Hiraeth: Return to Neverland #1 (a darlinghook fanfic)

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Hook lay in his hammock, eyes open, staring at the rocky ceiling high above him, listening to the snores of his men. It was strangely quiet here, and he missed the familiar creaking of his ship and the sound of the sea. He also missed his comfortable bed, but he supposed that letting Wendy have it was the most gentlemanly thing to do.

Two of his men returned from their watch and woke the next two for their turn. Hook rolled over in his hammock carefully and faced the door of his cabin. Even though he knew that Wendy had barred the door, he was still uncomfortable with her being so within reach of his men. They were good sailors and obeyed him, but they were still pirates.

Wendy awoke to muffled chatter. She sat bolt-upright, taking in her surroundings in slight confusion until she remembered the events of last night. She was in the pirates' cave hideout, in Hook's cabin. She had almost drowned. Hook had saved her instead of going back to his ship.

It struck her again what a sacrifice that had been. His actions had basically said that she was more important than his revenge on Peter Pan. Wendy wasn't sure what to make of it.

She slipped out of the bed, still wearing her camouflage pants and green t-shirt. Hook had said that there was clothing in the chests and she carefully opened the first one, rifling through the contents. It was filled with luxurious, patterned cloth, in vibrant colours, royal blue, crimson, deep purple and dark green. The next chest was full of weapons of all kinds, straight and curved daggers, swords, scimitars, crossbows, pistols and many others. Wendy selected a dagger and an Italian rapier to put aside and moved on to the next chest. This one contained what she had been looking for: brown and blue breeches, light shirts, coats, vests, and belts.

After pulling on a pair of dark blue breeches and a white shirt, Wendy grabbed a belt that went over her shoulder and around her waist for her blades. The boots at the bottom of the chest were much too big for her, so she decided to stick with her own shoes.

Looking in the large, ornamented mirror in the corner, Wendy couldn't help but grin. She looked like a proper pirate in this getup, and she kind of liked it. It was this confidence that helped her step out the door of the safe bedroom.

It was fairly light in the cave, but it was not coming from torches or fire. It had a strange, green tinge to it. Wendy looked up and saw that there was a large opening in the ceiling that she had not seen before and that was covered in leaves.

The pirates had taken notice of her and were watching her out of the corner of their eyes. Some of them were working around the cave, at the pots of plants, or hauling water from the pond. Two stood guard at the top of the steps, facing the cave that led outside. The rest of the pirates sat around, playing cards or talking.

Hook, who had been sitting at a table in the corner poring over a map, saw her and quickly made his way to her.

"I trust you slept well," he said, offering her an arm.

Wendy was reminded of the last time he had done so. It was right when she, her brothers and the lost boys were intending to leave Neverland. They had climbed out of the Home in the Ground after saying their goodbyes to Peter without realizing that the pirates had found their hiding place. She had been the last to leave, and all the other boys had been tied up by the time she had emerged. With ironic politeness, Hook had raised his hat to her and offered her his arm as he escorted her to where the boys had been tied up and gagged.

She shook the memory away as she took Hook's arm. He wasn't going to hurt her, she knew that for certain.

"I did sleep well, thank you."

They sat down at the table where a map lay amidst measuring instruments a few plates of bread and cheese, and a bottle of what Wendy assumed was rum.

"Help yourself," Hook said, gesturing to the plates of food.

As Wendy ate, she studied the map. In the center was the island of Neverland, with Cannibal Cove and Mermaid Lagoon, but surrounding it were many other islands, varying in size. Most were labeled, but many were not. Strionia, Egrain, Oshos, Baproyye, and many others.

This world was so much larger than Wendy knew. The island of Neverland was just one of many that weren't part of the mainland. She couldn't quite wrap her head around how exactly they existed, whether they were on earth, just undiscovered in the Atlantic Ocean, or in another world completely. Come to think of it, she had never really thought about where Neverland was either. She knew that the only way to get here was to fly.

She looked up at Hook to find him watching her. He quickly took a swig of rum and looked back down at the map.

"How did you get to Neverland?" Wendy asked, suddenly.

"Hmm?" Hook looked up, eyebrows raised.

"I mean, I know that you went to Eaton and that you were Blackbeard's bo'sun, so you've been on the mainland. I also know that the only way to get here is to fly, and as far as I know, I'm the only adult that can fly."

He leaned back in his chair, looking at her with such an intense gaze that Wendy almost regretted asking him.

"I was indeed Captain Teach's, or as you say, Blackbeard's, bo'sun. After we captured a Spanish ship, he made me captain of it, but still under his command. He received a percentage of all we captured." He paused, remembering. "There was a terrible storm and we were separated. When the winds died down, we had no idea where we were, the stars were different, the days were either too long or too short. Time seemed to be of no consequence."

"You ended up here."

Hook nodded. "We found this place... world, if you will, to be very fruitful for our pirating endeavors. It was quite a while before we even found this island and met Pan."

He noticed Wendy tense again at the name and had to ask. "What happened to you two?"

"I told you, I grew up. He didn't."

His eyebrows raised again.

Wendy pursed her lips. "No, you don't get any more information than that."

"I just told you how I got here," Hook said, taken aback.

"And I told you how I got here last time." Wendy got up quickly, looking around. "So, where's the bathroom around here?"

Later that day, there was some commotion in the passage leading to the cave. Steps echoed and pirates shouted. Wendy, who had been aimlessly wandering around the cave, unsheathed her rapier and took a defensive stance.

She glanced over at the table where Hook stood, sword in his one hand, pistol in the other, he looked over at her and their gazes met. He jerked his head towards the door to the captain's cabin. Wendy rolled her eyes and shook her head. She could handle herself, she didn't need to hide out behind a locked door like some defenseless-

That thought was interrupted when a wolf sprang from the entrance and landed down on the floor.

"Blue!" Wendy exclaimed, rushing forward and sheathing her blade as she did so. "Hey, boy." She dropped to her knees and embraced him.

Hook approached them and Blue spun around, growling at him. The pirate captain backed up a couple steps.

"You have a pet wolf?" he asked Wendy, in a tone that asked her why she had not mentioned this before.

Wendy nodded and quickly sat beside Blue. "Hey, Blue," she said soothingly. "It's okay, he's not going to hurt me, or you." She looked pointedly at Hook, who sighed, but nodded. Blue's muscles relaxed and he licked Wendy's face couple times, making her laugh. "Yeah, I'm happy to see you too."