Jay had to rush to the meeting once more, guiding Lonnie through the castle this time. He wondered if Mal was going to get mad at him again. Not that he really cared, though. He believed they had a pretty good excuse to be late. He and Lonnie had been training a large group of new troops to protect Auradon to the upcoming treat. The clock was ticking and they didn't have much time left. Just two more days before Gaston would lead his army to the city of Auradon. That was if Gil's letter was accurate, which no one could tell for sure.
Jay busted into the meeting room and saw everyone was already present. The pirates at one side of the table, Carlos and Evie at the other side and the King and Queen at the head of the table. Jay sighed frustrated, seeing the gap between the pirates and the rest yet again. Gil smiled up to him, but still had his place besides Harry, sitting close to his first mate. Jay tried to ignore the intense stare he got from Harry and gestured to Lonnie to sit down beside him and Carlos.
"Some others are still coming?" Lonnie asked, looking up at two other chairs Jay hadn't noticed before.
"The old king and queen are coming," Carlos answered. For a moment Jay watched Mal, Ben and Uma softly whispering to one another, already discussing some notes. Uma gave them some new information, while Evie listened in curiously.
"They're probably not happy about the current situation," Jay joked, referring to the old king and queen.
"Nah, Belle is actually really nice. I met her a few times," Gil joined the conversation.
"Yes, but remember what I told you," Harry said to Gil. "Don't speak to either of them, unless they directly ask you a question."
Gil nodded eagerly, letting Harry know he understood before he quickly turned towards Jay again. "How is training the new recruits going?"
"They're doing okay," Jay answered shortly. Jay had asked Gil if he could help with the training, but Gil had declined. He had to stay with the pirate crew and had his hands full with training the new pirates. Jay wasn't sure why this bothered him, but somehow it did. Probably because he pictured Harry beside him with a smug smile on his face all the time.
"You should see our new recruits," Gil said proudly. "Some grew to be real warriors within a few days."
Harry laugh interrupted the conversation. He looked bored, while he leaned backwards, tilting his chair a little bit. "They're weak, unskilled and stupid," Harry said. His words made Gil looked a little hurt.
"You should believe in them," Lonnie defended them.
"Yes, of course," Harry said, letting his chair drop. He bend over closer to Lonnie, with a flirtatious smirk on his face. "Believe in the ones who believe in you. I let them believe that I believe in them, so they can believe in themselves, so I can have at least a little faith in them." Carlos chuckled, while Lonnie raised her eyebrows to the pirate. Gil tried to repeat Harry's words to himself, but then shook his head, concluding he didn't understand.
"Well, I know they can do it," Gil said smiling. Harry sat back in his chair, shaking his head too.
At that moment a guard entered the room, closely followed by Adam and Belle. They all looked up to the newcomers while another guard closed the door.
"Hi Belle, nice to see you again," Gil greeted the old queen. Harry hid his face in the palm of his hand for a moment, before he grabbed Gil by the arm, forcing the guy's attention. Harry didn't need to say anything, the look on his face made Gil remember what he was told.
"Yes, don't speak," Gil repeated his orders. It was already too late, since king Adam already had is eyes fixed on the boy, softly growling through his teeth.
"Come on, dear," Belle calmly spoke to him and softly pushed him passed the group of pirates. She still secretly touched Gil's shoulder and send him a quick smile.
"Okay, let's hear it," Adam said when he sat down. "According to my son I should listen to what you have to say. Even though we have our own military advisors and they're more than just a group of teenagers."
"Darling," Belle hushed her husband silently.
"Dad, I told you. They have been training new recruits."
"All of them being children from the Isle of the Lost. How reliable are they going to be on the battle field?" Adam continued. "Besides, they only had a few days of training. What kind of good, if they're even up to do any good, are they going to do in this fight?"
"With all due respect, sire," Lonnie said, while she rose from her chair. "In my beliefs our need for these troops are high enough to not even question their strength. They volunteered to fight and I think we should be grateful for that. For them being reliable. All of them are determined to win this war for Auradon, so they can win over their own freedom. They know what they're fighting for. They got a taste of the freedom the Kingdom of Auradon has to offer and they don't want to lose it again. They're already loyal to the person who gave them this freedom, namely king Ben. So to answer your questions in short. Yes, they're very reliable. And yes, we definitely need them in this battle."
