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In the swirl of passion	By : Lywhn Category: M through R > Peter Pan > Het Views: 35043 -:- 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
- 16
- 17
- 18
Chapter 17 – In the Devil’s Trap

“The ship is ours!” This declaration was followed by loud cheers from the Revenge’s pirates, and Peter and Wendy looked at each other, shocked, before the girl closed her eyes.
No! This could not be! God, please don’t let it be true!
Peter shook his head and balled his fists. “I warned him. I told Hook that Blackbeard was going to board the ship. And what does that codfish do? He lets himself be taken by surprise! Dinner with Blackbeard! Tsk, he really is a fool!”
Wendy tried to control the trembling running through her body and soul. Her thoughts were fixed on only one thing: was James still alive or had Blackbeard already killed him? She prayed as she had never done before that her captain wasn’t dead. She couldn’t bear it!
She felt Peter’s hand on her shoulder and met his questioning gaze. “What is it?” he asked quietly. “You look like you’re somewhere else!”
Wendy took a deep breath. “Peter, Hook knew what Blackbeard planned and he went to the Revenge to spy on him and to warn his crew, if necessary.”
The boy grimaced. “Great job!” he mocked.
The girl clenched her hands to hide her trembling fingers. “We have to--”
Heavy footsteps sounded above their heads, and they heard the commands to bind the crew of the Jolly Roger. “How the heck did they manage to knock out the whole crew?” Peter whispered, gesturing upward. “Come on, we’ll look closer!” This was fine with Wendy. She had to know what had happened to James and the others.
Both friends crept upstairs to the second cannon-deck, and Peter started toward the stairs that led to the main-deck at aft, but Wendy held him back, taking him along with her to the quarter-deck. Stifling a protest Peter, followed her as she stole through the cannon-deck and opened the door to the passage and the inner stairs to the quarter-deck. Here she hastened into another passage leading to the weapon-chamber and went in. Out of breath, she waved Peter to come in as well, who looked at her with bewilderment.
“How did you know how to get here?”
“Hook. He showed me the whole ship during our ‘trip’, you remember?” Peter nodded, still amazed, and closed the door behind him. Wendy went to the exit on the other side of the room, opening the door only a crack.
They were directly beneath the bridge on the level of the main-deck, in the same room she had hidden those four and a half years ago, before she had stormed out to attack the crew of the Jolly Roger – the very same men that she wanted to save now! Life really took some odd turns! Peter looked around and saw the many pistols, muskets and blunderbusses, as well as powder and bullets. Under the right conditions, the whole crew could be armed to the teeth. But in this case, all weapons had been useless to them, for they had been defeated not in battle, but by treachery.
Pan was more than curious as to what plan the strange pirate-captain had used that worked so well. Wendy peeked outside on the starlit main-deck. The crew was bound, hands behind their backs, and two or three of them were shackled together, and seemed to be unconscious. Of James there was no trace, which led Wendy to fear for him even more. Not far away, Wendy could see the tall broad silhouette of Blackbeard. He stood erect and proud in front of the captives, exchanging mocking comments with his own men.
She felt Peter step up beside her and threw him a glance. He seemed tense, and as he heard the derisive words of the strange pirate-crew and saw Hook’s men bound together like animals, his eyes began to flash. True, Peter and the one-handed pirate were fierce enemies, but nevertheless, he’d known these men for a very long time, and to his own juvenile surprise -- he was irritated with how they were handled now.
Peter’s gaze now took in his friend at his side. She was more than tense, and seemed fearful. Of course, a cold-blooded killer without any scruple stood only paces away. He could also tell that she no longer loathed the crew of the Jolly Roger. He sighed. His Wendy had certainly changed, even if he didn’t know in which way – and he wanted to comfort her, but he hadn’t the slightest idea how. For in that moment, she was like a stranger to him. Then his attention was drawn again to the events beyond the door.
The first crewmen of the Jolly Roger started to stir, and the first moans were heard, as one by one they regained consciousness. Waking bewilderment quickly changed to wrath and they reviled their ‘colleagues’ and Blackbeard with the worst possible insults. Even Peter blushed when he heard their words.
Of course, Teach’s buccaneers did not tolerate the abuse, and Wendy and Peter watched, shocked, how some pirates treated people who called them names, no matter how well-deserved. Wendy couldn’t imagine Jukes, Mullins or Cecco doing such things to others -- possibly because she had come to know them a little. It was Teach who stopped the whole episode, and finally stepped in front of the captives, barking for silence. After several more kicks and blows from his men, the crew of the Jolly Roger did as commanded and looked with hateful gazes up to Blackbeard, who cleared his throat.
“As y’ have surely recognized, this ship has gotten a new commander!” his voice echoed over the decks. “You see, things like this do happen here and there.”
His crew roared with laughter, only interrupted with comments like: “Ye remember that from the time, you still were pirates?” “This is the work of a TRUE captain!” “When have you captured your last ship?”
Blackbeard waved impatiently and his men quickly silenced, ignoring the pirates at their feet. “I know that among you are some very competent men, men who only followed the orders of their captain,” he said sarcastically: “I’ll give ye all t’e chance to conform with the new situation. T’at means, who wants to join my crew is welcome. I take every one of you with me – if you like.”
Dead silence was the answer, and Wendy didn’t need to see Blackbeard’s face to know that it had darkened. “Didn’t ye understand me, ya stupid brutes? Everyone who will not come to us will die!”
It was Smee, who broke the silence. “Where is Captain Hook? What have ye done to him?”
