Uma didn't know how many times Harry lost consciousness as she swam towards Auradon, dragging the ships and trying to find the strength to go on for another minute, a second, an instant. Go ahead. Where Harry could live. If she looked back, at the sinking Isle, her home, she would collapse. Because no matter how bad it had been, people didn't deserve this. No one deserved all this death, all this destruction, meaningless.
And every memory she had with Harry, with Gil and her crew, tucked away among the dark and forgotten alleys, all of that was sinking forever.
Evening was setting when the coast seemed close, and Uma noticed that other ships were sailing in the same direction she was swimming. And she recognized it, the Jolly Roger, with the haughty figure of Harry's father walking across the deck, barely visible.
Her heart stopped and she forgot to breathe for a moment. It wasn't just the Jolly Roger, it was several ships, all manned, waving the pirate flag. A fleet.
"It's our father!" She heard CJ say. "But what the hell...?"
"How is Harry?" Harriet asked Uma, leaning overboard.
They were close to land, where Uma could see that there was a committee of the Royal Navy of Auradon waiting for them. She was sure that the meeting would not be friendly at all, but at this point she did not care. She would take hostages to negotiate, and if that didn't work out, she would beg for someone to save Harry's life. She would ask Mal, if she had to.
"Alive," she replied, and she nodded to herself at the feel of Harry's heartbeat and his warmth. When he woke up, she would try to have a brief conversation with him, just to make sure she didn't waste a second, just in case… no, Uma didn't want to think about that possibility. Harry would live. "We are almost there, almost..."
She couldn't help but let her despair seep a bit into her voice, despite its harsh, dry undertones. It was like a broken breath, struggling to get out.
"We can't run aground," Gil told her. "It would be unwise if we have to flee hastily. Release us".
He was right. At that moment, when Uma couldn't think clearly, and with Harry unconscious, Gil was the voice of her conscience, the one who kept her in one piece, and Uma was deeply grateful for that, so she nodded. She looked at Harriet, who had listened to Gil's suggestion, and she gave her an affirmative nod.
Uma let go of the ships, and she felt like letting go of her own life. Perhaps, at that moment, feeling them firmly grasped by her tentacles anchored her to reality. She drew strength from the fact that they were close to Auradon and there were enough boats to disembark and, if anything, the priority was Harry.
The Jolly Roger picked up speed, leaving all the other ships behind, and soon it reached shore. They dropped anchor and the crowded boats began to descend. And Uma took one last push, an extra effort that brought her close, very close to the fine sand of the unknown beach. Then forced herself to leave her marine form and turn human again. Both of her legs felt strange, alien, and she sank into the clear, transparent sea for a moment.
Her fingers closed around Harry's arm. She swam until she was able to position him on her back, aided by the water and the lightness it provided, and went straight for the sand, knowing that her lungs could easily handle being in the sea for too long, but Harry's could not.
The earth hit her, Uma dragged Harry away from the foam of the waves, and then took a deep breath. She was exhausted, she felt that she would die if she closed her eyes for a second, so she couldn't allow herself an instant of rest. She forced herself to kneel on the sand and bent down to check that Harry's heart, who was lying on his back, was still beating.
Weak, torturously slow, but it was throbbing.
Uma felt someone touch her arm and instinctively jumped back, searching for her cutlass, launching a blow with her elbow to defend herself.
"Whoa," said an overly kind voice. "I am sorry. I guess I should have known it wouldn't be a good idea. You are Uma, right? Are you okay?"
It was King Ben. Uma recognized him from television and from all the propaganda Auradon did on the Isle. He had a genuinely troubled face, and then Uma realized that, around, there were more people from the Isle and many more people from Auradon. They were helping them get off the boats, giving them water to drink, and deciding who needed medical help.
Ben looked into her eyes, and it seemed to Uma that his gaze was very similar to Gil's. Honest, clear. Without the lack of innocence that had already eaten away at her and Harry's bones, and many of the people of the Isle. She couldn't help it… she felt furious. She wanted to hit him hard. Maybe it wasn't anger against Ben, but against everything, against Maleficent, Beast, Evil and the lack of freedom. Everything crowded together, struggling to get out of her, and Uma struggled to control it inside her, knowing that she didn't want to act like that right now.
Her fist clenched tightly, and in the end, only one thing left her lips.
"Heal him," he said, pointing at Harry. "I don't care if you kick us out of here later. He just... needs a doctor".
Ben frowned, but gestured for a medic. Harry's eyelids fluttered, and he gave a ragged gasp. Uma was next to him in a second, touching his forehead with her rough fingers, brushing the wet hair from his face. He had fever and was paler than usual.
He stared at her, unfocused, through his lashes. Blue colliding with brown, but Uma wasn't sure if he really saw her.
