** Only one thing can still prevent Neverland's downfall: In the dark times when a star's light perishes, a new one must be found! **
Neverland - a world in which simply everything was possible as long as you could dream it. But behind a shining lig...
Fiona peered over her carrier's shoulder and watched the group of men. Suspiciously, her eyes narrowed, but she could make out little more than silhouettes and shadowy outlines. Uncertainly, the small skies flew back to him. He had placed himself between her and his people. Whether out of pity or actually because of this captain, Fiona couldn't say for sure. The few scraps of words that had flown to her so far hardly helped to clear the inner chaos and she was given no reason to calm down a little. On the contrary. It seemed to Fiona rather as if they wanted to save her for something or someone.
But why? And above all... what could she do about it?
In a place, she didn't know, taken into custody by men who were strangers to her and without really knowing who she herself was. With the unbearable tension in her limbs, she didn't want to be so naïve as to get her hopes up. There was nothing she could do at the moment - only a miracle might help her, and waiting for that would have been even more miserable than not admitting to herself that she had no serious chance.
Miserable was not an expression of the emotional state she was in. Fiona was injured, shaking all over, and could hardly walk. Her throat was still burning and meanwhile, she felt more and more the desire for something to drink... water. And now, besides cold, thirst, and exhaustion, she had to deal with five men who would take every wrong move as a reason to attack her. Before, she had thought it couldn't get any worse, as the night wind chased needles of ice under her skin and pressed sand into her open skin... now... she wasn't so sure. But there had to be something she could do. Anything at all? Fiona needed more time... somehow.
Maybe she could manage to jump off the small dinghy and swim back to shore? No, this option seemed ridiculous while she was still thinking about it. The man who was carrying her seemed to be the real leader of this pathetic troop because at his command a few of the filthy figures broke away and quickened their steps. They headed for a sparsely lit footbridge, whose outlines Fiona guessed in the light of a few lanterns.
Hadn't the men said something about danger? Out here, it was probably teeming with creatures that she would rather not meet. Be it men who clearly hadn't seen a woman in too long, or wild beasts that tore apart everything they could get their hands on... or simply the cold itself, to which Fiona would undoubtedly have succumbed. Or? For a moment she hesitated, toying with the idea of freeing herself from the man's embrace and attempting to escape. But what were her chances? Before she managed to escape, she would probably trip over her own feet even sooner.
Fiona had a hunch about what made him different from the other men. Her feeling told her that it was nothing but self-control... and just a tiny drop could perhaps overflow the barrel here, too. But... there was a warmth emanating from him that she needed too much right now to resist the grip. On his, her skin was icy cold, bluish lips pressing harder against each other as she fought the next shivering shiver. It reassured her at least a little that he made no effort to touch her in the wrong place, but was in fact simply wearing. Perhaps he simply had more heart than his companions, was more intelligent, or... possibly had a wife? Someone he saw in his mind's eye and for whom he could not bear to see harm done to her?
The stranger tensed a little and kept a watchful eye on the surroundings. Calm, strong, and serene, his footsteps carried them both across the white sands. An eerie silence lay in the bay, barely broken by the quiet gurgling of the waves and a sighing wind.
"You ask a lot of questions for a prisoner." (...) "I'm taking you to our ship - the Jolly Roger." (...) "to our captain - Hook. The jerky terror of all the oceans and especially the Neverseas." (...) "You were lucky Missy. You didn't get eaten and drowned.... However, I fear that you will be our new jewel in our captain's collection." (Filou)
Surprised, she turned her head to him. The dark eyes sparkled at her as he briefly averted his eyes from the bay. It wasn't a joke, Fiona saw the seriousness in the softer features and he wasn't laughing either. Though she was no longer quite so cold, she began to shiver again, and this time the slight tremor was hard to suppress.
"A prisoner, yes?" she asked more curtly than she had intended. Had she known a little more about the men, about the island, or the rules she too would have to obey... surely her reaction would have been different. But like this?
Fiona had no idea about the consequences of captivity, nor the intentions of the supposedly infamous captain. She tried to give her voice more firmness, but instead of the intended certainty, a hint of indignation flowed in. Prisoner, she didn't like the word and that she should consider herself lucky with her fate as well...
"I'm not a stone, nor am I an object," she stated a little more quietly, lifting her chin defiantly. "And your captain will have no fun with me... neither will any of you."
Although at that very moment a small gust of wind swept over her and made their petite body tremble, Fiona returned his gaze stoically. Almost as if his understanding could help her anything... but maybe it did?
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