The old king blinked up to her, before he cleared his throat. "And you placed yourself to be the right candidate to lead these kids?" Adam asked her.
Lonnie stood even firmer than she did before. "I'm standing here in my parent's place. They might not be here with reinforces in time, so I'll be here to defend Auradon in their place."
King Adam was speechless again and cleared his throat once more.
"Told you she could handle herself, dad," Ben said and didn't even hide his amusement.
"Strength of her father and determination of her mother," Belle spoke to her with a smile. Lonnie sat down again, noticing even the pirates gave her approval looks.
"Alright," Adam continued, quick to change the subject. "How about the pirates." The old king turned towards Uma. The look in her eyes showed the same strength as the other girl and Adam made sure he wouldn't underestimate them again. "My son told me you are going to be the new queen of the Isle of the Lost, therefore an important figure already. But somehow you're still a pirate."
The old king already spoke with much more respect, even though Uma could still hear the mockery in his voice. Uma nodded to Adam, knowing she had to thank Lonnie for the respect he showed her.
"I've been leading the pirates for years now, which kind of means I've also lead the Isle all this time," Uma said. "I want only the best for the kids on the Isle. And somehow I believe they have a better shot with Ben and Mal than Gaston."
"And you?" The Beast suddenly had his eyes fixed on Gil, not even paying much attention to Uma's answer. "Why are you here, exactly?"
"Dear, we spoke about this," Belle said, reaching out to her husband. She could already hear the aggression in his voice, even though Gil didn't seem impressed by it at all. The boy actually looked over at his friend beside him, silently asking for permission to speak. Harry rolled his eyes.
"He asked you a question," Harry spoke through his teeth.
"Oh yea, unless they directly ask you something," Gil reminded himself. He turned back to the old king. "I'm fighting with the pirates," Gil answered him.
"That's not what I'm asking," Adam responded loudly. He reached on the table and grabbed an envelope. Gil could read his own name on the paper and he knew what it was.
"Did someone actually send this to you or did you write it yourself?" Adam asked directly to Gil.
"Gil can be trusted," Uma immediately answered in his response.
"In all fairness, Gil would never come up with a plan like that," Harry answered calmly. The urge to throw a chair at the old king was growing inside of him. Harry was already tired of the questions and mockery.
"Tell me," Adam said, ignoring the other two pirates. "Gil LeGume, son of Gaston LeGume. Why are you sitting here with us around this table and not at your father's side?"
"Adam please," Belle said, grabbing her husband's arm and getting his attention. She looked worried at the young boy, who was searching for some encouragement from his boyfriend at the other side of the table. Jay gave him a reassuring smile and Gil already lit up a little bit.
"I stand with Uma and the pirates," Gil answered the old royal couple. "We want the best for Auradon and its people. My dad is not the right person for that."
"And we believe you," Belle quickly responded before Adam could say anything. "You have to forgive my husband. He's a little bit on edge because of anything that is happening lately. But we are here to discuss the content of the letter, not to question the motives of our allies."
The Beast groaned softly, but rest his case when he heard his wife's strict voice. Belle took the letter from her husband and opened it.
"According to it the attack is only two days from now," she said, taking over the meeting. "King Ben already came up with a battle plan with our military advisors. But as Li Lonnie already mentioned; the standing army is probably not strong enough to withstand such force." Belle looked over at her son. Ben smiled gratefully towards his mother and took over the letter.
"The letter says," Ben continued and read it over to be sure. "Gaston will lead the main attack and come towards us via the bridge. It will be Yzma who will lead just a few men behind our lines and attack us from behind." Ben put the letter down, letting his eyes glance over everybody present. The information wasn't new to them, since they all already knew what the letter described. "The letter doesn't tell us how Yzma plans to put this manoeuvre, but we need a few men keeping an eye out for her so she can be stopped. We need all our troops on the main attack and we cannot risk an attack from behind."
Ben turned towards Uma and Harry. "I wanted to ask the pirates to have our backs, while we concentrate on Gaston. And I wanted to ask Evie, Carlos and Jay to keep an eye out for Yzma, so maybe we can avoid a surprise attack altogether. Lonnie and her troops will be our backup, filling up the holes our main troops might suffer."
