Belle and the Pirate

by Vivienne Savage

  Tink clapped and squealed with joy, throwing herself into James’s arms. “Now we don’t have to sail north!”

  “So it would seem.”

  “We can leave as soon as you are ready,” Muir said.

  “What of my ship? Will she be safe here?”

  Muir canted his head, then looked up toward the sky. Far above, three griffins circled. “I will ask Brenach to remain. Your ship will be protected, on my honor.”

  * * *

  Before Tink could dismount from Muir’s back, Conall surrounded her with his brawny arms and yanked her down against him. Her wolfy brother had tears streaming down his face.

  Tears.

  From there it was a blur of hugs, kisses, exclamations about her size, and even more embraces as everyone she held closest to her heart welcomed her home. Through it all, James waited to the side, quiet and patient as ever, until Conall noticed the pirate and welcomed him with a backbreaking hug.

  “Thank you for looking after my Tink.”

  When James’s questioning blue eyes darted to her in confusion, understanding dawned upon her. “He says thank you for looking after me,” she translated.

  “Oh! To be honest, it was the other way around more often than not, wasn’t it?” After all, Tink had singlehandedly saved the Jolly Roger and rescued his whole crew from a fiery death.

  Once they found a common language—Anastasia’s native tongue of Mordenian seemed to be known by most in attendance, including Alistair, Sorcha, and Conall—the shifters welcomed James into their home and hearts as only Oclanders could, reaffirming Tink’s belief that she had the best family in all the world. Even the king and queen had waited among the throng of visitors. Once the two monarchs greeted her and James, the celebratory welcome home feast began.

  Shifters used any excuse they could make for throwing a banquet. The celebrations lasted long into the night, until Tink took her smaller form and curled up in Kendric’s bed, leaving James to the mercy of her family

  She didn’t wake until after noon the following day. After scrubbing her tired face and washing away the taste of too many mugs of mead, she crafted a fresh wardrobe for herself out of starlight magic and flew through the den in search of her beloved. The brief hunt led her to a table overlooking the lake, where James shared tea with the king and queen. They all wore solemn faces, and the sight of their stoic countenances added a skip to her racing heart. Fearing Anastasia meant to go back on her word, she hurried over to join them.

  Then she paused to eavesdrop behind a stone pillar, instead.

  “Admittedly, when Tinker Bell claimed you weren’t a murderer, I had a difficult time believing it,” Anastasia said. “But Liang has shown us a new side to them, and King Harold refuses to discuss the matter of slavery at all. Not a denial or an admission. Instead, he avoids the subject.”

  James shook his head. “He won’t confess to it.”

  “So it would seem, so we’ve decided to send one of our clan leaders to investigate your claims, Captain Hook. As Cairn Ocland is part of the Compact between Creag Morgen and Eisland, we would be committing a breach of the law to allow you to go free,” Anastasia said. “Unless we were to grant you amnesty, of course.”

  Alistair rubbed his bearded chin. “Amnesty for a pirate. I can’t say he didn’t operate for a good cause.”

  “A just cause,” Anastasia corrected her husband. “Still… you did rob people, did you not?”

  Tink buzzed over and transformed from little to large, standing behind James’s chair. “He didn’t rob for fun,” she defended. “He even let an honest merchant go without taking a single coin.”

  “It’s fine, love,” James assured her. He set his hand over hers and drew her around, pulling her down to his lap. “They have a right to question my deeds.”

  “No one is faulting him, Tink,” Ana said.

  “As far as pillaging goes, I can’t say we didn’t enjoy the treasure,” James admitted, “but it wasn’t the driving motivation behind leaving the navy. If anything, it financed our adventure and granted us a fighting chance. Amnesty would be appreciated.”

  “Then consider yourself and each member of your crew to be under the protection of Cairn Ocland. From this day forward, you are all citizens of our kingdom, and free to make a fresh start on dry land if you choose,” Alistair said.

  “That is most appreciated.”

