Chapter 8:The Captain's Daughter and the Sea Witch
Killian Jones sighed in relief when he finally spotted her.
He had been so worried.
Parenthood had changed him, he thought. He still remembered finding out about Zara. It had been an accident. He had been so intent on killing Cora because of what Regina offered, but when he came to Wonderland…he found out about the princess of Wonderland and it all clicked.
He had a daughter.
A beautiful, vivacious, ten-year-old who eerily reminded him of Cora. The physical resemblance was scary. Sometimes it was hard for Killian to find traces of himself in the girl, but he knew they were there. Despite all the hardwiring Cora had tried to do, Zara had saved the boy.
Killian frowned as he thought of Regina's brat.
The boy had appeared in the midst of an ogre encampment. Zara should've let him die, but she hadn't. She had saved him.
Though, she sad that it was for Cora's own good not for…for wanting to defy Cora. For having a part of her that cared about a human life other than her wretched mother's.
He knew she was trained to mind Cora, no him. Their relationship had been tenacious at best, and he knew she hadn't been sent here for merely daddy daughter bounding time. Rather, she was here to do Cora's bidding.
"You're back," He said. "I was starting to worry, lass."
Zara shrugged, "I had to make sure we took care of the boy. Mother wants him to make sure that Pan does no harm to him. Should Regina be agreeable. If that doesn't occur all bets off which would be a shame…"
He shook his head at her.
"What?" Zara said, "I did what I was told. The boy should be fine, should everything go as planned. He told me that he watched lots of wilderness shows, when he thought we were trapped on the island together. Though, I guess he could trying to impress me. But he doesn't seem the type to want to impress anyone, even his so called 'superhero'. Whatever that means. Besides, you said we needed to get rid of him. Were you able to find a sea witch?"
She shouldn't know so much.
She should be having a childhood, Hook thought. Making friends. He knew she liked the lad more than she let on. But as usual, Zara didn't let herself be a child.
Sure, she looked like a child. She was small and dainty. Yet, any innocence of childhood was gone from her. Cora had seemed to be molding her into her own image with no influence from anyone, including Hook.
He still remembered when he confronted his lover about their daughter.
"Our daughter?" Cora said, "Really, Hook. You think I had a baby with you?"
"I can do math," He said. "And I know how hard it is to get here, and how you wouldn't sleep with anyone here. You mentioned to me about your excruciating long dry spell. And we did roll in the hay more than a couple of times, love."
"Don't call me that revolting pet name you call the rest of your bedmates." Cora snapped.
"Would you rather me strangle you. Bring you to the Enchanted Forest for Regina to have her way with you."
"Regina," Cora murmured. "Of course she'd hire you to get rid of me. And you took the job. Really, did I mean nothing to you?"
"Well, you didn't call me after are time together. So I thought you didn't care for me, love. But now, I'm willing to talk term.s Especially since we share a daughter together."
Threatening Cora ended up being the only way he got to see Zara. That and being in her good graces. He soon learned how close his child was to her mother. Zara wouldn't even look at him until Cora told her I was all right.
The child in front of him was a bi different now. Thank God. While it was still clear that she preferred Cora to him, at least she wasn't as formal to him and had to actually talk to him now since they were working together.
"Admit it, Zar. It had to be hard for you, leaving the boy like that." Hook said.
"It wasn't that hard. Not really." Zara said with a shrug. "He'll be fine. Pan has no idea he's being played"
"You shouldn't be so cocky, lass." Hook said, "Pan knows everything that's going on the island."
"I cast a disillusionment spell on the ship, remember?" Zara said. "Even the merpeople you bring on the ship won't know where it is if they talk. Not that they will. Everything is going according to mother's plan. Assuming you found us a witch to bring back to the forest."
She looked doubtful that he actually did. One of the things that concerned him the most about Zara was how little respect she had for him, even when he introduced himself as her father.
"And I'm supposed to care because?"
"Surely, you were interested in who I was." He said, "I swear that if I knew about you I'd—"
Zara started laughing. "How cute. You're going to apologize."