Uma and Lonnie nodded resolute, understanding what Ben asked of them. Jay looked over at Gil and saw how the hazel eyes stared back at him.
"Now we need to figure out how we can defeat Gaston's army," Ben continued, getting Gil's attention when mentioning his father. "Most of them are just new recruits from the Isle as well, but I need to know what I'm up against."
"Don't underestimate Gaston's men," Uma interrupted him. "A lot of them have been at Gaston's side for a long time. Just like my pirate crew they know how to fight and have been training for this their whole life. They might just be as strong as a professional army."
"Alright, how big would this group of men be?" Ben asked and automatically looked over at Gil. Gil opened his mouth, but quickly closed it again.
"You know, you can't defeat my dad," Gil finally said hesitantly.
"We did it once, we can do so again," The Beast answered immediately.
"Yes, I know. But my dad is not going to give up," Gil answered. "It's going to be a bloodbath." Ben looked up at Gil, slowly letting the words sink in.
"So what do you suggest?" King Ben asked slowly.
Gil quickly looked over at his first mate. He hadn't really thought about it, but he could trust Harry had his back.
"We need to get to his weakness instead to his strongpoints," Harry filled in. Gil nodded, even though he wasn't sure he understood it correctly.
"So we should attack the weaker troops first?" Ben asked.
"No, I mean we should make it personal. Get to Gaston's weak points, not those of his army," Harry said.
"He has a point," Mal said. "His army is filled with strong villains, we can't attack them all. But when we break Gaston, the entire army will fall apart. Everyone fighting independently would be much easier to defeat than when they're fighting as a stronghold."
"Gaston's weakness? Are we talking about sending Belle out there on the battlefield?" Adam asked harshly, getting hushed by his wife once more. Ben looked over at Gil again and even Harry turned towards him.
Gil hesitated again. He was nervously wringing his hands while he stared down at them. Jay had only seen him like that once before, when Gil had been scared his behaviour towards Jay was just like his father's. He was scared, Jay could tell that much, but he couldn't even reach his hands out to comfort him. Harry sat beside him, being able to do so, but he did nothing. Harry just patiently waited for Gil to respond.
"It's not Belle. It's his pride," Gil finally said. He took a deep breath, realizing he had after all betrayed his dad. He tried to shake off the fear and looked straight back at Belle and the old Beast. "Belle just broke his pride when she rejected him. It drove him over the edge."
"So what do we do this time to break that pride?" Adam responded mockingly. He clearly still refused to take any of them seriously.
"His sons, obviously," Harry answered. The old king snored.
"How is that going to help if we already have him," Adam said, gesturing to Gil.
"Oh no, not me," Gil quickly said.
"What are you saying, boy?" king Adam said. He wanted to stand up from his chair, but he got stopped by his wife. "If Gaston's weakness is his sons, than why aren't you good enough?"
"We are talking about his oldest sons, Gaston Junior and Gast-."
"Shut up, I want to hear it from him," Beast interrupted Harry.
Uma had to stop Harry as well before the young pirate could do anything stupid. Harry was ready to throw his chair at the arrogant king, but Uma's soft hand on his arm and her voice whispering his name made sure he gained control over his own emotions again.
Gil just looked away. He didn't feel like fighting, he actually wanted to just disappear. Jay could see the fear and hurt in his eyes, but he could do nothing to help.
"I don't know," Gil said. "My dad was never proud of me. I'm not sure why. I always tried to, but it was never good enough."
A silence filled the room. Harry was still silently crunching his teeth. Jay was dying to reach out for him, but Gil didn't even look up to him. He could feel Lonnie's hand on his arm, since Lonnie tried to comfort him since she couldn't reach Gil either. Evie was secretly holding Carlos's hand under the table, knowing Carlos knew this feeling all too well.
"It's alright, dear," Belle said, breaking the silence. Gil slowly looked up to her. "I suggest we all get some fresh air." Belle looked over at her son.
Ben silently nodded. "Yes, we've been over the most important items. We just want to ask Uma and Lonnie to come back later, to discuss the details with the other military advisors."
