'd been drugged with lingering on the back of her tongue.
"I...uh, I don't know how to get off the Isle," she finally admitted, her dark eyes straying to different parts of the room once Helena's eyes widened. "I don't know anyone on the Isle with magic, either."
Helena nodded slowly and twisted a lock of dark hair around her finger. "But Harry said-"
"Harry doesn't know shit," the little cat said loudly, interrupting the Queen. "Uma and Harry just got this idea in their heads that I know a way off the Isle, or that I know someone capable of taking the barrier down. But I don't."
"Uh...hmm, okay," the Heart girl muttered half-heartedly, her confusion evident. "But why tell them you did? They're not gonna quit looking for you, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I know," replied Cassie, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. She leaned against the wall to her right, staring at absolutely nothing as her mind raced with a hundred thoughts.
After a moment or two of silence, the Queen of Hearts spoke up once again. "Why are you telling me this?"
Cassie could do nothing but give a small shrug. She understood Helena's suspicion, especially considering everything that'd happened earlier. But after seeing a rare gleam in the older girls eyes when she looked down at her son, and the viciousness in which she'd handled Cassie earlier on, the little cat had no doubts in her mind that this woman would kill to get herself and her son off of this Island. And with Harry working so hard to find her and knock her down, the Queen of Hearts was an enemy she could truly do without.
"It doesn't matter," she eventually muttered, finally meeting Helena's gaze. "I just thought it was something you should know."
Helena did nothing but nod, her feigned indifference concealing the truth of how she really felt. The little cat wasn't lying, that much she was certain of. After all, why on earth would Cassie come back to the salon and risk being hurt again just to tell a lie? It made no sense, and the younger girl's obvious discomfort in this situation was clear enough that this wasn't something she was doing willingly. But Helena couldn't quite wrap her mind around the exact reason the little cat had come to her with this information, when it'd benefit her more if she went to Uma with it first.
With a deep sigh of thought, Helena stood from her chair and carefully approached Cassie.
"Calm down, pussycat," she urged gently, noting the little ones stiffened movements as she came closer. "I'm just looking."
Cassie tensed, her fingers twitching with worry as the Queen scrutinized her from head to toe. She might have come by to settle things with Helena, but that didn't mean she trusted her, and having someone within close proximity wasn't a desired act.
Meanwhile, Helena ignored the distinct displeasure radiating from the little cat, her eyes casually taking in the little ones appearance.
"W-what are you doing?" wondered Cassie.
"Thinking."
The little cat frowned. "About...?"
"You wear a lot of black," the Queen pointed out randomly. "I guess it's to blend in at night. I'm not gonna ask why your dress is ripped. Thin and tight, probably for easy manoeuvring." Helena's words were odd mutters at this point, and Cassie couldn't withhold her utter bewilderment once she realised what Helena was doing.
"Are you seriously doing this? Like, right now?" she asked, a little disgruntled at the idea of Helena nit-picking her appearance of all things.
"I run a salon, sweetie. I'm always doing this," the Queen said in response, taking a few steps away once she was done with her assessment.
"O...kay," the little cat stammered, her brows furrowed as she eyed the woman in front of her. "Are we done here? 'Cause I have somewhere else I need to be." At the thought of where she had to go next, Cassie's right hand slowly gripped the pocket watch around her neck, a small nausea stirring in her stomach at the thought of facing Uma again.
"Yeah, we're done."
Cassie gave a sigh of relief and nodded, her hand moving to grasp the door handle. "Good."
"Wait," the Queen called quickly, and Cassie paused, her head tilted to show she was listening. "I don't know why you told me all of this, but I have an idea." At that, Cassie met Helena's gaze. "You don't want me coming for you, right?"
"Right," she confirmed with slight reluctance. It was only half of the reason she'd told Helena what she did, but it was the biggest push in bringing her to the salon tonight.