Wendy spotted him between Mason and Jukes, and waited for Blackbeard’s answer with a fearful tension, heart and breath both nearly stopped now. ‘Please, let him be alive! Please, please!’ she prayed, and fighting back tears. She didn’t even feel Peter’s calming hand on her back and his soft question asking what was wrong with her.
The boy wouldn’t understand it. Yes, he felt the pang of worry as well – even if he didn’t know why – but Wendy looked as if she were close to fainting, hanging on every word. What was going on here?
Teach’s quiet laughter chased a shiver down her spine. “What can I say? I’ve done not’ing to him – until now. It seems that the wine was a bit too rich, but I’m sure that he finished his nap by now. Of course, he’ll have problems stretching. Shackles can be so unpractical sometimes!” Pure contempt laced his voice – and Wendy felt a wave of relief washing over her. James lived! Still there was hope!
“Treacherous bastard!” Smee hissed, and one of Blackbeard’s pirates gave him a slap that knocked his glasses from his face. “Very brave!” the boatswain sneered. “I want to know if ye’d be as brave if I weren’t shackled!”
“I’ll prove it to ye!” the strange pirate snarled, but quickly shut up as another of his comrades shoved him and nodded in the direction of Blackbeard, who now looked irritated at him before he drew his attention back to the crew of the Jolly Roger.
“You, carpenter!” he called to Mullins. “I could really use you. I would give ye four shares of every booty we’re going to make. T’at is just as much as my first mate gets. What is your answer? Can I set your name on my crew’s list?”
Mullins calmly lifted his head and gazed straight into the small black eyes of Teach. “I already gave you my answer yesterday! And I haven’t changed my mind!”
Blackbeard grinned evilly. “But the conditions have changed!”
Mullins shook his head. “Still my answer is ‘no’.”
Teach’s jaws ground and anger flashed in his eyes, then he shrugged his shoulders. “If ye wish it so! I’ve no problems sending ye to your creator!” He looked around. “You, over there, with the tattoos. My gunners told me that you’re a good shot and know a damn good sight about cannon-postures, and yer capable of handling a Long Tom. The Jolly Roger is better armed than the Revenge, and I’ll need a new first gunner. Join us and I promise ye a good share of our raids!”
Billy Jukes shook his head. “My loyalty belongs to the true captain of this ship, and he isn’t here in the moment!”
Blackbeard’s face turned even darker with anger. He wasn’t used to being turned down. “You, nigger! What’s about you?”
Cecco simply lifted one brow and turned his head away with a scornful snort.
Teach couldn’t believe it. Was Hook’s whole crew mad? “Haven’t you got it, idiots? I won’t let anyone live who don’t join my crew!”
“Don’t take the trouble!” Smee cut in with a clear, hard voice, flashing eyes and straightened shoulders. He seemed to have grown younger by decades. “None of us will betray our captain and join you!”
Blackbeard cursed savagely. “Then all o’ ya, go to hell, you fools!” He turned to Richards, who stood beside him. “Get Hook up here!”
The lieutenant nodded and signaled four men to accompany him. He strode to the gangway and crossed to the Revenge. Peter exchanged a gaze with Wendy. This didn’t look at all good for the crew of the Jolly Roger.
“He… he can’t kill all these men!” the girl whispered horrified. “They are simply being loyal to their commander!”
Peter took a deep breath. “He can and he will. I never thought I would say this, but Hook really isn’t the worst guy – not compared with this crocodile turd.”
Wendy didn’t even scold him for this choice of language. Her attention was fixed on the events on deck and on Teach’s intentions. “But why kill them? If he really wants the Jolly Roger that badly, then why doesn’t he just take her, let the Revenge here, and sail away?”
In the same moment, she remembered her history reading. Blackbeard would give the Revenge back to Bonnet – without booty and badly damaged. God have mercy, did this mean that it was already an unchangeable thing that James and his crew would die and the Jolly Roger would sink? Or that they might defeat Teach?
Peter bit his lips. “He won’t let them live. Not in his character. Even in this, Hook has more heart!” The boy hesitated a moment before he continued. “There’s something more. Blackbeard said something about a fraternity of pirate-captains and that he and Hook belong to it as well. Blackbeard can’t let him live. Otherwise he’d take the risk that Hook would accuse him of breaking the pirate-rules.”
Wendy groaned softly. “That’s the reason why Hook said that Blackbeard will kill him if he could overtake the Jolly Roger.” She closed her eyes. “Oh my God, why did he go to that blasted dinner!?”
Peter frowned. “You’re really worried about our old ‘friend’, aren’t you?”
The girl looked at him. “He’s only shown kindness to me since I’m back--"
“Yes, to kidnap someone not once but three times is really kind!” the boy interrupted sarcastically.
“-- and he rescued me from Blackbeard, took care of my injuries and offered me his own bed to sleep in. Of course I’m worried about him!” She didn’t dare to say more. Peter seemed to be skeptical enough because of her behavior, and she intuitively sensed his awakening jealousy. She would certainly need all of Peter’s help in the coming hours. She simply couldn’t stay back and watch James dying. Never! She only hoped that Blackbeard wouldn’t kill him immediately so that she would have the chance to work out a plan for the rescue. Yes, James had told – no, ordered! – her to return with Peter to Neverland and from there to London, if the Jolly Roger would fall in the enemy’s hands. That had happened, but she wouldn’t close her eyes to his destruction. A life without James wouldn’t be a life anymore and…
She was distracted by Peter’s soft tugging while he nodded toward the makeshift gangway. “There’s Hook!”
