Chapter Text
You stared at your reflection in the water. You straightened out the sleeves of your shirt and dusted off your mini-skirt, before adjusting your leggings beneath to reach your shoes. The petal material was soft and curled at the ends, a normal phenomenon for you. You pulled back your hair into a high-pony before glancing back at your reflection, before frowning.
You were a fairy and naturally fairies were beautiful in their own way. Whether it be the beauty of their body, eyes, smile, voice, or even talent, each fairy had inner-beauty. But you did not see that within yourself. Your wings lowered behind you, as you ran a hand along your form with a sigh.
It didn’t help that you were an art-talent fairy. You knew something beautiful when you saw it, but it was not you. The roar of the waterfall caught your attention, again, and you looked over at the beautiful set of nature. Your thoughts clicked back to what you were originally here for.
After drawing the most beautiful places you could think of in Pixie Hollow, you decided to expand your pictures to the whole island of Neverland. This was your first location. It was a beautiful waterfall, with a cavern behind its rushing water that could be entered from the sides where the water didn’t fall. You bent down and picked up your large art pad, sticking your pencil behind your ear.
Being an artist, you did art in many different styles. First you liked to sketch them and then you did another rendition of the same place, but painted it instead. You were trying to decide where to angle the drawing at the moment. You flew up and glanced around the area.
You were a bit indecisive and decided to check behind the waterfall to see if it could be drawn behind and how it would look. You flittered past the falling water, being careful with your art pad. You about dropped it once you made it behind the falls. Sitting in the center of the cavern was a chest filled with gold and jewels. You flew down to the treasure and circled around it, wondering how it got there.
The gold shined and the jewels sparkled. You landed and carefully sat your art pad to the side, stepping over to the chest. You reached out and touched a gold coin. It was beautiful, but you noticed it had lost a bit of it’s shine. Sketching and painting was your forte, but you were one heck of a polisher.
With your face set in a determined expression, you undid your skirt before bending down to polish the coin with it. After five minutes, you had polished the coin both front and back until it reflected you on it’s surface. You smiled at your work, pushing yourself back onto your feet. You glanced at the other coins and frowned, they all had dimmed with time and it would take too long to polish all of them.
You decided to push that nitpick into the back of your mind, as you stepped over to pick up a carved diamond. It didn’t need a polish and seemed to glow with light. Beautiful. It wouldn’t perhaps fit into a human’s ring, but compared to your size, it was the size of the palm of your hand. Maybe you would keep this one for yourself.
You set the diamond to the side to snatch later and decided to draw the chest full of treasure. You picked up your art pad and flew up to a rock to get a better angle of the chest. You seated yourself, shifted till you were comfortable, before you flipped open your art pad and began sketching. With the roar of the waterfall blocking out all the outdoor sounds, you decided to sing to yourself to keep you focused.
“There never was another land like Never Neverland. So to find this place where childhood gleams, you must close your eyes and dream deep dreams.” You sang softly, your voice echoing off the cavern walls. You began to smile brightly, caught up in your work and the song. “You go up toward Mars and two turns right; Through the stars 'til you're out of sight. Past the clouds through a moonlit dream, where the Milky-way turns into a starlit stream, then fly sky high around the moon; Through the clouds and you'll be there soon.”
You weren’t a storytelling or performing-talent fairy, so singing wasn’t something you were especially good at. But being a fairy, you nevertheless had a charm to your voice. That being the little jingle of bells that every fairy had.
“Then in mist of the morning light, where the rainbow ends, where the world is bright. You’ll say there never was another land like Never Neverland.” You hummed along with the familiar tune that played in your head. The song was one you heard since the day you were born, you were told it was sung by the first being that appeared on Neverland. “Then fly sky high around the moon; Through the clouds and you'll be there soon. Then in the mist of the morning light, where the rainbow ends, where the world is bright. You'll say there never was another land like Never Neverland. Never Neverland…”
As you finished your song, the hairs on your back began to rise for some reason. It didn’t feel like you were completely alone. You glanced up and over, and noticed a silhouette standing outside of the waterfall. You shot up and quickly flew back over to the chest, ducking underneath it’s open lid. A few moments passed, before you heard slow, calculated steps enter into the cavern.
