People on the Isle of the Lost aren't fine.
They never have been, those are the side effects of having lived deprived of dignity for so long. Harry is not the only one who has disturbed his sleep, but this strange night in which there are crying sounds and bottles breaking in some nearby alley, he is the only one who stays awake in the Lost Revenge.
He has spent about half an hour looking at Uma, lying next to him, resting as she has not done in several nights. It seems like an eternity since he saw her this calm, although she has a frown. She looks so young, like this, that it reminds him of the brash fifteen-year-old who would push him out of bed if he wanted to sleep in her bed without her permission.
It is not a good night for Nerea, however, she is stirring between dreams. She sleeps with them on the bed, and Harry strokes her hair gently and coo softly, very softly, his lips just brushing their daughter's forehead.
Sometimes when Harry sees her, he can't believe she's his (he knows he doesn't own her, and he wants her to be free, but it's strange to think that he and Uma gave life to this tiny person). It is so strange, and exciting and scary, and he loves her with all that he is, even with his madness and chaos. Nerea is so similar to Uma, so similar to him.
The ship rocks in the unease of the silver night, and Harry hears the wind rushing outside, hissing angrily. The baby opens her eyes, puzzled for a moment, and she begins to flail her feet vigorously. Harry surrenders, takes Nerea into his arms (and she fits perfectly there, as if he is simply made for her), and gets out of bed.
Harry wraps her tightly in the blankets and climbs the stairs to the deck, being very careful not to make noise. He is reassured by hearing Gil's snoring in the room they used to share, and which is now only his, and reassures to see the crew's hammocks full. It's a strange family, his. Uma was always the mother and Harry was always the father, even before Nerea, when the only ways they knew how to show affection were somewhat twisted and dark, when the only way they could say they cared about others was by feeding them a little more frequently, a little safer.
When they were younger, people used to think that Harry was irresponsible. He was not a born leader, like Uma, not even when he had to learn to do it by force, in her absence, but Harry was a good mate. Loyal. The crew knew that and had learned to respect him. In Auradon, they did not leave each other. Harry always knew that his family was not reduced to Uma, Nerea and Gil, but that they were all those who inhabited that ship.
He places Nerea against his chest, nestled with her head in the curve of his neck, while holding her with his strong hands. She sits there, trying to get back to her dream, safe in her father's arms, and Harry hums to her a song that his mother used to sing to him and that he barely remembers. The wind licks his face, the ship creaks familiar. The moon is broken, like the edge of a shipwreck, and sheds its light on them.
Harry wants to believe in Ben, who has become his friend, but he can't. He wants to believe that a miracle will happen, that the plan will work, and they will finally be able to stop running.
Harry believes in Uma, because his faith in her has always been rewarded and, even if it wasn't, it comes naturally to him.
This place, this moment, is peaceful in a way. Nerea seems to feel it, because she falls asleep again and Harry watches the sea for a long, long time, lost in his thoughts, lost in the feeling of the warmth of his daughter against him.
"Harry?" Uma's voice asks in a drowsy whisper, and he sees her on the deck, searching for them. She looks worried and the cold wind hits the bare skin of her arms, of her legs. Her pajamas are not made for the cold weather of the Isle. "What happened? Are you fine, is Nerea fine?"
He reaches her in a second. Harry kisses her forehead.
"Everything is fine, lass. We just took a breath. Let's go downstairs, go back to bed". He guides her in the darkness of the night, the wood on the stairs complains, the cabin door squeaks a little when it is closed. And Uma sighs wearily when Harry covers her with the blanket again. The three of them are huddled close together, warming each other, and Uma is now more awake, looking at him with her big brown eyes, and Harry loses himself a million eternities in her.
"Kiss me", she asks, demands, orders, and yet she has not said a word. Harry just feels it, and Uma's warm mouth welcomes him home when he brings her lips to his, insatiable, desperate.
Will he ever stop being amazed by her taste? Will he ever stop feeling his veins burning when she touches him? Harry thinks the answer is no.
"My captain," Harry exhales against her skin, so grateful that Uma allows him to be hers that it hurts.
She tangles a hand in his hair, but she doesn't draw him closer, because Nerea is between them and their bodies have gotten used to giving her space. Harry reminds himself that he has to either get her a suitable crib or ask Gil to help him build it. The advantages of living on a ship are that the tide rocks them all the time, there is always a place to get wood, and there is room to spare.
Neither Harry nor Uma know how much time they spend there, just looking at each other in silence, and although the darkness of the night lights off all the goods in the world, the eyes of the other seem to be, as they have always been, a bright light.
It is daylight, they are receiving Auradon's weekly shipment and Uma feels an angry scream catch in her throat, barely holding back in her stupor.
Trash.
This is what Auradon sent them this time, and it doesn't just refer to slightly bruised things, it's even worse than before the barrier fell. Just trash.
There are neither fruit nor vegetables, one of the improvements that had been made, nor personal hygiene products. There are medicines, she must admit, but food is scarce. There are only a few expired cans, some even empty already. No sugar, no meat.
When everyone reacts, realizing that this is what they must survive another week, people go crazy and start pushing each other, trying to take more of what there is.
And she doesn't know how she does it, her body just works on instinct, dodging punches and throwing a few others, but she gets enough for the ship. Barely.
When Uma reunites with Harry, who also carries cans in his arms, and he can see in her eyes all the disappointment at seeing what they had managed to improve just collapse in front of her, they decide to leave before the situation gets out of hand control.
