Icicle found herself asleep on a bench in central park. She'd been looking for her brother for the past several hours and was very weary. She was hungry too, hence the grumbling her stomach made which made it impossible for her to sleep in the first place. Where could he be? She was missing him already and he was nowhere in sight. Sitting up, she could hear somebody calling to her.
"Hey you! You need to get to school! You'll miss out on practice afterwards!" yelled the person. It was a female who looked about 17 years old.
"Who me?" asked Icicle, pointing at herself.
"Yeah you! Get over here!" she called. Icicle got up and walked over to the girl.
"Practice?" she wondered.
"Volleyball practice, silly. You're our best server."
"I think you got the wrong person."
"You're not Icicle? Icicle of Iclandia? Princess Icicle?"
"Yes. I am but I'm not on a volleyball team. I don't even know what volleyball even is."
"Well now you're on one. Consider yourself a NYC high school student. Your name will be Cil Hastings, you'll be 15, and I'll be your bestie. Megan Zarke's my name. It's kinda dangerous for a princess to be roaming about all alone in town. She might get kidnapped."
"How do you know about me? Have you been to Iclandia?" asked Icicle.
"I'm with the OtherWorld Protection Agency. We protect those that lost their home world to ruin. I'll explain more on our way to the school. Say, wasn't there another one of you?" said Megan, beginning the long walk to school.
"My brother. Have you seen him?" asked Icicle, following Megan's lead.
"Nope. Might have already been taken by pirates."
"Pirates!? Oh no. I have to save him!"
"You don't even know where he is. Say, if you get comfortable here in school I'll see if I can find him for you."
"Okay. I hope we find him soon. Before we go to school can I have something to eat first?"
"Sure. I'll take you to a popular restaurant that's a great afterschool spot."
They change route and head down a few blocks to a ship-like building unknowingly passing Ice on the way.
"Here we are. Let's sit at this table." said Megan, who sat at a table near the window. Icicle takes the seat across from her and a waiter with a gold tooth comes to take their order.
"Ahh! A pirate!" exclaimed Icicle.
"Relax. It's just the uniform the employees wear here. No need to worry." reassured Megan. Icicle calmed down but still gave the waiter a wary look. Megan gave him their order.
"So, what do you want to know about New York?" she asked. Icicle had a bunch of questions on her mind but the one that surfaced the most was…
"Do you think Ice is here? I feel like these employees aren't just playing pirates but are really playing the employees." said Icicle. Suddenly someone's hook catches on the table. "I see I have a new customer. And what be your name little lady?" said the man.
"Um, I'm Ic- Cil Hastings. I go to the high school here." she got kind of scared because she'd almost given away her real name. The hook man gives her a smile.
"Well, welcome to New York, Miss Hastings. I hope you enjoy it here. What can I help you girls?" he said.
"Actually, I'm looking for my brother. His name is I-" began Icicle but Megan interrupted her.
"Isen! His name is Isen Hastings." said Megan, "White hair, blue eyes, and about an inch or two taller than Cil here."
"Hm, interesting. I'll tell you if I find him." The hook man turns to head back into the kitchen but Icicle stops him.
"Wait! What do we call you?" she asked. The man looks back at her to answer.
"James Hook. You can call me James though." he said before leaving.
As Icicle was eating upstairs with her new friend, Ice was downstairs freezing the entire storage room. Hook had to wear his extra fuzzy coat when he came down to check on him.
"Brrrr! It's freezing in here! Could you turn down the chill there, little prince?" said Hook, shivering from head to toe. Ice ignored him for he wasn't concerned about the cold temperature he was making. Hook looks at him, annoyed.
"If this continues you'll freeze the entire ship." Now that sparked Ice's interest.
"Sh-ship? I thought t-this was a re-restaurant." he said, still a little nervous around the pirate captain. Hook gives him a mischievous smile.
"You haven't noticed? You're in the cargo hold, boy or should I call you Isen Hastings. I think I found your sister. Now we can go to your kingdom and you can't say no."
Ice didn't want to go back home. He didn't want to be reminded of what he'd done as a dragon. He despised the dragon in him and wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted to forget. Looking up at Hook he speaks with no ounce of nervousness in his voice.
"I'll take you there only if you let Icicle go and make me one of your crew members." He'd decided that being a pirate might wash away that painful memory or mask it forever. Hook stares at him in surprise.
"You want to join me? Why?"
"I don't want to be a prince anymore. I don't want anything to do with Iclandia so I'll help you steal its treasure." Ice stands up, the ice-covered blanket sliding off his shoulders.
"Did something happen, m'boy to make you think that?" Hook was interested now.
"I-I don't w-want to t-talk about i-it."
"I see. I'll wait then. For now, welcome aboard The Jolly Roger." Hook pats Ice on the shoulder. "I'll start by teaching you the basics of being a pirate while we head towards your kingdom."
After eating a good meal, Icicle and Megan find themselves being ushered out along with a few other customers.
"What's the rush? Is it closing time already? It's not even ten after yet." said Megan, who was eyeing the restaurant warily. Once all the customers were out, the ship began lifting off of the ground.
"Dammit! I knew something fishy was about this place. It's pirates!" yelled Megan, "Come on! Your brother might be aboard!" Megan pulled out a grappling hook from her bag. Just as the ship raises itself up past her head she shoots it at a window in the cargo area. Her and Icicle climb aboard.
"Whoa! Careful, there's ice everywhere for some reason." said Megan. Icicle beamed at her.
"Then Ice is here!" she exclaimed.
"Shh! Do you want Hook's men to catch us?" whispered Megan. Icicle quietly shook her head.
"Let's look for your brother."