Short Stories

The Thief that Neverlands

Prompt: In the 1700's, an eternally young avatar of the Greek god of the wilds kidnaps dozens of children from their beds, taking them to his distant island to become a vessel for Fey Magicks like himself. There is only one man brave enough to take the children back:

Captain James Hook, the pirate.

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England, 1705

The crew of the Jolly Roger have just landed in London, taking a break from their three-month journey to stock up on supplies.

"You 'ear about those missin kids? Taken at sucha young age." Mr. Smee grumbled over a mug of ale.

"What are ya talkin bout?" Captain James Cook asked, intrigued.

"Buncha youngsters 'ave been reported gone." Mr. Smee sighed, taking a sip of his drink.

"How careless do ya have to be to lose a kid?" Flynn Norton, the gunslinger, slurred, before tumbling to the ground in a drunken heap.

"Well, I've 'eard there's a hefty price on the kidnappers 'ead." Mr. Smee said, leaning in.

"'ow hefty?" The captain asked, his interest peaking.

"Enough to pay the whole crew for life." Smee rubbed his hands together.

At that moment, the doors to the tavern were thrust open, and a distraught woman practically fell through them. Her dress was splattered in mud, and she was out of breath.

"I'm looking for James Hook," The woman gasped, her posh accent muffled by her attempts to regain composure.

Slightly baffled, James stood. "That would be me." he said slowly.

"Thank God. My name is Mary Darling and my three children have gone missing. I want you to find them." Mary barely had time to finish her sentence before collapsing. There were a few seconds of shocked silence, and the bar returned to its previous ruckus.

"What should we do?" Smee asked, scratching his bald head.

"I'll take her back to the Jolly Roger, you stay here and make sure the crew doesn't do anything uncharacteristically stupid." Hook said, picking her up.

Luckily, the ship was only a few minutes away from the tavern.

James gently lay Mary on his bed, when he noticed a discoloration on her cheek. The bruise was dark purple, and he wondered how he hadn't noticed it earlier. Dried blood speckled her cheekbone, and it became that whatever had struck her had some weight; a ring perhaps. He winced when remembered how cruel husbands were to their wives on land.

He sunk into the armchair opposite the door, not meaning to fall asleep.

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James was rudely awoken by the screech of seagull. Satisfied by the thump on the other side of the window, the horrible bird flew off.

In turn, falling out of his chair arouse Mary, who woke up in a flurry of cursing. She froze in horror, her hand flying to mouth as if the action sucked her words back into her mouth.

"Perhaps you belong on the sea." Hook grinned.

"Wha-where-how-who-" Mary stuttered, looking around in bewilderment.

"You stormed into the tavern I was in at an ungodly hour, told me, and the rest of the tavern, that your three children had been taken from their beds and you wanted me to find them." Hook recalled, looking for his hat.