It came as no surprise when, the morning Cassie arrived back at Uma's ship with the Neverland map in her mouth, she went straight down into her room. A part of her did recall Harry asking her to come and find him when she was done with Kody, but her fatigue took priority. For the remainder of the day, Cassie stayed in her bedroom, sleeping off the chaos and incredibly tense circumstances she'd thrown herself into the evening before.
When the sun went down, Cassie began to stir. Regardless of how tired she was, the curse cared very little for her physical or mental health, startling her awake whether she liked it or not.
After the strain of her transformation dwindled, Cassie got dressed. She'd left the pirate attire with Kody after changing into her feline form, and he'd assured her that he'd bring the pile back to Uma in the morning.
Reaching for the bedside table, where she usually placed her headband, Cassie was brutally reminded of just what had gone down the night before, and there was a very high chance Uma would snap her headband for her disobedience. Still, Cassie didn't regret her choice. Though Uma was their captain, she had no right to decide the fate of a crewmate's parent. If Harry wanted his dad dead, he could do it himself.
The bedroom door creaked open, and Cassie turned her head.
"Hey, Wildcat," greeted Starla, resting her side against the frame. "Heard you had a hell of a night." She was teasing, but Cassie picked up on something else hiding behind it.
"Hm," responded Cassie, getting to her feet. "Uma told everyone?"
Starla shrugged, and her eyes drifted to the floor. "Kind'a."
Cassie paused, eyeing her fellow crewmate with slight curiosity. Starla's peculiar demeanour could be put down to knowing what Uma had in store for Cassie tonight. After all, it was evident Uma had told the crew what she'd been up to, and there was no doubt Kody had told the captain of Cassie's failure. Maybe Starla was simply downhearted for Cassie's sake. The deceit of Harry's fight on the ship had long been forgiven by the little cat, and she and Starla had grown closer since. If their roles were reversed, Cassie could imagine she'd be rather sympathetic regarding Starla as well.
Cassie momentarily considered asking Starla what the captain had in mind for her punishment, but eventually decided against it. She'd known the consequences of choosing not to kill Harry's dad and settled with it anyway. Even if she did run, the damn hook-wielding pirate would track her down.
"Okay," mumbled Cassie. "Let's go."
The walk to Uma's shoppe was unbearably tense. Starla, for maybe the first time ever, didn't seem keen on striking up a conversation. This gave very little reassurance to Cassie, who took her friend's silence as a guarantee that she was fucked. Still, she continued, doing her best to ignore the churning in her stomach or the abrupt itch of apprehension spreading along her skin.
When they arrived at the shoppe, Cassie kept moving. If she allowed herself to falter, there was a chance her brain would run frantic and prevent her from entering. However, a quick tug at her hand pulled her back.
"What's up?" asked Cassie, turning to Starla.
"I have to tell you something," whispered the pirate girl, her eyes flittering to the doors behind Cassie. Starla didn't seem overly fearful of whatever was waiting inside for Cassie, but the little cat noticed traces of either shame or secrecy in Starla's expression.
"Are you okay?" wondered Cassie, slightly concerned for her friend. As far as she could recall, Starla hadn't seemed this agitated since Cassie had confronted her after the incident on the ship.
There was a second of quiet. Starla's gaze darted about Cassie's face as she tugged her bottom lip firmly between her teeth. It was obvious she was considering telling Cassie whatever it was that had her on edge. In the end, though, her lips quirked in—what Cassie assumed—a forced smile.
"It's fine," she breathed, waving a hand. "Nothing major. Just, uh, come find me after, alright?"
Cassie, though uncertain, gave a short nod. Whatever Starla had to tell her could wait until later. First, she had to deal with their captain.
Pushing through the double doors, Cassie's heart almost stopped. For whatever reason, Uma had decided to rally her other crewmates for this particular meeting.
The crew had gathered all the chairs in the shoppe, some grouping on one side with the rest on the other. They'd organised the chairs to create a clear path from the doors to where Uma's throne rested atop the platform. It meant that, in her human form, Cassie only had one way out.
Whatever chatter had been taking place before Cassie entered was immediately quiet. All eyes fell on the little cat, fanning the flames of her apprehension. Worse still, there wasn't much for her to gauge from their expressions alone. Their stares were piercing, but she couldn't sense a clear indication of what was about to happen. Apathy was all she could fully detect.
Almost instinctively, one of Cassie's feet went behind her. The urge to flee was growing stronger with each passing second.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," called Uma from her 'throne'. "C'mon, Pussycat. I thought you were done running." It was a challenge of sorts, maybe even a taunt. The captain knew just as well as Cassie that she couldn't possibly escape the crew now.
Inhaling a breath of reassurance, Cassie, against the demands of her inner self, walked the path the crew had made. At her sides, her fingers twitched. She avoided any lingering eye contact with her fellow cremates, knowing it would only rattle her further. When she arrived at the edge of the platform, she waited for Uma to continue.
Their captain seemed as nonchalant as ever. Slouched in her throne, she kicked her legs up over the arm of the chair. Her cheek rested on her fist, her elbow balancing on the other arm. Cassie didn't doubt Uma was irritated with her refusal to follow the order, but the little cat noticed a momentary twitch of Uma's lips, alluding to a faint amusement despite the situation. Naturally, it infuriated Cassie. She could handle being berated by Uma, but she couldn't stand the fact that her captain was actually enjoying her suffering.
"You told the crew," snarked Cassie, crossing her arms.
"You put their lives at risk," droned Uma, like she'd rather be anywhere else but here. "They deserved to know about it. To prepare for an attack by the worst pirate on the Isle."
Cassie couldn't argue against that. "I guess," she sighed. Then she raised her voice for the crew to hear her clearly. "But boss man's a big fish," she pointed out. "You had to know the stakes would be high." In a nutshell, Harry was one of the most notorious and vicious VK's on the Isle, and Cassie's challenge to prove herself worthy of his attention was always going to be crazy.
"You didn't kill Hook," said Uma, diverting the conversation slightly. "Why?" Through the haze of indifference, Cassie found intrigue.
"It just wasn't my right," the little cat confessed, gently shaking her head. "And grateful as I am to you, captain, it wasn't yours either."
Uma straightened, and her fingers grasped at the arms of her chair. "Say that again?"
"Hook isn't my enemy," clarified Cassie. "And he's not yours. He's Harry's. I don't know all the dirty deets, but I can guess. One bestie to another, I get you're angry. I get that you wanna see Hook at the bottom of the sea. But taking his revenge away from him isn't right." Her head cocked to the side. "We all have shitty parents, Uma. But they're ours. We decide when they go and how they go. If Harry walks in and says he wants his dad dead, then I'll just sneak back onto the Jolly Roger and do it for real. Until that day," Cassie gave a shrug. "I'm not going near the man."
The captain leaned forward, her brows furrowed as she leaned her forearms on her thighs. "You're going against me?" she wondered with a sneer. "You sure about this?"
Cassie had half a mind to retract her earlier statement. At the risk of embarrassing herself though, she chose to stick with it and hope for the best. "I am," she answered.
It was quiet. Until Uma shattered it a moment or two later. "Congratulations, Pussycat. You passed."
Abrupt hollers and cheers almost deafened the little cat. Overwhelmed and completely bewildered by the sudden change in the room, she gave no attention to her fellow cremates congratulating her or placing weighty pats of approval on her shoulders. Cassie, understandably, found herself staring wide-eyed at her captain, stiff from both disbelief and confusion.
