Uma's cape glimmers like fish scales under the moonlight. A teal waterfall of silk that seemed to wrap around her protectively. Her hood laid down, showing off teal box braids that flowed down like a river. She stood on the balcony, crafted in glass. Her leather-gloved hands gripping the railing, and to anyone looking from the inside or outside, she looks as if she's floating.
A harp lies beside her, on the ground, leaning securely against the railing. To the average eye, it looked like a raggedy old harp. But the harp held great power, ancient power. A power that even Uma couldn't fully unlock. Not yet, anyway.
She was still young, freshly eighteen, and stuck living under her mother's roof. A mother who had borne her for one task, and one task alone, revenge. She had trained Uma, starting as soon as the girl turned three. From singing to dancing, to fighting. Uma had mastered them all. Earning herself the label of prodigy.
Her mother seemed proud to the crowds that gathered around Uma, they would gush boasting of her mother's pride in her. Uma didn't see it as pride. Her mother wasn't thinking at all of her or what she achieved. From every forced smile on her face, Uma saw the truth. Her mother's mind, moving another piece on her chessboard forward. The more praise Uma received, the closer to the kingdom they would come. And the closer Ursula would finally be to her murderous revenge.
Uma didn't know the full story. Her mother never liked to talk about it. Just thinking of his face or his name sent her on a spiraling rampage. So Uma never pried. But now here she was about to take his life. The man who caused her existence, the reason her mother had bedded a lonely sailor, and the forever fuel of her mother's anger. King Triton, the ruler of Atlantica, and her mother's own brother.
The few details she did know, painted King Triton in a very unflattering light. He was ashamed of her mother. Ashamed of her being the daughter of his father's mistress and even more ashamed of the fact she was a Cecaelia. He banished her, left her with nothing. Her mother would always say they were meant to be Queens. And tonight, tonight they finally will be.
"First time here?" A deep voice asks from behind her, an inkling of recognition runs through Uma. But she shakes it, knowing no one she knew would be here.
She wonders, for a brief second, of what role she'll play. Naive noble, flirty damsel, or maybe an untouchable vixen.
"How could you tell?" She answers, her voice sounding more sultrier than she intended. Glancing behind her, Uma see's it's a boy around her age.
He strolls up beside her, standing and observing her with a piercing gaze. She doesn't look his way. Pretending to be unaffected by his presence, but he knew he put a crack in her armor.
"It's all in your posture. You look like you'd rather be anywhere but here."
She would rather be anywhere but here. Her palms were starting to feel sweaty in her gloves, and the King was late. She had expected a quick mission, but she had to have been here for almost an hour now. Uma hated staying in one place for too long. It felt confining.
But that wasn't the aura, Uma was trying to give away. She was meant to blend in, and be invisible to all. Until it was finally time to strike. She turns, facing him, and he greets her with expectant eyes. Eyes of familiarity, eyes if Uma squinted just a little, she might recognize.
Uma stretches her arms and gives a courteous smile. "I should go back inside. It's been nice meeting you, sir."
She picks up her harp, starting to leave, but he lightly tugs on her cloak.
He frowns, chewing on his lips. "Nice meeting you? That's it. You haven't even asked me my name."
She pulls on her cloak, and his hand falls."Your name? I'm sure it's a nice one but I must take my leave."
His voice drops low, and he speaks in a cautious tone."You can't strike now. Everyone's watching."
Uma's blood ran as frigid as a river freezing in winter. Her free hand reaches for one of the knives hidden inside her cloak. She swiftly moves, and soon the knife is harshly pressed to his jugular. He looks unaffected, tilting his head back, and raising his hands. Rings adorned his fingers, one larger than the others. Uma didn't focus on them, preferring to keep her eyes on his. But if she did, she would have noticed his skull ring. A skull the spitting image of a pirates flag.
She studies him, and she concludes he expected that reaction. Prepared for it even. It made her angry, he could at least show a little fear. His life was in her hands at the moment.
"Are you a spy? Or some assassin sent to kill me." She accusingly asks, her nostrils flaring.
He lowers his gaze, admiring the knives handle, that Uma had adorned with a starfish charm. His heart swelled with happiness, but he keeps on a neutral expression.
"I'm fast, so darling, you wouldn't even see me. You'd just be a cold lifeless corpse. Trust me, I don't want to kill you." His voice is so calm that it only increases Uma's anger even more.
"You're pretty confident for a man whose life is in my hands."