"You don't have to worry about me. As long as what you said wasn't a lie." Helena moved in on Cassie then, and the little cat swallowed down her nerves as she did so. "But if you've lied to me, and you do know a way off this fucking Isle, it won't be me you have to worry about, got it?"
By the dark tone of Helena's voice, Cassie knew full well that this wasn't a threat. It was a promise. And though the little cat's current worries strayed more toward the pirate-side of the Isle, she couldn't ignore the twinge of dread she felt at the mere thought of someone from the inner-Isle tracking her down either.
"I'm not lying," she whispered meekly, praying with every fibre of her being that the older teenager believed her. "I'm not a liar."
The Queen of Hearts stayed silent, observing Cassie's face with slight scrutiny, before she finally gave a nod of acceptance. "Alright."
Cassie's shoulders sagged in visible relief, and she watched as the Heart girl turned and walked back into the salon. "One down," she mumbled, opening the door to the salon, "one to go."
~...~...~
Despite the overwhelming panic rushing through her body, Cassie pushed herself to quicken her movements down to the pirate-side of the Isle. The lightened weight from her shoulders of settling things with Helena had soothed her mind, but only for a moment. The Queen of Hearts had been easy to deal with, but Cassie knew full well that the only reason Helena had been so easy to convince was because they had no bad blood between them. Much to the little cat's dismay, the meetings she'd had with the pirate Captain had been anything but friendly, and Cassie had to prepare herself for any animosity she might have to face tonight.
Travelling to the pirate's turf had been easy enough. She'd only done it twice before, but manoeuvring about on the rooftops made everything much simpler, and both times she'd made the anxiety-inducing journey she'd concentrated fully on the directions she had to take.
The second Cassie inhaled the disgusting odour of salty-air, she knew she was close. In no time at all she found herself staring at the Lost Revenge. But to get to Uma's shoppe, where she could only guess the pirate Captain was, she'd have to lower herself onto common ground, and that in itself was somewhat of a challenge.
After sucking in a deep breath of reassurance, Cassie tentatively climbed down the wooden beams until her feet met the hard ground. She looked left and then right, thinking back on the night Gil had taken her to Uma's shoppe for her challenge with Harry. He'd walked her out of the ship and gone to the left, which meant she now had to go right, and simply follow the path in front of her.
The Cheshire Cat's daughter had only been to this side of the Isle twice, but both times had been filled with life-threatening dangers and unwelcomed sensations. So, naturally, it came as no surprise to Cassie that her heart hammered in her chest, and her inner-voice yelled at her to turn back before she got in too deep. But she had to do this.
Cassie hated to think of it, but she knew with certainty that eventually she and Harry would somehow end each other. And what was worse was that she knew it was all her fault. If she hadn't followed him that night, hadn't gone into the ship, hadn't pushed him to the edge and stolen his pocket watch, none of this would have happened. He was pissed at her, and the following nights had instilled a grudge of some kind in the hooked pirate. There was no way in Hades he was letting her go after this, and Cassie knew she only had one option left to dig herself out of the enormous hole she'd unknowingly thrown herself into.
As she moved across the planked flooring, Cassie's footsteps creaked louder. The rush of water just beneath the floor under feet didn't scare her as much as it did the first time. If anything, it was nothing but a small nuisance to her now. Drowning was a terrifying thought, and it'd always be a great fear of hers, but Harry was number one on her list now, and she'd much rather face the dangerous ocean waters than deal with him again after tonight.
Cassie moved across the unsteady bridge leading into Uma's shoppe, and ignored the questioning and suspicious glare she received from a red-headed woman perched atop a barrel near the doorway, her determination unwavering as she hastily pushed open the doors into the shoppe.
Unlike the last time she'd been unfortunate enough to wind up in the shoppe, the place was far from empty. Numerous pirates were scattered about the tables and chairs, chattering loudly about something or other that Cassie didn't care to know about. Some were eating, some were just talking, and others were wrestling away in the corner of the room, most likely attempting to prove some kind of pathetic dominance over the other. All in all, the shoppe was wildly overcrowded tonight, and Cassie suddenly felt as if she was in way over her head.