Wendy’s gaze was fixed on ‘her’ captain immediately, and she felt a stab in her chest to see him prisoner, roughly dragged over the plank to the main deck by the four strange pirates; Richards followed them. James’ arms were bound behind his back, otherwise he seemed to be unharmed. His face showed no fear, only cold wrath. He came with his head high and shoulders straight. Pride was all what was left for him now.
“Ah, my dear James!” Blackbeard greeted blandly. “Please excuse this inconvenience,” – he pointed at Hook’s shackled arms – “but I wanted to make sure that you didn’t leave the hospitality of my cabin too soon. I hope the small soporific didn’t cause a headache. I’ve heard it has these side effects sometimes.”
Some of his men started to chuckle, and Wendy and Peter fell the scales from the eyes. Soporific! Blackbeard had tricked Hook and his men by drugging them with a sleep potion – maybe with the wine or rum he had treated them to.
James’ voice sounded strong over the main-deck. “Save your words, Teach! They are false as the mask you’ve finally let fall – you sneaky piece of smut!”
Angry shouts erupted from Blackbeard’s men while he balled his fists and stepped close to Hook. “Be careful, James. Ye’re not in the position to insult me!”
“Do you really believe that I would be afraid of a tatterdemalion from Bristol, Edward? I have handled rabble as long as I can remember, and one thing I have learned: Once rabble, ever rabble!”
Teach lifted his fist to strike him, but controlled his anger again. It irritated him more that Hook didn’t even flicker an eyelid. “You’re talking big, Milord – for someone whose last hour approaches!”
“So I have nothing to lose!” Hook retorted mockingly.
Blackbeard examined him for a moment and snorted: “And there you’re wrong, my dear Jas.” He turned away and stepped to the bound crew of the Jolly Roger. “I’ve offered to take them on my crew. Maybe it will be a pleasure for ye to hear, t’at no one of them was willing to do so!” Hook showed no reaction, but in his heart, he felt true joy and gratitude He had known that his men stood behind him, but he had never counted on such loyalty.
Blackbeard splayed his arms. “Aye, this pathetic bunch of dogs follows their master even into death – typical dogs!”
Before any of James’ crew could react to this new insult, Hook answered coldly: “Contrary to your rats? It is well-known that rats will abandon a sinking ship first!” Teach whirled around, his face becoming red with anger. “Have I hit a sore spot, Edward?” Hook continued with a sneer.
“Cap’n?” Richards cut in, his face white with fury. “Please finish off this miserable cretin!”
“Where have you picked up this word, Lieutenant?” James scoffed. “Please excuse my rudeness, but I doubt that your education has been of the caliber to learn words like this!” With a cry of rage, Richards was in front of him, and slammed one fist into James’ belly and the other one on his chin.
Peter reacted out of pure instinct, and clapped his hand over Wendy’s mouth, muffling her scream, while he wrapped his other arm around her to hold her back. “No!” he whispered fiercely. “If they hear or see us, we’re dead!” Slowly she calmed, but her eyes flashed. The boy could only stare at her. What the devil…? Then his attention was again drawn to the deck outside. He saw Hook straightening his body, blood leaking from his nose, and he breathing heavily, but his gaze only showed icy odium.
“Exactly as I said, Lieutenant!” he said hoarsely. “Only at the better schools will you learn manners!”
Richards drew back his fist again, but was stopped by Blackbeard. “Let him be, Jack. His Lordship ain’t worth gettin’ fingers dirty.”
Quivering with rage, the lieutenant stepped back. “Give him the pistol with one shot, so’s this bloodsucker can finally say good-by to the living, Cap’n!” he hissed.
Wendy jerked back. “No!” she whispered, knowing perfectly well what Richard meant by this. Frantically, she looked around for a pistol, ready to spring into action. Peter’s hand and Blackbeard’s next words stopped her, before she could act.
“No, Jack. He ain’t worth a bullet. A rope’s good enough for ‘im!”
The crew of the Jolly Roger shouted in outraged protest, and bore the kicks and blows from the other buccaneers. Blackbeard approached Hook with an evil grin. “You’ve escaped the hangman, ain’tcha? Your dad tried to ransom you, but could only avert your end at the gallows of Tyburn in London. It seems y’ can’t flee yer fate forever!”
James only stared at him. His father had tried to save him? He even didn’t remember him and… And for a moment he saw an image scratching at the edge of his memory; a small face with soft, dark eyes and brown-grey hair and then a dark, stinky room with a gridiron in front of the small window…
Smee raised his voice. “You can’t deny the captain the honor of the one bullet! This is against our General Laws and the code!” His tone trembled with indignation.
“I can and I will, Mr. Smee!” Blackbeard grinned and gripped Hook’s empty weapon-sash, pulling him closer to him. “What do you say, old friend?”
The one-handed captain glared back; his face giving nothing away. “How many rules will you violate, Edward?”
Blackbeard laughed hard. “As many as I want, dear Jas. On the high seas there be none to hinder me doin’ as I wish. And where there’s no plaintiff, there’s no judge.” His voice was a triumphantly growl. “You will hang, James, at the yardarm of yer own ship! And while the rope steals your breath, you will watch how yer whole crew is sent to Davy Jones’ Locker!”
