When Desiree and Gonzo return to the Lost Revenge, empty-handed and completely bewildered, the first thing they see, and it breaks their hearts, is Uma pacing the deck with the baby in her arms. She is a completely different Uma than the one they have been seeing for the last few days. And Desiree and Gonzo can't help but stop to look at her.
Uma has that sparkle in her eyes again, that imposing strength. But there is also something… different. She has her blouse pulled down on one side. Her left shoulder is bare, with the cinnamon skin exposed (if the sun's rays could reach her, she would gleam like a treasure of tobacco and gold), and the baby is on her breast, clinging to her mother while Uma looks at her with an expression that is calm and ferocious in equal measure. There is something in her eyes, Desiree realizes, because she has always been much more perceptive to this than others, a power that has nothing to do with magic or fear, it is something different.
Uma is golden and turquoise, and she stands on the deck of the Lost Revenge, full of haughtiness, implacable like the waves that advance without stopping, proud as a sea that shows the world its corals and storms, with her ocean hair in the air.
She is filled with pride in being able to feed her baby, and it makes all eyes on the dock turn to see her. And even if this kind of strength was never appreciated on the Isle, Desiree can say that, at this moment, no one would dare to even think about touching a hair of Uma and her people.
On one of the barrels accumulating on the deck of the ship, Harry sits quietly, close to the rigging, calmly holding his hook, leaning slightly forward, towards Uma, watching her feed the baby. His expression openly shows his desire for Uma, and love, and madness. And suddenly the moment seems so intimate to Desiree that has to look away.
Gonzo also seems to be looking for every other place to look. Not that the pirates are demure in any way, Uma and Harry especially; they have always been quite shameless. Living on a wooden ship, even from the privacy of the cabins, sound seems to travel everywhere. And everyone is used to seeing Uma breastfeeding Nerea all the time, anywhere.
It's just, maybe, the intensity between Harry and Uma right now. Desiree can almost feel the energy they both give off, and it is powerful.
Desiree and Gonzo share a look. And he takes her arm to stop her before she advances. They're not going to get soft now, but they both know they don't want to get to the ship with the news about Mal.
"Let's go back to the dock," Gonzo suggests, a wild glint in his eyes. "Let's find someone to buy the merchandise".
Desiree looks at Uma again. They were always taught that strength and power were where fear and evil were. But she sees Uma with her little daughter, and she can assure, strength and power are where a mother's fierce determination is. It's what is in Uma, what was always in her when she defended her people.
"Let's go," Desiree agrees, and they walk away again, hoping that no one in the Lost Revenge has noticed their presence. Uma has never come back empty handed for them. Not a single time. And they won't do this to her now.
The dock is full of noise. And Desiree and Gonzo walk to find a place in the market, where they exchange one of the cans for a place to sell. They are very careful not to put merchandise (cans, mostly) on a counter. They are not stupid; they have lived long enough on the Isle of the Lost to know that treacherous hands slide more easily than water.
"We can't not tell her," Gonzo muses, and Desiree nods.
"We must tell her," she agrees. "But at least let's try to get something home".
Gonzo nods, leans back on a stolen chair, with a sloppy posture, and begins to play with one of the small braids in his hair. After improvising a sale poster, Desiree sits in another chair and put her feet up on the borrowed table.
"Mal broke the agreement she had made with Uma," Gonzo growls. "That stupid treacherous fae".
"I don't think we could have expected anything different," says Desiree.
She can still remember the cheekiness in her expression when she told them that she would no longer buy from the crew merchandise. It had been a mutual agreement. Uma doesn't put high prices on the products she sells, it's actually a fair trade. Thus, Mal and Ben avoid the hassle of having to go to the dock on supply day. But that money, Uma and the crew need it. They count on it to be able to acquire other products that they could not take from the Auradon shipments. They could steal, of course, but people have become much more cautious about their possessions. And Uma doesn't want them to risk so much.
So, well, under pirate regulations, this can only be called treason.