A man came up to them and made a move to bring a strange device closer to Harry, so Uma acted without thinking. She took a threatening bite at him, to which the man recoiled, fear in his eyes.
"He can't help him if you don't let him," Ben told her, all patience and gentleness, leaning on the sand next to her. "He's just trying to take his vital signs."
Uma moved away a bit, although all her instincts told her that she should protect Harry, that she could not let anyone touch him because he could be attacked at any moment, it could all be a trap. She didn't trust these people, she didn't trust Auradon.
But she forced herself. She let the doctor take Harry's vital signs, she let him get close to him, repeating in her mind the promise that he would live. And then her heart stopped beating, the world went nonsense, when she saw the doctor shake his head and sigh.
"He needs to be moved to the hospital right now," he told Ben. Uma clung to Harry, feeling dizzy.
Ben nodded.
"Take him, then".
"I'm going with him," Uma said.
Ben denied.
"You cannot come, you need to rest, you are about to pass out".
"Harry is mine!" Uma roared, her expression crazed. Hers. Hers. Uma would not leave him, she did not abandon her people. She would not abandon Harry. Her grip on his red coat was so strong that hurt, she thought she must have been piercing herself into the palm of her hand with her fingernails.
"She needs medical attention too," the doctor told Ben. And why were they talking about her like she wasn't there, anyway?
Uma didn't know when it happened, she only knew that the world went dark one moment, and the next she was falling, away from Harry, and he was being carried away. A savage scream rose from deep in her throat, scratching her, and she tried to get up, but her body didn't respond.
In a moment when her breath caught in her throat, all Uma could see was the wide blue sky, like Harry's eyes. And then, darkness.
"She's exhausted," the doctor informed Ben, who had bent down to check that Uma was breathing. Ursula's daughter was wandering between consciousness and unconsciousness again, and Ben could tell that she was struggling to stay awake. "But she will be fine."
Ben was impressed. Even knowing Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos, he hadn't expected such ferocity from a VK. Uma had clung to Hook's son with claws and teeth. Ben wasn't going to deny that it had been quite an impressive sight, to see her in the marine form of her carrying the boats in tow.
Ben didn't know what exactly he thought of Uma, knowing that she had a history of fighting Mal, but he knew, clearly and without a doubt, that he was in awe of her strength. He felt something that he rarely felt, admiration, dazzling...
Even there, lying on the sand, completely wet, injured and unconscious, Uma and Harry emitted an energy of imposing power. She was small, but Ben thought it would never be nice to be on the other side of her cutlass. Harry wasn't far behind, there was something about him that seemed predatory and threatening.
As they prepared Harry to take him away, more boats arrived. A tall, stocky, kind-faced boy jumped out of one of the boats, ran purposefully over to Uma, and watched as Harry was carried away.
"Where are they taking him?" He asked Ben, "Is he...?"
Ben thought the boy didn't dare to say the word. He swallowed hard and his eyes filled with despair. Ben was quick to deny to reassure him.
"They transfer him to a hospital to give him adequate medical attention. Uma is just passed out from exhaustion".
The boy nodded and crouched next to Uma, took her hand and squeezed it.
"Uma… I'm Gil. You did it. Harry is going to be fine, the crew is fine".
More VK's came alongside Gil and Ben took a step back on instinct. They were two girls and two boys who wore pirate clothes, had cutlasses on their hips and pierced ears. Ben felt tiny, for a moment, until he was reminded that he was the king of Auradon and he had to show it.
The doctor who had taken Harry returned at that moment, and approached Ben.
"It's time to take her too."
Ben nodded. He stepped forward and cleared his throat. The pirates looked at him, faces tight and hard, and Ben gave them a smile that he pretended to be friendly.
"Uma must get medical attention," he said, turning to Gil. "They are going to transfer her to a hospital right now".
He would swear he heard one of the girls growl at him.
"We will go with her," Gil said. The others nodded backing him. Everything in their postures warned Ben of danger, so he didn't try to persuade them.
"Okay," he agreed. The doctors were then able to take Ursula's daughter away, with the newcomers behind, and Ben exhaled a breath he didn't know he had been holding when he was alone. He nervously adjusted the sleeve of his suit and then Gil trotted back.
"You are King Ben, right? I recognize you from TV," he told him. Ben nodded, not knowing exactly what to say. "I am Gil LeGume. My father sends his regards to your mother, and he says to tell your father that he wishes he had destroyed him when he still could".
He left without waiting for a response from Ben, but what could he have said?
When Uma was conscious again, she was in an unfamiliar room, lying on a bed, and when she wanted to sit down to recognize the place, Desiree, who was sitting next to the bed in a chair, reassured her.
"Hey, it's okay, captain. We are in Auradon, in the hospital, if you pull too much you could throw some of these cables and I think that would be bad".