“I know you’re in here, I heard you singing before.” It was a man and by the size of his silhouette, you knew he was a human man. He had a slight accent to his voice, but you couldn’t pinpoint where it was from. You hadn’t been to the mainland and you had never ran into a human before. They weren’t suppose to be on Neverland! Aside from Indians, but they didn’t journey this far from home. “Reveal yourself now, girl. Or there will be consequences!”
It suddenly struck you. He had heard you SINGING. Humans couldn’t understand fairies! At least, that’s what you were told. When fairies talked, all humans could hear was the jingle of bells.
“Who are you? And how can you understand me?” You called out, loud enough that your voice bounced off the walls, disguising your whereabouts.
“…” The man was quiet for a moment, his steps shifting as he passed the treasure. “I am Captain James Hook and my dear… if one but only listens, he can understand a fairy. Any nitwit can do it, but few actually sit down and do. Being a gentleman, it only makes sense that I can understand you.”
“You’re a pirate!” You gasped, paling slightly.
“You’ve heard stories, I assume?” You could hear the smirk in his voice. “Good, you have every right to be scared.”
“So, you understand me because you’re listening… That makes no sense whatsoever.”
“A clever one, aren’t you? Projecting your voice so I can’t determine where you are. What exactly do you think I would do if I were to find you?” James asked in curiosity.
“Well… you would force me to tell you where Pixie Hollow is! Or you would force me to steal pixie dust for you. Or you would just capture me and experiment on me, since I’m some strange creature to you.” You announced, recalling the warnings about humans, and what they have and could do to fairies.
“I may be a human, but I’m not a monster. Let me guess, when all is said and done, you suspect that I will eat you as an appetizer as well?” James scoffed and stepped to the other end of the waterfall. You could see his entire backside and could start to tell how he looked. He wore a bright red coat with gold trimmings that hung to his knees. Black boots were pulled over matching red trousers. A large red hat sat atop his head, a single white feather sticking out of it. “No answer? So, you have assumed the worse.”
“N-no! I was just thinking!” You snapped out of your staring and ducked further beneath the chest. If you could see him, he could have a chance at seeing you. Despite the way you spoke, your thoughts lingered on his raven hair tied back and running down his back. For a pirate, he was very well kept.
“Oh? About what?” You heard the shift of his feet as he slowly stepped back over, nearing the chest.
“… What do you really want from me?” You lied about your thoughts, but you were genuinely interested on his answer.
“You’re far from home, my dear. I was curious on why you were out here alone, near my treasure, nonetheless.” James’ footsteps stopped, and you couldn’t help but tense up.
“Can’t one enjoy some peace and quiet from home?” You shifted onto your knees and began to spread your wings. He knew where you were, so now it was time to fly out of here. You clutched your art pad close as you prepared to burst off the ground.
“Silly fairy. Don’t you know?” The top of chest was thrown forward, clamping above the treasure, revealing your hiding spot. You launched from the ground in the direction of the opening to the cavern, but you weren’t prepared for someone to grab ahold of your wings and drag you back. You dropped your art pad in the shock. You yelped as your wings were tugged and you fell limp in your captor’s grip. You were lifted up to face James, who gave a slight smirk. “Peace is a luxury in Neverland.”
“Fine! You’ve caught me! I can’t get away! Might as well tell me what you plan on doing to me now.” You folded your arms, but winced slightly. Your wings were surely banged up at this point. Even if you were to get away, you weren’t sure you could fly. James regarded you for a moment, before dropping you into his open palm. You grunted and sat up, curling your legs to the side.
“I can’t say I recognize you or what you’re talent is.” James brought up his free hand and scratched his chin as he examined you curiously.
“You know what fairy talents are?” You raised your eyebrows, before narrowing your gaze at him. You lowered your wings and your hand itched to fix them, but you didn’t want to be taken off guard.
“I’ve met quite a few fairies in my life. I like to think I know quite a bit about them.” James chuckled lightly, his eyes flicking across your form. “So? What are you? I see browns, oranges, and blues in your outfit. Dust-fairy? Animal? Water, maybe?”
