As You Wish
Be Brave Dear
Tears streamed down Estelle’s face and her light brown hair billowed behind her as she ran through the village streets, trying to find somewhere safe to hide. Hearing her hunter’s cackling laughter becoming louder, Estelle pushed open the next door on her left and slammed it shut behind her. Chest heaving from her panicked run, she looked around the room for something that could help her, seeing plenty of colourful bottles. Estelle almost jumped with fright when she saw the man lurking in the corner with a devilish grin.
“Need a hand, dearie?” the man asked before Estelle could apologise for barging into his hut. “Perhaps a way out?”
“I do, actually,” she panted with a creased brow, surprised by his perception of the situation.
“I can give you something that will take you to a far away land, so you can escape the curse that woman is trying to put on you,” he offered as he stepped into the light, revealing wrinkled skin that was tainted green.
“How did you know I’m running from a curse?
“Who do you think gave her the curse?” the man smoothly countered, stunning Estelle into silence. “I think the real question is, what is the price of this escape I am offering?” The man gave a cackling laugh of delight that almost sent a shiver down Estelle’s spine.
“What’s the price?” she blurted, willing to accept almost anything.
“That you owe me a favour,” he proposed before emitting another high-pitched giggle.
“Estelle! Come out now!” Allesandre shouted from outside, proving that she was only a few doors away.
“I accept your deal,” Estelle nodded. The man grinned and reached into his pocket, pulling out a bean.
“Here you go!” he smiled as he tossed it into Estelle’s hands.
“What do I do with a bean? Eat it?”
“Toss it on the ground and it will open a portal to a new land! Think of where you would like to go and it will take you there!” the man explained as he started to turn. “Oh, and dearie, I suggest that you think of travelling to a land where you won’t age. That would be a true escape.” He then completed his turn and vanished into a puff of smoke, leaving Estelle dumbfounded.
“You can’t avoid this fate! I will curse you and turn you into an old hag!”Allesandre screeched, pushing Estelle to trust the man and throw the bean on the floor. A swirling green portal opened before her and she felt herself being pulled towards it.
“Please let this work,” she whispered, scrunching her wet eyes with regret before she jumped. As she tumbled through the portal to the unknown, all she could think about was keeping her youth.
A small yelp of panic escaped Estelle’s lips as she pushed past another branch of gigantic leaves, wishing that the jungle had better lighting so she could find a path to safety. The excited calls from the boys behind her only surged her forwards faster as she was desperate to avoid their arrows and spears. When they had found her, it was immediately made clear that hunting her would be a game, and now her alleged safe haven had turned into a frightening hell.
After leaping over a fallen tree, she almost tumbled into the dirt, crying out as she crashed into a sturdy branch and steadied herself. Estelle didn’t dare look behind her for the torches of the boys, and just continued in hope that there was some sort of escape somewhere up ahead.
As she tripped over an unseen branch on the forest floor, Estelle was surprisingly caught by arms and pulled to the side of her path. Heaving, she glanced down and saw that one of the arms had a hook on the end. She struggled and squealed with fright as she assumed that the person was dangerous. A large hand gripped her mouth to silence her.
“Are they chasing you?” a man’s voice whispered urgently from behind her, and she gave a trembling nod. “I can help you. Stay quiet and I’ll take you someplace safe.” With the promise of refuge from the hunt, Estelle stopped resisting and let the man pull her backwards into the shadows.
“Need a hand, dearie?” the man asked before Estelle could apologise for barging into his hut. “Perhaps a way out?”
“I do, actually,” she panted with a creased brow, surprised by his perception of the situation.
“I can give you something that will take you to a far away land, so you can escape the curse that woman is trying to put on you,” he offered as he stepped into the light, revealing wrinkled skin that was tainted green.
“How did you know I’m running from a curse?
“Who do you think gave her the curse?” the man smoothly countered, stunning Estelle into silence. “I think the real question is, what is the price of this escape I am offering?” The man gave a cackling laugh of delight that almost sent a shiver down Estelle’s spine.
“What’s the price?” she blurted, willing to accept almost anything.
“That you owe me a favour,” he proposed before emitting another high-pitched giggle.
“Estelle! Come out now!” Allesandre shouted from outside, proving that she was only a few doors away.
“I accept your deal,” Estelle nodded. The man grinned and reached into his pocket, pulling out a bean.
“Here you go!” he smiled as he tossed it into Estelle’s hands.
“What do I do with a bean? Eat it?”
“Toss it on the ground and it will open a portal to a new land! Think of where you would like to go and it will take you there!” the man explained as he started to turn. “Oh, and dearie, I suggest that you think of travelling to a land where you won’t age. That would be a true escape.” He then completed his turn and vanished into a puff of smoke, leaving Estelle dumbfounded.
“You can’t avoid this fate! I will curse you and turn you into an old hag!”Allesandre screeched, pushing Estelle to trust the man and throw the bean on the floor. A swirling green portal opened before her and she felt herself being pulled towards it.
“Please let this work,” she whispered, scrunching her wet eyes with regret before she jumped. As she tumbled through the portal to the unknown, all she could think about was keeping her youth.
A small yelp of panic escaped Estelle’s lips as she pushed past another branch of gigantic leaves, wishing that the jungle had better lighting so she could find a path to safety. The excited calls from the boys behind her only surged her forwards faster as she was desperate to avoid their arrows and spears. When they had found her, it was immediately made clear that hunting her would be a game, and now her alleged safe haven had turned into a frightening hell.
After leaping over a fallen tree, she almost tumbled into the dirt, crying out as she crashed into a sturdy branch and steadied herself. Estelle didn’t dare look behind her for the torches of the boys, and just continued in hope that there was some sort of escape somewhere up ahead.
As she tripped over an unseen branch on the forest floor, Estelle was surprisingly caught by arms and pulled to the side of her path. Heaving, she glanced down and saw that one of the arms had a hook on the end. She struggled and squealed with fright as she assumed that the person was dangerous. A large hand gripped her mouth to silence her.
“Are they chasing you?” a man’s voice whispered urgently from behind her, and she gave a trembling nod. “I can help you. Stay quiet and I’ll take you someplace safe.” With the promise of refuge from the hunt, Estelle stopped resisting and let the man pull her backwards into the shadows.
♠ ♠ ♠
I'll be telling this story similar to how the show is formatted. Sometimes the chapter will be split into one scene from the present, and one scene from Estelle's past. This will be marked by a book page divider (as seen above). If the chapter consists of two scenes from the present, they will be separated by four icons of Hook (as seen in the summary). Hopefully that makes it a bit easier to follow, as I'd rather not put the past scenes in italics.I hope you enjoyed the prologue and will stay tuned for more! I'll update this regularly, though I'll admit that for the rest of this month they might be a little slow as I will be working on my NaNo project.