  Ana studied his face and her features softened with concern. “You don’t seem happy.”

  “Forgive me, as I don’t mean to seem ungrateful. However, a part of me is unwilling to give up what my crew and I have spent years working on. Destroying the Queen Anne’s Revenge won’t end the slave trade. We’ve only hobbled Eisland, but Ridaeron ships will continue their dastardly work, moving your sprites and slaves between their country and others like Liang.”

  “I see. Then what would you suggest we do?”

  “Stop it!” Tink cried, unable to stand it a moment longer. “Something has to be done. James wasn’t enough to change their ways, but you have the power to make them see reason and to force them to stop.”

  The monarchs grew silent, exchanging quiet glances before Anastasia said in a gentle voice, “We may be powerful, Tink, but there’s very little Alistair and I can do from across the sea.”

  “What if Cairn Ocland had its own navy,” Tink suggested.

  The dragon’s brows rose. “Our own navy?”

  She nodded several times. “Yes! Shifters are powerful and strong, but your focus has been on the land. What if you could also travel the seas?”

  “Tink, we don’t have a bay.”

  “No, but we have Clan Ardal.”

  Both monarchs stared at her, as well as James. “Those are the bears, yes?” her pirate asked. “What do they have to do with a bay?”

  Alistair sucked in a sharp breath then released it on a laugh. Ana looked at him, brows knit together, before understanding seemed to dawn with her as well.

  “Tink, you never fail to amaze or surprise me,” Alistair said. “We’ll ask Mother and Father Bear and if they can commit their earthshaping skill to sculpting a bay. It won’t be any small feat, but if anyone is capable, it’ll be their clan.”

  “Of course, there’s the matter of our lack of experience when it comes to sailing,” Anastasia said. “We’ll need someone to teach our men and women how it’s done.”

  “Yes. Someone with knowledge and skill, as well as a ship. Seeing as how we have none of our own,” Alistair agreed.

  Tink clapped her hands together and blinked her teary eyes as the king and queen looked to James with matching smiles.

  “I would be honored, Your Majesty.”

  Anastasia grinned. “Then we will hire the greatest shipwrights in Creag Morden to our cause.”

  “If you’ll forgive me, Your Majesty, I know the perfect man for the job to serve as their advisor. While the ships of your native country are true beauties, they’re ill-suited for combat and war. They’ll never stand up against Ridaeron’s forces or the Eisland Navy.”

  “Patrick,” Tink blurted out. The man had a tinker’s soul, drawing beautiful designs in his private cabin during his free time, and she’d enjoyed watching him make his miniatures, once she was no longer upset at him for skiving off at his duties and setting her to performing all his repairs.

  “Yes,” James confirmed. “If he’ll accept the post.”

  “We’ll trust you to make adequate recommendations for all roles within our new navy… Admiral,” Anastasia said, eyes twinkling with mirth.

  James rocked back on his heels and stared at them, jaw working before he voiced a word. “Admiral?”

  “Of course. Who better to lead us than James Hook, the fiercest pirate to ever sail the Viridian Sea?”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’ll accept,” the queen said.

  “I accept. Thank you.”

  Giddy with excitement, Tink beamed up at her pirate—he would always be a pirate to
her—and tried not to bounce up and down, or worse.

  “In the meantime, we’ll have to coordinate with the griffins, especially since the mountains are their home and it will take time to build a fleet worthy of opposing Ridaeron’s evil,” Alistair said.

  “I might have a way to get you two, possibly even three, ships now. There are other pirates out there, some as fearsome as the tales say, but others who are simply trying to survive. I believe, if given a chance for a new life and honest pay, they’d join you.”

  Alistair and Ana exchanged looks. “We’d certainly be agreeable to meeting with these people so we can make our own judgments. Who did you have in mind?” the queen asked.

  “Captain Amerys Vandry of the Twilight Witch, for one. She is a skilled sorceress and has sailed the world over multiple times and even visited the distant nations across the ocean. I don’t imagine it will be difficult to persuade her to join us if there’s good pay and the promise of continued exploration. She’s one of three captains allowed in Wai Alei. The Scarlet Brigade and my ship are the other two.”

