Pirate Queen

The referee raised Bae's fist signaling he was the winner, and the unconscious opponent was carried out of the ring, the crowd began settling bets as Bae moved to stand with his mother.

"That was the last round, let's go exploring before we meet Papa for dinner at the tavern."

Milah clapped in delight and hugged her son as tightly as she dared considering the bruises he must have. “You did so well, darling! What will you do with your winnings?” Milah had, of course, placed bets on her son to win. Even if she had doubted his chances, she still would have placed bets on him. But he was small and scrappy, built as she was, and people tended to underestimate the both of them.

She then hooked her arm through his as they started to walk. “What are you thinking, darling? The markets? Or did you want to see what sort of trouble we could get into before Killian has to come to the rescue?”

Wendy hesitated, Peter had said those things and done what the lady pirate had said. but Wendy didn't like the tone nor the implication of what she said. Was she saying Peter was a liar?

"Well yes, but I'm sure that is just Peter's way! He is good and fun loving, he just wants us all to have a good time!"

She sighed and shook her head. Of course he was that way. He might have been a stunted boy, but Peter was still a boy, and in her experience, most boys were all the same, child or adult. She suspected that was another reason why James had her talk to the child.

“That might be true. All you could say could be as it truly is.” She tried to catch her eye. “But if he does try to make you do things you do not want to do and gets angry at you for not doing something you aren’t comfortable with, you must learn how to stand your ground. And this is not something that just applies to your Pan.”

@justmilah liked for a starter from Baelfire for Milah

Bae wasn't one to stand on ceremony, yes even as a pirate there were traditions to uphold, but Bae more often than not didn't even uphold those.

So when he walked into the captain's quarters and saw his mother, Bae didn't even bother with niceties or preamble.

"We got a situation."

He startled her, causing her to jump a little. "Baelfire!" She huffed a little as she settled down. Fortunately her pen had not been on the paper. "One of these days you will barge in here and see something you are not prepared for. And when that happens, do not say I didn't warn you."

Milah looked at him, tilting her head a little. "What sort of situation, my little love?"

Bae leaned his head against her mother's shoulder.

Even now, the dream was fading away, so when his mother suggested talking about it, Baelfire shook his head.

"No. I'm sorry I woke you."

Milah nodded as she kept cuddling. "It's alright, darling. I'd far rather be woken by a nightmare than something far more nefarious." She hummed in thought a little. "Do you want to go back to sleep? Or would you like to go see the stars for a little while?"

Baelfire smiled at his mother's cheering. They'd been stuck in port for days, making repairs to the Jolly Roger, which meant Bae and the men had to entertain themselves until they could get underway again.

Two of the crew members had set up a boxing ring, and Bae had eagerly joined in the fighting.

Ducking under his opponent's fist, Bae threw a uppercut and knocked his opponent out for the count.

The watching crowd cheered, and Bae smiled over at his mother, chest puffed out with pride.

Milah perched on the rail as she watched the boxing match. She'd joined in a few times herself in the past, had won more than once, but she was not in the mood to nurse her own black eye.

There was still some worry whenever Baelfire went against someone, though, especially someone larger than him. But Killian taught him well, showing him how to use his smaller size to his advantage. And it helped her nerves that all involved knew that if they did serious damage to their bosses' child there would be repercussions.

That didn't mean they went easy on him, either. His victories were his own. Milah did not want his head filled with a sense of pride that would end him getting hurt outside the safety of their ship.

So when he stood over the unconscious man, her applause was genuine. Her smile was wide and bright as she cheered. "Go, Baelfire!"

Wendy had only thought about being a pirate a few times, though she had never confided those thoughts to anyone.

But perhaps this woman could be trusted with such things.

"If I was to be a pirate, I'd take the name Red-Handed Jill, but then what would my mother say, me being a pirate?"

When the woman asked after her treatment, Wendy felt the need to stick up for poor Peter.

"I am treated fine, Peter says one girl is worth twenty boys."

Milah nodded in thought at the name. "It does have a bit of flair. I'd argue it might be a bit of a mouthful, but there have certainly been longer names than that." She tilted her head. "Mine told me I was no longer her daughter, but that was before I turned to piracy. Would yours do the same?"

Milah rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he does."  She stood and leaned against the wall next to the girl. "Has he told you how no one understands him like you do? Tell you how important you are without letting you decide things on your own?"

Bae was much too old for this, Papa was only three years older than him when he and his brother were given command of a vessel, before Uncle Liam tragically died and Baelfire's father became a pirate.

But still, thirteen year old Bae leaned into his mother's comforting embrace. Already, the lingering feelings of fear from his nightmare faded away.

"Thank you, Mama."

Milah held her son close, fingers sifting through his hair. Even though it had been years since she’d gotten him back, she still remembered how badly her arms would ache to hold him again like this, and she feared for the day he would no longer let her, whether from being too old or finding out things she was not ready for him to know.

He was growing up so fast. Sometime soon he will be wanting to go off on his own, and she wasn’t sure she would be ready. She certainly wasn’t ready now.

“Of course, my darling,” she said quietly, sniffing his hair a little. “Talking about it might just chase it away.”

@justmilah liked for muse roulette and got Wendy Darling

Wendy Darling was in awe. She had told her brother's all the stories of Captain Hook that she knew a hundred times over.

But she had never imagined that Captain Hook would have a woman aboard his ship unless, of course, she was a captive as Wendy was.

But if the cutlass at the woman's hip was any indication, she was no prisoner.

"I've never heard of a lady pirate before."

Milah raised her hands with a flourish and twirled before ending in a modified curtsey. “I’ve no doubt you haven’t, darling. If they told pretty little things such as yourself about us, the ships would be crawling with women.” She crouched down so she was eye level with the girl. “Jacquotte Delahaye, Ching Shih, Ladgerda. They’re all there if you know where to look. And those that aren’t are the ones who are the ones who hid in plain sight.”

She liked this ship and this crew, even the cantankerous captain. She no longer had to sleep with one eye open because such shenanigans were not tolerated. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she tilted her head. Hopefully the same could be said for Wendy. “Have they been treating you alright?” she asked as she jerked her head toward the island. “I know how rough boys can be.”