Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Peter Pan, Captain Hook, or any of Mr. Barry's other wonderful characters. I write about them solely for my own amusement, and make no profit from it except that which I receive from knowing my writing has been enjoyed by others.

Chapter 1 – A Most Unusual Lost One

 

            This tale begins with a first meeting between the most unlikely of people in the most unlikely of places.  Neverland was deep in twilight, a time of day that seemed to stretch longer on the enchanted island than it did anywhere real, thus giving mischievous boys more time to slink about in the shadows before complete darkness fell, and preserving the picturesque silhouettes of teepees, pirate ships, and secret hideout trees for just a little while longer.  Ponyface Ned, a pirate with fewer years service on the Jolly Roger than most, cut his way through the dense undergrowth of the forest, swinging his sword with short, jerky slashes.  Ponyface was out hunting Lost Boys, but he would have settled for finding a Pixie nest, or even two or three Indians he could capture and hold for ransom.  He had to try and catch someone, it was simply what the Neverland pirates did – engage in an endless cycle of chasing and ransoming and carousing.  So, Ponyface saw no harm in hoping he’d be able to lay hands on a Lost Boy.  The Captain had given his crew leave to try and catch the annoying little creatures whenever possible, as long as they didn’t lay a hand on the urchins’ leader, Peter Pan.  The honor of catching that one the Captain wanted for himself. 

            Upon coming to a break in the forest, Ned stopped, sword raised for another cut.  Across the clearing, he could very distinctly make out the form of a person standing beneath a tree with broad, low hanging branches.  He began to run across the clearing.  At the sound of his approach—he was making an awful racket, stepping on every dry twig he came across—the person’s head snapped up and turned in Ned’s direction.  He’d been too loud.  His quarry was going to try to run now, Ned knew it, and he would have to chase them half the night in order to satisfy his pride and slink back to the Jolly Roger with a good story to tell his mates.  But the person standing beneath the tree did not run, and Ned nearly ran into the one he’d been intending to chase before realizing that no chasing would be necessary. 

            The person he had found was too tall to be a Lost Boy.  After regaining his balance, Ned realized that his person was a woman.  A grownup.  As far as he knew, the only grownups on the island were pirates and Indians, and she was far too neat to be a pirate.  He didn’t see any feathers or paint, either, so she wasn’t an Indian.   

            “Who are you?” he asked.  She blinked owlishly at him from behind the glasses that balanced on the ridge of her nose.  “What are you doing here?”

            She seemed more inclined to answer the second question.

            “I… seem to be lost,” she said. 

            Ned was too distracted to notice she hadn’t introduced herself.  He hadn’t seen a grown up woman, or even a girl, for so long that he couldn’t remember how to act around one.  Something was definitely wrong with the order of things in Neverland.  That much he knew.

            “The Captain,” Ned muttered.  “The Captain will know what to do.”  He held out a grimy hand.  “Come on, let’s go.” 

            She put her hand in his and let herself be pulled along. 

            “Are you a pirate?” she asked as they retraced Ned’s earlier steps. 

“Of course I am!  And you’d best not forget it!” he warned her.  She nodded.  She looked curious, and not afraid at all.

“How very interesting,” she murmured. 

*****

            Captain James Hook was very well aware that Smee was agitated.  The little man was nearly dancing with anxiety.  For the moment, Captain Hook chose to ignore his first mate, and continued to adjust various pieces of his clothing with the help of the mirror that graced the wall of his cabin.  A slight change in the angle of his hat to show off its white feather to more advantage, the folding down of a piece of braid that had gotten out of place so it lay smoothly against the green velvet of his coat—every little action was carefully calculated to give him time to think.  In his experience, an anxious Smee meant that something out of the ordinary had happened, probably something unpleasant.  What mischief had Pan gotten up to this time? 

            “I… I think you might want to see this, Cap’n,” Smee stammered finally.  “We’ve got… somewhat of an extraordinary guest.” 

            “A guest?” the Captain asked, turning from the mirror.  Those who came onboard the Jolly Roger were either crew members or prisoners.  There were no guests. 

            “A new arrival to Neverland, and one like I’ve never heard of before,” Smee said.  Hook’s eyes narrowed.  The way his first mate was falling all over himself, one would have thought that royalty was waiting outside of his door.  Well, odder things have happened… The thought of a person of importance cooling his or her heels outside of his door made the Captain’s eyes narrow in displeasure.  If this was a new ally, he had a good impression to make.

            “Don’t just stand there!  Send them in!  Are you daft?  How long have they been waiting?” Hook demanded. 

            “Not long, Captain.  It’ll be just a minute, Captain,” Smee said, and scurried out of the room.  Hook checked his appearance in the mirror one last time before the door to his cabin swung open.  Hook’s expectations of a person in finery were quickly turned on their head. 

            The woman who was peering curiously at him and his cabin was short, and thin almost to the point of being gaunt.  She wore a long, plain black skirt that touched the floor, a white shirt with a high collar, and an oversized grey wool sweater with large wooden buttons that she held closed with a ferocity more suited to a winter storm than a fire-warmed cabin.  Her brown hair had been braided, then twisted into a bun and pinned to the back of her head.  However, several sections had come loose and were hanging haphazardly around her face.  Hazel eyes studied him from behind a pair of wire rimmed spectacles. 

            “You’re the Captain, then?” she asked.  Her raised eyebrows managed to convey a disarming mixture of curiosity and concern. 

            “Yes, yes I am.  Captain James Hook, at your service, madam,” he said.  He bowed with a flourish, and the silver of the hook that replaced his right hand caught the sunlight let in through the window.  Her reaction was nearly invisible.  A slight narrowing of the eyes, and a quick nod as she filed away another interesting piece of information about the strange world she found herself in. 

            “And, you are…” the Captain prompted after a long silence.  The woman blinked a couple of times then smiled sheepishly. 

            “Sophia.  My name is Sophia,” she said.  It sounded as if she were trying to remind herself of the fact as much as tell anyone else. 

            “Would you like to sit down?” he asked cautiously.  She looked to be easily startled, and he still wasn’t quite sure she was friendly. 

            “I would, thank you,” she answered, and sat primly on the edge of the chair he used for reading, hands folded perfectly in her lap.  “Do you think,” she asked after a moment, “you could tell me where I am?”

            “You don’t know?”  Captain Hook asked.  “You, my dear, are in Neverland.” 

            “Not London, then,” she murmured, and frowned. 

            “I’m afraid not.”  Reaching for a crystal goblet from the cabinet, he poured her a glass of the wine he had been planning on having with lunch.  She watched his every move, took the wine from him, and sipped it.  A seemingly disturbing thought occurred to her as she drank, and she lowered the glass slowly.  “Would you mind telling me what year it is, Captain?”

            “I don’t know.”  He laughed.  “There are no years here in Neverland.” 

            This seemed to disconcert her even more.  “Oh dear.  Well, that’s a bother.  I was thinking that perhaps I had traveled to a different time, but since there is no time here, I don’t see how I could find out if that was indeed the case.”  She sighed, then smiled at him, her eyes unconcerned behind her spectacles.  “I appear to be lost.”

            “We all are, here, so you needn’t be concerned,” the Captain said. 

            “So… everyone in this Neverland place is lost?  Imagine that… entire cities full of lost people.  How very confusing that must be…” she murmured to herself. 

            “There are no cities, either,” he said.  The startled look on her face amused him, and he found himself taking great pleasure in slowly revealing the truth of her surroundings to her. 

            “No cities?” 

            “None,” he assured her. 

            “Are there towns?”

            “None of those, either.  There simply aren’t enough grown-ups to build them, you see.” 

            Her eyebrows drew together in thought again.  “May I take it,” she said, “that there are quite a few children, then?”  She caught him smiling at her confusion and pursed her lips. “And my I ask why you’re staring at me like that?” 

            “I’m staring at you precisely because Neverland is mostly populated by children.  You, my dear, are the first grown woman I’ve seen in…” he tried to remember, and couldn’t.  “In a very long time,” he finished.   

            “Oh…” Sophia said, and blushed at the unwanted attention.  She took another sip of wine.  “This is all very odd and confusing.”

            Captain Hook considered the woman sitting in his chair for a moment before coming to a decision.  As harmless as she may have seemed, she was still an unknown element, and he wanted to have her where he could keep an eye on her. 

            “It’s obviously been a trying day for you,” he said.  “I hope you won’t find me too bold if I offer you a room on this ship.  You’re welcome to stay on the Jolly Roger while you try to figure out how you got here.  I don’t suppose you’d make a very good pirate, but as a gentleman, I don’t see how I could fail to help a lady in need.” 

            “Me?  Stay here?  On the pirate ship?” Sophia asked. 

            “There aren’t very many other places for you to go, Miss.  I doubt you’d find the children very amiable.  Though, there are some Indians.  You can see the smoke there, coming up from their village.  You could ask them to take you in, if you’d like,” he said. 

            “Oh, no!  This ship is more than satisfactory!  I would be happy to accept your offer,” she said.   

            Hook ran his hands along the wall until he found the correct spots, and pushed.  The wall slid apart, revealing a narrow hidden passageway.  If Sophia found that the ship’s guest rooms were reached by a hidden corridor connected to the Captain’s cabin, she didn’t let it show. 

           “Our best passenger quarters are through here,” he said, gesturing at the hallway and allowing her to walk before him.  Up until now, he had always wondered why on earth he’d bothered keeping passenger quarters at all.  Of course, it was now perfectly obvious.  He’d done it because one always needed to be prepared for the unexpected, in Neverland more than anywhere else. 

 

Chapter 2 – An Alliance, of Sorts

 

            Sophia’s quarters were very fine.  Not so fine as the Captain’s, of course, but the blankets on her bed were soft and warm, and the sheets were smooth, pale linen.  There was also a small dresser, a closet, and a desk, but Sophia noticed none of those things.  Instead, she sunk gratefully into the goose down pillows that had been provided and promptly fell asleep.  Finding oneself in on a magical island and meeting surprisingly genteel pirates was certainly tiring enough work. 

            She woke several hours later.  She was a bit startled at first, as she didn’t remember where she was, but after groping for her glasses on the nightstand next to her bed, her eyes adjusted to the dim afternoon light, and she remembered.  She found that the door into the corridor that led to the Captain’s room was not the only exit from her chamber.  Another door led directly to the deck of the ship.  After straightening her sweater and pushing a few loose strands of hair into place, she cautiously turned the gilt handle of the door.  She poked her head out first, just to make sure that things looked safe.  She received some astonished glances from the crew, but all of them had heard about the Jolly Roger’s new guest by now, and so all of them made due with staring and whispering to one another. 

            As none of them had ever learned how to whisper quietly, the commotion drew the attention of the Captain.  He had been searching the sky with a spyglass for any sign of his child nemesis, Peter Pan.  He folded the glass and put it into one of his ample pockets.  The small crowd of pirates that Sophia had attracted parted before him as he walked toward her.

            “I take it that you are rested, my dear?” he asked.   Sophia stared at him for a moment before remembering who he was.  He cut a rather dashing figure, with the gold braid on his jacket flashing in the setting sun.  His voice and eyes were kind, and she found herself suddenly more at ease. 

            “Yes, I… I feel much better, thank you,” Sophia said.  She looked to her right, where Neverland’s single mountain thrust out of the sea.  Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and she shook her head.  She had not just seen a human shape flying about the tree tops.  She took a few steps toward the railing to get a closer look.  Not knowing quite how to deal with Sophia’s apparent lack of interest in their conversation, Captain Hook cleared his throat. 

            “If there’s, ah… anything you need,” he began. 

            Sophia squinted into the growing darkness, but whatever she had seen was gone.  However, something in the water had caught her attention.  Still leaning far over the railing, she said, “I’m a little hungry, now that you mention it.”

            She’s as flighty as a little child… and as curious, he thought.  A little worried that she was about to fall right over the side in her curiosity, he hurried to her side and gently pulled her back. 

            “That isn’t surprising.  You haven’t eaten since you came here this morning,” he said.  “You will dine with me, of course.  I wouldn’t subject a lady to the crew’s mess.”  A pair of pirates close enough to hear the Captain’s comments gave Sophia sorrowful looks, as if to try and show her that they weren’t so frightening after all. 

            “Your crew doesn’t seem all that bad, but I would be happy to accept your invitation,” she said. 

            Captain Hook’s table was set with fine china and good silver, and Sophia didn’t seem daunted by the elaborate table setting.  Though Hook knew she was hungry, she ate neatly, precisely.

“This is excellent, Captain,” Sophia said in between mouthfuls. 

“The fish is from the sea that surrounds Neverland, and the candied fruits are from the jungle,” he told her. 

“Neverland seems to be quite a rich place,” she observed.  Again, he had the feeling that her sharp, inquisitive mind was noticing everything, gathering information with every word she spoke to be filed away for later.  What, he wondered, did that mind of hers think about him?  He wasn’t quite sure what to make of her yet. 

“It is unusually fertile,” he agreed. 

“Mhmm..” Sophia murmured and served herself some more candied fruit.  Sweets were a rarity for her, and she was very fond of them. 

“You’re eating like one starved,” Hook said. “May I ask how long you’ve been wandering around Neverland alone?”

“Oh, just since this morning,” she told him.  “I just… haven’t had anything this good in quite some time.” 

“Please, have all you like,” he said, and waved for her to continue eating.  “And, where were you before this morning, Miss Sophia?  Where did you come from?”

“You don’t have to bother with the ‘Miss,’” she told him.  “You can just call me Sophia.”

“And you may call me James,” he told her.  She smiled brightly at him.

“Thank you… James.  As for where I came from, I guess you could say I’m from London. That’s where I’ve been living these past few years.” 

Hook leaned forward.  The comings and goings of people between Neverland and the other world had always interested him to the point of obsession.  Peter Pan could travel back and forth, and he couldn’t.  The fact irritated him greatly. 

“And what do you remember happening before you came here?” he asked.

“Well, I was doing some reading at the library, and I lost track of the time.  It was terribly late, and I was very tired.  I was walking home through the park, and I thought to myself that it was awfully silly of me to be walking all the way back to my flat when there was no one there waiting for me.  No one would miss me if I decided to lie down and sleep right where I was, and so I did… and when I woke up, I was here.”  She frowned, still confused by the alarmingly random chain of events that had brought her to the island. 

“You are a scholar, than?” he prompted her.  “Or maybe a librarian?”

“The second one,” she said.  “But I’m not really in charge of anything.  I just keep things in order.  And I’m also…” she hesitated, and for the first time her eyes looked guarded and secretive.

“Yes, what is it?” Hook asked.  He was rather curious to find out what kind of secrets this odd woman he had taken in was harboring. 

“It’s silly,” she warned him.  She folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them.

“Please, tell me,” he said.  Hook reached across the table and tilted her chin up.  She didn’t flinch at his touch.  He smiled, and his clear blue eyes met hers, open, encouraging.   

“Well, fine then,” she said.  “I’m also… a sorceress, I guess you could call it.”

He had not been expecting that.

 “You’re a what?” he asked.  Sophia mistook the surprise in his voice for sharpness or disbelief, and she looked down at her hands. 

“A sorceress.  You know, a user of magic, a student of the mystical arts… some people might call me a witch.  Oh, I’m not very good.  I’m actually quite second rate.  Failed, even you might say,” she quickly amended herself.  Her eyes flickered up to his face as she tried to ascertain whether or not he believed her.  Hook, being no stranger to magical, supernatural happenings, had never had any doubts. 

“I’m sure you do yourself a disservice.  Let’s see you do something with your magic,” he suggested.  Ideas were already forming in his head.  Such things he could do in his battles against the Lost Boys if he had a witch at his side!  And he did think of her as a witch. 

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you if this doesn’t go exactly as I planned,” Sophia said.  She chose an orange from a bowl of fruit sitting in the middle of the table.  She balanced it carefully on her palm and stared at it intently.  She whispered words James could not hear under her breath.  Slowly, the orange began to rise off of her palm and float above the table.  Sophia whispered more words, and it began to slowly circle overhead.  Keeping the look of concentration on her face, she reached into the bowl again.  Soon, and apple had joined the other piece of fruit in dancing through the air.  With a flick of her fingers, the floating objects changed their pattern of movement. 

Hook watched all of this with one eyebrow raised, but finally had to chuckle.  Dancing fruit seemed to be yet another oddity of dinner in Neverland.  At this sign of approval and amusement, Sophia’s face broke into a bright smile, and she lost her concentration.  The orange missed James’ head by only a few inches, but his reflexes were quick enough that he caught the apple in his good left hand.

“I’m sorry,” Sophia said.  “I told you I wasn’t very good.” 

James took a bite of the apple.  “No harm done.  Perhaps you simply lack practice, and an encouraging environment.  Stay here, with me.  You’ll be free to practice, and to try to learn new things.  And, I promise you that you won’t find more congenial company anywhere in Neverland.” 

“That sounds marvelous.  Thank you, Cap… I mean James,” Sophia said, and blushed a little at her near-mistake.  The sound of something hard hitting the window and the creaking of the ship’s timbers cut off James’ reply. 

“What is that?” Sophia asked, running to the window to see for herself.

“Hail or rain, most likely,” Hook said.  Sophia stared out the window and pointed in disbelief.

“That’s impossible!” she said.  “The water around the ship is completely frozen!  And it’s hailing!  But… when I was outside not an hour ago, it was as warm as a summer night.  How…” She looked at James, head tilted to one side in confusion, and waited for an explanation.

“The weather here is… extreme.  It doesn’t stay one season for very long.  It will only be winter for a few hours, and by tomorrow morning, it should be spring again.” 

“How very interesting,” Sophia said, still staring out the window.  It was a phrase James would hear her say many times over the course of their acquaintance.

*****

            True to the Captain’s word, spring had returned by morning.  Sophia was awakened by bright sunlight streaming in through the slight openings in her curtains.  She dressed quickly in the clothing she had worn the day before and went to find the Captain.  Try as she might, she couldn’t find the place in her bedroom wall that led to the secret passageway, and so she had to make do with the more obvious door instead.  The crew, those that were awake, were mostly engaged in lazing about and doing nothing, and they paid her no mind as she stepped over several of them to make her way to James’ door.  She rapped smartly on the window pane. 

            “Come in,” he said.  Sophia stepped inside and shut the door carefully behind her. 

            “You said that if I needed anything I should come and ask you,” she said.  Hook, who had been sitting at his desk, thinking about the various uses to which the Jolly Roger’s newest occupant might eventually be put, looked up at her.

            “And a good morning to you too, Sophia,” he said.  The woman seemed to have no concept of social grace or pleasantries, sometimes, but she was direct, and so open and childlike that he couldn’t fault her for it.  “What is it that you need?” 

            “Oh… how rude of me.  Good morning, James.  I was wondering if I could have a book.  A blank one.  A journal! That’s it.”  She nodded to herself in satisfaction after finding the right word.  “And pens and ink, too.”

            James opened one of his desk’s lower drawers and pulled out a leather-bound volume.  “I use these for keeping the ship’s log, but you’re welcome to one if you’d like,” he said and offered her the book. 

            “Yes.  This should do very nicely,” she said, nodding in approval. “There are so many odd, fascinating things about this place… I’d like to have a place to write down all of my observations.  Maybe I can make some sense out of what I’m seeing.” 

            “A noble goal,” the Captain agreed.  “May I?” He held out his hand for the journal.  Unsure of why he was asking her for the object she had just been given, Sophia gave it to him.  He pressed the sharp tip of his hook into the soft leather and made capital ‘S,’ complete with curls and flourishes. 

            “There, it’s marked as yours now,” he said.  “Is there another initial you’d like?”  Sophia shifted uncomfortably. 

            “No, just the ‘S’ for Sophia will be fine,” she said.

James searched his memory for the rest of her name.  “It occurs to me that I don’t even know what your family name is.”  Sophia looked even more uncomfortable then sighed with resignation. 

“I don’t know either,” she said. 

“What?  You don’t remember?” he asked.  This was very odd.  Sophia seemed very good at remembering many things.  Surely she hadn’t forgotten something so simple as her name in the short time she’d been in Neverland. 

“No, I don’t know,” she corrected him.  “I don’t know who my parents were, I don’t remember anything about my family at all, and so it stands to reason that I don’t know what my family name is.” 

“An orphan, then,” he said. 

“Raised by a succession of bumbling librarians and absent-minded sorcerers.  They found me on the steps of a library, you know.”  Somehow, that fact did not surprise him.  “None of them ever really wanted me.  I was just an extra bother, an awkward girl-child trying too hard to learn about books and sorcery.  They only taught me things so I’d leave them alone.”  The light, vivacious essence that had seemed to shine from her eyes and features since the moment she came on board the ship was suddenly dampened.  For the first time, James saw sadness hiding behind Sophia’s rampant curiosity. 

“Well, you are certainly very welcome here.  Not a bother at all,” he said.  I’d be a fool not to welcome a woman with such power as hers.  If I can help her to learn, and have her on my side… he thought.  Out loud, he said, “Perhaps everything that came before has led you here.  Perhaps this is your place.”

“Perhaps,” Sophia said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.  James put held the book out to her.

“You’ll find pens and ink in the top drawer of the desk in your room, I believe,” he said.  Their fingers brushed as she took her notebook from his hands, and Sophia’s cheeks colored slightly. 

“Thank you very much, James,” she said quickly as began to make a hasty retreat. 

“Oh, one more thing,” he said before she could escape.  Sophia stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.  She turned, and took a couple of steps back into the Captain’s room. Uncertain, like an animal not quite tamed.  “Would you, perhaps, like something clean to wear?”

Sophia looked down at her rumpled attire. “That would be nice.  I’d forgotten all about my clothes…”

James laughed.  “That’s quite obvious.  Come, I’ll take you down to the hold.  We’ll find something that suits you.”  Sophia wasn’t sure whether she wanted to laugh or be insulted at Hook’s gentle teasing, but in the end she convinced herself there was no malice in his words.

“It’s not as if I knew I was coming here and packed a trunk, you know!” she called after him as they descended into the hold.  James’ quiet laughter ghosted up the stairway to meet her. 

            The hold of the Jolly Roger was tightly packed with treasure, ammunition, and various odds and ends.  After a bit of searching, Hook was able to find some clothing suitable for Sophia.  That is, after she rejected the first several dresses he found.

            “Too good for me,” she said when he pulled a gown of green silk from its box.  “I’d dirty that finery within five minutes.  Put it back.”  James did so somewhat reluctantly, and found himself wondering what she would have looked like in something not so plain.

 

Chapter 3 – Curiosity Killed the Cat

 

            Sophia spent the next few days attempting to find out everything she could about the ship—its inhabitants, its workings, its secrets.  She carried the blank book James had given her everywhere and was constantly jotting things down in it.  Those pirates who befriended her found themselves telling her all sorts of things about themselves and their memories.  She explored the ship top to bottom, even climbing a little ways into the rigging, much to the amusement of the crew members on the ground. 

            “Looks like a big butterfly caught in a spider web, she does!” one of them exclaimed.

            “I’d like to see you try doing this in skirts!” Sophia shouted back. 

            When she wasn’t poking her nose into some new nook or cranny of the ship, she was holed up in her room, which had become a combination of bedroom, library, and laboratory.  The crew quickly learned to stay away from her door when strange flashes of light and odd smells began emanating from under her door.  On one occasion, the Captain, distressed at the loud noises he’d been hearing, opened her door without knocking at let out a swarm of dragonflies.  Their multicolored wings flashed metallically in the setting sun as they dispersed.  Some of them flew around the ship, chasing one another and generally disturbing the crew.  Hook simply brushed the single insect who had dared land on his person off and stepped inside.  He wasn’t the type of man to be disturbed by something so trivial as a cloud of insects that had appeared from nowhere.  Sophia stood in the middle of the room absolutely covered in the little creatures, looking rather exasperated. 

            “Would you… care to explain the dragonflies?” he asked, trying not to laugh.

            “Ooooh…. It’s a long story, and a rather embarrassing one, so if you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about it.”  She was thoroughly annoyed.  Both with him, for looking like he wanted to laugh at her, and with herself for allowing the whole mess to get out of hand in the first place.  Hook said nothing, but the next morning a large butterfly net appeared on Sophia’s desk with a note attached that said, “Use only in case of emergency.”  She had to smile.

            Sophia continued taking meals with the Captain, and the two of them fell into the practice of sitting together quietly after they had eaten, each of them recording the happenings of the day.  James sat at his desk, looking civilized and proper as any legitimate ship’s captain could have wished.  Sophia, on the other hand, quickly claimed the easy chair in the corner as her own, and took to kicking off her shoes and curling up her legs underneath her as she scribbled furiously.  Hook got to where he could gauge her moods by the swiftness with which her pen scratched across the paper.  Sometimes, he would detect a break in her writing, and look up from his own work to find her staring at him intently, her head cocked to one side.  Upon being discovered, she always smiled a bit shyly, adjusted her glasses, and went back to recording her observations. 

More than a few times, he wondered what she was observing about him.  For some reason, being under Sophia’s close scrutiny unsettled him.  True, Hook was a man used to being the center of attention.  His flamboyant dress and slightly eccentric manner, both carefully calculated to keep his crew in line and the Lost Boys off center, ensured that.  However, having her attention trained on him was something different.  She was a woman, for one thing, and the rarity of her gender alone might have been enough to set him off balance.  More disturbing, however, was the unshakable feeling that Sophia saw things others missed. Not wanting to frighten her, he tried his best to be a perfect gentleman while around her, but she saw through the veneer to the dark and angry parts of him.  He was sure of it.  

Still, within a few days time, she was fast turning into the closest thing James had had to a friend since before he could remember.  His trust in her was perhaps inevitable, for Sophia’s clear hazel eyes that missed nothing had not a shred of deceit or treachery in them.  And Hook had good reason to consider himself an authority on reading peoples’ eyes. 

One night after dinner, he found himself telling her about his ongoing feud with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.

“You hunt… little boys?” she said incredulously.  Her eyebrows were drawn up towards her hairline. 

“I hunt the one who did this to me,” James said.  He held up his silver hook and let it flash in the candlelight for dramatic effect for a few seconds.  He then proceeded to tell Sophia the story of Pan, the crocodile, and the reason for his lust for revenge. 

“They are no normal little boys, then,” Sophia said quietly. 

“No.  They’re not.  Nothing on this accursed island is normal, though… and I think I’ve even forgotten what ‘normal’ is,” James said. 

