"Father." Arthur held his hands out and fluffed up a smile, "This is ridiculous. Ophelia and I aren't keeping any secrets from you."
"No, my son. It is not ridiculous, it is imperative." Hook explained, the reddish locks beneath his massive hat bothering him enough to be pushed away, "A good captain knows when to take precautions. Haven't you learned anything in the time you've watched over my ship?"
Arthur bristled at his words and I grabbed his sleeve before he could take a step forward. Hook caught the move and chuckled, boyish sounding, "I guess not. Because if you did, you'd know that it's really nothing personal. Well, my mistake, it is personal."
The ship rocked hard to the left and I stumbled, only just righting myself as Hook impatiently put his fingers between his lips and whistled sharply.
"Fae." He called again.
The wind blew harshly against the white sails, creating a low rumble that blended in with the chorus of the storm. When the snowflakes hit the water, it sounded like a sizzle. When the waves sprayed water up the side of the ship, it felt like bee stings. And when a blinding, orange ball of light whizzed passed my ear, I inched a step closer to Arthur.
Skye materialized out of the ball of light in the blink of an eye, landing stoically beside Hook.
"Ah." Hook exclaimed, standing straight, and placing a hand on Skye's shoulder, "Finally."
Skye shrugged the hand off, his black wings rustling in the process, "I may be in your service but I am not your sea dog. You cannot just summon me whenever you'd like."
Hook's face twisted into a sadistic grin, "Of course I can. You're indebted to me, Fae-boy, remember? I gave you the means to become so powerful and in return you do whatever I ask. That was our deal."
"But you never-"
"But nothing." Hook interrupted, pointing a finger, "A deal is a deal. Disobey me again, and I'll take that magic right back and you'll be stuck a pathetic outcast again. Alone, weak, and wingless. Is that what you want?"
Skye's eyes moved up to mine. I had latched myself onto Arthur's arm, using him as a barrier between me and the Fae I once called a friend, but he found me all the same. I saw his pointy ears droop, but he made no motion to fight back.
"No." He quietly answered.
"I thought so." Hook finished.
"Now." He continued, clapping his hands loudly and rubbing them together, "You remember my son, don't you? A spitting image of my former self, I'm telling you."
Arthur clenched his jaw and kept an arm protectively around me.
"And this, as I know you've already met, is his lovely companion, Ophelia Darling."
Hook paced back and forth, his hands casually clasped behind his back. "A brilliant girl. A strong one. But, unfortunately, Ophelia shares a bloodline with the very group of children who helped Pan defeat me. So that puts us in a very tricky situation."
He stopped pacing and looked between Arthur and I, "There's my son, who claims to have forgiven me. And then there's Ophelia, who has given me no reason not to trust her, and yet, I feel ill at ease."
The snow had thickened, falling in heavy clumps, but compared to the intensity of the situation it was nearly invisible. I gripped Arthur's sleeve so tightly that my knuckles were white, and I could feel the tightness in his arm as well. Things were not going the way we planned.
"So here is where you come in, Fae-boy." Hook moved a hand between the two of us, his eyes narrowing, "Use your magic and put a spell on our two guests. Make it so that they can only tell the truth when a question is asked of them. I can tell that something is off and I want to know exactly what. That way I'll be able to truly determine their intentions for playing so nicely."
Arthur and I stiffened. If this spell was cast we'd be discovered immediately. We'd be doomed.
"Father, you don't-"
"Stop it, Arthur." Hook snapped, "Be a man for once in your life. This spell is going to happen, and I'm going to find out what this little secret is between you two."
I studied Skye as I clutched onto Arthur's arm. His shoulders were slumped, and the snow dripped from black wings as he fluttered them. Where there was once a playfulness to his honey colored eyes, I now saw only guilt. He was not the lighthearted Fae who dressed Arthur and I up for the ball. He was devious. He was a trickster. He was a Fae.
Skye raised his hands and beside him I saw Hook smiling evilly. With his eyes downcast, Skye murmured a few words in his elvish language and from the tips of his fingers, a blue glow began growing brighter.
I looked up at Arthur and found no comfort in the mirrored panic in his eyes.
The blue on Skye's hands expanded until it was large and round, like a bubble. Boiling, churning, and bouncing around the empty space between us and his hands. The bubble inflated until it pushed Arthur and I into the railing, and then, it popped.
A gust of icy air flooded me. The blue specks of the bubble rushed toward me, coating me in the coldness of its pieces. I felt them fly into my mouth and I was overwhelmed by a sharp, minty taste. As I inhaled them, and the specks stuck to my skin, disappearing beneath it, I felt a warmth seeping through me. It took my breath away, leaving me gasping for air. And the more I breathed, the more I inhaled. My limbs began to loosen, my mind relaxing even though I was filled with fear, and the warmth made all my reservations melt away.