"Cassie! Hey!" a familiar voice shouted loudly, and the little cat grimaced.
"Hi Gil," she said quietly, noticing that the son of Gaston had raised more than a few heads with his loud and excited greeting.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a beaming smile, somehow completely oblivious to the unfriendly attention he'd brought onto the little cat.
"I...uh." Cassie fumbled as she attempted to find a reply, her eyes constantly swaying to the glaring pirates behind him. "I'm looking for Uma," she soon managed to say.
"Oh!" he exclaimed. "She's out back, c'mon I'll take you." Without questioning Cassie's motives for being on this side of the Isle, Gil grasped her little hand in his much larger one and pulled her through the shoppe.
As Cassie struggled to keep up with Gil's large steps, she tried hard to ignore the piercing gazes of the pirates around her. They must have known who she was, or they at least had some kind of inclination. After all, her ears were a large give-away as to who she was, and she hadn't forgotten the little 'search party' Harry had thrown together when he'd chased her around the alleyway. These pirates knew exactly who she was, and she was severely outnumbered if they decided they wanted to hurt her.
Cassie held onto Gil's right hand with both of hers, her fingers tightening around his digits. If he felt her vice-like grip, or it bothered him, he didn't say so. He didn't even notice. But Cassie was now in dangerous territory and surrounded by enemies, and the only person to ever show her kindness on this side of the Isle was Gil. So it made sense that she was now gripping onto him like he was her life-line.
They slithered through the crowd and bounced around tables, until eventually Gil managed to pull her through another set of doors and into a kitchen, of sorts.
"Uma, Uma, look," he rambled excitedly, slowing to a stop. "I found Cassie." With a small yank of his hand, the son of Gaston whipped the little cat out from behind him and into his side, his wide and joyfully eyes darting between Cassie and his Captain.
Cassie looked up from the floor, her stomach churning as she faced Uma, whose lips twitched into a sly grin as soon as she saw the little cat.
"Ho-ho-holy hell, you've lost your damn mind," she chuckled nastily, dropping the tray of food she held onto the counter. "I told you not to come back here, pussycat," she continued, placing her hands on her hips.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be," the little cat tersely replied, finally letting go of Gil's hand.
Uma nodded, her dark eyes settling onto Cassie's neck. "I see Harry found you," she noted with mirth, gesturing toward the collar Cassie still wore.
Cassie glared, a mocking smile stretching across her face as she tugged at the pendant around her neck, lifting it for Uma to see. "And I found him."
If things hadn't been threatening enough between the two before, then they certainly were now. Uma's satisfied smile quickly slid from her features, a dark scowl taking its place.
Since the night Cassie had managed to sneak away with his adored object, Harry had worn the pocket watch around his neck consistently. There was no way in hell he was risking losing it again, and Uma could sympathise with that. It was the same reason she constantly wore her shell necklace. He wouldn't be parted with the watch again, and to see it now around the neck of the girl he'd been hunting down for days now... well, it certainly stirred a deep anger and worry in the usually indifferent Captain.
In a split second, Uma grasped the handle of the knife on the counter and held it to Cassie's throat, just underneath the collar Harry had so carefully chosen for her.
"Where the fuck is my first mate?" she demanded.
Cassie stayed still as yet another blade pressed into her skin, her eyes flickering to the side as the cook made herself scarce. "He's alive, and he's safe," she assured, raising both hands in a 'white flag' motion.
"Where. Is. He?" the Captain said once more.
Cassie chewed hard at her bottom lip, struggling to keep a steady gaze with the Captain. Uma could very well slit her throat right now, and she had more than twenty pirates outside ready and willing to help her throw Cassie's body into the ocean afterward. But Cassie had a small inkling that the girl wouldn't do so until she knew exactly where Harry was, and if he was even alive.
"I'm not telling you shit until you get that knife away from me," she sternly replied.