A quick scan tells them that the other has not suffered any injuries, but the naturalness with which they do so gives Harry shivers.
"We will not sell or trade this week, we will barely be able to feed ourselves," Uma says through her clenched jaw.
"I'll tell Desiree and Bonny to put the supplies in the powder magazine".
It is the safest place, ironically. They're going straight home, fast, because anywhere on the street is dangerous now if word of the supplies has spread across the Isle. And the feeling of uncertainty hits them. What will happen the next week? What if Auradon decides to just stop sending things? Even the rotten cans seem like a blessing now, but Uma's heart thumps with fear. She can't sit back and watch her family starve to death. She can´t.
They reach the ship, and Harry stays on deck explaining the situation to the others. Uma goes down to the lower deck, in search of Gil, whom she finds in the kitchen with Nerea, who is stirring in his arms.
"Gil," she calls, and her best friend notice her.
"Good thing you're here. Nerea has been impatient this morning, I think she is hungry".
Uma's stomach sinks, excruciatingly painful, but she takes her daughter into her arms to breastfeed her. Nerea drinks from her greedily, demandingly.
"Do you still have the seeds you saved?"
Gil looks at her blankly, and then remembers. When they got to Auradon and were so fascinated by fresh fruit and vegetables, Gil was so excited that he decided he wanted his own fruit trees and all that. Harry and Uma reminded him that it was unlikely that he would be able to plant things on a ship (because Gil had never, never thought of living anywhere else than the Revenge), so everything was left in a small jar where Gil kept some seeds that he had taken himself out of the food.
Uma isn't sure how this whole food-growing business works. She is sea, she knows how to get her food from the water, but everything that has to do with the land is quite unknown to her. However, she thinks that she has no other choice. Even if she has no idea how to do it, aware as she is that the land on the Isle is infertile, she desperately must try.
"I think so," Gil finally answers, nodding to himself.
And she tells him what happened with the supplies. Gil can see that Uma is about to have an anxiety attack because besides Harry, he is probably the only person she lets her guard down around.
"Easy, I'll go get the seeds, and later I'll take Gonzo and Desiree fishing with me," he hugs her, and feels Uma tense, like a garter about to break, before exhaling hard. Gil knows that this response to the closeness of other people is something that will never go away completely. Her body still remembers Mal's betrayal, and it even took her years and years to stop tensing at Harry's touch.
But Nerea can touch her and snuggle into her, and Uma seems to barely remember someone ever hurting her. Gil always likes to see that.
Dinners with the crew are always a time of madness and happiness and laughter that Uma can't help but escape her mouth. They all gather at the wooden table in the kitchen and eat, without manners like in Auradon, just a family of pirates. They are not made to eat modestly. Food is a blessing, and they will not stop to show how much they like it.
Nerea is pampered by everyone, passing from arms to arms, where first Bonny and Desiree make funny imitations of Gil and Harry to make her laugh, and then Gonzo takes her almost in panic, because he is always afraid of hurting her, and Jonas, all insanity, sings her a song about a drunken pirate. Nerea is comfortable at all moment, she does not complain or cry or stir restlessly. And Uma knows that she would not want other people for her, but these crazy pirates that she will grow up among.
The thought makes her heart skip.
Then Uma hears Gil shout her name on the upper deck. The laughter, the sound, and everything on the table stops, just for an instant, and then Uma finds herself running towards the deck.
Gil is fine, but he has two hostages. Harry immediately goes forward to help him, that's when Uma sees that the entire crew is there, with the cutlasses drawn, except for Jonas, who has stayed down with Nerea.
"What's going on?"
"They were fleeing the ship. I think they tried to steal the supplies, but I surprised them. They had this". Gil extends a knife and a cutlass to Uma, who takes them without showing any emotion.
It's not something Uma didn't think could happen. It's just that the fact that her people have been in potential danger for a few crumbs of food makes Uma feel sick. And she can't leave it like that, she can't allow someone to get off her ship and go around the Isle saying it's easy to infiltrate the Lost Revenge.
"Tie their hands," she orders Gil, "and let's disembark".
Gil doesn't ask, neither Harry nor anyone. Everyone knows what will happen next.
They get off the boat towards the dock, where there are people, who immediately become alert when they see Gil with the two hostages tied up. Uma takes a deep breath.
She does not want, although there is a part of madness in her, to do this. She is aware that these people are hungry, maybe they just thought they could have something to get through the day, or to feed someone they love. Uma knows that she would steal from the deepest place, if it meant survival.
But she also knows how the Isle of the Lost works. So, she cannot doubt.
"These people," she announces aloud, to the curious who come to see, "tried to steal on my ship. They tried to rob from me".
She advances toward Gil, takes the prisoners, who are shaking uncontrollably, by their clothing, and makes them walk to the edge of the docks. The robbers begin to babble, begging her for forgiveness. She is aware of the whispers and gasps from the audience as she throws the hostages into the sea, still bound by the hands with ropes.
"What's my name?" Uma asks, still staring at the darkness that has swallowed up the poor souls. She doesn't have to wait for a chorus of "Uma!" rises in the night. And she has given her message. No one will mess with her or her people because this is what will happen if someone dares. Uma has not become soft; she will have no mercy.
She is still the Pirate Queen, her territory, the docks. And she will do what she must do to protect her people.