Veiled in Stars and Silver: A Peter Pan Fairy Tale Romance

Chapter 12

I awoke to the sound of shuffling and thudding. I raised my head and squinted to find Hook lifting and re-stacking crates, revealing a large empty blackness opening up on the far side of the cavern.

“Good, you’re awake,” he said as if his racket hadn’t been the thing that awoke me in the first place. He rolled his shoulders, raising his arms in a stretch. “We should get going. No rum today. We need to stay alert. We’ll get food when we reach Madame Pearl’s.”

“Is that where the tunnel leads?”

“Correct. The ladies of Madame Pearl’s tend to be… freer than the rest of Neverland’s inhabitants.” He stepped over a crate and offered me his good hand. “Not that we won’t have to be careful, but we can’t stay here forever living on rum.”

“I need to find my brothers.”

“One step at a time. That task has now become a hell of a lot more complicated.”

I reluctantly took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. Despite his sand-covered hair and torn and bloody clothes, he somehow maintained a ruggedly handsome appearance. My skin itched from layers of caked-on mud, salt, and sand, and I was sure my hair looked like it was home to a nest of rats. His palm was warm in mine.

I snatched it back. “Let”s get going, shall we?” Moving past him, I headed for the entrance to the black abyss.

He lifted the lantern with his hook and followed me.

Part of me wished that yesterday had only been a bad dream. But waking up in the underground rum cache had ruined any hope that the world had gone back to being sane. I pulled my half of the silver stone from my pocket and lifted off my own necklace, the one that still held Peter’s kiss. Carefully, I threaded it through the opening Hook had created before settling the stone around my neck. It rested next to the small acorn.

“Tell me. If everything you claim is true, what was the point of throwing me off your ship?” I asked as we walked. Roots from the cave walls brushed my arms, and the small confines of our tunnel forced us to travel single file.

“Simple, love. My crew is under Pan’s control. The only reason he has brought you here was so you can kill me. If we had walked out onto that deck acting all cheery, his purpose for bringing you here would have been thwarted and you’d now be under his power.”

“You couldn’t have let me in on the little act?”

He let out a low laugh. “I’m afraid not. After that sham of an attempt at seduction in my quarters, I couldn’t trust your acting to be convincing.”

I huffed, my cheeks growing red. “And the kiss?”

I glanced back in time to see him grimace. “Sorry, Wendy. That’s not normally how I go about such things. But I couldn’t let you mention the dagger in front of the crew.”

I fingered the stone around my neck. “The stone protects us from Peter’s mind control…” The words were still strange coming from my mouth.

“And allows us to leave Neverland,” he added.

Yes. I had forgotten we were all trapped here. “And why is the dagger so important?”

“The Dagger of Forgotten Souls is a conduit for magic,” Hook said. “Pan exudes magic. So stab him while saying the right spell from my trusty book and Pan’s power goes into the dagger.”

“And no more mind control.”

“Precisely.”

I was quiet for a moment but couldn’t stop myself from asking what was at the front of my mind. “Why not kill him? If you are so immune to his powers?”

His voice darkened. “Kill Pan and you may destroy Neverland and everyone in it. No, Pan’s power must be transferred to another human.”

“I thought you were transferring it to the dagger.”

“The dagger is not a living being. The magic of Neverland is meant to be used. Eventually, it would fade and go out if left in the dagger. According to the spellbook of Stardust, it must be given to another person.”

“So, who? You?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” Annoyance laced his words. Then he paused. “Don’t answer that.”

We walked in silence for a long time. The light from the lantern shone dully ahead, its glow being eaten by the dirt-covered walls. Someone had taken quite the time to tunnel out this secret pathway between the rum cache and Madame Pearl’s. I wondered if it had been on Hook’s orders.

The endless passage came to a dead end. Above us was a wooden trapdoor and a few boards haphazardly nailed into the dirt leading up to the hatch. I moved to climb up it, but Hook caught my arm.

He gazed down at me, his expression so intense it made my stomach curl. He moved closer, and I sensed his energy rolling off of him. “You need to know that the Dagger of Forgotten Souls is more important than life or death. There’s no going back for me. I’d rather die than become enslaved to Pan again.”

Despite my mouth going dry from his nearness, I lifted my chin. “I guess we better find my brothers, then.”

He stared at me for a long moment, his jaw working like he wanted to argue. But finally, he gave a brief nod and released me. “Here. Allow me.” He moved past me and climbed up the wooden boards, where he beat his fist against the hatch several times before it opened. Fresh air rushed in, mixing with the stale underground smell.

I climbed up the makeshift ladder and through the opening, coming up into a wide-open cellar. Light drifted in through narrow windows, giving the room a faded look, but I made out stacks of dresses and crates of wine and spices sitting on the cold stone floor.

Hook motioned for me to follow and made his way up a wooden staircase, before rapping on a red painted door. “I should warn you. Madame Pearl is a bit… Well, you’ll see. Remember that in Neverland, it”s best to put some of those London sensibilities behind you.”

“What do you know about London”s sensibilities?”

The door swung open before he could answer, revealing a woman unlike any I had ever seen. Tight curls layered at the top of her head and down her back, each one groomed into a perfect position. Her full gown came off her shoulders, revealing more skin than I was used to seeing up close. Strange how I felt both envious and uncertain about how low the other woman’s dress plunged.

“Cora, may I present Wendy Darling,” Hook said. “Wendy, this is Cora Pearl.”

