Topic: Countdown to the Election

James Radcliffe

Date: 2018-09-10 18:18 EST
Inside the house he had built for Ashlyn, perched upon a cliff high above the sea, Jamie threw the newspaper down in disgust. He curled the hand that had once been replaced with a hook into a tight fist, gritting his teeth in anger, and slamming his hand against the wooden surface of the table.

Here on the coast, there was little threat from religious fanatics or anyone else. No one was burning anything, except for the occasional campfire - the only victims that of weiners and marshmallows roasting on sticks. The sea and the weather were the only real threats, and for now, they were calm. The same couldn't be said for the city, but he didn't really care much what happened there, so long as those he cared for were safe.

He had been against Peter running for governor - a position he now understood was little more than a figurehead, lacking any real power in Rhy'Din. Still, there were those who always seemed to try to usurp the position in order to advance their own agendas, whether said agendas were benevolent to the people of Rhy'Din or not. It irked him, to say the least, and that was saying a lot coming from a former pirate.

Still, he and Ash had reluctantly given Peter their permission, if for no other reason than that they knew Peter and Lyneth's hearts were in the right place. It wasn't the first time Peter had found himself in a possible position of leadership. After all, he had once been the unchallenged Prince of Neverland and Leader of the Lost Boys, but this was different.

When Jamie had asked Peter why he wanted to run for governor, the boy had only shrugged and said, "Because grownups are in charge of everything, and they always mess stuff up." Jamie couldn't really argue with that logic, though it was tainted by childlike innocence. This latest fiasco with the religious fanatics only proved Peter and Lyneth right, but what worried Jamie most was the danger inherent in the position.

They'd built their campaign around the slogan of "Making Rhy'Din Fun Again?, but he knew there was more to it than that. Peter had been abandoned as a child and through a series of strange events, he'd become Neverland's first Lost Boy. He knew Peter felt strongly about the matter and that both he and Lyneth wanted to ensure that every orphan in Rhy'Din found a happy home, but somehow Jamie also knew this was most likely little more than wishful thinking. Then again, stranger things had been known to happen - that much he knew from personal experience.

Peter and Lyneth's parents had agreed to shelter the children from the worst of the election as much as they could, but Jamie would be sure to accompany his son to the upcoming debate. He understood that Peter and Lyneth weren't ordinary in any way and that they were more than capable of taking care of themselves, but they were still children, nonetheless, and what kind of father would he be if he didn't make sure no harm came to them?

Whatever the outcome of the debate and subsequent election, Jamie knew one thing for certain - if anyone dared even look at either Peter or Lyneth the wrong way, they'd be answering to him and rue the day they ever dared cross paths with the once infamous Captain Hook.