"We need to come up with a plan to get out of here," Mal says, and Uma can't help but let out a mocking laugh from her lips; anger settles in its old home, inside Uma's bones. And she doesn't feel guilty seeing the surprise in her friend's eyes. They never managed to reconcile completely, there was too much betrayal between them to be able to trust again. But, during the years they lived in Auradon, there was friendship and respect. Uma is once again the old Uma of the isle, but Mal is not ready to realize that she is no longer in her precious castle.
"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but we're trapped by that stupid magic barrier again," Uma blurts out angrily, and sees how Ben is startled. However, it is true. There is no hope of get out again, there is no hope at all. Uma's bones and her skin ache as she feels her magic compressed inside her again. She will never turn to her marine form, and she will never be herself completely anew. Mal must feel it too, so Uma is bothered with her for coming to her ship with stupid hopeful words. As if there was something to do. As if there was some kind of exit. "My plans to get out didn't work out for sixteen years, and if it weren't for your visit to get the ember, Mal; Harry and Gil would never have been able to get out of here."
Everyone on the ship is very still, listening to what no one has dared to say out loud until now. Uma hates being the one to break her people's hearts, she hates to break her heart.
Ben tries to calm the tension. He shouldn't be here; he's too nice, too soft. On the Isle of the Lost there is no place for any of the fine and good things in the world.
"There has to be a way out," he says, sounding a bit desperate. "Someone has to go through that barrier at some point, and when they do, we have to get out. But we need a well-made plan."
Uma paces the deck, trying to tame her fury. She feels it grow like when the sea changes suddenly and goes from a calm and peaceful swell to a great storm. She feels the thunder roar inside her, inside its jail. She is angry. Angrier than she has ever been in her life.
"To go back to what?" She hears Harry ask, and she recognizes in his tone the same fury she feels, the same overwhelming grief. "To Auradon?"
Uma nods in agreement with her husband, and she lets out a bitter laugh.
"We were never welcomed there, not really. And I don't want to go back." She growls low. The waves go down and she feels still again, a little calmer now that she has let off some steam.
She realizes it's true: life in Auradon was nothing more than an illusion, beautiful and fleeting. Even if they manage to escape, Uma doesn't want to go back to a place that has tried so desperately to push her away. Her calm gives way to a very deep and intense pain that almost makes her sob; however, the sob never comes because she is the Captain of the Lost Revenge. A strong pirate.
"Maybe not Auradon," Gil says, speaking for the first time. A little bit of hope shines in his eyes and Uma seriously wonders how many times she will feel her heart break before the thing finally stops beating. "Ben has an idea. You should listen it, Uma."
Uma doesn't want to. Really, if she must be honest, she is tired. She doesn't want her life to become a constant trying to escape, she doesn't want her failures to remind her that her freedom has been taken away.
Harry walks towards her to show her that he will always be by her side, whatever she decides, and Uma extend her arms to him to let her carry the baby, knowing that this is possibly the only thing that can calm her down. She feels Nerea's warmth and watches her sleep, safe in her arms, releasing those soft, babbling sighs that always make Uma smile.
Uma no longer believes in possibilities.
She doesn't believe in hope.
But Uma always believes in her family.
So, she appeases her fury. Calm the ocean within her. She won't be able to forgive herself if she dies without trying one more time, she decides. Harry looks into her eyes, and she loses herself in the blue that has accompanied her all her life, in the happiness and deep agony. They need to believe that there is still a way to save Nerea.
On the Isle of the Lost there is no place for the fine and good things in the world.
"Speak," she says to Ben, and Mal smiles triumphantly.
Hi! So, here I leave this little chapter. As always, I hope you like it. I'm starting to get a few ideas about what I want out of this story, so maybe the next chapter will explain better why they're back on the Isle of the Lost. It's just that I think Uma and everyone in general must be too overwhelmed at first to act. I hope you tell me how you think about this! Greetings!