"Huh?" Over the booming laughter and chatter of her crewmates, she knew Uma hadn't heard her clearly. But thanks to Cassie's rather telling expression, the captain understood what she was asking.
"You were right," chuckled Uma, leaning back in her throne. When her voice entered the air, the crew quieted. "Hook isn't mine to kill; he's Harry's. Asking you to go behind the first mate's back to kill someone who means a lot to him was a bad order."
Cassie, still puzzled, climbed up onto the platform to sit near the throne. "So why give them?" she asked.
"I wanted to know what was stronger with you," explained Uma, crossing one leg over the other and leaning forward to better see the little cat. "I'm not the type to ask without a reason. The crew can vouch for that." She gestured to said crewmates with a sharp nod, and they whistled in agreement. "I needed to know if you were still that selfish little pussycat who took my pendant. I wanted to know if you'd put your own safety above a crewmate's well-being. As a captain, I expect respect and loyalty, as do the crew. They have their own opinions, and I hear them out. I don't want mindless little goblins who won't think past their own stupid wants. If I order something and you don't feel it's right, I want you to come to me. Not do every damn thing I ask without question."
Cassie understood, at least somewhat. Uma merely wanted to know if Cassie would put her survival above all else. It was also a great example that Uma didn't only expect servants or warriors from her crew. Unlike Mad Maddy and many other leaders on the Isle, Uma took the well-being of her underlings seriously. Still, it raised a very good question for the little cat.
"What if I had done it?" she wondered.
Uma shrugged. "I knew you wouldn't; I just wanted to know for sure."
Cassie rolled her eyes. She didn't exactly appreciate Uma's methods of testing her loyalty and overall character, but she could understand it. "And what about sneaking onto Hook's ship? You were right, I could've put everyone here in danger," she pointed out.
"You're kidding?" laughed someone from behind Cassie. Peering back over her shoulder, the little cat found Maizie standing directly behind her. "That's the ballsiest thing ever!"
"Hook's dangerous, it's true," chimed Uma. "If he'd caught you, you'd be screwed. But he's crazier than Madam Mim. All he does these days is drink and sleep; he can't even stand on two legs for five minutes without hearing a ticking clock or a damn rooster call. Besides, he didn't catch you, did he?"
Cassie jaw went slack. "What about all that 'war' shit?! 'He'll slaughter us and make Harry watch'? Your words, not mine."
"I didn't send you in there without a backup plan, did I?" said Uma pointedly. "There're pirates all over the edges of the Isle. Without your usual get-up, you're no different from every other thief around here. Hook wouldn't have guessed you were one of mine. He would've gutted you on the spot and had Smee throw your body over the edge of the ship, and it wouldn't have bounced back on us." Then she shrugged and admitted, "I never doubted your abilities, Pussycat. I trusted your skills. Do I think it was stupid to sneak into Hook's ship just for a little map? Sure. Same way I thought Harry was an idiot for chasing a cat around the Isle for months. But as captain, it's my job to know what you're good at and what you're bad at. I wouldn't have let you go in there if I didn't know for sure you'd get out."
Cassie was dubious. "Then what about the bottle? If you were so sure of what I could do, you wouldn't told me to knock it back if I got caught."
There was confusion on her captain's face, soon followed by realisation. "Kody told you to drink it?"
"Hm. He said if Hook caught me, I should drink it. Something about it being kinder than being taken prisoner," explained Cassie.
An exasperated groan left Uma's lips. "Hook doesn't take prisoners. He kills on sight. Kody was fucking with you."
There was a moment of silence. Then a strained laugh escaped Cassie. When she found Kody later, she was going to put him on his ass.
"Do you think Hook is gonna come looking for the map?" wondered Cassie, somewhat apprehensive. "I bumped into Smee. Harriet got me a way out with him, but he said only the Hook's are interested in it. Won't he figure out it was one of them when he finds out it's missing?" It'd honestly been running rampant in Cassie's brain from the moment she woke up. She'd gotten in and out of the ship without being caught by the captain, and Smee had guaranteed her he wouldn't speak of her, but surely the captain would immediately suspect his children when he discovered the map was gone.
Uma's responding smirk was worryingly secretive. "Let me figure that one out, Pussycat. You've got other things to focus on now."
Cassie's head tilted. "Like what?"
The captain gestured to something behind Cassie with a quick nod. And when the little cat looked back over her shoulder, her stomach dropped.
'If somethin' happens to ye', I don't think he'll take it well'.
'Sure, the map's a good idea to prove yourself. But if it goes wrong, d'you think Harry's gonna think it's worth it? The lives of his crew for a little map he wanted to see as a kid'.
'Be careful, yeah? Boss's gonna kill me if something happens to you'.
In the chaos of the evening, Cassie had forgotten exactly why she'd stolen the map in the first place. Taking the map had been a wonderful idea to prove her attentions for him were genuine, but she hadn't quite considered how he'd react to it. Would he reject her offer? Surely not—he'd done the most to catch her, and he wouldn't possibly turn her down. Although there was always a risk of that happening. Would he be angry that she'd sneaked into his dad's ship and risked her life? Probably. Then there was the matter of Uma's false task. He couldn't of known about that, could he? Uma had set the task, but Cassie couldn't imagine he'd take the news lightly, even if his best friend had ordered it.
Uma tore Cassie away from her thoughts before she could give it any more consideration. "Anytime now, Pussycat."
Cassie straightened. "Huh?"
"The map, Cass'," muttered Uma, rolling her eyes.
Cassie paled. "Right now?" She hadn't particularly planned on giving it to him in front of the entire crew. In fact, she'd hoped to do it when she eventually caught him on his own. Placing herself in such a vulnerable state in front of her crewmates and captain made her want to throw herself overboard.
"Yeah, that's kind of the tradition," replied Uma, deadpan. "A grand gesture in front of the pirates to prove your loyalty, or affection, I guess. He fought for you in front of all the pirates in the area, so it's not exactly equal, but I guess the crew's gonna have to do."
Cassie's urge to flee made an abrupt return. "Didn't count," she retorted. "He knew I wouldn't say no. I was tricked, remember?"
"Didn't put up much of a fight, though, did you?" countered Uma with unrestrained amusement. "You could've asked me to break the tie, yah know? It's my power as captain. If you were that desperate to get out of it, you could've made an argument. I know you, Cass'. You'd have followed me all day every day until I gave in. But you didn't. He might've tricked you, but you can't say you were that bothered by it."
'But somethin' in this funny little head wants me back'.
Cassie, albeit reluctant, mumbled, "Yeah."
"And what makes you think he's gonna say no?" enquired Uma. "Did you get a little lost between him chasing you around the Isle and going into Bargain Castle?" Said teasingly, but no less true. He hadn't held back with his intentions, and Cassie had already agreed to remain with him, so doubting it now was almost ridiculous.
Still, there was a niggle of uncertainty that Cassie couldn't help but ponder. If he let her down here, in front of the entire crew, it would be a humiliation she couldn't possibly come back from. The perfect moment for him to ruin her, as he'd promised all those months ago. The friendships she'd built with her fellow crewmates would be swept away, and she wouldn't be able to remain in the crew either. If it went wrong, she'd have to stagger back to the hideaway, and forever be burdened by the embarrassment of being foolish enough to believe him.
"I don't know if I can," she confessed.
"What? You can start fights with him every other day but can't give him a damn map?" chuckled Uma, almost in disbelief.