"I—"
"You needn't bother." Zara said, "Mother has made sure I had everything I'd ever want or need."
And it did appear that relatively speaking Cora had taken good care of Zara. The bond between mother and child was strong, and Zara did seem healthy and well educated. Though, it disturbed Hook she was already learning such powerful magic so young.
Or that she was learning magic at all.
He had always hated the stuff. Especially since it took Milah away. The Crocodile that was one of the reasons he was helping Cora with this endeavor, she told him that he would be able to destroy him when this was all done. Not that it mattered; Regina had killed the bastard before he could.
Now the only reason he worked for Cora was for Zara, and of course he had developed something for the wrench. Though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was if anything.
He knew what a viper Cora was, and he knew she didn't like him. Tolerated him for what he offered, really. And the fact he was Zara's father. Though, she hadn't exactly let him bond with her. This trip was really the first time he had been alone with Zara.
It showed trust, he thought.
Or maybe Cora believed that Zara was more than prepared to deal with him now, he grimaced as he thought about what he had witnessed when Zara protected the boy from an ogre when he had appeared out of nowhere. He had no idea that his daughter was capable of producing fireballs out of her bare hands.
Like Cora. Like the Crocodile.
He tried to console himself that not all magic was bad. Look at the gorgeous sea witch that he had in the tub below.
Syrena seemed nice.
Of course, she wasn't a fully grown witch like those in the tales he read about. She still looked mer, when he had first saw her he was a little surprised that this creature. This beautiful creature was a witch. But she had cast that merman to God knows where, and when he picked her up, he saw the beginnings of what would eventually be her tentacles when she fully developed into her powers.
"I asked if you found us a witch, Hook." Zara stated looking at him.
"Please," He said, "Call me, Papa."
She rolled her dark eyes. They weren't as cold as Cora's though, not yet. They were still warm, but it seemed like they got colder every day. "What I call you doesn't matter. I need to know if you found us a witch, did that merman take the bait."
He nodded, "Yes. And I found one. She—her powers aren't fully develop though, is that going to cause an issue?"
Zara frowned, "What do you mean they're not fully developed?"
"She's still a mermaid. Well, sort of. Her tentacles are growing and she can do magic, but she doesn't look like a sea witch yet."
Zara raised an eyebrow, but she knew what he meant, "I'll need to research it. Ideally, to be able to anchor her to the ship to access any portal she'll need to be fully developed. She should be able to get us back to the Forest though, since the realms are linked. It shouldn't take that much strength. Is she here?"
He nodded, "Yeah, I had to trick her though. She thinks—"
"What?" Zara said.
He explained the ruse to her.
"You really had to lie to her," Zara said when she was done. "You do realize she's going to be pissed."
"She's going to be pissed either way," He said. "At least this will get her on my good side. She wants to help me."
"To rescue me, a child that's not even missing. God, I can't believe you said that Mother kidnapped me."
"You catch more flies with honey, lass." He said.
"She's wearing the conch necklace that I bewitched for you and the merman." Zara said, "She has no choice but to help you. You don't have to do this."
"She doesn't know that though," He said. "And I don't want her to know till it's absolutely necessary. Surely, your mother has taught you that a willing servant is better than a forced servant."
"Right. But when she walks around here, she'll find out that I'm perfectly fine soon enough."
"Not a full sea witch, love. She can't transform save on Ursula's day."
"Did she tell you that shit," Zara said. "That's not true. God, you are gullible. Mother is right."
"Shit isn't exactly a term royalty should use." Hook said.
"I'm talking to a pirate." Zara pointed out, "I'm speaking your native vernacular."
Hook didn't know what vernacular meant, but he just nodded. "Well, she's below the deck, so it's not like she's going to see you."
"So, you're just going to tell her what to do then? And how do you think that's going to go over."
"She'll get us to the Enchanted Forest." He said, "It will be a good test for her strength, then I'll let your mother handle her."
Zara rolled her eyes.
"What?" Hook asked.
"You always fuck up." She snapped. "You need to get her to transport us back soon. The wards should hold for a few days, but like you said I don't want to risk Pan spotting us. He'll know we're up to something and then it's more likely he'll do something to the boy."