“Perhaps someday you’ll remember,” Sophia suggested.  There was something hidden just underneath her voice, and in her eyes that he couldn’t quite place. Determination coupled with concern.

*****

            One idle morning, Sophia entered Hook’s cabin without knocking.  It was a custom she sometimes forgot when her mind was preoccupied.  It had been summer since dawn, and the windows of the Captian’s cabin were thrown open to catch even the smallest hint of a breeze. 

“I’d like to go to shore,” Sophia said, before she was even halfway inside. “I’ve seen just about every inch of the ship, and it occurred to me I hadn’t been to the island since I…” The rest of her sentence evaporated when she saw the Captain.  In an effort to escape the heat of the day, he had removed his coat.  And his shirt.  And any other garment that might have covered his upper body.  He reclined on his bed wearing nothing but his trousers and the contraption that attached his hook to his arm.

“Is something wrong?” he asked when he saw her eyes go wide. Sophia’s cheeks turned bright red, and she endeavored to stare at the floor, out the window, anywhere but at him. 

“I… I’m sorry… I didn’t realize you weren’t dressed…” As embarrassed as she sounded, she couldn’t stop her eyes from darting over his upper body and taking in what she saw. 

Tattoos… very interesting.  Tan, but he’s a sailor, so that’s to be expected. Nicely formed shoulders and… No! Don’t think about that!  She blushed one shade deeper, but couldn’t keep the appreciative half-smile from her lips.

“This is an excellent demonstration of why civilized people came up with a practice called, ‘knocking,’” he teased.  Sophia, who was so direct and open in some areas, was almost prudish when it came to matters of decency.  Clothing didn’t have to be fine, but it had to be present.  Her flustered discomfort made him smile, and he didn’t miss the way she looked at him.  Still, it was difficult enough to hold a conversation with Sophia without her being distracted, so he reached for his shirt and pulled it over his head. 

“You were saying?” he prompted her once he was decently dressed. 

“I would like to go exploring on the island,” she said, pointedly not looking anywhere below his face. 

“Getting tired of the company on board?” he teased her once again. 

“Oh, not at all!” she said.  “It just seems silly to me to confine my observations to the ship.  I want to see what kind of place this Neverland actually is.” 

For a moment, he thought about going with her.  Personally, he thought her insane for wanting to go tramping around on shore in the beastly hot weather.  No, he decided, she could take care of herself. 

“I’ll have Smee row you over,” he said. 

Sophia smiled and clasped her hands in front of her, over her heart.  It was a gesture he’d come to understand signaled happiness on her part.

“Thank you, James.  It will… be nice to be alone for a while.  I’m used to having lots of time to myself, lots of quiet, you know.  It’s been a bit odd having so many people around at all hours.”

“Well, by all means, enjoy your trip to the island,” James said.  He went back to the book he had been reading, dexterously turning the page with the tip of his hook.  “Oh, one thing before you go, Sophia,” he said as she was about to leave, “stay away from the Lost Boys.  Don’t let that curiosity of yours make you go looking for them.” 

“I won’t,” she assured him. 

*****

            Sophia walked alone under the lush canopy of Neverland’s forest, savoring the solitude.  Though she had lived in London, a city teeming with people, the close confines of the Jolly Roger were a different story altogether.  In London, she had been isolated. The faces she had passed on the street had held no significance for her, and she had lived her life at a distance from those around her.  The ship was different.  She knew a good portion of the crew by name, and they knew her.  Mostly, they kept their distance, but some had begun to come to her as a teacher and a storyteller. Being in the middle of so many she knew, so many she was known by, was mentally exhausting at times.  And then there was James.  In him, she had found something she had never experienced before—friendship.  It was very possible, she had calculated, that she had spent more time in serious conversation with him in the time since she had come to Neverland than she had with any other person she had ever met.  It was odd to her, feeling so close to another. 

            She smiled to herself as she walked.  Yes, she was definitely happy that she had found such a one as her handsome friend James.

            Now wait just a minute, an inner practical voice said.  What was that all about?

            He is handsome, she thought.  She had never really thought much about men except as ways to get to new books, or possible teachers of magic.  However, she was not so unworldly that she didn’t recognize the direction in which her feelings were headed.

            Oh no you don’t! The practical voice said.  You have a good thing going here.  Don’t ruin it by turning into a dewy-eyed school girl.  

            I am NOT dewy-eyed! Sophia thought. 

            Besides, pirates always end up with kidnapped ladies, princesses escaping from loveless marriages, or fellow pirate-women.  I’ve never heard of a story where the bookish ship witch nabs the captain. In fact, I’ve never heard a pirate story with a sorceress mixed up in it at all…

            “I suppose you have a point,” Sophia said aloud. She could be content with friendship.  In truth, she was happier on the Jolly Roger than she ever had been, and if things would only continue as they were, she would have no reason to complain. 

            She brushed her fingers over the broad leaves of tropical plants, feeling their texture, noting their location and arrangement.  She wrote down the things she noticed, and was glad for the chance to allow her mind to rest from thoughts the ship in the harbor and its captain. 

            The low hanging branches of a tree by the side of the path rustled and creaked as a small dirty boy alighted in them.

            “Who are you?” he asked, his tone impertinent.  He was confident, demanding, even, but Sophia had to smile at his bright eyes and direct curiosity.  She remembered, briefly, the Lost Boys that James had warned her about.  However, she reasoned to herself, she had not gone looking for the child sitting in front of her, and he seemed harmless enough.  Besides, she had a feeling that it would be impossible for her to form a complete picture of the island without studying all of its various groups of people.  

            She smiled at the boy and took a step toward him, doing her best to convey a friendly, non-hostile demeanor.  The child looked as wild as a fox, and she didn’t want to startle him. Her glasses had fallen down to the tip of her nose, and she looked for all the world like a patient schoolmistress.  Her appearance must have triggered some long-buried memory in the boy.  He suddenly gripped the branch he was on, his knuckles turning white, and snarled at her.

            “You’re not one of us!” he cried.

            Sophia stopped moving.  She did her best to make even her breathing calm, steady.  “No, I’m not,” she said. 

            “You’re not an Indian, either,” he observed.  He was less agitated now and beginning to look curious again. 

            “You’re right again.”  Sophia’s smile encouraged him to keep guessing. 

            “You look… like a teacher.  I think I remember teachers…” he said.

            “I… I suppose you could call me that,” Sophia admitted. “I do like to help people learn things.” 

            The boy suddenly sprung up to the next branch.

            “We don’t need any teachers here!  No schools!  They’re grownup places!  What would we need to learn for?  We’re always going to be boys, and have fun!”

            His outburst had caught the attention of three more boys, two of whom looked exactly alike. 

            “What’s wrong, Nibs?” one of them asked.

            “Is it pirates?”

“Is it Hook?” the twins spoke almost in unison.

“It’s her,” Nibs pointed at Sophia.  “She’s… a teacher.”  The other Lost Boys’ eyes narrowed at that word. 

“I remember those!” one of them said.

“Me too, Tootles.  Dusty school rooms. Tight neckties,” the first twin whispered.

“Shoes…” the second twin spat out the word like a curse then shrieked and pointed at Sophia. “I know her!  She’s the one I saw on the pirate ship!”

Nibs jumped quickly to a conclusion.  “Hook must be planning to catch us all and make us go to school!”

“Now, that’s not true at all!” Sophia said huffily.  Even the thought of trying to make these little urchins behave was gave her a headache. 

The boys moved in the trees, fanning out until they had her surrounded.  All of a sudden, they looked less innocent and playful, and more savage.

“We can’t let that happen,” Tootles whispered. 

“Now boys, listen to me,” Sophia began, even as she realized the futility of reasoning with them.  “I mean you no harm…”

“Get her!” Nibs yelled, and with a wild yell, flew at her.  Only a conveniently placed root that caught Sophia’s foot and tripped her as she stepped backwards saved her from being hit by the small flying child.  With the Lost Boys momentarily confused by her crafty strategy of falling, Sophia picked herself up off the ground and glared at them. 

“That was very rude!” she shouted.  Where she came from, people didn’t go about trying to tackle one another.  It just wasn’t done. 

“We don’t have to mind our manners, Teacher-Lady!” Tootles shouted. Sophia was on the verge of losing her temper when she felt herself being pulled nearly off her feet and dragged back down the path in the direction she had come.  When her feet finally found the ground again, she glanced up at the man who was holding on to her arm. He was one of the Jolly Roger’s crew.

“I knew it!” she heard a boy shout behind her.  “Did you see that?  That was a pirate just saved her!”

“She’s one of them!”

“After them!”

Sophia hiked up her skirt with her free hand and ran faster, matching the pirate’s pace. The boys were making a lot of noise, and she could hear them getting closer.  Without warning, the pirate holding her arm came to a dead stop, threw and arm around her waist, and pulled her down to the ground and into the protective cover of some tall grass.  She didn’t even breathe as she heard the Lost Boys fly over. 

“Where’d they go?”

“We’d better go tell Peter!”

The pirate raised a hand to his lips when she opened her mouth to speak, and it was some time before he lowered it. 

“They’re gone now, Lady,” he said.  He stood and offered her his hand.  His arms, left bare by the rough smock he wore, were tattooed with all manner of fantastical creatures. 

“You’re… Bill Jukes, aren’t you?” Sophia asked.  He grinned, and she saw that several of his teeth were plated with silver.

“You remembered my name,” he said.  He pulled her to her feet, and she brushed the grass and leaves from her skirt.  “We’d best get going before they come back with more of their friends.”  He started back down the path at a brisk trot, leaving Sophia scurrying to catch up.

“I’d like to thank you for helping me back there.  Were you following me the whole time?” she asked. 

Jukes looked abashed.  “The Captain told me to watch over you.” 

“Well, I’m certainly glad you were here,” Sophia said.  They reached the beach where the rowboat had been run ashore without any incident.  After helping her into the boat, Bill Jukes grabbed the oars and pushed them away from the land and began to row back to the ship with long, sure strokes.  Sophia relaxed as the Jolly Roger grew larger and larger in her field of vision.  She had never been so relieved as the moment when the ropes were tossed down, and the boat hauled up onto the ship. 

A few pirates stared at her as Bill helped her from the boat.  Looking down at herself, she could understand why.  Her dress was dirty and now needed mending, and she could feel that her hair had come loose from the pins keeping it in place.  Sophia had meant to go to her room and clean herself up, but her plans were interrupted by James’ arrival. 

“What is this?  What happened?” he demanded.  The pirates who had come to gawk at the returning lady suddenly found other things to do.  Hook strode over from his place at the helm and settled his gaze on Bill. “Well?”

Jukes scurried over to the Captain and talked to him in hushed tones.  As the two men spoke together, Sophia sighed and began to walk towards her cabin.

“Sophia!” The sharp sound of her name coming from James stopped her. Slowly, she turned to face him.  From the looks of him, he was angry. 

“Oh, bother,” Sophia muttered.  This was simply not one of her better days.

 

Chapter 4 – Eyes Red as Blood

 

            “I thought I told you to stay away from the Lost Boys,” James said.  His voice was low and soft, but Sophia would have had to be a fool to miss the dangerous undertones of the Captain’s silky speech.

            “I didn’t seek them out, they found me,” she said.  Quiet. Reasonable.  This, she guessed, was probably the best way to deal with Hook when he was angry. 

            “Then you should have run.  You should have returned to the ship the minute they saw you,” Hook said.  Sophia had seen James command his crew, giving them orders that he expected would be obeyed instantly.  However, having him expect her to act in the same manner… rankled.  Her eyes narrowed. 

            “I wasn’t about to run away from one little boy.  That would have been silly.”  She put her hands on her hips and faced him square on.  Any of his crew would have been either dead or groveling for forgiveness by now, that she knew.  Well, she was not one of his crew.

            “And I’m sure you didn’t look silly at all, running through the woods with all of them chasing you.”  The corner of his mouth held the beginnings of a sneer.  “You’re lucky Jukes was there to save you.” 

            While Sophia was, in actuality, quite thankful that the pirate had been there to help her out, she wasn’t about to tell James that. Instead, she said, “And that’s another thing!  You could have told me you were sending someone to look after me.  I wouldn’t have minded.  I don’t take kindly to being spied on.” 

            “And I ‘don’t take kindly’ to insolence,” Hook said, more loudly than he intended.

            Something hard and angry appeared in Sophia’s eyes.  The kind, bookish little woman was beginning to wear away, exposing something else completely.  “Insolence,” she said, “is defined as the disrespect of an inferior towards a superior.  I wasn’t aware that it could come into play when two friends were having a discussion.”

            “I am the captain of this ship,” Hook reminded her.  “I know the dangers of this island better than you do, and when I tell you to do something, I expect…”

            “Perhaps we should continue this conversation somewhere more private,” Sophia interrupted him, gesturing at the deck of the ship.  Every single pirate was standing still as stone, straining to hear what was being said.  They had all obviously stopped in the middle of what they were doing.  One had the rope he’d been tying still hanging limply in his hands.  Hook stared at Sophia in astonishment.  No one ever interrupted the Captain.  

            He grabbed her arm and began to pull her in the direction of her cabin.  Sophia, who had had quite enough of being pulled around for one day, tried to free herself.  At the exact same moment, James let her go and gave her a push through the door. She half stumbled, half fell into her room. 

            “This discussion is over,” he said.  “And you may stay in there until you’re ready to come out and apologize.”  His long red coat swirled around him as he slammed the door, turned the key in the lock, and stalked away.

            It took Sophia a moment to regain her balance.  She heard the click of the lock being secured, and stared at the door in disbelief.

            What am I doing? she wondered.  Sophia had learned early that being obedient, quiet, and good was the best way to avoid the displeasure of her guardians and get the teaching she so craved.  She never would have dreamed of raising her voice, or being biting and sarcastic to one of them, no matter how much she would have liked to do so.  In fact, now that she thought of it, she had spent her whole life being yelled at and ordered around.  She had lived in a perpetual state of timid fear and loneliness.  Somehow, Neverland had caused all that to fall away, freeing her to be strong for the first time in her life.  She was not a little girl any more, and James was not one of her masters.  He was her friend.  Friends do not order one another around.  Someone had obviously neglected that area of the Captain’s education, an oversight which Sophia intended to remedy.  And suddenly, she knew how she was going to do it.

            “There’s nothing keeping me here,” she said aloud, and laughed quietly.  Then, she began to chant. 

            James had only taken a few steps when Smee cried out and pointed to Sophia’s door.

            “Captain… it’s… growing!” 

            He turned to see what had so disturbed his first mate, and realized that Smee’s description wasn’t very far off.  Leafy tendrils had begun to creep under the door, all of them sprouting delicate green leaves as they climbed up the wood.  Vines sprouted through the normally airtight crack between the door and the wall, under the lintel, and through the keyhole.  The key, being displaced by the rapid growth of the vines, fell to the deck with a metallic clatter.  As the pirates’ attention was drawn by the strange happenings, James found himself surrounded by his crew. 

            “What’s she doin’ in there?” someone asked.  Several people shouted out answers, but before they could come to a consensus, Hook hushed them.

            “Quiet!” he yelled.  “I want to listen.  And I can’t do that with all of you idiots making a racket.”

            The crew fell silent instantly.  Taking a step towards the vine-covered door, James listened intently.  He could just hear the sound of Sophia’s voice, speaking in quick rhythmic patterns. 

            “She’s chanting something,” he said.  Then, more loudly, “Sophia?  What are you doing?” He tried to knock, but leaves had grown so thickly between the planks that made up the door that there was no hard wood left.  And, when he put his hand close to the new foliage, it reached out and began to grow around his fingers.  He pulled back quickly.  The door began to creak, not being used to supporting such a weight of greenery, and the metal lock squealed as the vines twined their way around its inner workings.  Finally, the lock gave in and sprang open, and the door flew outwards and banged against the wall.  Leaves flew everywhere. 

            Sophia was standing four feet inside the room.  Hook’s breath hissed between his teeth when he saw her.  Her gaze was concentrated on the place where the lock had been only a few seconds ago, and the residue of the spell she had cast still danced in the air around her, making her seem to shine with thousands of different greens and golds.  She took a few steps, and carefully stepped over the threshold and onto the deck.  All of the men except James backed away.

            “Listen to me, James Hook,” Sophia said.  “I am not one of your crew.  I stay here because you invited me.  I am not another person for you to order around, is that clear?”

            “It’s becoming more so,” he answered.  Another thing that was becoming clear to Hook was that he had underestimated his guest.  While he had never though her simple, the display of power he had just seen her perform went far beyond what he had thought her capable of.  He needed to tread carefully here, very carefully. 

            “If that upsets you, perhaps I should find other accommodations,” Sophia suggested.  James blinked for a moment, then shook his head.  Despite the embarrassment she had just caused him, he still wanted her where he could keep an eye on her. 

            “No, no, that won’t be necessary.  Unless you want to leave.” 

            Sophia smiled, relieved.  The light around her had faded almost completely.  She would have left the ship if James had asked her to.  Perhaps she might have commandeered some of his crew to help her build a little hut hear the beach, just inside the forest. But, that would have made things more difficult.  She would have been alone again. 

            “I’d like to stay, if that’s all right,” she said.  James took a step toward her.  “And I’d like to be alone for a while.” And with that, she touched the bushy piece of wood that had lately been her door, and whispered, “Wither.”  The leaves shriveled and fell away, leaving the door looking exactly as it had.  As she went inside, James heard her murmur, “It worked… how very interesting.”   

*****

            Sophia sank carefully into a sitting position on her bed and folded her hands in her lap.  Now that the excitement was over, and the power and life of the magic burning in her veins had dissipated, she was exhausted.  Her hands shook slightly, and her breath came in quick, uneven fits and starts.  She closed her eyes and tried to perform a centering ritual to calm herself.  It worked, somewhat. 

            Outside, Hook glared at the few crew members who were still staring at him now that the show was over.

            “Get back to work, you mangy excuses for sailors!” he yelled.  There was a sudden flurry of activity as the crew scrambled to look busy at their tasks.  From the crow’s nest, there came an excited shout. 

            “Lost Boys spotted of the starboard bow!” the man on watch called. 

            Hearing the shouting, Sophia cracked her door open and peeked out, and saw Hook transform into a different man completely.  He drew his sword and ran to the starboard side of the ship.  Taking his spyglass from his pocket, he scanned the clouds.  Sure enough, he saw dark shapes, too large to be birds, flying towards the ship. 

            “One, two… three…” he counted as they flew past his line of vision. “Four, five, six, seven…  That’s as many as I’ve ever seen together,” he said to Smee, who had appeared at his elbow. 

            “You mean all of ‘em are here, Captain?” his first mate asked.  “They’ve been so quiet lately.  Seems strange they’d attack all sudden-like, doesn’t it?”

            Hook trained his spyglass on the leader, a boy who was slightly taller than the others, clothed in leaves.  “I would imagine that meeting Sophia agitated them.  And yes, I believe that is all of them,” James said.  That boy, without a doubt, was Peter Pan.  “What are you fools waiting for?  Prepare the guns!  Shoot them down!” 

            With surprising efficiency, the Jolly Roger’s cannons were loaded and aimed at the fast-approaching boys.  Matches were struck against the deck, and fuses lit.  The boom of the guns was deafening, and birds took flight from the trees on the mainland when the first round of cannon-fire sounded. 

            The boys drew nearer.  There were still seven. 

            “They close in quickly!  Draw your weapons!” Hook shouted.

            Knives and swords slid from their sheaths, and pistols were cocked and loaded.  Several of the pirates fired at the boys as they came nearer, but the Lost Boys dodged the bullets as easily as they had the cannons.  Hook ran to the front of the ship, brandishing his sword, and put himself into a position where he would be one of the first to meet the enemy.  He looked wild and fierce standing there, with his fine coat billowing behind him and his face turned into the wind.  Sophia opened the door a little more so she could see, and couldn’t believe her eyes.  James was grinning.     

            The boys came within range for close combat, and the battle commenced.  Sophia had never heard nor read of a stranger conflict.  She could see that some of the boys were armed with knives because the sun glinted off of the metal, but they also hand slings and hatchets, and one of them carried a stout wooden club.  The boys had the advantage of being able to fly, and it was obvious that they were the better fighters.  They were smaller, quicker, and more nimble than most of the crew, except one.  While the Lost Boys might have darted in and out, teasing and harassing the other pirates, all of them gave Hook, his sword, and his steel hook a wide berth.  The only one who dared come within Hook’s range was Peter Pan. 

            The boy almost seemed more than human as he darted out of the way of James’ slashing hook and quick sword.  James was no mean swordsman.  Peter’s knife met the Captain’s sword, and the boy laughed. 

            “That was a stupid plan, Old Man,” he said. 

            “What are you talking about, Boy?” Hook demanded.  He lunged at Peter, but the boy flew up into the rigging and out of reach. 

            “Trying to catch us and turn us into grownups.  Sending us to school,” Peter said, and grinned.  “My Lost Boys told me all about it.”

            Hook leaped into the rigging and began to climb, crossing blades with Peter as soon as he reached the boy’s height.   

            “And why would I want to waste my time doing that?” James asked. He swung his sword at Peter’s throat, but Pan’s knife blocked it.  “Why wouldn’t I just want to kill you?”

            Peter retreated a little, confused.  “But my Lost Boys said…”

            “You, and your Lost Boys, are fools, as always,” James said. He leapt from the rigging, and would have run Peter through if the boy hadn’t come out of his bewilderment and dodged.  James, finding himself overbalanced, fell to the deck, but managed to right himself and land in a crouch. 

            “And you’re an old popinjay, as always!”  Peter crowed, and flew circles around Hook’s head, just out of reach.  As James shouted for Peter to come down and face him like a man, the fight between Slightly and a pirate spilled over into the arena of the epic battle between pirate Captain and leader of boys.  Slightly, who had been knocked about rather soundly by the pirate, rolled to a stop at Hook’s feet.  He was much too dazed to fly away.  James grin widened into a snarl. 

            “If I can’t get Pan, I can at least rid this island of one of you!” he said, and raised his hook over his head.  It flashed for a moment in the afternoon light, then descended.  Before it reached Slightly, Peter Pan swept down and ran into Hook’s side, knocking his murderous weapon off target.  Instead of slitting the boy’s throat, he only made a shallow gash in Slightly’s arm.  The force of Peter running into him sent James tumbling to the ground.  Before he could regain his feet, Peter had picked up his fallen comrade, who was now whimpering pitifully. 

            “Lost Boys! Retreat for now!  We’ll come back for revenge another day!” Pan yelled.  The boys pulled back, but the twins each let loose with a departing rock shot from their slings. 

            The pirates jeered and shouted after them.  James, however, had noticed Sophia’s open door.  He walked purposefully toward it.  Sophia saw him approaching and closed it until the tiniest crack was left for her to see through. 

            “And that,” he said, gesturing at the departing Lost Boys with a hook still stained with blood, “is why I told you to stay away from them.” 

            Sophia didn’t move, didn’t breathe.  James could just make out two wide eyes staring at him from behind the door.  They seemed to be fixed on his hook.  He favored her with a sardonic smile.

            “Are you frightened?” he asked. 

            “Should I be?” Sophia’s eyes may have been wide, but her voice was steady. 

            James smile broadened and became more genuine.  “No.  You have nothing to fear from me, Sophia.  You know that.”  Though she believed him, she did not open the door any further.  

            “It’s getting late.  Would you like to join me for some wine before dinner?” he asked.  “I’ve worked up a powerful thirst.” 

            Sophia shook her head.  Though he seemed to have returned to normal, she could get the image of him standing over the Lost Boy, ready to kill, out of her mind. 

            “I don’t think so.  Actually, I don’t think I’m very hungry.”  She shut the door.  James rapped sharply on it with his fist. 

            “Sophia!  I wasn’t done speaking with you!”

            “Just leave me alone for a while, James,” the muffled reply came.

            James threw up his hands and stalked to his own cabin.  If she wanted to be difficult, he wasn’t going to try and stop her.  He, for one, was starving.  Battles with the Lost Boys never failed to work up his appetite. 

            Sophia laid on top of the covers of her bed, in the dark.  She had never answered James’ question as to whether he frightened her or not because she was not sure of the answer herself.  She took a deep breath.  Watching him fight Pan had been… exhilarating.  She had enjoyed it much more than she liked to admit.  He was good.  Very good.  And graceful, too, and… And ready to kill as easily as you blink, she thought. 

            Well, of course he is, he’s a pirate, that annoying inner voice of hers said.  That was not what worried her.  When he had been about to kill the boy, he had been like one possessed by some strange madness.  It was as if he had lost himself for a brief while.  While she was not afraid of James, that man made her very anxious. 

            Quite some time later, her stomach rumbled.  She hadn’t eaten anything since that morning, and she was hungry now.  Not wanting to venture outside, she ignored her hunger, changed into her nightdress, and crawled into bed.  She closed her eyes, but sleep would not come. 

            Sophia sighed and lit a candle on the nightstand.  She retrieved her journal from the desk and propped herself up with pillows.  After attempting to write a few lines about the events of the day, she set her pen down and closed the book. 

            “I miss James,” she said aloud.  Usually, at this time, they had just finished dinner and were settling into their respective seats to talk, and write, and read. 

            “Well, I’ll just have to get used to it,” Sophia said.  She had the feeling that even if their argument today hadn’t damaged their friendship irreparably, she would not be able to hold on to him forever.  With that pessimistic thought, she blew out the candle and pulled the covers over her head in an attempt to sleep.

 

Chapter 5 – The Fairy Dance

 

            It was late morning when three sharp raps on her door woke Sophia. She pulled on a dressing gown over her nightdress and opened the door a crack.  She peered out and saw James standing in front of it, an apple in his hand and a bunch of grapes hanging from his hook. 

            “Breakfast?” he asked, offering the food he carried.  Sophia quickly emptied both of his hands and began popping grapes into her mouth between bites of the apple.  The fruit was sweet and ripe and perfect, and tasted heavenly after a day without food.  She opened the door a little wider and gestured for him to come in.  Once the door was shut, she sat down at her desk chair and continued to eat. 

            “Thank you,” she said, taking advantage of one of the rare moments when her mouth wasn’t full. 

            “When I didn’t see you come out this morning, I began to wonder if you planned on hiding in here forever,” Hook said.  Sophia stopped, poised for another bite of the apple, and looked at him, surprised. 

            “I didn’t… I mean… I wasn’t hiding.”

