Chapter Text
The next day Captain Hook set out to sober up and settle debts. His first stop was at the Two-Headed Swan , where he was waiting for Captain Rubina to emerge from her resident boudoir, his hat in his hands and tail tucked between his legs. It was mid-morning before she appeared, her usual pirate regalia traded in favor of civilian attire, a modestly bustled dress in soft velvet and silks in the deepest shades of mulberry and rose. Surprised to see him from her advantage on the landing, Rubina’s fingers automatically went to ensure her hair was high and secure. Their eyes met and Hook held his breath in anticipation.
“Good morning, Captain Hook.”
“Good morrow, Captain Rubina.” He extended his right arm toward a table waiting with food and drink. “I took the liberty.”
“Yes, you do enjoy taking liberties,” Captain Rubina replied tartly as she slowly descended the staircase.
“I also come bearing apologies,” James admitted when she hit the last step, standing eye to eye with him. She flicked him a glare of uncertain wariness but said nothing as she walked past him and primly accepted her seat in front of the small feast. James hesitated to join her.
“What are you waiting for, Captain Hook, a formal invitation?” James sat opposite her, watching as she poured honey over her porridge. “Do not keep a woman waiting, Captain Hook. I’m listening.”
Feeling a dam break within him, James launched into his apology with full gusto. “Captain Rubina, I abused our friendship most grievously and I beg your forgiveness for my boorish, clumsy and frankly misplaced advances. I truly value our camaraderie and would not wish to jeopardize it in any manner. In fact, as amends, I would like to offer a business proposition to replace the income you generated from Captain Scarsi’s partnership.”
Rubina drank her morning coffee in silence as she listened to James, thinking of her response before responding.
“Well, of course you are going to be my partner, that was conditional upon my private testimony given against Captain Scarsi.” She looked over the rim of her mug at him. “Did Mistress Jill not tell this to you?”
“Oh. Oh, yes, of course. Of course she had. Yes.”
“Well now I am insulted because you are a much more convincing liar than that. What is going on?”
“Mistress Jill...returned to the mainland on the day of the execution.”
“Is she aware of the destruction of my ship?”
“The last I saw her we had been arguing when we heard the shouts of fire and saw the smoke billowing in the sky. I believed it to be the Jolly Roger aflame, not the Scarlet Knave.”
“And you have had no word of her since?”
“No.”
“It has been over a year.”
“For us,” he said with a shrug. “Perhaps it has only been a week or a month at most for her.”
“All the more reason for you to return to the mainland and win her favor.”
“So I have been lectured by Lalita.”
“Well, we women know these matters most. Trust us.”
“Have you ever returned?”
“Oh, yes, Twice now. It becomes harder to return, though…” She turned her head towards the morning light spilling in from behind a lace curtained window. “I go to spy on my sister’s family, ensuring they are prosperous and well.”
“I was unaware you had a sister.”
“Indeed. My great-grandfather came from the Highlands of Scotland and settled in the Carolinas. My father longed to head westward, establishing a lucrative ranch in Texas where he raised my sister Blanche and I single-handedly after our mother died shortly after giving birth to Blanche. My sister was married the same week I was, before her husband moved them to Washington Territory.”
“Were you able to see her before you fled for Neverlands?”
“Yes. In fact, it was she who aided my escape once I became suspected of murdering my husband. The local sheriff knew what a scheming brute he had been and chose to look the other way so I could escape, but my husband’s brothers were not so forgiving. Thankfully the sheriff’s telegram reached me before my brother-in-law and his posse.”
“A sharp-shooter from Texas who traded her spurs for piracy. You are very much the heroine of Mistress Jill’s novels.”
Rubina's cheeks colored despite herself.
“I confess, your little chickadee won me over despite my determination to loathe her.”
James beamed proudly. “She has that effect on most.”
A somber expression came over Rubina as her green eyes shifted away. “Not even her charm will be able to stop Alonso from extracting his revenge one day.”
“As you say, one day. I must first establish that Jill has not thrown me over for good.” He gave her an appraising look. “Why don’t you accompany me to the mainland?”
“What?” Rubina twittered with humor. “Me?”
“Yes! As you say, your ship will be a while yet. It has been too long since I have set foot in that world, and I haven’t a clue what to expect. I keep up with newspapers when I can, but it is always old news. I could use an extra set of eyes and a sharp mind paired with the genteelness of a velvet glove.”