Still, James returned the calm disdainful gaze into the small black eyes of Teach, where madness laid a gleeful anticipation. But deep inside of Hook, it looked different. Every pirate had to live with the possibility of death in battle or death at sea. So death was his ever presented companion. But worse than those was the possibility of capture, being taken prisoner. Buccaneers could be cruel, and so were judges and hangmen. The execution could be brutal, often accompanied by some sort of torture before. Often enough, a pirate didn’t get a proper burial, but his dead body was hanged in a metal gibbet as a warning for other pirates, until his mortal remains had rotted. Hook knew exactly what lay ahead for him. The death by hanging on a short rope was slow and torturous, aggravated by the shame of being hanged at his own yardarm – the favorite place to execute enemies. All this gnawed at him as well. He took a deep breath to repress the unwelcome fear and kept a flat expression. “You are sick, Edward. I could almost feel sorry for you, if you weren’t such a wretched worm. But even in earlier times, when your mind was still working, you hadn’t a speck of decency in you!”
Teach only chortled and loosened his grip, stepping back. He ignored the new insult, but his men started to murmur angrily. “That you knew last midday, when you came to rescue the girl. By the way: Where is the little pigeon? I didn’t find her in your quarters.”
James felt relief washing over him. Wendy had done as he said and was safe now! Only this counted. Now he could die in peace.
Blackbeard waited for an answer, which didn’t come. He cocked his head. “Don’t tell me you let her go, even after you PAID for her!” Again Hook said nothing, which irritated Teach anew. “Maybe she rejected you as well, and, o’ course, you wouldn’t hold her against her will!” He started to laugh. “Just have a look, brutes! Our dear and everso gentlemanly James bought a girl and let her go, because she didn’t want him in bed! There you have it: He brings shame to the name of piracy!” His crew laughed with him.
“The one who lives in a glass house should not throw stones, Edward!” Hook retorted. “You are unable to capture a ship in battle. You have to use poison, you coward. But I have to admit that this is a really practical method. It prevents you from suffering a scratch!”
Teach’s face fell and he made a threatening step closer to him. “Shut up!”
A derisive chuckle was the answer. “Did I find another weak spot, Edward? It seems that you are full of them. Maybe this is the reason why you fear injury.”
“I warn you, James. Don’t take it too far!” Teach hissed between clenched teeth.
“Or what? Will you boast again of your raids, which are more fish story than reality? Seizing ships or towns means doing battle, and battle means danger, and you have demonstrated that you avoid battle--”
“SILENCE!” Teach exploded, infuriated, but James only snorted.
“This is all you can do: Scream, clamor, harry the weaker ones and build up a big heap of lies around you. If the truth were published abroad, even children would point at you and laugh. You are calling me the shame of piracy? Just have a look in the mirror, Teach! You are craven, and your so-called famous raids are the result of nothing more than sneaky, perfidious--” Blackbeard screamed in wrath, whirled around to Moleaux, wrested the whip he carried and was within one step of Hook.
Breathless, Wendy and Peter had listened to the exchange between the two pirate-captains. The boy frowned. Hook must be insane to provoke Blackbeard like this, and it was obvious Teach wouldn’t stand it. As the tall, strange pirate seized the whip, he knew what would come and reached for his friend.
Horrified, Wendy had heard what Blackbeard intended to do to James. He wanted him to hang! She couldn’t let him die! The urge to fetch pistol or musket, to run out and assassinate this son of a bitch, to yank James with her to the rail and jump overboard with him was nearly overwhelming. But, of course, they wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping, even if Peter did follow them and cut Hook’s shackles. They would have a whole gang of buccaneers after them and two ships’ cannons and rifles to shoot at them.
And then she heard James insulting Teach. She wanted to tell to him to shut up not aggravate his captor, but one word led to another, and then Blackbeard copped a whip.
Paralyzed with terror, she saw Blackbeard striking her captain, heard the cracking of the thongs; then Peter pulled her to him and whispered: “Close your eyes. Keep your ears shut!” He didn’t have to tell her a second time. Wendy couldn’t bear the grisly sounds, and buried her face in her young friend’s chest, and let her tears flow. She felt Peter’s arms wrapping hesitantly around her and muffled a sob. God, she couldn’t allow Blackbeard to do this to James! But her hands were bound. She couldn’t help him at this moment. She would be captured as well, and then the last chance help him was forfeit.
Peter looked, disgusted at the scene on deck. Yes, he and Hook were mortal enemies and he’d tried to send the captain to hell. But even in their fiercest fights, he always gave his adversary an even chance, and each of them had saved face. What was happening on deck wasn’t right, even in Peter’s eyes, and he felt the first inkling of pity for Hook. With a wild beating heart, he pressed a weeping Wendy closer to him, watched Blackbeard’s furious outburst, heard the angry shouts of the crew of the Jolly Roger and the jeering of Teach’s men. Only Hook made no sound, and that demanded Peter’s respect. He doubted if he himself would have been able to keep from crying out, if he had been in Hook’s place.
Then Blackbeard’s rage was satisfied, and he stepped back – and Peter pulled Wendy’s finger from her ear. “It’s over,” he whispered. With tear-stricken face, Wendy looked around through the crack at the door, and her gaze found James, held roughly by two of the Revenge’s pirates.
James’ legs didn’t seem to be able to hold him anymore, and she was grateful for the dim light and his black clothes, so she couldn’t see his blood. “That monster!” she breathed. “He’s no human, but a demon!” She pressed her hand against her mouth to muffle a further sob; her eyes fixed on James. She wanted to run to him and to comfort him; to care for his injuries, to wrap herself around him, to protect him against any further attacks – even if it did no good.
