Hook grumbled in frustration as she carefully cleaned a long table as best as she could (which wasn't much). The table was so big and tall that she had to stand on her tiptoes to do it properly. Her small arms, tired from the effort, could barely reach the center of it, and her hair had become a mess after hours of work.
"This sucks," she muttered repeatedly. "This sucks soooo much. Why am I the only one who has to go through this?"
The answer, which she knew very well, was because she was the only child in all of Belobog who had dared to venture into the most dangerous parts of Rivet Town all by herself, the place Natasha had strictly forbidden her from visiting. One of the automatons patrolling the area had reported her, and spending an entire hour begging Clara for mercy only led to her father sending a long, detailed message to Natasha explaining everything she'd done there. Apparently, using Svarog's robots as targets to practice with her slingshot was too much fun for that old witch to tolerate.
Hook's cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish as her eyes sparkled with rage. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. This wasn't the first time she'd gone to play there—was it really bad that that time she’d done it alone and without telling anyone? Did that witch think Hook was a dumb kid?
I tried to be kind at first, but it’s clear you don’t learn, Hook, Natasha’s voice echoed in her memory. This is for your own good.
Hook threw the rag she had been using to the floor, more annoyed than ever. Natasha was right, and that made her blood boil; she hated not being able to talk back to her. She spent the next twenty minutes working in silence, her only company the occasional sounds of children playing outside without being punished by having to clean an entire clinic.
"I bet Clara is having a great time with Caelus, March and the others right now," she said out loud, hoping in vain that someone would come to comfort her. "I never imagined that witch would be so evil. She knows they’ve come to visit us for a few days, and yet she still punishes me… Hmpf, she better not complain next time I decide to draw stuff on the walls! I’ll make sure she doesn’t know it was me!"
If she’d had an ounce more maturity, Hook would have made sure to finish as fast as possible so she could go see her friends. But "maturity" and "Hook" are two words that are very hard to put in the same sentence. Even though she was almost done, she decided to throw a huge tantrum, spending five minutes doing nothing but complaining out loud.
"Honorary Member Clara is so mean. I can’t believe she abandoned me. After everything we’ve been through together..."
She still remembered her words. Hook, I… I’m sorry, but Natasha is right. If Larkins hadn’t found you, you could have gotten hurt, you know? Caelus promised he’d play hide-and-seek with us if you finished quickly.
That, in turn, reminded Hook once again that she was the one in the wrong, which only made her tantrum worse. It was bad enough for her to forget about the rag she had thrown on the floor. As soon as she decided to walk toward a window to enjoy the sunlight, she stepped on it immediately, and in less than a second, she ended up flat on the floor.
"Ah, adults are so lucky…" she muttered as she got up. "They can do whatever they want. I bet they got into more trouble than me at my age!"
"Oh, you think so?"
Hook immediately felt her heart drop. She had been yelling out loud for a while to blow off steam, foolishly hoping that some fairy would suddenly appear and tell her she was the chosen one or something similar. She didn’t expect a silhouette she didn’t recognize to appear at the edge of her vision.
Hook fell completely silent and instinctively began to back away until her back hit the wall. The surprise made it hard for her to breathe. But her nervousness turned into pure joy as soon as she realized who it was.
"Honorary Member!" she squealed. How on earth had she not recognized him? "You came! You really came!"
"Of course," he replied with a smile. "I’m not as bad as those adults you despise, right?"
"No, of course not! You’re so much better and cooler!"
Caelus chuckled a bit, and Hook quickly followed suit. Knowing that he remembered her even though she was being punished was enough to brighten her day. But the feeling didn’t last long: he didn’t even take a minute to say he had to go.
"What? So soon?" Hook exclaimed, sounding like a wounded puppy.
"I’m sorry, but I have to talk to Bronya. I promise I’ll play with you later, okay? In the meantime, I’d like to give you a gift."
"Ohhhhhh! What is it, what is it?!" Hook suddenly shouted, bouncing with excitement.
If she’d been a little calmer, she would have noticed that Caelus’s smile was a bit strange.
"You see, I’ve been listening to what you’ve been saying to yourself, and I think you’re right. Being an adult is the best, don’t you think? You can do whatever you want, no one punishes you, and you’re very strong. Honestly, I understand why you envy us."
"Yes!" Hook responded, so excited she seemed on the verge of a heart attack. "I knew you were exceptional, but to be smart enough to understand Pitch-Dark Hook the Great so well… it seems I underestimated you."
Caelus’s smile grew even wider.
"You see, not too long ago, I had to face a very, very bad Masked Fool… if you don’t know what's that, they’re a group of people similar to Sampo, but much more evil. So much so that they punish children even more than Natasha does," he said, causing Hook to shrink back in alarm. "And it just so happens I took something from them that might interest you."
"What is it?! Come on, tell me!"
Her excitement faded instantly when she saw it was just an old mask. The leader of the Moles shot him a cynical look.
"Yeah, they must be complete fools if they use things like this," she said. "What’s that even supposed to be?"
"Oh, nothing special. Just an artifact from Aha that can make you enjoy being an adult for a while."
Hook tried to grab the mask with the same speed with which she had just dismissed it, but Caelus pulled it out of her reach.
"Wait, let me explain how it supossedly works," he said. "If the rumors are true, it only works on certain especially innocent children. Not sure if you'll be able to use it, but it's worth a shot. Aha is very benevolent and playful, so they thought it would be funny if a child could become an adult. Unfortunately, you can only use it at night, before you go to sleep."
"How boring," she replied, puffing out her cheeks. "It better do something cool."
"Oh, it does. If you put it on before bed and say out loud the type of adult you want to be, you’ll become that person in an extremely realistic dream. In other words, you can live the life you want for many hours straight. Isn’t that amazing?"
Hook was about to faint from excitement, but, probably by some kind of divine intervention, she managed to keep up her sophisticated leader facade.
"Honorary Member, I’m impressed. Next time we play hide-and-seek, you’ll have permission to cheat."
Caelus responded with a stifled laugh.
"Oh, thank you. By the way, I must insist that it will all be a dream," he said, his smile finally becoming grotesque. "Do whatever you want without thinking too much about it. When you wake up, the adult you became won’t have to deal with the consequences of your actions, basically because they’re not a real person. You get it? Just do whathever the hell you want. Ah, and one last thing: you might acquire some of their fictional memories to help you fit into their life, just enough so you don’t feel lost. Do you understand?"
"Of course, Honorary Member," she replied, too naive to suspect anything. "Well then, you may leave. Go talk to Bronya."
"Thank you for your understanding. I hope that mask helps you understand the meaning of elation. After all…" and his eyes momentarily seemed to change color, much to Hook’s surprise, "everything is elation. Even you. Even me. Especially me."
And with nothing more to add, “Caelus” left the clinic, leaving Hook alone, who couldn’t stop thinking about the type of adult she wanted to be.
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