“You do flatter me, James,” Rubina scoffed. “What year does Jill live in?”
“Ehm. Let me see. I believe it was near the closing of 1911 when she last visited us. When did you last visit?”
“I went to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with my niece and her family in 1899. I wanted to welcome the new century.”
“I imagine there was much fanfare.”
“Indeed.”
“Twelve years is not such a long stretch of time; I am sure your eyes will be more accustomed to the strangeness of everything I shall experience for the first time in my life. I cannot risk looking cretinous.”
“I shall think on the matter.”
James abruptly stood up and made a small bow. “Thank you. I will not press on your time any longer. Enjoy your breakfast, Captain Rubina.”
She gave him a salute with her mug and a nod, shaking her head lightly as she watched him exit the tavern.
Tempted as he was to embolden his spirits with a nip of whisky, James managed to stay the course as he visited The Gilded Rose gambling house. It was late in the afternoon before James could muster his courage, running over what he might say in his mind. The house was jumping with regulars and a visiting party of corsairs and James stood scanning the crowd hoping to find his quartermaster before someone else spied him.
“What are you doing here?”
Too late.
Dressed in a kosovorotka embroidered with red and gold roses, Lord Oaken scowled menacingly, partially blocking James’ view of the main room.
James bit back a tart reply. “‘I have not come to make trouble, Lord Oaken. I merely need to speak to my quartermaster.”
“Do you intend to quarrel with him?”
“It is not my intention, no.”
Suspicious of Captain Hook’s politeness, Lord Oaken studied him until he could find no fault or reason to deny him entry. “He is upstairs with his supper.”
“Thank you,” James said before swiftly darting up to Lord Oaken’s upstairs apartments. His hand on the doorknob to Lord Oaken’s salon, James thought better of it and knocked instead.
“Magda, you saucy wench, are you trying to fatten me up? I cannot possibly eat another morsel.”
Rolling his eyes, James entered. “I do hope you are enjoying being spoiled like a poodle, for I have no intention of stealing Magda from Lord Oaken’s employment.”
Gentleman Starkey could not hide the surprise on his face to see his captain before he adjusted his face to express cool indifference.
“You sound sober.”
“I am.”
Ignatius cleared his throat awkwardly before gesturing to the demolished tray of food. “I’d offer you something to eat, but all I have left is tea.”
“Tea would be nice.”
Ignatius went to a hutch to fetch a teacup, his familiarity with Oaken’s home speaking volumes without uttering a single word. Silently, the quartermaster poured his captain’s tea and placed it on the low table between comfortable chairs. “You may as well sit. I expect you came here for a reason.”
“I have,” James replied, taking the offered seat and teacup. After his first sip, James continued. “I had a most enlightening experience last night. Through means which I am too impatient to explain in full, I was gifted with the presence of the Fairy Queen.”
“From...Neverland?”
“Yes. She knew the troubles in my heart and urged me to seek out the Heart of Neverland."
Ignatius leaned back against the cushions of the sofa, steepling his hands. "What is that?"
"The spirit that resides in Pan and ties all denizens of the island to their will."
Ignatius was rapt with attention now.
"I consulted with the spirit on the logistics of my potential departure of Neverland."
"Departure?”
"To England."
Ignatius sat in stunned silence, digesting this information.
"To bring Wendy back?"
"Not necessarily bring her back,” James clarified, “but to attempt to win her good graces again. I love her so much, Ignatius. I have been so consumed by grief over her loss these many moons without her. I know not what else I can do to alleviate this wound in my heart and soul except go to her and prove to her that I am willing to make as many sacrifices as she was before."
Ignatius leaned forward, elbows on his knees as his hands hung limply. "I see."
Hook set down his teacup and covered his quartermaster's hand with his left hand. "I want you to accompany me, Iggy."
This Ignatius did not expect. He stared wide-eyed, incredulous almost, at his captain. A dazed, humorless grin pulled at the corners of his mouth.
"James...Are you serious? No."
"No?"
"Absolutely not!" Ignatius declared, jumping to his feet and beginning to pace around the room. "I will never set foot on that vile island again; there is no treasure alluring enough to entice and part me from my iron will."
"Iggy, how can I accomplish this feat without you?"
"You will have to solve that puzzle on your own, James. I am sorry, truly I am, but you will be on your own. For the first time in your life; I cannot help you. So long as my very existence is forboden, criminal, and punishable by death in England, I shall never leave our blessed Neverlands."