When I looked at Arthur, I watched as a blue speck disintegrated on his stubbled cheek. He seemed as disoriented as I was. The moment we heard Hook laugh, we knew things were about to go terribly wrong.
"Excellent!" Hook exclaimed, excited as a child, "Just spectacular."
He took a step closer to us and leaned forward, examining every part of our bodies like something might suddenly jump out at him and prove that Skye's spell had worked.
"Let's test it out, shall we?" He giggled, turning back to Skye.
Skye was silent, his brow creased as he watched Hook stride over to Arthur and I. He put his hands in his pocket and tilted his chin up at Arthur. "Who is a better swordsman? You or I?"
"You." Arthur quickly replied, a fear overshadowing his face after he said it.
Hook burst out into hysterics again. "Aha! So it has worked! My son would never openly admit that I was a better swordsman. Especially not in front a beautiful lass such as Ophelia."
Hook's eyes travelled over to me and at once my knees began to tremble. I couldn't back away any further so he had no problem stepping right into my personal space.
"Hmmmm, you truly are an interesting creature, Ophelia Darling. Which is why it strikes me so oddly that you would readily give your family up to join this brutish life. Let's see," He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, making me tilt my head away until he used a finger to bring it back, "Do you really wish to kill your family?"
Almost immediately, I replied. "No."
His eyes widened slightly and he tilted his head, "Do you wish to become a pirate?"
I fought against it, but I had no control of my mouth. "No."
Hook put a hand under his chin and narrowed his eyes at me, "So then why are you onboard my ship? Because it's certainly not to befriend myself."
"To free my siblings and the Lost Boys." I answered.
I couldn't believe the words flying out of my mouth. I was digging my own grave by answering Hook but I couldn't help it. I couldn't hold back the secrets because when he asked, they wanted to be told.
"Really, I should be more surprised." Hook rolled his eyes, "Of course you're here to rescue your family. It's all the same with you Darling brats."
Hook changed his focus to Arthur and crossed his arms over his chest. "So is this the secret you've been keeping? That you're here to free her family?"
I looked at Arthur and shook my head, knowing that if he told Hook the truth we would really be doomed. And although I saw the pain of fighting on Arthur's face, I knew he didn't have a choice.
"No." He said through clenched teeth, "There's more."
Hook smirked, his hand resting on his sword as he turned to me again. "Tell me, my dear, what is it that you and my son have planned? And please, be specific."
"To-"
I threw my hands over my mouth and drowned the words out. They were spilling over my lips but I fought against it. I pushed my hands so hard over my mouth that I felt my nails digging into my skin.
"Come again?" Hook asked.
I felt the words mumble against my hands, but the more I fought it, the more I felt a force pulling my hands away. An invisible force, one that I can only blame on Skye's spell.
"Oh, my dear, I was right about you. You are strong. But," Hook coldly grinned, "You're not so strong to resist the magic of a Fae's spell. Tell me. What did you have planned?"
I bit my lips together until I tasted blood, shoving my hands over them as I clenched my eyes shut, but Hook's demands grew louder and the spell made me weaker.
"Tell me!"
"To kill you!" I blurted, my hands ripping away from my mouth and the truth expelling on its own free will.
I breathed heavily as I lost control of my voice and it told Hook everything we had planned.
"To free the Lost Boys, to capture you, and then kill you." I wanted to cry from the weight of it, of our failure. "That was our plan."
Hook took a step back and put his hands on his hips, sighing dramatically. "Oh, my dear, I really hoped we would become fast friends. One cold blooded leader to another. It seems I was wrong. There is no future for us. How sad."
He walked over to Arthur and shook his head, "And you, my son, you disappoint me even more. To lie to your own father." He placed a hand over his forehead and frowned largely, sobbing, "Oh it's blasphemy! The treachery pains me."
I reached my hand behind my back again and felt for the dagger I tucked away. As Hook's face shifted from pretend hurt to ignorance, I tightened my fingers around it.
"Well, now that that's over with." Hook put two fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply, "Tie them up, boys."
A parade of snickering pirates came slithering out of the shadows and approached us. I yanked the dagger out of my belt and widened my stance, flicking snow out of my eyes. Before I could make a move, I felt Arthur be pulled from my grip in a movement that sent me jerking sideways.
"Arthur!" I shrieked as he was tackled to the deck and dragged away, arms tied behind his back.
