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By Hook or By Crook	By : OktoberBlack Category: M through R > Peter Pan > Het Views: 14973 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Peter Pan, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: Not my characters (except for the ones that are). Not making any money off of them. Wish I were, never going to be. Don’t sue me, please.

Okay. So begging for reviews isn’t necessarily a good thing. But can I at least thank you all for the reviews you’ve posted so far? I appreciate the feedback—it helps my writing to know what works and what doesn’t work for you, the readers. So thanks! I’m sorry I’m slow at this right now. I’m back to work, you see, it being September, so I have to fit in my writing between all my planning and marking. Please be patient.

By Hook or By Crook (for want of a better name)

Chapter Thirteen: The Spaces in Between

“Bloody Hell!”
“Give her some air! She needs some air!”
“Water. Throw some water on her face. I’ve heard that works.”
“Bloody laces…”

I awakened abruptly when ice cold saltwater flooded my face.
“What the fuck?” I spluttered as I wiped the water from my eyes. Male laughter came at me from the semi-darkness. “Where the fuck am I?”
“She’s got quite the mouth on her, Hook,” someone said from behind me. I heard Hook chuckle.
“You don’t know the half of it,” he said, and his leering face came into view. More laughter. “You fainted, my dear. I had you carried here, into the back room where they keep the slaves for punishment, so we could revive you without all and sundry gawking at you.”
“How… civilized,” I muttered. And how ironic, I thought. My mind flashed back to the torture of the female slave I’d witnessed and I decided it was bizarre for Hook to be inured to such violence, and yet be quite able to treat a “lady” with special consideration.
“Indeed,” was all he replied. He hovered over me for a moment more. “Well, then, as you’re awake, I believe it’s time to go back to the Inn. Tonight’s entertainment is the same old thing, after all… If you’ve seen one slave tortured, you’ve seen them all really.” And then he bent in to me, and as he helped me up from the bed I lay on, he hissed in my ear, “And I’m sure you’ve learned all I’d hoped from this little demonstration.”
“You better believe it,” I replied under my breath. He led me out the door and back through the crowds toward the litter. The crowds parted swiftly for us, people obviously remembering the violence of our first trek through, and we made it to the litter without incident.

As we headed out into the darkness toward the Inn, I stared out the open window. I wasn’t really looking at anything at all; rather, I was thinking about all that had happened since I’d been captured. And captured I was. I sighed, cradled my chin in my hand, and stared out into the darkness. The sun had completely set and the stars had come out; the lights in each doorway and window diminished the starlight, but just barely. I could feel a lump develop in my throat as I thought about the life I’d left behind at home, the life I’d probably never see again. What would happen to my cats? What about my parents? I didn’t have a boyfriend but what about all the possibilities for one that would never happen now? Everything I could have been, everything I wanted to be… It was all gone now, wasn’t it? I was stuck here until Hook had had enough of me. Until Hook decided he was bored, or angry, or whatever, and either sold me to someone else or murdered me. I was his. I’d never been even remotely in this position before—so powerless, so helpless—and it sucked. It really did. A tear slid down my cheek and I wiped at it hastily. I didn’t want Hook to see me cry. I was weak enough as it was without him seeing how badly this was affecting me. I sniffed as my nasal passages swelled up with my tears and cursed inwardly. How was I going to deal with this? Was I going to roll over and die? Was Simon really going to try and rescue me? He seemed so ineffectual, and yet… he knew the score here better than anyone else. Maybe he would be able to come up with some kind of a plan to get me out of here. I grimaced. Even if he did, I still wouldn’t be able to get home. Another tear slid down my cheek and I wiped it away.

I glanced over at Hook. He was staring out the window on his side, a slight frown on his face. He wasn’t looking at me. Good. I wiped at my face with my sleeve and tried to get a hold of myself. We were out of the town now, and the darkness seemed thicker, more menacing somehow. I glanced up and could see more stars than I’d ever seen back home. It was pretty amazing.
“Take us up the hill,” Hook suddenly said. I looked over at him. He had spoken to the litter bearers, but he was looking at me. The litter swung around to the left and we headed uphill, the men slowing down as the path grew steep. Hook didn’t say anything but continued to look at me. I looked away from him, the lump in my throat more pronounced as I wondered what he was going to do to me now. In a few minutes we were at our new destination; the litter stopped and one of the men opened the door, helping Hook out. Hook, in turn, held out his hand to me. I didn’t know what we were doing there, but I took his hand and stepped out.

We were at the summit of a hill overlooking the town and the Inn. On an adjacent hill sat the Governor’s mansion. There were no lights on our hill, even though we could see all of the lights of the town from where we stood, and the stars were vivid.
“That’s the north star,” Hook said, pointing up with his hand. “We use it to guide us when we’re aboard ship.” He looked at me. “It’s part of Ursa Minor.” He stood for a moment and looked at me. I was confused but nodded at him. He turned back to the night sky. “You were looking at the stars. I thought you might like to know more about them.” Ah. That makes sense in a bizarre, Hook sort of way. He pointed at another constellation. “That’s Ursa Major. You can see the big dipper there. We call it the plough in England.” He stopped again. “The great bear.” He turned to me. “I’ve never been able to see a bear in that constellation and I’ve been looking at it for a very long time.”
“Uh… I… uh…”
“Do you know anything about the stars? Mariners have been using them for centuries as a method of plotting their location,” Hook said, but it seemed to me he wasn’t really talking to me. He was musing to himself. “Pan gets back to Neverland from your world by flying to the second star on the left and straight on until morning, which has always seemed to me a ridiculous way to navigate. But then Pan is a ridiculous creature.” He turned back to me. “Have you nothing to say?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I stammered. “I just thought the stars were… pretty, that’s all. A bit overwhelming, y’know?”
“Pretty? Yes, I suppose one could say that. I suppose.” He looked back up at the sky, a thoughtful expression on his face. “A bit feminine, perhaps, but I can see that.” He sighed. “I’m growing whimsical in my old age. It’s not good for a pirate to indulge in whimsy.” He looked at me and his face was pale in the starlight, his hair blowing in the slight evening breeze. I could just see a glint of his single gold hoop earring. “Pirates pillage, loot, and rape, Miss Mann. They do not indulge in whimsy. I believe it’s time for us to return to the Inn.”

