The Neverland Assassin

Mermaid Lagoon

Despite the darkness of night, she spotted him right away. Her throat closed up from excitement, and her cheeks warmed and brightened. The captain stood out in all black leather. Nothing about him had changed. His messy black hair and scruff remained identical as did his hard demeanor. The only thing that seemed different was his blue eyes; they weren’t as empty and forlorn as Andy remembered them to be.

       “Why the hell did you decide to dock in Mermaid Lagoon? If you couldn’t recall, we nearly died because of one!” a woman with medium length brunette hair berated at the captain in leather at the wheel, poison and ice dripping from her voice.

       “Last time I checked, I don’t think you were the captain of the ship. Would you have preferred us docking in Cannibal Cove?” the captain at the wheel spat. “If you didn’t recall, we nearly died because you provoked the damn beast!” His dark blue eyes were furious and filled with fire. Andy remembered Pan’s association with this certain one. In truth, he was no sailor; he was a pirate, an infamous one to be exact – Captain Hook. She could determine this fact from the steel hook serving as a replacement for an absent left hand. It smiled menacingly under the pale glow of the moonlight.         

        “Let’s keep in mind who’s been to Neverland before and knows the island just as well as the demon who inhabits it.”

        “Enough of this!” a woman with a pixie-cut hairstyle pleaded. “I am sick and tired of always fighting.”

        “Listen little miss doe-eyed devil,” the feisty brunette seethed. “We wouldn’t have had this problem if you weren’t so damn righteous.”

        “Regina, I’d like to remind you of who actually started the problem. Killing her was not the solution!” the pixie-cut woman criticized.

        “Oh I’m sorry if I’m trying to get things done around here,” Regina mocked. “ I could say worse about the rest of you. And stop acting like you’re the victim. You’ve been the problem since day one!”

        “You are so hateful. You are absolutely wretched!” the pixie cut woman spat, with every ounce of her resentment towards Regina filling her words and soul.

        “Thank you!” Regina laughed loudly.

       “Stop it!” a woman with blonde hair demanded from the heated group. Silence and tension filled the ocean air. “I would like to remind everyone that we nearly died because of our differences. We may not like each other. Villain or hero, it doesn’t matter. I am here for one thing only, and that is to get my son back. So, if you’re with me then we’re going to do this my way. No magic. None of that. We need to stop believing in magic and start believing in one another.” The group remained silent.

       “Fine,” Regina grumbled, pushing her way past the blonde as she made her way down the deck, heels clicking against the wood of the ship.

       “Aye,” agreed Hook and followed after her and the pixie cut woman. The blonde and the other man remained on the upper deck.

        “Thanks Emma,” the man started. The tension in the air was gone. “You know you’re a natural leader.”

        “Am I?” Emma questioned, obvious doubt filling her voice. “There’s just so many expectations being the savior, and I absolutely no idea where to start or what to do.”

        “Hey, don’t worry about it. No one ever said the savior had to be perfect,” the man comforted the distressed blonde. “Leadership isn’t something you can rehearse. Take your mother and I for example. It’s not like we expect to know the answer to every problem existing out there. It’s hope that keeps us going.”