James nodded. “I respect your refusal, Iggy. As that is so, then I need you to take on another role here in my absence.” He looked up and waited until his quartermaster looked him in the eye. “I need you to be acting captain of the Jolly Roger until I return.”
Feeling the wind knocked out of him, Ignatius returned to his seat. “We ought to put it to a vote.” His tone did not have much conviction behind it, though, and James knew he had won.
“You are the one person I trust the most in this life, Iggy. Our very standing in Neverland depends on our stronghold and I can only count on you to maintain it while I am away.”
“But you will return?” The Gentleman Starkey asked.
James chose his answer carefully. “It is my intention to return, but I will not pretend that I know my ultimate destiny. All I know is that it is intertwined with Wendy’s. Unless she has fallen out of love with me.”
“I do not believe that to be so. But I can read between the lines, James. You will stay if it is her wish to remain in England.”
“As I said, I cannot pretend to know these things until they are presented before me. At the very least, I will be residing there until Wendy’s schooling has concluded.”
“What are you going to do, James? Pose as a professor at Oxford?”
James smirked. “That is not half bad an idea.”
Ignatius barked with laughter. “Hah! What could you possibly teach? Not history; there are hundreds of years missing in our knowledge. Same goes for literature, unless you focus on the ancients.”
“I could teach Latin or Shakespeare.”
“Do they permit male professors to teach women?”
“Oh.” James pondered on the question before conceding, “I know not.”
“Well, one step at a time,” Ignatius said. A heavy silence engulfed them until Ignatius began to fidget. “When will you embark on this sojourn?”
“As soon as possible. Lalita is conducting research so that I may blend in with the modern times.”
This elicited a laugh from the quartermaster. “Meaning?”
“Change of wardrobe, naturally. Probably have to cut my hair.”
The humor dissipated immediately. “You cannot cut your hair, James. It is bad luck.”
“I may not have a choice in the matter, Iggy.”
Ignatius kicked up his feet on the ottoman and reclined like a pampered cat. “Try to find a workaround, then. Your mane is your most alluring feature and Wendy may not recognize you at all without it.”
“I somehow doubt that.” James said as he raised his iron appendage. He rose to his feet. “We shall go overall of the minutia when you are not waiting for your lover to sneak away and see to your other appetites.”
“When we are in step, we complement one another very well.”
Hook merely nodded and headed to let himself out. Hand on the doorknob he paused and looked over his shoulder.
“I would not be opposed to Lord Oaken...visiting while you are acting Captain.”
“Ooof. I might. He is such a pain in my arse when he is without his creature comforts.”
“Then let the blame be not placed on my head this time should he desire to tag along.”
“What? And risk giving up all of this indulgent coddling? No, thank you.”
They exchanged a shy smile before James nodded once, opening the door. “Thank you, Iggy.”
“Aye, Captain.”
On his way out, Hook stopped on the deck to admire the western sky. The Gilded Rose sat on the apex of a slight hill, just enough of a vantage to boast enviable views of the ocean. It was not like the cold, steel blue Atlantic of his motherland, but an azure richer than any jewel James ever beheld. James had taken this realm for granted and now he realized he would be trading balmy, azure, and verdant for cold, damp, and grey.
“Are you taking him away from me?”
James gave a start. In the far corner of the deck stood Lord Oaken, looking out towards the ocean, leaning his profile into the breeze. He held his own elbows as his eyes leveled, taking on a heavy, haunted look. The sunset reflected in his green eyes.
“It is more complicated than that. Ignatius will give you all of the details.” A smile twitched at the corner of James’ mouth. “You may actually take some comfort in knowing it is I who will be leaving.”
“I should be so lucky.” Oaken’s lips pursed but he remained fixated on the sunset. The silence between them was only mildly tense. “You were correct in your previous assumptions of me,” Oaken confessed lightly. “I was jealous of the boy, Laddie.”
Hook did not say anything lest he ruin this pensive moment so rarely seen in this gilded peacock of a young man. He waited in patient silence, correctly sensing that Oaken had more to say.
“Not for the reasons you erroneously declared at the Tribune, though. It had nothing to do with Ignatius’ attention or Laddie's ability to assimilate to life on the Jolly Roger in a way which I could never conform to. I was jealous because he had a mother.”
Hook abruptly turned his attention to Oaken, who kept his gaze steadfastly westward. He squared his slim shoulders before he elaborated.