“Take him down!” sounded Blackbeard’s voice to them. “Abandon the Revenge and lock his men in the hold. Put gunpowder all over the sloop, and powder-barrels at all the weak points of the ship. Daybreak, we’ll blow the Revenge, including his ‘loyal seamen’!” Loud cheering again erupted while Teach stepped to Hook and jerked his head toward him. “And ye, my dear James, will be a witness of the whole show, while y’ swing from yer own yardarm and life be leavin’ ye!”
Wendy closed her eyes. How insane must a man be to devise such a cruel plan? To even imagine the scenario made her feel sick. And the thought of James cruelly pulled up with a rope around his throat, strangling – his body cramping while blood and breath were cut off – was like agony for her. But she was gratefully amazed at the loyalty of his crew. Until now, the men of the Jolly Roger had seemed like hoodlums to her, even if they hadn’t been unkind. But now, they would rather die than to leave their commander -- that showed them in another light. She didn’t want them to perish!
Peter tugged her sleeve. “Get out of here before they find us!” he murmured. “As soon as they bring Hook below and take his men to the Revenge, they’ll be everywhere on the Jolly Roger.” He carefully closed the door to the main deck, took the lamp and turned toward the door through which they had entered the weapons chamber. “You coming?”
Slowly, Wendy followed him, her thoughts dancing in her head. She had to rescue James and his men! And there wasn’t much time. She would need Peter’s help; his and the Lost Boys’ and her brothers’. It wouldn’t be easy to convince them, but she had no other choice. If they didn’t find a good plan, James would die.
Peter pulled her along behind him and tried several doors until he found one unlocked. Hastily he slipped inside the room and closed the door behind Wendy. They were in a small cabin with a single bed, a desk and a locker. A carpet lay on the floor and at the wall hung several keys as well as a violin. The girl guessed that they were now: in Smee’s cabin.
The boy hastened to the porthole when he felt Wendy’s hand on his arm. “We have to help him!” she said with a composure she didn’t feel.
Peter looked flabbergasted at her. “We what?”
Wendy still clutched his arm. “We can’t leave him in Blackbeard’s clutches. You saw and heard what he did to him – and plans to do!”
The boy blinked, bewildered. “This doesn’t concern us.”
“Yes, it does!” the girl insisted. “Hook is your enemy, yes, but he belongs in a special way to Neverland. We cannot permit that--”
“Wendy!” Peter cut in with soft protest. “I tried to warn him. And in return he put me in chains and told me he’d kill me tomorrow!”
His friend shook her head. “No, Peter, he didn’t intend to kill you tomorrow. He only wanted to frighten you – as a payback for your prank several days ago.”
The boy turned to face her, face full of amazement. “Don’t tell me you really believe this!”
“He said--”
“He lied, Wendy! He always lies!”
“No! He speaks the truth, even if it’s harsh and the other person doesn’t want to hear it. Besides: he gave me the keys to the brig and to your shackles.” Peter’s eyes widened. “He told me where you were and showed me how to reach you in secret.”
The boy leaned heavily against the wood beside the porthole, not even trusting his own ears. “HOOK gave you the keys and told you where to find me?” Wendy nodded slowly. “Why?” was all Peter could managed to ask.
“I don’t know exactly. He thought that perhaps Blackbeard would try to steal the Jolly Roger, and knows that you can and will take me to safety. Because of this, he gave me the keys. He wants me safe.” She took a deep breath and lowered her gaze.
Peter’s expression was this of utter shock. “He wants you safe? God, he tried to kill you during your first stay and has kidnapped you three times! And suddenly he wants you safe and even spares me because of it?” He shook his head. “I don’t get it! He’s never concerned about anyone else! All of this is just another trick to deceive you into trusting him!”
“Peter, Blackbeard has captured the Jolly Roger and plans to murder Hook – and he knew it that this could happen. So why should he try to deceive me into trusting him, when he knew that he would probably die?”
The boy bit his lips and cocked his head. “What’s going on, Wendy? Suddenly, Hook shows care and compassion, and, you’re saying, he even wants to spare me. And you’re shaken to your boots because of he’s going to die!” Anxiously, he saw the girl’s growing nervousness. “What does all this mean?” he asked softly.
Wendy avoided his gaze. She longed to tell him the truth, to end this game of hide and seek, but right now it would be a mistake. She knew him well enough to foresee that he would be angry and jealous, and possibly never consent to help James. “We’ve talked a lot during my last ‘stay’ on the Jolly Roger. It seems that he … he likes me in a way. This must also be the reason why he bought me from Blackbeard.”
“I heard that a while ago from Blackbeard,” Peter remarked. “What happened?”
“Teach captured me on the island, and wanted me to reveal your hideout. Hook came and…”
The boy frowned. “Why does Blackbeard want to know where we live? What has he to do with Hook’s revenge?”
“Nothing, but he’d heard about the two treasure-chests you stole from Hook, and he wants them. And he was angry with you, I think, because you made a fool of him in front of Ja … Hook.” She sighed. “Of course, I didn’t tell him anything, and he got very, um, irritated.” She lifted her bandaged hand to her bruised cheek. “He hit me and threatened to chop off my fingers.”
With a jolt, Peter stared at her and the bandage around her hand. He’d wondered how she was injured, but hadn’t found the time to ask her.