The awkward silence carried on, the loud voices and noises from the other room drowned out by the relentless rush of adrenaline oozing from both girls. Cassie kept her dark eyes steadily locked with Uma's, knowing that even a small glance away would mean surrender. And, when she was convinced the little cat wasn't going to back down, Uma reluctantly withdrew the knife from Cassie's throat, only able to enjoy the trickle of blood for a moment before her concern for her first mate fled into the front of her mind.
"There. Now, where is he?" the Captain asked again, her voice quieted, but still laced with annoyance and distain.
"He's fine," sighed Cassie, lightly dabbing at the wound with her fingers. "He's alive, and I haven't hurt him...much." The little cat realised her mistake when Uma's eyes widened, and her fingers gripped the handle of the knife she was still holding. "I had to knock him out, but he's fine. He was threatening me as I left, if that helps." Cassie knew her words were nothing but incoherent to Uma's ears, she was so clearly worried about her first mate that his whereabouts was all she cared about right now.
"Why are you here, then? Why not just kill him?" she inquired, greatly puzzled by Cassie's decision to not kill Harry and spare herself any more pain.
"I'm not a killer," the little cat said simply, and with a small shrug. "If I had to, and I didn't have another choice, I would. But I haven't."
Uma gave a slow nod, still not completely understanding Cassie's thoughts on the matter. "What makes you think you have another choice now?" she countered, toying with her pendant. "I could kill you now." As if to prove a point, Uma held out the knife once more, but this time she pushed the sharpened tip against Cassie's stomach. "No one would care. Not even Harry. He wants first dibs, but I don't think he'd mind all that much."
"Then do it," the little cat challenged with a raised brow, gently moving her body into the knife. "There's no way in Hades you're gonna find him. I've got him tied up, with no way of breaking out." That was a lie. She was almost certain Harry would be out of those binds by the time she got home, but Uma didn't need to know that. "You might know your way around this side of the Isle, Uma. But you don't know shit about my hunting grounds. You'll never find him without me."
As Uma pondered the little cat's words, Cassie mentally praised herself for staying so strong. In truth, she was terrified. Of Uma, and the pirates, and everything they were capable of doing to her tonight if things went south. She'd kept her voice strong for the most part, and her stance firm even when held at knife point... again. All in all, Cassie was rather pleased with how well she was keeping it all together.
"You wanna make another deal, I'm guessin'," the Captain said with a long-winded sigh, her lips forming an annoyed pout at the realisation.
"Yup," chirped Cassie, clasping her hands together in front of her.
Uma rolled her eyes and huffed, the fingers of her left hand gently soothing her temple. "Get out of here, Gil."
Cassie flinched as the son of Gaston, who she'd completely forgotten had stuck around even after the cook had left, quickly rushed out of the kitchen, the doors slamming shut behind him.
"Not here," said Uma, dropping the knife onto the countertop with a sharp clatter. "Follow me." She untied the apron from around her waist and placed it on top of the same counter, strolling by the little cat and toward the doors.
With no choice but to follow, Cassie did so... with a little hesitation. Being away from all the pirates outside calmed her already frazzled nerves, but that didn't diminish the threat completely. Uma was a pirate, and if that wasn't bad enough, she was a Captain. Cassie had absolutely no idea how one earned the title on this side of the Isle, but she could only guess it had to be won. Uma was short, much like the little cat herself, and she was far from muscular. Yet somehow, and in ways Cassie couldn't even attempt to think of, the teal-haired V.K. had worked her way up to the top, and that in itself made her a very, very large threat.
Cassie lingered behind Uma as they moved through the darkened hallway. She stalled slightly as they walked by a cave-like entrance, with steps leading down around a corner, and beautiful shadows of light blue reflecting on the walls.
"I wouldn't go down there if I were you," the Captain called out, and Cassie lifted her head. Uma still continued on, somehow knowing that the little cat would be entranced by the mysteries down in the cave.