            “I’m glad to hear it,” James replied.  He took a couple of steps toward her, lazily running his fingers over the spines of the books lining the shelves.  “I was hoping you would accompany me today.”

            Sophia’s eyes narrowed.  “Where are you going?” she asked warily. 

            He caught the note of caution in her voice.  “Are you still angry with me?”

            “Should I be?” Sophia asked. 

            “I don’t think either of us should be angry with the other,” James said.  “We’ve both made our apologies for being out of sorts yesterday.” 

           She titled her head to the side for a moment while she considered his words.  “I suppose you’re right,” she said.  “So, where is it that we’re going?”

            James smiled at the small victory he had won in regaining her trust.  It had been a painless win, and easily accomplished. 

            “If you were still interested in seeing the island, I was going to offer to go with you as your guide,” he said. 

            “But, your duties…” Sophia protested.  “Aren’t you awfully busy?  Being Captain?”

            “Not so very busy,” James said.  “What do you say?”  

            “Well, it is a very kind offer… and I accept.” 

            The Captain gave her a genteel bow and turned to leave.  “Come to my cabin when you’re dressed and ready,” he instructed her.  Sophia nodded, and took another large bite out of the apple.

            She appeared in his cabin half an hour later, slipping in as silently as a ghost.  She was dressed sensibly in a high-collared white shirt with light, loose sleeves and a plain brown skirt.  James, as usual, was dressed more flamboyantly.  He rose from his desk to greet her, and walked with her to the boat that would take them to the island.  They paused for a moment in front of the gilt mirror hanging on the wall, and Sophia laughed when she saw their reflection. 

            “What a pair we make!” she said.  She leaned forward and tucked a few strands of hair that had come loose from her braid behind her ear.  “I look so plain standing next to you.”  She brushed tentative fingers against the fine burgundy velvet of his coat. 

            “You know I offered you all the finery we had on the ship.  You didn’t want it,” Hook reminded her. 

            “I only would have looked silly in it, anyway,” Sophia said, and took her hand from his arm.  The strange pensiveness that had briefly come over her was gone.  “Shall we go?” she asked. 

            They walked out onto the deck together and James led her towards one of the boats where two pirates were already waiting to row them ashore. 

 “I hope you don’t mind walking,” James said as he helped her step over the side of the boat and get seated.  “I would suggest we take my chair, but…” he gestured at his sedan chair, which was sitting a few feet away.  It was clearly built for one. 

“Nonsense!  We can walk.  Less bothersome that way.  Besides… I don’t think we’d fit very comfortably in there,” she said. 

Hook laughed at the mental image of the two of them trying to fit, and blinked it away when his mind started veering off into the realm of thinking how nice it would be to have Sophia on his lap, with his arms around her waist…

“You should smile more often,” she said. 

“And why is that?” he asked, hoping to steer her away from the question of what exactly he’d been smiling at. 

“It makes you look less worried,” she said.  “You always look… so concerned.”

The Captain was spared the trouble of asking her exactly what she meant by that, and Sophia the awkwardness of answering him, because at that moment, the boat swung erratically and began its descent toward the water.  Sophia grabbed hold of the wooden planking at her side with one hand, and to James’ arm with the other. 

“Careful, you fools!” James bellowed up to the pirates lowering the boat.  “Don’t be jarring the lady’s bones!”  The boat hit the water and Sophia relaxed somewhat. 

“I’m fine.  Really,” she assured him.  “I was out on the open water just yesterday and I managed very well.”  James nodded, a bit surprised.  Once again, Sophia was upsetting his pre-suppositions about women.  He had thought that the rocking of the boat and the rough benches would be a bit much for her, and had assumed that she’d want to get to shore as soon as possible. 

“If you don’t mind staying on the sea for a bit longer, there are some places I would like to show you that would be much easier to get to from the water than by land,” James suggested. 

“I don’t mind at all,” Sophia said. 

“Very well, then.  Rowers!  Make for the Black Castle!” he ordered.  The boat changed course, veering to the right and away from the shore.  As the boat cut through the water several hundred feet off the coastline, Sophia peered over the side.  The day was dazzlingly bright, and the water clear as crystal.  Schools of colorful fish darted beneath them, dancing between leaves of sea-plants growing on the bottom and hiding in colonies of coral.  Sophia trailed her fingers in the water, then leaned over the side of the boat to get a better look. 

“Don’t fall in,” James cautioned her, chuckling at the comical figure she made, her bespectacled face only inches away from the water. 

“Oh, don’t worry.  I think I remember how to swim…” She drew her eyebrows together, trying to remember the long-ago lessons from a sorcerer who had been particularly interested in water magics.  She was not able to recall much of it, so she sat up carefully.  “I feel as if I could reach out and touch the seabed!  I’ve never seen water so clear,” she said.  James looked over the side and saw that she was right.  He was not used to looking down at the water that buoyed his ship, for he usually spent his time looking to the sky for approaching Lost Boys, or to the shore for surprise Indian attacks.   

There must have been a time that I felt the way she does about Neverland’s beauty, he thought.  When I first sailed into the harbor, surely I noticed… of course, I don’t remember a thing about coming here… To Sophia, he simply said, “Yes, Neverland is a paradise of sorts, isn’t it?”

“It’s quite a change from dark, sooty London,” she said.

One of the rowers pointed to the shoreline and called out, “Black Castle’s up ahead, Captain!” 

Sophia lifted her head and saw the blackened, crumbling stonework of Neverland’s darkest place.  The castle had been gouged into the side of a cliff, and seemed to be part natural cave, and part man’s work.  She shivered as they passed beneath the gargoyle guarding the entrance and the rusty portcullis decked with seaweed that hung overhead.  Without realizing it, she moved a bit closer to James. 

“Did you build this place?” she asked in a small voice.  Her question echoed through the galleries and slick, wet stairways of the vast chamber. 

“Me?  No,” James said, completed unaffected by the oppressive mood of the cavern. “It’s been here… well, as long as I can remember.  I suppose it must have been built and abandoned long before I came to Neverland.” Sophia found herself suddenly very glad that those who had built such a dark, oppressive place were no longer in residence.  The gleam of something white floating near the middle of the chamber caught her eye, and she strained to get a better look.  James was caught a bit off-guard by the shriek that escaped her when she realized what it was. 

“There’s a skeleton in the water,” she whispered to him, her eyes wide.  She gasped again. “No, there are three of them…” She pointed to the rock where the decomposing bodies were chained. 

 “I’d forgotten about that,” he murmured. “Nothing to be afraid of, my dear.  Just what’s left of three mutineers.” 

“You put them there?” Sophia asked.  

James shrugged.  “It was that, or let the Jolly Roger be taken from me.  Captaining a pirate ship is not a subtle business, nor a kind one.” 

“I understand,” she said and looked back over her shoulder at the entrance.  “May we leave now?  I don’t like this place… It’s… angry.”  Not used to seeing Sophia so subdued, Hook glanced at her curiously. 

“Angry?  Do you sense magic here?”

“I… I’m not sure what it is.  But, I don’t like it.”

“All right, then.  We won’t stay.  There are many other things to see, and none so frightening as this.” He signaled the oarsmen, and they moved back out under the clear sky. 

“I wasn’t frightened, you know,” Sophia said once they were outside.  “It’s just that I felt like there was something old and cruel watching us while we were in there.  It made me uneasy, that’s all.” 

“Of course,” James agreed, and allowed Sophia her show of bravery. 

They sailed past a finger of the island that jutted out into the sea many feet above the water line, and James pointed to the smoke rising from over the top of the forest. 

“Those fires come from the Indian village,” he told her.  “If you look between the trees as we pass, you’ll be able to see their tents.”  Using James’ shoulder to steady herself, Sophia stood up and shaded her eyes from the sun. 

“I see them!” she exclaimed.  “But… not very well.  Indians… who would have thought… I wonder how they got here…  Can we get closer? Please?”

“I don’t think that would be very wise,” he said and directed her attention to a single figure crouching on the very end of the spit.  He was an Indian brave, and though he looked relaxed, he had an arrow nocked and at the ready.  “The Indians are no friends of mine, and as my friend, you are no friend of theirs,” he explained.  “We’ve left one another alone for a while now, but that doesn’t mean they’d welcome a pirate into their camp.”

Sophia, somewhat disappointed that she would not be allowed to meet any of the other residents of the island, watched the motionless brave on the cliff until he was out of sight.  At last, the Captain directed his rowers towards the shore, and they ran the boat aground in the white sand.  He helped her step onto the beach, and offered her his arm as they ventured into the forest. 

They walked down overgrown paths, and when it became necessary, Hook unsheathed his sword and hacked his way through the undergrowth to make a way for them to pass by.  He showed her streams and waterfalls that cascaded into deep pools of sweet water, meadows wild with flowers and trees split by lightning and covered with clinging vines.  Sophia drank the island in, and soon the fear that had come over her in the Black Castle was gone.  Sometimes, she ran ahead of him, laughing, only to return a few seconds later urging him to hurry. 

They stopped to rest by a stream bordered by a cool mossy bank. 

“Do you know where Peter Pan lives?” Sophia asked as she splashed water on her face and neck to cool herself off.  “I’d like to see that, even if it has to be from far away.”

“If I did, I would have killed him long ago,” Hook answered.  “I have searched for his hideout for years, and never found it.” 

“Oh,” she said, sorry that she had brought out the cold, grim side of him.  He had been smiling at her before she spoke. 

“We should return to the ship.  It’s getting dark,” he said. 

They walked back through the forest without saying much.  The lengthening shadows were soft and calming, and the gathering darkness brought with it the sounds of insects, birds, and night creatures waking up after the heat of the day. 

“What was that?” Sophia asked, pointing to a flickering light darting between the trees. 

“It’s a fairy,” he said.  Her eyes widened, and she stared after the light in amazement.

“There are fairies here?  You never told me that…”

“You never asked.” 

Two more pixies flew by, closer this time, heading in the same direction as the first.  Sophia was able to see their forms more clearly, and marveled at their tiny, perfectly formed bodies, golden-veined wings, and the trail of shining dust they left behind them.  Still more fairies appeared, coming from knotholes in trees and from under broad leaves.  While they gave Hook a wide berth, they seemed to have no fear of Sophia.  Some flew close enough to her for her to feel the wind of their wings on her face, and others twirled and danced around her body as she walked. 

“They’re all going somewhere,” she whispered to James.  “See? All of them are flying in the same direction.”  One of the pixies that flew by her stole the ribbon at the end of her braid, and her hair began to unwind.  Instead of being upset, she laughed.  “Let’s follow them.  I want to see where they’re going.”  Before James could respond, she had grabbed him by the hand and was pulling him along after her.  Their path was lit by hundreds of globes of light that dipped and hovered through the trees.  Sophia had gathered her skirts in one hand as not to trip over them, and James caught occasional flashes of her ankles and lower legs as she ran.  Her hair was completely free now, and flew behind her, long and wild.  He kept pace with her easily, and found a certain exhilaration in rushing headlong through the forest behind her, surrounded by living lights. 

A clearing opened before them, and Sophia stopped in mid-stride, nearly tripping over a tree root.  She put one hand on James’ shoulder to steady herself, and whispered, “Look.” 

A single tree stood in the center of the clearing.  It was bathed in golden light from the fairies that had congregated around and inside it.  More arrived every second and flew under roots and through knotholes to the hollowed out center.  There was a rhythm to their flight, and when Sophia closed her eyes, she could hear clear, joyous music. 

“I want to get closer,” she said, and let go of James’ arm.  Slowly, she stepped into the clearing.  The pixies swirled around her for a moment, and let her pass.  Several of them even pulled her forward.  James followed her, keeping a sharp eye on the fairies as they flocked around her.  He didn’t have Sophia’s trusting nature, and knew that the little creatures weren’t always benign.  She did not notice his caution, and awe colored her face as she dropped to her knees to look through a crack in the trunk.  James knelt beside her, and she moved to make room.  Their cheeks so close they were touching, they saw the dance of the fairy court for the first time. 

The inside of the hollow trunk had been garlanded with flowers, and fairies clothed in shimmering gossamer provided their own light.  They danced to music coming from tiny bone flutes and delicately strung harps played by musicians sitting in a circle of niches that had been carved into the sides of the hall.  Some danced slowly, in stately, timeless patterns.  Others whirled and cavorted the length and height of the fairy hall. In the center of it all, untouched by the crowd about them, the fairy king and queen hung in the air as if suspended by an invisible thread.  Each had eyes for nothing but the other, The queen’s hair hung in white-gold waves over the arms of her love that encircled her, and the king’s long, rich cloak moved in the wind and brushed against his queen’s legs. 

“It is… marvelous,” Sophia whispered.  She put an arm around James’ waist to steady herself and leaned toward the fairy revelers.  James said nothing, but found it marvelous as well.  He was not so hardened that he did not recognize beauty when he saw it, and the pure, unadulterated show of love that had so entranced Sophia had captured him too.  It was something he had never known, and the knowledge of that caused a single tear to form at the corner of his eye and fall down his face.  He hastily reached up to wipe it away. 

Sophia sensed his movement and turned to look at him.  Her eyes were bright and shining.  “I could stay here forever,” she said, “but we’d better get back.”

Hook was the first to take his eyes from the dance and stand.  He offered her his hand to help her up. Regretfully, she looked away and curled her fingers around his. 

“You seemed so childlike just then.  Perhaps,” he ventured, “that was why you were drawn to Neverland.” 

Sophia stood and brushed the dirt and leaves from the front of her skirt.

“I still have a sense of wonder, if that’s that you mean.  It’s a pity that adults feel they have to put theirs aside in order to be grown up.” 

“You are fortunate, then, to have kept yours so untarnished.” 

They walked back through the forest under the light of a full moon with a band of curious fairies trailing behind them and lighting the way when the path grew dark. 

*****

            Once the boat had been hoisted back onto the ship, James lifted her up and set her feet on the solid deck.  She was tired, and leaned on him heavily as he walked with her to her cabin.  He opened the door for her, and they stood in silence for a while, both of them too touched by what they had seen to say much.  One did not discuss something so special flippantly, or let words crowd in to explain and define what they had shared.  Finally, Sophia raised herself up onto her toes and put her palm against the left side of his face. 

            “Thank you.  I won’t forget,” she murmured, and softly kissed him on the cheek. She then disappeared into her room and shut the door gently.  James was still rooted to the spot where he had been standing. 

            “Neither will I,” he said. 

 

Chapter 6 - A New Friend and an Awkward Situation

 

            While in the act of spreading her blankets over her mattress the next morning, Sophia heard a disgruntled squawk coming from her bed and was rather disturbed to see a fist-sized lump on one of her pillows.  The… whatever it was made its way towards the head of the bed, and Sophia grabbed a slipper from the floor and prepared to throw it at the vermin that had been nesting in her blankets. 

            I don’t remember ever seeing rats on board, but that's about the right size and…she shuddered.  And it was in my bed!  How dreadful!  What finally emerged into the morning light, however, was not a rodent.  It was a pixie.  He chimed loudly at her, shaking his tiny fist in the air to show his displeasure at being awakened.  Sophia’s apprehension turned to delight as she tried to get a better look at him. 

            “I’m very sorry.”  She held her hand out, palm up.  “I didn’t know you were there.”  The fairy made several more circles around her cabin before landing on her hand.  “Good morning,” she said.  He gave her a mocking bow, and was grinning when he straightened.  His skin was pale, almost translucent, and had the muted shimmer common to all pixies.  His unruly greenish-brown hair was wreathed with leaves, and his clothes were of mottled forest colors.  “You’re a wild little thing, aren’t you?” she asked.  He nodded happily and produced a tiny knife, a bow, and a quiver full of arrows as if to prove his fierceness. 

            “Very fearsome,” Sophia agreed. 

            The fairy hopped from her hand to her shoulder, and they stared at one another eye to eye.  She held her breath as she felt the brush of his silver-grey wings against her face, not wanting to startle him.  Though she had seen many fairies the night before, none of them had ever been so close for so long, and she had certainly never held a conversation with any of them. 

            “You followed me home last night, didn’t you?” she asked.  He nodded, seemingly pleased at his new friend’s deductive powers.  “Would you like to stay with me for a while?”  He threw his arms around her neck, kissed her cheek, and sped around the room a couple of times in order to show her that he liked that idea very much. 

            Sophia laughed and rushed to the door, anxious to share her discovery with James.  The fairy chimed in her ear the whole time, and the more he spoke to her, the more she began to understand.  She found the Captain standing at the railing of the ship, scanning the sky for any sign of Peter Pan or his lost boys.  He did not hear her approach or see her standing next to him, and she had to tug on his coat to get his attention.

            “James, look what I found,” she said.  The fairy made an annoyed squawk.  “Or, what found me, I suppose I should say,” she quickly added.

            “A pixie?” he asked, peering curiously at the tiny creature standing on Sophia’s shoulder.

            “He followed me home last night.  He says his name is Hawk Dancer.” 

            The fairy favored James with an elaborate bow by way of introduction, and the Captain lifted his hat in return.  Hawk Dancer grinned at being recognized, launched himself into the air, and sped around James’ head at a dizzying pace.  The fairy seemed especially interested in the large feather sticking out of Hook’s hat, and after fluttering around it for a moment, he settled in the brim of the hat to get a closer look.  James carefully lifted it from his head and looked down at the fairy, who already looked quite comfortable on his new perch.

            “Cheeky little thing, isn’t he?” James asked.

            “Well… yes, but I like him,” Sophia said. 

            “As long as he doesn’t cause too much mischief, I suppose he’s welcome here.”  James wasn’t overly sure about the wisdom of allowing a pixie onto his ship, but Sophia’s little friend seemed to be rather attached to her already.  Keeping Hawk Dancer from her would be more trouble than it was worth. 

            “He’ll be no trouble at all,” Sophia assured him.  “Will you?” she asked and held her hand out for the fairy to climb into.  He nodded his head and saluted the Captain smartly. 

            “You see?” Sophia said.  “He wants you to like him.” 

            “We shall see,” James said.  Apparently, this was enough for the pixie, who leapt from Sophia’s hand and began to dart around the ship.  His pale golden light could be seen glimmering in corners and out of the way places, and several pirates were rather startled by his appearance before Hook called to them that all was well. 

            As Hawk Dancer sped out over the bay, only inches from the water, Sophia leaned on the railing and peered down to watch him.  A dark shape swam out from underneath the ship and began to follow the fairy’s path.  Sophia narrowed her eyes and bent closer for a better look.  It was far too large to be a normal fish, and it had flowing hair and human arms.

            “James!  What is that in the water?” she asked, pointing at the odd creature. For a moment, fear passed across Hook’s face.  He pulled her away from the railing and drew his sword, putting himself between her and the sea.  Upon getting a closer look, he sighed and sheathed his sword.

            “It’s just a mermaid.”

            “Just a mermaid?  Neverland has those as well?”  Sophia’s eyes widened.  Hook nodded and let her go back to standing at the railing.  “What did you think it was?” she asked. 

            “Not everything in Neverland’s waters is friendly,” he said.

            “Like the crocodile?” she asked. 

            “Exactly.”

            “Are the mermaids friendly, then?” she asked.  The mermaid that had been following Hawk Dancer had apparently lost interest and was swimming towards shore.  Sophia watched it until it was out of sight. 

            “The mermaids are friends with no one.  They are dark and mysterious and keep their own council,” James said.

            “Oh.” Eagerness drained away from Sophia’s face, leaving only disappointment. 

            “You’d like to see them, wouldn’t you?” he asked. 

            “Of course!  That is… if it’s not too dangerous.” 

            “I think that could be arranged,” he said. 

            James called for one of the boats to be prepared to go to the island.  Sophia disappeared into her cabin for a moment, then returned with her journal under her arm, a pen behind her ear, and Hawk Dancer sitting on her shoulder.  Hook helped her into the boat and soon they were cutting through the water as they were rowed toward the island. 

            “Yesterday, fairies, today, mermaids… are there any other magical creatures on Neverland you haven’t told me about?” Sophia asked. 

            “Such as?” James prompted her. 

            “Unicorns?”

            “If there are, I’ve certainly never seen one,” he said.  And if there were, they would certainly never show themselves to me, he thought. 

            “Dragons?”

            “No, none of those.” 

            Sophia drew her eyebrows together, combing her memory for more magical beasts.  “Centaurs?  Griffins? Ghosts? Vampires?  Elves?”  she asked. 

            “None of those, either,” James told her.  “As far as I can tell, Neverland has pixies, mermaids, Indians, flying boys, a giant crocodile, and strange weather.  Nothing else.”

            “And pirates,” Sophia added.  “Don’t forget those.”

            The water was suddenly calm around them.  The boat had entered a lagoon surrounded on all sides by high cliffs that blocked the light and covered everything in shadows.  The air was damp and heavy, and Sophia felt unseen eyes upon them.  Several large rocks broke the surface of the water, and the crewmen rowing the boat had to maneuver carefully in order to avoid them.  The pirates were anxious, and even Hook seemed to be on the alert. 

            “This is their place, isn’t it?” Sophia whispered.  She could feel the tingle of ancient magic on her skin, and even in her excitement knew enough to be wary of such power.  

            “Yes.  This is Mermaid’s Lagoon,” James said.  “Bring us close to that rock over there,” he instructed his crewmen. 

            Sophia was trying very hard to see if she could make out any movement in the water, but she saw nothing.  The surface of the lagoon was glassy and undisturbed. 

            James helped her out of the boat and onto a rock that was just big enough for the two of them. 

            “Wait for us at the entrance, and be ready to come quickly when I call,” James said to his rowers. 

            “Why are you sending them away?” Sophia asked.  Her voice suddenly sounded very loud to her ears.

            “You wouldn’t see anything if there was a boat sitting in the middle of the lagoon,” he said.  Something just at the edge of Sophia’s vision moved in the water, and she thought she saw a pair of eyes staring at her.  She turned to look at it, and James caught her arm.

            “I told you on the ship that mermaids were… mysterious.  They aren’t as friendly as that pixie you’ve got in your pocket.”  Hawk Dancer peeked out and chimed anxiously.  “The mermaids do things for their own purposes, and I have seen them be cruel.  However, I don’t think they’ll hurt you.  They may not like me, but they respect me.  And… I have faith in your powers.”

            “I’m glad someone does,” Sophia whispered. 

            The water at their feet rippled, and three mermaids broke the surface.  Sophia gasped, but quickly recovered from her surprise and knelt down slowly to greet them.  A mermaid with dark, kelp-green hair put her hand on Sophia’s arm and pulled her closer to the water.  James tensed and put his hand on his sword, but Sophia shook her head, reached up, and pushed his hand away from his blade. 

            “I’m all right,” she said. 

            Apparently pleased with this show of trust, the mermaid put her other webbed hand on the side of Sophia’s face and smiled, revealing sharp white teeth.  Dark eyes rimmed with sea-salt caught Sophia’s own, and images of secret places underwater rose up in Sophia’s mind. 

            “That’s… where you live,” she whispered. 

            You see what I show you.  That is good.  We can’t form your land-speech. Sophia knew that someone had spoken to her, but she heard nothing.  The mermaid tilted her head to one side, and Sophia knew who it was who had been talking to her.  

            Sister, the mermaid said.  The other two mermaids echoed the word, and swam closer so that they could put their hands on Sophia as well.

            Yes.  Sister, the mermaid with hair the color of red coral agreed.  Sophia was too shocked at being addressed so familiarly to say much of anything. 

            You bring change, the first mermaid said.  Change to the island.  Change to the Dark Captain.

            “Change?  What kind of change?” Sophia asked.  “Can you see the future?  It’s a good change, I hope…”

            We see what is happening already, the mermaid said.  No need to see the future.     

            One of the mermaids hissed, and all three of them turned their faces towards the cliff.  Sophia looked as well, and saw a small boy dart behind a rock.

            Danger!  Sophia felt the word come from all three mermaids.  Two of them immediately dove beneath the water.  The dark-haired one held her eyes for a few moments longer before disappearing.   

            “We should be going as well,” James said.  He helped her up and signaled the boat.  “What did they say to you?” he asked. 

            “Not much.”  Sophia had to lean heavily on him in order to stand upright.  The direct touch of the mermaids’ minds upon her own had been disorienting.  “They called me ‘Sister,’ and said something about change… and you…”

            The boat bumped against the rock, and he lifted her inside. 

            “Did they hurt you?” he asked. 

            “No, no, I’m all right,” she said.  “I just… wasn’t expecting them to be so… strong.”

            As they rowed back, Sophia rested her head on his shoulder, and James wrapped his coat around her to keep her from shivering.  Fall had passed that morning, and winter’s chill came with mid afternoon. 

            Has he changed? she wondered.  Because of me?  I can’t know what he was like before I came, but… he does seem less frightening than he did when we first met.  Of course, that might be because I’ve gotten to know him.  But why would the mermaids see fit to tell me that?  There’s so much I don’t know…

            “You’re very quiet,” the Captain said. 

            “The mermaids simply gave me much to think about,” she said. 

The boat rocked in the wind, and he put his arm around her to assure her that all was well.  Sophia gratefully nestled against him, and a feeling of peace and well-being spread through her.  Sitting by his side felt right and natural. 

She closed her eyes and whispered the first few words of a charm to warm the air around them.  The now-familiar rush of power molding itself to her will sent a shiver up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

Perhaps I have changed as well, she thought. 

*****

            Dinner had been cleared away, and James had begun to worry about Sophia.  She had remained pensive for the rest of the afternoon, and was now frowning at the glass of wine she held in her hand for no discernable reason. 

            “You are worried,” he said.  “Is it because of the mermaids?  I wouldn’t have taken you to the lagoon had I known it would upset you so greatly.” 

           Sophia swirled the wine around the inside of the glass and peered into the vortex of the tiny maelstrom she had made. 

            “No need to apologize.  I’m glad I saw them.  An opportunity to see such creatures… isn’t something I ever thought I’d have.”  Sophia opened the leather-bound journal that sat on the table between them and pointed to lines written in her neat hand interspersed with hasty sketches of the mermaids’ hands, hair, and faces.  “See?  I was able to record a great deal in my notes,” she said, and smiled as she ran her fingers down the pages.

James leaned over the table to get a closer look at the journal, and at Sophia.  She seemed content enough, but her normal exuberance at discovering new things had been muted.  She should have been bursting with ideas and theories, half of which he couldn’t understand.  Instead, she showed him what she had written and said little else.  He caught the words ‘telepathy’ and ‘mind-speech’ in one of the blocks of text, and tapped them with the index finger of his good hand.