“If Hook hadn’t come at that very moment, I would be mutilated by now,” she continued. “And that’s not all. Blackbeard wanted to sell me at the slave market.” The boy paled. He didn’t know much about slavery, but enough to realize Wendy’s fate, if Hook hadn’t interfered. “We have to help him, Peter. He saved me and it’s only because of the argument between him and Blackbeard that Teach is doing all this. He wants Hook to die in the most cruel and painful death. I’ve heard talk between my father and my aunt when a criminal was hanged a while ago. The man had fought with death for several minutes, had struggled for air with a darkening face, until he finally died.” She felt sick again just imagining James in this place. “Hook doesn’t deserve this!” she whispered and felt new tears rose in her eyes, blinking them hastily away. How much she wanted to curl up on the floor and to weep, but not now! James needed her and so she had to keep her mind clear.
Peter watched his friend and took a deep breath. Even as he saw her rising tears, he was reminded of the whole history between himself and the captain. And he remembered very well his ‘conversation’ with Hook several hours ago. “If I hadn’t told him what I knew about Teach’s plan, he would have sliced me open top to bottom.” He pointed at the small wound on his throat. “I’ll tell you this much: you’re really in panic when you’re completely helpless and have a blade cutting your throat!”
Wendy lowered her gaze for a moment. Indeed, Hook had pressured him, but otherwise he hadn’t done anything to the boy who had cut off his hand and stolen his freedom. “If he had truly wanted to kill you, he would have already done it!” she whispered back and searched Peter’s gaze. “Please, we can’t let him die like this – nor his men. I owe him a lot and…”
“You owe him nothing!” the eternal boy interrupted. “He tried to kill you, now he saved you. I think that balances things out.”
Wendy wrapped her arms around her small form as chills, which hadn’t to do anything with the temperature, ran through her. Yes, from his point of view, Peter was right and she knew that she wouldn’t have a chance to convince him in helping James by pursuing this argument. So she had to try it from another direction. “Have you ever thought of what would happen to Neverland if Blackbeard anchored here? I’ve seen what his presence did to the fairies, and I am sure that this would only be the start.”
Peter winced slightly and bit his lips, before he lowered his head. “You haven’t seen what he left behind,” he murmured and Wendy paled.
“Tinker Bell?” she asked quietly.
“She’s alive – as are the other fairies. But wherever Blackbeard walked, he left withering flowers and leaves. The fairy-queen said that came out of his sheer black and evil heart, and that even Hook has a kinder one.” A shiver ran through him. “If Blackbeard really will take Neverland as a kind of home-port, then…” He swallowed as he thought for the first time really about the consequences.
“See?” Wendy asked. “If we want to defeat Blackbeard, we’ll need Hook and his men. You help him by saving his life, and he’ll help you by chasing Teach away. In this case we all have to fight together, or we will surely die separately!”
Very slowly Peter nodded, seeing the wisdom in such an action. And this wasn’t all. Of course, he realized Wendy’s state. She was almost out of her mind and scared as never before – because of Hook’s safety. He didn’t understand why she suddenly wanted to protect the pirate-captain so much – alright, he truly had helped her, this Peter recognized – but that didn’t seem to be the main reason. Wendy was more than sad, more than compassionate -- almost desperate, and he couldn’t stand to see her in pain. So he made his decision, even if he had never imagined himself helping his worst foe. “Alright. We’ll try.”
The relief and joy on the girl’s face touched him in a way that was foreign to him. He was proud to have made her tears stop, and, at the same time, oddly sad, because her joy resulted from his offer to help Hook.
No. Right now wasn’t the right time to think about it. They had to hurry, if they wanted to save the day.
And this brought him to his next thought. “How?” he wondered aloud. “You know that I’ll do almost anything, but how can we free Hook and his men? As soon as Blackbeard and his men have transferred their belongings to the Jolly Roger, they’ll take over the entire ship. Even if we free Hook, how could we get him away? He can’t fly without fairy-dust. Alright, Tink could give him some dust, but I don’t believe that he’ll have enough happy thoughts to lift into the air. And I don’t think he’ll turn tail and run. He’s villain who doesn’t care about anyone. But he’ll stay for his whole crew for sure. How can we rescue them all as well?”
Wendy wiped her tears of relief away with trembling fingers, but she felt herself getting stronger, and her fighting-spirit reawakened. “I’ve a plan. But I need your help, along with the Lost Boys and my brothers.”
Peter cocked his head and grinned. “You’ve a plan? Now I am curious.”
She forced a big smile on her face and pointed to the porthole. “Let’s get back to the island and find them all. And take care that this porthole is left open. We have to re-enter the ship without anyone noticing.”
The boy nodded. “No problem – except…” He looked at her closely. “I think I have to carry you. Your fairy-dust has worn off and even if not, I don’t think that you would have enough happy thoughts to fly” – ‘just like Hook,’ he thought and shuddered for a moment. For a second, he thought he knew what had Wendy change, and why she seemed to be so strange, but then those thoughts left him even before he had a chance to capture them.
Wendy giggled nervously. “There you’re right. So you have to act as the cavalier again.”
Peter laughed softly, in his eyes glowing with new adventure-lust. “Ever again, Milady!”

“You want to do us WHAT?”
Slightly’s voice sounded unnaturally high, and Peter looked into bewildered faces and wide eyes. Wendy and he had returned to the hide-out minutes ago, and the eternal boy had instantly called for a war council. In one matter, the girl had been completely right -- time was running out! So he collected his friends around him and told them about his intentions to free Hook and his men and to defeat Blackbeard.
“Yes,” he nodded firmly. “We will help Hook!”