There was a thin tube fitted through a needle into her wrist. Uma followed it with her eyes and found a small bag filled with something transparent and more tubes, cables and machines.
"What's all this?" She asked Desiree. The girl shrugged.
"Honestly, I don't know. Auradon medical stuff, I guess. You were terribly scared when they brought you to the hospital and bit the doctor. They decided to sedate you after that, we've been taking turns waiting for you to wake up. Gil just left minutes ago".
Uma nodded. She wasn't comfortable, she felt out of place, far out of her comfort zone, and the idea of being connected to a bunch of machines made her hair stand on end. But she was still alive, right? If someone had wanted to kill her, they would have done it while she was unconscious.
"Harry?"
"They had to operate him," Desiree told her. "But he will be fine".
Uma felt anxious. She needed her ship, her crew, to feel calm. She was reassured knowing that Harry would be fine, but her entire body went on alert from being in Auradon. In defensive mode, tense.
The fact that Desiree was with her did help. She made everything feel a little less like an overly crazy dream and more like reality, even though reality meant that the Isle of the Lost, their home, was sunk forever. Uma exhaled a contained breath.
"I should let someone know that you've already woken up," Desiree said. "I'll be back soon, I promise."
Uma nodded and watched Desiree walk out the door, not before giving her one last look.
Her body ached and she felt very sleepy, but she forced herself to stay awake because she was alone. She couldn't stay vulnerable, no matter where she was. Uma felt quite out of control there, lying on a bed.
And then a tall red figure came through the door, and Uma jumped, swore, and tried to get to her feet faster than she could say "pirate", which of course made her dizzy again.
James Hook, with a wooden leg, made a mischievous, mocking smile.
"You don't have to get up in my presence, Captain Uma," he said sarcastically. Uma crossed her arms.
"I just wanted to get a better view of you bowing before me," Uma replied, scathing, the words sharp. Hook kept smiling. "Are you allowed to enter here?"
"Even though my glory days are long past, I'm still a pirate. I do whatever I want."
Harry's father fiddled with the tip of his hook as he sat down on one of the chairs in the room; he put his feet up on a small table and looked at Uma, evaluating her. She held his gaze.
"Did you know?" She asked roughly. The man sighed dramatically.
"I knew many things when I sent you to search for the treasure. I knew, for example, that your curiosity would lead you to unforeseen horizons. I knew Harry has adventure in his veins, together you could get there", he nodded to himself thoughtfully, his bright blue eyes nostalgic. "But a sacrifice must always be made, captain. I thought you would do it, for him, but I see that things have not gone according to plan. Either way, the plan worked".
Uma knew that many of the threads of the journey had been pulled by Hook. She had it clear since Clay Clayton and the other pirates appeared. The question was, how far? If he had thought that Uma would sacrifice herself in the end, which she would have done if Harry hadn't been faster than her in understanding everything, that meant he wanted his child to live. That he cared about him.
"Harry was faster," she confessed.
"Love is not just kindness, as all these people believe," Hook said, gesturing to point at Auradon. "It is more like pain and cruelty, don't you think? I believed that when you died your power would be released, your magic would combine with that of the treasure and the curse and the barrier would be broken. That was the plan. Not all magic can coexist together. In the end, that's exactly what happened, except ironically, it was the power of love that set us all free. You felt so hurt, so out of control and desperate to see Harry sacrifice himself, that your magic got out of control. It was because the magical barrier was broken that you survived and were able to adopt your marine form".
So, the plan had been to end her. Hook didn't care how bad Harry was going to feel and Uma wasn't surprised. Villains were selfish. Even if James cared about his son, he didn't care enough to spare his pain.
"Why are you telling me this?" She asked, showing her teeth threateningly.
Hook got up. With the wooden leg, he was somewhat clumsy, but he managed to maintain his usual grace and composure. So theatrical. All the Hook children had inherited that trait from him and Uma couldn't hate it, because it reminded her so much of Harry.
"I'm going to Neverland," Hook answered simply, looking into her eyes; he seemed more serious than he had ever been. "Now I know that my boy will live. And you deserved an explanation, Captain Uma; your Majesty".
He headed for the door, the peg leg making a dry sound. Uma frowned, not knowing exactly which of all of his words were meant to be a mockery. Hook laughed at her expression and took the brim of his wide hat and pulled it off, the black curls framing his face filled with shadows and scars.
"I guess you don't know, but you have earned a reputation. You are the Queen of the Isle of the Lost, and for the men of the sea, the Pirate Queen. Enjoy your glory".
Ben saw Hook leave the room where Ursula's daughter was recovering and hid behind a fern in the hallway until the pirate turned the corner and was out of sight. He still wasn't sure what a good idea it had been to accept the deal they'd made, where they'd traded the freedom of Ben and his friends for the freedom and help of Hook. Not that there have been too many options at the moment.