“You think they communicate mind to mind, eh?” he asked.

“Yes.” 

Hook was taken aback at receiving such a short answer.  Asking Sophia a question should have produced a torrent of words. 

“And they spoke to you this way?  That is how it seemed to me,” he said. 

“They did.”  Sophia sighed, shut her notebook, and placed it on her lap. 

“You don’t seem overly happy about this discovery,” James said. 

Sophia shook her head.  “It is… amazing.  I don’t even know if such beings exist in the world I come from.  Any sorcerer I know would give a great deal in order to see what I’ve seen. And… there are so many who would be better prepared than I to understand… everything.” She drained her wine glass and set it on the table. 

“And why is it so important that everything be understood?” James asked. 

“Because…” She flung her arm out in the direction of the island.  “Do you have any idea how incredible Neverland is?  How beyond me the magic here is?”  She strode to the porthole in the captain’s cabin and stared out across the water. 

“That really bothers you, doesn’t it?” he asked, resting his chin in his hand and raising an eyebrow at her.  Sophia didn’t notice the amusement on his face. 

“Of course it does.  I have been trained to pursue knowledge, to master secrets, and yet… I find myself unequal to this task.”

“And what task is that?” Hook asked.  She had never spoken of a purpose before, and he found this omission more than a little disturbing. 

She opened her mouth for a moment, then pressed her lips together tightly. 

“The task of learning all I can about this place and understanding how it works,” she said.  James got the distinct impression that this was not what she had originally meant to say.  “I’ve told you before… I’m little more than an amateur.  Any true sorcerer would laugh at how little I’ve learned here.  I feel like an ignorant child.” 

“And is that all Neverland is to you?  New knowledge?” James asked.  His patience with her scholarly frustration was growing short.  He rose from his chair slowly and took a step toward her.  There was a cutting undertone to his voice.  The thought that Sophia was merely concerned with Neverland as a mystical curiosity cut him, and the hurt was frighteningly unfamiliar. 

He was ready to raise his voice in anger when he heard her say, “It is more.” She turned her head, and the pain on her face stopped his words before they could be spoken. 

“I’ve found friendship here,” she said quietly.  “I’ve never had anyone I could call a friend before, but now… I have you.”  Her last three words were barely audible.

James shook his head, regretting having sounded angry. The more comfortable he got with her, the more he forgot how easily she startled. 

“I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful,” Sophia continued.  “I only wish that… I could be more useful to you. Sometimes I feel like I’m making a nuisance of myself without doing much in return.” 

He came to stand beside her and put his hand on hers. 

“You have done me more good than you know,” he said. 

Sophia’s turned her thin face towards him.  “I’m glad to hear you say that,” she said solemnly.

They faced each other with hands clasped together for a few long moments.  The only sound in the room was the rhythmic crash of the waves against the side of the ship.  Though Sophia drew in slow, even breaths, her heart was racing.  She looked at James expectantly, though she wasn’t sure what it was she was hoping for him to do.  When he kissed her, she realized what it was she’d been waiting for.  In a single artless movement, he leaned down and put his lips on hers.  Sophia tensed, but allowed herself to be pulled closer to him.  Never having been kissed before, she was rather flushed when he let her go.  Though by all appearances she was flustered, her hazel eyes were dark and serious.  She put one hand to her glasses as if uncertain whether or not the events she was viewing through them were true.  James smiled to reassure her and brushed the hair that fell across her forehead away from her face.  Very carefully, he took her glasses off of her face, folded them, and set them on the mantle where they would not fall off.  Sophia blinked for a moment as her eyes adjusted.  One of his arms was still around her waist, and their foreheads were nearly touching.

“There, that’s better,” he said.  “Can you still see?” 

“I can see… you.  But only because you’re very close,” she whispered.  “You are… very handsome, James.  I can see that.”

She tilted her chin upwards very slightly, and they fell into another kiss, not nearly so accidental this time. Sophia wondered if James could feel how quickly her heart was beating.  It seemed to her as if her entire skin were thrumming with each pulse, and considering how closely he was holding her, he must have felt something.  It was quite embarrassing, and she felt rather ridiculous.  If only her heart would listen to her mind and calm down!   

He let her go at last.  He could not decide whether the look she gave him was extreme surprise, consternation, or the closest thing to fear he had ever seen on her face.  What he did know was that she was shivering like the last leaf on a tree in winter.  He squeezed her hand.  He would have liked nothing more than to have kissed her again, but the shocked look she was giving him told him that it might not be prudent.

“Good night, Sophia,” he said, and pushed open the doorway to the corridor connecting their rooms.  She took a step backwards, still holding his hand. 

“Good night, James,” she said.  Her voice sounded as if it were coming from very far away. 

It seemed to take an eternity for their fingers to part, and even longer for the door to swing shut and leave them alone on either side of it. 

 

Chapter 7 – A Newfound Resolve

 

            The sun had not yet risen when Sophia stirred from her sleep.  Even before she opened her eyes she sensed that something had changed.  Her muscles felt as if they were tied in knots, and a nervous flutter had settled in her stomach.  Things between her and James were not as they had been, and that knowledge was enough to wake her. 

            She pulled her knees up against her chest and hugged them tightly.  Sensing her movement, Hawk Dancer chimed softly in his sleep from the pillow next to hers.  She smiled at the sleeping pixie and pulled the square of fabric Hawk Dancer had been using as a blanket over his tiny form. 

            Half of her—her emotional, girlish half—wanted to be light-hearted and giddy about the whole affair.  In fact, this irrational part of her insisted on recreating the previous evening’s scene in her mind over and over again, causing Sophia to turn a deeper shade of red with every repetition. 

            Stop that! she told herself sternly.  It was one kiss, for heaven’s sake!  And, while I will admit that James is a very handsome man, who… seems to affect me more severely than any man I’ve ever met… I must keep my wits about me.  And be realistic.  This last was an admonition  she’d heard many times.  She’d been told to remember her position—a penniless orphan imposing on the kindness of her mentors—and that the men who taught her were doing so as a kindness in their spare time.  Not because she had potential, mind you.  She heard the voice of one particularly harsh teacher very loudly in the early pre-dawn hours.  You have no great potential, Sophia.  I don’t see why you continue to pester me.  Be realistic.  She rested her chin on her knees and willed him to go away.  Instead, he continued, Hook doesn’t love you.  You think a man like him could love?  He only kissed you on an impulse.  Nothing more.  Sophia squeezed her eyes shut and felt the tears trickle down her face.  Of course there was nothing to it… how could there have been?  Why would he want someone like me? 

            Her room suddenly felt very close around her.  The walls pressed in from all sides, and she had to firmly remind herself that she was in a safe place.  She reached for the robe that was draped over the back of her chair and threw it over her shoulders.  She opened the door quietly as not to disturb the sleeping fairy, and slipped out onto the deck. 

            The air was cold and icy, but Sophia found it refreshing.  She was nearly alone on the deck.  The only others she could see were the single sailor high above her in the crow’s nest and the watch at their posts.  The clear, open sky spread high above her, and she drank in the freedom of being out of doors.  In the east, the darkness was beginning to fade to a wan gray.  She walked to the edge of the deck and looked out over the ocean to the rising sun.  Peace gradually returned to her.  She would face the day, and the changes it might bring, just as she had faced every other upheaval in her life. 

            Sophia heard the tread of heavy boots on wood, and turned to see James coming up behind her.  He looked as if he had dressed in haste, and instead of one of his brightly colored coats, he wore a plain black shirt, unlaced, and a pair of grey breeches.  Something else was different, as well, and Sophia had to study him for a moment before she realized what it was.  For the first time since she had met him, he did not wear the hook that gave him his name.  Instead, the cuff of his shirt hung limply over what was left of his lower arm. 

            “You rose early this morning,” he said. 

            “So did you,” Sophia replied. 

            “Thinking again, are you?” he asked. 

            “Yes.” 

            He came to stand by her side, but made no move to touch her.  He simply stared out at the sea, much as she had been doing.  Without the hook, he seemed more real, more vulnerable. 

            “If I frightened you last night, I am sorry,” he finally said.  

            “Did I seem frightened?” Sophia asked, not looking at him. 

            The Captain seemed to sense that a divide between them was now in place that had not existed before.  “Well, yes.  You did,” he said.   “I wondered if perhaps I had asked something of you that you were not prepared to give.” 

            This was not the answer that she had expected.  He wasn’t dismissing what had happened as a trivial mistake.  Instead, he seemed concerned that he might have hurt her.  Sophia closed her eyes for a moment while she tried to adjust to this new set of facts.  “Then why…” she hesitated for a moment, then continued, keeping her eyes staring straight ahead.  “Why did you kiss me, then?”

            It was James’ turn to look uncomfortable.  “When one captains a ship one is used to making quick decisions in many situations. I simply…” The frown on Sophia’s face told him that his attempt at explaining his actions in an impersonal fashion was getting him nowhere.  He changed tactics.  “It… seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

            Sophia glanced at him quickly with sharp, penetrating eyes. “Tell me, did you consider it to be the right thing to do at one specific time, or might it not also be the right thing to do on various other occasions?”

            A half-smile began to form itself on James’ face, and before Sophia knew what had happened, his arms were around her and his blue eyes were inches from her own.  He leaned in to whisper in her ear, and she felt his hair brush against her face. 

            “In fact, I think it might be the right thing to do at this time, wouldn’t you agree?” he murmured. 

            Sophia barely had time to say the word ‘yes’ before she found herself being kissed again. 

After a few moments, she remembered she was out in the open and pulled back, blushing furiously. 

            “I’m sorry,” she whispered.  “It’s just that… I’m not used to such displays of affection in public.” 

            “Public?  Oh, you mean them?” James chuckled and pointed at the two men on watch who were facing in the opposite direction.  “They know better than to interfere with their captain’s affairs.  But, if it makes you uncomfortable…”

            Sophia smiled and kissed him on the cheek.  “Thank you,” she said.  She tilted her head to one side and ran her fingers through his hair.  The light of the rising sun sparkled off his dark curls, and she seemed entranced by it.  “I’m sorry,” she said after a moment, “I’ve just… wanted to do that for quite some time, I think.”

            “Don’t be sorry,” he said, and twisted a tendril of hair that had escaped from her braid between his fingers.  Sophia bit her bottom lip and colored again.  Though he knew her inexperience should amuse him as much as it did, James had to laugh.  He put his arms around her and drew her close to him.  Sophia, though a little surprised, let out a muffled giggle and threw her arms around him, clasping her hands tightly behind his back. 

            “And here I’d thought I’d scared you,” James said with amusement.

            “I was worried you wouldn’t want me,” Sophia admitted.  “I suppose we’re both fools when it comes to love.”

            “I, my dear, am merely out of practice,” James said archly.  Sophia raised an eyebrow at him and managed to keep a straight face for all of five seconds before she began to laugh. 

*****

            The days that followed were very much like the days that had gone before.  Sophia worked in her study, explored the island, played with Hawk Dancer, and spent long hours in the company of Captain Hook.  As she grew used to the idea that he cared for her, Sophia’s awkwardness began to fade.  Finding his eyes resting on her face no longer made her blush, and being close to him produced a pleasant feeling of warmth and security rather than causing her heart to nearly beat out of her chest. 

            The pirates on the Jolly Roger reacted to their captain’s new-found attachment to the odd girl who had come on board with varying degrees of approval.  Some leered at the two of them every time they appeared together, but James put a stop to that by threatening to shoot the next man he caught with that expression on his face.  Had Sophia not been there to restrain him, it might have been more than a threat.  Some pirates whispered that the witch-lady was a calming influence on their temperamental captain. 

            Though a Lost Boy or two might be occasionally spotted on the island, or flying about the ship well out of range of the guns, Peter Pan and his gang of boys had apparently found some other amusement, at least temporarily.  From the whoops and shouts that a group of scouts had heard coming from the direction of the tent village, Hook surmised that Peter had decided to bother the Indians for a while. 

            One night after dinner, Sophia sat on the floor of James’ cabin across a chessboard from Hawk Dancer.  James, who was at his desk studying a large map that was spread out in front of him, half-followed her efforts to teach the pixie to play chess.

            “No, no, Hawk,” Sophia said, taking one of the pieces from the fairy.  “The bishop moves sideways, like this, remember?” She demonstrated, then handed the piece back to Hawk.  He had to hold onto the piece, which was as big around as one of his legs, with both arms. 

            “I don’t think you’re going to have much luck with that.  The pixie’s little mind isn’t cut out for something like chess,” James said. 

            “He’s learning,” Sophia told him.  “Slowly, like a child, but he is learning.  It’s… fascinating, really.” 

           Before she could give him a lecture on her theories of fairy intelligence, James went back to studying his map.  Hawk, who had apparently lost interest in the game, flew over to inspect the Captain’s work.  He landed on the desk and ignored James’ attempts to shoo him away.  As he walked across the map, he stepped on a newly drawn set of lines, smudging them and leaving tiny footprints behind him. 

            “Get off, you!  Look what you’ve done!” James said.  He swatted at Hawk.  The fairy didn’t react fast enough, and was propelled off the desk and across the room.  Hawk caught himself in midair and flew over to Sophia, chiming indignantly.  She put the last chess piece back into the box that held them and held her hands together so he could land in her palms.

            “Calm down, Little One,” Sophia said.  “He didn’t mean to hurt you, and you’re not damaged too badly if you can put such energy into being angry.”  He chimed again, and Sophia laughed.  “I’m not going to repeat that, but I will, of course, let you out.”  She opened the door to the cabin and tossed him out into the night.  When the fairy was gone, she turned to James.  “He was just curious, you know,” she said.  

She walked over to him and looked at the map he was pondering so seriously.  The island of Neverland, in minute detail, was spread out across James’ desk.  Neat, black horizontal and vertical lines had been drawn across it, dividing the island into squares.   Some of the squares had been filled in with fine red diagonal lines, but many of them remained clear.  Various places had clusters of numbers written next to them, and several spots were marked with red X’s. 

“What is this that you’re studying so hard?” she asked.  She already had a good idea, and she wasn’t sure she liked what the map represented. 

“A record of my failure to find Pan’s hideout,” Hook told her.  Bitterness seethed in his voice, and at that moment, he looked harried and tired.  “The red squares are places I’ve had searched thoroughly.  His hideout must be here.”  He ran his hand over the unmarked spaces on the map.  “But most of this is dense jungle, and any time we get too deep into it, we are attacked by the Lost Boys, or we lose our way, or we run into some sort of trouble.  He could be anywhere in those infernal woods!” 

Sophia knelt beside him and pressed her hand to the side of his face.  “This weighs heavily on your mind, I know.  But, studying this map for hours on end accomplishes nothing, and you’re upsetting yourself by dwelling on it.”

He shook his head.  “I must find that boy,” James said.  “Once I find him, I will have my revenge, and I will finally be free.” 

“He has no power over you that you do not grant him,” Sophia said.  James was not convinced.  “Please, come away from there,” she asked him.  “It frightens me to see you in such a dark mood.”  She walked over to the harpsichord and picked one of the pieces of music up from the stack on the floor.  Holding it out to him, she said, “Play for me, James.  Please.” 

He took the music from her hand and pushed away from his desk.  Sophia smiled and curled up in the middle of his bed to listen.  Hook ran through a few scales up and down the keyboard with his good hand before beginning.  It wasn’t a particularly difficult piece, and as he played he asked her, “Do you play at all?” 

“A little,” Sophia answered.  “I’m not very good.”

James laughed.  “I could write something for us.  ‘Serenade for Three Hands and Hook,’ perhaps.”

“You’d have to be very patient with me if we were to try that,” she told him. 

He played two songs for her, then three, and still Sophia asked for another.  Near the end of the fourth, James saw that she had the look of concentration that had long since become familiar to him.  She was trying to piece together some puzzle that had presented itself to her. 

“What mystery are you trying to solve?” he asked. 

“All of your music… it’s very… antique.  I was hoping I could use my rather limited knowledge to pinpoint exactly what era it came from.  What era you came from.” 

James reached the end of the song and finished with a flourish.  “What do you mean?” he asked. 

“I’m curious about how long you’ve been here,” she said.  “Do you remember anything of your life before you came to Neverland?”

“Nothing,” James said quietly.  “And yet…”

“And yet?” Sophia prompted. 

“There are things that I must have known before I came here.  How to sail a ship, that game you were playing with the pixie… I didn’t learn those things here.  There are books I know I’ve read, memories that are at the edge of my mind… but nothing clear.  You may know more about me than I do.” 

“What I know isn’t much,” Sophia said.  “Your clothes appear to be about two and a half centuries out of date, as does everything else on this ship.  If I had to guess, I’d say that you came to Neverland sometime in the mid seventeenth century… 1650 or so.  Does that number mean anything to you?”

“No.”  James shook his head, sorry he couldn’t tell her more.  “Two centuries, you say?  What year was it when you came here?”

“When I left London, it was 1901,” she said. 

He chuckled.  “I don’t feel that old.” 

“The same magic that keeps the Lost Boys from aging must work on you as well,” she said.  “That is, if I’m right…”

“Don’t worry yourself too much about it,” James told her.  “I’ve managed without those memories well enough.” 

Sophia’s eyes lit up with inspiration, and she asked, “What is the first thing you remember?”

James placed another piece of music on the harpsichord and played a couple of trills.  “The first time I laid eyes on Peter Pan,” he said.  She gasped a little in surprise, and said nothing.  James began to play again, a melancholy, minor song.  He had not recalled that particular memory in quite some time, and thinking on it was not pleasant.  He remembered feeling lost.  As if ignoring it had made it all the more clear, he could still see the devilish grin on Pan’s face, feel the confusion, anger, and, yes, the fear of being faced with this strange, flying adversary.  He played the final three chords of the song, savoring the sound as they echoed and died.

“Something happy, please,” Sophia said in a small voice.

“Of course,” James said, and leafed through his music for a while before starting a light-hearted minuet.  

“If you knew a way to keep this going with your magic, we could dance,” he said.  

The worry on Sophia’s face lessened a little. “I’ll have to look into that,” she said.  She was quiet for a long while afterwards, and James had almost forgotten she was there when she spoke again.

“Are you happy here?” Sophia asked from the comfortable nest of pillows she had created for herself. 

“Much more so since you came along,” he said, looking up briefly from the song he was playing.  Sophia sighed and picked at the tassels that hung from the tapestry over his bed. 

“That’s very sweet, but it doesn’t answer my question.” 

Hook hit a sour note on the harpsichord and winced.  He stopped playing.  Looking over at Sophia, he saw the serious set of her features for the first time. 

“Of course I’m not happy here.  Who would be?  Destined to fight that boy forever, with no hope of anything ever changing?”  He stood and began to pace.  His long strides crossing the relatively small cabin reminded her of a caged wild animal.  Sophia’s expression became even more concerned.  She most definitely did not like what Neverland was doing to her Captain. 

James continued to pace.

“And don’t be thinking I’ve never tried to leave.  I have.  Dozens of times.  We’ve never even gotten out of sight of the island.  Each time we’ve sailed away from Neverland, we end up becalmed, or going around in circles until we end up here. Right. Back. Where we started.”  With those last words, he slammed his hook into the surface of the nearby dining table, burying it deep into the wood.  Sophia started at the loud noise and sudden display of temper.  However, she knew that he was angry at the situation, not at her, and she saw more pain than anger in his outburst.  So, without any hesitation, she rose from the bed, walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, resting her head between his shoulder blades. 

“It’s all right, Love,” she whispered.  “I never meant to imply that you hadn’t tried.”

Though he was still tense with rage, he calmed a little at her touch.  He removed his hook from the wood as carefully as he could, and turned in her arms so that he was facing her. 

“I know,” he said, and kissed the top of her head.  “I’m sorry if I frightened you.”

“I’m not frightened of you,” she said, holding on to him even more tightly, “I’m frightened for you.  Neverland is hurting you, James.” 

“Yes… less with you here, though,” he said.  He touched the side of her face with his hand, and kissed her.  Gently, at first, but it soon turned into the kind of kiss that drove all vestiges of coherent thought from Sophia’s head.  Soon, she found herself sitting on the bed once again, with James’ hands hopelessly tangled in her hair, and hers in his. 

A shout from above decks caused him to break away, taking a few strands of Sophia’s hair with him.  He was at the window peering outside for any sign of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys in two seconds flat.  No more shouts came from above, though, and he realized it must have been a false alarm. 

“And that,” Sophia said, looking slightly peeved as she rubbed the sore spot on her head, “is the other reason I want to get you away from here.”

“Sorry about that,” James said ruefully, running the fine strands of hair through his fingers.  “I’m sure it’ll grow back.”  She didn’t so much as smile at his jest.  He sighed and sat back down next to her, taking her hand in his.  “Now, tell me about this other reason of yours.”

“I’m tired of sharing you with that boy,” she said. 

“Sharing me?” His mouth twisted into an amused half-smile as he shook his head.  “Please believe me when I tell you that the feelings I hold for him are as different from those I hold for you as night is from day.”

Sophia did not look comforted.  “No,” she murmured.  “You say that, and I know you hate him, but you cherish that hatred.  You love your hatred for Peter Pan as much as you do me.  If not more.”  The dark jealousy that marked her face looked out of place on one who was usually so bright.  Once again, Hook saw traces of a very powerful woman hiding beneath Sophia’s flighty, girlish trappings. 

“You know that’s… that’s not true,” he said weakly, even as he realized any argument he gave would be futile.  She was right. 

“I know that your obsession with him is old, and powerful, but know this.  You are mine, James.  And I’m sick of having to share your attention with something so unworthy of it.  And so, with your permission, Captain, I’m going to find a way for us to get out of this freakish place that won’t let me have you completely.”  She rose from the bed and walked towards the door, pulling the curtains that showed the outside world closed as she went by. 

“Good night, James,” she said, daring him to try and order her to stop.  He didn’t.  He’d learned that ordering Sophia to do anything at all was worse than useless.  Besides, as long as she didn’t hurt herself, this new plan of hers had definite possibilities…

All he said was, “Be careful.”

 

Chapter 8 – To Find the Way Back

 

            In the days that followed, Sophia was rarely seen outside of her room.  More often than not, when she did appear on deck she perched herself on a tall coil of rope and stared across the water at the island as if she were a trance.  Her hair became more and more unkempt, and dark circles appeared beneath her eyes. 

            On the afternoon that James realized he had not seen her for at least two days, he knocked on the door of her cabin, then let himself in without waiting for an answer.  What he found was barely controlled chaos.  Books and papers were stacked around the room, and the table where she sat was overflowing.  Candle stubs were scattered about her workspace, and three fresh candles burned near the paper she was studying. 

            “How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” James asked. 

Sophia, who had not been aware of his presence up to this point, jumped and miswrote the letter she was forming. 

“This morning?  No, maybe yesterday,” she said absently. 

“I’ll not have you making yourself ill over this,” James said. 

Sophia’s hazel eyes blinked owlishly at him from behind her glasses.  “Really, James. I’m fine.  Very busy, as you can see…”  Her eyes shifted between the door and her visitor, plainly indicating that she wished for him to leave.   

“Fine, hmm?  The word I was going to use was ‘obsessed,’” James said.  He pulled an apple out of his coat pocket and held it out to her.  She hesitated for a moment, then snatched it out of his hands and bit into the red skin hungrily. 

“I suppose I am a little hungry.  Sometimes I forget when I’m working…”

He pointed at her bed, which was also covered in her research materials.  “Do you mind of I sit for a while?” he asked. 

“Just… be careful.  It may look like a mess, but I know where every scrap of paper is,” she said. 

James carefully shifted a pile of papers onto the floor and sat down on her bed.  He pulled another apple out of his pocket and began to eat it as he watched her work. She was attempting to write and eat the fruit he had brought her at the same time, and her hunger was interfering with her haste in writing.  It would have been amusing had it not been for the nervous, feverish look on her face as she wrote. 

“Where did all of this come from, anyway?” James asked.  Sophia looked up from her writing, her forehead creased in confusion.  “All of these books.  Are you telling me I had them on the Jolly Roger the whole time?  Or… you didn’t… summon them, did you?”  If Sophia had developed the ability to summon objects to the island that had not been there before, he needed to have a talk with her about improving the ship’s artillery. 

“No, no summoning,” Sophia said.  “I… just had to go look for them.  It’s quite amazing, really.  The hold of this ship… I believe it’s enchanted.” 

“This whole island is enchanted, Sophia,” James reminded her. 

“But your hold is special.  Here, think about this.  In the time you and your crew have been in Neverland, you must have consumed a vast amount of wine, rum, and other spirits.  Tell me, do you manufacture these things for yourself in some place you haven’t showed me?”

“Well, no,” James said, not quite sure of what she was getting at. 

“How about clothing for your men?  Shoes?  Salt? Sugar?  Are you getting those things from the island or making them yourselves?”

“We’ve never had a lack of any of those things.  I suppose I didn’t question why we never ran out,” he said.  The idea that even his ship was susceptible to the unnatural laws that governed Neverland unnerved him.  He had thought that the Jolly Roger, at least, was nothing more than a ship. 

“Of course you didn’t!” Sophia said triumphantly.  “You simply send some men down to the hold to get more when you need it.  And it’s always there.  When you needed women’s clothes for me, you found them.  When you need ammunition for your guns, you find it.  And so, when I needed books about magic, spells, and enchantments, I found them.  Had to do a good bit of looking first, but…”

James cut her off.  “Are you saying that if the need, or the desire, is great enough, the hold will supply us with it?”

“Within reason, I believe so,” Sophia said. 

“And how does this help us leave the island?” he asked.

Sophia’s shoulders slumped and she sighed glumly.  “It doesn’t.  I have realized many things about Neverland that, while they are very interesting, do not help me in the least.”

“You will find an answer eventually,” he said. 

Sophia took off her glasses and rubbed her the spot on her forehead between her eyes.  “I wish I had your certainty,” she said.  “I’m missing something.  I feel like it should be obvious, but…” She put her elbows on her desk and rested her chin in her hands.  “I simply can’t see it.” 

“Well, depriving yourself of food and proper rest isn’t helping anyone,” James told her.  “Come with me.  We can have a late lunch, and afterwards you can get some sleep.”  Sophia let herself be guided to the door of her cabin.  She was in no mood to resist, and had to admit that she was unlikely to come upon the solution in her present state. 