"It shouldn't matter if Pan does anything to him. Should it?" Hook asked.
Zara looked at him, "Are you trying to inquire whether or not I care about my cousin? Because the answer is no, I don't."
"You saved his life, Zara."
"Stop being paternal and check on the mermaid. If you're lucky she might've grown her tentacles and became the hideous old crone we need her to be."
But Syrena hadn't grown her tentacles instead she was just as lovely as ever. Her color had improved too the squid ink—no, witch's ink, he had learned something today had worn.
She looked glorious, he thought as he looked at the sea witch in training in a tub. It would be a shame that such beauty would quickly be morphed into a monster.
He had seen sea witches before. And none of them looked like his girl, who looked so alive, so delectable. Even when sea witches were inhuman form, when they disguised their monstrous appearance, they could no longer look like they looked as mermaids.
"Stop staring at me, " Syrena said as if she felt his eyes on him.
Her voice was just as wonderful as the rest of her. Mermaids were called sirens of the sea for so many reasons.
"Such waste." He said.
Syrena shook her head, "What?"
"Such waste that such beauty—"
"Don't," She said, "You don't even understand. My magic, that's my life. It's all I have. This body, this voice. I could care less for it."
"But surely you know what you're giving up. Mermaids, you're supposed to like things of beauty."
She sighed heavily as she turned to look at him. She had such lovely eyes. They were green and reminded him of the Neverland lagoon. "There are more things to life than beauty, Killian. With my magic, I can do so much more. I can help people, people like you."
"But surely you know what you'll eventually become."
She nodded as she looked at what would eventually be her tentacles. "And I look forward to the day. I'm no good, not like this."
He gave her a look, "You'll miss your beauty lass, I know sea witches. They bemoan about their mer years."
She laughed, "I know. My teachers tell me that all the time, but I look forward to the days I can perform the more complex charms and not have to worry about my magic not working. Hell, when I have my powers I can even zap myself a pair of legs if I want."
"Yes, but not with that face." He said.
Syrena rolled her eyes, "You're not here to talk about me, are you? I'm sure you want to talk about finding your daughter."
"Aye," He said, "You're feeling better."
She nodded as she swished her tail. It was glorious as the rest of her. Save for the few grayish black growth that would be her tentacles, her tail was bright red and contrasted with the paleness of her skin. "I do indeed, Captain. Obviously, the witch's ink has worn off."
He nodded. "You know I'm not dense, I noticed you changed the subject."
She sighed, "Yeah, I did. Obviously."
"So, magic's really worth all of it?"
"Becoming a sea witch?" She asked, "Honestly, it's all I've ever known and wanted. I'm a horrible mermaid."
"You don't look like a horrible mermaid to me, lass."
She laughed. "You're ridiculously shallow, you know that? Just like the rest of them."
"Well, aren't mermaids supposed to known for their gorgeousness? I mean, your whole purpose is to lure my kind in the sea and kill us."
"We don't do that," She said, "Well, most of us don't. I never did."
"Good thing you haven't, you would've killed lots of members of my crew with that body of yours." He said as his eyes took in her shapely body. He wasn't lying. His entire crew would want her. Hell, he was even getting hard just looking at her those breasts were barely covered by that hair of hers. He could see just how round and perfect they were and he had half a desire to just go over there and touch them. To suck on them, he could see those nipples slightly raised underneath all that glorious hair...
She shook her head at him in disgust, "You don't have to flirt with me, Killian. I already agreed to help you."
"I know," He said, "I'm just telling you you're not as useless as you think to your species."
"Do you know what a mermaid's primary purpose is besides luring sailors?"
He shook his head.
"Having fry." She said, "I can't…I'm infertile. And I'm a failure at bringing that gift to my colony."
Her infertile, he couldn't believe it.
She rolled her eyes as she looked at him from the tub, "I know. Trust me. Plenty of mermen have said the same thing when I tried to mate, but I can't release eggs. Never been able too, and it's pointless. The only thing I can do for my colony now is to grow into my powers. I can do great things."
