Queries
Hook, Wendy, and a handful of pirates left The Jolly Roger for land long before mid morning, giving them plenty of time to visit the Rainbow and take a leisurely pace toward the Midnight Tower. There, Hook and Wendy would deliver the crew's acquiescence to the request of the Council and the crew would attend to transporting relevant documents and sundry items to the ship.
The citizens of Port Star paid them no more notice than they might anyone else walking along the neat little sidewalks and pathways of the town, and Wendy had to stifle a laugh as she imagined the good people of London bearing witness to such a motley crew as theirs. She stepped lightly along with the captain, content to keep her observations to herself and watch the brightly colored buildings and their people come and go. It did not escape her notice that a familiar tension had settled back into the captain's fair countenance and she resolved to ease it away at the first opportunity.
They had foregone the heavier, more formal attire for today's Council attendance. When Wendy had questioned this, Hook had only shrugged into a fine blue jacket and said it would be an informal session. (She had traced her fingers over the pearl buttons and glittering embroidery of her own jacket, nevermind his, when he had said this and she wondered at his definition of "informal.") Now, as she walked a half step behind the captain, Wendy studied the long lines of him and the drape of linen and velvet across visibly tense shoulders.
She reached for his hand while they stood still on a street corner to wait out a string of bicycles passing by—at least, they certainly looked like bicycles, which Wendy thought quite charming to discover in Neverland. Hook tensed at her reach, as he often did when someone touched him, but he relaxed and returned her grip. His face stayed turned toward hers for barely a moment, but it was long enough that she took further notice of the malcontent and frustration written on it. There was a storm behind his eyes that she knew would find its way to the surface sooner or later. The final bicycle passed by and their brief shared glance over, he turned his face back toward their destination and she could only see inky black curls bouncing against his shoulders and taking up with the breeze.
Upon their arrival at the Midnight Tower, Hook directed his crew to wait in the courtyard while they went inside and then prepare to transport whatever supplies or other things were brought out for their errand. "Speak only to Port Star staff or anyone sent by Tiger Lily," he said, then lowered his voice to continue, "Be wary of the merfolk and the fae. More so than usual." Wendy thought she saw a flash of red malice growing among the forget-me-nots of his eyes, but she couldn't be sure.
"Aye, Cap'n." There was no question in their response.
Hook released Wendy's hand to place his own gently against the small of her back as they ascended the stairs and over the threshold of the Tower. If she thought he would stop to speak to her before they passed over the star belt, she was wrong. He proceeded into the chamber and to their designated position where he first waited for her to take a seat and then joined her. With his leg pressed against hers, she could feel the tension wound up inside him more directly and chanced a look up at his face and a whispered plea. "Captain, why are you strained as you are?" Her hand settled gently over his knee and squeezed. "I daresay you are wound tighter than an eight day clock—"
He visibly bristled and hissed lightly through his teeth, and Wendy regretted the mention of a clock. So that's still a bad subject, she thought. "I'm sorry," she whispered and squeezed his knee. "It's only, ah, you seemed much more at peace last night and this morning. Since we came ashore I have seen every part of you wind tighter and your face line with, well, I suppose it's a bit of concern and a bit of malice?"
"Wendy," he said, the hiss not wholly gone from his voice. "Yes, as always your intuition and observations are both keen and correct, but I beg you to leave the concern where you found it: with me. I am no stranger to the ways of the Tower and its machinations, whether for good or bad purposes." He sighed and released some of the tension in his face. "This errand will not be as simple as it sounds; nothing that happens here or happens about or around Pan ever is. You know that better than almost anyone in this room."
"Yes."
He reached up to brush her hair behind her ear and let his hand linger there when she leaned into it. "We will do as we are bid, but I suspect we will do it under some complication or interference from some of these," he said, lifting his hand in a flourish to indicate the other representatives as they arrived and took their places.
"Perhaps it won't be so bad," she shrugged. "Elspeth said—"
"Elspeth is a peacekeeper with a town full of people to keep safe and many outside influences on her doorstep," Hook matched her shrug and sighed. "Now listen here, Crewman Representative Darling. I desire and value your input here, but today I must speak for the ship and the crew, for all of us. We shall hope for the best, but you must leave me to my brooding, at least in this matter where I suspect you will soon discover it is both appropriate and justified."