"That's different," whined Cassie, shaking her head. "Fighting is our thing; it's what we're good at. This is something else." Tugging up her sweater, Cassie withdrew the folded map from where she'd tucked it into her trousers. Eventually, she sighed, "I can't do it tonight."
Uma was disappointed; that much was clear. "The longer you hold off, the harder it's gonna be," she pointed out.
Cassie nodded. "I know." She was irritated with herself too. All the work she'd put in to get it, and she couldn't even give it to him. "Anyway," she mumbled, putting it back into her trousers. "I need to find Starla. And let Helena know I'm alive." Her eyes rolled skyward, and she added, "And kill Kody."
"Don't be too hard on the kid," said Uma. "Between you, Harry, and Maizie, he's not gonna live to see his next birthday."
Cassie smiled and climbed down from the platform. "I make no promises."
Heading for the exit, the smile fell from Cassie's lips. She really did wish she was able to do what he'd done for her, to hand him that map in front of his crewmates, but anxiety won tonight's battle. Maybe, after a good talk with Helena, she'd manage to find the courage she needed to do it.
Unfortunately for Cassie, her attempts to leave without being caught were thwarted.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Maizie, who really should've been off serving the excited crewmates strewn about the room, had instead decided to plant herself directly between Cassie and the double doors. Arms crossed beneath her chest, she tapped a foot against the wooden floor. With a sharp disapproval gleaming in her eyes, she scrutinised the little cat.
With the exit blocked, Cassie's stomach twinged. "Just going somewhere," she replied, her eyes darting behind Maizie.
"You're better than this, Cass'," urged Maizie, her voice softening. "Stop acting like a coward."
Cassie paused, indignation flaring inside of her. "It's not that easy," she snapped.
Maizie's eyes narrowed, and almost challengingly, she scolded, "You can sneak into his daddy's ship but can't give him a damn map?"
Cassie's lips parted, a furious argument balancing on the tip of her tongue. Her preparation to reply was, however, rudely destroyed when a voice came from behind her.
"She what?"
If her heart had the ability to stop itself completely, it would've done so now. Cassie's eyes shut the moment she heard him behind her, a whispered curse passing through her lips. She'd been so close to escaping.
The little cat opened her eyes but refused to turn around. Well, less so refused, more like her body wouldn't let her. Trapped in place by both an overwhelming panic and the fact that Maizie still stood firm in front of the doors, Cassie could feel her palms beginning to heat up. Even when she felt the heat of him against her back, his hand taking its usual place on her hip, and his chin resting on her shoulder, she couldn't make herself face him.
"Did ye' do somethin' naughty, pretty kitty?" He grumbled into the side of her neck. Past the delightful octave, Cassie couldn't sense a trace of anger, but she couldn't be too careful.
It took her a moment or two, after bypassing the odd ringing in her ears, to realise how quiet the shoppe had gotten. The weight of expectant eyes, however, was unbearable and hard to ignore. Her crewmates must've seen Harry approaching her and assumed she'd be giving him the map tonight.
Cassie could feel her lungs constricting. Her fingers twitched, and her nose wrinkled in discomfort. If she could just shove Maizie out of the way, she'd be out in no time. On the other hand, the crew was watching. If she fled from the shoppe now, they'd certainly look down on her for losing her nerve and judge her for not being able to handle one of their well-known traditions. It wasn't on the same level as being openly rejected by the first mate, but it wasn't something she felt she could easily endure either.
"Maybe," she finally muttered, releasing a breath with it.
Harry hummed against her skin. "How bad?"
Cassie tilted her head, allowing him to skim his nose down the slope of her neck. "Rough estimate?" she asked, hopeful.
"Go for it," he responded.
"Not 'steal your hook' bad, but maybe 'steal the watch' bad," she admitted with a grimace.
Cassie felt him pause, and his chest moved against her back as he sucked in a breath. Simultaneously, the hand at her hip clamped down. Not entirely painful, but not exactly reassuring either. His fingers smoothed across her exposed stomach, hooking into the waistband of her trousers on the other side. With a firm grip, he tugged and twisted her around to face him.
"Hey," she quietly greeted, nervous. It was far easier to talk to him when he wasn't peering down at her, she found.
Harry, though, didn't reply. Looking down at the little cat, he simply surveyed her face, his head cocked to the side. Contemplative, he remained that way for a moment or two, and his tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek. Then, finally, he asked, "Ye' went into da's ship?"
Cassie gave a nod. "Uh-huh."
His brows furrowed. "Why?"
Clasping her hands behind her back, Cassie swayed back and forth. "Shits and giggles?" she joked. Obviously it wasn't the time nor the place, but it couldn't be helped.
"Cassie," he groaned in warning, pushing her name through his teeth.
"Fine," she huffed, hesitant. Then she admitted, "I was... fetching something." He gave a sharp nod, indicating for her to continue. "For you," she added.
Leaning back, a sigh escaped him. "What did ye' fetch?"
Cassie puffed out her cheeks, her gaze swaying to the countertop beside him. "Just a thing," she mumbled with a shrug. "Nothing big."
"I swear," he grunted, impatient. "If ye' don't start spoutin' soon, I'm gonna go find ye'r one-eyed pet and ask him."
For a moment, Cassie considered letting him—after all, Kody was due a good punch. Ultimately, though, she forced herself to tell him, "Okay." Reaching for her waistband, she brought out the folded map and offered it to the pirate.
He was unbearably silent when unfolding the map, even more so as he scanned the drawing. Cassie, on the very edge of her non-existent seat, had half a mind to grab the nearest tray again. His expression gave nothing away, but she did notice a momentary flicker in his eyes and a quick curl at the corners of his lips. Just as quick as she'd seen it, though, he'd hidden it away. Still, she'd spotted it, and it gave her reassurance that he wasn't as angry as he could've been.
"Ye' went into da's ship," he began, lowering the hand that held the map to look at her. "To pinch this."
Attempting to swallow down a sudden nausea, Cassie cleared her throat. "Pretty much," she chirped.
He eyed her for a second and then asked, "Why?"
Cassie's eyes rolled skyward, as if she were pondering the question. "Just wanted to."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "I will find that little shit, I swear."
"What?" she whined, defensive. "It's true. I did want to." Was she wasting both of their time by dragging this entire thing out? Of course. In her own defence, though, she was downright terrified.
His brow twitched upwards, a daring gleam in his eyes as he tilted his head back. "Who's seen Kody?!"
Cassie startled and blurted, "Fine! I guess I like you. A little. Maybe more than a little. Like, this much." Lifting her hand, she placed her index and thumb close together, with a little more than an inch of space between them. "And I don't really get this whole 'courting' thing," she continued. "Why does it have to be in front of everyone? You know how scary that is? I might throw up on you. But it obviously means something to you, so I guess it's just something I have to get used to." When her tirade of exasperation ended, she inhaled a breath. "So, you accept or not?"
The shoppe, if it hadn't been before, became aggravatingly silent. One could hear a pin drop kind of quiet. It also didn't help that the hook-wielding pirate had barely reacted. And in the discomfort of the situation, in which Cassie pretty much put any confidence she had out on a platter for him to do with as he wished, she couldn't seem to keep her lips shut.
"Not that you can really say no," she muttered, her hands wringing behind her back. "I mean, I almost died taking that thing." She sharply nodded to the map in his hands. "You think I'd do that shit for anyone else?" Then she paused. "Maybe Helena, actually. But that's not the point!" The room was warm—overwhelmingly so. And as Cassie continued, she placed a hair tie between her teeth, finger-brushing her waves up into a high ponytail. "Point is, if you say no, I'm gonna hurt you." With her hair off the back of her neck, Cassie let her arms fall against her sides. "So?" she mumbled. "What's the answer?"