I was being surrounded by pirates, my fate nearly sealed, but I refused to give in without a fight. I gritted my teeth and lunged for a group of men with a ferocious cry, my dagger raised. I felt the tear of flesh as my dagger ripped through one man's arm, sending a splatter of blood over my boots. In the blink of an eye I spun around and sank my dagger into another pirate's leg, forcing him to fall and knock another two men out of the way. My dagger rolled away with the man so I reached down for my sword, prepared to strike again, when I felt my arm freeze in place.
I gasped when I was sent flying off the deck, floating ten feet in the air. I tried to flail my arms against the sickening vertigo feeling but I found that every inch of my body was stuck. I pulled against it to no success. It felt like I was stuck in glue.
The deck of the ship loomed below me, all heads turned up to see me suspended in the air. My hair fell in unmovable curtains around my face despite the bandana and blocked my view, but I didn't need to see to know who was responsible for my sudden ability to fly.
"You really thought it'd be that easy?" Hook chuckled, walking directly below me and squinting up, "That you could single handedly take down my whole crew?"
"No." I replied, my blood boiling, "But it was worth a try."
Hook smirked, "If only you were correct, my dear."
I plummeted down until I was at eye level with Hook, my stomach doing flips as I regained control of my arms and flailed them like a baby bird, still floating in the air.
He looked me over again and clicked his tongue, frowning, "What a shame. You would have made a viable ally, Ophelia Darling."
With no access to a weapon, I could only curl my upper lip in disgust.
"Tie her up and throw her in the jail." Hook commanded as Skye walked up beside him, "But keep a close eye on her. I have a feeling she's not quite done with her tricks yet."
Skye looked up at me solemnly and I felt my arms zip behind my back, a strong rope coiling itself around my wrists. He pushed past the crowd of men and began walking down the stairs. As he did, I felt myself pull along next to him, as if I was attached to an invisible rope in the air.
Hook grinned and wiggled his fingers at me as I dropped out of his view, "I'll be seeing you soon, my dear. Very soon."
Skye used his magic to drag me, floating and bound at the wrists, to a grate near the front of the ship. I passed my bound siblings, their cries louder as I floated by, but I was still frozen in place. Wendy's brows cinched with concern, her mouth covered in a gag, but I heard her calling my name. I scanned the deck for Arthur but he was nowhere to be seen. I felt another drop in my stomach, though this time it wasn't from a plummet in altitude.
I floated behind Skye as he dragged the grate aside with a flick of his wrist, and walked down the stairs beneath them. In this part of the ship there were three, sealed, wooden doors. It was dark, damp, and smelled sourly of body odor.
Skye unlocked one of the wooden doors with his magic, and ever so slowly lowered me into the room. At once I was released to gravity and dropped to the deck, my stomach hitting the rough wood at full force. I sucked in a breath of air and lifted my head, looking at him.
"Skye." I said, worming my way onto my knees with my hands bound behind me, "Don't do this, Skye. Please."
He held the door with one hand and let the other fall to his side. Dark circles lined his honey colored eyes, and I saw the corners of his mouth twitching. He remained silent.
"I know you've done bad things, Skye. You were outcast, you needed help, so you took the first thing that was offered to you. I understand. Really, I do. But it's not too late to change sides, Skye. You're your own person. Nobody can control you but you. You can still help us. If you really want to, you can help us win this. You can be on our side."
His eyes lifted to mine as I pleaded with him. I nodded, the sincerity on my face completely genuine.
I shrugged, "I can't lie, remember? What I'm saying is true. You can still help us."
I saw his bottom lip quiver, and his hands were shaking on the door.
"Please." I begged, breathless, "Help me."
The ship swayed and Skye nervously clutched the door, his mind churning with contemplation. He glanced over his shoulder and then back at me, shaking his head.
"I tried to help you." He quietly whispered, "I left you at the burrow on purpose. I tried to help."
I was taken aback.
Skye had tried to save me by leaving me in the burrow. That's why I had the blanket over me. To make it seem as though I was never there. It wasn't an accident.
I was about to open my mouth to ask him another question when he peeked over his shoulder again, returning with a look of worry.
"But you made your choice, Ophelia Darling. You came here, and now there is nothing I can do for you."
"Skye." I coaxed, shaking my head.
He took a step back and finally met my eye, "There is nothing I can do."
"Skye!" I said, louder.
But it was too late. The door slammed closed without so much as him touching it, immediately shrouding me in total darkness. I was trapped. My arms burned terribly from being tied behind me but there was nothing I could do. Not in the blinding darkness of this prison.
"Skye!" I yelled, hearing his footsteps walk away.
"SKYE."