Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants. Also, why aren't Harry and Gil in the characters list yet? Anyhow, enjoy.
Evie watched as a tall figure rushed down the stairs, shouting loudly in an evident worry. She assumed it was Harry, but her vision was too blurry and all she could make out were the outlines of the people around her.
Last thing she remembered was being locked up in that dark cabin.
She was shopping for some fresh apples for her mother and since the Evil Queen had to have the highest quality of apples, Evie had to take a trip across the entire island to retrieve the red apples. Only she didn't realise the hour and by the time she was about to return home, the sun already set down and darkness filled the isle.
Evie was never afraid of the darkness before, but truth to be told she didn't enjoy the lack of safety during the night time. After all, she didn't almost ruin her shoes just to have some thief snatch her apples away from her.
However, what happened next made her wish a thief was her only problem. When she was half-way home, somewhere around Uma's pirate docks, one large hand covered her mouth and another gripped her upper arm forcefully and dragged her into alley.
For a millisecond she thought it was Harry, since he had the tendency to surprise her like this, but the grip on her arm was too strong and was likely to bruise and Harry never did anything to hurt her.
She tried to spin around and hit the attacker with her free hand, but the person was holding her hand in an angle that if she were to turn around she would sprain it.
Even if she were able to scream, it would do her no good. Screams and shouts were a usual matter on the isle and no one would pay her any attention. However, she could still see Uma's ship and if she could somehow free herself, she would be able to run there. As much as Uma wasn't fond of the blue haired princess, she would give her sanctuary in a situation like this.
Evie took a deep breath and with all the strength she had, she bit her attacker's hand and kicked his shin with her heel. The hand from her mouth was removed and the grip on her upper hand weakened, but before Evie could make run for the docks, her attacker composed himself and before she could do anything, she felt something sharp hit the back of her head.
"Who did this to you darling?" Harry was now kneeling in front of her, holding her hand in his, stroking her knuckles in a soothing fashion. He wanted nothing more than to pull her in an embrace and never let her go again, but he was too afraid that he would hurt her even more, given her state.
"It was Mortimer." Gil answered for her as he cleaned the bloodied cloth that he used for cleaning Evie's wounds. Gil was the person who found her in the cabin back then, but she was already in such a damaged state that she barely recognized his voice.
"That bastard. I'll kill him and gut him like a-" Harry spat out angrily and was about to stand down and hunt the bastard down, until he was stopped in mid-sentence when Evie squeezed his hand, pleading him with her eyes to stay.
Harry realized that no matter how furious he was right now, his princess needed him at the moment and that was more important than revenge.
"You know what, I will tell you a tale. When I was a young boy, I used to play with my mother's snakes. They were so amusing." The ginger boy in front of her giggled maniacally as he tossed the dagger between his hands back and forth.
Evie remembered him as Medusa's son, but if her memory served her correctly, she never even talked to him and now she was in some sort of cabin at his ship, tied up in an uncomfortable chair. When she asked the obvious, he ignored her and refused to tell her why he kidnapped her.
"You see, I used to cut them in a half or skin them alive." He sighed dreamily, before continuing. "But that was so much work, like urghh. I preferred cutting out their tongues or eyes. That proved to be equally satisfying and didn't take as much energy."
The ginger, Mortimer was his name, stepped closer to her, tracing her facial features with his dagger.
"So which do you prefer? Your tongue or your eyes?"
Evie gave him a disgusted look and even though every bone in her body screamed, she refused to break down in front of that maniac.
"The least you can do is tell me why I am here. Why me? I barely know your name."
"The least you can do is tell me, blah blah blah..." He mimicked her voice mockingly and laughed in her face. "Has it ever occurred to you that I might have no reason? Maybe I just fancied you for a lovely midnight torture session. I do get bored here easily."
Evie knew that could be true, after all this was the isle filled with villain kids and even though no one she knew was as insane and maniacal as this guy, it wasn't unusual for the isle people to cause harm just on a whim. However, this wasn't some harmless mischief or a casual robbery. This was serious and whereas Evie herself didn't have as dangerous reputation as other might have, she was still known as part of Mal's gang. And no one would go this far with one of Mal's friend. Definitely not just for fun.
"Foolish people have no reason. You, on the other hand, don't strike me as one." Evie had her way with words and even though she didn't believe she would talk her way out of this, she could at least stall the time until she figured out a getaway plan.
"Mhm mhm. Flattery won't get you anywhere, dearest Evie. But you are right. There is a reason why you are here. I might as well tell you while you're still conscious."