  “Tiger Lily only lets people with good hearts in,” Tink added.

  “If you draft up letters of invitation, we will gladly receive them on our shores, once we have a safe bay for them,” Ana said. “I’d also like to see about meeting this Tiger Lily, in time.”

  “I have a feeling she’d like you very much,” James said.

  “Of course, we need a bay first, which means we should send for the Ardal leaders as soon as possible,” Alistair continued. “We should also send a delegation to Eisland to see if we can salvage any of the friendship between our countries and convince them to give up their slaving ways without bloodshed.”

  James nodded. “And what of Liang?”

  When Alistair rumbled a low growl, Anastasia touched the back of her husband’s hand. She smiled. “Grand Enchanter Joaidane has vowed to join our side against Liang. In the meantime, I plan to create a vast barrier between our countries to discourage his poachers from entering Cairn Ocland.”

  “I wish you the best of luck with both tasks,” James said. “Joaidane is a man of his word. As for King Harold… he’s is a stubborn man. With Blackbeard dead, I fear his resentment will make him impossible to deal with.”

  “A good thing we have a perfect negotiator for such difficult and delicate tasks. If anyone can deal with an obstinate ruler, it’s a griffin. They have the patience of a dragon without the quick temper.”

  “You mean Muir?” Tink asked, thinking of the griffin who had brought her home.

  “Yes. As a leader among the griffins, he’s equal to that of any noble lord and capable of speaking to King Harold on our behalf,” Ana replied.

  “He’ll be great,” Tink said. “Everyone in Eisland needs to know the truth about James. Especially his family.”

  “Then the matter is settled, and Cairn Ocland will take its first steps into a wider world. We have you both to thank for it.”

  “Is there anything else we can do in the meantime?” Alistair asked.

  James smiled. “There’s only one more matter we would need to attend to.”

  Tink turned to her lover. “Oh? What’s that?”

  “Our wedding.”

  …Happily Ever After

  REFUSING TO EXCLUDE either half of their combined family—the pirates of the Jolly Roger or the shifters of Cairn Ocland—Tink and James delayed the wedding until the bears constructed the new bay. Tink spent much of the month traveling between the den at Mount Braeloch and the Jolly Roger, helping wherever she could with the construction efforts.

  During that time, the ship remained anchored a mere mile off the coast of griffin territory. Mystified and awestruck pirates watched the progress each day as bears carved a canyon through a region of the Floraivel Mountains. The earth shapers even widened a large section of beach. With the tons of displaced rock, they created a protective barrier out in the sea, forming a new bay that was deep enough for the Jolly Roger to sail within but hidden from invaders.

  Tink worked alongside the carpenters and master artisans who came together to draw the plans for a new port city. Men and women traveled across Cairn Ocland to place their support behind the king and queen’s new venture, as did many of her sprite friends.

  But, on the day of her wedding, there would be no work. Not for her, and not for anyone else, as the king and queen had declared it to be a day of rest for all involved.

  Standing within a gauzy white tent on the beach, Tink waited for the moment to proceed past her family and friends to the man who would soon become her husband. Since Eisland and Creag Morden shared wedding traditions, Queen Anastasia had organized the event and walked Tink through the intricacies of the ceremony. As her closest family, Conall had offered to lead her down the aisle to James.

  She waited in a dress the color of fresh cream, made from yards upon yards of silk that Anastasia had gifted her and Sorcha had sewn into the prettiest dress Tink had ever seen. The fabric at her back dipped low, allowing room for her wings. Her only jewelry was the pearl ring James had given to her.

  “Tinker Bay,” Conall murmured, his gruff voice interrupting her silent musings.

  Tink turned to find her dearest friend studying her from the mouth of the tent, dressed in his best tartan and whitest shirt, blinking but failing to disperse the tears in his blue eyes.