He was intrigued, not only by knowing exactly what the hell had happened there, why the Isle of the Lost had sunk even though the curse had been broken. Hook had briefly told them about the treasure, his wife, and the journey his son and Ursula's daughter had taken in search of it, but there was a thousand questions Ben had.
He believed that listening to a little of the pirates' conversation would solve his doubts, although he felt bad about listening to other people's conversations without permission, and although now at least he knew what had happened to the magic of the barrier, he had other questions. Hadn't Evie once said that Mal was the self-proclaimed queen of the Isle of the Lost? He felt lost in matters that concerned him as king. He wanted to find out exactly what conditions these people had been living under, only then could he come up with a proposal that the Royal Council would approve, regarding the fate of the villains and their families.
As he walked down the hall, he saw familiar blue hair. Evie was emerging from a room, with a short, red-haired girl embracing. The girl appeared to be about twelve years old and she wore glasses and extravagant clothes.
She saw him and her pained face suddenly changed. He let out a squeak that alerted Evie and she looked up at him.
"Hey, Ben!" She greeted him, stepping closer. The girl looked like she was going to explode with excitement. "I want you to meet my dear friend, Dizzy. She is the daughter of Drizella".
Ben smiled kindly at the girl.
"Hey," he greeted her. "It's a pleasure. Do you like Auradon?"
The girl almost melted.
"It's like a dream!" She affirmed, and then her smile faded a little. "But my friend Celia was hit when we were getting on one of Captain Hook's ships, she is there".
She pointed to the room they had just exited from and Evie ran a comforting hand down her back.
"She'll be fine," she assured her. Evie had a knack for putting people at ease, something Ben got along well with. He didn't forget that, even if it was in a twisted way, she too had been raised for royalty.
"Maybe I can visit her," Ben suggested. "And I'll tell you of any improvements she has, okay?"
Evie smiled and Dizzy looked even more excited, and Ben said goodbye to the two girls before entering Celia's room.
She was a girl about Dizzy's age, with hair that grew in all directions, free, and a cold gesture that Ben knew immediately was a front for the isle. If she was surprised when she saw Ben walk in, she only raised an eyebrow in proof of it.
She had a cut on her forehead, which had already been stitched up, and a leg in a cast. She produced a bundle of cards and silently offered them to Ben, who produced a card in dismay.
"Ah!" Celia said, looking at the card, "You have a difficult road ahead of you. Not everyone will agree with you, but in the end, you will achieve what you set out to do".
Was she talking about the hundreds of meetings Ben had scheduled with the Royal Council, the Fairy Godmother, and his parents to discuss the situation of the islanders? Ben knew that some members of the council dared to suggest the creation of another Isle, delimited by another magical barrier.
Ben smiled at Celia, who held out her hand, waiting for her payment, and placed a large bill between her fingers.
"I hope you're right," he confessed.
"I know I am," Celia replied.
She didn't seem dangerous. Neither did Dizzy. And although Mal claimed that Uma and Harry and their people were, Ben didn't think it was that way. They looked tough, fierce, but Ben could sense the longing for freedom they had, underneath all the bravado. And he knew they deserved to live with dignity. He knew that one of Uma's many diagnoses had been anemia.
"Can I ask you a favor, Celia?" Ben asked. "I know your friend Dizzy is hoping you will recover soon, and I promised her that I would be with you for a while. Why don't you tell me a little more about the Isle? What was it like to live there? Did someone take care of you?"
Celia pretended to think about it for a moment, but then nodded.
"Okay," she agreed. "I lived with my dad, Dr. Facilier, sometimes I worked for other villains like Hades, running errands and stocking his pantry when I robbed… I mean, when I found cans. They pay well for that. My dad always tells me that I should always make sure they give me my part. But when food was scarce, we could always get a plate of fish soup at Ursula's Fish and Chips".
Ben frowned.
"Did Ursula feed the children?"
Celia saw him as if he was a fool.
"Of course not!" She was small and hurt, but Ben felt dominated by her gaze. "It was Uma. When Ursula was not there, of course; even Harry looked after us from time to time. I like his hook, I think it's cool. Will they be okay? I heard that they are very sick".
Ben's heart melted. The people of Auradon were open to showing their feelings, but the children of the Isle were not. That was very clear to him, and yet Celia dared to ask about Uma and Harry, which showed that she cared.
"They'll be fine," he told her. "They heal fast, just like you".
Celia nodded. She didn't smile at him, she didn't hug him, but her expression turned calm and Ben felt her relax. He stayed with her until Celia seemed sleepy and he left, knowing that no villain kid liked falling asleep with strangers in the room. It was something Jay and Carlos had explained to him, and that made, like many other things, Ben's heart sink.