Evie gulped, trying to control her fear and while she was utterly terrified on the inside, so far she made a good job at appearing strong.
"I never really belonged anywhere, but that didn't bother me. Until I saw that pirate chick, that Uma, recruiting members for her ship. I decided to give it a try. I've always been fascinated by the sea. But it was the lifestyle that drew me in."
Evie frowned, trying to look confused as to what did Uma and her ship have to do with her. As far as the world was concerned, Evie belonged into Mal's gang and Mal was sworn enemies with Uma. That was the only connection Evie had to that pirate crew. Everything else was a secret that not even Evie's friends knew.
"They accepted me. Me, can you imagine it? The awkward ginger who used to torture animals for a hobby. Not that they knew that detail, of course." Mortimer let himself have another laugh and began pacing around the room.
"I was good. I could tell that they didn't trust me, but they couldn't deny that I did every single mission perfectly. Maybe even more than perfectly. You see, I sometimes let myself be caught up in the moment. If you know what I mean." He winked at her and Evie suddenly felt an urgent need to vomit.
"Once, we went to rob old Tremaine. Now, she's an old cow, but she's a stubborn old cow. I wanted to teach her a lesson properly. But unfortunately I wasn't alone. Hook's offspring was with me. And he didn't like my ways."
"I'll tell you, the entire crew? Heck they try to seem all tough and badass, but the worst things they've done is throw someone over the plank. Pretty weak, if you ask me." Evie knew that. It was like an unspoken rule of all the villain kids. Stealing, robbing, vandalizing, threatening, heck even occasionally beating someone up, that was normal in their society. But no one ever went as far as murder or torture. The kids needed to be tough to survive, hence the stealing and all that, but they weren't truly evil.
"The next day I had my things lying at the docks. They threw me out of the ship, called me a lunatic and a psycho. That angered me. Not what they said about me, let's be honest here, it was true." Another high-pitched giggle. "But the fact that after months of loyal service, they threw me out. I was a good asset! And I never practised my playtime on any of the crew members. They had no reason to throw me out."
"Except for the fact that you are a psychopath." Evie muttered sarcastically. "As much as your story is very touching," She spat out, making emphasis on the last word, "What does it have to do with me?"
"Tsk tsk tsk. Evie, Evie, Evie." Mortimer shook his head at her, apparently displeased with her question. He moved over towards a wooden table full of tools and picked a large metal object. Evie didn't know what it was, but she didn't want to find out.
Seconds later, he wrapped the metal cage around her sides, pushing it towards her in a way that she was tightly pressed between the metal devices like a sandwich.
"You see, I couldn't openly take revenge on Uma, I'd have the entire pirate crew at my back. Now I couldn't take revenge on Harry, Gil or anyone else either, as I would be facing the same issue. So I found myself in a dilemma. Until few days ago." Mortimer pulled the handle on one side of the metal cage, which made it squish Evie even more, making her grunt in pain.
"You and the pirate aren't as sneaky as you thought. I had to watch you for a while, though, I had to make sure that you weren't just some unimportant plaything to him. After I made sure that the pirate truly has feelings for you, I had my perfect revenge."
"So what, you're going to kill me?" Evie asked, even though each one of her word was followed by a grunt as the metal device was making it impossible for her to breath.
"I don't know whether I'm going to kill you or not. You think I have that much self-control? Ha! You're cute." He giggled once more, before pulling the handle once more, making Evie scream in pain this time.
Gil placed the wet clean cloth on Evie's forehead, trying to lower down the temperature. He managed to bandage her torso and her arms, but he feared the blueberry princess would need proper medicine, Auradon medicine.
"I want to sleep." Evie mumbled and yawned, blinking her eyes sleepily.
"I know, darling, but you can't go to sleep just yet." Harry replied to her. It pained him to see her like this, but Gil emphasised that he needs to talk to her and can't let her fall asleep, at least not until the fever lowers down. Harry was quite surprised at just how well Gil handled himself around the injured princess. He made a mental note to himself to ask Gil when he came to such extensive knowledge on treating injuries.
"I'm so sorry." Harry whispered to her. It was his entire fault. He was supposed to protect her and now she went through hell, all because some psychopathic idiot wanted to pursue his revenge.
"I don't know what I would do if I lost you." He admitted truthfully. He never imagined he would ever fall for someone, save for a princess, but here she was, holding his heart in her delicate hands.
"I'm still here." She whispered back. Each word she said sent a wave of physical pain through her body, but she needed to give him some sort of reassurance. He needed to see that she wasn't angry with him and that she was alive and still loved him with all her heart.
"We'll get through this, I promise."