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The nudge is so soft, Killian almost misses it. Almost.
His hook reaches behind him instinctively, snagging the clothes of the person brazen enough to steal from him as he pulls his sword.
“You dare—” His words cut off as he eyes the thief. It’s a child, a young one, six or seven years at the most. It is so filthy he cannot discern if it’s male or female, though its clothing—other than being dirty—is still in good repair. The terror in its eyes is nothing he has not seen before, but having that terror blend with courageous defiance, particularly in one so young, is something new. “Do you know who I am, child?” It looks away, not meeting his eyes and he resists the urge to shake it. “A bit of advice: it’s best to answer the man holding your life in his hands.”
The child glares at him. “Yer Cap’in ‘ook.”
“So you’ve heard of me. Tell me then, why would you steal from a ruthless pirate known for killing those who cross him?”
The child shakes, though it still wears the mask of false bravado—quite impressive, really. “I done it cuz ‘e told me too. Or I won’t get ta eat.”
Killian is not prepared for the surge of protectiveness he suddenly feels for this urchin—the brave victim of a bloody coward. Bad form, mate. He contains his rage, but just barely. “And if this man was to meet an untimely end and was no longer a part of your life, would that bother you?”
“But ‘ooh would feed me if ‘e’s dead?”
He doesn’t think of the ramifications. “I would. That is, if you’re not afraid of sailing on a pirate ship.”
The man—he runs a brothel, a filthy one—does not live out the night.
He only hopes by bringing the child back to Neverland, he has not given it a worse fate than the one awaiting it in this land.
Her name is Lia, and Killian wonders if his brother guided him to her.