“Your Mistress Jill...Wendy...she came to Neverland well after I was situated here in Détente. When Ignatius first told me of her existence, I was incredulous. My heart, cold as it can be, broke for a missed opportunity. Why did Pan never see fit to fetch my long deceased brothers and I a mother? A tender hand, gentle with her words, who held her boys to a standard and nurtured their potential. We were filth and feral and it was all fun and games until one day you cannot fly and Peter arbitrarily decides you are pirate and boy no more. Laddie knew that shunning but had Wendy to protect him, to support his escape.”
“It is to your credit, is it not, that you found your way to us on your own?”
“Ignatius found me, you know this well enough.”
“Yes, but you spoke of your own merits, championed your own cause. You convinced my very discerning and judgemental quartermaster of your own worth. You know I speak from experience when I share with you that there is no quality in a man that Ignatius finds more attractive than one who is unafraid to speak of his pomposity and self-importance.”
“Yes, he does like men with an ego.”
They shared a rare knowing look, each trying to hide the salacious amusement with which they were all too aware. James was the first to grow somber again. Hesitantly, James raised his hook and rested the blunt side very gently on Oaken’s shoulder. Perplexed and not a little alarmed by the sudden genteel gesture, Oaken looked up at his former captain.
“He will need your support. Your strength. More than ever.”
“You really are going away, aren’t you?”
“For some time.” Hook removed his iron appendage from Oaken’s shoulder and nodded to him in polite farewell. Considerably baffled, Oaken could only watch Captain Hook leave.
“Ah, James, there you are.”
Lalita brusquely greeted him as soon as he returned to his temporary lodging. She was in her formal dining room, newspapers and magazines spread out across the polished table. A man Hook recognized as a local tailor lifted his head and blinked, adjusting his spectacles.
“Marius and I have been poring over these periodicals trying to draw up a decent wardrobe for you.”
“Yes? How goes the research?”
“Not very well, I’m afraid,” said Marius with a tut of his head. “The newspapers are positively useless.” He made a sweeping gesture above the ephemera. “These are mostly ladies magazines; what little we piece from a gentleman’s wardrobe is from advertisements.”
“Is it enough?”
“It is,” Marius said cautiously. “Or rather, it would be except that I have very little reference for material and pattern. I might be able to get away with an ensemble or two, but certainly not enough for what you would require.”
James sat down hard, a loud exhalation expressing all that needed to be said. His eyes drifted over the periodicals, unseeing, until a flash of yellow caused him to draw an issue of McCall’s Magazine forward. On the cover was an illustration of a cheerful blonde young woman, mischief in her green eyes in a grand party frock. The sub-header read Hello, Society! Coming Out in the Latest Fashions .
“You’re smiling,” Lalita observed. “You have a plan formulating in that cunning brain of yours.”
“I just might,” James replied softly. He turned his attention to the tailor. “One day suit. Wool. Can you manage that?”
“I believe so, yes.”
"Then let the preparations commence."
Commence they did; a figurative whirlwind of errands lined up like dominoes for James to knock down one by one: visiting the Numismatist to obtain current English currency, the woodcutter to fashion a more innocuous appendage to wear in polite society, milliner for a fashionable hat, and settling business related meetings with Mr. Starkey so that everyone knew Ignatius was to be his voice, eyes, and ears in all things. All of these tasks were between fittings with Marius and allowing Lalita to play with his look so that he may effortlessly blend in with modern men.
“What shall we do with your hair?”
“Absolutely fuck all,” James said with shock and horror on his face.
Lalita gave him a hard gaze. “James, has it escaped your attention that the men in these newspapers and magazines are all with short hair?”
“There must be another way.”
“Such as?”
He gave her a cheeky grin and a chaste peck on her forehead. “That is what you are being paid to sort out, my dear.”
“Scoundrel,” Lalita huffed as James went onward to see to other errands.
It took the better part of a month before everything was ready. The Jolly Roger never looked so dazzling, with her fresh repairs and new paint on her mermaid mast. It was as if she was determined to look her best when she saw her Captain off, which was imminently approaching. James’ wool day suit was hanging in his wardrobe, ready for the moment when he would step out of Never Neverland and back into the world at large. His funny derby hat and shoes made him laugh outright, but he took them graciously anyway. Hook was glad he carried them himself to his cabin, as he would die of humiliation should his crew see this strange costume.
James only had one more item to retrieve: his prosthetic hand. He had received a note from the woodcutter asking for a “test run” - a turn of phrase which had James growing suspicious that he was in store for a surprise.