If Wendy had been going to take issue with his order, the flash of a wink and grin he amended it with held her at bay. Was that menace or mischief in his eyes just then? she wondered, but at the same time knew she didn't care; in either case it was dear to her.
Their conversation had been effectively over, but the banging of Elspeth's gavel against the crystal lectern called them all to order and she wasted no time.
"Captain Hook, have you come with an answer from your crew?"
Hook stood and gave a courteous bow. "Yes, my lady. The crew of The Jolly Roger has, with magnanimous hearts, agreed to take up your errand."
"And what is the price of their magnanimity?"
"Tut tut," he lightly clucked his tongue and brought his hook and hand up to rest over his heart while on his face he put a disappointed pout. "My lady, you wound me on their behalf. Surely after all these years of not infrequent service to the Indigo Tower and the Crystal Chair herself you would not brand my crew so uncouth or unkind as to help only at the promise of quid pro quo."
Elspeth sighed and chewed the inside of her cheek, but she did not deny his claim. Wendy thought this scene must have played out many times over because not one of the other delegations even seemed to be paying attention with the possible exception of Tiger Lily, who was trying desperately to hide a grin. "Captain, would your crew be so kind as to do one other task for me and perhaps take on a few cases of excess wine and ale?"
"Anything we can do to help, I'm sure," Hook bowed again and smiled.
"It pleases me to hear you say that, Captain. You and yours are truly always at the service of this city. I shall ask one further kindness of them if they would not mind also taking on some extra produce and meats."
"If it pleases you, then it pleases The Jolly Roger."
"That is excellent news, indeed, Captain, since there is one other request, but this is directly of you and I will pay for it with gold or jewels or whatever you ask."
Hook's eyebrows rose and his lips quirked into a curious grin.
"You shall allow one of the Query ships to sail along with you and observe—not interfere with—your investigation and errand," she said, and Wendy saw the Crystal Chair's eyes focus sharply on the Query representative, who nodded. "Query ships are much smaller than your great vessel and I fear they could meet with trouble either from the lagoon mermaids, the imp boy, or both. I cannot stop them from going any more than I can stop you from saying no to this indulgence of mine. But, as you have yourself reminded me, you and your crew are ever the generous friends of this chair and this town."
"Quite so," Hook hissed through his teeth, his eyebrows now low and punctuating a terrifying glare. The fingers of his left hand flexed and twisted against his hook, and Wendy thought she could see every muscle of him twisting and flexing just the same. Even his hair seemed to seethe against the cheerful brightness of the resting stars above.
No one in the chamber lacked interest now, and Tiger Lily's grin was no longer peeking out. Wendy took in the lightly veiled hostility on Hook's face and then looked back at each of the other people in the room. She wondered how many of them knew that he was hiding more danger than they could imagine, that he was controlling a malice so complete it had the power to poison people with only one drop. (She wondered if they thought it was as beautiful as it was terrifying, or if she had finally had too much sea air like Aunt Millicent once said had happened to a neighbor over holiday.)
Hook and Elspeth held each other's gaze without speaking for so long that it wasn't until one of the merfolk moved enough to cause a small splash that Wendy realized they'd all been sitting there watching the captain and the chair watch each other. It was hard to tell how long, but it was at least long enough that she had developed a minor cramp from how her leg rested and had to adjust, and she heard others adjusting here or there as well.
It had always been in Wendy's nature to involve herself in a conflict like this, whether it was her brothers or girls at school, sometimes even her parents. Her instinct said to step up, put herself in front of him and smile, remind him she was there for him. But then she remembered what he had said about complications and Elspeth's own needs or motivations.
He had seen this coming, or something like this. The fact that he'd been caught in this snare more than likely was what had him fuming white hot rage as opposed to the request itself. For a moment—only one—Wendy worried that her plea was what had taken him off guard, but she dismissed that concern. Captain Hook was a brilliant man with a mind that excelled at manipulation and strategy when he wanted it to, but he'd missed traps before, and he'd missed this one. And it was possible that Elspeth was just as brilliant as he.
So, despite her strong instinct and desire, Wendy stayed in her seat and did the only helpful thing she could think to do, which was watch the other people in the room and study them for anything that might later be useful.