The silence continued. Cassie wholeheartedly believed he was taking some form of delight from her frazzled state and the fact that his refusal to answer was driving her insane.
Finally, after what felt like hours, he responded, "First." Leaning to the left, he pushed back the stack of trays on the countertop, and they fell to the floor with a hearty 'clang'.
Cassie rolled her eyes, somewhat sheepish. She hadn't known he'd caught her eyes straying to them. "And second?"
His gaze met hers, and the little cat almost ran for the door again. There was an acknowledgement now. He seemed to have clocked on that she was putting herself in a rather precarious position by offering him the map, and she could immediately sense a sliver of sadistic glee that almost had her heart in her stomach. After months of chasing her down and borderline fighting her into accepting his attention, the power was in his hands now. Harry had always been arrogant enough to not take her rejection personally, almost dementedly certain that she wanted him the same way he wanted her. Cassie, on the other hand, had never experienced this kind of dismissal. Neither of them knew exactly how she'd react, but it was pretty much a certainty that she wouldn't handle it in the same way.
Cassie could see it, clear as day. Maybe it was a lingering trace of their lives before, where he'd been adamant on catching her in any way he possibly could. A part of him, however small, wanted to turn against her. Not entirely, of course. They'd come a long way, and she was sure he enjoyed having her around at this point. He could've longed for it in a teasing manner, a way to mock her with her initial denial.
'I don't belong to you. I'll never belong to you'.
'Can you blame me? All that fight, and you still couldn't catch me'.
'I don't remember saying I wanted you'.
Looking back on it now, Cassie could admit she'd given him quite the run-around. If he decided to taunt her with it now, it'd only be slightly deserved.
"Are ye' sure?"
Now that caught her off guard.
Cassie blinked. He couldn't be. Surely not. And yet, there it was. Though he'd put forth the question with nonchalance, even going as far as to learn against the countertop like what she was offering hardly phased him in the slightest, Cassie could recognise an incredibly subtle uncertainty. It was incredibly baffling, given how sure of himself he'd been up until this point. Evidently, even someone like Harry wasn't spared from insecurity.
Then Cassie remembered that day she first came across him.
'How do you expect to survive alone when you can't even defeat your own father?'.
'You don't deserve to hold our name. How disappointing'.
'Fight me, boy! Or are you too much of a coward'.
The little cat was self-aware enough to acknowledge that many of her insecurities may have been brought on by her father. While he hadn't physically hurt her, or torn her apart with vicious insults, he'd managed to leave a mark of another form. Was it reasonable to believe, then, that maybe Harry's father had done the same?
Could it also be the reason a tradition such as this one existed on the Isle? It was all so easy to sneak around in little alcoves and share whispers of adoration or promises of returned affection. In secrecy, though, something like that held no true weight. On the Isle, where reputation was everything, announcing to the masses that they'd found someone they wanted to be with could have disastrous consequences. What if one was genuine and the other only held a flying fancy? Word of mouth travelled fast, and embarrassment was a high risk. The past didn't stay quiet here. Whatever you did, or whoever you did, would follow you around like a ghost. And considering how judgemental and disapproving the majority of the Isle parents were, it was understandable that their children, when they eventually found someone they liked, wanted their person to pretty much shout from the rooftops that they belonged to each other. Hades, Cassie had even dragged Harry up into a tower where he'd almost died for him to prove he actually wanted her.
Convincing herself to relax, Cassie understood that she had just as much power to hurt him now as he did to her. If she truly wanted to, she could take it all back, berate and humiliate him in front of the entire crew for even considering that she'd ever want him. She'd snuck onto the ship and taken the map, but in a less trusting mind, it could be taken as a great desire to wait for the right moment to strike. Wait for them to believe your lies, wait for a moment where they were surrounded by everyone who respected them, and then pull out the rug. It was the very reason Cassie had refused to believe him for such a long time.
Was there a chance he thought the same of her? That there was a part of him that believed she was still that sneaky little thing that helped him up into her tower only to knock him out the second his back was turned?
"Of course I am," she soon answered. Then she grumbled, "Wouldn't have done so much if I wasn't."
Harry nodded and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Fine. Alright. I accept."
Cassie frowned. "Say it like you mean it or I'm taking it back," she threatened, gesturing to the map.
"Oh, are ye'?" he scoffed. "What're ye' gonna do with it?"
"I dunno," she muttered. "Put it up on the wall in my room. Maybe I can start a new collection."
Harry took a step towards her. "Your room?" he wondered with a laugh. "That's my room, love."
Cassie paused. Then she exclaimed, "We'll fight over the room later!" Her lips formed a pout. "Say it like you mean it." To further express her dissatisfaction, Cassie looked over her shoulder at Maizie. "Get me a tray."
"Ye try it again and I'll kill ye', Cass', I swear," he warned.
Cassie turned back to face Harry. "Then say it like you mean it! Are you mine or not?"
There was a brief astonishment from Harry, and Cassie's lips parted in inaudible panic when she realised what had slipped out. She truly hadn't meant for it to come out that way, with such desperation and irritation. She'd only meant to ask what he'd pretty much demanded from her before.
Her nose twitched, and a hushed, 'Ah, shit.' escaped her.
Cassie's following moment wasn't particularly her proudest. In fact, she wondered if the memory of it would make her insides shrivel for the remainder of her days. Her fingers whisked forward before she could even fully consider it, snatching the map from Harry's hand. Then, turning on the balls of her feet, and with a speed she hadn't had to utilise in a while, she gunned it out of Uma's shoppe, barging past a stunned Maizie in the process.
Honestly, the little cat had no idea what the next plan was. Fleeing for the ship didn't seem like the best idea since Harry would automatically assume that's where she'd be going. Without an exact destination, Cassie ran to the left instead of the right and, much to her irritation, wound up in an area she hadn't explored in a long time.
Taking a quick turn to the right, Cassie staggered to a stop. A dead end. With a huff of annoyance, Cassie went to turn around and follow another path, until something caught her attention.
To anyone else, there wouldn't be anything distinctly fascinating about it. The walls were put together with wooden planks and haphazardly hammered nails, standing around eight feet high. There were no cracks in the walls for Cassie to place a foot in, or a stray ladder or something she could use to hop up over the fence. With very slim gaps between planks, Cassie had to squint to see through to the other side. In the very corner, in the exact same place it had been the last time, was a simple, small wooden crate.
Cassie heard the sound of gravel crunching. It was a slow pace, almost lazy, like they had all the time in the world.
"Can't say ye're not consistent, eh?"
She couldn't help but laugh. "Hmm, I've got that going for me, at least." Her smile faltered, and she looked over her shoulder. "I didn't hurt Maizie, did I?"
Harry shook his head. "Nah. She's gone up against bigger pirates." His head cocked to the side, and he asked, "Why'd ye' run?"
Cassie was quick to admonish, "Why didn't you answer?" Her brows raised pointedly.
"Ah," he mumbled, raising his hook to gently scratch at his forehead. A low chuckle escaped him, but it was hardly mirthful. "I was a bit, well, caught by surprise, I s'pose."
Crossing her arms but staying mindful of the map, Cassie wondered, "Why?"
Sucking in his cheeks, his gaze strayed to the walls around them, as if he were purposefully keeping them away from Cassie. Then, almost like it pained him, he groaned, "No one's done it for me before."
Cassie was doubtful in her reply, "No one's stolen for you before?"
