Confidence (I Am)

Chapter 2: Mistake Or Triumph

The head of Captain James Hatchet is in his hands as he leans on his desk. The pirates in front of him are cowering, most of them at least, even as he speaks oh-so-calmly. "What do you mean, 'he flew away'?"

"Just like a birdie, Cap'n.' One brave or perhaps stupid crewman tells him. The man chuckles. "It was quite cool, actually..."

"Quite cool, was it?" James asks darkly, lifting his head to glare at the men gathered in front of him. "I'm so glad you're enjoying yourself, but, need I remind you–" He scowls, slamming his hands hard on his desk as he stands to tower over them "–THIS MAKES IT HARDER TO CAPTURE HIM, YOU MORON!"

The pirates flee the Captain's cabin, chased by threats and orders to capture the boy. All except one, a particularly fat pirate in a silly red hat, with small spectacles in front of his kind eyes. He simply tuts, and begins to tidy up the various odds and ends the other knocked off or threw in his rage.

"Honestly, what did you expect from the boy, Captain?" He asks, frowning at a crack in a snowglobe. By the time he sets the orb down, the crack is gone. "He's the Neverchild, him having unusual powers is a given."

"Shut up, Smee." James groans, slumping into his chair, head back in his hands.

"Shutting up, Captain." Smee says cheerfully, having now moved on to dusting. After a moment, he continues. "I told you to be nicer to him, how many times did I warn you?"

"Too many, you overgrown fairy!" James snaps. "He is– was a prisoner, a weapon, not a houseguest!"

"He's a child." Smee rebukes. "A useful child. If you had just made him like you, maybe he wouldn't have run off."

"I'm not having this argument again." James says flatly, unwilling to continue a discussion they'd had too many times over the years. "Maybe you're right, Smee, but what's done is done. It's too late to change that. Now we need to get the brat back before the fairies get around to training him."

"We should have some time, then, as I imagine they'll want to get him fed and healed up a bit first." Smee says pointedly, hands on his hips. Behind him, the duster keeps on with its task.

"Shut up, Smee."

"Shutting up, Captain." Smee hums in thought "Speaking of feeding, when was the last time you ate? And have you slept at all since the boy escaped? You need to take care of yourself, Captain–"

James sighs, giving in to the other's mothering, letting the trivialities of food and tea and endless chattering distract him. But by the time Smee forces him to bed, he finds his mind spiralling with panic; the boy is gone, the fairies have Neverland's greatest weapon, and the pirates are unlikely to come out of this on top unless they get him back. By tracking him down and bringing him to Neverland in the first place, James has either made the biggest mistake of his life, or put into motion his and his crew's most glorious triumph.

Only time will tell.