summary: All she had left of her father was a book of the stars encrusted with a ruby. After years of wondering, she finally sets out on a voyage that she hopes will lead her to her father, not knowing she would find so much more.
pairings: Harry Hook x Evie, mentioned Ben x Mal, past Evil Queen x Captain Hector Barbossa
inspiration: A much-needed shout out to ForeverDelighted / eviarry (on tumblr) for her headcannon that inspired this , about Barbossa being Evie's father. (Also a shout out to Maiden Fighter, who also has a story inspired by this headcannon called "A Child of Two Worlds" and you should totally read it oh my lantaaa.)
notes: Mild spoilers for that movie, as Evie's plot is loosely based on one of the characters
Tales had been told of the infamous group that had escaped the Isle of the Lost; the only ones to have ever escaped.
Many folks said they were a pirate crew, though Captain Hook told a different story, convinced that if a pirate crew were to ever escape, it would be his.
The details became very blurry over the years for most of the villains…except one.
The Evil Queen knew too well the tale of the men who escaped from the Isle.
They were, in fact, pirates, and probably the worst of all. When the crewmen took to the streets of the Isle a few years after its' creation, they openly displayed their immortality, using it to garner whatever they wished from the poor masses.
They did stay away from most of the more well-feared villains, such as Maleficent, but tried storming her castle within the second week of their arrival.
She'd been sitting by the fire, looking picturesque and as if she'd been waiting for them all along when they threw her doors open.
"Just because we're all villains here," She began, taking an interest in the small chip that had formed in her nail polish, "doesn't mean we can show up to each other's houses uninvited. It's quite rude, don't you think?"
A portly man sneered. "Haven't ye heard? Threats don't work on us, pretty lady. We here are immortal."
"But your ship isn't." Her words gave them pause. "Ships hold some form of sentimentality to pirates, don't they?"
"Look who's talkin', held up 'ere in yer castle."
She rose a brow, completely unperturbed. "And so it does. The idea of a castle. And you have the idea of freedom. I wonder who will be wounded more?"
"Listen, wench-"
The man went to take a step forward when the blade of a sword pushed him back.
"Now lads, who are we to talk to such a creature like that?"
The Evil Queen gave as much of a smile as she could, the corner of her lip quirking only slightly for a moment. "Creature, you say? If I were a simple creature I don't suppose we'd have having this conversation."
"'Tis but a term, yer Highness."
"You should expand your vocabulary then." She lifted her hand, tapping her chin twice. "Why the sudden formality, I wonder? Your men were just trying to terrify me into giving up all my…riches." She gestured to the room around her, decorated with nothing but mirrors. She had nothing left for them to take.
"We're naught but humble pirates. My men see a castle and they believe there be gold within its walls."
"I pity just how little control you have over them."
The man she assumed was the captain narrowed his eyes.
"We be pirates, we're all free men. We-"
"Free?" The Queen raised a perfectly arched brow. "Not on this island. That's what you fail to understand." She folded her hands on her lap, head held high as if she were addressing her subjects. "Once you and your…"free men" do as they please, there is no escape, nowhere for them to hide. If Auradon is paying any attention, they'll sentence you as they see fit. If they don't care, then the Isle will turn against you. Or, if you choose to kill everyone, you'll end up all alone, trapped on an island with only yourselves, surrounded by a sea you cannot touch."
A few of the pirates shared looks, as if they'd never even thought of the consequences prior to their pillaging. The captain weighted the options.
"And what do ye suggest?"
"Understanding that none of us wish to be trapped here and acting accordingly."
Her words left no more room for argument.
The captain bowed before her, lifting his hat off with a flourish.
"I apologize. We will think on yer words. Is there a way I can repay ye for the inconvenience we caused ye?"
"I'm rather fond of apples." For the second time that day, she felt herself smile, this time more than the last.
"An apple a day it 'tis, yer Highness."
The pirates left, many with scowls on their face, but the captain was the last to leave, taking his steps slowly, as if waiting…
"What is your name?" The Queen asked. Her voice was low, not wanting anyone to hear unless they were acutely listening.
And he was. The pirate turned around, trying to hide the smugness he felt.
"Captain Barbossa, at yer service."
Captain Barbossa and the crew of The Black Pearl were on the Isle half a year before they were called back through the use of magic unlike the Queen had ever seen.
He'd been with her when he felt the call.
It had pulled at his skin, overpowering all his other sensations as awoke, still tangled her silken sheets.
He didn't remember when he actually stumbled to her door, only that he was startled when she grabbed his forearm with enough force to hold him in place.
Her gaze was cold, but she no longer frightened him; her dark hair was a knotted mess from his hands and her skin marred from their frequent trysts. A few months had passed since they'd begun…whatever this was, and he was still shocked that such a fair creature let him into her bed.
He'd be reluctant to leave if he'd been called by anyone else but the sea.
Tia Dalma, whom he'd been introduced to by none other than Jack Sparrow, may have been a woman of flesh and bone, but he was one of few her knew her for what she was, the sea herself, bound to human form.
When it came to the sea and those that had a part in it, she held all control over them. He'd been surprised when they'd been captured and taken to Auradon, and she let it happen.
He could only imagine why he was being returned, but it wouldn't be good.
The small part of himself that had surrendered to his fate, to living on the Isle, didn't want to leave. After all, who would want to leave such pleasurable company?
But he was a pirate and his first love was the sea.
The Queen, for starters, would flat out refuse such a lifestyle.
Her home was a castle, all high ceilings, four poster beds, and a dining table so long it could fit most of his crew.
She would never choose to go, and he would never expect her.
Still, that didn't mean it would be a happy goodbye.
"Magic," His throat was dry, and it broke on his words, "is pulling me back to the sea."
She immediately let go, body stiffening, as she returned herself back to the Evil Queen he'd met many months ago.
"There is no magic here."
She watched his back as he left, as he left her. He didn't even make it to the stairs before his body emitted a strange glow, and then he disappeared altogether.
The Queen rushed to the window, looking as best as she could for where the Pearl was docked. The ship, too, glowed that strange, ghostly light, before it vanished into thin air.
She stared out that window for what felt like hours.
She'd thought he was being cowardly, trying to sneak out on her and lie, but what she'd just witnessed was no less than truly powerful magic if it could break through Fairy Godmother's barrier.
She didn't dare go back to sleep, not with his smell still on her sheets, knowing she would fool herself into thinking he'd be there when she woke up, like before.
But, if the light that stole his ship away was any indication, he wouldn't be returning.
He wouldn't return to her.
She innocently placed a hand on her stomach, knowing only of the marks left there and not of what grew inside.
Upon being banished to the Isle, the Queen lost hope of marrying a King again. Everyone on the Isle was a ruffian that she would never touch, but that train of thought was broken the day Barbossa and his pirates came to her castle.
He wasn't a particularly handsome man. He was a bit older than her, or at least looked it from the abuse he'd taken over the years, but he'd charmed her in a way she hadn't thought possible, and his betrayl — as she came to think of it; she didn't care he had no choice, or that even if he did, he would have chosen the sea over her — was a knife to her heart.
One didn't need love. Love was fleeting, love was fickle.
Beauty mattered. Beauty, true beauty, couldn't be broken, even by time.
It didn't matter that the sun hadn't risen yet. The Queen sat at her vanity, taking out the make-up she'd be using that day, and began to apply it.
She covered up every mark he left her with, and soon there was no trace of him left.
If life had been permitting, that would've been the end of it. A few washes of the sheets would rid his smell, a few days the marks would fade…
She hadn't anticipated he, a man cursed with immortality, would leave her with a child.