62 ~ The other side

                                    

                                          
I honestly thought I'd be updating this sooner but y'all know how it is... 
But GUYS I have read so many comments and messages asking if this was the last chapter and no it is not! We've still got 4 more chapters to go and even though I do take time between updates  you will know when it's the end (plus I'll probably throw in an epilogue after that). So don't panic I'm won't be ending this book on a cliffhanger
I hope you're all well and staying safe <3



<<<Day 243>>>
"There is nothing to be done, she will not listen to a soul."
Hook sighed, running a weary and calloused hand over his beard as he shot a glance through the porthole at the ocean beyond. The waters were restless, and so was he. Lienna had been reporting the exact same excuse for the past five days. 
"Then, try harder," the pirate rumbled, sullen impatience weighing on his words. His stare pierced through the mirror, right into the faerie standing on the other side of it. She did not appear impressed as she crossed her arms over her chest. Hook pursued with insistence, teeth clenched. "You must understand the urgency of the situation; the Blue Moon rises in less than a month. If we do not get your people's support in that time and launch the assault, the wards will be renewed and Neverland will be impenetrable for another year."
"We shall wait another year, then," Lienna answered curtly, filled with a stubbornness of her own.
Hook's nostrils flared. "You know very well why we must attack now."
His fey spy cocked her head slyly to the side, dark curls dancing with the movement as she asked, "Are the rumors really true, then? About the second in command's demise?" Hook nodded and the interest in her eyes sparked. "About your hand in it?" Again, a nod. Lienna raised an eyebrow. Dare he say, there was an inkling of admiration there? "Perhaps... as a token of gratitude for having slain the monster who took our beloved king from us, our queen may respond favorably to a few of your demands."
Bounding onto the opportunity, the captain clasped the mirror in his hand and brought it closer to his face. "When can I get a hearing with her?"
Lienna shook her head disapprovingly. "You humans are far too eager. As I have repeated multiple times, our queen remains bereaved and refuses to leave her chambers, much less speak to any of her advisors. Even I have not had more than mere glimpses of her in the past days." She regarded Hook, not unsympathetically. "I am sorry, but this is not a matter that you or I will be able to rush."
"But it needs to be now," Hook pressed. "The girl's death will have shaken them, and if our spies are to be trusted, their forces took a serious hit when she was taken down." He leaned forwards. "Pan has never been as vulnerable as this moment.
"You are not listening and I will not keep repeating myself," Lienna declared. Her silver wings fluttered in slight annoyance behind her. "If you refuse my offer to wait another year, the pirates will have to attack Neverland without our help."
The faerie made a move to sever the connection, yet Hook was desperate and cried out, "Wait! There must be-" He cut himself off, a ruckus sounding above his head, on the deck. He heard his men shouting; something was going on. "I need to go," he dismissed abruptly, standing up. 
The mirror went blank a second later as Lienna took her leave, but Hook was already barreling out of his room and up the stairs, cutlass in hand. This better not be another fight. He knew he and his men had been cooped up far too long on the ship, yet it was no excuse for their poor behavior. Hook stormed through the last doors ready to break apart whatever brawl had broken out, yet arrived onto the deck only to stop dead in his tracks.