  “It feels odd to have it named after me.”

  “You deserve it, Tink. This was your brilliant idea. I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

  Although tears stung her eyes, too, Tink dried his scruffy cheeks with the bell sleeve of her dress. “Don’t be sad,” she whispered to him.

  “Who says I’m sad?”

  “I’ll be close this way. You in Braeloch and me here in Port Harmony.”

  “Or out on the Jolly Roger being a pirate.”

  “You can come be a pirate, too,” she teased, earning a quiet chuckle and a warm smile from her friend.

  “It will take some getting used to, is all,” he said, then offered his arm. “But right now, I believe it’s time I take you to the new man in your life.”

  As Tink slipped her arm around Conall’s elbow, the melodic chords of a harp signaled the start of the ceremony. She filled her lungs with a deep breath before stealing a look at Conall’s stoic face.

  “I love you, you know,” she said to him.

  “I love you, too, Tink, and I’m glad you have James. I like him.”

  Together, they left the tent and followed a flower-strewn path between aisles of all the people she loved best in the world. Old friends and new friends smiled at her in passing, shifters, pirates, Joaidane, and even Peter who merrily played the flute to accompany Princess Teagan at the harp.

  Something was strange about that boy, different and not quite human.

  But they’d figure that out later, especially since she had all the time in the world to unravel Peter’s mysteries. He would be her son soon.

  Her misfortune had given her two families who were now a big one. Could a fairy be any luckier?

  It seemed improbable, until James stepped into view, resplendent in his finest scarlet coat, his black hair down loose around his face. When their gazes met across the distance, her stride sped to meet the rhythm of her racing heart, until she had abandoned Conall completely and dashed down the row to the man she loved. He caught her in his arms and kissed her while everyone applauded.

  Captain Vandry cleared her throat. Two weeks ago, when she’d arrived with her ship and crew, she’d offered to officiate the wedding and sworn her loyalty to Cairn Ocland.

  “I suppose we should skip to the important bits, yes?” she asked, a twinkle in her uncovered eye. “Do you, Admiral James Hook, accept this woman as your wife, to honor and cherish as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do.”

  “Belle of the fae, do you accept this rapscallion of a man as your husband, to honor and cherish as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do.
”

  “Then I see no reason to delay you further, and I happily present you as husband and wife to all who stand in attendance, both beloved family and cherished friends. May the gods—and the stars—smile down on your union as brightly as they did upon your meeting, and may you always sail with their grace and protection.” Captain Vandry paused, then grinned. “Go ahead and kiss her again, James. We all know you want to.”

  Tink beat him to it, throwing her arms around his neck and claiming his lips. James pulled her in tight against him and met her with equal fervor, and the world around them ceased to exist. Her adventure to find a companion of her very own may have ended, but the journey of Tinker Bell into her new life as a fae had just begun.

  And, standing beside the master of all pirates, she’d rather have no one else by her side.

  Author Note

  This is my favorite of all the stories so far in the Once Upon a Spell series. I just can’t sum up my excitement and how much I hope you loved it, too.

  Of course, I didn’t answer all of your questions. How did the stars send Tink back? What happened when she was gone? You’ll have to continue the series to find out what happens next in this world.

  If you didn’t already guess, Rapunzel and the Sea Witch will each get a story. Those are the upcoming books. You can order Joaidane’s personal story right now. Originally it was available in Twisted box set, but I’ve added new content and changed the plot to fit the rest of the storylines!

  Thank you for all that you’ve done. For reading my books, for spreading word of mouth recommendations to others. Thank you for the kind reviews.

  Join my newsletter to keep up with developments or hit up my fan group to chat about books and upcoming work. By the way, Dominique Kristine is my high fantasy and urban fantasy pen name. The sex is less explicit and the plot is more story-focused, but I invite you to try it out.

  The same is true for many of my other series. If you enjoy plot but want less than a page of nookie time, I implore you to check out Impractical Magic and Blood Kissed.