“What the blazes is that?” James asked the woodcarver, a middle-aged gnome with frizzy white hair and a glint of madness in his eyes. His wife had a similar twinkle of lunacy, and for that they were a match made by heaven itself.
“My good wife is a mechanist and inventor,” the woodcarver said with pride. “She has the most marvelous flashes of inspiration, like lightning upon the ocean! The most wondrous mind for alchemic amalgams of mechanisms and Never magic.”
Too eager to contain herself, the wife gently pushed her husband out of the way to add, “Your commission was the perfect opportunity to test my hybrid of automata mechanics with the salve made by my cousins, the gnomes of Nysa.”
Hook faltered; he did not want to appear ungracious for what appeared to be something of great noteworthy. “Madam, I am humbled by your expertise and your exuberance.”
“Show him, show him!” The mechanist ordered her husband, giving him a thwap on the shoulder.
“Yes, yes, all right my Never berry.” The woodcarver lifted the artificial hand before addressing Hook. “We started off with a few wood models, first with the fingers together, as you’d had initially commissioned, then I worked on another model, separating individual fingers for my wife to use as a model. She used hinges and gears in each finger, just like she would a clock.”
“Indeed?” James said, his curiosity piqued. He was soon rolling up his right sleeve and unbuckling the base upon which his hook was embedded. Not many had ever seen the site of his injury, but these good people were only fascinated by the mechanics of posterity and not the sordid allure of gossip.
“May I?” The alchemist asked, holding up the jar of gnome salve. James gave his assent. She used a tightly packed bristle brush to apply to tincture. His nerve endings had long since been rendered inert where the pale scar tissue once met hand. The mechanist understood his shift when sensation hit him and made to fit the artificial hand into the leather cuff he wore on his forearm, strapping it in. Once it was securely strapped in, the inventor stood back and clutched her husband in anticipation.
James raised his arm, waiting for any indication of change. As the seconds ticked by his embarrassment grew on the couple’s behalf. Wishing not to disappoint them, James cleared his throat as he studied the hand itself. “‘Tis a stunning work of craftsmanship, Mistress. I can tell you are a master of your craft with a keen eye for the arts -” James stopped as he felt something between metal and flesh click , a cool fusing before fuse that then spread into a tingling warmth. “Hello?”
The inventor bounced as her eyes widened. “Tell the fingers to move, Captain Hook!”
“Tell them?” James repeated in confusion, flicking his vision to the couple and back at the mechanical hand. He stared at it, willing the fingers to move.
“Don’t scowl, man!” The woman scolded. “Look at your left hand. That’s it, raise it up. See how you move your fingers as if it were nothing? It is the memory of the muscle itself. Don’t think about it, just do it.”
James took a deep inhale as he closed his eyes.
Wiggle your fingers. Fingers, wiggle.
As he released his breath, James opened his eyes to find the metal fingers wiggling, just as he had willed them so.
The gnome inventor slapped her knobby knee. "Hah! There you have it!"
"By all of the stars," James whispered in awe.
"Well done, my dew drop!" exclaimed the woodcutter, kissing his wife on the crown of her head as she applauded their efforts.
"How's the fit?"
"Excellent," James answered, turning his arm and flexing the mechanical fingers and wrist. In all his decades residing in the Neverlands, James never thought once that there might be a magical answer to his mutilated hand. Not that he regretted his hook; on the contrary, his wound paved the way for him to become equally skilled with his left hand. Ironic that he would need to re-master with his right, but ambidexterity could be a reality in his future.
"You will need to practice, to get used to the feel and banality of it all," warned the inventor. "But you seem like a sturdy and sharp man. I trust my invention will not go to waste."
He looked up at her and bowed in deep gratitude. "I promise you, Madam, Sir, that your workmanship will have been well worth the effort."
That evening, Hook enjoyed the peace and quiet of his cabin as he practiced maneuvering his mechanical appendage by packing his suitcase, a modern thing made from crocodile hide, much to Hook's delight.
“Oh, Cap’n, you’re here,” said a mildly surprised Smee, who interrupted Hook’s thoughts.
“That I am, Mr. Smee. How can I be of service?”
Smee blinked at him, then down at the suitcase, already packed and ready for the next adventure, and back up at his captain. “Aw, Captain Hook, I coulda helped ye with that.”
“I do not work fast, true, but this was a…necessary task for me.” He showed off his mechanical hand to his bo'sun. "Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes."