"I'm sure you can," He said.
"I already can do a lot," She said, "And I will only be more powerful once I am finally ready to embrace my powers. And unlike the others, I feel like, I feel like I'm not giving up anything."
He shook his head. Because as shallow as it seemed, it did seem like Syrena was giving up a lot. Those breasts alone were a lot. "They say that being a sea witch changes you. Not just physically." He said, "The witches I've met…they're…"
"Yes," She said, "I know. But, it's something I desperately want. And like I said, the sacrifices are worth the good that I can do."
"Never thought I'd hear a sea witch say the word good before." He said.
"Surely, you know that not all magic is bad, Killian." Syrena said. "I'm going to get you back to your daughter."
"Yes, lass," He said, "Yes, lass, you are. I'm assuming you have a plan."
She nodded and explained many of the details that Zara had already explained to him.
Zara was impatient.
And who could blame her. After all, it had seemed to take longer than they originally planned. A lot because Syrena was only a sea witch in training and could not open up a strong enough portal for the ship without the moon being in the right position.
His daughter, looked at him. "You've been down there a lot."
He sighed heavily, "I'm helping Syrena with the portal process. I need to make a connection with her."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, flies in honey." She spit out, "Do you like her?"
He rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"
"I hear mermaids are quite seductive and fickle creatures." His daughter pointed out, "And she still looks like a mermaid. Is still basically a mermaid, per all my reading. She probably thinks you're decent looking. Though I bet she hates the hook."
He frowned, "She doesn't hate the hook.
Though, she did ask about it.
"How'd you lose your hand?"
It came out of nowhere, but he had been asking questions about her life so he guessed it would only be natural that she'd ask questions about his.
He sighed heavily, "The Crocodile."
"What?" She was confused, of course she was confused.
He sighed heavily, "Sorry. It's a name I call him. You ever heard of the Dark One."
She nodded, "I—I know of the creature. The witches of said never to make a deal with the being. No matter what form it's in. Especially its latest incarnation. We're not even told its name because of how dangerous its current form is."
He nodded, "That's smart. Well, the Dark One killed my love. And I lost my hand as a result of it."
She gasped.
"I'm fine," He said.
"But your hand!"
"I know, it's horrible." He said, "He's dead now anyway. He's not going to hurt me anymore."
"Good," Syrena said. "Good, I'm glad he's dead."
He nodded, it was the only good thing Regina had done.
"Hook," Zara snapped, "You didn't answer my question."
"What, love?"
"Do you think she can open the portal?"
"I'm sure of it." He said.
Zara rolled her eyes.
"What?"
"You're far too trusting," Zara said. "Sea witches can be tricky creatures."
"She's not a sea witch yet," Killian said. "And I do trust her."
Zara rolled her eyes, "You are such a man."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"She's still a mermaid, Killian. You're forgetting their charms. She could easy be tricking us."
" First, call me 'Papa' and she won't," He said. "Besides, she's still wearing the enchantment."
"And she hasn't noticed?" Zara said.
"It's charmed, remember." He said, "After the merman was banished and I took control of her, she completely forgot she was wearing it. Not that we need to use the device. Like I told you, I trust her."
Zara shook her head.
"You would too if you met her," He said, "She just wants to do good."
Zara laughed at this. "Just wants to be good."
"It's true, Zar." He said, "There's no need to be so cynical. She really believes she's helping me. If I was a better man I'd feel—"
Guilty.
It did pain him a bit that he was tricking the wench, especially for Cora's purposes, but he wanted to get out of this godforsaken hell hole. He had done Cora's bidding and it was one step closer to protecting Zara that wasn't a lie.
He told himself he didn't care about the mermaid, he shouldn't. But it still upset him that he was—
"Don't, Hook." Zara said, "I know you think I don't give a damn about you, but I'm telling this to you now, if you help that girl, Mother will kill you and even though I find you to be a nincompoop, I don't want you to die."
"I'm not going to die, sweetheart."
"Then don't have second thoughts about the mermaid." She said.
He nodded, "I won't. Now, let's get back to your mother."