Chapter 3: Riding New Tides
"Good evening Auradon! It's been a little over a week since High King Ben and his recently appointed Royal Councilor Evie, of the Isle of the Lost and rising Auradon fashion designer, met up with the members of the Council of Sidekicks. No word on the exact nature of the meeting but it was declared this week that another group of children from the Isle of the Lost will be selected to attend Auradon Prep. As you all may remember, Councilor Evie, the newly titled Lady Mal, Carlos de Vil, and Jay, son of Jafar, were the first to be brought over as part of High King Ben's first proclamation to provide a second chance to the children of some of Auradon's wickedest villains.
"Sources say that another group of Isle children will be brought over sometime in the next few days. Currently, we have not been told how many or any of the names of the children selected. When High King Ben's office was contacted we were only told that these children, like the ones before, were "the most at need" and that amongst this new group will be High King Ben's second Royal Councilor who we have been told has already accepted the title and position.
"Survey of High King Ben's recent activities in regards to his first proclamation has been met with mixed opinions and a great deal of uncertainty in regards to this mysterious second Royal Councilor. Though the original four children of the Isle have made promising steps towards good, many are still unsure whether anyone from the Isle of the Lost can be truly good for in the long run. For now though, all we can do is wait until the names of the newest group of children from the Isle are revealed and see what the King does next. This is Snow White giving you the Royal News Update on Auradon Evening News. Back to you in the studio-"
Fairy Godmother sighed tiredly before switching off the television. "This is going to cause quite a stir, your Majesty."
"All new things at some point do," Ben smiled gently, standing across from her.
"I suppose... Must we be so hasty, dear? This is such a large group and though our original four have been splendid, if not a bit...eccentric," she smiled with one of her too bright smiles, "there will be many factors to take into consideration."
Ben sighed. This conversation was not a new one between them. As Headmistress of Auradon Prep, it was her duty that all of her students had the best chances for success, even the troubled ones. Admittedly, Fairy Godmother was amongst some of the hesitant voices when Ben first made his proclamation, she never outright was against helping the children of the Isle. However, this larger than before group seemed to put the fairy on edge.
"Fairy Godmother," Ben began, motioning her to take a seat. "Though I always appreciate the wisdom you provide as Headmistress as well as through your past reputation, we can't and we mustn't hold this off any longer. Unfortunately, we'll never be able to save every deserving soul on the Isle of the Lost but that doesn't mean we should stop trying. I know this is will have its challenges but several students, including your daughter have stepped up and agree to help with making our new guests feel welcome here."
"Ben, I'm sure there will be some wonderful students amongst this group. The concern that I'm afraid you're overlooking is that one of them will be that young lady, Uma, who tried to take over the kingdom by putting a love spell on you," she said placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "How do you know you can ever truly trust her?"
"I don't," he said honestly. "I'm just listening to my heart. And it's telling me that she deserves a chance. A real chance."
Fairy Godmother nodded. Though she had retired her magic long ago, if she concentrated long enough, she could see the soft golden glow of a pure heart in the young King…
"Well, if that's the case," she said reaching for her nearby notepad. "We should probably discuss reopening the West Wing then."
Smiling, relieved, Ben nodded. "Yes, of course."
Same Time, On the Isle
"-many are still unsure whether anyone from the Isle of the Lost can be truly good for in the long run. For now though, all we can do is wait until the names of the newest group of children from the Isle are revealed and see what the King does next. This is Snow Wh-"
Uma turned off the staticy television, hearing enough.
"It's so red! Why do you think they made it so red, Uma?"
The young captain wasn't sure if she was more amused or frustrated by the fact that Gil had never seen an apple that wasn't moldy or rotten until now. "Apples are supposed to be that way when they're fresh, Gil," she said turning towards the son of Gaston and plopping a tray of food in front of him.
The boy grinned at her from his spot sitting on the counter stools of her mother's shop. "Wow. You learn something new every day," he whispered in awe and complete seriousness before taking a bite out of the fruit, his eyes growing wide at its sweet juicy flavor.
The young sea witch's lips curled into a small smirk at her friend's easy delight. Grabbing his hand that held the fruit, Uma pulled it away from Gil mid bite and took a small bite of it herself. Gil grinned happily in pure delight as he watched his friend savor the sweet taste.
"Good, isn't it?" he asked.
Uma released his hand, pulling away, her expression indifferent. "Not bad. I guess," she said before the kitchen bell rang, announcing that one of her orders was ready. She plopped the food in front of who ordered it, still somewhat surprised when she didn't get a complaint about receiving the wrong order. (Hey, if she was going to do three shifts back to back without a break, she didn't have the energy to get orders correct).
A few days after Evie's unexpected visit, Uma had been sure her terms of negotiation would not be met. Despite being filled with goody-two-shoe princes, princesses, and heroes, not once in Auradon's 20 years of being united had anyone ever spared a look towards the Isle and its inhabitants. Therefore, the young Captain and her crew were filled with unparalleled shock when a magically directed barge came through the barrier filled with fresh food and supplies and docked itself right by her ship. It was mostly thanks to her crew competently following her orders (with a few threats from Harry to hurry things along) and that this happened in the dead of night, when even most of the villains on the Isle were asleep that there wasn't a riot. (Uma begrudgingly supposed she had Evie or perhaps even Mal to thank for that, though she would never actually thank them. She was a pirate, afterall.)