*****

            Two hours later, James carried Sophia back into her room and gently laid her on the bed.  He spread a thin blanket over her sleeping form and sat down to keep watch over her, and insure that she didn’t get out of bed the moment he left.  However, her sleep was not feigned, and the only sound the Captain heard from her for a good long time was soft, even breathing. 

            A commotion above deck had him on his feet and alert the second he heard the excited shouting.  Sophia sat up and yawned, looking around in confusion for the source of the noise. 

            “Stay here,” Hook told her. 

            He opened the door, stepped out, and nearly collided with a frantic pirate. 

            “They caught one, Cap’n!” the sailor shouted.  “The landing party caught one!”  He pointed at the group disembarking from a boat.  Two of the men were holding a struggling Lost Boy between them.  The leader of the landing party ran up to Hook. 

            “Just like you ordered, Sir!  Any Lost Boy caught’s to be brought here straight away!” 

            “Tie him up,” Hook ordered.  “Put him in plain sight.  The others will be here soon enough.”  He turned to face his curious crew.  “Prepare for battle!” he yelled.  They scattered in every direction, climbing into the rigging, manning the guns, and scurrying to the hold for ammunition. 

            Sophia, who had crept out of her cabin as soon as she had seen it was safe, was suddenly at his side. 

            “Go back to your room.  I don’t want you hurt,” Hook said. 

            “I’m more than capable of defending myself,” Sophia told him.  “And I want to talk to the boy.  He might be able to help me.”  

            “I doubt it,” Hook said, but, seeing she wasn’t going to be dissuaded, added, “but feel free to try.  Just get under cover when the fighting begins.” 

            Sophia took a few steps toward the struggling child, then ran back and kissed him quickly on the cheek.  “Watch yourself,” she said.  “I don’t feel like exploring the medicinal uses of magic this evening.” 

            Hook put his hand on the hilt of his sword and drew it out a few inches.  A wicked gleam was already dancing in his eyes.  “I will be fine.  It’s Peter Pan who had better watch his back.”

            He turned and hastened to the prow of the ship, his coat flaring behind him.  He put his telescope to his eye, scanning the skies for the first sign of the Lost Boys. 

            Meanwhile, Sophia knelt at the side of the boy the pirates had captured. 

            “This isn’t the first time you’ve been nabbed by the pirates, is it?” she asked.  He glared at her, but finally shook his head.  “Good,” she said.  “Then, you know that you are in no danger. Your friends are on their way, they’ll have a bit of fun crossing swords with the pirates, and you’ll all fly off to fight another day.” 

            The boy narrowed his eyes at her.  That this grownup woman managed to understand how the games they played worked better than he did himself made him awfully suspicious. 

            “I’m not going to hurt you,” Sophia said.  “I just want to ask you something.” 

            The boy twisted his dirty face into a sneer.  “I’ll never tell you where our hideout is!  Never!” 

            Sophia leaned in closer, and her gentle manner completely evaporated.  “Listen to me, little boy.  I don’t care where your hideout is, and if I did, I could have found it already.  Hook doesn’t know I could do this, and if you answer my questions, he never will.” 

            “You’re bluffing!” the boy said.  His face, however, had paled several shades. 

            “I never bluff,” Sophia said.  “I’m a horrible liar.”

            He gave her a barely perceptible nod.  “What did you want to ask?”

            “Do you know how to leave Neverland?” Sophia asked.  She might have thought she had sprouted hands out of her ears from the look he gave her. 

            “Leave Neverland?  Why would I want to do that?  It’s the best place ever!”

            “But Peter Pan leaves sometimes, doesn’t he?” Sophia prompted. 

            “Well… sure… but he’s Peter.”  He stated this as if it was an obvious fact and she were an idiot for overlooking it. 

            Sophia resisted the urge to sigh.  The boy wasn’t being nearly as hopeful as she thought he might be.  “Have any of the other Lost Boys ever gone away?” she asked.

            “If one of us really wants to go home, Peter sends fairy guides with them,” he told her.  “None of us would know the way back, anyway.  Not that any of us want to!”  Sophia stood, and he peered up at her, still a little frightened.  “You won’t come find us, then?”

            “No.  I have more important things to do than chase children,” she said.  She stood, smoothed the front of her dress, and walked away without another word. 

            A shout from the lookout had all of the pirates scrambling to get their weapons pointed seaward.  Peter Pan and his band were approaching from the open water.  The Jolly Roger shuddered as Long Tom discharged a blast into the clouds.  Childish laughter filtered down to taunt the pirates. 

            “Find the range!  Shoot them down!” James bellowed over the confusion.  Everywhere, sailors began loading muskets and aiming at the soaring shapes.  The cannon crew got off another shot, this one as ineffective as the first.  Before they had time to reload, the Lost Boys were amongst them.  Two Lost Boys who looked like exact replicas of one another landed on either side of their captured comrade.  They cut his bonds, tossed him a knife, and the three of them threw themselves into the fray. 

            Sophia pressed herself up against the wall beside the door to James’ cabin and watched.  She had little practice in offensive magic, but she had several nasty spells ready, just in case James was ever truly in danger.         

            In the center of it all, Peter Pan and Hook had found one another, and were engaged in a deadly dance.  Peter darted just inside of Hook’s range, slashed at him, and sprang backwards into the air.  James wasted no movement on striking at his opponent when he knew Pan was out of reach, and waited for the boy to come back down. 

            “Coward!” Hook spat.  “Stop your tricks and face me like a man.” 

            Anger flared in Peter’s eyes.  “I’m not a man!” he yelled, and dove straight for Hook, his knife raised for the kill.  James had ample time to block, and the pirate’s sword and the boy’s knife came together with the sharp sound of steel on steel. 

            “Of course you’re not,” Hook said through clenched teeth.  “A grown man would know better than to be so obvious I could block him in my sleep.”  He leapt forward and pushed Peter back.  The boy was thrown off balance, and landed awkwardly a few feet away.  Hook was already coming toward him, sword sweeping in a vicious arc.  Peter barely rolled out of the way and sprang up, laughing. 

            “Too slow, Old Man!” he said. 

            The captain recovered quickly and feinted with his sword, causing Peter to dodge to the right.  James immediately slashed at the boy with his hook.  The sharp metal tip ripped a few leaves from Peter’s clothing, but did nothing more.  Each time he failed to hit his smaller adversary, James’ eyes grew wilder, Peter’s laugh more derisive. 

            Peter flew a few feet off the ground, beckoning Hook to follow him, always staying just out of reach.  He came to stand on the railing, and Hook’s sword bit into the wood a split second after Peter darted away.  The boy who would not grow up hovered over the water for a moment, grinning at James like a mischievous demon.   A few more inches, and Hook would have been able to slice him from neck to navel.   If Pan was expecting for his nemesis to fume and rage at his taunting, he was disappointed.  The Captain was unperturbed by this most recent turn of events.  Instead, a confident, treacherous smile crept across Hook’s face.  Though he would have savored the irony of killing Pan with the very hook the boy had ‘given’ him, Hook was not above resorting to other methods.  He dropped his sword, reached beneath his coat and pulled a pistol from his belt, already primed and ready.  Quickly, he aimed at the center of Peter’s chest and fired. 

            Peter saw Hook move, and reacted on instinct.  He threw himself to the side, and the bullet only grazed his ribs.  Peter’s hand went immediately to his side, and he looked down at the blood on his fingers, surprised.  Feeling the sting for the first time, he winced.  Peter Pan was not used to pain. 

            Hook swore and began to reload.  “One day soon, I will not miss,” he promised Peter. 

            Pan shot into the air, calling to his friends, “Lost Boys!  Rescue’s done!  Let’s go home!”  One by one, the other boys broke off their battles and joined their leader.  When they had assembled, Peter Pan crowed in triumph and soared back toward the island. 

            Hook kept his eyes trained on his departing enemy until the boys disappeared into the forest.  Slowly, he uncurled his white-knuckled fingers from the handle of his pistol and surveyed the damage that had been done to his ship.  Broken crates and boxes and their contents lay strewn about the deck, and James could see several new rips in the Jolly Roger’s sails.  His crew had already begun to tend to the wounded, though he didn’t see any serious injuries.  In the midst of the chaos, a single figure stood still as a marble statue against his room’s outside wall. 

Sophia had not budged since the fighting had begun.  Her face was pale, and her eyes were clouded with anger and frustration.  An inner fire still burned at seeing the man she loved engaged in yet another fruitless battle.  She looked wild and angry, like a skittish untamed creature ready to bolt or attack at the slightest provocation.  To show her that all was well, James held his hand out to her.  Hesitantly, she stepped away from the wall and moved toward him.  When she stood at his side at last, he kissed her hand.  The red had faded from his eyes, and they were once again as blue as the sea. 

“You are not hurt?” he asked. 

“No.  I’m fine.  And you?” She brushed his hair from his face, inspecting it for blood. 

“I am not hurt,” James said. 

“When will they come again?” she asked, and pressed her cheek against the soft fabric of his coat. 

“They attack without rhyme or reason.  They will return when Pan feels the need for another adventure, whenever that may be,” he told her.  He was not anxious, for he had long ago been forced to resign himself to the haphazard nature of his existence. 

“I’m sorry,” Sophia said softly.  She cast her eyes down to the floor.

“Whatever for?” James put his hand under her chin and gently but insistently made her look up at him. 

“I… haven’t found a way to get us away from this place.  Not yet.”

            “Don’t be sorry.  You will find a way.  And in the meantime, things will continue on as they always have,” he said.  Though his voice was calm, Sophia could sense the tension building in his body at the thought of spending day after day fighting with and hunting one small boy. 

            “But, every day you stay here, Neverland causes you pain,” Sophia said.  “And I am helpless to stop it.” 

            “I hate this place,” he admitted.  “And yet, I am bound to it.”  Sophia gasped and stepped back from him suddenly, her eyes wide. 

            “That’s… it.  Or it might be… Why didn’t I think of that before?”  she asked.

            Hook, who had no idea what she was talking about, stared at her in confusion and waited for further explanation. 

            “Emotion!  That’s could be it… what ties humans to the island… it would make sense, don’t you see?”  Sophia said excitedly.  From the look on James face, he didn’t see, but she continued anyway, thinking out loud rather than actually trying to make things clear to him.  “Lost Boys love this place, they wouldn’t want to leave.  And if they do want to leave, they need a fairy guide.  From what I’ve seen, the Indians are attached to this place, they revere it as their home.  But pirates… Pirates hate Neverland, and they can’t leave.”   

            “You’re saying Neverland knows what is in our minds?” James asked. 

            “Not… exactly.  I’ve heard of such things, magical barriers that only allow those with the correct state of mind to pass through.  I’d have to read…”

            Before James had any time to react to any of this, Sophia gathered her skirts in one hand, kissed him quickly on the cheek, and ran back towards her study. 

            No one saw much of Sophia for the rest of the afternoon.  Her door did open once, when the moon had just sunk below the horizon, but the watch did not notice her.  Sophia crept across the deck and knelt by the railing, arranging her skirt neatly around her.  She stared intently in the water for several minutes until a pair of dark eyes and a head of kelp green hair appeared above the water. 

            Greetings, Sister, the mermaid said.  Speak quickly.  We are on the hunt.  For a moment, Sophia’s mind was filled with the image of a huge school of fish, thousands of silver bodies swimming just beneath the surface.  She felt a surge of hunger rise in her, and she shivered.  The mermaid broke contact with her and almost managed to look apologetic. 

            “I was wondering… You and the others like you swim out far beyond the island, don’t you?”  Sophia asked.

            All the waters are our home.  But this is a good place. 

            “But you can leave whenever you’d like,” Sophia said.

            We have magic in our blood.  We are not as men are.  The wall that cannot be seen does not affect us.  That is what you ask? 

            Sophia pressed her face against the balusters, trying to get closer.  “Then you know what is beyond the waters near the island,” she said. 

            Darkness.  More water.  Strange lands many months’ journey away, even swimming with the current.  

            A high, keening wail echoed in the distance, and the mermaid hissed and turned in the direction of the call. 

            My sisters call! she said. 

            “Do not let me keep you from your hunt.  I thank you for speaking with me,” Sophia said politely.  The mermaid nodded, then arched her back and dove.  The silvery green scales of her tailfin caught the starlight for a moment just before she disappeared from sight. 

*****

            The news that Sophia was close to finding a way to leave the island spread quickly through the crew.  When she emerged from her cabin the next morning and went in search of the Captain, the eyes of every man on board followed her anxiously.  She was dressed for a journey in a sensible dark blue dress and her old grey sweater.  She found James standing at the wheel of his ship, his hand resting lightly on the polished wood.  He cut a fine figure, and Sophia smiled.  She knew it had been a long time since the Captain had raised the anchor and taken the Jolly Roger out onto the open sea, but if her plan was a success, he would be able to do so very soon.  She hurried to his side and tapped him on the shoulder. 

            “I would like to try an experiment,” she said. 

            “And what might that be?” James asked. 

            “I’m going to try to get out of sight of Neverland.  I believe that if I can keep myself from having any strong feelings connected to the island, I should be able to pass through the barrier.  But I’m not sure,” she said. 

            “You’ll be needing rowers, then,” he said, and turned to summon some of his crew to assist her.  Sophia shook her head. 

            “I need to go alone,” she said.  “I’m fairly sure that I have the discipline to control my emotions.  However, if someone else accompanies me, and I fail, I won’t know whether it was me or my companion who triggered the barrier.”  A muffled chirp came from her sweater’s pocket. “That means you too, Hawk,” she said, and scooped the fairy out.  “You’re a magical creature, and if you came with me it would ruin the whole point of the experiment. I need to know I can do this without you.”  Hawk Dancer nodded reluctantly, then shook a tiny fist at her, admonishing her to be careful. 

            “If you’re going alone, how are you planning on getting off the ship?” James asked.  “Surely you aren’t planning to row yourself?”  He chuckled at the idea of his diminutive Sophia trying to manage one of the longboats on her own. 

            “I don’t need a boat,” Sophia said.  “I can do this.”  She held her hands out in front of her, palms up, and began to chant softly.  After a few seconds, her feet left the floor and she rose several inches into the air.  James blinked.  Levitation was not one of the skills that Sophia had displayed before.  He opened his mouth to ask her the obvious question, but she cut him off before he could get the words out. 

            “This is different from what Pan does,” she told him.  “And no, I can’t make you or your crew fly.  It’s hard enough for me to control my own movements, and I’m the one casting the spell.” 

            “What will happen if this doesn’t work?” he asked.

“The same thing that happened to you when you tried to leave and failed, I’d imagine.  I’ll probably end up right back where I started.”

“And if you do pass through the barrier?”

Still floating just above the deck, Sophia moved closer to him.  “Once I’m sure I’m out of sight of Neverland, I’ll turn around and come back, and then I will find a way to get us all out.” 

            James eyes narrowed with concern.  “I cannot tell you what lies beyond the horizon,” he said. 

            “The Sea Between Worlds,” Sophia told him.  “I’ve read of it, and I talked to the mermaid again last night and she confirmed my suspicions.  It’s the great expanse that separates…” she fumbled for the right word, “otherworldly places from the real world and from each other.  It’s not dangerous, just empty.”  She put her arms around him.  “Don’t worry.  I’ll come back to you.”  She leaned in to kiss him, and rather enjoyed being his height for once, rather than half a foot shorter. 

            “I’ll be waiting,” James said as he let her go. 

Sophia rose above the waves, into the clouds, her face schooled into an expression of intense concentration.  The pirates crowded onto the deck and pointed at her as she ascended, but she paid them no mind. 

As she climbed higher and higher, she kept the same thought in her mind.  Neverland was unimportant.  She neither hated it nor loved it.  She did not care for the little jewel of an island in the least, nor did she despise it.  She kept repeating the same thing to herself.  Neverland is unimportant. I don’t care for it at all.  It means nothing to me, no more, no less than any other place.  She took all of the apathy she could muster and projected it outward, using it to combat the magical shell that seemed to surround the island.  It still remained to be seen whether or not her affection for one of Neverland’s residents would affect her attempt.  James was important.  He was most important.  But he was not Neverland.  Her love for him was in no way bound up with the place that had brought them together. 

She felt herself drifting farther and farther from the ship.  The clouds whipped past her, and the wind played with her hair like an affectionate older sibling.  Every moment, she felt lighter.  Her heart was calm, empty, filled with no emotion that would trigger Neverland’s magical barrier.  She looked over her shoulder once, and the masts of the Jolly Roger were as small as matchsticks in the distance.  For a moment, she felt the tingle of powerful magic passing over her and, but she encountered no resistance.  And then, she looked back and the ship and island were gone.  She was alone, and she had succeeded.  She no longer felt the strange presence of Neverland just under her skin. 

“I did it, James,” she breathed quietly.  She knew something done once could easily be repeated, so all that remained was to return to the ship and find a way to cast a protective spell over the whole vessel, and all of its crew.  She turned around to head back, but found herself confounded.  A gray fog surrounded her, and she did not remember which direction she had come from.  She made an adjustment to the spell that kept her flying, and lowered herself down until her feet touched the surface of a dark, empty sea that reflected nothing. 

“I don’t know the way back,” she whispered. 

Hovering just above the Sea Between Worlds, Sophia screamed in frustration and pain. When she could scream no more, cold, dispassionate reason unfolded itself from the corner of her mind where it had been hiding, and she began to think.  She had to find a way back.

 

Chapter 9 – The Curse of Not Remembering

 

When Sophia did not return by the evening of the first day, James kept watch throughout the night.  He ordered that every lantern on the ship be lit to show her the way back.  When the sun rose and the oil in the lanterns burned down to nothing, the horizon was still bare and empty.  For many days following her departure, James doubled the night watch, and the Jolly Roger blazed like a beacon when the sun set.  Still, she did not return. 

The Captain spent many hours with his spyglass pressed against his eye, hoping to be the first to catch sight of her.  He slept little, ate less, and became increasingly irritable.   His crew learned quickly not to speak to him about the one he had lost, especially after he shot the first man to suggest they go through her room and see if she’d left anything useful behind.  James allowed no one in Sophia’s quarters.  Even he never entered them.  Being in her room without her would only have made her absence more concrete.  He locked her door and put the key in a secret drawer in his desk. 

She was gone one week, then two, then a month, and after that, James stopped recording the time that had passed since he had seen her.  For many days, Hawk Dancer flew listlessly about the ship, as if searching for his lost friend.  Hook let the pixie be, and even let Hawk Dancer stand beside him while he kept watch.  But, one morning, James found himself staring out at the ocean alone.  In the night, the fairy had returned to his own kind. 

Eventually, the emptiness that Sophia had left behind began to be filled.  The time James would have spent with her was taken up with other concerns.  The ship was mended, repaired, and cleaned.  The search for Peter Pan was renewed with increased fervor.  Because it pained him to think of Sophia, he shied away from remembering he had ever known her.  It was bad enough that he was now alone.  To remember that he had once had one who loved him was more than he could bear. Each day, he recalled her face less and less clearly.  Neverland’s strange forgetfulness stole over him, until at last, the only thing left to Hook of her was an occasional, sharp sense of loss.   

The crew forgot her even more quickly than the Captain, and when the last memory of her had been lost to him, life on the ship went on much as it had before she had come.

However, something of her remained, buried deep in the recesses of Hook’s mind.  Whenever he passed the door to the room that had been hers, he felt a curious impulse to knock on it and see if it was occupied, even though he knew it to be empty.  One day, without knowing why, he tried to open it.  Finding the door locked, he was about to use his pistol to shoot it open when it occurred to him that since he was indeed captain of the ship, the key to every lock on board must be in his possession.  The key turned up after a thorough search of his quarters.

By the time he stood outside of her door again, Hook was very disturbed.  He could not remember what was in this room, or why it was locked, or why he felt so reluctant to open the door. Never one to admit fear, James turned the key in the lock, threw open the door, and stepped inside. He stood in the middle of the room for some time, trying to identify the smell.  He knew the smell of an old, musty, long-unused space.  Half the ship smelled that way.  No, this was something more.  Something light, almost unnoticeable.  Something… feminine.  He opened the closet and saw the dresses hanging neatly, collecting dust.  That was it, then.  This was a woman’s room. 

“When was there ever a woman on this ship?” James asked himself aloud.  The very idea seemed preposterous to him, and yet the evidence before him was irrefutable.  And what’s more, why don’t I remember her?  Whoever this mysterious lady had been, she had obviously been well read.  The room was filled with books that looked to have been shelved quickly and without any thought of order.  A thick sheaf of papers tied together with a piece of string sat on the table, as well as a bottle of ink and two quills.  The bed was made, and a pair of pale green slippers were situated by the bedside.  On the bed, propped up against the pillow, was a single envelope with the name ‘Captain James Hook’ written across the front in a fine, flowing script. 

Surprised to find a letter addressed to him in the lady’s room, James ripped the letter open with his hook.  He drew out a single sheet of paper with a few lines written on it.  They read,

 

My Dear James,

 

Tomorrow, I will attempt something in the hopes that we may be able to leave this island and secure our future happiness. I must admit, I am frightened.  I do not know if what I am going to do will work, or what will happen if it does not.  I write this letter to ask you to remember, James, as Neverland has a way of stealing memories.  Even if I am gone, remember that there is one who loves you, and know that no matter what happens, I love you still.

 

I remain,

 

Your Sophia.

 

            Hook read the letter again, then let it drop from his hand onto the bed.  He studied the room once more, hoping that having a name for its mysterious lady occupant would bring some memory of her to the surface.   She had spoken to him so familiarly!  And of love, of all things!  And yet, try as he might, he could not put a face with her name, nor could he recall a single memory of her. 

            Soon after making this discovery, Hook collared each and every one of his crew and asked them if they had ever seen a woman on the ship, and if the name ‘Sophia’ meant anything to them.  Every pirate told Hook ‘no,’ and cowered in fear that his failure to tell the Captain what he wanted to hear would arouse his anger.  Hook, however, could not fault his crew for not being able to remember what he himself had apparently forgotten.  

            For a while, James tried to imagine what kind of woman this Sophia person who had said she loved him had been.  He pictured her with light hair, dark hair, red hair; with green eyes, blue eyes, brown eyes; as short, tall, slender and elegant, voluptuous and sensual.  None of them seemed right, and every image was discarded as soon as it was created.  It seemed that the real Sophia was fated to remain lost to him.  Though it was some small comfort to him that there had been, at one time, a woman who cared deeply for him, other nagging questions begged to be answered. For instance, if she loved him so much, where was she now?  There were only two possibilities that Hook could see.  Either the attempt she had spoken of in her letter had failed, and she had been killed, or she had chosen to leave him.  Whatever had happened, she was no longer with him.  He was alone. 

Finally, he locked Sophia’s room, put the key in the envelope with her letter, and put them both into the secret drawer.  He thought of the letter only when he forgot how much pain came with remembering it.

Upon the Darling children’s arrival in Neverland, all thoughts of the letter and the mystery surrounding its writer vanished from James’ thoughts.  Peter Pan finally had a weakness—the girl-child, Wendy.  A weakness he meant to exploit to the best of his abilities.

When Hook followed Peter and Wendy to the fairy grove, he did not remember the night long past when he and Sophia had watched with wonder as the fairies danced.  He only felt a stab of jealousy as he saw the children imitate the dance, awkwardly at first, then with more grace as they rose into the sky.  Hook saw Wendy’s bright eyes and wide smile, saw the innocent happiness that they shared, and hated Peter Pan more fiercely than ever before. 

On the day the Wendy’s secret kiss helped Peter to defeat his most hated enemy once and for all, Hook almost welcomed the crocodile as it leapt from the water and snapped its jaws closed around him.  When the children shouted at him that he was ‘old, alone, done for,’ he believed them.  He could remember no reason why he should not.   

 

Chapter 10 – The Darlings

 

            “Really, Wendy, aren’t you a little old to be believing in such things?” John Darling asked as he tossed his battered Napoleon hat and his wooden sword into a chest of toys that were to be put up in the attic. 

            “You’re telling me you don’t believe in Neverland?” Wendy was positively horrified. 

            “I’m thirteen, almost a man!”  John declared.  “And you’re even older.  Sixteen is much too old for a young lady to be believing in flying boys, pirates and magic islands.”

            Wendy laughed.  “You sound just like Father.”  Her pretty eyes grew serious, and she tiptoed over to the nursery door and, after making sure there were no adults nearby, shut it softly.  “But you of all people should know,” she said in a low voice, “that I’m not making it up.  I remember Neverland, and Peter, and all of our adventures quite clearly.  It wasn’t a dream, and I didn’t imagine it.  And you and Michael were there too.”  John did not look convinced.  Wendy stalked over to the bookshelf that held many of her old albums and scrapbooks, and pulled one out.  She opened it to a page with a yellowing newspaper article on it and thrust it under John’s nose. 

            “Besides,” Wendy continued, “how do you explain this?  I cut it out of the newspaper after we got back.  It’s all about our return and our mysterious disappearance.  You think the papers are helping me pretend?” 

           John snapped the book shut and handed it back to her.  “All that proves is that we were missing for a while,” he said.  “It doesn’t prove anything about Neverland.  Personally, I think we were all kidnapped.” 

            “Kidnapped?  By whom?” Wendy asked. 

            “I can’t remember.  I think we made up all those stories to help keep our hopes up, and because whatever really happened, it was so awful we covered it up with far-fetched notions about Neverland,” John said.  Wendy frowned at him.  Her little brother was far too serious for his own good, and read far too many sensational news items in The Times. 

            “Then how do you explain the cousins?” Wendy asked, using the Darling children’s name for the Lost Boys.  “They came into the family on exactly the same day we returned.  Don’t you remember when they all decided to come back with us from Neverland?”

            “They were probably kidnapped too, and we all escaped together, and it turned out that none of them had any parents, so Mother and Father took them in too,” John said.  He nodded in satisfaction, very pleased with his explanation.  Wendy shook her head. 

            Any further conversation on the topic was curtailed by the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Darling, along with Michael, who had just returned from being measured for some new clothes for the new school term. 

            “Look at the bird!” Michael yelled upon entering the room, and sped to the window as fast as his ten-year-old legs could carry him.  There was indeed a bird sitting on the ledge of the nursery window, watching all of them very curiously.  John and Wendy, in the midst of their argument, had not noticed her.  The entire Darling family crowded around the window.  The bird, a snow-white falcon with black-tipped wings, did not seem startled by being the object of so much attention.  Rather, she seemed to enjoy it, and began to preen. 