“I don’t like the thought of you going back there alone. What if you need help? I should come with ye.” Smee took a step towards his captain. “We been together a long time, Captain. You, me, Mr. Starkey, and
The Ravello
.” He pointed a crooked finger at his captain as if chiding him. “I always looked after youse, when you were lads.”
James’ expression softened into one of fondness as he looked down at his bo’sun. “That you have, Mr. Smee, and you still look after us. Very well indeed, if I may say so. However, I need to partake in this journey by myself. For now, at least. Once I gather my wits and settle into a more solid plan of action, I may very well send for you. Now that I know you are volunteering.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“By the by, have you heard from Mr. Starkey? We should depart without further delay.”
Smee became cagey as he replied. “Aye…I believe he wishes to organize a little farewell gathering on the beach for ye, Cap’n.”
Hook sighed at this revelation. “Any idea when this event will take place?”
“‘Fraid not. I believe he is in cahoots with Miss Lalita.”
“Naturally. Thank you, Smee.”
“Don’t tell him I told ye, Captain.”
“Worry not, Smee, I shall practice my surprise face and Mr. Starkey will be none the wiser.”
The next day, James sought out his quartermaster at The Gilded Rose . True to his word, the captain kept Smee’s secret and merely let Starkey know that it was time to start saying their farewells.
“We have to have an after careening bonfire or else the crew will think it bad luck and the locals bad form.”
James gave a start at those last two words. He eyed his oldest and dearest friend. “You know how I loathe bad form.”
“I do.”
“Then proceed as you see fit."
Ignatius waited until his captain's back was turned before a mischievous grin broke out on his face.
-----------
The turnout for the bonfire was suspiciously overwhelming, and James knew it wasn’t merely the ale and grilled boar.
“Everyone has come to pay their respects to you, James,” Lalita remarked when he shared his suspicions with her.
“You make it sound as if I am on my deathbed.”
“You are leaving us for an unspecified amount of time. Providence only knows what will happen during this time. It is always a momentous occasion when one of our long-standing neighbors returns to the world at large.”
“Not forever!”
“But should Mistress Jill wish to remain there?” His silence encouraged her to press on, “Can you not look any one of us in the eyes and swear you would not forsake this life to be with her, your wife?”
“I cannot,” Hook admitted.
“Then stop complaining and let us honor you, you old goat!”
“Ay-ay, Captain.” She cut him a look .
After refilling his stein, James observed a pensive Ignatius standing off to the side of the crowd, his back to the party. Captain Hook drifted over to his quartermaster.
“You seem out of sorts for a man who successfully pulled off a surprise farewell party,” James observed.
“I was expecting someone to show,” Ignatius groused.
James looked around and spied Gellert and Oaken sitting on a blanket together. “Your harlots are over there, no doubt laughing at your expense.”
“Not them!” Mr. Starkey snapped. “I sent word to-” He stopped abruptly as his eyes adjusted to a dozen shadows along the dunes making their way towards the bonfire. He smirked. “Just in the nick of time.”
Hook shielded his eyes from the blazing setting sun to see Domhnall and Kailani along with their crew and nine children making their way towards the bonfire. The Scottish navigator clasped James’ arm.
“Well met, my friend. We decided to risk tardiness to bring along a treat - over here, lads!”
Several members of the Storm Breaker cursed as they dragged something wrapped in canvas along the beach. As they passed by, James peered down to see a tentacle, no doubt hacked off from a giant Never squid.
“Tardiness forgiven,” James said with a nod of approval. Mr. Starkey guided the crew members over to the fire where others were rigging up the spit for the delicacy to be grilled upon.
“Nice to see you crawled out of your hole of self-pity,” Kailani said to Hook in her unique dry voice, a toddling child clinging to her muscular calves. The child’s wild copper hair blew every which way, even sticking to her chubby cheeks as she sucked on the bottom of a vanilla mint flower.
“I have not been properly introduced to this one,” James observed.
“Geillis, this is Captain Hook.”
James squatted down and held out his hook. “Well met, Geillis.”
The toddler gently grasped his iron appendage before wobbling and quickly grabbed her mother for balance.
“I confess our presence is not entirely out of friendship,” Kailani admitted when James rose to full height again.
“Oh? Do my ears tingle at the beginning of a favor?”