Uma and her crew had spent all night dividing and separating the supplies. She of course made sure she and her crew were taken care of first, picking the best of everything provided but even the mediocre food and supplies that were left to distribute throughout the Isle was ten times better than what they usually had received for the past 20 years. The Isle never really celebrated any holidays like Christmas but when word went around that Uma and her crew were selling (they're pirates, they gotta make a profit) non-rotten food and actually not useless supplies, it felt pretty close to Christmas.
Shaking her head, Uma forced her thoughts back to the present. It had been a week since that first arrival of actually edible food with two additional equally fresh barges showing up in a similar fashion since. With each barge, unlike her crew and the rest of the island who celebrated, a storm like fury brewed within her at the knowledge that at any time the "good" people of Auradon could have easily provided the basic necessities of living on the Isle. Uma wondered how many children wouldn't have had to go to bed starving. How many of the sick wouldn't have had to cut off infected limbs or become so weak and wasted with fever that slitting their throats was more mercy in one stroke than they would ever see in their life. She even allowed herself to wonder if the original villains sent here (her mother; Harry's father; Gil's father) would have been different (less shitty; less crazy; less abusive) if one's own survival wasn't always the first thing on people's minds.
What if.
What if.
What if...
"Oooo! Her face is doing that lovely squinching thing that I love," Harry's voice chuckled behind her bringing her out of her Auradon inspired rage. "Someone must have really riled you up. But I just arrived. Should I be jealous, darling?"
Uma ignored the question and its asker, walking back over to the counter that Gil was sitting at, Harry swaggering closely behind her with a smirk. Uma turned to the kitchen window, ringing the bell twice before another tray of food appeared. She placed it in front of the now seated Harry before tossing another fresh apple that she had kept tucked away in her pocket at him. Harry winked cheekily, catching it before taking a bite, and placing his hook in front of him.
Leaning against the counter, Uma picked up Harry's hook, idly twirling it in her hands. Harry didn't even blink, instead trading the fresh hard boiled eggs on his tray with Gil's untouched fresh tuna. "What's the word, Hook?" Uma asked.
"The latest shipment has been sorted and divided throughout the Isle," her first mate responded, licking his fingers. "A few skirmishes with some old hags and drunks but nothing the crew couldn't handle. Even the 'Big Bads' like our parents haven't dared to challenge ya."
"And what have our little birdies been crowing?"
"Just your name leaving people lips in praise, Uuuummmma." The boy purred, giving one of her braids a quick but affectionate tug before his smile faded.
Uma noticed. "What's going through that twisted head of yours? That looks has been showing up for days ever since that little blue witch showed up," she questioned. Gil even paused stuffing his face with hard boil eggs to look worriedly at his friend.
A look of uncertainty flashed on Harry's face, something that Uma hadn't seen in a long time on her usually confident first-mate face. It made her tense. It made her anxious. It made her stomach twist in a strange and uncomfortable way and her hands wanting to reach out to him in a way that she refused to analyze. Not here and not now at least.
Since Uma had his hook, Harry took off his hat. He ran his hands through his hair, giving them something to do with his nervous energy. "Do we really have to go to Bor-adon?" he said with a look that on anyone else would look like it was a pout. (It wasn't a pout. Pirates didn't pout.)
"Harry…"
"Hear me out, Uma," he continued, voice low for only Uma and Gil to hear. "We run things here. We have a ship. We have a crew. We have Mal's old turf. We now have decent food, for once in our lives. We rule this Isle. You rule this Isle."
"It's not. Enough." Uma fumed, keeping her voice low. No point to give anyone potentially watching that something was amiss between the Captain and First Mate. "It will never be enough! We deserve everything those sparkling clean pretty pink princes and princesses in Auradon have. The bare minimum is not enough! The bare minimum hasn't even been met! I don't care if I do have to play nice with the King and his dragon-breath girlfriend or the Blue Powder Puff. I will rule one way, whether or not I have a visible crown. My goal hasn't changed, Harry. Just the tides I use to get there," she spat gripping Harry's chin tightly in her hand to face her when he started to look away. Gil watched from the side, gaze worriedly flicking back and forth between the two. "Do I need to change my first mate too?"
Harry removed her hand from its grip on his chin, instead bestowing a light kiss on her knuckles, never breaking eye contact. "I'll hook anyone who even thinks they could take me away from your side," he said seriously. ("Don't throw me away.)
Uma's expression was unreadable before she smirked which caused Harry to flash a wicked grin of his own. "Good, because I expect nothing less from my first mate." ("I can't do this without you.")
The rest of her shift went by as usual and once it was over, Uma led her crew back to their ship. As everyone else went along doing their duties, Uma climbed up to the crow's nest, unaware of the boy with the brilliant blue eyes and a gleaming hook who only had eyes for her. Once at the top Uma stared across the water at the gleaming city of Auradon. She knew that the invitations would be sent and soon the golden bridge made of magic would form leading her to Auradon. Though thoughts and plans constantly swirled in her head, she allowed her mind to focus on the familiar sea chanty that some of her crew members began to sing.
"We ride with the tide," she sang softly along. "We ride with the tide and never look back." She wouldn't make the same mistakes she made before. Auradon wouldn't know what hit it...
I wish you could see how many versions of this chapter I had before settling on this one. This chapter just didn't want to be written. Anyway, it's short but there's some HUMA fluff!
Thank you again for such a wonderful response to this story. You all have made procrastinating on doing grad school apps for my PhD so worth it!
As always, let me know what you think! Your comments really warm my heart!