Cassie shrugged away the odd, unsettling feeling she endured at the entrance of the cave, and rushed to catch up with Uma. "What's down there?" she asked curiously, earning a chuckle from the other girl.
"Someone worse than me." Uma's answer was vague, leaving the majority to Cassie's imagination alone. And when the little cat came to the conclusion that only one person would hide away in a watery cave, she decided it was best to let that nagging push to go and investigate fade completely.
They travelled further down until Uma came to another, but normal, door. She pulled on the handle and entered, holding onto the edge of the door so that it didn't bounce back into Cassie's face - much to the little cat's surprise.
Cassie came into the room and let the door shut behind her, a strong smell of fish flowing through her nostrils. Unlike the salty air the ocean provided, she found this particular scent wasn't as unwelcome as the other, in fact she kind of liked it.
Uma turned and perched herself atop a near box, gesturing to another beside it. "Sit."
With a cautious glance in the teal-haired girls direction, Cassie moved to sit on top of the other crate, shuffling around until she put as much distance as she could between herself and Uma.
"So," the Captain groaned, leaning back on her hands. "What do you want?"
"I just want all of this to end," said Cassie, her voice tinged with exhaustion. "All this back-and-forth crap with me and Harry, it can't keep happening. It should've stopped after the challenge, but he came for me again." Her brows raised as she eyed Uma, the accusation clear.
"You took his Hook," the teal-haired girl pointed out. "You should've known better, pussycat."
"I wanted to hurt him!"
"Oh, you did." Uma chuckled. "But Harry doesn't get hurt. He just gets really, really angry."
"No shit," the little cat mumbled, lightly shaking her head.
Uma stayed silent, a small smirk tugging at her lips, until she eventually spoke up. "Okay, listen up," she urged, and Cassie nodded. "You snuck onto our turf and into our ship, and you took Harry's watch, and then got away with it."
"Not really," she objected, her nose wrinkling in annoyance. "He chased me down, remember? Knocked me out, kept me in a cell, gave me a good mind-fuck around the same time." The list of everything offensive she'd had done to her by Harry was growing larger, and she was struggling to see the point Uma was trying to make.
"Didn't you claw his face?" the Captain fired knowingly, and Cassie groaned.
"He was being an asshole!"
"You took his father's watch." Uma tutted then, wiggling her index finger from left to right. "You don't get off easy for something like that."
Cassie gave a small sigh of acceptance. She had started this war, after all.
"When you challenged him and tried to take my necklace, that should've been the end of it. But you just had to go and prove a point, so you took his hook that night."
Cassie scoffed. "So what?"
"So, you took the thing that gives him his name. The one thing he can't seem to live without. Something he had to fight his daddy for."
At that last sentence, Cassie gaped, a large lump of nausea growing in the back of her throat. She'd only ever heard of Captain Hook, and from the whispers on the street the man was as deadly and ruthless as they came. Harry hadn't inherited his hook, or been given it as she had with her cat ears, he'd had to actually fight his father to get it.
"I thought it was some kind of knock-off," she whispered, as if her attempts of defending her actions would actually help her in some way.
"Nu-uh," the Captain said back, fiddling with one of her long braids. "Captain Hook had four Hooks. The one on his hand, and three he kept locked away in a chest. They were for his kids, obviously, but they had to work for their hooks. If they wanted them anyway.
"Harriet, Harry's older sister, stole hers. I don't know the details, but she has her own. And C.J., Harry's baby-sister, ran off without even trying to get her hook. Can't say I blame her, though. But Harry?" Uma leaned forward and shook her head. "Harry had a point to prove. He's not a coward, or a thief, and he had it way harder than those girls. He fought his dad for it. He went against the only person he's ever been scared of and he won. But he didn't leave that ship without a scratch."
Cassie listened intently to what Uma was saying, hooked on her every single word. However, she couldn't understand why Uma thought to tell her such a large - and possibly gruesome - detail about Harry.
"Why did you tell me that?" she quietly asked, her trembling fingers holding onto the edge of the crate.