"What? No, not that," he corrected. "No one's, uh, done that." He waved a hand back to the path they'd come down, indicating what'd taken place inside Uma's shoppe.
"Oh," she muttered, understanding having finally dawned. She hadn't exactly anticipated that this might've been the very first time someone had publicly asked for, well, his attention. In truth, she'd been a little preoccupied with the embarrassment of it.
"Ye' sound surprised," he noted, with no shortage of amusement.
Cassie shrugged. "Well, I mean, have you seen you?" she stammered, wagging a finger up and down in a gesture to his entire form. "I know there were others before me," she pointed out.
"Oh, there were plenty," he assured with great delight. His grin wavered, however, when he confessed, "But, uh, none ever went that far."
With a newfound confidence, Cassie chirped, "I'm the first?"
He stared back, deadpan. "Don't let it get to ye'r head, Cass'."
"Ah, c'mon," she whined, pleading. "You've been out longer than me. Let me have this one." He could try and make out he was annoyed as much as he liked, but she saw the split-second upturn of his lips.
"Fine," he grumbled, but she could tell he wasn't phased. "Just this one."
Cassie grinned and nodded. She then spared a glance to the dead end and mentioned, "You know we've known each other for about four months?"
There was a moment of pause. Then he wondered, "Is that long?"
Though slightly bewildered, Cassie held her tongue. She simply replied, "Not long at all, actually." It was almost hard to believe. Considering how much had happened already, Cassie felt as if she'd known him for far longer than that.
"Come back to the shoppe, Kitty," he said.
Cassie rolled her eyes. "What? So you can drag your ass again in front of the crew?" She shook her head. "Not happening."
"I won't," he reassured. "On my da's life. I'll make it up to ye'."
She eyed him with a slight glare. "Wagering daddy Hook's life?" she teased. "If you're not careful, I'll have to take it." Still, she made her way towards him, aiming to return to the shoppe.
His passing comment as he followed close behind almost had her nausea returning. "Maybe one day I'll let ye'."
Waltzing back into the shoppe was hardly an easy task. Cassie could barely stand to think what the crew thought of her now. The group were still loitering in the shoppe when she returned, scattered around the room and chatting away like nothing had happened. Part of her wondered if they'd seen Harry leave to catch her and were simply waiting for further entertainment.
Pulling herself up onto the nearest stool, Cassie ignored the occasional stare and inquisitive gaze. She was already dying for the return of the sun and the peace that came with her transformation. It wasn't often she longed to be a cat again, but the intensity of the evening had her wishing for it.
A piercing whistle broke through the noises of the room, forcing the little cat to flinch and cover her ears. When it died down, she glowered back at the pirate, who now held the attention of everyone in the shoppe.
After ensuring all eyes were on him, Harry faced Cassie. "Ask me again," he demanded.
A sigh of exasperation escaped her. "Fine." Turning around on her stool, she placed her hands in her lap—one still holding onto the map. "Do you accept?" Her annoyance was evident, as was her impatience.
"I already did. Ask the other one," he urged without hesitation.
Cassie's head tilted in slight confusion. Recalling the moment right before she left, her eyes went wide the moment she realised what he was talking about. "You're serious?"
He merely shrugged. "Dead."
Sucking in a breath, Cassie, with an abrupt jolt of anxiety, asked, "Are you mine or not?" She expected a reply, of course. What Cassie hadn't anticipated, however, was the hook-wielding pirate lowering to his knees directly in front of her. "Oh, Hades," she breathed. "What the fuck are you doing?"
He was quite the performer; she'd give him that.
"Ye' went into Hook's ship," he began, loud enough for the crew to hear. "Stole a key from the man himself. Ye' took the map to Neverland. All for me." There was a twinge of incredulity towards the end, like he still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that she'd actually done this for him. "Of course I'm fuckin' yours."
The crewmates were quick to react. A sudden bout of cheering and wolf-whistles destroyed the silence from before, occasional comments of praise or congratulations flying through the air.
Cassie's hands shot forward, grabbing the lapels of his red coat. "Get up," she practically begged, yanking upwards.
To her relief, he didn't waste time doing so. Getting back onto his feet, he almost towered over her even when she was sitting on the high stool. With the most irritating bird-eating grin, he blocked her in with his arms, resting his hands on the counter behind her.
"Told ye' I'd make it up to ye'," he purred, laughing as he pressed his face against her neck. "Was it good enough?"
"I'll toss you overboard, I swear," she groused. They both knew there was no truth to it, though.
Rapidly, he shot back, "I'll drag ye' with me."
Carefully, and with some hesitation, Cassie ran her nails along the length of his arm until she reached his shoulders. "You're mine," she noted, gently, almost contentedly. There was a flurry of something or other in her stomach when she felt the vibration of his hum against her skin.
"Aye," he agreed. "And ye're mine."
The little cat didn't remain in the shoppe for long, maybe only an hour or two. Apparently, pirate courtships weren't common in Uma's territory, or any other territory for that matter. People still got together, of course, and many of the originals had children of their own, but it was incredibly rare to hold a genuine ritual of interest. Understandably, Cassie's fellow crewmates found the entire thing exciting and worthy of a little celebration. Uma and her fellow workers had even decided to take the night off earlier than usual to join in with the merriment and drinking. Cassie had passed up on more than one drink, explaining that she still had a few other things to do tonight, and made sure to both apologise to Maizie and thank her for helping Cassie get the entire thing over and done with. Thankfully, the pirate girl wasn't bothered by it.
Leaving the shoppe, after assuring Harry she'd join him later in the ship before the sun came back up, Cassie first decided to track down Starla. She hadn't forgotten her friend's frazzled state before Cassie had her talk with Uma, and she didn't want to leave Starla like that for another day. Whatever it was, it must've had Starla in quite a state. Cassie hadn't seen a single trace of her in the shoppe, and since Starla had been the one rooting for Harry and Cassie to get together well before Cassie showed up in the crew, the little cat knew with certainty that her friend wouldn't have wanted to miss it for anything.
When Cassie arrived at the ship, where she'd decided to begin her search for Starla, she found her friend waiting for her. Resting her forearms on the edge of the ship, Starla stared ahead at the ocean on the other side of the barrier, twirling one of many rings around her middle finger.
Crossing over the bridge, Cassie frowned apologetically. "Hey," she greeted, approaching Starla. "Sorry it took so long. There was a thing."
Twirling around, Starla rested her back against the side of the ship, her legs crossed in front of her. "Hey," she warmly replied. "Don't worry about it. It's nice to have some quiet time."
Mirroring Starla's stance, Cassie asked, "So, what did you wanna tell me?"
Starla's smile dwindled. Her lips still curled, but only slightly. "You know I adore boss-man, right?"
Cassie, though puzzled, replied, "Of course."
"And I like to think we're, maybe, friends too?" asked Starla, both hopeful and unsure.
Cassie was quick to reassure her. "We are," she responded, with as much sincerity as she could muster. "You've been a great friend. I definitely needed one, being around all the pirates."
Starla cocked her head, her eyes brightening with delight. "Thanks," she cooed. Then she continued, but with some regret. "I've always been betting on you guys. Last thing I want is either of you getting hurt. Especially by each other."
Cassie paused. Something ticked in the back of her head, like a pre-warning for whatever was to come. "Tell me," she requested, but it came out as more of a plea.
Starla closed her eyes, taking in a quick breath before she admitted, "Uma and Harry knew you were going to the Jolly Roger."