The stalemate ended suddenly when Hook's contempt melted almost entirely from his face and he smiled with no pleasantry. "My lady," he said, "it shall be my great honor to see the single Query vessel safely through the outside of your harbor and back, taking every pain I must to keep them safe in those waters."
"Thank you, Captain; truly you are generous of heart and talent."
"I shall take upon myself and my crew this task provided not only a payment we shall later agree upon, but also the sworn oath by you and the Query delegation that they will do as I say, when I say, without bloody questions or I shall forfeit my end of the agreement and leave them to their own schemes," Hook bowed again and, as he straightened, turned his eyes to the Queries. "They will swear this here, right now, or there will be no safe escort."
The Query representative opened his mouth to speak, but Elspeth silenced him with a glance. "That is a fair request, and we will see to it immediately."
Hook sat back in his seat and watched with some satisfaction as the Queries were bound by starlight to follow Hook's directives. Wendy noticed he was not sworn to keep up his own end of the bargain, but decided to ask about that later. She looked up at him and caught him already staring down at her; he would have looked peaceful if she didn't know better, but she supposed this was a victory he could afford to feel, at least a little bit, after himself being caught in a net. She gently wrapped her hand around the safe part of his hook and leaned up to his ear.
"My dear captain, is it always this way?"
He puffed up his cheeks and blew the air out with a sound that might have been a quiet laugh twisted with contempt and turned his face toward hers. "Oh, no, darling, no," he said. "Sometimes it's violent."
"Oh."
Smee wasn't sure how many new crewmates he'd onboarded and helped to settle in, but he thought it was something like maybe one hundred over the years. It was a tricky thing to try to remember years or numbers about time passing on Neverland, but certain people and situations always stuck out for him. Leonard Gris was his favorite memory because Leonard had been a rare case of someone born and raised in Port Star who sort of just showed up one day and offered his services as a crewman tailor. Leonard was a skilled pirate of nearly any deck duty or labor that could be expected of him by virtue of being on the ship, but he was an especially talented tailor brought up and trained by the finest of Port Star, and that helped The Jolly Roger in the obvious but unexpected ways of making sure pirates were well attired for the duties to which they must attend.
It was with this in mind that Smee first took Remy to visit Leonard's workspace for a once over both of Remy and also of his various clothes and items. Former Lost Boys often made excellent crew members, but also often came with poorly made or over-used clothing that was not suitable for the labor expected of the wearer. Remy was no different, and it took very little time for Leonard to measure him and make a few notes, then hand over a few garments for the boy to take on as his own.
"I'll have a few things made special for you in a couple days, lad," Leonard said, smiling kindly at the timid younger man across from him. "You'll find these in great shape in the meantime, though."
"Thank you, sir."
"Nothing to thank me for, lad. You're one of us." Leonard winked first at Remy and then up at Smee, who winked back.
After Leonard, Smee took Remy to a cabin filled with hammocks and showed him to the furthest and lowest on the starboard side. "This is you," he'd said.
It didn't look like a lot, but for Remy, it looked better than the single giant bed he'd shared with the other Lost Boys at Peter's treehouse. For one thing, it was all his, and for another, it was made of soft, natural fabric woven and worn into comfort. Peter's bed was all vines and grasses and whatever he could find. There was also a space underneath with a trunk that had a lock and Smee gave him the only key.
"For whatever you might find that you want to keep private," he chuckled.
"Thank you, Mister Smee."
It wasn't until they went back on deck to observe the many jobs there that Remy and Smee met with unexpected news, which came from a sleek white vessel with only a few strange people aboard. Smee knew them to be Queries, but was as confused as anyone else about what they were doing alongside The Jolly Roger.
"Oi, you there," he called out. "What business have you with The Jolly Roger?"
The tallest of the strange people on the strange ship stepped forward. "Have you not heard of our arrival?" he asked.
"Uh, no?" Smee looked back and forth among the other crew, all of whom seemed as confused as he was.
"Are you in charge of this vessel at present?"
Smee nodded. It was true that with both Hook and Starkey on land, Smee was in charge of the ship, but he had been busy with Remy all day and not paying any attention to what might have come in from the shore. He did know that if any important news had come from the captain, even the bloody parrot would have brought it to him.
"May we come aboard? May we ask you questions in service of the errand at the lagoon?"
