Captured By Pirates

This chapter tells what happens when Gil wakes up after his restless night of sleep.

[Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Descendants 2, nor the dialogue used from the film. Some dialogue from the film has been included in order to maintain continuity with the events of the film. No copyright infringement or theft of intellectual property is intended.]

Chapter 7

Early morning light streamed through the boarded up windows of the ramshackle confectionery. Their rays fell across Gil's face, waking him from his uneasy sleep. His head ached and his eyes were puffy from crying so much. Still, his fitful night had imbued him with a determination to finally confront his father and get the answers that he so desperately needed.

Gaston was nursing a hangover with a cup of coffee at the kitchen table, when Gil walked into their small house.

"Dad!?" Gil called.

"Keep it down, will ya!" Gaston shouted back, anger building and causing his headache to worsen.

"Sorry dad," Gil said softly coming into the kitchen, "I wasn't sure if you'd be awake, yet."

"Of course I'm awake," Gaston said defensively. "I'm a hunter, we're always awake and ready for action at the crack of dawn," he explained, although his shabby appearance and groggy speech gave evidence to the contrary.

"Right," Gil agreed quickly, not wanting to get into a pointless argument.

"So," Gaston said, looking up at his son, "what do you want?"

Gil remembered his reasons for rushing home and asked, "Dad, would you tell me again why you hate the King of Auradon and his family so much?"

Gaston jumped to his feet and shouted, "How many times do I have to tell you boy? That stupid, rotten, beast stole my fiancé, then he banished me to this horrible island! What more reason do I need?!" He finished panting, his rage subsiding.

Gil looked down, tears threatening to escape from his eyes. He kept them closed hoping to keep the moisture from spilling onto his cheeks, which would enrage his father even further. Gaston hated any displaces of weakness, as he called them, especially from his son. 'Men are meant to be tough and that goes double for any son of mine,' Gil remembered his father would often say.

Just as quickly as it had come, Gaston's anger faded and he sat back down, bringing a cold compress to his head as he sipped his now lukewarm coffee.

Once he could be sure that his emotions were under control, Gil looked up and decided to chance another question. "So if you and Belle were engaged, then why did she marry the beast?" Gil already suspected the answer to this question; he had heard his father ranting about Belle's faithlessness to him more than enough times.

"That wretched beast obviously put a spell on her," Gaston replied. "Obviously, no woman has ever been able to resist my charms," he said with a would-be rakish smile, which did not look so much charming as pathetic in Gil's opinion. With his unkempt hair, scraggly beard, and beer gut, his father was no longer the handsome man he once claimed to be.

"Obviously," Gil parroted. "But then you found mom, and you said you loved her. And that wouldn't have happened if Belle hadn't married the beast. So why do you still hate him so much?" he asked, hoping that his father would finally tell him something that he wanted to hear.

Gaston stood up, grabbed his hunting knife from his belt, and stabbed it into the wooden table. "Because, compared to Belle your mother was nothing. Belle was the most beautiful woman in town, which made her the best, and I deserve the best. It sickens me that she fell for that hideous beast, when she should have loved me. I'm strong and handsome and a killer shot. There's no way that ugly brute could ever compare to me!"

Gil nodded, backing away slightly. Gaston's temper ebbed once more and he sat back down. Then he wrenched the knife free and sheathed it in his belt.

"Hey!" Gaston looked quizzically at his son, "Why are you asking about those good-for-nothing royals anyway?"

Gil knew that his time was up. If his father found out that the pirates had King Ben, it would mean a fight. Gaston wouldn't rest until he had boarded The Lost Revenge and stolen Uma's hostage. And of course the captain and her entire crew would fight Gaston to keep him from Uma's prize. Gil was desperate to keep that from happening.

"No reason," Gil replied quickly, "I just saw the new king on TV and it made me think of how you're always talking about the royals and how awful they are."

Gaston nodded, "That's right, they are awful. That's the only good think about being stuck on this stinkin' island. Those uppity royals never come here." Gil smiled sheepishly, nodded, and began heading towards the front door.

"Hey!" Gaston said with a chuckle, "You know what I'd say to that new, upstart king if I ever got the chance?"

Gil turned in the open doorway to look at his father and shook his head.

"Well," replied Gaston a dreamy smile forming on his lips, "I have him tell that mother of his, that Gaston says hi." And then a cruel glint turned his smile into a sneer, "And I would make sure he knew, that I wish I'd finished of his beastly father when I had the chance! Ha!" Gaston finished with dark humor. Gil forced out a laugh as his father picked up the cup and drained the last of his coffee.

Gil quickly rushed out the door. He was grateful that his father hadn't uncovered his true motives behind all the questions. Still the pain of Gaston's last answer still stung. His mother had never really mattered to his father? Gaston said she was nothing compared to Belle. But how could he feel that way when his mother had love Gaston and they had had a child together? The more he thought about this the more Gil wanted to shut out all his feelings, all his thoughts, all his pain. After all what was the point of dwelling on them? It just made things worse. He saw what it did to his father and he feared that the same bitterness and despair would consume him as well.

As Gil rushed back to The Lost Revenge, he decided that he would forget all of it. The lies, the pain, the bitterness, everything that was hurting him, he would block them all out. He would turn off his thoughts and feelings and just go about his duties on the ship. He was a pirate now, and that's all he would ever be, just a pirate. He would lock everything away and drop it into the sea, lost forever beneath the waves.

And as he locked his thoughts and pain deep inside, a wall formed around Gil's mind and heart. It kept him from thinking or feeling too deeply. It was the same shield that Gil had always hidden behind whenever life got too overwhelming. But the more that he hid from his troubles the more stunted his mind and heart became. People thought him a fool, because of his slow wit and inability to empathize with other. But in reality, Gil was intelligent and had a big heart; he'd just been denying these parts of himself for so long, that he no longer had access to them. At least not without help, looking into the eyes of the king had stirred his deeper thoughts and feelings, but Gil wasn't ready to embrace them yet. Maybe one day, if he ever got off the Isle and was able to live somewhere safe with people that he trusted and loved, maybe then he could allow himself to think and feel with his whole mind and heart. But not now, it wasn't safe right now.

Gil walked across the gangplank just as two of his shipmates brought the prisoner on deck. He was surprised to see that the king looked better than he had last night. Gil watched as they tied him to the foremast and Hook began circling the king like a shark. Gil smirked as he sat down to watch the show, all his distressing thoughts and feelings safely tucked away.