“Have you lost your mind?” Nibs asked flabbergasted.
John shoved his glasses back on his nose. “You can’t be serious!”
The eternal boy rolled his eyes. “Believe me; this isn’t a joke! We simply have to choose the lesser evil: Hook or Blackbeard. And I think our ‘old friend’ isn’t as big an evil as this cruel madman with an entire scalp under his chin. The guy really is rabid, and he is a ferocious pig that…”
“Peter!” Wendy cut in and gave him a glare. “Don’t use that language in front of the twins and Weasel!” she scolded.
The eternal boy flashed her an apologetic smile. “Sorry.” He turned his attention back on the actual problem. “In every way, Blackbeard would be worse for Neverland than Hook. You saw what he did to the fairies!” – he pointed at Tinker Bell, who lay exhausted, with puffy eyes beside him on the throne’s arm, snuggled in one of the furs – “and you’ve seen the reaction of Neverland to his presence. The weather has cooled, as well as the flowers fading and the trees dying. Imagine how Neverland will be in several weeks if Blackbeard remains and uses it for his own needs. I’m sure that there will be only two choices for us: packing up and leaving, or staying and dying. And I will not make room for him. Not ever!”
Nibs pursed his lips. “Maybe we could use the whole situation to send both crews to hell.”
“How?” Peter cut in. “You know, that sounds good, but we don’t have the time. We simply need Hook and his crew to defeat Blackbeard.”
His gaze found Wendy, who sat with knees tucked under her chin on one of the big furs on the floor, pale and tensed as he’d never seen her before. Of course, after all she’d been through – but a nagging voice in his mind whispered that she had other reasons to be in such a state.
He cleared his throat. “And by the way, he helped Wendy. To say otherwise would be a lie. He had rescued her and --”
“Why did he rescue you?” John asked his sister.
She was white as a sheet, and was uncharacteristically silent. She was afraid, there was no doubt, and she wasn’t afraid for herself or her friends, because here – deep under the Never-Tree – they were safe. No! There must be another reason for her fright and he guessed what it was.
“I don’t’ know,” she lied, and felt another twinge of guilt for lying to her brothers and friends. “As I told Peter, Hook and I talked a lot during my last ‘stay’ and it seems that he likes me in a way. Maybe this was the reason for his actions – or it has something to do with his preference for ‘good form’.”
“Sure!” John snorted, picking up speed. “And it was a really good form over four years ago to chain you the main-mast, to drag you by the hair, and to send you on the plank – after he threatened to cut your throat. And it was good form to kick me in the back or to lift Michael with his hook in the air to throw him over board directly in the hungry mouth of a supposed crocodile!” Wendy wanted to say something, but her brother continued, his ire rising: “And what about the whole mess in the Black Castle? If Peter hadn’t come, Michael, Tiger-Lily and I would have drowned because he chained us at the rock in the water with high tide approaching! And if the crocodile hadn’t come, Peter would have been dead a long time now. You can still see his scar! Maybe Hook helped you this one time – after he kidnapped you three times in almost two weeks – but his crimes are frighteningly superior in number. If he is going to hang, then it serves him right!”
The girl saw the loathing and hate in her brother’s eyes, and his last sentence was a blow to her stomach. Yes, James did all those things, but he had changed. The fact lone that he had spared Peter’s life and intended to let him go was proof enough for that. But how could she convince John of this? Perhaps it would be better to try another way.
“John? Hook did all these things, you’re right. But one thing he hasn’t and would never do: destroy Neverland. Blackbeard will do this without a doubt, even if he doesn’t intend to, but his presence weakens the fairies until they will fade away. The same with the mermaids. And what about the Indians? To him they are only savages who are in his way. He is one of those men who won’t share. He’ll hunt down and kill Tiger-Lily and her people without a second thought. And when Neverland has fallen, Peter will fall as well. Blackbeard will be sure that every one of us perish. And believe me: he will succeed.”
John paled as Wendy mentioned that Tiger-Lily could die. He didn’t dare admit it to anyone, but he had developed an affection for the Indian princess. From this point of view, his sister was right: Hook really was less trouble than Teach. But to help him?
Peter bent forward. “Wendy’s right. Believe me, I am the last one to help the miserable codfish, but in this case, we have no other choice. Either we save his sorry skin and those of his men, defeating Blackbeard and sending him back to where he belongs – which is NOT Neverland – or we will lose our home, our freedom, and surely our lives as well. So who is with me?”
Without hesitation the boys lifted their hands – with the exception of John, who looked very thoughtfully at his sister before he signaled his consent as well; never moving his eyes from her. He observed her relief at the reaction of the others, and that a healthy color returned to her cheeks. All his senses were alert.
“But how do we help him?” Curly asked and Runner nodded.
“If Blackbeard has already made himself at home on the Jolly Roger, then we have a problem.”
Peter smiled. “Wendy has a plan.”
All fifteen pairs of eyes – the two of her brothers, the six of the ‘older’ Lost Boys and the seven of the ‘new’ Lost Boys – looked at her, as well as Tinker Bell and Peter. She took a deep breath.
“I have a plan. Maybe not in detail, but I think together we can work it out.” In the next minutes she explained how they could try to free Hook and his men. The eyes of her friends and brothers went wider and wider, and as she finished, she was confronted with questions upon questions, beginning with ‘how’, ‘when’, ‘could we…’ and so on. A part of them thought it too dangerous, the others were enthusiastic. It seemed impossible, but half an hour later, they had cobbled together a plan that was full of risk, but foolhardy enough to possibly work.
