Merlin and Rapunzel were poked and prodded through the forest by the pirates. It was mildly irritating for Merlin, and the pirates forbade any conversation between him and Rapunzel, which gave him far too much time to think. He attempted to focus on how to get Captain Hook to tell them where the Editor was—if he even knew where she was located.

Merlin once more was disgusted by his robes getting caught on everything. Rapunzel had determined a way to avoid getting her hair wrapped around any briars or thorns, but Merlin wasn't as lucky. He focused on his more pessimistic thoughts rather than on the misery that was constantly threatening to overtake him. Between Rachel and Alan, he was still feeling incredibly guilty and overwhelmed by his sudden ascent to leadership.

He'd spent far too much time thinking about that already, and he forced himself to get his focus back. He couldn't afford to be distracted by his own emotions. There would be plenty of time to grieve later, when there wasn't so much riding on him.

The walk through the forest turned into jungle as they got further inland. Merlin frowned; he would have thought the Jolly Roger would be located on the ocean, instead of towards the middle.

They finally reached the middle of the island, Merlin feeling terribly exhausted. They were pushed from the trees towards a lagoon, where the large pirate ship the Jolly Roger sat, complete with the skull-and-crossbones flag atop the middle mast.

Merlin knew nothing of ships or what the pieces were called, and he couldn't have cared less as he and Rapunzel were prodded up the plank—the gangplank, one of the pirates called it—onto the deck of the ship.

They stood there awkwardly for a minute until a man swaggered down from the wheel of the ship. Merlin admitted to himself that the pirate, obviously Captain Hook from the replacement appendage on his left hand, would have been considered by most women as handsome had it not been for the ugly sneer on his face. His dark hair stuck to his face, and his light green eyes were narrowed at Rapunzel. From the way he walked and the smell around him, he was quite obviously drunk. "What have we here?" Hook slurred, coming close to Rapunzel's face. To her credit, the former Guardian didn't flinch away. It would only have served to convince Hook of his being better than her. "A very pretty girl, wouldn't you say, gentleman?"

There was a chorus of agreement from the rest of the pirates; also drunk, Merlin guessed. He decided to take matters into his own hands and get attention off of Rapunzel. "Captain Hook, I presume," Merlin said.

The pirate turned on him, his bushy eyebrow raised. "You presume?" he spat. "What gave it away? My handsome countenance? My hat? Or the blasted hook on my left hand?!" He waved the hook in Merlin's face, getting dangerously close to his nose. "And who are you, boy? One of Pan's little brats?"

"Do I look like a Lost Boy to you?" Merlin returned calmly, though he was smarting from the insult at his age. If he'd wanted to, he could have been the ancient old man everyone expected from Merlin. But he didn't want to. "My name is Merlin. I am a Guardian, and I've come seeking information about the Editor." He decided not to appraise the pirates of the fact that he was a former Guardian.

His words got the pirates' attention. A startled silence fell over all of them, and they stared at Merlin with fear and a hint of respect. That was good; he wanted them to fear and respect him. That would make it easier to get the information he wanted from them. He went on, "Perhaps you could tell me where the Editor is?"

"You be on a fool's errand," Hook said, scratching his stubble with his hook in a nervous way. "Even if I knew where the Editor was—which I don't—why would I tell you? She be making a better Story for all of us 'villains', boy, and that ain't a lie."

"Wonderful," Merlin muttered. He'd gone through a long trek in the forest and jungle, gotten his robes ripped and his skin scratched—for nothing. He quickly regained his composure. "Well, since you haven't got what I need, then, we'll just be off." He turned to the gangplank, Rapunzel seconds behind him.

A small group of pirates blocked their way. Before either of them could move, Captain Hook sprang forward, grabbed Rapunzel by the wrist, and dragged her over to the railing. "I'll be telling you when you be leaving!" he yelled, and tossed Rapunzel over the side, holding her by her wrist.

Merlin felt relatively calm about that—until he heard Rapunzel's terrified scream. "MERLIN!"

Realizing something had gone wrong, he focused on trying to summon his magic and found he could do nothing. Thinking on his feet as he realized he and Rapunzel had no magic, he said, "Wait! We can stay for a bit longer, I suppose."

Hook, satisfied that his threat had been taken to her, hauled Rapunzel back onto the deck, holding his hook to her throat. "Aye, you will be staying," he agreed. "You'll be staying until we get the Editor to come and get you. Mr. Smee!"

"Aye, Cap'n?" The rotund, short man stumbled up to the captain, saluting clumsily.

"Take the Guardian to the mast and tie him there," Hook said. "I'll be keeping the girl with the lovely hair in case he gets any ideas." Laughing like a maniac, he dragged Rapunzel up to the wheel and bound her to the railing. Merlin, tied to the mast with another girl—whoever she was—was not fond of the situation he'd foolishly walked into. He had no magic, and little idea where Theseus and Red were.

But how was he to know that Hook had magic preventatives? It seemed impossible that a mere pirate would have access to such powerful magic to block Merlin's, but he did. It was completely unexpected.

The girl, blowing a curl of her long, curly black hair out of her face, said, "Welcome to my mess."

"Not exactly the situation I had in mind," Merlin said, uncertain of the girl's identity.

She smiled a little. "No, I can imagine it isn't," she agreed. She hesitated, then asked, "You were asking Captain Hook about the Editor. Are you searching for her?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"If I don't stop her, she will kill everyone I care about," Merlin answered carefully, trying to figure out why she was asking.

The girl nodded, digesting that information. "Do you promise to believe me, no matter what I'm going to say next?"

Merlin looked at her. She was a child, barely thirteen, and he knew children loved attention. But there was something sweetly serious about the girl's expression as she looked at him, her blue eyes blinking slowly. "I promise," Merlin said.

She nodded again. "Would you believe me," she said, "if I told you I knew where the Editor was?"