The hot night has turned into a storm, and the Lost Revenge stirs more restlessly than ever, as if wanting to crawl further into the sea, close to the thunder and the untamed current. It is one of the thunders that wakes Uma, in a jump in which the anguish and the rumbling of the ancient and lonely sea are mixed.
Her heart beats fast, the knot in her throat closes like the knots in the rope that tie the sail, almost impossible to undo, succumbing only to the most vigorous hurricane between the beats of the sea. However, Harry has the momentum of the gale, he is an ungraspable mix of wind and ocean, and he has always been able to destroy Uma's chains. And she feels him next to her body, and feels that he too is moving away from the dream because he perceives that she is awake. In an instant, as Uma moves to get the baby out of her crib, Harry sits awake. The ship rocks, another thunder explodes in the sky. The nights on the island are often stormy, and the glare of the cyclone does not scare them.
"Captain?" Harry asks, wanting to know what is wrong, why does Uma press Nerea to her chest as she returns to bed close to him, and he knows her so well that he identifies the aggressiveness in the tense way of her muscles and in the growl that hits her teeth like the desperate snap of silver foam. Nerea is also awake now, placid in Uma's possessive grip, loud when she sees Harry. "Uma, love, what is it?"
She is like a cornered animal trying to protect Nerea and Harry is patient because he senses that it is about dreams again. He waits for Uma to feel the danger pass, and then he watches her breathe more calmly, her body relaxes, she hides in Harry's arms, looking for the firmness of her first mate, the warmth of his naked skin against hers. And when she looks at him, Harry is reassured because, even though it's the same fiery look, full of fire, there is no panic in her eyes.
"Go back to sleep, Harry," she can't help her voice coming out like an order, but Harry doesn't mind.
"Did you have another nightmare again?"
Uma purses her lips stubbornly. She is not made to show weakness, and even if he is the only person with whom she is capable of doing so, she dislikes it. But this nightmare has been so recurring in recent days, ever since what happened with Desiree on the dock, and Harry knows it haunts her. He doesn't need her to utter an answer, he knows it from the way her arms hold Nerea.
Uma surrenders in the end (only with him is she willing to give quarter, only Harry can hear the secrets of her unwinding like an endless snail and peering into the abyss of her heart), exhales letting go of the tension, and nods.
"I don't trust her, Harry," says Uma, and he understands everything behind it, the fear of having pinned their hopes on the wrong person, the helplessness of knowing that if someone is going out into the world again, it will probably be Mal, not Nerea, not the crew, not Harry, not her.
Mal has done nothing for the past few days. They could never find evidence that the attack on Desiree had anything to do with her, much less Ben. But Uma feels it in her heart, deep doubt, lurking, alert.
Everything is too much like when they were so young. Mal is admired by those who still consider her queen of Auradon and the Isle, the people on the dock are faithful to Uma, and the nightmares where Mal snatches her treasures drown her. Except now it is not the territory, nor the power, that worries Uma. It is not even food, something for which she often fought with other gangs on the island. Dreams catch her like a fish that has been left out of the sea, guarded by the moonlight, and in them Mal has a Nerea in her arms. She does nothing. She doesn't threaten Uma, she doesn't try to fight her. But there is something that doesn't feel right, and she desperately wants her daughter back, but neither she nor Harry are able to protect her or get close to her.
"No one will let someone get near Nerea, captain. Your crew would die before allowing it".
Uma knows this, because she has seen the way they look at her from the moment she was born. Harry does not hesitate because he knows what Uma is to them, that they would do anything for their captain, for the maritime goddess who has always protected them.
The Lost Revenge is full of ferocity and thunderous force like waves. And it's the only place Uma trusts, and her pirates are the only ones she would allow to get close to her starfish.
Uma calms down with Harry's breathing and the way he hugs her. Like all of him, there is duality in his grasp; he is strong and confident, and Uma feels that he is giving himself to her, and that he promises her that he is hers. She loves her pirate as she loves freedom and the rush of the wind.
The old wood creaks, the movement and the constant sound of dripping on the upper deck does not stop. But it's just what Uma needs to be able to sleep again.
The night storm has not completely gone away, it just subsides, almost expectantly, amid the warm midday haze. However, the incessant drip of drizzle is not heard inside the fish and chip shop.
Gil has Nerea and stands apart, protecting her along with Gonzo and Jonas, while the others prepare the tables, and make sure that the wood of the chairs is not entirely weak, impatient because everyone remembers the burning under Ursula's tentacles, and they wait for the captain and first mate to finish checking everything.