He laughs, and then clears his throat. Tilting his head down, his eyes bore into Uma's. His face changes, turning dark with anger. Eyes reddening, and black swirls spinning in them.
Uma blinks, slightly backing up, but keeping the blade steady. His eyes go back to their original color. A blue that washed over her like a wave. She's enraptured for a brief moment, but mostly confused.
"That's a beautiful knife." He compliments, his words oozing like jelly from Uma's favorite pastry.
"Thank you," Uma replies, curtly. Her knife was made out of opal, an uncommon material when it came to knife making. But it was heavily spelled, stronger than any knife ever crafted. And the colors that radiated shone right onto Uma's face obscuring her identity.
"That charm." He starts casually, "Very lovely. Where'd you get it from?"
Uma caught on quickly that this was a means to distract her. And she wasn't the type to play along.
"Who are you?" Was her answer, moving forward, pressing the knife harder than before, very close to drawing blood. "And who sent you?"
He ignores her question." I'm guessing somewhere in Auradon, right? Was it a gift?"
A flash of emotion crosses her face, and he holds his breath, giving her a pleading look. "Was it from a boy? Did you like him?"
The familiar desperation in his voice clicked in Uma's mind. It was him. The boy who used to follow her around when they were kids. The son of the great pirate king, Harry Hook. She takes in his appearance, observing him fully, his hair is slicked back, and his jacket...it was the same jacket he wore when they were kids. It used to be big on him, the sleeves always dragging behind. He had grown into it now.
And he looked...looked almost like the spitting image of his father when he was young.
Her grip on the knife loosens, and Harry could easily throw it to the ground. But he doesn't, instead, he stands still, anticipating her answer."Why are you here? Shouldn't you be off sailing somewhere?"
His lips part, and it takes him only a moment to answer. "Your mother thought you might need back up. I begged my father to send me. Can you believe it's been three years since we've seen each other last?"
"Wish it was more."
Harry pouts. "You didn't miss me not even a little?"
She pulls her knife away, tucking it back in her cloak. "I can honestly tell you no. Not a single thought about you has crossed my mind."
It was a lie. And Harry quickly caught on. "Then why is the charm I gave you on your favorite knife."
"What makes you think it's my favorite?"
"You probably have a ton hidden inside your cloak. And you instantly reached for that. It must be your favorite."
Uma rolls her eyes, saying,"You know nothing, pirate boy."
Harry slightly smiles, interpreting her answer as confirmation of his assessment. His demeanor changes, excitement taking over his features. He leans close to her, his breath tickling her ear."Tonight, when we kill the King of Atlantica and your mom takes the throne. Our engagement will finally be official. Doesn't that excite you?"
It terrified her. Uma had never stayed in one place. As a bard, she was sent to travel and gather as much information as one can. She lured people-important people with her songs, and then she released them right on the underworld's doorstep. Now she was to be a princess, and one day even a queen. Not just of the sea but of the pirates too.
"Please, don't remind me." She answers, her words as sharp as a fisherman's spear.
"Should we make our way into the ballroom?" Harry suggests, changing the subject.
She places her harp on a special holder on her person. She makes sure it's secure, then places her hand on Harry's, surprising him. She'd never let him get this close to her before. He puts his most charming smile on and leads her into the ballroom.
No one spares them even a glance. But Harry and Uma take careful note of everyone around them. Harry leans close to Uma's ear pointing out to her a violet-haired girl. She was the same age as them, wearing a dress colored like an Iris. There was something alluring about her, almost hypnotic.
"She's a magical-" his words hung unfinished. Uma knew what he wanted to say. Like you. A magical like you.
Uma couldn't summon her magic. So she hadn't a clue what the girl could be. But she was powerful, for her to be able to hide so well.
"Glamour," Harry says, answering Uma's unspoken question. "She's a fae."
"They still exist?"
She had only heard of the fae through stories. Their history was rich but one filled with corruption and turmoil. King Beast had led an army to defeat them, wiping out their race. Or so Uma had thought.
Harry nods, "Only the powerful ones, and they hide in plain sight."
"How could you tell she was using glamour?"
Harry wiggles his fingers,"My rings are all made of Iron."
Iron. A fae's weakness. If they stand too close for too long it'll kill them.
"Keep your distance from her." Uma warns."We can't catch anyone's attention."
Before Uma looks away, she catches sight of someone she's met in battle. She tugs on Harry's jacket sleeve, jutting her chin in the direction of her old enemy. She then pushes herself into his chest, to anyone watching it would look like they were about to dance. Harry leans down, and Uma whispers in his ear, telling him everything. "The blue haired girl. She's a witch. And I've encountered her before. She can make the dead dance to her will. Be wary of her."