Once again, Smee looked back and forth among the crew. He couldn't think of a reason to say no other than a feeling that maybe it wasn't a good idea. But they were in safe harbor, and the Queries were allies, of a sort—or, at least, they weren't direct enemies. They voted in the Tower just like the captain did, so it made sense they'd come around asking questions, didn't it? With no one to directly forbid an ostensible ally from boarding the ship, Smee only shrugged (although it was an uneasy shrug) and ordered the crew to bring the Query aboard.
Hook's face as it appeared over the side of the ship told a story in three parts, none of them happy. Smee's insides stirred as he watched the captain's fair countenance make the journey from amused curiosity to shocked confusion to outrage when he spotted the Queries aboard his ship. Not for the first time in his long career aboard The Jolly Roger, Smee wondered if the best course of action was to jump overboard and swim as far as he could make it, but he resisted the urge and instead accepted the ornate hat Hook pushed against his chest as he came to stand across from them.
"What are they doing aboard my ship?"
Smee did a terrible job of hiding the shiver that ran its way up and down his spine as he stumbled through explaining himself. "Uh, well, Cap'n, they seemed, um, official? They had questions about our, ah, errand about, er, yanno, the drownin's…"
"And?" Hook growled, his sneer only very nearly capturing the full spectrum of his menace.
"Ah, right, that. Well, they questioned young Remy about the drownin's, and—"
"They questioned one of my crew on my ship without asking my permission?"
Both Wendy and Smee noticed the increase in pitch and volume with each word as Hook launched more than asked this question, and the meaningful eye contact shared between them did little to resolve either's concern for how rapidly the captain's outrage seemed to be spiraling out of control.
"What concern is it of yours, Captain?" Asked the taller of the two Queries.
One could be forgiven for witnessing this encounter and assuming that Hook would respond with more shouting or snarling or quite simply killing the offending Query, but they would be incorrect. The cool voice of the Query's question coupled with its impolite tone seemed to have flipped a switch in the captain, who only grabbed the offender by the stiff white fabric artfully tied around his collar and lifted him from the ground with seemingly no effort. He held the (now dangling and scraping) Query aloft as he took calm, leisurely steps toward the starboard side of the ship.
"The concern is mine is that this is my crew, my vessel, and you know full well that you have no authority or privilege to board or speak unwanted among them, especially under manipulation as you have done here, and certainly not without my permission. Tell me, boy," Hook said, "did you want to talk to these people?"
Remy seemed too petrified to answer, but upon an elbow from both Smee and Wendy, he managed to choke out a hoarse "No, sir."
Hook's eyebrows rose with his smile and he drew the flailing Query closer to his face. "Oh, dear. It seems you weren't wanted here." And, with that, he tossed the offending Query overboard and leaned on the railing of the ship to smile down at the splashing and sputtering target of his humor and rage. "It's a bit of a swim back to your tender, but I think you'll make it. Watch out for merfolk!"
Nearly as instantly as he had seized the first Query, he turned on the second as he walked back to where they stood in shock.
"I advise you to return to your ship, scoop up your colleague, and get back ashore before I advance this scenario for you." He sneered as his recommendation was promptly, if rudely, followed.
"My apologies, Cap'n—"
"Not a word of that, Smee," Hook said. "You did your duty. They are a manipulative and strange people who make their life out of finding ways into places they are not wanted and learning the secrets there. You did not fail me or this ship or its crew, and I will not hear otherwise, especially from you."
Wendy swelled with pride at these words; knowing how hot and, at times, hotter Hook's temper could run, it was an unspeakable pleasure to hear him so succinctly not only stand up for his bosun, but also to secure the confidence of that same officer and underline his own trust in Smee in front of anyone who had witnessed the altercation.
Smee only blushed red and twisted his fingers against themselves. "Thank you, sir."
Hook nodded and gave Smee's shoulder a pat and a squeeze before turning to his newest, youngest charge and bending at the waist to meet his eyes. "Remy?" The boy, who could not have looked more unhappy to be the focus of Hook's attention, only gave a slight nod. "Remy," Hook said, eyes twinkling, "you witnessed the drownings near the lagoon?"
"Y-yes. Yes, sir."
"Tell me what you saw there, Remy."
"I, er, I told that… that other person," Remy said, eyes darting briefly to the water below where the query still splashed as his companions pulled him onto their tender ship.
"Tell me."