"Because I wanted to see that reaction, Cassie," the Captain explained, a fear-inducing smile playing at her lips. "That moment where you realised exactly who you stole from, what it means to him, and how bad things are gonna be for you from here on out. Your fate was sealed the second you walked out of here with that hook, pussycat."
Cassie paled, the hairs along her skin raising with utter dread. "I-I wanna make a deal," she stammered.
"You're not getting it," said Uma. "I'm not his owner, Cassie, I'm just his Captain. The only reason he's keeping you alive is because he thinks you can get us a way off of this fucking Isle."
At Uma's declaration, Cassie frowned and lowered her eyes, the dirty floor beneath their feet suddenly much more easier to look at. But in doing so, the teal-haired Captain had caught on to the slightly shameful look on the little cat's face, and that look only pointed her in one direction.
"Cassie," she breathed, her mind coming to the exasperating conclusion that she may have been wrong since the beginning. "Did someone on the Isle curse you?" If she had been wrong in her assumptions, then it meant facing Harry's teasing for at least a month. He did love being right, after all.
"Harry's gonna keep coming after me, right?" the little cat diverted, her dark eyes glittering with unshed tears as she looked at Uma. "No matter what kind of deal I make with you tonight, he's not gonna stop?" It was stupid of her to ask questions she already knew the answers to, but hearing it from someone else well and truly sealed it.
"If you'd walked away with his watch after the challenge, like he told you to, you might have had a shot. But not now. Too much water under the bridge."
Cassie hummed in acknowledgement, disappearing into her mind for a moment or two. "Me knowing someone on the Isle with magic, does that get me out of this?" she eventually asked.
Uma shook her head. "Nope. When you left the shoppe, I told Harry that, no matter what, he could do what he wanted to you. We can find another way off this Island, however long that takes."
"If that's the case, then why did Harry ask me that tonight?" the cat inquired.
"My guess? He was giving it one last shot. I'm surprised he didn't get an answer," the Captain responded, slowly crossing her arms as she raised a questioning brow in Cassie's direction.
"He gave it a go, but I managed to sway him away from the idea," she explained, thinking back on her time with Harry in the salon earlier that night.
"I guess so." Uma didn't press for further detail, and for that Cassie was partly grateful. "So, you still wanna make this deal?"
Cassie, her eyes scanning the room as she thought on the idea. "I'm thinking you're the wrong person to make a deal with," she soon replied.
"You're right with that one," the other girl agreed with a sharp nod.
"A-are you gonna let me leave?"
"Hmm, I guess so," the Captain said with a small shrug, raising to her feet. "I have a small feeling I know what you're gonna do tonight, and you know the risks. Besides, Harry would be real disappointed if someone here killed you. I'll leave it up to him."
~...~...~
The journey home was emotionally gruelling, and each step her feet made grew heavier the closer she got to Bargain Castle. It pained her that the usual relief and warmth she felt at going back to her den was now tainted, instead replaced with an unwavering and nauseating sensation of terror. If she could think of anywhere else to go, she'd have gone in that direction instead, but Cassie had made the decision to stay alone since her father left and there was no one on the Isle she could turn to for safety tonight.
As Uma said, she'd been free to leave the shoppe without any interruption from its 'guests'. The Captain had made sure to take back Harry's pocket watch, and told Cassie that if Harry wasn't back by tomorrow she'd have the entire crew out looking for her.
Cassie now faced two options. If she went home and killed Harry, a choice she wasn't entirely determined to make, she'd live for a few more days, maybe weeks if she was lucky enough. But eventually Uma would learn what'd happened to her first mate and friend, and the entire pirate crew would be out for revenge. Or, Cassie could go with her other option and let Harry leave her den. He'd go back to his Captain and crew, and Cassie wouldn't have to constantly worry about them coming for her. But the chances of Harry offing her tonight were high in probability, and Uma knew it too.