It still smells of salt, rum, and the greasy fish that used to be sold here. There are also old fight marks, the Lost Revenge and its motto stamped on the walls. Gil can almost hear the laughter of the crew at lunch, as they hovered near Uma, seeking her protection, yearning only to feel her presence near her, knowing themselves worthy of her trust. Knowing that she was unlike any leader on the island. That she would take care of them, that she would never allow someone else to take what is hers, just as now no one is willing to allow something to happen to Nerea.
"I didn't remember this," Bonny says, pulling a cutlass from its hiding place under the table that used to be the crew's. Even though the weapons had to be left in the barrel at the entrance, Uma always made sure that they knew where there were hidden cutlasses, in case they had to defend themselves. She was not so afraid of gangs (the fighting for territory took place outside, on the dock, in the alleys or in the market), but Ursula had an old habit of getting aggressive when she was drunk.
"We didn't find anything," Harry announces, coming out of the back room with Uma.
"Are you sure you were searching?" Gonzo asks suggestively, to ease everyone's tension.
"Half the time, and then we made out," Uma answers, cheeky as always, approaching Gil so that he can give her the baby. Nerea snuggles into her arms, sniffing Uma's skin, restless and curious as the surf. She looks at her and the sea is in her eyes, and there is something that makes her shine like the proud gold of a shipwreck.
People might think that having a daughter would make Harry and Uma go soft, that it would make them the heroes with a happy ending that Auradon always wanted them to be. When Nerea was born, Gil saw the fire ignite in them stronger than ever, and the desire to navigate the world, ride each wave, feel the storm...
"Then it's all set," Harry sentences, his commanding gaze sweeping through them all. Nobody looks away, although it would be the instinctual reaction of anyone in front of a predator, but these pirates trust him and know what he is ordering them. Take care of the captain, always, even if she is far from a helm. Even if she's waiting tables. But it was always like that, and they have always known it.
Once Uma managed to make a name for herself and conquer an isle from here, and Gil never doubts that she can do it again. And he never doubts if he wants to be among her people, even if this gets him away from unexpected friends.
The dock is full of people when they return, as it gets dark. Uma remembers the sky merging with the sea, the bleeding red of the sun being swallowed up by the depths. She remembers vertigo and wondering if there would be sunshine the next day. It seemed so impossible to see it again; as if it let itself fall by will, as if it longed for the sea to catch it in its dance.
She tries to tell Nerea about the real sunsets; the free sunsets, a bit violent, full of red and turquoise. Uma knows that people look at them as they walk down the street, and she knows that she and Harry might stop breathing amid so much overwhelming love, between Nerea's restless sounds and the voracious pain of their own desire. And she knows that Gil and Jonas and Bonny and Gonzo are so willing to follow her, no matter where.
If only she could have given them a real expedition before coming back here… if they could have set sail for Nerea to see the world and feel the inviting breeze from the sea. Sometimes Uma can't help but think about everything that she couldn't give them.
But she looks at Harry, and there is something strange that lets her know that everything will be fine. One way or another. It is something that has not changed over time, the tranquility that she finds in his impetuous gaze.
The Lost Revenge is still somewhat imposing, still docked, with the sail attached, with no wind to chase. It is almost silent when they arrive, but the strip of spotlights that Gil installed illuminate the deck, and Uma can hear the murmur of a voice that she does not recognize at first, among the voices of her pirates. However, a second later, she does. It's Evie. Harry stops, looks at Uma expectantly, and she nods at his silent question.
So, he crosses the deck in two steps with his menacing and mischievous gait.
"What are you doing here?" He asks, without preamble, causing Evie, who is talking to Desiree, to turn to him. She stiffens, instinctively takes a step back, but then nods in his direction as a greeting, and looks up at Uma.
"I know I shouldn't be here without the captain's permission," she begins, "but I had to talk to you two. It is urgent".
Harry listens as he drags the tip of his hook around the edge of one of the barrels impatiently.
"So? What is it?" Uma demands. She has nothing against Evie, but since she doesn't know what Mal's claims are, any rapprochement between her people and hers is a bit tense.
The ship creaks, Nerea wakes up in Uma's arms, sniffs her and kicks the air in discomfort. Uma moves her position, bouncing her a bit so that she calms down because she looks like she is going to cry at the most unexpected moment. Maybe it's because she feels Uma's uneasiness, but the baby doesn't settle for subtle movement. Harry walks over, Uma gently places her in his arms and can't help but look at his expression for an instant, the way disbelief fills his face every time he sees her, the way Nerea calms down, hypnotized by him.
"It's Mal," Evie says, and although Uma tries to decipher the tone of her voice and the expression on her face, she can't. It would be foolish to forget that she was raised as a princess, capable of hiding her emotions when the situation demands it. Uma shifts her weight from leg to leg impatiently, and Evie decides to be direct. "This afternoon they have come for them; they were summoned by Beast and the Fairy Godmother. Mal and Ben are in Auradon right now".