Desiree and Gonzo stay in the market for a couple of hours, until Desiree despairs of the few sales they have had and forces a man to buy the rest of the merchandise. Fortunately, the man has a decent number of coins on him, although it is not nearly what Mal would have paid, and Desiree shoves the bag of cans on his chest. After that, they are free to return to the Lost Revenge.
It is almost night, they can know it because the darkness becomes much more overwhelming and many people turn on light bulbs, flashlights, and many others move away from the dock in the direction of their hiding places. Only a couple of unfortunate fishermen stay there, waiting for the last hours of the day to give them some food. Desiree and Gonzo climb aboard the Lost Revenge again, tired, and somewhat discouraged, although they won't let it show.
As soon as they get on the ship, Gonzo punches Jonas and they begin to fight on deck, but Desiree, knowing that the fight is simply a form of distraction, goes down to the lower deck looking for Uma.
Sounds of voices are heard coming from the kitchen, so Desiree goes there to find the rest of her family gathered around the table. Uma is serious, and her face relaxes just a little, almost imperceptibly, when she sees her. She stands up immediately, her arms crossed.
"Where were you?" She asks, her voice harsh. "You should have come back hours ago".
"We had to stay a bit longer, captain," Desiree replies calmly. She knows that it's not that Uma is overprotective (maybe she is, a bit), but that since Evie warned her that someone might be plotting against them, she has become much more cautious. Uma waves her hand, almost casually, for her to sit down.
Harry has Nerea and his attention is mostly on her, but he too is relieved to know that they are back and alive. Because no one has forgotten that, on the Isle of the Lost, if you are at the wrong time and place, a can of food can be worth much more than a life.
"We saved some of the dinner for you and Gonzo," Gil announces, his mouth full of food. Uma puts a bowl of soup in front of her, with the usual thump of her that they all associate with her and with the way she always showed her concern for them.
And it's not that Desiree is soft or whatever, just...
A sound of heavy footsteps comes through the hall, and a second later Gonzo and Jonas enter the kitchen, all calm now.
"Captain," Desiree says, forcing her voice out. "Actually, something did happen".
Uma frowns, taking the baby from Harry's arms. Then he gets up from the chair where he is sitting and stands to one side of Uma, behind her, as if ready to protect her from anything, holding his hook tightly, except that there are things that cannot be solved by hooking someone, thinks Desiree. Although, if she was asked, this could be solved by hooking Mal. Desiree doubts that Uma would allow it, but she is always willing to support that proposal.
Gonzo is serious now, and he shoots Desiree a look before speaking.
"Mal didn't buy the merchandise. She said she got a better deal".
The kitchen is silent for a moment, waiting for Uma's reaction. The captain has never been patient and her fury is swift and explosive. Desiree can almost see the way anger floods her eyes, and she lets out a growl that makes Gil jump. Harry snaps his hook into the wood of the table, and Uma hands him the baby, who seems a little scared too, to reassure him.
"It is treason," she declares, and her terrible sea queen voice is uncompromising as a hurricane. In this moment, she is the ruthless captain and she´s ordering them to give no quarter.
Desiree hands her the bag with the coins they won.
"Gonzo and I sold the cans. This is what we have," she says, putting the bag in her hands. Uma looks puzzled for a moment, almost moved, but then she firmly takes the bag and squeezes it in her hand.
"Thank you, Des, Gonzo," she says, and then, to reassure everyone, she adds, "You did a good job, we'll handle this." Then she gives a look at Harry and caress him on the shoulder. "Let's go, Harry".
By the time they leave, Desiree and Gonzo sit at the table with the others. Gil is no longer eating, and he has a thoughtful expression. And Gonzo and Jonas no longer play, nor does Bonny laugh. Because, although Uma always reassures them with that maternal look that tells them that things will work out, that everything will be fine, because she protects them and they are her people, this time everything looks a lot like the years before they left the Isle.
When the crew formed, Mal was already an Auradon's girl, but they always knew of the rivalry between their captain and Maleficent's daughter. And now, Mal is unloading again. Betraying the Isle again. And if she and Ben strike a bargain to win their freedom, Desiree thinks they won't be included in the deal.