            “It’s… a falcon,” Mr. Darling said.  “I’ve never seen one of them in the City before.” 

            “Maybe she’s lost,” Mrs. Darling said. “She could have gotten loose from her mews.”      

“She looks like a fine bird, very expensive, but I don’t see any jesses… I wonder who she belongs to,” Mr. Darling said.

“Maybe she doesn’t belong to anyone,” Wendy said. The falcon tilted her head to one side and screeched in agreement.  Mr. Darling started. 

“This is most unusual!” he said. 

“Oh, come now, she’s not hurting anyone.  She’s just watching us,” Mrs. Darling chided.  “Now, why don’t you children finish up in here, and then you can come down for dinner.” 

“Yes, Mother,” the three younger Darlings said together. 

With their parents gone, Wendy took no time in resuming the talk she and John had been having. 

“You remember Neverland, don’t you Michael?” she asked.  John snorted, and Michael looked back and forth between his older sister, whom he adored, and his older brother, whom he idolized.  Any answer he gave was sure to upset one of them, but in the end, he decided on the truth. 

“I do,” Michael said.  “I remember the Indians, and the pirates, and flying!”

“You see?” Wendy said to John. 

John rolled his eyes.  “He was too young.  It was four whole years ago, you know.  He was only six. You’ve told him that story so many times he can’t help but believe it.” 

“It’s not a story,” Michael insisted. 

“Of course it’s not,” Wendy assured him.  “We all have the same memories of Neverland…”

“Only because you drilled it into our heads!” John shot back. 

The argument might have escalated further, but Michael interrupted them. 

“The bird wants to come in,” he said, and pointed at the window.  The falcon was lightly tapping her beak on the glass. 

“Do you think she’d let us touch her?” Wendy murmured.  She put her hand on the latch, and before John could protest, she opened the window.  The falcon cried out in triumph and launched herself into the room.  The children stepped back, startled, and the bird landed in their midst.  She shook out her feathers and cocked her head to one side.  Wendy slowly reached out to touch her.  However, before she had moved very far, the falcon’s shape blurred and stretched.  The children stumbled backwards, and John tripped over his own feet and fell onto his backside. 

When the falcon’s transformation was complete, a woman stood in the bird’s place.  She was clothed in a dress of fine green silk, and her brown hair was elegantly piled on top of her head.  When she turned to face the children, they saw that she was wearing spectacles framed by thin silver wire. 

“Magic!” Wendy whispered in wonder.  She cast an ‘I-told-you-so’ look at John, who looked as if his entire world had been turned inside out. 

“You are Wendy Darling?” the falcon-turned-lady asked. 

“Yes, that’s me.”  Wendy favored their visitor with her most welcoming smile. 

“Then you have been to Neverland.” 

The three of them looked at each other in surprise, and Michael’s mouth dropped open. 

“YOU know about Neverland?” he squeaked. 

“But you’re a grown-up,” Wendy said almost at the same time.   

The lady in green laughed, then paled for a moment and had to put her hand on Wendy’s shoulder to steady herself. 

“I suppose shape-shifting took more out of me than I’d thought,” she said.  Though she smiled, Wendy could feel how heavily the woman was leaning on her. 

“You can sit on my bed,” Michael offered.  

Once their guest was sitting down, Wendy asked her, “Please, tell us how you know about Neverland.” 

“And if you’ve seen Peter!” Michael added.  The lady looked down at her hands.

“I can’t tell you how I got there,” she said, “but I made the mistake of leaving, and I can’t seem to find the way back.”  The children nodded sympathetically.  “I was hoping you could help me.  I… left a good friend of mine in Neverland who I would very much like to see again.” 

John rubbed his chin, a mannerism he’d picked up from his father.  “I don’t suppose you mean one of the cousins…”

“Those are the Lost Boys,” Wendy explained. 

“Because they’re here now,” John finished. 

The lady blinked in surprise.  “The Lost Boys?  Here?  All of them?” 

“All but Peter,” Wendy said, her voice tinged with sadness. 

“Ah, I see,” the lady said.  “That one always did seem to be too much a part of Neverland to leave it for good.” 

Michael tugged on Wendy’s sleeve.  “How does she know so much?”  When no answer was forthcoming, he narrowed his eyes at the woman.  “How do you know so much, bird-lady?”

“Michael, don’t be rude!” Wendy said, then, to the lady, “I’m very sorry.  It’s just… we don’t know your name, though you seem to know ours.” 

“My name is Sophia.  I’m honored to finally meet you.”  She let her eyes rest on each of them in turn.  “All of you.  When I heard that there were children who had gone to Neverland and returned, I knew I had to try and find you.  Please… will you help me?” 

Wendy sighed and looked at the floor.  “I wish we could.  But, I’m afraid we don’t know how to get back to Neverland any more than you do.” 

“When we went before, we had Peter and Tinkerbell with us,” John said.  Wendy raised an eyebrow at him, surprised that he was admitting that their adventure had been real.  “What?” John asked.  “Can’t a man revise his beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence?” He gestured at Sophia. 

“Please, tell me anything you can remember,” Sophia said. 

“It’s the second star to the right,” Michael told her, trying to be helpful.  “I can show you!”  He ran over to the window.  Night had fallen quickly, and the sky was clear.  “It’s that one,” Michael said, pointing confidently at a bright star on the right edge of the horizon. 

“He’s right,” Wendy said.  “I remember Peter showing it to me.” 

“But how to get there from here…” Sophia murmured. 

“We flew,” Michael offered.  “With pixie du…” Wendy suddenly sprang up and clamped her hand over Michael’s mouth.  She looked at Sophia with suspicion. 

“You’re too old to be friends with any of the lost boys… So, tell me, if you don’t mind, who is this friend of yours you want to get back to?”

“I’ll bet he’s a pirate,” John said. 

Sophia nodded.  “Your brother is very perceptive, Wendy.  My… friend is a pirate.  You might have seen him.  He has a hook…”

“It was Captain Hook!” Michael yelled, a little too loudly. 

“Shhh!” Wendy and John hissed at the same time. 

“You want Mother and Father coming up here?” John asked.  Michael shook his head and snapped his mouth shut.  Wendy took several steps backwards, away from Sophia. 

“If you’re friends with Hook, than you’re Peter Pan’s enemy,” Wendy said.  “I won’t help you hurt him!” 

Sophia smiled, recognizing the protective look in the young woman’s eyes.  “Hurting Peter is the farthest thing from my mind.  Please believe me.  The only reason I want to return to Neverland is so that I can help the Jolly Roger sail away from it.”   

Wendy studied Sophia for a moment, and the sorceress didn’t flinch under her scrutiny.  “Your eyes are so sad,” Wendy finally said.  “I… I believe you.” 

“But we still don’t know how to get back to Neverland,” John reminded them. 

Wendy’s eyes lit up.  “No… I think we do!  Or, at least, we might.” She turned excitedly to her brothers.  “The Lost Boys all fell out of their prams in the park… only to be picked up by fairies and taken to Neverland.  And didn’t Peter say Tinkerbell found him in the park?”

“I think he did,” John agreed. 

“There are fairies in Hyde Park!” Michael said, putting the pieces together. 

“At least, sometimes there are,” John amended. 

“Of course…” Sophia murmured.  “Hyde Park is where I went to sleep the night before I woke up in Neverland.” 

“We can’t go tonight,” Wendy told Sophia, “but if you come back tomorrow morning, we aren’t in school.  We’ll get the Lost Boys, and we’ll help you look for a fairy guide.” 

Sophia smiled, and reached out and took Wendy’s hand.  “Thank you,” she said.  Her eyes were bright, and Wendy wondered if Sophia wasn’t about to cry.  However, she collected herself and stood up.  “I will see you in the morning, then.” She walked over to the window, and her shape blurred back into that of the white falcon.  She launched herself from the windowsill and soared out over the rooftops. 

Back in the Darling house, Wendy, Michael and John rushed downstairs, whispering to each other.  They had a great deal to tell the cousins later when their parents weren’t listening. 

*****

            At ten o’clock the next morning, Wendy peeked out of her window and saw Sophia walking purposefully down the street.  She was dressed for an outing in the park, and had traded in her finery for a simple dress and a broad-brimmed straw hat.  Wendy ran down the hallway and poked her head into John’s room, where he and Michael were playing. 

            “She’s here,” Wendy whispered. 

            John and Michael hastily pulled on coats and shoes and ran down the stairs. 

“Mother, Father, we’re going to the park,” John shouted as they dashed for the door.  Wendy made it out of the house and across the street to Sophia’s side before her parents could react.  John and Michael, however, were not so lucky, and Mr. and Mrs. Darling followed them onto the front porch.  Mrs. Darling spent a moment fussing over their coats and hats, and making sure that they were dressed properly to go out into the crisp fall morning. 

“Now, tell me where you’re going again?” Mr. Darling asked. 

“Just to the park, Father,” John said.

“The cousins are already there, playing ball,” Michael added.

“And Wendy’s going with us,” John told them.  He pointed across the street at Wendy, and Mr. Darling turned to look at his daughter and the stranger she was standing with. 

Sophia clasped her fingers around Wendy’s arm, and a pained expression came over her face. 

“That man… who is he?” Sophia asked.   “I saw him yesterday when I was a bird, but now, seeing him through human eyes…”

“That’s my father,” Wendy said. 

“How very interesting…” Sophia murmured.  “He reminds me of someone I knew once, that’s all.” 

“He reminds you of Captain Hook, doesn’t he?” Wendy said.  Sophia colored slightly and stared at Wendy in shock.  The young girl had spoken Sophia’s thoughts exactly, but Sophia would never have dreamed of making the comparison in Wendy’s hearing for fear of insulting her.  Seeing the shock on Sophia’s face, Wendy shrugged.  “I noticed the same thing when we came back from Neverland.  They could be brothers.  Strange, isn’t it?”

“Very,” Sophia said. 

Wendy giggled.  “What an interesting family that would be!” 

Michael and John, having finally obtained their parents’ approval, rushed across the street and the four of them started their journey to the park.  Wendy and Sophia walked side by side like old friends, and the two boys ran ahead. 

“The Captain is more than your friend,” Wendy said when they had walked without speaking for several blocks. 

            A momentary look of fear passed across Sophia’s face before she cautiously answered, “Yes.”  She studied Wendy for any sign that the girl was going to change her mind about helping her. 

            “I knew it,” Wendy said, and smiled.  Sophia did not smile back, but seemed somewhat relieved that Wendy wasn’t angry.  “It’s quite obvious, you know.  Every time you talk about him, you smile, even if you’re trying to be serious, and your eyes light up.” 

            “Am I so easy to read?” Sophia asked. 

            “A little,” Wendy admitted.  “But I think… it’s nice.  I always thought that Captain Hook seemed very lonely.  It’s nice to know he had a sweetheart.” 

“Had?” Sophia looked rather concerned at her use of the past tense.

Wendy’s face grew serious as she wondered whether or not she should tell Sophia what she knew of the Captain’s fate.  Finally, she said, “You should know… since you’re going back… the last time I saw Hook, well, there was a crocodile…”

Sophia stopped walking.  “Yes?” she said, her eyes wide with concern. 

“I think it might have gotten him,” Wendy said. 

Sophia sighed.  “Well, I suppose I will just have to go back and see what’s happened for myself.” 

Tentatively, Wendy took Sophia’s hand.  “I never thought I’d say this,” Wendy said, “but I hope he’s not dead.  I hope you find him.” 

Not being used being on the receiving end of such good feeling, Sophia wasn’t quite sure what to say.  At last she settled on “Thank you.” 

The women continued walking down the street, arm in arm.  When they reached the entrance to the park, Sophia said, “I wouldn’t worry too much about the crocodile.  Things in Neverland have a way of not being so final as they might seem.” 

A few feet into the park, they were met by Michael, John, and a whole troupe of boys, most of whom, though they were a little older, were faintly familiar to Sophia. 

“This is the lady from the pirate ship!” Tootles exclaimed.  “I remember her!”

They crowded around her, and Sophia began to feel distinctly uncomfortable as she recalled the last time she’d had contact with any of them. 

“Don’t worry, Lady,” Slightly said, seeing her worried expression.  “John and Wendy have explained everything.  Besides, it’s good to see someone from Neverland again!”

“We’ll help you look for fairies!” the Twins said in unison.  And with that, they all ran off in different directions. 

The rest of the day was spent in looking under rocks and leaves, exploring hidden hollows in trees, and poking through flower beds.  All of this, of course, was with frequent stops for games, and a long pause for lunch on the grass.  Though Sophia enjoyed herself more than she had in quite some time, when the sun began to set, they were no closer to finding a fairy guide for Sophia than they had been in the morning. 

“It didn’t work,” Michael said apologetically.  They had all gathered around the bench Sophia was sitting on, and most of them had dirt and leaves clinging to their clothes and hair. 

“But we looked everywhere!” Curly said.

“And if anyone would know where to find a fairy, it would be us,” Slightly said.  The others nodded in agreement.  Some of them sighed wistfully, and others hung their heads in disappointment. 

“Too many people looking,” Nibs said at last.  Sophia raised her head and regarded him with interest.  Nibs had been nearly silent all day. 

“Why do say that?” she asked. 

“Fairies only come to take you to Neverland when you’re alone.  Lost.  Everyone knows that,” he said.

“Of course!  We were all alone when we got found,” Slightly said.

“Except for us!” the Twins reminded him. 

“Were you alone when you came to Neverland?” Nibs asked Sophia. 

“Very much so,” she answered.

“Well then,” Wendy said, standing up, “I think we should all go home.  Maybe if we leave Sophia by herself, the fairies will see how very lonely she is and take her with them.”

One by one, the Lost Boys headed home with cries of “Good luck!” and “Say hello to Peter for us!” thrown over their shoulders.  At last, only Wendy and Sophia were left. 

“Good luck,” Wendy said, and gently embraced Sophia.  “If… you don’t find anything, please come and visit us.  You don’t have to be all by yourself.” 

“Thank you, Wendy,” Sophia whispered.  She hugged the girl back, and found herself a little sorry that she would not have the time to get to know her and her family better.  Finally, Wendy stepped back, and both women wiped their eyes.

“If you see Peter, tell him… tell him that I haven’t forgotten,” Wendy said. 

“I will,” Sophia assured her.  Then, she was gone, and Sophia was alone in the park once more. 

The shadows continued to deepen, and passers by came fewer and far between.  When it was fully night, Sophia looked up at the star that Wendy had pointed out as Neverland. 

“And how do you fairies know when there’s a lonely child down here, hmm?” she asked aloud, since there was no one to hear her.  “They might sense it… sense when there is a lost one that needs them… Well, I am certainly lost.  And quite alone.”  She tried her hardest to concentrate on these melancholy feelings in hopes that they might attract the notice of Neverland’s magic, but dwelling on her situation was tiring, and painful, and as the half-moon rose over the trees, Sophia nodded off to sleep. 

 

Chapter 11 – The Return

 

            Far away, in Neverland’s fairy grove, the little folk were holding a great feast.  Hundreds of tiny lights flew about the hollow tree in an ever-changing pattern.  In the midst of it all, one pixie stopped his dance.  Hawk Dancer’s head shot up, and he flew a short distance away from his brethren.  He strained to catch the sound of the voice that he had heard just a moment ago.  It was a human’s voice, and one that was familiar to him, though he could not imagine how. 

            Hawk raced through the trees, looking for the one who had spoken to him.  He was not sure how he knew, but he was certain that she was sad and lonely.  His entire body was filled with the need to find her, to bring her to Neverland where she would never be alone again. 

            Other fairies passed him by, and Hawk Dancer chimed at them in confusion.  The others nodded sagely.  Hawk was hearing the call of a Lost One, they informed him, a rare honor among fairy-kind.  The only way to make the voice go away was to travel to earth, find the one who called to him, and bring her back. 

            Hawk chimed bashfully.  He did not know the way he should go.  The older fairies laughed and told Hawk he was a silly young thing.  No fairy knew the way, exactly.  He only needed to follow the sound of his Lost One’s voice, and that would lead him to her. 

            The pixie thanked his elders and shot into the sky, through the treetops and away from Neverland, the sound of the sad lady’s voice his only beacon. 

*****

            Sophia woke to the sound of a thousand tiny bells ringing in her ear.  She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with a very excited pixie.  She adjusted her glasses and reached out to touch him. 

            “Hawk?  Is that you?”  she asked.  It was rather difficult for her to believe that the fairy who had come to be her guide was the very one who had been her friend. 

            Hawk nodded happily, then flew around her, trailing golden pixie dust as he went.  

            “You remember me?” Sophia asked.  Hawk hovered in front of her, hands on hips, and chimed with annoyance.  Of course he remembered her!  Sophia laughed and kissed the top of his head. 

            “You’ve come to take me back, have you?” 

            Hawk nodded and took off down the path, motioning for her to follow him.  They wound through the park until they came to an open field of grass, silver under the light of the half-moon.  Hawk Dancer stopped abruptly and waited impatiently for Sophia to catch up with him. 

            “What do we do now?” she asked.  By way of an answer, Hawk sprinkled her with pixie dust and shot up into the air. 

            “I’m not sure I can keep the flying spell up all the way back to Neverland!” Sophia called after him.  An exasperated Hawk Dancer dropped back down to her level and let her know in no uncertain terms that she didn’t need any spells.  She had pixie dust, didn’t she?

            “And how does that work?” she asked.  Hawk Dancer gave her a big grin, pointed at his mouth, than tapped her on the forehead.  “Ah,” Sophia said.  “Happy thoughts.  I see.” She closed her eyes and thought of books, sweets, and James.  She rose a few inches off the ground, then a few feet, and then, laughing like a child, followed Hawk as he soared higher and higher over London. 

            The air got thinner and thinner, and Sophia had just begun to wonder whether pixie dust also had the ability to help one breathe in space when Hawk Dancer wrapped his hand around one of her fingers, and gave off a blinding burst of light.  Sophia blinked, trying to clear her vision.   When she could see again, the expanse of the Sea Between Worlds roiled beneath them. 

           “That’s… a different way to get to the Sea,” she murmured.  Hawk called for her to hurry up, they were nearly back, and this was no time for dawdling.  She hurried to catch up with him, and soon the mists broke, and she saw the single peak of Neverland’s mountain and the masts of the Jolly Roger in the bay.  The sun was rising just as they arrived, and the morning light wreathed the island in a halo of golden flame. 

            Sophia wiped away the tears that stung her eyes.  “For all the time I spent trying to find a way to get away from this place, I never thought I’d be so glad to see it,” she said.  She turned sharply, as if to get a good look at the island from the air, but Hawk chimed a warning at her. The pixie dust would soon wear off, and she was too weary to sustain her flying spell for long. 

            “It seemed to work for quite a long time for the Lost Boys,” Sophia said.  Hawk shrugged and held his hand at knee level, then above his head.  “It’s because I’m a grownup, then,” Sophia said.  Hawk nodded.  “Very well then.  I say we pay the pirate ship a visit.”  She veered downward, and Hawk had to fly as fast as he could to keep up. 

            From the moment that Sophia’s feet touched the deck, she knew that something was not as it should be.  The Jolly Roger’s sails were ripped and tattered, there was no watch on duty, and the ship was in general disarray.  Several pirates, apparently sleeping where they had fallen, snored loudly and clutched half-empty bottles of rum. 

            Sophia picked her way across the deck, trying not to step on anyone.  One single thought occupied her mind.  Where was the Captain?  She knew that James would never allow his ship to sink to such a miserable condition, and yet, she could not deny what she saw.  She remembered Wendy’s story about the crocodile and frowned. 

            The door to the Captain’s cabin was ajar, and Sophia carefully opened it and stepped inside.  Two more pirates were asleep at the table, the remnants of a large dinner spread about them.  Hook’s first mate, Mr. Smee, dozed in the Captain’s favorite chair.  The room looked like it had a nest of rats living in it, and there was no sign of James.  Her patience was beginning to run thin.  She walked over to Smee and shook him none too gently.  He spluttered a bit, and squinted at her as he tried to wake up. 

            “May I ask what exactly you think you’re doing in here?” Sophia demanded. 

            Smee scratched his head.  “I could ask you the same thing, Miss,” he replied. 

            “I came on board not five minutes ago, but no one saw me because no watch had been posted, and it appears that the entire crew is out cold from having too much to drink.”  The disapproval in her voice was obvious, and Smee cringed.  It had been quite some time since anyone had been around to berate him.  “Where is the Captain?” Sophia asked, suddenly switching tacks. 

            Smee, more fully awake now, stood and poked a gnarled finger at her.  “Now wait just a second, Missy.  I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m not about to start answering questions put to me by someone I’ve never seen before.” 

            “You don’t remember me?” Sophia asked.  “Because I remember you, Mr. Smee.” 

            The first mate’s mouth dropped, and he squinted at her some more.  “How did you know my name?”

            “I know all of your names.  And you know mine, you’ve just forgotten it.  I’m Sophia, the Captain’s friend.”  She stopped and waited for him to try to remember.  “Does that sound at all familiar?”

            “You?  Friends with the Captain?” Smee chuckled.  “Doesn’t seem very likely, a prim little thing like you.  Besides, the Captain doesn’t have no need for friends now.”  His face grew mournful, and as a reflex, he took his hat off and clapped it over his heart for a moment before cramming it back onto his head. 

            “And what’s that supposed to mean?” Sophia asked.  “What happened to Captain Hook?”  She was almost shouting, and her voice woke one of the sleeping pirates.  Seeing an unfamiliar intruder, the pirate lurched forward and was about to attack her when Hawk Dancer latched onto his wrist and drove his knife, no bigger than a rose thorn, into the pirate’s hand.  Sophia’s would be attacker yelped and tried to shake Hawk off, but the pixie, grinning wildly, held on.  “Make him stop that, or I will,” Sophia said to Smee, nodding at the frantic pirate.  One look at her face told the first mate that she was serious, as did the menacing looking ball of black mist that had appeared at her fingertips. 

            “No need to panic!” he shouted.  “Lady’s a friend!”  The pirate stopped and stared at Smee, dumbfounded.  Hawk sheathed his knife and flew away, sticking his tongue out at the pirate as went. 

            “That’s better,” Sophia said, and let the sleeping spell she’d been holding in readiness dissipate. “Now, I ask you again.  What happened?”

            “There was… a crocodile, and Peter Pan… Well, actually Peter Pan came first, and then the crocodile just happened to be there…” Smee rubbed his hands together anxiously.  “And then, Pan stole the ship, and it flew away… but when he came back, he left it in the harbor, and we all came back on board…”

            “All of you but the Captain?” Sophia prompted. 

            “Yes, Miss.  The Captain had already been… well… eaten.” 

            Sophia’s face went pale, and Smee cringed.  The lady, whom he had already decided was dangerous, was getting angry.  “You saw this?” she demanded.

            “Clear as daylight!  One moment, the Captain was falling, and then that great monstrous reptile jumped out of the water and SNAP!  Swallowed him whole.  Pan’s left us alone since then, seeing as how there’s no Captain to fight.  From what I hear tell, Pan and his new group of boys spend all their time chasing Indians and catching fairies these days.” 

            Sophia advanced on him, every muscle in her body held rigid.  It was all she could do to keep from falling apart completely.  She could not afford to show weakness at the moment.   She meant to find James, or to avenge him, whichever was appropriate.  And for that, she would need help and the respect of the ship’s crew. 

            “You’re telling me that your captain got eaten by that hideous beast, and you didn’t even go after it and try to avenge him? What kind of pirates are you?” she hissed. Though he was a good four inches taller than she, Smee shrunk back.

            “It’s a very big crocodile, Miss,” he said meekly.   

            “Useless,” Sophia muttered under her breath.  She brushed past Smee with the intent of going into her old room to think.  Upon finding the door locked, she stormed back into the Captain’s cabin. 

            “Where is the key to that door?” she asked. 

            “I… wouldn’t know, Miss,” Smee stammered.  “Captain had that place locked up long ago.” 

            She let out an exasperated sigh.  She was going to get nowhere with the pirates in their present disorganized state.  “I take it you’re in charge here?” 

            “I was the Captain’s first mate, so naturally…” 

            Sophia interrupted him.  “You are no longer in command, Mr. Smee.” She flicked her wrist, the door slammed shut, and every candle in the room burst into flame at once.   “I am.”

            Smee nodded, sufficiently cowed by her display of power. 

            “Now, I’d like for you to rouse the crew.  Get them sober, get them cleaned up, and get me a list of things that need to be done to make the ship seaworthy again.” 

            “Right away…. Miss,” Smee said, not quite sure what title of respect she expected him to use. 

            “And get someone in here to clean out this mess, please.  I’ll be using this room until the key to mine turns up.”  She was calmer now, and no longer looked ready to bore holes through him with her eyes alone. 

            “Of course, Miss… Sophia.” 

Sophia favored him with a kindly smile.  “Thank you,” she said.  There was no use in not being polite.  Besides, she didn’t fancy trying to bully the crew about all the time.  It would be much easier if they did what she asked because they liked and trusted her. 

Smee shook his head, as if trying to remember something he had long forgotten. Suddenly, as if a veil had been lifted, she saw recognition on his face.  “Miss Sophia?  It’s… you?  You came back!” 

“So you remember me now?” she asked. 

“I don’t understand how I ever forgot,” the old man said, looking a little embarrassed. 

“Well, I’m back now.  Go, tell the others.  Tell them… that we’re going to go and avenge our fallen Captain,” she said. 

Smee tottered out of the room, leaving Sophia alone.  She walked over to the wall that contained the secret passage to her room and pushed on the appropriate spots, curious to see if that entrance had been sealed as well.  Much to her disappointment, nothing happened.  She wandered over to the bed and threw herself none-too-gracefully across it, raining a cloud of dust as she did so.  Apparently, the pirates hadn’t thought to touch Hook’s fine bedding.  She took off her glasses, set them on the nightstand, and massaged her forehead.  This was not the return to Neverland she had envisioned. James was supposed to be waiting for her.  All her visions of a joyful reunion were turning out to be just that—insubstantial dreams. 

He can’t be dead, she told herself.  I can’t have come all this way to find him dead… I would have known.  I would have felt it.  But if he is… Sophia had never been one to savor the thought of harming another creature, but at that moment, images of the bloody death she planned to wreak upon the crocodile when she found it were quite satisfying. 

