Smee’s Schemes

“Captain, Captain – I’ve found something for you.”​

Engrossed in riffling through the contents of a crate from the ducks’ ship, the Captain Hook glimmer didn’t look up. “Hmmm? Oh, just set it anywhere.”​

“But Captain—”​

“Not now, Mr. Smee. And silence that blasted bell of yours!”​

Smee took a step backward toward a table and set down the lantern that now held his prize. The fairy bounced back and forth against the glass, sending a stack of maps from the pirates’ recent haul sliding to the floor.​

“Confound it, Smee! How many times must I—” Captain Hook stopped short when he saw the captive Tinker Bell, and a grin spread from one wicked ear to the other.​

“Very good, Mr. Smee. And clean up this mess.” As he gestured at the fallen maps, something caught his eye.​

“Now, what have we here?” Captain Hook lifted a map, which had the image of a maze at one end. Suddenly, Tinker Bell sounded an ear-piercing chime and pointed forcefully at the map.​

“What’s that you say?” Captain Hook inclined his head toward the fairy. “A secret? Impossible to uncover by the likes of me? We’ll see about that!” He cleared the table with a single swipe of his hook, spread out the map, and began poring over it at once.​

“We’ll see about that,” Mr. Smee echoed. Happily gathering up the fallen maps, he didn’t notice Tinker Bell had fallen silent. He had given his captain not one, but two unexpected gifts, and he was sure the crew would soon weigh anchor and be off plundering again in no time.​

Mr. Smee paced before the door to Captain Hook’s quarters. It had been weeks now. The captain had shouted occasional orders that took them deeper and deeper into the Azurite Sea, but he forbade the crew from engaging other ships—especially those helmed by Illumineers. ​

No pirating. No plundering. They could not so much as fire a single cannonball, as it would surely break his concentration. Smee had tried to coax him out, but the captain refused to emerge until he’d puzzled out the map’s secret.​

Even over the crashing waves around them, the anxious crew heard signs of the captain at work: the thuds of thrown objects, bellows of frustration, and unrepeatable threats. But not a single chime from the captive fairy. ​

The crew of glimmers grew more restless by the day, and soon they began to press Mr. Smee to relieve the captain of his duties. This was no pirate’s life! Something—and something drastic—had to be done so that they could fill the pirating-shaped hole in their seaworthy hearts.​

And so, when Captain Hook had finally fallen asleep one night, Mr. Smee slid silently through his door, crept across the room), and slowly . . . slowly lifted the captain’s hat from atop the lantern. Tinker Bell sat quietly inside, knees to her chin and engaged in a staring contest with the white puffs on her shoes.​

The fairy glanced up and looked almost bored when she saw Mr. Smee. He put a finger to his lips, opened the lantern door, and motioned her to come out. She stood, stretched lazily, and suddenly flew up and out of the lantern with a mischievous smile. She dipped toward Captain Hook’s desk and then shot through the open doorway, leaving a trail of pixie dust to settle on his belongings.​

The first mate glanced at the Captain Hook glimmer, who was snoring loudly, his mustache rising and falling with each breath. Smee returned the captain’s hat to its place on the lantern, then tiptoed to the doorway, took one last look back at the room, and breathed a sigh of relief. With Tinker Bell’s “escape,” he was confident Captain Hook would return to captaining and the rest of the pirate crew could finally get back to pirating.​

Mr. Smee’s sigh caught in his throat. The seemingly harmless motes of light that had settled on much of the room were rising into the air, along with everything they had touched. A pocket watch, a spyglass, the lantern, and even the captain’s beloved hat floated upward and—despite Smee’s earnest attempts to stop them—drifted out the door and up into the sky.​

Just when Mr. Smee thought things could not get worse, the bosun called, “Hold fast! A mighty wave’s approachin’! And another! And another! They’re hedgin’ us in!”​

The ship pitched, and Captain Hook began to stir. Mr. Smee’s heart pounded beneath his striped shirt as he searched frantically for the map that had brought them so deep into the heart of the Azurite Sea. It was the key to escaping this new peril.​

Except . . . where the map had lain on the table, there was only an outline in a fine layer of pixie dust. ​

Captain Hook yawned. A moment later, the distinctive sound of someone crowing like a rooster echoed outside.​

Mr. Smee’s eyes widened. Oh dear, what had he done? The events of the last few weeks went racing through his mind. How easy it had been to capture Tinker Bell. Her encouraging Captain Hook to work out the mysterious map. Her lack of surprise when Smee released her. The pixie dust that had sent everything floating away. And, at the very beginning of this whole misadventure, the shadow at the corner of his vision.​

The pirate rushed to the door and watched as the captain’s belongings drifted higher and higher into the dawn-streaked sky. Just above the pocket watch, the spyglass, the lantern, the captain’s beloved hat . . . hovered a grinning Peter Pan in all his glimmer glory, holding the map in one hand and flapping it about like a bird in flight.​

Mr. Smee gulped loudly. He was a glimmer of many dimensions—a schemer, a first mate—but a criminal mastermind was certainly not one of them.​