The little cat froze. Her lips parted, but nothing came out. Her mind, on the other hand, couldn't seem to calm down. So many questions bounced around in her brain, so loud that they overlapped the other, and all she could fully understand was that it was a babbling mess.
"How... I mean, what?" she mumbled.
Starla's grimace was entirely sympathetic. "Kody told us the night you guys came back from Harriet's ship—the first time. Sneaking into an original's territory isn't some little thing, Cass'. Uma had to know."
Cassie shook her head. "But Uma didn't want me going in. She argued with me about it," she explained.
"Of course she did," replied Starla. "It was a bit of a stupid thing to do. I'd argue with it too! But we know you, Cass'. You were gonna go in no matter how stupid it was. We were ready for it. I mean, didn't you think it was strange that she had those clothes ready and waiting?"
Truthfully, Cassie hadn't given it much thought. She'd just assumed they were a bunch of scraps that some pirate didn't have use for anymore.
"You said Harry knew about it too," recalled Cassie quietly.
"Captain hates Hook more than anything, Wildcat. But she wouldn't put a hit out on him without telling Harry first. There were so many other things we could've done to see how loyal you were. There's a lot of us, so it wasn't like she was short on options. Hades, we even floated the idea of telling you to take Kody to Harry for 'punishment'."
"I wouldn't have done it," assured Cassie.
Starla nodded. "I know. You're good like that."
Cassie winced. The last thing she needed right now was someone calling her that damn word. "Who said to poison Hook?" she asked.
"Boss did," replied Starla. "He said—" She paused abruptly, as though unsure of whether she should go on.
Cassie, all but numbed at this point, said, "Just tell me."
Though hesitant, Starla continued, "He was so excited when he found out you were taking the map. But he said it was too easy. That taking was as easy to you as fighting was for us. I don't know how he thought you might kill Hook, though. We all know you can't kill."
Unfortunately, Cassie did have the answer to that. Hook had hurt her once—brutally and painfully. Hades, she still had the scar from it. Once upon a time, the very thought of Hook terrified her; phantom burns along her spine reminding her of how cruel he could be. Apparently, Harry had thought that day severe enough for Cassie to hold a grudge. He must've assumed even a small part of her was tempted to drop that milky liquid into Hook's bottle, enough to prove that her not doing so meant she held a great deal of loyalty towards him. Or maybe it wasn't that. Maybe he really did believe going against a captain's order would be enough. Cassie wasn't sure. Not that it mattered much. He'd still been the one to set her that task.
Oh, how tempted she was to tell Starla exactly what happened the night Harry had fought his dad. He wanted to toy with how she felt? She had half a mind to see what happened to him when his crew found out what really went down.
"What would he have done, do you think?" she asked. "If I'd actually killed Hook?"
Starla shrugged. "I don't know. But he was willing to take the risk."
'Wagering daddy Hook's life? If you're not careful, I'll have to take it.'.
'Maybe one day I'll let ye''.
Cassie couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity of it all. She'd truly underestimated the pirates. Or perhaps she'd simply assumed she and Harry had gone past the point of challenging each other.
"But, uh, we stayed up all night waiting." Said Starla.
Cassie straightened. "You what?"
Starla seemed to lighten then. "When you went to the village with Kody, the night you were taking the map. Most of us stayed up as long as we could. It was fucking tense. I mean, you were sneaking into Hook's ship. If he'd caught you?" Starla shook her head. "There was no way we could get to you. Boss man almost did."
The steady fury that'd been building up inside Cassie decided to simmer. "He did?"
Starla hummed. "I think he liked you before, but, I dunno, it was weird. Like, he didn't really get how much he liked you until we let you go into that ship, yah know? It's easy to give you a task to prove yourself, but waiting around to find out if you'd survived it or not was, well, painful. It was like this big 'oh fuck' moment for him, yah know? Like, 'I just sent my girlfriend in to steal from my crazy ass dad, who likes to swing first and ask later'. I've known boss-man a long time, never seen him panic like that. It was kind'a funny, actually."
Now Cassie was divided. On one hand, Harry had knowingly sent her in to kill his dad, or not kill his dad, for her to prove how much she thought of him. Nifty as she was at getting out of a sticky situation, the risks had still been great. If Hook had woken up properly that night, or a moment too soon, he'd have killed her. It was likely due to Harriet thinking ahead that Cassie had escaped without a scratch. On the other hand, though, Cassie truly believed Starla was telling the truth. Her being on Hook's ship had stirred something unwelcome in Harry. She didn't fear his father as much as he did, so Cassie could barely imagine what horrific end Harry had thought she might endure if his dad caught her. He'd had the audacity to set her such a difficult task and then had to experience the torment of having to wait and wonder if she'd come back or not.
Starla was right: It was kind of funny.
That wasn't to say Cassie was entirely placated. They'd still sent her into the ship with that stupid order, after all. But it didn't take away the fact that Cassie alone had been determined to take that map. Her commitment to sneaking onto the ship to find something that would prove herself to Harry had been unwavering. They might've given her a little side quest and a backup plan to avoid the blame falling onto them if she failed, but ultimately, going onto the Jolly Roger had been her decision.
Oh, she was exhausted. All Cassie wanted to do now was sneak away to Helena's and see what her friend had to say about the whole thing.
"Well," she sighed, clapping her hands together. "Thanks for letting me know. It means a lot that you did. And don't worry, I won't tell Harry you told me."
"That's not the only thing," said Starla, sheepish.
Cassie let her head fall back, a mix of a cry and a groan passing through her lips. "Of course it's not," she muttered. "Alright, hit me."
After everything she'd been told so far, it couldn't get much worse.
"Harry already had a map to Neverland."
Or maybe it could.
"Run that again?" demanded Cassie.
Starla grimaced. "He already had a map. Smee drew the first one and every other map on the ship. He even made one of the Isle. Harry got one for Uma for her birthday."
'I bumped into Smee. Harriet got me a way out with him, but he said only the Hook's are interested in it. Won't he figure out it was one of them when he finds out it's missing?'.
'Let me figure that one out, Pussycat'.
'You'll get off the ship, safe and sound. And this night will be kept between the two of us'.
'If cap' finds out the key's gone, and he thinks I slept through it, he'll give me a good whipping, and I'm too old to deal with it'.
Cassie felt her stomach turn, and the aggravation from earlier made a powerful return. Everyone had known about it. Everyone had known she was running into that ship for practically no reason. If Smee was the one who made the first map, then he was more than capable of replicating as many as he needed. He'd likely created another and put it down in the same spot as the one she'd taken before Hook even had a chance to investigate. The key, though, was a different story. Hook was bound to wake up and find the cord around his neck cut, and there was no way to avoid it. How Smee was ever going to cover that up, she had no idea.
Cassie could understand Uma and Harry wanting her to show her loyalty, but what she couldn't accept was them letting her go into the ship knowing there was truly no reason to.
"Harriet..." Cassie trailed off, completely overwhelmed by the revelation.
"Don't blame Harry," pleaded Starla. "Harriet's his guardian, pretty much. He respects the hell outta her. When Kody told us it was her that told you to go onto the ship, there was no way Harry could go against it."
Cassie ran a nervous hand through her hair. "Why'd she send me onto that ship?"
"It's not hard to get," muttered Starla. "She wanted to see how far you were willing to go for Harry. You were proving yourself to at least three people that night, Cass'." In an attempt to lighten the mood, Starla added, "But you passed!"
Cassie, however, was barely enthused.
"I'm gonna kill him."