“They do.” Kailani let out a high-pitched whistle, prompting two of her older children to join them. “Laoghaire and Feraghas are of an age when it is time for them to leave our nest for life experience. Could we impart on you to take one or both of them with you?”
“Yes, please, Captain Hook!” begged Laoghaire, worrying her bottom lip as her chestnut eyes lit up hungrily at the prospect of leaving her home. “Please take us with you!”
James was at a loss for words. “As…what?”
“Your maid? A niece? Domhnall said something called a valet might do for Feraghas. Whatever you see fit. They’re strong, quick, and capable.”
“Of that I am no doubt, old friend, however, I will be a stranger in my own homeland. You remember it has been centuries since I last set foot on those shores.” He held up a placating hook as he saw Kailani drawing breath to start her argument afresh. “What about a compromise? Permit me to settle myself, and should I find a suitable place for one or either of your children, I will send word and we will make the necessary arrangements. In the meantime, however, should opportunity arise to foster them elsewhere, I urge you not to hesitate.”
“I swear I will not. Too many hands on my deck and not enough of them making themselves useful.”
The youths groaned in embarrassment before finally being released to enjoy the bonfire.
"Frankly, I think you're a right mad bastard for returning there," said Kailani as her husband approached her side and slid his beefy arm around her.
"Did you really sail all of this way to tell me that?"
"Aye! What are friends for?"
Domhnall, ever the romantic, chimed in, "Come now, my sweet, it is for true love that James embarks on this grand adventure. Love and friendship are the only reasons to ever brave such foolery."
James raised his stein and bumped it against Domhnall's drinking vessel. "Here, here!"
"Are you saying you would not be moved by such a grand gesture?"
"I would think you a mad bastard," Kailani repeated before softening her features and running a hand down her husbands chest. "But you are my mad bastard."
James waited for his friends to break eye contact before finally clearing his throat noisily. "Keep looking at one another like that I suspect baby number ten will be soon on the way."
That comment sobered up the couple as they blanched. "No, thank you."
"We're quite content with the brood we have," Domhnall added.
"I shall hold you to that," James warned them with a teasing glint in his eye. "Now, go, drink, eat, be merry."
As night fell and bellies filled with ale and food, instruments were brought out and all of the merry tunes known across every time and every tide were sung.
Long time in tempestuous weather,
'Midst rocks, ice and water were we ;
We were staunch, bold, and vowed to each other
To die or the North Pole to see.
Ross espied from the ship's starboard quarter
The land that did add to their store "
Crying, ' Look out, my boys, for fresh water,
We're far from Old England's shore.'
Our hardships we bore, and were ready
To follow our brave captain's call,
Who was bold, was undaunted but ready,
His study alone was us all ;
While we roamed o'er the cold stormy regions,
On wilds that were ne'er trod before,
No cot, house, or church or religion,
Like those upon Old England's shores
The dancing commenced as the fire roared and lyrics were altered to suit their current locale:
‘Farewell and adieu to you, Never ladies
Farewell and adieu to you, to you ladies of Never;
For we've received orders for to sail for old England
But we hope very soon we shall see you again
We'll rant and we'll roar like true British sailors
We'll rant and we'll roar all on the salt seas;
Until we strike soundings in the Channel of old England:
From Ushant to Scilly it's thirty-five leagues
So let every man toss off a full bumper
And let every man drink up a full glass;
We'll drink and be merry and drown melancholy
Singing here's a good health to each true-hearted lass!
We'll rant and we'll roar like true British sailors
We'll rant and we'll roar all on the salt seas;
Until we strike soundings in the Channel of old England:
From Ushant to Scilly it's thirty-five leagues’
By the time the food was gone and the bonfire nothing but embers, it was time for fierce farewells and one last song:
We're the boys that fear no noise, Whilst the thundering cannons roar,
And long we've toiled on the rolling wave, And now we're safe on shore.
Long we've tossed on the rolling main, now we're safe ashore, Jack.
Don't forget yer old shipmate, faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!
Since we sailed from Plymouth Sound, four years gone, or nigh, Jack.
Was there ever chummies, now, such as you and I, Jack?
Long we've tossed on the rolling main, now we're safe ashore, Jack.
Don't forget yer old shipmate, faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!
We have worked the self-same gun, quarterdeck division.
Sponger I and loader you, through the whole commission.
Long we've tossed on the rolling main, now we're safe ashore, Jack.
Don't forget yer old shipmate, faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!
Oftentimes have we laid out, toil nor danger fearing,
Tugging out the flapping sail to the weather earing.
