Peter

Chapter Thirteen - Tiger Lily

I spend the night in the tent I changed in. I promised to never be in this mans clutches again, but some promises are made to be broken.

I dream of home. I dream of Nana waking me in the morning, I dream of tea and toast for breakfast. I dream of reading in the lounger, then talking about with mother, even though I know she isn't listening. I dream of-

Of something I've never dreamed before.

I dream of two boys in my nursery, one pretending to be a pirate, the other too young to understand what the other is doing. 

I am woken by the roudy chant of the pirates. Reality slaps me like Aiden did. I find I slept in the dress.

After checking my knife and the pouch are still there, I turn to go out the tent. Aiden is laughing with his crew over a flask of rum. His crew is terribly unclean, but Aiden remains well-shaved and smart in his long blue coat and high leather boots. He is the kind of man that would seem the perfect match at first greeting, but to me I couldn't've invented a person worse. Aiden stands and spreads out his arms. "Here she is! My-hic-sleeping beauty! Hic!"

Charming.

He snaps his fingers and two of his henchmen bind my hands behind my back. I don't squirm, because it was terribly predictable. A certain pirate walks behind me, holding a pistol to my back. 

"Let's-hic-go!" He chants and drags me through the forest with his crew. I hold my head high, keep my pride for all I'm worth. No Peter to save you this time, Wendy-girl. 

After getting lost several times (I wouldn't have expected any less from a gang of drunk pirates!) we reach the Picaninny's camp. It's located up the steppest hill in a clearing that must've housed the tribe for years, as the ground is dusty and it is dotted with tree stumps to make more room for themselves.

The community silences as we walk through. There are hundreds of people, all dark skinned and dark hair. Mothers hide their children behind them and fathers point spears at us. Teepees are unevenly spaced out around the clearing, and the largest one stands in the middle. Aiden  drags me and his crew through the flap of a door without invitation. 

Inside, around a map of Neverland sit a large, bronze man in a feathered crown and cream tunic. With him sit a girl about my age with two black plaits and an older woman who's skin sags around her eyes. Next to the girl sits Peter.

I can't help myself. "Peter!" I shout to him, joy and annoyance both flooding my voice. 

"Someone gag her!" Aiden orders, so I am, but I don't go down without biting the pirates wrist. Aiden knocks me behind the knees and I drop to the floor. I can't do this anymore, I lower my head in shame but do not let the tears fall. Then Aiden turns to Peter. "We meet again..." A demented smile plays on his lips and he swings his pistol to and fro. I see Peter wince as the confidence and hope is drained from my face.

"I have a proposal, Chief." Aiden makes a deep bow towards the large man. "I believe you are in possession of a girl?"

"If you speak of my daughter," The Cheif's voice is low and harsh, but there is something fatherly behind it I cannot help but pick up on. "then there is nothing you can do to make me give her to you, Hook." The girl next to him winks at Aiden and plays with her hair.

"It's not she." Aiden says, dismissing the girls flirting. "I already have a fiancé." He kicks me with his foot and I wince. "I seek for another, someone foriegn to your community."

The Cheif narrows his eyes. "What do you offer in return?" I see Peter move nervously in his seat.

Aiden remains silent for a moment. "Gold." He says simply. "Weapons. Pistols, swords, you name it." 

"Deal." Says the Cheif.

"No!"

I look up to see Peter on his feet. He points to the Cheif. "We had a deal! You'd help me find her if I killed him!" He points to Aiden. 

"Yes!" The Cheif's voice is louder and gruffer. "We have found her, you haven't killed him, so now I change my mind!" The woman next to him isn't paying any attention at all. "I accept your proposal, Captain!" He yells.

"Fantastic!" Beams Aiden. The tone of his voice makes me sick. "Give 'em the weapons, Phatani!" The tallest pirate with huge muscles and dark skin steps forward with a crate of weapons. He dumps it on the map in the middle of the teepee. "Let's get this wedding sorted!" Aiden pulls me to my feet by grabbing my shoulder and presses the pistol between my shoulder blades. I don't care if I get shot, maybe it would be better that way. 

And then the unexpected happens.

Just as we are leaving the teepee, Aiden spins back around to face the Cheif. He swaggers forward, spinning his gun on his finger. Then he says; "I'll give you my fiancé for that boy there." He gestures towards Peter.

And Peter says, "Deal."

***

I am tossed onto the floor, and Peter stands facing Hook, his wrist out towards him. "'Fraid it's a trick?" He says to Aiden. "Go on, I'm not afraid of you, only two years older than me." It's true, but Peter only reaches Aiden's shoulders.

I try to cry out to him but my gag is still tight and I don't think I have the strength after being battered till I'm purple. Peter can't go to Aiden, he'll kill him!

The girl stand up and takes Peter's arm. "Don't leave me..." She whispers. Peter's eyes look to me for a split second, then he turns back to her as Phatani binds his wrists together. 

"Stay safe." He kisses her on the forehead and some kind of pain rushes through me. My hands sweat and the pain is physical and mental at the same time, and I can only think of one word for it and I think I'm jelous. He looks back to me and I squirm under the many skirts of my dress. He's given her a goodbye, but I can see something in his eyes, that he trusts me, and this isn't the last I'll see of him. He mouths something to me that's hard to make out but I do.

"Trust the Tiger."

And then he is gone, and only Aiden remains in the tent. "May I have a word with her, Cheif?" He asks.

"Certainly." And Aiden drags me from the teepee.

He punches me across the face and I feel myself fall to the ground, but his hand slips behind my neck and he catches me. "I have no use for you now, but that doesn't stop me from taking you with me anyway." I fight and fight as he drags me away, away from the teepee, back towards his crew. Tears stream down my cheeks and I yell "Stop!" but I can't be heard from behind the gag.

A wooden arrow shoots neatly through the rope round my wrist and I look up to find the girl standing with another arrow in her bow, aimed at Aiden's heart. "Release her." She says sternly. Aiden looks pleased and it makes me sick.

"You going to kill me?" He teases.

Another arrow launches just next to his head, and now he looks terrified. He still holds my arm in his grip, but he throws me down and runs off to his crew. I remove the gag from my mouth.

"Thank you." I say, my voice hoarce. 

"Save it. I'm Tiger Lily, native princess, you?" She holds out a hand for me to shake and I do.

"Wendy, useless git." I reply.

"Come on then, Wendy darlin', lets save your boy."