“You’ve met these kind of fairies before?”
“I knew a dust fairy very well once, a certain tinker fairy has been recently harassing me…” James glared off to the side, before looking back to you. “Since you seem to lack knowledge of me… I doubt you’d know either fairy.”
“Perhaps…” You couldn’t think of any Dust-fairies, but you could certainly think of a certain Tinker who liked to get herself in trouble who would harass James. You glanced back at the pirate and couldn’t help but stare for a moment. He had light brown eyes that seemed to glow like burning wood. His nose was hooked and he had a slightly large chin, prominent for a young man his age. The beginnings of a mustache were beginning to grow on his upper lip and you didn’t miss the faint bags underneath his eyes. “I’m an Art-fairy. I live to draw, paint, and polish. When I saw your treasure chest, I couldn’t help but be drawn to it.”
“An Art-fairy? Never heard of such a thing.” James scoffed, before sliding a knife from under his coat with ease and holding it up to your chest. The knife was longer than you were tall and it’s sharp point could easily pierce you. “How do I know you’re not lying?”
“I have proof! Down below, I polished one of your gold coins to perfection! And if you hadn’t so rudely grabbed me, I wouldn’t have dropped my art pad, too.” You pointed down below. James gave you a skeptical look, before bending down with you still sitting on his palm. He quickly found your art pad and lifted it back up to your awaiting hands.
“Show me.” He ordered. You hesitated, become a bit sheepish. It was easy showing your pictures to your non-art friends, but to a human and a man at that? You weren’t sure of your capabilities. But with a deep breathe, you flipped open the pages of your art pad.
One by one, you began to show him the sketches that littered your pages. Pictures of flowers, birds, critters, bugs, lily pads, spider webs, acorns, trees, mountains, and more. You stopped at the last page where the newly drawn treasure chest sat half-finished. You glanced up, not sure what to expect for James reaction. He stared at the open page quizzically, before his gaze lifted back up to you.
“My dear… You have a gift. These are remarkable.” James grinned slightly, sheathing his knife away.
“Thank you…” You closed the art pad and looked down at the palm of his hand. You almost jumped out of James’ palm when you felt something pinch and brush up your wing. You looked to the pirate in surprise, but he only gave you an amused look.
“What? I am only straightening your wings.” James mused, as he repeated the same motion. And that’s what he indeed did. Your bent wings were quickly mended by James’ gentle strokes. He lowered his hand when he finished and you fluttered your wings slightly. “I do apologize for handling you so roughly. I thought perhaps you were conspiring with the other fairies against me. I don’t suppose you could forgive me?”
“Fairies are notorious for holding grudges.” You stated, but James’ expression hadn’t changed, though his eyes still seemed to flicker like a light brown fire. You carefully stood to your feet. “Perhaps you can slowly make it up to me and then I’ll forgive you.”
“And I thought mermaids were the tricksters.” James smirked before bringing up his hand and lifting your chin with his index finger. “I suppose I owe you that. With every meeting we have, I will make it up to you. But before we depart, can I request your name?”
“It’s ___.”
“___, I will not forget that.” James promised, tipping his hat slightly. He released your chin and extended his arm out. “Though I cannot visit you, you are always welcome to visit me at my captain’s quarters upon the Jolly Roger. Perhaps you can find some “peace” there.”
“Why do I doubt you… Captain Hook?” You jutted a hip and the beginnings of a smile began to light your features.
“Instincts, no one should trust a pirate.” James leered his face close once more, his breathe hitting your whole form. “But what better source of inspiration than facing danger itself?”
“I will consider your offer, James.” You flew back, putting some space between you and Hook. “Keep out of trouble, or else I might change my mind.”
“No promises, my dear.” The last thing you saw was James’ devilish smirk, before you flew out of the cavern behind the waterfall. You didn’t look back as you zoomed to Pixie Hollow. What were you to do now? Were you really beginning to trust a pirate?
The pirate watched you fly off, before a shine caught his eyes. He stepped over and bent down, picking up a small diamond shard. He glanced at the direction you flew off, before pocketing the diamond. He made his way out of the cavern, heading in the direction of the shoreline.