The Mermaid-Cursed Pirate

Chapter 12

AN: WARNING: There will be some possible triggers and references to sexual assault and domestic abuse. If you are not comfortable reading it, just skip to my next AN. What happens before that will be lightly explained in the next chapter.

On a brighter note, from now on, keep an eye out for OUAT references and quotes. Comment if you can find them! And, as always, comment with anything you want to see later in the book!

Recap:

"What if I find a cure? How do I contact you?"

She thinks for a minute, then digs through her bag, pulling out a conch shell. "We can use this. I can enchant another one and we can communicate with them when I can get away from Pan. I'll try to go swimming every day at about the same time and we can talk then. I'll only use the bottle if it's too risky to use the shell." She closes her eyes and sighs, "Now I really need to go!"

Hook nods his head, "Okay. Goodbye, lass. We'll talk soon."

"Goodbye, captain," she says with a small salute, then dives out the porthole, swimming to the shore.

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Once Sirena gets to the shore, she limps to a tree, panting, and starts to bring tears to her eyes, sobbing loudly to attract Pan's attention. She only sits there for about a minute before she sees him appear in front of her through the tears. He kneels in front of her and places his hands gently on her shoulders.

"Rena?" She stays silent, prompting him to continue, "Rena, what happened? Who did this to you?"

She finally raises her eyes to meet his, the tears now rolling down her cheeks, "Hook, he-" she breaks off in a loud sob to sell it. Pan moves to sit beside her and moves to wrap an arm around her, but she shrieks and crawls away as fast as she can on the sand. "Please don't touch me," she whimpers.

Pan raises his hands in surrender and stays where he is. His anger burns toward the pirate, but he resolves to stay calm until he knows exactly what he did. He knows Sirena won't be able to tell him if he starts yelling. "Rena, please tell me what happened. I can keep you safe, you know that."

She scoffs to herself, "You can't do that if he's still here. His men are bigger than your little Lost Boys. If he comes for me, he will get me. And if he does, he'll-" she sobs into her hands again.

"Then I'll cast him off the island! He's of no use to me anyway. If it means you feel safe again, I will send him away and never allow him back in Neverland," he declares.

Sirena sniffs and, knowing that she's got what she wants, turns to face him with a hopeful look on her face. "You would do that for me?"

"I would do anything for you, Rena," he promises, a serious look on his face. He slides himself towards the mermaid at a slow pace. "Now can you tell me what happened?" he pleads.

She says nothing for a moment, then nods. "I joined the crew because I thought I could use Hoo- the captain's library to find some answer for my last curse. But, long story short," she sighs as she shows him the runes. "It was an accident. He wanted to know what it was, so I let him hold onto my arm so he could see, but I didn't think he would touch it! I'm so stupid!" she starts crying again.

"You mean to say that you are bound to that- that disgusting one-handed pirate with a drinking problem?" he fumes. "What did he do to you?" He notices the wounds on her and rasps, "Is he the one that hurt you? Those gashes, your eye, did he do that?"

"Today he said something about how he realized he hadn't been around a woman in a very long time. I thought it was just because I didn't act like his men in any way, but I was naive," her voice cracked, starting to tear up again. "He walked over to where I was reading a book for a cure, I didn't even notice him. The next second he was kissing me, holding me down on the bench. I was struggling and he-" she sniffed, pointing to her eye.

He lifts her chin so their eyes meet, a soft look in his eyes. "Keep going, Rena. It will help you feel better, and I need to know so I can help you." He drops his hand to hold hers as she composes herself.

"I fell off the bench and started running to the door, but he caught me and pushed me up against the wall. He put his hook against my chin, but I jerked away, cutting myself. He kissed me again, so I stomped on his foot. I was able to get away, but he caught my arm with his hook, cutting me again," her voice a notch above a whisper. "I've never felt so trapped before. I was just able to grab my bag and jump overboard before he could catch me again."

AN: START READING HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THE TRIGGERS.

"Rena, I am so sorry you had to go through that," he comforted in a soft voice. "I can heal those for you if you want," he suggests. She nods, so he gently places his hands on the cut on her arm, healing it before moving on to the next one. He places a hand her eye, then wipes her tears away and pulls her into a hug. He rubs her back as she rolls her eyes and smiles a mischievous smile.

She gasps and pulls away. "Pan, he's going to be on his way here! He's going to come for me! You can't let him get me!" she cries.

"Rena, calm down!" he pleads. "I'll kill him before he does. In fact, that's exactly what I will do to that piece of filth!"

She seizes his hand in a flash, "No! You can't! I'm bound to him, remember? If you kill him, it could kill me, too. Just get him off Neverland, like you said you would," she pleads.

"I'm sure I could find a way around that, Rena-"

"There's no time!" she grabs his shirt, her eyes desperate. "He'll catch me before then! Please, Peter." she murmurs, burying her head in his chest.

At her last word, his mind was made up, "Okay, Rena. Look, I'll send him to another realm right now. Watch," he brings a hand up, moving it in a circle as the ship is surrounded by smoke.

Sirena collapses in his arms as soon as the smoke dissipates. "Pan! The curse! Help me!" she wheezes, then falls unconscious.