The whole time, John’s eyes kept returning to his sister. At first she had clenched her hands, but nevertheless he had recognized her trembling fingers, and she had been more than nervous. And then, as the plan grew, she seemed to regain her fiery spirit, and as they all agreed how to proceed, she was calm and her face showed firmness, but joy as well. He examined her appearance. Clad in breeches, an overlarge shirt – he didn’t need to ask to whom the ruffled linen belonged – boots, bound hair and a weapon-sash with a rapier slung over her shoulder she looked the very image of a pirate herself. Damn it! He would eat his hat if her emotional chaos wasn’t based on concern about Hook! She cared for him -- that was obvious; and crazy! Heavens, this man had tried to kill her and kidnapped her. And then the boy remembered her unlikely escapes by her own strength – and the ‘kiss’ Hook stole from her as he kidnapped her the last time and she and he were together on ship for two nights and a whole day. ‘We talked a lot,’ she had said. Blast it all -- there had been more than simply ‘talks’. He felt it in his bones.
His sister was a romantic, and he had to admit that the pirate-captain was, in his own way, attractive. And she had always had a weak spot for Hook, and for ships and sea-travels, and pirates. Didn’t she often say how she wanted to write about the adventures of pirates? Of course Hook had sensed this. The man wasn’t stupid. He had taken advantage of all these things and had lulled her into liking him. And all this now was the result of what had happened.
Slightly tugged at his arm. “Come on! Your princess is waiting for you.”
Frowning he looked at his adopted cousin. “Pardon?”
The other boy rolled his eyes. “You, me, Runner and Curly are going to the Indians to pick up several things for the rescue? Already forgotten?”
“You’re too young for that!” Curly joked and John stuck his tongue out.
Runner pulled on his sleeve. “Come on! Or we’ll get there too late!” Throwing a last glance at his sister – he would have a word with her after this mess was over – he followed his friends and step-cousin out of the hideout and headed in the direction of the Indian village.
It was cold outside and the wind sighed through the tree tops. Even if he didn’t want to help Hook, and he didn’t know why his sister cared so much for this damned bastard, he had to admit that she and Peter had one thing right: Blackbeard affected Neverland, and it was more important to get rid of that one!
Wendy watched Peter re-arming with a dagger and a cutlass and took a dirk – a small, long knife -- for herself before she retreated to her little chamber for a brief rest, even if she was far from calm. Surely, the first step to saving James had been made, and the chances of winning this crazy ‘game’ didn’t were not good, but she was chilled with fright for him. Who could tell what Blackbeard was doing to him now? And there was no guarantee that they would be able to defeat Teach and his brutes. The chance was far greater that James would die.
She opened her weapon-sash, let it slide to the floor and curled on her bed. She felt tired, and her head ached again, but worse than a headache were her fears for the man who had changed her into a woman and who had showed her the bliss of lovemaking. She remembered how frightened she had been when brought to the Jolly Roger the first time after her return to Neverland, and had seen him again. She was sure that he would kill her, but even then there had been this odd tickling deep inside as she stood before him. God, how innocent had she been at that moment to think it was only fear she was feeling.
It wasn’t long until she realized the emotions he was able to waken in her. She remembered his sentence: ‘I will kill you … over and over again!’ And that he had done, indeed. She had ‘died’ in his arms almost every night. It wasn’t for nothing that an orgasm was also called ‘the petite death’. She had experienced such pleasure with him that she would be mad for him for the rest of her life.
Her thoughts wandered back to the time in the crow’s nest, and she remembered his joy and eagerness as he started to remember a part of his past. Then, as he showed her the whole Jolly Roger; his pride of it and his pleasant astonishment as he realized that she really did know about ships.
And then there had been the teasing and laughing with him; the security of his nearness and the peace when she slept snuggled close to him. She couldn’t get enough of his purring voice, and relished his gentle smiles when she looked into his sparkling forget-me-not-blue eyes, those eyes she loved so much.
And then his tender caresses and kisses, which could be also so passionate and wild. She loved the way his breath stroked her skin, the way his beard tickled and scratched her the slightest bit while his soft lips made her helpless and vivid like nothing else.
Wendy lifted her head. What had she thought? She LOVED…? With a soundless groan she closed her eyes and let her head fall back. Yes, she loved to be with him, as she had even admitted to him. She loved his eyes, his fondles, his black humor. She loved his handsome appearance and his strength; she loved to lie in his arms and to feel him making love to her. She loved to feel his silky skin under her fingers or the way he sometimes acted like a little boy. She loved to talk with him and to share jokes with him.
There was no way to deny it any longer, even if she had avoided this admission with all her might. She loved him!
Warmth rushed through her body, dispelling some of the chill which still ran through her, and she felt her heart and soul starting to calm.
She loved him! She loved him more than her own life. She burned for him! To finally think it was like a redemption, and she wanted to scream it to the whole world – later, of course, when she was in his arms again.
And there would be a later, or she would die with him. Never would she let him down, or watch him die without a fight. She loved him too much to hold back when his life was in danger.
Her confession seemed to give her new strength. A completely strange power ran through her veins as she stood up, took the weapon-sash, and fastened it. ‘I’m coming, James!’ she thought. ‘Just hold on!’
Straightening her shoulders, she left her chamber and looked into curious faces, full of expectation.
“Ready boys?” she asked, and even Peter cheered back:
“Ready!”

TBC…
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In the swirl of passion