The Third Star

Chapter 7: I've Got You

Tiger Lily shivered as she slipped into the ocean.  The water was still warm from the sun, and she disappeared beneath the surface, letting the sea embrace her entire body.  The forest grime slid off her skin to reveal her striking bronze complexion.  Her dark hair swirled around her like watergrass, turning a smooth ebony as she surfaced.  She brushed the diamond droplets from her face and combed through her hair with slender fingers.

Suddenly, a flash of white caught her eye.  She looked up into the sky and saw none other than Peter Pan himself, with that Darling girl cradled to his chest.  Wendy, was it?  Tiger Lily sighed.  That poor girl was a magnet for tragedy.

Of course, so was Tiger Lily.  But she had always prided herself on her animalistic survival, refusing to let such impairing human emotions render her helpless.  Wendy was a different story; she was sweet and naive, believing too easily in the goodness of others.  A beacon of light, perhaps; but one that flickered dangerously on the edge of burning out.

Tiger Lily frowned as Peter and Wendy disappeared over the trees.  Sure, Peter had come to the rescue, but perhaps saving Wendy's life was not so honorable.  Perhaps death would have been a kinder fate than the pain and destruction promised by a life in Neverland.

Eighty Years Earlier

"Prepare the sails, all hands on deck!" Hook barked as his crew scrambled to obey his orders.  He gripped the handles of the steering wheel, one hand and one hook.

The wind lashed at the sails, and the rain pounded the deck with astonshing force.  Thunder bellowed in the sky, interrupted by blinding flashes of lighting.  The massive waves towered over the ship railings, threatening to drag the entire vessel under the surface.

"We're in the eye, Captain!" cried Smee, Hook's second in command.  Smee clung desperately to the rail, one hand holding his knitted hat on his balding head.

"Hard to starboard!" Hook shouted, struggling to turn the wheel.  He glared at Smee.  "Mr. Smee, now would be an excellent time for you to quit cowering and pull your weight on this ship!"

"Oh, of course, Captain," Smee stuttered, stumbling into the wheel.

The chaos of the crew and the rage of the storm was so great that no one noticed the young girl making her way to the side of the ship.

Tiger Lily tightly gripped the ship rails, using them to drag herself forward.  It wasn't until she had climbed up the siding and shakily made her way onto the plank that she was noticed.

"TIGER LILY!" Hook cried in a panic as the princess tottered dangerously over the edge of the vessel.  The water beneath her was thrashing and swirling, as if the ocean had become a massive, savage monster.

Hook bolted towards Tiger Lily, hanging over the railing as the girl danced just out of reach.  Smee sputtered as he tried to manage the wheel on his own, grunting as he tugged on it.

"Captain!" Smee cried, looking close to tears.

Hook ignored him, his focus completely on Tiger Lily.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Hook roared over the wind, clinging to a thick rope that hung down from the mast.

Tiger Lily turned to face him, tears running down her cheeks and mixing with the rain.

"I can't stay a prisoner here for another day," she said.  "I refuse."

"This can be your home!" Hook shouted.  "We'll be your family! Don't do this, stay here! You can be happy, Tiger Lily, I promise!"

Tiger Lily stared sadly at the pirate through the violent downpour.  She swayed dangerously, not seeming to care about the very real possibility of falling.  She knew what family was.  She had one once, before it had so carelessly rejected her.  This, this wasn't a family.  She was prisoner and they both knew it.  What she said next would haunt Captain Hook for years to come.

"I'd rather die."

And with that, Tiger Lily fell off the plank.

"NO!" Hook screamed, reaching helplessly over the ship's edge.  It was no use.  She was gone.

Tiger Lily was immediately plunged into darkness as the cold water swallowed her up.  There was no sight or sense except the constant roar of the sea.  She was so small, just a tiny speck in this vast prison.  Everytime she made for the surface, the waves would shove her back down until she no longer knew which way was up.  Her lungs were burning and icy water began to force its way inside of her.  It was cold, so cold she could no longer feel her limbs.  She didn't even know if they were still attached to her body.

So this is what it was like to die.

Time stopped.  Tiger Lily's body was beaten around the waves like a rag doll, but she couldn't feel any of it.  Was she still alive? Or was this hell?  A dream, maybe?

And then the water was gone, and she was floating.

"I've got you." 

A voice.  A boy's voice?

"I've got you. Stay with me."

A flash of green.  The sensation of flying.  And pain.  Pain everywhere.

"Stay with me."

The ocean was still sloshing around in her lungs, but she started to vomit water.  She wasn't sure how long she was in the air.

Tiger Lily felt herself get set down on something rough.  Sand, she guessed.

"It's alright.  I'm going to save you."

It was the voice again!  Tiger Lily forced her eyes open.

It was dark, and the rain was still rushing down.  The ocean roared in the distance; the water lapped up the shore of the beach she was now lying on.  There was a boy with dark, wet hair matted against his forehead.  He was blinking raindrops from his eyes, which were green...so green...and pain.  Pain was everywhere.

"It's alright.  I'm going to save you."

That's when everything went black.