Long we've tossed on the rolling main, now we're safe ashore, Jack.
Don't forget yer old shipmate, faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!
When the middle watch was on, and the time went slow, boy,
Who could choose a rousing stave, who like Jack or Joe, boy?
Long we've tossed on the rolling main, now we're safe ashore, Jack.
Don't forget yer old shipmate, faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!
There she swings, an empty hulk, not a soul below now.
Number seven starboard mess misses Jack and Joe now.
Long we've tossed on the rolling main, now we're safe ashore, Jack.
Don't forget yer old shipmate, faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!
But the best of friends must part, fair or foul the weather.
Hand yer flipper for a shake, now a drink together.
Long we've tossed on the rolling main, now we're safe ashore, Jack.
Don't forget yer old shipmate, faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!
Embraces were doled out by the dozen, well wishes for favorable winds and smooth sailing. It was during this time when Hook spied Captain Rubina standing just out of the ring of fire light, waiting and alone.
"I cannot join you, James," she said, tucking an errand curl around her ear. "This is your journey and one you must take alone."
He nodded resolutely, expecting as much. The other captain straightened her posture and rounded her shoulders, looking every inch the regal captain and proud sharpshooter.
"You will give Mistress Jill my regards. I possess no doubts regarding her involvement in what the current literature calls the suffragette movement, campaigning for women's right to vote."
"Most assuredly," James confirmed.
"You offer her my services and I will be more than happy to teach her how to shoot. She will fix those men up in Parliament right quick."
James gave a barking laugh before promising to pass on the invitation. Captain and Captain embraced before parting ways.
There was just one person left to say his farewells to and Lalita met him next to the gangplank of the Jolly Roger.
"How can I ever begin to repay everything you have done for me?"
"The only recompense I require is that you try your most earnest to make amends with Wendy."
"Even if I fail?"
Lalita tilted her head. "What is failure, James?"
"Her love for me is no more and I return to Neverland a shell of a man."
"But you will have tried and respected her wishes whatever they may be. That is not failure by my definition, but success."
James shook his head, amazed by his dear friend. "You remain, as ever, the wisest person I know on this earth."
She smiled modestly and affectionately dusted invisible lint off of his jacket. "Now, go. Board your ship. Head for Neverland. Don your new attire and step into the world you once turned your back on. Give Wendy my love if she will have it."
James left her with a peck on the cheek before climbing aboard his ship, turning and saluting her.
They made record time. Never had their been a more accommodating wind, as if weather and ocean worked in tandem to bring the Jolly Roger back to her home. Was too much to believe that the Neverlands longed for Wendy's return as well? She was a living, breathing, entity shrouded in mystique beyond human comprehension. James knew by now never to question her, this strange collection of islands in an enchanted bubble out of time and geography. They dropped anchor just as the sun was starting to set across the humid jungle. The crew sprang back into routine while James went into his cabin to exchange his hook for hand and took hold of the crocodile skin suitcase. He then pulled aside Ignatius.
"You leave us so soon?"
"I must. Before I lose my nerve."
"Will you not give a rousing speech to the men?" Ignatius asked, growing nervous for his captain's impending departure.
"No. Best to leave quietly while they are distracted. You are their captain for now. It is time to discover who I am again...after all of this time."
Ignatius leaned on the rail and looked across the expanse of sapphire waters. “You have been fighting who you are all of your life, James. For as long as I have known you, you have had to deny who you are. Now it is time to come into yourself and show the world at large just who you are.”
James could not produce the words necessary, his mouth agape as they mimicked unheard words. “Thank you, Iggy.”
His quartermaster took hold of his scruff and brought their heads together like they did when they were young. "That's Captain Iggy to you, dog."
James' barking laugh illustrated the appreciation he felt for the levity. Once the mirth eased tensions, James nodded to his acting captain. “Time to go.”
Ignatius lowered the jolly boat to the water. Watching the back of his captain row towards the island with the use of his miraculous mechanical hand, Ignatius was suddenly overcome with a melody brought to the Neverlands some years ago. Softly, so the water would not carry his voice over the water, the quartermaster recalled the lyrics with surprising ease:
“Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that’s born to be King
Over the sea to Skye”
James looked over his shoulder, only just making out a distant figure watching his departure.
“Fear not, Iggy,” James whispered to himself as he felt a quick tug at the corner of his mouth. “For I am not without allies.”