Should Cassie have thought over her actions before gunning it for Harriet's territory? Probably. The little cat was well known for barging into Uma's place and causing havoc when something ticked her off. But she had no way of knowing how Harriet would react to such a rude entrance. The captain might take it as a great insult and demand punishment. Or perhaps she'd throw Cassie over the side of the ship without giving Uma a heads-up. Cassie didn't know Harriet very well, at least not well enough to go barging into her place. The eldest Hook had been nice enough up until this point, and now Cassie had found out otherwise.
Following the familiar path, Cassie went across the deck and down below, heading for the captain's quarters. Before she had a chance to knock, though, the door swung open.
Kody, having not expected Cassie to show up at Harriet's, froze in the doorway, with one hand grasping the door handle. The eye not covered by a patch went wide with a glint of fear, and he almost seemed to go pale.
In any other situation, Cassie would've laughed.
"Hi, Kody," she greeted with feigned enthusiasm, though the edge in her voice wasn't lost on the pirate.
With a pained grimace, Kody mumbled, "Ah, fuck."
Cassie launched herself at him before she could even fully comprehend what she was about to do. One hand went into his hair, gripping tightly at the roots and yanking. Meanwhile, her other hand circled his throat, her nails digging into the sides. And Kody, not having anticipated the little cat to actually jump him, stumbled down onto the floor, his arms coming up to protect the back of his head as he landed.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" he yelled. He reached out to remove Cassie's hold, only to pause when her nails pierced the skin of his throat.
"Me?!" she shouted back. "You let me go in there!"
"I told you it was a crazy idea!" he argued. "You were the one who wanted to go in!"
Cassie's brow twitched upwards. "And the bottle?"
To that, Kody stopped wriggling. His eyes momentarily went skyward, a rueful smile twitching at the corners of his lips. "Okay, that's on me," he conceded. "In my defence, you should'a seen your face."
"My, my, that's quite a temper ye've got there, lovely."
Cassie's head turned to the left. There, Harriet sat behind her desk, slouched low in her chair with her feet crossed on top of the desk. On the other side, C.J. occupied another chair, a wide grin stretching her lips.
"Do go on, Kitty," urged the youngest Hook, with a worrying amount of excitement. "It was gettin' a bit borin'."
Staying put, Cassie straightened on top of Kody. Her fingers laxed around his throat, but she didn't remove her hold completely. "Harry already had a map," she said.
Harriet nodded. "He did," she agreed, without a shred of shame.
Cassie frowned. "Then why did you send me in there?" She'd heard a rough explanation from Starla; now she wanted to hear it directly from the captain herself.
"Why not?" retorted Harriet, her head cocking. "Ye' wanted a way to prove yerself, I gave ye' a way."
"He already had a map," repeated Cassie, slowly this time. Could they really not understand her irritation?
"Hades have mercy," groaned Harriet, momentarily dropping her head back to stare up at the ceiling. When she dropped her head to look at Cassie, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Stop thinkin' 'bout the bloody map! It was never 'bout that!"
Cassie's nose twitched. "Then what was it?!"
Bringing her feet down from the desk, Harriet stood. Coming around the table, she squatted down directly beside Cassie. "It wasn' what ye' went in to take, Kitty. That ye' went in at all was what had ye' prove yerself." Condescendingly, Harriet added, "An' did ye' honestly think I would make it easy for ye'? I told ye', he tells me everythin'. He might be a pain, but he's still our brother. An' you nearly offed him once, didn' ye'? Such a silly kitty, thinkin' I wouldn' know 'bout that."
The little cat sucked in a breath as Harriet brought the point of her hook below Cassie's chin, ensuring her eyes didn't stray from the captain. With her tongue between her teeth, Harriet followed the faint white line her hook made as it travelled down Cassie's throat.
"I told ye' the risks. Told ye' how tricky it'd be to get the key an' the map. Told ye' how sad baby brother would be if ye' didn' make it outta there." Harriet's eyes snapped up to meet Cassie's. "Ye' still went in." Taking the hook away from Cassie's neck, Harriet rested her arms on her thighs. "Why?"
"Why what?" whispered Cassie.
"Why risk ye'r life that way?" snapped Harriet. "Da' would'a cut ye' up. Ye' could'a started a war if ye' weren't careful. All that, an' for what?"
Cassie swallowed. If she listened close enough, Harriet seemed almost, well, envious. "He was worth it," replied Cassie with a light shrug.
Harriet simply stared at Cassie for a moment. Her gaze darted about Cassie's features, as if she were looking for something. "How lucky he is, eh?" remarked Harriet with a sliver of animosity. "To have foun' ye'."
"Aww," teased C.J. "How sweet." She turned around to straddle the chair, a sly giggle moving through her lips. "Ye'r stuck with him now, ye' know that? He won' let ye' go for nothin'."
"Lets hope it don't go south, eh?" chuckled Harriet, getting to her feet. Peering down at Cassie, she rested her hand on her hip. "Ye' did well, little one. Welcome to the family."
Cassie made sure her journey to Helena's place was a slow one. It was quite peculiar, actually. During those three years after her dad left, she'd hoped for nothing more than a friend, or someone to keep her company. She never once counted on needing a moment to herself the second she had all of that and more.
It was never about the map. Harriet telling Cassie the little tale about Harry's fascination with the map of Neverland had simply been a decoy. For the eldest Hook, Cassie sneaking onto the ship at all was somehow an admirable accomplishment. In some way, though Cassie loathed to admit it, it did make sense. Captain Hook had been horrible to his children, hurting them in ways Cassie couldn't bare to imagine. He was the most infamous original where the pirates were concerned, and almost everyone on the edge of the Isle seemed to fear him—Hook children included. For Harriet, and perhaps Harry too, Cassie sneaking into the ship was the deadliest and greatest way they could think of for her to prove herself worthy of both Harry's attention and Harriet's respect. Cassie, on the other hand, couldn't share their belief. To her, Hook hadn't exactly been her toughest foe on the Isle. Thanks to his inability to refrain from searching for his sanity at the bottom of a bottle, he'd actually been her easiest steal yet. However, that didn't mean Cassie couldn't see it through their eyes. If her father showed up out of the blue, she'd likely revert to her child self as well. What she'd seen of Captain Hook was nothing compared to what his children had been forced to endure growing up.
Cassie was, to put it simply, a little humiliated. She'd been completely out of the loop, truly under the impression she was fetching him something he'd always wanted but could never get his hands on. Meanwhile, Kody had been running rings around her. He'd told Uma about Harriet's plan, and together they—and also the crew—had conjured a side order for her. They'd had everything planned out before she even managed to tell Uma about it herself. It certainly explained why Kody had forgotten to let her know she first had to run her plan by her captain. Worse still, they'd been so damn good at playing it stupid. Cassie hadn't even had an inkling that the entire crew had known what she was up to.
Coming to the end of the alley, Cassie wandered out into the street. She stopped in her tracks, though, when she noticed Helena's front door was already well occupied.
The surprise verbalised itself before Cassie had a chance to stop it. "Oh shit!"
The Queen of Hearts, who'd been pressed up against a VK who most definitely wasn't the son of Gaston, jumped away from him as if she'd been burned. Wide-eyes blinked rapidly out of a haze of desire; her lips, almost bare from her usual red paint since it'd smeared around the edges, parted in shock.
"Cass'!" yelped Helena, placing the back of her hand against her mouth, as if to cover up what she'd been doing.
A knowing smirk pulled at Cassie's lips. "Hey," she greeted, teasing. Her eyes then swayed to the other VK. "Hi, Saint."