For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond. Hook had addressed Cora first, implying she was the one of higher station. I gave a small curtsy, feeling even more awkward because I wore trousers, and I didn’t know where to place my hands. “Pleased to meet you, Lady Pearl.”

Then again, perhaps I was overthinking it. Hook had said to leave London”s sensibilities behind.

Madame Pearl cast a critical eye over me, taking in my sand-filled hair and boy’s clothes. “Charmed.”

She turned toward Hook. “How did you get down here, mon cher?”

“Rum tunnel.” Without offering further explanation, he entered, stepping past her. “How are things? Everything normal?” he asked while I followed him inside. Cora wrinkled her nose.

A wave of flowered perfume hit me so hard I almost gagged. The carpets were a plush red, and the walls were covered in a gold-leafed wallpaper. It felt a little overdone and yet oddly welcoming.

“It is better than normal, mon cher. See for yourself.” Cora moved past me and led us down the hall into an open area. There was a kitchen and a couple of tables, almost like a small restaurant setting.

The women sitting at the tables in various stages of dress gasped with delight. “James!” exclaimed a woman with dark, curly hair. “We’re so glad you are safe. Although it appears as if only barely so.”

Hook tapped the makeshift bandage. “Yes. Had a little run-in with your past lover.”

“Lillian? She is seeing someone else now, though she won’t tell me who.” She sighed, looking sad, before returning her attention to Hook. “But With Pan’s orders last night, we feared the worst.”

Hook looked at her, concerned. “He took over your minds, too?”

The surrounding women nodded. “Every one of us. It was an all-out manhunt,” explained Lillian’s old flame. “But now it is as though Pan has left Neverland. Except…” She glanced at Cora.

“Except he is still here,” Cora finished.

Hook blinked. “Are you sure?”

She motioned to Hook as she threw the front double doors wide. I stepped up next to Hook and peered out. Madame Pearl’s large home sat on the top of the hill overlooking Swindler’s Cove. The town stretched out before me. At the bottom of the hill sat a grassy area of tables and fire pits. The main street spread out from there, running down to the seaside port. Mostly pirates, but a few women bustled about. They were talking and laughing. Some were getting drunk. A general sense of happiness permeated the air like children on Christmas morning.

Hook’s brow furrowed, worry in his gaze.

“Smee said he saw Pan at Mermaid Cove this morning. He is not gone,” Cora said. “Perhaps he hopes to flush you out?”

“What does this mean?” I asked.

“Usually when there is a day where everyone is free, it is because Pan has left Neverland,” Hook explained. “Gone to your realm. I don’t know what this means, only that we need to be careful.” He turned to Cora. “I must ask you. Who gave you that package you delivered to me?”

Cora frowned. “Not here, mon cher. Follow me and we will speak.”

“We also need a change of clothes,” he said. “And some nourishment.”

“I believe I have a belt of yours. Let’s ask the girls.” Cora sauntered over to the women. “Do any of you have any spare men’s clothes?”

“Oh, I have a shirt of yours, James,” said a tall, thin woman lounging nearby.

“I have a pair of trousers and an overcoat from when you spent the night with me last,” said another woman in a sleeveless gown, laying a card down on the table.

“You left your boots in Sasha’s room and Primi gave me a pair of socks you forgot,” said yet another.

I stared as nearly every woman in the room listed something. “You slept with all these women?” I whispered.

He raised an eyebrow. “Does it matter?”

I pressed my lips, telling the part that soured in my stomach that it wasn’t my place to judge. “You certainly didn’t leave here fully dressed very often.”

That elicited a roguish grin. “You forget. We here in Neverland don’t age. Over the years, I was bound to forget a few articles of dress.”

The thought that Hook had been living in this realm for so long hadn’t hit home until that moment. And to think that he and everyone in Neverland had been enslaved for all that time… The souring in my stomach turned into an ache of horror.

“You were never forced to…” I swallowed and motioned out toward the women.

He gave me a grim smile. “No. Madame Pearl’s is the one place where Pan seems not to control us. Only those not under his power may come here and, like I said, the ladies are freer than most. Even Cora doesn’t force them to do anything they don’t choose for themselves.”

Cora raised her hands, and the commotion died. “All right, ladies, place the clothes outside my door. Bella, you will prepare food for our guests. Eloise, Camille, and Ivy, you will help Miss Darling here get into something more… feminine.”

Eyes shifted to me for the first time. A look of utter resentment crossed the other women’s faces. And yet, the three women I assumed Cora had named rose to their feet.

“I am Eloise. If you will come with us, Miss Darling,” said a woman. Her dress was elegant, and her hair was wound in a high bun with flowers adorning it. She was beautiful.

I moved to follow them, but Hook stepped in front of me.

“I’ll meet you back here once we’re cleaned up,” he said, his voice low. “Remember, Pan can take over any of them at any time. Be ready. But for the love of the Jolly Roger, if he does, don’t hurt them.”

I clenched my jaw. “You think I would?”

“I know from experience, when you”re being attacked, how difficult it can be to remember who the real enemy is. These women aren’t half as well trained as you.”

I stepped back, glaring at him. “Am I supposed to take that as a compliment or condemnation?”

His blue forget-me-not eyes flashed with amusement. “A little of both, I suppose.”

And with that, he moved away, following Madame Cora Pearl as she swished across her home in her flowing gown. They disappeared into a room on the far side of the building, a growing pile of clothing stacked by the door.