The little cat had been handed a double-edged sword. Kill Harry, die by the hands of the pirates. Let Harry go, and let him decide her fate. Neither option gave Cassie a fighting chance, and she had only herself to blame for it.
Bargain Castle came into her sights sooner than she was comfortable with, and Cassie silently wondered if this was how others on the Isle felt when Maleficent and Mal still occupied the building. Did all the others have that overwhelming sickness in their throat when they approached? Did their entire body tremble at the very thought of facing the people inside? Maleficent had somehow been labelled the Queen of all Villains, and ruler of the Isle, and her name instilled a great fear within every Isle resident even now. But to Cassie, she'd been nothing more than the whiny woman who lived downstairs, and Mal the snobby brat following in her mothers footsteps.
Cassie made the familiar trek up the stairs, her movements slow and light in an attempt to avoid alerting the angered pirate stuck in her den. She had to pause when she came to the end of the balcony, her palms tingling with warning as they gripped the metal fencing. Her fight-or-flight instincts had never been more erratic, the impending doom taking its toll on both her body and mind.
Instead of crossing over the fence and heading up toward her den, Cassie took this moment to gather herself. She turned to the right and stared out at the faint lights illuminating the Isle, two sides of her mind waging war inside her head once again.
If she made the decision to take the cowardly way out, and leave Harry inside the den tonight, she'd have the rest of the night and all day tomorrow to find another home. He'd figure out a way to climb down by himself and he'd be back at Uma's shoppe by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. In that amount of time, Cassie could roam around the Isle and find a new place, possibly further away from pirate territory. No one would know her, and it would be new ground for her to explore and discover 'special things'. But even if she moved away, the worry of Harry finding her would never fade, and the idea of spending the rest of her life constantly looking over shoulder didn't sound too pleasing.
'But at least you'll be alive,' her inner-voice pointed out, and Cassie agreed wholeheartedly. She would be alive, after all. And she spent her nights looking over her shoulder anyway. So, realistically, it couldn't get any worse.
On the other hand, leaving tonight meant leaving all the 'special things' she'd brought in since her dad disappeared. All the little trinkets and treasures she'd worked so hard to bring home would - most likely - be taken by Harry. If she walked away now, every single thing in the den would be his, and it would be a clear sign to everyone that he'd won this war against her.
'He's already won,' her mind reminded her, and Cassie couldn't help the grimace that crossed her features. Scaring her out of her home and taking her valuables would only stall him for so long. After what she'd done to him, despite the fact it didn't even come close to what he'd done to her, there was no way in Hades he was letting her get away that easily. She guessed that until he'd publicly, and probably viciously, cut her down for all to see he'd never be satisfied. Like the horrific curse she was already tortured by, she'd be free to do as she pleased for just a few hours, but eventually he'd come back around and torment her again.
If Cassie took that leap and decided to actually face Harry tonight, she could end all of it. Maybe she could make a deal with him, or maybe he'd finally come through and kill her. She'd either have the reassurance of knowing exactly what she faced the next night, or she'd never have to worry about him again. And maybe she'd be able to give him a good fight while she was at it. It'd give her a good thought to go out with, at the very least.
"Damn it," she hissed in frustration, resting her elbows on the railing as she gripped her hair. She had to make a decision and she had to make it now.
A loud bang sounded from behind her, and before Cassie had a chance at turning to see what it was, or even sprinting down the stairs, her arms were pinned to her sides, and she was quickly dragged back into the usually uninhabited bedroom.
Cassie cried out and thrashed in the unknown intruders tight hold, digging her fingernails into their arms as the doors to the balcony slammed shut. Her feet moved frantically against the floor, stomping down in the hopes she'd make contact with her attackers foot. But much to the little cat's dismay, she wasn't near strong enough to inflict any kind of pain on this person with her feet, so she settled on clawing her long nails down their arms in the hopes that would do it, using every ounce of the little strength she had to do so.