"Cassie," he acknowledged gruffly, running a thumb along his lower lip.
Helena sighed. "Cassie, I—"
"Don't mind me," squeaked Cassie, holding her hands up. "I was just coming to let you know it went fine." Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
"Wait, Cassie," said Helena. "You're okay? Nothing bad happened?"
Cassie paused. It would've been great to discuss the entire situation with Helena. But after everything her friend had gone through, most of it due to Cassie, a night of peace and fun was well deserved.
"All good," reassured Cassie. "I'll come back tomorrow and let you know all about it. Okay?"
It was clear Helena didn't completely believe her if her long stare was anything to go by. But, thankfully, Helena nodded and said, "Okay. Tomorrow." She further emphasised 'tomorrow' with a pointed glare, which left no room for Cassie to argue.
Wiggling her fingers as a farewell, Cassie turned back for the alleyway. "Have fun!"
Travelling back into Uma's territory was something Cassie truly had to think over for a good minute. How could she possibly walk back into the shoppe and act like she didn't know what she did? Part of her anger had been tamed when she'd knocked Kody on his ass. The scars of her scratches would last a week at most. The deep marks she'd clawed into his cheek, though, would last a little longer.
Maybe she really was losing her touch. Before, she'd have gone storming into Uma's shoppe, likely cracked Harry across the face again, and demanded an explanation from Uma. Now, though, Cassie was just tired. Going to fetch the map for Harry was supposed to be her idea. Technically, it was. But Harriet had laid it out on the table simply to gauge just how dedicated Cassie was to proving herself to Harry. And Uma and Harry had come up with their own little way of tasking her, just to make the evening that much more difficult.
Oh, she was so sick of these games already.
Instead of going to the shoppe, Cassie went to the ship. She had neither the patience nor the energy to deal with anyone else tonight.
Much to Cassie's misfortune, the fates seemed keen on playing with her. The second she lazily pushed open the door to her room, she found someone already inside.
"Ye' left somethin', Kitty," drawled Harry. Slumped low on the chair, he'd thrown his coat over the back, his left leg dangling over the side of the arm while the other stretched across the floor. Hanging on the curve of his hook was her headband, gently swinging back and forth.
Cassie stepped over to her bed. Removing the boots from her feet, she scooched up to rest against the headboard. "Thanks for bringing them back," she muttered, reaching out to grab her headband.
Harry moved his hook away when Cassie's hand got close. "Heard ye' had a chat with Starla."
Cassie dropped her hand to the bed. Her eyes closed for a second as she prepared herself. "Yeah," she mumbled.
His head lulled to the side, eyes half-lidded and pupils blown wide as he stared at her. "Thought I'd bring the fight to you this time," he grumbled.
Cassie, whose mind was somewhat clouded by the shit she'd had thrown her way tonight, could only mutter, "What?"
A deep chuckle escaped him, but he seemed far from amused. "Harriet told ye' to go in there, didn' she? Ye' can't say it didn' drive ye' mental, when ye' found out I already had a map. We talked 'bout it before, see," he rambled, fidgeting on the armchair. "I was doin' my best to make ye' see how much I wanted ye', an' ye' didn' ever seem keen. She asked what I'd do if there was ever a chance ye' were willin' to prove it. I told her I couldn' fuckin' wait. She's always wanted best for me, see."
"Then Kody took ye' there," he continued, a dull agitation twisting his features. "An' she saw the perfect fuckin' chance." Switching the hook over into his left hand, he leaned to the right and reached down. "I had plenty of time to warn ye'," he told her, raising a bottle from beside the armchair. "But I didn' wanna. I thought, 'Let's see how good she handles my castle.'."
It sent a painful jolt through Cassie. She'd gotten her reassurance the night she dragged him up into Mal's bedroom, but he'd never really gotten it back from her.
After pulling the rim of the bottle away from his mouth, he swiped the back of his hand against his lips. "I even had ye' try and poison da'," he giggled, shaking his head.
Cassie sensed an opening. "Would you have hurt me? If I'd killed him."
"Gettin' ye' outta there was all I really thought 'bout," he admitted. "Ye're so great, Cass', at what ye' do. Never thought ye' might not make it back. Not 'til we were waitin' aroun' in the shoppe."
Cassie rolled her eyes. "So it was all bullshit, then? You said I caught you off guard, giving you that map, but you'd known about it the entire time," she stressed.
"Oh, Kitty," he murmured. Shuffling closer to where she sat, he switched the items in his hands again. The side of his hook stroked against her cheek, somehow comforting. "I knew 'bout the map, that's true enough. But offerin' it to me like that in front of everyone? Never saw it comin'." He smiled then. "Look at ye', beautiful little thing, doin' all that for me."
Ignoring the stirs in her lower stomach, Cassie snapped, "But did it even mean anything? You already had a map."
"You an' that bloody map," he muttered. "Ye're not seein' the bigger thing, Cass'. Ye' snuck onto da's ship! Ye' know how crazy ye've gotta be to do somethin' like that? He hurt ye' once, didn' he? Could'a done it again. But ye' still went in. It meant... everythin'."
Cassie, still quite unsure, wondered, "Yeah?"
"Not everyday someone wants to do somethin' like that for me," he replied. He then added, "Makes me think I need to up my game a bit."
"No bat-shit daddy's or mommy's for you to take from," replied Cassie, bringing her knees to her chest.
Harry persisted, "Gotta be somethin'." He leaned his head against the backrest. "No shitty uncles? Drunk aunties? Someone that looked at ye' little too long?
Cassie laughed and simply spat out the first thing that came to mind. "Maybe make Maddy walk the plank?" she joked.
"Consider it done." The speed with which he responded took her by surprise. Going by how drunk he was right now, though, Cassie knew he'd forget all about it in the morning.
Wrapping the fingers of her left hand around his hook, Cassie lightly shook it. "It's a deal then," she teased. She then darted for his lap, where he'd dropped her headband. "Now gimme."
AN;
On today's episode of 'Bebe doesn't know how she's feeling about this chapter' 😅 Sorry for the self-deprecation. But this chapter seemed so good in my head, and now that it's out there in the world, I don't know if it is or not.
Anyway, I do hope you guys liked this chapter. I really hope it wasn't a letdown or anything. If you spot any plot-holes, feel free to let me know so I can make changes (While cursing myself out for creating said plot-holes')
Reviews;
Lottielue1; Thank you for leaving another wonderful review! I'm glad you liked the previous chapter. 😊 I hope you liked this one as well.
CallMeDella; Hello my wonderful reviewer!
(So many of Cassie's issues trace back to her dad: the curse, daddy issues (of course), trust issues, abandonment issues, problems with touching, running from her problems)
- Honestly, I hope the Isle kids got some serious therapy after that barrier came down.
(Cassie willingly lost the game? wtf)
- Girl can only fight off those hormones for so long 😂
(Holy shit that was a trip. I genuinely don't mind it not being action-packed. It worked perfectly in my opinion.)
- I'm so glad you liked it! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter too 😊 Thank you again for such a wonderful review! (Side-Note. I'll add Harry seeing Cassie in her pirate gear to the list)
Heaven's Mistake; (Also, I bet the poison was a test to see how far Cassie would go for Harry)
- You got it right 😊 I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you liked this one.
Guest;😂 I think if she asks nicely Uma will let her keep it.
Thank you to everyone who've reviewed, followed, and favourited! It means so much that you've enjoyed the story so far. Thanks!