"A necromancer? And in the King's Palace." Harry hums." I love a scandal."
Harry watches the girl Uma spoke of, paying close attention to how she actively avoids the violet-haired girl. Whose gaze seemed glued to hers, longing evident in her eyes. "They're lovers." He observes, aloud.
Uma glances behind her, spotting the look of longing too. "It seems that they are. What do you think ails them?"
"The same thing that ails most lovers. Not us though, darling." He assures and Uma instantly pulls away.
They weren't lovers. They were just two people stuck in a deal they had no say over. Uma knew Harry thought himself smitten, but he wasn't. When they were kids before they're pre-engagement was official, Harry had heard Uma sing. Uma's voice had power, a power that could make anyone fall for her. He was spelled. That was the only explanation Uma could come up with. But unlike the nobles sons, she's entertained, his 'love' had never washed away.
It made her feel guilty. Especially, the part of her that enjoyed his affections. She truly cherished the gifts he would find and give her as a child. But she could never keep them, for they reminded her. Reminded her that none of it was real. There was one, however, that she couldn't throw away. A starfish charm that adorned her knives handle. It was the last gift he had given her. The gift she had received when she was still an innocent girl. A girl without blood on her hands.
The Royal announcers voice fills the room, silencing all the guests, he informs the crowd of the Royal families arrival. The prince of Auradon, Ben-the announcer had said, comes down the stairs first, he takes a short bow, and the crowd claps pleased.
He makes his way to the violet-haired girl, wrapping his arms around her, and they kiss with passion. The blue-haired girl rushes out of the ball at the sight, her heels creating an angry melody. Violet-haired girl lays her head on the prince's shoulder. She smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes. Eyes that keep darting to the door the blue-haired girl had gone through.
The Royal announcer introduces the King and Queen of Auradon next. They wave as they make their way down the stairs. Only stopping when they reach the bottom. They walk over to where Ben and the violet-haired girl stood. Uma couldn't hear what they were saying but safely assumes they're exchanging pleasantries.
Uma's heart starts to race, she knew who the Royal announcer would introduce next. Her target for the night, King Triton. He didn't look how Uma expected him to. Maybe it was because his signature fins were now legs.
He was older then she imagined, and looked oddly frail, for a son of Poseidon. He bowed when he reached the bottom of the stairs, informing the crowd how honored he was to be here. Uma holds in a scoff, waiting for him to make his way to the King and Queen of Auradon.
He does, and the crowds go back to chattering about. It was time. Time for her to strike. She moves, and Harry grabs her arm. Whispering to her to not do anything rash. Wait for his signal, and then strike.
She looks at him offended, she trained her whole life for this. Glaring at him, she pushes off his hand and then lifts up the hood of her cloak. She moves forward towards the royals before Harry even has a chance to catch her.
The crowd and royals expect Uma to display some sense of deference. For her to curtsy down to the reigning monarchs, one of land, the other sea. She doesn't, she just smiles and starts to sing. She sings of a girl's loneliness. Of feeling as if she were only a voice. Then she takes out her harp and begins to play a heartbreaking melody.
Her song turns darker, the girl has a brother. A brother who hates her and shames her every chance he gets. Not only because she's a child of a mistress but because she was different.
King Triton shifts uncomfortable with the lyrics, and the song itself. It motivates Uma to delve deeper into the lyrics. She tells of the girl changing her appearance and hoping it'd earn her brother's approval. It didn't.
She gets close to the part of her song about her mother's banishment. But that's when King Triton loudly stomps, shouting enough. Uma pretends to not know why the song bothers him, plucking her harp a couple seconds more before finally stopping.
"That song. Where did you hear that from? Who wrote it?!" His voice booms throughout the ballroom.
"I wrote it. It's called the ballad of Ursula." She takes down her hood, exposing her face for all to see. "I wrote it in honor of my mother."
"Your mother?" He gulps.
The King of Auradon orders his guards to capture Uma. Uma makes no reach for a weapon. She begins plucking her harp, and it glows a cerulean blue this time. She hits an F# and everyone around her but King Triton freezes.
"What have you done?"
She doesn't answer, instead, she sings. The song she didn't get to finish. Every lyric feels like a hand gripping King Tritons throat, it grips tighter and tighter. Till he can't breathe.
"What a poor unfortunate soul you are." Uma cackles sounding exactly like her mother. "Do you know the life I had to live because of what you did to my mother?"