*****

            Sophia was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which the rest of the crew accepted her command.  True, Smee did have to threaten to knock the heads of any man who dared disobey her, and Sophia was forced to put on a little show of her power, but after a few tense moments most of the pirates either recognized her or realized that they would do well not to trifle with the short little sorceress.  By mid-afternoon, the ship was beginning to look like itself again, and James’ cabin was halfway livable. 

            Sophia spent most of the day poring over James’ maps of the island.  She found no trace of the crocodile’s lair.  Though there were many notations representing where the beast had been sighted, none of them seemed to be the crocodile’s home.  When, at last, she reached her wit’s end, she went out onto the deck to clear her mind.  It was summer in Neverland, and the water around the ship was blue and glassy. 

            Sophia looked over the edge and into the sea.  That creature is in these waters somewhere… It’s just one more secret I don’t have the answer to, she thought bitterly.  However, before she could indulge in any more self-pity, an idea occurred to her.  She hopped up onto the railing and swung her legs over to the other side so that she was sitting with her feet dangling above the water.  She closed her eyes, blocked out all of the noise around her, and tried to concentrate. 

            “Be careful you don’t fall, Miss!” a passing pirate said, seeing her balanced so precariously. 

            “I’m all right,” Sophia assured him.  “Now, please… don’t distract me.  What I’m doing is… not easy.”  The pirate tiptoed away, and shooed away all of his curious crewmates that had gathered around her.  Sophia sank back into a near trancelike state, and almost didn’t feel the change begin.  Therefore, she was rather surprised when she opened her eyes and saw a mottled fin instead of legs, and a blue-green webbed hand instead of her own slender fingers.  The crew was equally shocked to see a mermaid sitting where Sophia had been only a moment before.  On closer inspection, however, they saw that the mermaid’s face was vaguely like Sophia’s.  Not even waiting for all of the commotion to die down, she flashed a toothy smile at them and dove into the water. 

            Though she had never experienced the mermaid’s form before, swimming came naturally to her.  The water on her skin felt cool and smooth, like liquid wind.  As she swam, her sharp eyes were able to distinguish gradations of color that she had never seen before.   She made a full circle around the ship and met nothing but a startled school of angelfish.  Sophia flipped over onto her back and laughed soundlessly as the colorful fish flashed by her and saltwater streamed through her long, tangled hair.  Satisfied that there were no other mermaids nearby, she struck out for the lagoon. 

            The magic of the mermaids’ secret place pressed in heavily on Sophia’s mind as she swam in lazy circles around it.  She remembered being frightened of it once, but now, the ancient power that was there filled her, made her feel safer and stronger.  It was a heady, intoxicating sensation, like drinking too much wine too quickly. 

A subtle change in the currents at her back alerted her to the presence of another.  She spun around and saw a familiar face.  The mermaid with the kelp-green hair swam in place a few feet away. 

Your powers have grown.  You can take our form now, she said. 

Yes, Sophia replied, and yet I still come to you for help… Sister.   She hoped she was not being too forward in naming the mermaid thus. 

Ishari.  I am called Ishari, the mermaid told her.  Much has changed since you left this place. 

I know.  That is why I must ask you… do you and your sisters know where the crocodile makes its home? 

Ishari laughed and bared her teeth.  You do not seek the crocodile.  You seek the Dark Captain. 

You are wise, Sophia conceded.

I know you, Sophia. 

If Sophia was surprised that the mermaid knew her name without being told, she did not show it.  Please… tell me.  Does he still live? she asked.

Ishari swam past her and beckoned for her to follow.  I will tell you.  And I will show you.   Sophia did not quite understand, but she followed anyway.  The crocodile is not a mortal beast, the other mermaid told her as they swam.  She is old, and she is cruel.  Ishari came up beside Sophia and grabbed her wrist, and Sophia’s mind was suddenly crowded with images of wounded, dying mermaids. Some were missing hands and arms, others had jagged bite marks on their tails and bodies.  She has always been an enemy, Ishari said. 

Was she always an enemy of the Dark Captain?  Sophia asked.  The other stopped for a moment, considering the question.

The crocodile did not hate him.  She wanted him.  She wanted to feed on him.  And now she has him.    

Sophia would have screamed if her voice would have made any noise under the water.  Rage and confusion and unspeakable despair boiled up within her.  He is dead, then! 

Ishari moved her hand to the side of Sophia’s face, and a measure of calm came back to the sorceress’ mind. 

Not dead.  That is not how the Old One feeds.  Ishari said.

But, how… I do not understand.

I told you.  The crocodile is cruel.  She loves nothing better than dark feelings.  Hatred.  Malice.  Anger.  Despair.  These are her favorite foods. If he were dead, he could not satisfy her hunger.    

The pirates told me they saw him swallowed whole, Sophia said. 

They did not lie, Ishari told her.  He lives inside of her, and she draws what she wants from him. 

James certainly had enough of those things to keep her… full… for a long time, Sophia said.   

Even he will be spent one day.  The crocodile cannot keep draining him forever.  And when he no longer feeds her, she will let him die. 

How soon? Sophia asked. 

It has been many, many moons since she swallowed him.  If you wish to save him, you must do it soon.  Ishari angled in towards land.  Do you know this place? She asked. 

Not from under the water, Sophia said. 

Then we shall surface, Ishari said.  They broke the surface of the water, and Sophia instinctively tried to take in a breath of air, only to find that nothing happened.  You breathe the water now, Ishari said, a slightly mocking smile on her face.  Now do you know where you are? 

Sophia nodded.  She had only seen the bleak, dark stones a few times, and she had only been inside once, but she knew instantly where she was.

The Black Castle, she said. 

The crocodile’s home is here, in a chamber deep in the caves.  I will show you the way.  Again, Ishari touched Sophia’s face, and soon Sophia knew the way.  When you face her, call to us.  We will come.  She pressed a small white shell into Sophia’s hand.  Use this.  We will hear you.   As soon as Sophia had accepted it, the mermaid arched her back and sped away, leaving Sophia to swim back to the Jolly Roger on her own. 

Upon returning to the ship, she changed back to her own form while she was still in the water, then yelled at the crewman on watch until he saw her and let down a rope.  When they pulled her on board, dripping wet, she was smiling widely. 

“Find Mr. Smee.  Tell him I want to talk to him in the Captain’s cabin,” she instructed them, then swept away, leaving a trail of water on the deck behind her. 

Sophia was still in her wet clothing when Mr. Smee came to speak with her.  She hadn’t had the time to go looking for a change of clothes, and all of her things were still locked in her cabin. 

“You wanted to see me, Miss?” Smee said. 

“I want to go after the crocodile,” Sophia announced.  “Tomorrow, if possible.  What I need to know is this: will the crew follow me?  Because I can’t go alone.” 

The old pirate gawked at her. 

“What you’re suggesting… it’s madness!  You haven’t seen the size of that thing!  The other lads like you well enough, but no one’s going to be crazy enough to follow you into that!”

“What if I could convince them we could win?” she asked.  “I know where its lair is.  We could take it by surprise.  And we wouldn’t be fighting the crocodile with only steel and gunpowder.”  She created a tiny flame and switched it from fingertip to fingertip on her left hand.  “We’d have my abilities as well.  And we would not be alone.  The mermaids would join us to fight our common enemy.” 

While Smee was not exactly convinced, he no longer looked as if he thought the plan was complete insanity. 

“They might follow you, if you told him all that,” he said. 

“And if I told them that the Captain was alive, and I meant to free him?” 

“That might help.”  Smee looked down his nose at her and tapped his chin.  “One thing’s certain, though.  None of them’ll follow you into battle if you’re dressed like that, no matter how stirring a speech you give them.” 

She narrowed her eyes and looked down at her wet dress.  “Dressed like what?  What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“You look like… well… a woman.  Not very encouraging if you’re going to be leading them into a fight, you know?” 

Sophia looked down at her long skirts and tried very hard not to be offended.  “No… I suppose not,” she said. 

When Smee was gone, she went to James’ closet and threw open the doors.  “If a pirate’s what they need, a pirate’s what they’re going to get,” she muttered to herself.

 

Chapter 12 – A Daring Rescue

 

            When Sophia emerged from Hook’s cabin the next morning, she pretended not to notice the shocked stares on the faces of the crew.   A late night visit to the ship’s hold had turned up a pair of black breeches that fit her perfectly, as well as a pair of fine black boots that reached halfway to her knees.  She had borrowed one of James’ shirts, as well as an emerald green sash that she had tied around her waist.  Her hair was held back by a bright purple scarf.  Though she only had the most rudimentary idea of how to use it, she had belted on one of James’ lighter swords to complete the effect.  When she had inspected her costume in the mirror, she had thought herself rather ridiculous at first.  However, she squared her shoulders, drew herself up to her full height, and realized that she couldn’t get away with just looking the part.  She had to act it.  And for James, she would do just that.   

            She strode purposefully to the center of the deck and hopped up on top of a barrel so that she stood above the rest of the pirates. 

            “I don’t know about the rest of you,” she shouted so that all could hear, “but I’m going to go get the Captain back.  And I’m not going to let one miserable crocodile stop me!”

            “The croc’ll kill us all!” someone shouted. 

            Sophia sneered.  “You’re afraid, are you?” The pirate who had spoken shrunk back.  “Fine, then,” Sophia said.  “I, for one, am not afraid.”  She laughed derisively.  “And I am a woman!  If needs be, I’ll go alone and leave the rest of you men cowering on the ship in fear.”   

            The crew began to shift uncomfortably.  They did not like the idea of shrinking away from a fight the woman standing in front of them was more than happy to throw herself into.  What kind of pirates would they be to say no when she was obviously so fearless? 

            “We can win,” Sophia assured them as soon as she saw them begin to waver.  “There is only one crocodile, and there are many of us.  I have magic, and we have allies who will help us when the time is right.”  She reached into a pouch that was tied onto her belt and fingered the shell that Ishari had given her, just to make sure it was still there. 

            “Who will come with me?” Sophia asked.  “Who will be among those the Captain rewards when he returns?”  The pirates began to look worried once again, suspecting that those who didn’t help out in the rescue would meet an unpleasant end when the Captain found out they had stayed behind. 

            With one voice, the pirates roared their approval and brandished swords and guns to show how ready they were to take on the enemy. 

            “Gather your weapons,” Sophia ordered.  “Man the long boats.  We sail for the Black Castle!”  The pirates let out another warlike yell, and Sophia started almost imperceptibly, surprised that her words had had such an effect. 

            Within minutes, the boats were loaded and ready to go.  Sophia took her place at the prow of the boat in the lead and gave the order to cast off.  Many sets of oars hit the water at once, and they were soon cutting through the water with fast, powerful strokes.  The shore flew by as they skirted around the island.  Sophia ordered her crew to keep a sharp eye out for Peter Pan and his band, in case the Lost Boys decided to come investigate what the pirates were up too.  She also kept her eyes open for any sign that the crocodile knew they were coming.   

            All of this watchfulness, however, was unneeded, and they reached the yawning cavern of the Black Castle without seeing another living thing.  The gargoyles carved into the stone over the entrance seemed to mock them and call them fools.  The pirates exchanged nervous glances, and looked at Sophia for their orders. 

            “We go in!” she called, and waved for the boats to move forward.  “Keep behind me!”  She turned to the men rowing her boat.  “Make for the tunnel at the back of the cavern on the left,” she told them. 

            The only sound any of them could hear was the slap of the oars on the water as they entered the tunnel.  The boats were forced to go in single file, and the ceiling was low enough that some of the taller pirates could have brushed their heads against it had they stood up.  The light from outside grew fainter and fainter. 

            “Light torches!” Sophia ordered.  “I want to see what’s ahead of us.”  A few seconds later, spots of orange flame sprung up around her. 

            “Couldn’t you… you know, light our way with a spell?” asked Smee, who was in the boat with her. 

            “I could, but it would tire me.  I need to save my magic for when I have most need of it,” she said. 

            The tunnel widened, and the boats were able to go two by two.  Using the memory Ishari had given her, twice more Sophia directed the crew when a new tunnel branched off from the main waterway.  As soon as they turned down the second branch, a dank stench wafted down the corridor.  Sophia wrinkled her nose in disgust.  But, still, she smiled.  They were getting close.  She reached out with her mind.   If the crocodile was as unnatural a creature as the mermaid said it was, Sophia knew she would be able to sense it long before she saw it. 

            At last, the tunnel ended and opened up into a vast cavern.  The light from the torches did not even reach the ceiling, but Sophia could see faint sunlight coming in through cracks high above their heads.  The floor of the cave was not entirely covered in water, and as they rowed farther in, Sophia heard the sound of water lapping on dry ground.  She ordered the pirates to make for shore, and when they had pulled the boats out of the water, they saw that the cave extended even farther than any of them had expected. The crocodile was nowhere in sight, though the smell was worse than ever.  From the hollow sound of their whispers, it seemed likely that the area of the cave’s dry land was far larger than the small space illuminated by their torches.    

            Sophia waited patiently while the boats were unloaded.  She had thought it prudent to bring ropes and chains in case they had the opportunity or the need to subdue the monster in order to extract the Captain.  When the task was finished, the pirates huddled around Sophia, waiting for her to decide what to do. 

            “We go forward,” Sophia announced.  “The crocodile will know we’re coming long before we reach her, but thanks to the clock she swallowed, we will hear her long before she’s close enough to hurt us, so stay sharp.  We can’t let her catch us in a small space where we have to fight her one on one.  She’ll win.  We’ll try and draw her out into the open, where we can all get at her at once.  Try to get her to come down to the water.  She has enemies there, as well.”    She glanced at Mr. Smee uncertainly.  She was not a warrior, and had no idea what other pieces of advice she was supposed to be dispensing.

            “Stay out of the way of its teeth,” the first mate added, “and watch the tail.  Try and get at her legs, her eyes, and her belly.” 

            “We should make a lot of noise, all the echoes in this place might confuse her,” another pirate suggested. 

            Sophia suddenly remembered something important. “Hurt her, get her down, but don’t kill her!” she admonished them.  “I don’t know what will happen if she dies with the Captain still inside of her.  Now, let’s go.”  She grabbed a torch from one of the pirates and led the way.  As they walked, she drew the white shell out of her pouch. 

            She sent her thought out.  Come now.  I will need you soon. 

            Shoulder to shoulder, they advanced cautiously, swords at the ready.  No one spoke, and occasionally one of the men with a torch would wave it at a brief gust of wind.  The first any of them heard of it was a steady “tick-tock, tick-tock,” coming from directly in front of them.  The sound was far away, but getting closer by the second. 

            “She’s here!” 

            “The Croc’s coming!” 

            Amidst the shouts of the crew, Sophia heard the sound of a huge creature walking across the stone and felt something old and terrible brush against her mind. 

           “Stand your ground!  Make her come to us!” she yelled.  She didn’t want any of the crew going deeper into the cave. 

            “I can’t see her, Miss,” Smee said.

            “Where is she?” another asked. 

            “Don’t worry, we’re about to be shown her location,” Sophia said.  A streak of light flashed across the cave. Hawk Dancer, with his fairy-sight, needed no torches to find the crocodile.  He danced around the beast’s head, avoiding her snapping teeth. 

            “There!” Sophia shouted.  The pirates rushed toward the pixie’s light, which was coming closer by the instant.  The first ones to meet the crocodile were lucky.  She had been sleeping when she heard the voices of intruders in her cave, and she was blinded by the Hawk’s light and the orange glow of the torches.  Still, she could hear her enemies perfectly well.  She snapped her jaws at them and swung her powerful tail, knocking the legs right out from under several of the pirates.  As her eyes adjusted, the crocodile only got more angry.  Were these not the pathetic sailors whose captain she had eaten?  Where were they doing here?  How dare they disturb her in her own caves? 

            For the most part, the pirates’ swords struck harmlessly against her hard scales, and Sophia saw a dagger thrown by one of the crew glance off as if it had been nothing more than a twig.  Those with torches swung them at the crocodile, hoping that fire might hurt her where steel could not.  The crocodile simply swatted the torches from their hands with her tail, or lunged for the fire-bearing men, trying to remove them, and the light they carried, from the fight.  The old creature watched with great satisfaction as a pirate had been holding one of the torches sailed over her head and landed in the water.  The light went out with a hiss. 

            “Light!  We need more light!” Smee yelled. 

            Sophia whispered an incantation and threw a pinch of powder into the air.  A ball of faint blue light shot up to the ceiling of the cavern, illuminating the entire cave just enough for the pirates to be able to see their adversary.  Now that they didn’t have to wonder exactly where she was, the pirates charged in with new fervor.  One of them, a quick, nimble fellow, managed to dash in and put a gash in her belly before she could turn her head to snap at him.  However, this one small victory did not change the fact that the crocodile was able to keep most of them at a safe distance.  For such a large creature, she was surprisingly agile. 

            While the crew distracted the crocodile, Sophia prepared another incantation.  When the beast was not looking her way, she conjured two balls of flame and hurled them at the crocodile’s eyes.  Sophia’s aim was true, and the croc roared in pain.  Seeing the enemy so disoriented, more pirates rushed in to take advantage of her weakness.  They slashed at her tender sides, and one pirate even had the gall to jump onto her tail and drive his sword straight down through it.  He would have pinned her to the ground had she not lashed her tail to the side, throwing him off and taking his sword with her. 

            This new enemy that could make light and throw fire was more than the crocodile had been expecting.  And, the pirates were braver than she remembered.  So, she lumbered toward the water, meaning to dive beneath the sea where the pirates and their witch could not follow her.  The instant she entered the water, however, the croc was surrounded by an angry pack of mermaid that held sharp bone knives and had murder in their eyes.  Seeing the croc’s confusion, Ishari sprung forward and buried her knife to the hilt the in crocodile’s neck.  The monster slunk backwards.  She would find no safety in the sea. 

            She turned back to face the pirates, who had circled around her.  Every time one of them came near, she snapped her teeth in the direction of the sound.  The pirates approached her carefully, for even though the croc was practically blind and bleeding from many wounds, her huge jaws could still bite a man in half. 

            One of the pirates, Sophia thought she recognized him as Bill Jukes, threw the harpoon he carried like a spear.  It struck true, and lodged in the crocodile’s breast.  The croc roared, and writhed in pain. 

            “NOW!” Sophia shouted. 

            On her command, the crew grabbed the ropes and chains they had brought, and wrapped them around the crocodile’s legs, tail, mouth, and body.  Though it took every man on the crew to subdue her, they brought her crashing to the ground.  As the croc landed, Sophia thought she heard the sound of bones breaking.  She marched up to the fallen creature.  The crocodile glared at the sorceress, the one she blamed for her pain, and tried to wriggle out of her bonds. 

            “Hold her tight!” Sophia yelled.  She spoke a single word of Power, and the croc’s chains suddenly increased in weight and strength a hundredfold.  The pirates no longer had to do anything to keep the creature down.  Sophia sauntered over to the crocodile’s side, put her hand on the haft of the harpoon and pulled it free.  The crocodile bellowed in pain. 

            “No one has died here yet,” Sophia said conversationally, looking the croc in the eye.  “And, if you cooperate, no one will.”  The crocodile growled at her.  “You understand me.  I know you do.  You can’t fool me.” 

 The croc gnashed at the chains holding her mouth shut.  Sophia understood her to mean she wanted to speak.  

“I’ll loose the chains on your mouth, but you so much as snap at any of my crew, and I’ll let the nice pirate with his axe resting on your neck sever your spine from the rest of your body.” 

The crocodile snorted.  She knew why Sophia was there, and knew the sorceress wanted her alive. 

“I don’t think this will kill you,” Sophia continued.  “You seem rather hardy.  However, if I don’t miss my guess, it will probably paralyze you completely.  I wonder how long you’d last… unable to move, unable to hunt…”

The crocodile calmed and nodded her head slightly.  At Sophia’s signal, two pirates came forward and unwound the chains around the croc’s mouth. 

“You have something I want,” Sophia said.  “Give him back to me, and we’ll leave you in peace.” 

The crocodile’s belly shook, and Sophia realized that it was laughing. 

“And why would I do that, Witch?” the croc rumbled in a deep, gravelly voice. “Hook is the finest meal I’ve had in years.  Centuries.  I knew from the day I got his hand that he would be a most delicious feast.”  If Sophia didn’t know better, she would have sworn that the crocodile smiled maliciously at her.  “And he has been delicious.” 

“Give him back,” Sophia said again.  “Give him back, or I’ll see you dead.” 

“You wouldn’t want him back now, not what he’s become,” the crocodile said.  “His mind was already weak, made so by the magic of the island.  He’s nothing more than a shivering, screaming ball of pain and hatred.” 

“He’s in pain… right now… inside of you?” Sophia asked.  Horror and anger vied for the place of prominence in Sophia’s mind. 

“He has to feel in order for me to feed.  So, I must keep him angry and in pain.” 

The thought of anyone doing such a thing to another, especially to one she loved, was too much for Sophia to bear.  She drew her sword, screamed, and dove at the crocodile.  She stopped with the point of her sword pressing on the croc’s skull, a few inches from its right eye. 

“Give him back!  Give him back now, or I’ll kill you myself!”

The creature chuckled.  “You kill me, you might kill him.” 

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Sophia snarled.  “Even if he were to die, it would be more merciful than letting you continue to hurt him.” She put a little pressure on her sword, and felt the tip hit bone.  “Decide.  Now.” 

“Stand back,” the crocodile said.  Sophia and the pirates backed away.  The croc took a few deep breaths, and a rumbling noise came from the pit of her stomach.  She heaved once, gagged, and spit the Captain, unconscious, out of her gaping mouth. He rolled for a few feet, then lay still. 

Sophia rushed to his side.  His eyes were tightly shut, his hair was long and tangled, and his clothes had long since been eaten away by whatever vile concoction seethed in the belly of the crocodile.  With trembling hands, she touched the side of his neck, feeling for a heartbeat.  At last, she felt it.  It was there, but faint.   She sighed in relief and closed her eyes for a moment.  She couldn’t be frantic.  Not yet.  James still needed her to have a clear head. 

“Someone get me a blanket, or a coat,” she said to the crew.  “I need something to cover him.”  Wordlessly, several of the pirates took the coats from their own shoulders and offered them to her.  She accepted one of them and wrapped it around James’ shivering body.

“Get him to the boats,” she said. 

The crew gathered up their weapons and gave the prone crocodile a wide berth as they made their way back to the longboats.  Three pirates carefully carried James between them.  Sophia was the last one standing at the creature’s side, intently studying the one who had caused her so much pain. At last, when she had had enough, she turned and followed the crew.  The crocodile, still weighted down by the unnaturally heavy chains roared after her to get her attention.

“I gave you what you wanted!  Release me, Witch!” 

Sophia kept walking.

 

Chapter 13 – Lost Memories

 

For once, James was not dreaming of death.  His dreams of late had been filled with blood and war.  He had dreamed of roaming through empty, blasted landscapes, hunting for something he could not find, angry for a reason he could not remember.  He had dreamed of great battles and screaming armies, and of cutting through his enemies with cruel joy.  But now, James dreamed of flying.  He floated on the back of a cloud that lifted him up and carried him over green hills, blue lakes, and fields wild with flowers.  His eyes widened.  After traveling through barren lands for so long, such beauty was strange to him.  Such sights had been familiar to him once, but his recent nightmares had driven away all the pleasant thoughts he’d ever had.  He sank deeper into the cloud, and felt the memory of happiness beginning to return.  Warm wind passed over him and James lifted his face to meet it. For the first time in what seemed like many ages, he was at peace. 

James opened his eyes and believed himself to be deceived.  He lay in his own bed in the captain’s cabin on the Jolly Roger with the afternoon sun streaming through the window.  He distinctly remembered being swallowed by the crocodile, and yet there he was, covered with a soft down quilt and surrounded with no less than five big, comfortable pillows.  He was wearing a long white night-shirt, and when he put a hand to his face, he knew that he’d had a good shave recently. 

A pixie who had been watching the Captain intently jumped up the moment James moved and jangled in the ear of a woman with glasses who was sitting on a chair at his bedside.  She looked up from the book she had been reading with a start.  Her eyes found James’ and she stood suddenly, dropping her book to the floor. 

“You’re awake,” she said. 

“This isn’t a dream?” he asked. 

“No, this is real,” she told him.  She put a cool hand on his forehead, and her fingers lingered on his face for a long while, tracing the line of his jaw and the curve of his mouth.  James looked up at her, confused.  She took her hand away.

“How did I get here?” he asked.  “How long was I away from my ship?” An old fire was rekindled in his eyes.  “What news of Peter Pan?”

Sophia searched his face for any sign of recognition.  Finding none, she sighed and told him, “Your crew and I fought the crocodile and won.  We made her release you.  That was three days ago.  You’ve been asleep since we brought you home. As for the rest, I’m not sure how long you were gone, and I’ve heard that Peter Pan hasn’t been seen by any of your crew for months.”

“You went up against that monster… for me?” he asked.  He struggled to sit up.  “Why?  I know my crew.  They would not have acted alone.  It must have been you… Who are you to risk so much for my sake?”  

His question seemed to affect her physically. She closed her eyes, and her breath became more ragged.  She sat on the edge of his bed and took hold of his hand, which was lying on top of the covers. 

“Do you not know me?” she asked.  Her eyes were tired, and where they had been full of joy a moment before at seeing him awake, they now brimmed with pain.  James suddenly wanted very much to tell her that he did know her, but he could not. 

“I know I do not wish to hurt you,” he said, “by being unable to give you the answer you’d like.”

“That’s something, then,” Sophia said.  She tried to sound cheerful, but when she turned her face away, James saw that she was crying.  Her face was wet, and new tears were forming at the corners of her eyes. 

“You… cry because I do not know you?” he asked. 

“Yes.” Her voice was almost too small to hear. 

James studied her carefully as he removed his hand from her grasp and pressed his palm against the side of her face.   

“Don’t be sad,” he told her.  “I don’t remember much of anything, but… somehow… I know your face, your voice.” 

“Perhaps your memories will return with time.  I’m simply glad to see that you are alive.”  Sophia sniffed once and smiled hesitantly.  “I thought that I might have lost you, James.” 

When she said his name, a memory that had been long-hidden was triggered in Hook’s mind.  No one called him James.  He could not recall anyone using it since he’d come to Neverland.  No one, that is, except for the one who had written the letter.  The one who had loved him. 

