𝒲hile they made their way back to his cabin, Hook shouted at the singing pirate to get back to work, who immediately set his accordion down and began scrubbing the deck with the other mates. Angela giggled at the situation, and Hook raised an eyebrow at her.
"What's so funny, my dear?"
"Oh, it's just that he was so innocently singing and then he got quiet as soon as you told him to," she said, still giggling. "I don't know, it's just funny to me. They really fear you."
Captain Hook smiled one of his rare smiles and then chuckled. "Unfortunately, that's the only way they obey you around here," he said as they finally reached his cabin.
"Ladies first," Hook said, and gestured for Angela to enter. Once she did, he stepped inside and sat her down at the dining table. The room inside was warmer than outside thanks to the candles and lamps, but not by much. If the cold was felt by James Hook, he did not show it—for he was a stoic man in some regards, and to him, it was good form. That didn't mean he wasn't temperamental, however.
"Would you like some rum, tequila, whiskey?" He offered her, standing by his case of drinks. "I've got the most satisfying Bourgogne."
"Oh, I'll try that one," Angela said. A drink wouldn't hurt, and especially with this weather.
Once he poured them both drinks, he sat next to her at the table and took a sip.
"Thank you, Captain."
"Anytime, my dear."
She then took a drink of the rich Burgundy wine and tasted it, feeling warmer. They gave each other a few curious glances before Captain Hook started.
"Neverland used to be a green, bountiful paradise, with crystalline seas and sunny skies," he began. "At least, that is always the way it was when Pan was more ... normal. The flowers bloomed, the ice melted, and the weather was lovely. As I'm sure you've read, Neverland responds to Pan's presence."
"Yes," Angela said. "So what went wrong?"
"You see, Peter drinks a certain 'medicine' from a tree called the Neverland tree. It is the oldest and most powerful tree here, where most of the fairies reside ... it bears a special kind of magic. An eternal youth magic," Hook explained, and looked into her eyes very seriously this time. Angela could tell he meant every word he said. He continued.
"Pan hated growing up, so he took the medicine every day to keep himself young and powerful—more powerful than the Lost Boys, more powerful than everyone in Neverland. That's the secret to his many advantages.
"However, to every great benefit is a great price," he continued, taking a sip of his wine. "Drinking from the Neverland tree in the long run will make you go mad, you see, because the Neverland tree is deteriorating. In Pan's case, it exacerbated all of his childish narcissistic qualities until every ounce of his rationality and concern for others ceased to exist. He's become an egoistic monster whose only concerns are his own wants and needs. But that's not to say he wasn't already like that."
"Oh my god," Angela said, processing everything. "There's more to this, isn't there?"
"Oh yes. Yes indeed."
YOU ARE READING
Hook and Angela: A New Story of Neverland (ON HIATUS)
Fanfiction"All children grow up, except one," my grandmother Jane would tell me, as my great-grandmother Wendy would tell her. "Wendy had Jane, Jane had Moira, and Moira had me-Angela. For decades after the initial meeting with Peter Pan, the Darling women wh...