The sound of him choking is his answer. "While you sat in that royal palace of yours. My mother and I lived in a shack. You took everything from her. From us. Now you'll pay."
Her eyes glow, but only for a moment. She tries it again. And nothing happens. King Triton laughs, dropping his choking act.
"You're not the first daughter Ursula has sent to kill me."
"I-what-I'm an only child. My mother has only had me."
"Is that what she told you?"
"Didn't you banish her twenty years ago?"
"Twenty? Did she tell you that? That its only been twenty years? It's been longer than that. I think this year will mark it down as two hundred years."
Uma shakes her head, not believing a word he said. "No. No. Impossible. You're lying!" She spat, unable to even consider the possibility.
His trident appears in his hand. Uma expects him to strike her down where she stands, but he doesn't. Instead, projecting an image. Girls around Uma's age flashed in front of her. They all bore a striking similarity to her mother.
"Just after they turn eighteen she sends them to kill me. They always fail. She expects them to. Then when they tell her she takes their souls. It's what keeps her youthful."
He's lying. Lying! Her mother couldn't have other daughters. And she couldn't have taken their souls. If he was telling the truth then Uma would be next. No, she wouldn't.
She would be successful where they had failed. She plucks her harp, playing as she's never played before. The power builds up, and the cerulean light strikes in King Triton's direction. It never reaches him, a yellow light thwarting its course.
Uma screams. Frustrated. This was supposed to be quick. Easy. She should be gone by now. He should be dead!
She drops to the ground unaware her scream broke her own spell. And the palace guards pick her up from where she dropped. She resists, trying to play a note, any note on her harp. Harry barrels through the crowd, pulling out his cutlass from its sheath.
He takes out the first guard, and then the second, freeing Uma. Uma grabs Harry's hand, leading him to the balcony. The guards follow them, as the crowds part, hoping Harry doesn't cut them down where they stand. They reach the balcony and Uma spells the door to buy them time. Harry checks to see if the door is really secure, cautiously pulling on the handles. It was. He spins around, greeting Uma with a loving smile.
Uma puts her harp back on it's specially designed holder. Then she angrily starts banging her hands against Harry's chest.
"Did you know?! Did everyone know?!" She screams.
"Know what?" Harry questions, raising a brow.
She stops hitting him, clutching the front of his jacket. Her words come out murmured but Harry easily deciphers them. "About the others. About my mother's daughters."
Harry puts his arms around Uma, placing a gentle kiss on top of her head. "I'm sorry."
It was true. And he knew which meant everyone knew. Every year she grew her death grew closer and no one had warned her. Not even the boy that claimed to love her. He wasn't under her spell, Uma had realized. No the one that spelled him was probably her mother. She pushes him away, tears falling from her eyes.
"Did she send you here to kill me?" She croaks, and Harry looks at her heartbroken.
Shaking his head, he denies it. Crooning out words of devotion. Words of love. He reaches for Uma's hand, and his touch burns her. She pulls her hand upward, not wanting to be touched by him. "No. I came here to save you. To protect you, Uma."
"Why?"
"You know why. I love you."
Uma hesitates and averts her gaze away from Harry's lovelorn face. "No, Harry, you don't. My voice has power. You were probably spelled when you were spying on my music lessons when we were kids."
"I'm not spelled, Uma. My father gifted me a protection charm long before we ever met."
"Protection charm?" Uma thinks of the charm on her knife. Did it have some sort of power she didn't know about?
"It's a regular charm. The one I gave you. I made it myself."
The sound of a battering ram hitting the balcony door resonated loudly outside. Uma makes her way to the balcony railing, she stops a couple feet away, looking at Harry.
"I'm going to spend the rest of my life running."
Harry walks close to her until they're just inches apart."Darling, everyone's running from something."
"I'm angry with you, you know. For keeping, it a secret."
"You'll forgive me, one day." Harry reaches for Uma's hand again, and this time she doesn't pull away.
They both go on top of the railing, one wrong move could end both of their lives. Uma wraps her cloak around Harry, and she sings, "Maybe one day."
Her harp glows, and they both jump off the balcony. Falling, falling, until their old lives disappear.
A.N. Special thanks to my friend Timothy who helped me plan this universe. This was getting pretty long and there's so much stuff I didn't get to include. If you guys like this I might write some more. I really want to write necromancer Evie. Ooh, maybe centered on Evie and Uma's battle. Anyway, thank you so much for reading! Hope you like!