Harry nodded and was the first to stand up, followed by Uma. Carlos also wanted to get out quickly and Evie followed him. Jay was finally able to reach out for Gil, who sat still on his chair, staring at his hands. Jay cursed to himself when he saw how Harry grabbed his shoulders and lifted him from his chair, already guiding him out of the room.
Belle also quickly stood up and surprised everybody present by grabbing Gil's hand. The Beast jumped up from his seat as well. Harry was ready to interrupt, but got stopped by Uma once more. She saw no violence in Belle's eyes. The smaller woman truly tried to comfort him, while the young man looked back at her, a slight smile already back on his face.
"You have to forgive my husband," Belle said to him. "Like I said, he's a little bit on edge with everything happening lately. I'm sure your dad cares about you."
Gil looked away again. "Not really. It was just my brothers for him," Gil answered her.
"And your brothers? Did they treat you well?" Belle asked.
Gil shrugged, looking up for just a moment. "I guess. It wasn't that bad," Gil said to her. Harry suddenly grabbed his shoulder, taking Gil away from any further interrogation.
"What about your mother?" Belle quickly asked just before they reached the door. Gil turned towards her again, looking back at the woman dressed in yellow.
"I'm not sure," Gil answered her.
"You have a mother, right. I'm sure she loves you," Belle said with a smile.
"My dad had many wives," Gil said. "I don't think any of them actually liked me. My brothers said my mom left after giving birth to me. Junior said she felt ashamed since I was too weak, but I'm not sure. I've always wondered how it would be to have a mom, though."
Gil went quiet when he noticed tears welling up in Belle's eyes. She gasped for air, trying to hide her emotions.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Gil quickly apologise, walking towards her again. Belle looked up to him, being in control of her emotions again.
"You have nothing to apologize for, dear," she said to him. "Now go with your friends." Belle gave him a smile, but Gil could see right through it. He still let Harry drag him along on his arm, even though there were so many things he wanted to say to the older woman.
Belle stood firm and smiled at the others as they left the room. The guard closed the door and Belle broke down when she was left with just her husband, son and daughter in law. She covered her mouth with her hand, while the first tears rolled down on her cheeks. Adam was quick to aid his wife and placed her on one of the chairs.
"What's wrong with her?" Ben asked worried.
"Nothing," Adam answered, trying to comfort his wife. "I told her not to get involved with this boy. I warned he might be dangerous."
"Adam, please don't do this," Belle said, finding her voice again. "Can't you see. I'm not scared, I am ashamed." Adam sat down as well, holding his wife's hands.
"Ashamed of what?" Adam asked, giving her a little smile.
"For years we feared those villains. Locked them on a Isle, telling ourselves we needed to protect what we have," Belle said. "We knew Gaston. We knew what we had to fear. Yet we let him raise his own kids, not even once considering what he might do to them. Until Ben was finally brave enough to do what we feared for years."
Belle turned towards Mal, looking straight to her. "Tell me how they raised him," Belle asked her. "And please be honest with me. Don't spare my feelings."
"Mom, you don't need to know," Ben answered.
"I do," Belle said resolute, whipping a few tears away. "Please tell me." Mal looked away for a moment, taking a deep breath before she answered.
"Well," she started. "My mom always tried to manipulate me. You know, trying to get inside my head so I would do as she demanded. No one on the Isle deserves the best parent award, but I was known to have a really scary mom. But I knew a few who had it much worse than me. Like Carlos… And Gil." Mal stopped for a moment to look up at the old queen.
"Gil got out of that place really quick," Mal continued. "I don't know exactly what drove him out of Gaston's house, but I do know the pirates took him in immediately. He's fine now. You don't need to worry about him."
Belle nodded, whipping the last tears of her face. She felt like she was undeserving of crying. She swallowed her shame and rose up again.
"If everybody needs me. I'm at the kitchen," Belle said.
"The kitchen?" Adam asked. "What are you're going to do over there?"
Belle looked down on him for a moment. "I'll make sure all the kids sleeping outside will get a decent meal tonight."
"We already give them most of our food supplies," Adam said to his wife, trying to calm her down.
"None of them is going hungry tonight," Belle said back. "They won't get cold tonight. From this day forward I'm going to do anything in my power to set this right. So next time I can look into that boy's eyes with pride."