#hookella

I miss you. Maybe this will help you find me again.

Happy Valentine's Day.

She lived on a houseboat. Sometimes Adella took a look at her life and just had to laugh. The days when she woke up cold and alone on her half of the bed taking in her small surroundings, when if she didn’t laugh it was almost certain she would cry- and Adella Bennett would not let herself cry. Just by lifting her head she could see her whole home. It wasn’t very glamorous but she and James worked for what they had. Or… did what they had to do to get by. And most importantly, there was absolutely no one that she had to answer to for who she was.

It was hard to believe that it had already been three years since she’d graduated from Elias with her practically worthless Bachelors of Fine Arts in dance. What had she ever planned to do with that? Well… honestly? Nothing. Despite her distaste for her family she had always figured that after college she would return to Atlantica and stay comfortable in the lap of luxury for the rest of her life, acting on her whims the same as she’d always done. But she hadn’t accounted for a certain Atlantican outlaw in her visions.

Eventually, she couldn’t keep her relationship with James secret any longer. King Triton wouldn’t have it, she either had to leave him or her family. It wasn’t even a choice really. She was disowned from the royal family and was never able to look back. She tried to forget that she hadn’t been to Atlantica since, ignored the almost nightly dreams of endless white beaches and the grand rooms of the palace, focusing instead on new dreams… Or rather, the realization that she needed some kind of new dream. Adella had never really been one to look to the future but now she found not thinking ahead led to nights shivering against the sidewalk unable to sleep or sleeping with one eye open inside of grungy hostels.

She made it through. And eventually, she ended up in London. With James. They both had to work hard. He’d be out most of the day, and she was largely a child of the night but they always made sure their paths crossed at some point. She liked to giggle that they were starving artists over tea but always bit her tongue when it came to talking about the past. Even while images of warm, sunny beaches danced behind her eyes. London was home now, and they were part of a community she never thought she would find herself in; the city’s seedy underbelly. It was almost exhilarating.

I miss us.

It had been the longest day. Adella found herself laying in her bed feeling deliriously tired. Where had the day gone? First, a full day of classes that she had once again been bullied into attending and then spontaneous wandering around so that she could at least attempt to say that she had tried to liven up her Friday. But now she was safely back in Roy, sprawled out across her mattress, following the blogs from her phone. What she really wanted to do was take a nap, but there was nothing more sad than napping on a Friday night. So she wouldn't. At least she had found Hook to talk to. Even his virtual presence was enough to restore a margin of the life within her, like a candle's flame growing stronger. By the time he suggested coming over she knew that was the way she would prefer her night to go. Since the two had arrived back at Walt, Adella had actually found herself lounging around James's room regularly, though not quite often enough to be frequent. She would stop in for an hour or so every other day, catch up while avoiding talking about her day- something she was incredibly skilled at when it came to conversing with the shaggy-haired man of her affections. 

All settled into the new dorm then, hmm??

It was a nerve-wracking drive to Atlantica's south shore.  Adella was irritable as she tried to keep both her excitement and her anxiousness in check. Though she refused to let either show she knew that Jane probably knew what was going on in her mind and she kept quiet in the passenger seat, watching the scenery or talking in a hushed, level voice with-

"Alex! Where the fuck are you going?!" Adella shouted as Jane's new boy took a left where they should have continued going on straight. "And can't you go any faster?! Do you want my friend to die!?"

"No, Miss Bennett," he answered calmly before attempting to assure her that as the only driver in the car he grasped directions better than she and he had, indeed, just cut a good ten minutes of their drive by taking this shortcut. Adella harrumphed and sat back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest moodily as she caught Jane's eyes staring at her from one of the beat up Jeep's mirrors. Despite her hurricane of feelings she could tell that Jane was worried about her out-of-character behavior so she tried for the tiniest smile she could and hoped that Jane was reassured as she drifted off into her thoughts.

If she was honest with herself, Adella still hadn't sorted out her feelings. There was a trace of bitterness when she thought of James, who had left her again after he had swore that he wouldn't. Not that she could fault him for that if she were in her rational mind- she had, of course, been forced home before James left Walt. And even though she had no idea why he had, she had the tiniest seed of an idea that it was partially an effort to not cause any more problems between her and her father. Adella didn't want to cause any more of a rift between her and King Triton either, and she was scared to death of what he would do if he found out that she was harboring an enemy of the state within their own palace, especially an enemy that the Bennett family had spent the past three months clearing their names of. When Adella had returned to Walt, before being told that Hook had left, she had done everything she could to avoid places that he would be, knowing full well that talking to him would break her trust with her family and make her allegiances shift again. And now here she was, having done just that, and welcoming him into a country that he should never step foot on with open arms.

James Hook had a hold on her, almost like the moon's hold on the beautiful ocean. He, her pirate captain and she, his dangerous siren. Each having played a part in impacting and saving each other's lives. Would things have changed? Adella still felt his pull, so she doubted it.

She was startled by pressure being placed upon her knee. Ripped from her musings, glazed eyes returning to normal, she turned to glare, a sharp hiss of a "what" situated on the tip of her serpent's tongue but she forced herself to bite it back when she realized it was just Jane. "What?" she asked, still sharp, but less defensive.

"Alex says we have to walk the rest of the way," Jane said, not even appearing to be phased by her best friend's attitude. Adella hadn't even realized that the car was parked. It was just off the road on the dusty path that they had been driving down.

"...okay," she murmured, opening her door and sliding out of the vehicle, her heart racing faster out in the open air. They were close. She had to keep herself from running. The mismatched trio began making their way to the inlet- a sandy white beach hidden from view by giant hills to each side and a tropical forest in front. Adella took to counting trees to keep calm as they walked, trying to block out the buzz of the lovebirds' conversation only feet behind her. She knew where she was going. And they made it there quickly enough, she figured it had took them no more than fifteen minutes to find the hidden stretch of shore. 

Hook had made it. She saw a boat, anchored out far enough in the water that it wouldn't have run aground, obviously manned by an expert boatman. But she didn't see him. The princess exchanged a look with Jane, one of almost worry, willing her blood not to run cold.