I wanted to say “you started it,” but I didn’t. Of course I didn’t. I wasn’t stupid. We climbed back into the litter and the pirates carried us back down to the Inn. Simon descended the steps of the Inn, running down the path to meet us.
“I’ll take her, Sir,” he said to Hook. Hook merely put up his hook and with a hiss, forced Simon to back away.
“She is my captive and I will do as I wish with her. You will not dictate what happens to her, nor will you take her from me without my permission. Is that clear?” he said, his tone clearly threatening. Simon held up his hands.
“I was merely trying to help you, Sir,” Simon said. Hook nodded.
“If I tell you to carry her up the steps, you will, but you will not volunteer to do it. That smacks of free will on your part and I won’t have it. You are to await my explicit orders, understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Very well, then. You may carry her up to my room. Draw her a bath and make sure she washes completely. I have business in the bar, but will be upstairs within the hour and I expect her clean, dry, and naked in my bed when I arrive. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Sir,” Simon said, and his face turned crimson. Hook laughed at him, and then with a sudden movement, had his hook under Simon’s chin.
“And no taking liberties with her either. If I find that she’s been used when I get to her, I’ll be very, very upset.”
“Yes, Sir! Of course not Sir! I would never…” Simon spluttered. Hook laughed again and headed up the path to the Inn toward whatever business awaited him in the bar. Probably a tankard of ale and some more pirates. Simon watched him go and then held out his hands to me. “Let me help you.”
“Thanks,” I said, as he picked me up and carried me up the path to the main doors. He carried me into the hotel and then put me down at the bottom of the stairs. I was so tired. I sat down on the stairs suddenly, as if my knees had given out.
“Are you all right?” he asked. I shook my head. “Do you need a glass of water? Smelling salts? A cold compress?” I waved him away.
“I think I’ve just had enough. That’s all. I can’t take any more of this. I’m so tired and I just want to go home,” I said. My voice hovered just above a whisper.
“Come on upstairs, Miss. Let me help you,” he repeated, and held out his hands. I looked up at him and with a sigh, I took his hands and let him help me to my feet. Slowly, with an ever-growing overwhelming feeling of exhaustion, I made my way up the stairs to the suite.

We were both silent until we reached the room. Once inside, however, Simon began to talk quickly and quietly.
“The plan to rescue you is proceeding apace, Miss Mann. I’ve got several men standing by, waiting for my order to attack. We’ve got a safe house for you, and a disguise, and are working on a method of transporting you away from Neverland,” Simon said, as he busied himself with my bath. He poured a generous amount of bath salts into the water and then left the tub to fill. He turned to me. “I imagine it won’t be much longer, but until then…”
“Until then, I’ve got to do whatever he wants, I know,” I said, and sat down heavily on the couch. My skirts flounced about my knees and I lay my head back on a pillow. “God, I’m so tired.”
“Time for a bath, I’m afraid. Perhaps a cup of tea as well, to help perk you up?” Simon suggested. “I’ll bring you up a pot if you like, once you’re in the tub.”
“I suppose,” I yawned. I sat up and looked at him. “Simon. Why are you going to all this trouble to help me, anyway?”

“Well,” he began thoughtfully, “I believe it has something to do with the way I was raised, Miss.” He helped me off the couch and then moved around behind me to undo the laces of my dress. “I was raised to be a gentleman, you see. Oh, not a true gentleman. My family isn’t aristocracy at all, but we’ve been servants to gentlemen for centuries and we know how they’re supposed to act. A pirate—well, as you can see, he’s no gentleman.” His fingers made short work of my laces and I shrugged out of my dress. It fell in a heap at my feet. Simon turned his head so he wouldn’t have to look at my naked body, and gestured toward the bathroom. “Into the bath, if you please.”
“Right,” I said. “No, Hook certainly isn’t a gentleman, although… well, he does sometimes do things that one might construe as being gentlemanly.” I put one foot into the tub and found the water to be lovely and hot, just the way I love it. Simon walked out of the bathroom and I slowly lowered myself into the tub.
“The Captain knows what being a gentleman looks like just as well as I do, Miss, but he doesn’t really believe in it. He knows what’s right and what’s wrong and he chooses wrong. He’s a black-hearted fiend deep down, no matter how he might act.” Simon hung my dress up in my closet and came back to find me neck deep in hot water. “Would you care for tea, then?”
“Yes, please,” I said. “But you really haven’t told me why you’re helping me.”
“A gentleman always helps a lady in distress. You are a captive, held against your will. I, as a gentleman, am required to give aid to such as yourself. I could not be true to myself if I didn’t help you escape.” And with that, he left the suite to fetch my tea.
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By Hook or By Crook