“It was you,” he murmured.  Sophia leaned close, fearing that he was slipping into delirium.  “You wrote me a letter once.  I found it in the empty room.” 

“Yes!  I did!” she said. 

“Then I know your name, Sophia.” 

She let out a happy cry and threw her arms around him with such force that both of them fell backwards onto the mound of pillows.  James, who was taken aback by her sudden exuberant show of affection, coughed awkwardly.  Sophia immediately disentangled herself from him.   She straightened her dress and pushed her glasses, which were askew, back to their proper place on her nose. 

“I’m… I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to…”  She blushed.  “It’s just that… I’m glad you got my note.  And that you know my name.” 

He smiled at her, as if to tell her no harm had been done.  “Your letter is in my desk, in the secret compartment in the first drawer, would you bring it to me?” James requested.  “The key to your room is with it, I believe.”  She opened the drawer.  “You have to put your fingers on either side of…”

He heard the sound of the hidden latch popping open before he could finish. 

“I know how to open it,” Sophia said.  “You showed me once.”  The envelope was tucked beneath several ancient golden coins, and some gems that were especially finely cut.  She carefully pulled it out and brought it over to him.  He shook the envelope until the key fell into his hand and held it out to her. 

“I’m glad to see this,” she said.  “It’ll be nice to have my own room back.  Besides, I’d imagine you’ll need some privacy, now that you’re awake.” 

The implications of her words were not lost on him. 

“Where have you been staying?” he asked. 

Sophia shrugged.  “Right here, of course.”  She pointed at the rumpled half of the bed the Captain was not occupying.  “It’s a big bed, James,” she said practically.  “And I wanted to be nearby if you woke, even if it was in the night.” 

James raised an eyebrow.  Though he remembered nothing about her, somehow he wasn’t surprised at her lack of concern for propriety.  Hoping that he might be able to bring back some memory of her, he took the letter from the envelope and reread it for the first time since he had put it away.  When he finished, he looked up at her hopeful, smiling face and shook his head. 
            “I know from this letter that you love me…”

“But you remember nothing else,” Sophia finished for him. 

“Perhaps, as you say, everything will come back to me in time,” he said.  He tried to sit up further and winced.

“You’re still weak from being curled up in that crocodile for so long,” Sophia told him.  “You should rest.  I’ll leave you in peace, now.” 

She bent down, meaning to kiss him on the cheek.  James, however, had other ideas.  He reached out quickly with his good arm and pulled her close to him.  He pressed his lips against hers, and though Sophia tensed for a moment, she soon abandoned any reservations she might have had and let him kiss her. 

When they parted, Sophia was having trouble breathing normally again.  James gave her a wily smile and ran his fingers through her hair. 

“Now that, I seem to remember quite well,” he said. 

Sophia embraced him again, more carefully this time.  Suddenly, he gasped, and pulled away from her so that he could see her face.  He stared at her in wonder, as if he were seeing her for the first time. 

“The first day I met you, you floated apples and oranges around my cabin.  You almost dropped one on my head,” he said.  Sophia nodded vigorously, and motioned for him to continue.  “I remember… You met the Lost Boys, and we had an argument.  You broke the door with... leaves and vines.”  Again he looked to her for confirmation of his new-found memories. 

Sophia bit her lip in embarrassment, but finally said, “Yes, go on.”

“We went to the fairy grove together… We saw them dance…” He smiled at the memory.  “And the first time I kissed you, I thought I’d frightened you away.” 

“But you hadn’t,” Sophia reminded him. 

James grinned.  “I remember that, as well.” As other memories returned to him, his face grew serious.  “I remember the day you left, now.  I waited for many days, and you did not return.” 

The bare, raw pain on his face made her mouth go dry.  “I wanted to,” Sophia said.  She drew her legs onto the bed and curled up next to him.  “I tried so hard to find my way back…” She shivered and drew the covers over herself. 

“Tell me,” James urged her.

“For days, I traveled over the Sea Between Worlds, trying to go back the way I had come, but I found nothing but fog and water.  When I was too exhausted to maintain the flying spell, I thought I was going to die.  But then… there was a boat…”  She yawned and rubbed her eyes. “It’s a very long story, and there will be plenty of time for the telling of it later, when we’re off this island.  For now, suffice it to say that I found my way back to earth, and with the help the Darling children—I believe you met them, didn’t you?—I was able to come back.  Because… well… here I am.”  She yawned again. 

“How long since you’ve slept?” James asked, not quite awake himself. 

“Couple of hours right after we brought you home,” she murmured. 

“Then I am not the only one who needs rest,” he said.  “Stay here with me and sleep, Sophia.”

She nodded, and laid her head on the pillow next to his.  For a long time, neither of them closed their eyes.  She had forgotten how very blue his were and could not look away. 

“If I shut my eyes, will you be here when I open them again?” she asked. 

“I wondered the same about you,” he admitted. 

“I promise,” she whispered, “I’ll not get lost again.”  

*****

            When James was strong enough to go out on deck, he insisted on making a production of it.  When Sophia tried to reason with him, he argued that donning his fine clothing was necessary in order to show the crew that their captain was fully recovered.  And so, she brushed the dust off of his black velvet coat and had one of the pirates polish his boots until they shone.  One thing, however, gave them a bit of trouble.  Both James’ hook and the contraption that attached it to his arm had been lost in the belly of the crocodile.   

            “You don’t have an extra one anywhere, do you?” Sophia asked. 

            James pulled a box from under his bed and flipped the top open.  There, nestled in red satin, were the various hooks that he had used over the years.  “I have these,” he said, “but without the harness, I’m afraid they’re of no use.” 

            Sophia toyed briefly with the idea of magically attaching one of the hooks to James’ wrist, but eventually realized that there was no way to guarantee that the attachment wouldn’t be permanent.  James watched her, still fussing over one of her books.  For the occasion of his first appearance on deck since his recovery, she was wearing a burgundy dress with silver embroidery trailing up the bodice and around the sleeves.  He was fairly certain he’d never seen her in it before. 

            “Where did you get that dress?” he asked. 

            “I found it in the hold,” she told him.  “Do you like it?” She stood and turned around so that he could see the gown at its full advantage. 

            “You are, as usual, lovely.” 

            His eyes followed her every move, and Sophia smiled.  She enjoyed knowing she had his attention. 

            “If you found that dress in the hold, and we seem to have a never ending supply of whatever we need down there, do you think it’s possible, then,” James asked, “that there might be something with which we could attach this hook to my arm?” 

            “That’s… a very good idea,” Sophia said.  “I should have thought of that.” 

            “You can’t always think of everything, you know,” James teased her gently. 

            “I know!” Sophia said as she started for the door.  “And that fact will continue to irritate me!” 

            Sophia spent nearly half an hour in the hold, rummaging through boxes filled with buttons, shoes, hats, clothing, candles, ammunition, alcohol, and various odds and ends.  Finally, she spotted a flat, wide wooden box that had fallen behind a barrel of flour.  It didn’t look like anything she’d seen so far, and when she opened it, her suspicions were confirmed.  The box contained a device similar to James’ old one, though it was considerably more comfortable looking than its predecessor.  It was as new as if it had just been picked up from the leather worker’s shop.  Sophia replaced the lid, put the box under her arm, and climbed back up the ladder to show James what she had found. 

            When both of them were finally properly attired, the Captain called Smee to his cabin and ordered him to assemble the crew on deck.  Hook listened until the sound of the pirates’ voices conveyed an appropriate measure of curiosity, and flung open the door.  He stepped out onto the deck with Sophia on his arm.  The pirates let out an explosive cheer.  Many of them threw their hats in the air, others brandished their weapons.  James took a step towards the ship’s wheel, and the crowd parted for him.  As he passed, the crew whooped and shouted. 

            “It’s good to have you back, Cap’n!”

            “Three cheers for Captain Hook!”

            “Not even the croc could keep him down!”

            James drank in the admiration hungrily, and Sophia could almost see him growing stronger and more confident with every moment that passed.  She walked beside him unobtrusively, beaming with quiet pride. 

            When the crew had gone back to their work, Sophia and the Captain paced about the deck. 

            “It’s good to be in the open air again,” James said. 

            “Then just imagine how good it will be to be on the open sea,” Sophia said. 

            James looked out longingly at the horizon where the ocean met the sky, but he shook his head.  This was a topic of conversation they had only touched on briefly since Sophia had come back.

            “You mean to try to help the ship sail from Neverland,” he said doubtfully.

            “If you’ll allow it, yes, I do.  I didn’t spend years trying to get back here and get you back from the crocodile just so that things could go back to the way they were.”

            “Things as they were with you here were far better than they were without you,” James said.  “I don’t want to lose you again.” 

            Sophia held onto his arm more tightly and rested her head on his shoulder. “You won’t lose me.  We’ll all go together this time.  There’s not chance of being separated, and this time, when we reach the Sea Between Worlds, I won’t be alone.” 

            “And then what will we do?” James asked. 

            “Oh, there are many places we could go… I don’t think the real world is the best idea, but then, Neverland isn’t the only magical world, you know.  The Sea is just full of them!”  Sophia’s eyes were bright, and she became more and more animated as she talked.  “I managed to find several of them while I was looking for Neverland, and I know how to get back to them, too.  We could go to the places I know, or we could explore, find new worlds…”

            “And you think you can do this without hurting yourself?” James asked. 

            “It won’t be easy,” Sophia told him.  “Getting the entire crew through the barrier is going to require me to magically shield the whole ship, unless every man on board can rid his mind of his feelings about Neverland.  But, that shouldn’t hurt me.  It might tire me out a little, that’s all.” 

            They had made a full circuit around the ship by now, and were facing land.  It was summer in Neverland, and even from the ship it was obvious that the island was bursting with life.  James face was pensive, and Sophia worried that Neverland’s hold on him was too strong for him to break. 

            “When did you want to sail?” he asked. 

            “You’re growing stronger every day,” she said.  “If I had my way, I’d spend tomorrow preparing, and we’d sail the day after that.” 

            A small, boyish shape appeared above the trees.  It circled above the beach for a while before turning towards the Indian village.  James watched the boy go without saying a word.  Finally, he told her, “Do what you must.  We sail the day after tomorrow.” 

            Sophia did not have time to be happy that he’d agreed.  A cry from the man in the crow’s nest made her look up.  Two more Lost Boys were flying just off the starboard side of the ship.  They were gesturing to one another excitedly, and Sophia realized they were pointing at Hook.

            “We’re leaving not a moment too soon, then,” Sophia said.  She slipped an arm around James’ waist and a protective gleam glinted in her eyes. 

            “Peter Pan knows I’m back,” James growled. 

            Sophia felt him tense, as if her were about to spring into action.  It had been a long while since he had had a real enemy to fight.  “Listen to me!” she insisted.  “I want you to promise me you won’t go looking for Peter Pan, just to have one last chance at him before we leave.  In fact, I want you to promise me that you won’t fight with the Lost Boys at all, even if they come to get a look at you.” 

            “And what if they attack us first?” James asked. 

            Sophia smiled sweetly, but her eyes were hard as agate.  “They won’t,” she said. 

 

Chapter 14 – Sailing from Neverland

 

            Very early the next morning, if the watch had looked up, they would have spotted a white falcon perched in the rigging of the Jolly Roger.  The bird did not sit still for long.  She sensed a current of warm air blowing past her, spread her wings, and let the wind carry lift her up and carry her towards the island.   

            She veered away from the course the current would have had her take, and began to beat her wings.  She flew over the forest, her sharp eyes on the lookout for anything unusual.  She saw nothing, but did not let herself be discouraged.  Sophia had spent a long while looking over Hook’s map of the island, and she had a good idea of the places where the Lost Boys were most likely to be holed up.  Though she knew from her time with the Darling children that James had finally discovered the location of Peter Pan’s home, he apparently hadn’t had time to record it.  Sophia had searched his papers to no avail, and she wasn’t about to ask him about it.  In fact, she wasn’t about to let him know that she was planning to seek out Peter Pan at all.  And so, she was left to find the hideout for herself.  The center of the island seemed to make the most sense.  The hideout would be surrounded for miles on all sides by dense woodland, and no one who did not know the land well would ever be able to get close, though one unassuming bird might have a chance.  And so, she waited, circling above the forest and waiting for a Lost Boy to show himself.  When she grew tired, she caught an air current and let herself be carried, or she dove down into the trees and found a branch to rest on.   

            At last, her patience was rewarded.  Three Lost Boys appeared, hooting, yelling, and chasing each other through the air. Sophia followed them, though she took care not to get too close.  The boys touched down none too gracefully on the beach and began to play in the water.  She perched on a piece of driftwood and waited as they scampered up and down the beach, collected shells and polished rocks, and engaged in uproarious water fights.  When they tired, they started back through the trees on foot.  Sophia followed, ghosting through the forest like a white shadow. 

            The boys took a meandering path, sometimes walking, sometimes flying, often stopping to climb trees or explore secluded caves.  After journeying through the forest for much of the morning, the boys led Sophia to the base of a gigantic tree.  She watched as one of the boys pulled on a branch and opened a trap door, but she did not follow them inside.  Instead, she landed on a nearby rock and waited for the boy she wished to see.  The Lost Boys came and went, alone and in groups, for another hour before Peter appeared.  Sophia smiled inwardly when she saw him and took wing after him.  Luck was with her.  He was alone. 

            When Peter had traveled far enough from the Lost Boys’ home that he could not easily call for the others, Sophia surged forward.  The undersides of her wings brushed his head as she flew over him.  Peter ducked instinctively and threw his arms up in defense.  While he was still confused, Sophia took her natural shape.  Peter scowled at her and drew his knife. 

            “Who are you?” he demanded. 

            “I’m not your enemy, Peter.” She spread her hands to show that she was unarmed, but the boy had seen her use magic, and so he continued to watch her warily.  “I just wanted to have a talk with you,” Sophia said.  She sat down on a fallen log and patted the mossy bark next to her.  “Come and sit with me?”

            Peter did not trust her enough to come so close to her, but he did put away his knife.  “What did you want to talk about?” he asked, obviously curious to hear what the grown up lady wanted with him. 

            Sophia studied him for a few moments before answering.  She could almost feel the magic of Neverland surrounding the Eternal Boy and molding itself to his wishes.  He wreaked havoc with her magical senses, and being around him was quite disorienting. 

            “Tomorrow, the pirates are going to leave Neverland,” she said at last.  “I’m asking you not to hinder them.” 

            Peter took a few steps back, and his face contorted in childish anger.  “Go?  They can’t!  Hook just got back!  It won’t be any fun if they go.” 

             “If you show yourself to the pirates, they will want to fight you.  Hook will want to fight you,” Sophia said.  And if you so much as come near James tomorrow, I’ll do my best to drop you from the sky myself, she wanted to add.  However, she knew that threatening the boy would not work, and she wasn’t sure that she could make good on her promise.   

            “Of course they will,” Peter said.  “That’s how it’s always been.”  He looked surprised that she did not appear to understand this simple fact. 

“Peter, listen to me.” Sophia got up and approached him cautiously.  She her hands on his shoulders and bent her knees until her eyes were level with his.  “If you try and stop them, you will be successful.  Hook will never leave Neverland if he thinks there’s still one last chance for him to defeat you.  Please…”    

The feeling in Sophia’s voice was making the boy uncomfortable.  He wriggled away from her.  “Why should I?” Peter asked.  “How can we have adventures without the pirates?  Without Captain Hook?  We need them, or else we won’t ever have any fun at all.”  He glared at her defensively. 

“If I’m right,” Sophia said, “you won’t be without an enemy for long.  Neverland will provide you another source of adventure, I’m almost sure of it.  Someone new.  Someone you’ve never fought before.” 

Peter grinned at the possibility.  “That would be fun,” he admitted. 

“Then you’ll let Hook sail away without a fuss?” she asked.  “I’ll have your word before I go.” 

Peter stared off into the distance and pondered her offer. 

“Let him go, Peter,” Sophia murmured.  “You’ve had him long enough.  I want him to myself for a while.”  By this time, she was pleading with him, and her eyes were desperate. 

“Fine, then.  I won’t stop them,” Peter said.  He shrugged cavalierly.  “I was getting tired of pirates anyway.”  Peter started to walk back up the trail the way he had come.  When he had gone a few steps, he turned and looked over her shoulder at Sophia.  “Who do you think will come to take their place?” 

“Oh, I don’t know… a dragon, maybe?  Or a giant, or a cruel king in the Black Castle…”

“How about an evil wizard?  Or a Black Knight?”  Peter added.  His eyes had grown large at the thought of the new adventures he would surely have.  “Or all of them?” 

“I suppose you’ll just have to wait and see,” Sophia said. 

Peter nodded thoughtfully.  “When will you go?” he asked. 

“Tomorrow morning.  We sail with the tide.” 

“And then, Neverland will be all mine!”  He grinned from ear to ear. 

“For a while, at least,” Sophia reminded him.  She didn’t think it wise to mention that he’d still be sharing the island with fairies, mermaids, and Indians.  He wasn’t listening to her, anyway.  He was streaking away through the trees, crowing at the top of his lungs.  Sophia waited until she could not hear him any more, then blurred back into her falcon form.  She broke through the tree tops and caught a current of air that would carry her back to the ship. 

She could see from the air that the Jolly Roger was astir with activity.  The crew hurried back and forth as they finished their preparations to leave the harbor, and even from her height she could pick James out from among them by the bright red coat he was wearing.  As she veered downward, she thought she heard someone calling her name.   She drew closer. 

James was pacing back and forth across the deck of his ship.  He looked worried, almost frantic, and just as Sophia landed on the railing a few feet behind him, he put one hand to the side of his mouth and shouted, “Sophia!” He advanced several steps and called her name again.  She transformed hastily and hurried to him. 

“I’m here, James,” she said.  “What’s wrong?”

Without answering her, James took her in his arms and crushed her against him.  When he didn’t show any sign of letting go, Sophia accepted his embrace and slipped her arms around his waist. 

“I couldn’t find you.  I thought you’d gone again,” he said quietly.    

“No!” Sophia was horrified at the thought of putting him through such pain a second time.  “I’m… I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to worry you.”  She stood up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.  “You see? I’m still here.” 

He loosed his hold on her a little, but he still did not let her go.  “As a personal favor, I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me next time you plan on disappearing.”  

“Of course,” she said. 

James stepped back from her and offered her his arm.  The two of them wandered around the ship, inspecting the progress that was being made.  The sails were mended, the rigging was tied fast, and everything on deck was lashed down in case they ran into rough weather.  

“Where did you go?” he asked her. 

“I thought I’d have a look around, make sure Peter Pan wasn’t up to anything.” 

“Did you see anything?”  His eyes had a hopeful gleam in them. 

“Nothing much,” Sophia said.  “I don’t think Pan will be giving us any problems.”  James tried to hide his disappointment from her, and she pretended not to notice. 

When they passed by her cabin door, Sophia stopped.  “I need to rest and get ready for tomorrow,” she said.  “This will be the first time I’ve ever cast a spell this large, you know.” 

James let her go reluctantly.  “You’ll still dine with me tonight?  One last dinner in Neverland?” 

Sophia smiled and threw her arms around him one last time before stepping into her room.  “Of course, Captain.  I wouldn’t miss it.” 

*****

            The next morning, the crew gathered in the chill autumn dawn.  Though they were bundled up in blankets and coats and had to stamp their feet to keep warm, every one of them was eager and anxious.  Tiny puffs of steam rose from their mouths as they laughed and talked amongst themselves. James stood at the head of the crowd with Sophia, wrapped in a heavy wool cloak, beside him.

            “Quiet while the lady speaks!”  Hook shouted. 

            Sophia stepped forward and pushed back the hood of her cloak.  Her hair was down, and her face was calm and serene.  She waited for the last whispers to die down. “I would like for all of you to help me,” she said when it was silent.  “I would like you to try not to think strongly about Neverland as we sail away.  In fact, it might be best if you didn’t think of Neverland at all.”  It was a difficult thing she was asking them, she knew, but she needed all the help she could get. 

            “Will it muck up your spell if we do think about it?” one very nervous crewman asked. 

            “You don’t have to worry about that,” Sophia told him.  The crew breathed a collective sigh of relief.  “The greatest burden will fall on me and the shield I’m casting.  It will simply be easier for me if I’m not working against strong feelings here on the ship.”  

            “We will ALL do our best,” Hook assured her, eyeing his crew commandingly.  The pirates were quick to agree with their Captain. 

            “Very well then,” Sophia said.  “Whenever you’re ready…”

            “To your posts, all of you!”  Hook shouted.  The crew scattered, and when every man had taken his position, he ordered, “Hoist anchor!” 

            For the first time in years, the heavy chain was pulled from the water.  The metal was dark and wet, and the links were overgrown with seaweed and small sea creatures.  When the anchor finally broke the surface of the water and was pulled on board, the pirates cheered.  The tide was with them, and the ship was soon drifting away from Neverland. 

            Sophia took her place at the prow of the ship.  Her face was still calm, but her eyes betrayed a hint of sadness. 

            “Something is troubling you,” James said. 

She nodded slowly.  “Hawk Dancer left the ship last night.  He knew we were sailing away, and I believe he’s gone back to his own folk.  I… had hoped I’d get to say goodbye.” 

            Two tiny streaks of light coming toward the ship at high speed caught James’ attention, and he pointed them out to Sophia.  “Perhaps you’ll get to say your farewells after all,” he said. 

            Not one pixie, but two eventually caught up to the ship.  Hawk Dancer nearly ran into Sophia in his excitement.  When he regained enough composure to communicate, he fluttered in front of her face and chimed angrily at her. 

            “Of course I didn’t mean to leave you!” Sophia said.  “I thought you’d already gone!” 

            Hawk rolled his eyes and tapped his fist on her forehead, as if wondering if she had any brains at all. 

            “I think,” James said, “that he went home to get a lady friend.”  He pointed at the other pixie, who had made herself quite at home atop the ship’s figurehead.  Her hair was shockingly red, and she looked even more mischievous than Hawk, if that was possible. 

            Sophia smiled and held out her hand.  The fairy looked at Hawk Dancer for approval, and when it was given, she flew over.  “Why don’t you introduce me to your friend, Hawk?”  Sophia asked.  He exuberantly obliged her. 

            “He says her name is Moon Flower,” Sophia said a few moments later.  “They’d like to come with us, if that’s all right with you.”  She looked at James for an answer. 

            “This won’t interfere with your spell, will it?” He eyed the pixies doubtfully.

            “Oh, I shouldn’t think so.  They’re very small, and I imagine they’ll be more of a help than a hindrance.” 

            “Then, as friends of yours, they are welcome on my ship,” he said. 

            Hawk Dancer snorted indignantly.  He grabbed Moon Flower’s hand and darted up into the rigging. 

            “Hawk’s rather offended that you don’t consider him a friend,” Sophia said. 

            James snorted indignantly as well.  “Pixies… hmmph,” he muttered under his breath.  He then stalked off to see about steering his ship. 

            A few minutes later, Sophia looked behind her and saw that Neverland was growing smaller and smaller in the distance.  Soon, they would be out of sight of the island.  She cleared her mind of all but the spell she was about to cast, held her arms in front of her, palms facing out, and began to chant.  A small, incandescent circle appeared in front of her hands.  She chanted louder, and the circle began to grow.  It arced up over the ship and surrounded it on all sides until it seemed that the Jolly Roger sailed under a bowl of sparkling glass.   The pirates stopped what they were doing to gape at it. 

            “Neverland is nothing.  I do not care for it.  I do not hate it.  I feel nothing for it.”  Sophia whispered the words over and over again, feeding all of her calm and apathy into the shield.  Standing at the front of the ship, she was the first to feel Neverland’s encompassing wall pass over her, and the shock of the magical field coming into contact with her spell sent her to her knees.  But still, the shimmering light around the ship held. 

            Every man on board shivered a bit when the barrier passed over him, and Sophia did not dare turn around to see what would happen when it encountered James for fear it might break her concentration.  She only hoped that her shield was strong enough to mask him from the magic that would keep him on the island. 

She need not have worried.  James stood at the wheel of his ship, thinking of nothing but the feel of the polished wood under his hand and how good it was to have the salty air stinging his face.  He did not even notice the curious boys who were following the ship at a safe distance.  When the barrier passed over him, he gasped as if he had plunged through a sheet of icy water.  The sensation only lasted for a split second, and by the time he realized it was gone, the ship was through.  Neverland was nowhere in sight, and he felt clean and free, as if an enormous burden had been lifted from him.   

Sophia did not release her spell immediately, just to be safe.  When she could hold it no longer, the dome over the ship collapsed inward until it was a quavering circle in front of her hands.  Then, it faded away completely.  The ship was surrounded by thick, roiling mist, and all was silent except for the sound of creaking timbers and water slapping against the hull.  Sophia pulled herself to her feet.  Her knees were a little weak, but she carefully picked her way over to James. 

“Don’t fall over, now,” he said gently and pulled her close so she could lean on him.  

“We did it,” Sophia breathed.  She laughed suddenly and pulled James’ head down to hers so she could kiss him.  “We did it, James!” she repeated.  Before she could say much else, he kissed her again, and neither of them attempted to say anything for a quite a long while. 

“Where do we go now?” he asked at last. 

Sophia cleared her throat, straightened her glasses, and brushed her hair away from her face.  “If we sail straight ahead, we should be through the fog very soon,” she said. 

“And then?  You said you knew some other ports we might visit, did you not?”

“Well… I do have some… suggestions.  But, you’re the Captain…”

He laughed.  “Where do you want to go, Sophia?” he asked.  At that moment, she ship passed out of the fog, and onto a clear sea.  Though it had been dawn when they left Neverland, it was night on the Sea Between Worlds.  The water was black and calm, and the stars seemed to be close enough to touch. 

Sophia studied the heavens for a moment before pointing to the west.  “If we head that way, I believe we’ll run into some… very interesting places.  Worlds where I have friends.  Worlds I think you’ll like…”  

“Very well, then, west it is,” James said.  He turned the wheel a few degrees, and they began to change direction.  When he was sure that the course was set, he reached out and took Sophia’s hand.  She curled her fingers tightly around his and joined him in gazing at the horizon. 

A wind from the east sprang up and filled the Jolly Roger’s sails.  The great ship cut through the water, leaving only a frothy wake to mark its passing.