The person behind her released a bellow of pain, and Cassie yelped as she was dropped to the floor, a severe ache radiating through her knees and hands as she landed.
Instead of turning around to see who the person was, Cassie focussed entirely on getting away first. She attempted to crawl toward to the door to the hallway, only to have her plans of survival thwarted when her attacked delivered a brutally hard kick to her stomach and ribs.
Cassie groaned, the force from the kick knocking her over onto her back. Her stomach ached, and her knees stung, but the adrenaline pulsating through her small form clouded her pain for the time being. The moment she was on her back she threw out her legs, knowing full well the second her attacked climbed on top of her she'd be done.
A hard grunt came from the person in front of her, letting Cassie know her flailing legs had succeeded, and she quickly rolled back over onto her hands and knees, her inner-voice frantically shouting for her to get toward the door.
Cassie managed to crawl a few paces ahead, but in a few seconds her attacker had quickly shaken off her attempt at wounding them, and the thudding vibration and sound of their footsteps coming in close taunted the little cat to the brink of insanity. Her legs were pulled out from underneath her, her knees scraping painfully against the floor as her support was forcefully removed, and the attacker grasped a handful of her hair in one hand.
As if her body sensed the oncoming attack, Cassie clenched her eyes shut, her hands still firmly holding her upper body in the air as if they would help in some way. But her unknown attacker was stronger than she was, and the force they used to pound her forehead against the floor greatly outweighed the little stability she currently held in her already trembling arms.
The movement was quick and precise, though the aftermath was everything but. The continuous and unbearable ache in the centre of her forehead dizzied the little cat, her vision temporarily fading from blurry images to nothing but darkness. She whined in agony and protest as the attacker let go of her hair and rolled her over onto her back once more, drifting in and out of consciousness as she fought to look up at the face of her attacker.
Whoever this person was, they didn't make a sound to give away exactly who they were, and in her vulnerable state it took Cassie's head a good few seconds to come to a successful guess.
"Damn it," she whimpered in defeat, her chest rising and falling as she sucked in deep and laboured breaths.
The red pirate chuckled at her flustered appearance, and kneeled, his right hand placed beside her head to keep his body away from her, while the left held a familiar point against the side of her neck.
"Hello kitty, kitty."
AN;
Hello my wonderful readers!
First of all, I have to apologise that it took so long to get this chapter up. I've been dealing with a bad case of writers-block, and real-life issues have been getting in the way, but they shouldn't be a problem for a good while now.
This chapter's pretty chaotic, I guess. Cassie's trying to avoid making new enemies, and trying to settle things with old ones, but obviously that's not helping.
Review Acknowledgement Time;
Lola Vegas; :D :D
Muddy Birdy; Thank you for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter. And yes, this story is mostly going to be centred on Harry and Cassie both trying to trust each other, only to throw it all away in the next moment. Cassie won't willingly hurt another person, but when it comes down to it her self-preservation comes out on top. Eventually the two are going to like each other, but there's still a few chapters to go before that happens, and I hope you stick around for it.
And yes, Cassie does take full advantage over the code the pirates live by, but they're the only things giving her security with them for the time being, so it makes sense for her to use it against them.
mollichine; Firstly, thank you for your review. I know Cassie is basically humiliating Harry at this point, but it's a constant back-and-forth thing with these two now and in future chapters. They're always going to try and one-up the other in any way they can.
Carrera; Thank you for the review! I'm glad you like Cassie. And I agree, they would be a good team when together. But at the moment they're pretty dead-set on hurting each other. But eventually they may wind up having to work with the other, so I hope you stick around to read it.
Shipperandfanficer15; Thank you for your review, I'm happy you're enjoying the story. :)
dragonheartlies; Thank you for the review, and I'm so glad you're enjoying this story!
Anyway, please leave a review or PM to let me know what you think about this chapter. And much love to all those who've favourited and followed as well, you guys are amazing!
(Any typos or misspells will be removed once I've had a proper read-through. If you notice any, feel free to let me know. Thanks!)