Disclaimer: Still don't own.

Chapter 6: Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Jane had never been to the Isle. Why would she? After all, she was born good, the daughter of the Fairy Godmother. Of course, she had heard things about it growing up - that the Isle was where all the villains lived and everyone there was evil - but she still didn't know anything about the Isle.

When Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay first arrived, all she had to go on was stories that she had been told about their parents. How wicked they were. How cruel and cold and unlovable they were. Eventually, she got to talk to and know the VKs a bit better, she got to know Carlos better and she realized that the stories she had been told all her life were not true. A person wasn't born evil and even the actual definition of what made someone evil was starting to seem more and more like something that was more grey than either black or white to Jane. After all, Mal and Evie helped her with her confidence, Jay made her laugh, and Carlos...Carlos was always so sweet and supportive.

However, Jane knew it would be a lie to say she now knew everything about the Isle. She barely knew anything about her own boyfriend's life there.

"So you're the pup's girl, right?"

Jane startled, pulled out of her thoughts as one of the new VKs sat across from her with a tray overflowing with food. Carlos's cousin, Diego de Vil.

Blushing when she realized he was referring to Carlos, Jane nodded at his easy grin.

Put side by side, it was obvious that Carlos and Diego were related, and yet, they were so vastly different. Both boys wore the De Vil color of white, black and red though where Carlos leaned more towards the white, Diego wore black. Even his hair was the inverse of Carlos's, with white shaven sides gradually fading into a black mohawk. Jane also noticed that while Carlos was shy and soft and kind, Diego seemed edgier and confident and maybe even a tad bit cocky.

"Carlos and I have been dating for a few weeks now. Since the cotillion," she offered.

A sound of amused disbelief escaped Diego's lips as he glanced back to where his cousin and the other three new VKs waited in the lunch line. Carlos seemed to be struggling to maintain his patience with his too former friends (minions, Jane mentally corrected herself, remembering the look of indifference all three boys had exchanged when she had innocently asked how they had become friends earlier), Jace and Harry Badun. The two girls, Hermie Bing and Claudine Frollo, stood anxiously to the side of them as the sons of Cruella's henchmen continued to try to wheedle out if they were being tricked when told it was an "all you can eat" buffet.

Diego turned back to Jane and shook his head, his easy grin still in place. "Gotta say, if you had told me a year ago that Carlos would catch a cute gal like you, I would say it was some sort of scam or setup. But, I don't suppose those things happen in Auradon, do they?"

Jane shook her, tucking a loose curl of hair behind her ear. "N-no, I guess not," she said biting her lip nervously. "I mean, I haven't heard of anything like that here."

Diego shrugged taking a bite out of the sandwich on his plate. Jane was mesmerized by the way he ate. Where Carlos would sometimes forget that utensils were invented for a reason, especially after a long day of classes and practices, Diego seemed to have perfected the ability to practically inhale food but with the best of table manners. So mesmerized, Jane didn't even really realize she was being equally observed by the older boy until he spoke again.

"You know you can just ask, right?"

She blinked confused. "Ask what?"

Diego laughed, a sound that didn't seem as bright as Carlos's. "Whatever is going on in that pretty little head of yours, Janey-Jane. Come on now. Ask. I promise I don't bite. Much."

Worrying her lip, Jane thought. Carlos was so sweet and kind and supportive but beyond from what she had seen of him at Auradon, she really knew nothing about his growing up. For bibbity bobbity sakes, she didn't even know he had a cousin until Diego had stepped out of the limo and Evie had introduced him.

It wasn't necessarily a matter of lack of trust when it came to her boyfriend. But Carlos never talked about his childhood. He would let her go on and on about little insignificant things that she remembered happening growing up (the time Chad used one of her pigtails as a brush; the time when Audrey made her play the frumpy lady-in-waiting when everyone else got to dress up as a princess; or the time where everyone except Ben forgot to find her during a game of hide-and-go-seek), listening with such rapt attention that butterflies would flutter in her stomach under his intense brown stare. But any time she tried to learn more about his childhood his face would close off despite the kind smile he still wore and he would hesitantly tuck a lock of hair behind her ear before saying he merely studied and messed around with his inventions a lot growing up. He wasn't being completely honest, she knew he knew he wasn't being completely honest, but when she had gone to Lonnie and Ben (the only Auradon friends she had that had been to the Isle) for advice about how to approach this situation, they both advised to just be patient. Carlos would tell her when he was ready. (She was patient. She was always patient. When was she not plain old patient Jane?) And now, here she had Carlos's cousin, who she didn't even know existed until only hours before, offer to possibly shed some light on the boy that she lo-liked. The boy that she liked.

Before she could open her mouth however, the chair next to her was suddenly occupied by her boyfriend, the other new VKs quickly taking the other open seats available. Carlos looked at her before turning a glare towards Diego. "What did you say to her?" he said with a tone so dark and threatening, one that reminded her that he had much more Isle in him than she ever knew.

His cousin merely chuckled, raising his hands defensively. "Hey man, I was just having a conversation with Janey here. Professor Yen Sid said it was always good to be friendly and make polite conversation when you meet someone new."

Carlos looked towards Jane for confirmation who nodded.

"Oh," Carlos said, expression melting into sheepishness. "Well...um, sorry, Diego. I- It's just weird… I mean, you know, on the Isle-"

"Don't worry about it, cuz," Diego interrupted, waving his apology off. "The Isle is the Isle. Blood didn't mean much there but, we're not on the Isle anymore, are we?" he questioned, offering out his hand.

Jane didn't know much about Carlos's life on the Isle before Auradon but the tentative smile on his face, as if he wasn't sure if Diego was joking or not, before he clasped his hand with his cousin's caused her heart to clench for them both.

WE'LL LIGHT THE FUSE

He didn't think it was possible, but Harry would rather be helping Uma mop up the Chip Shop after closing than be here.

In all honesty, Harry just wanted Mal's boy toy to just shut his trap. And to stop smiling. His smile was too damn bright. It was giving him a headache. Gods, did everyone smile this brightly in this pastel colored hell? Ugh, where was his hook? What was Good King Beasty and Princess Blueberry even going on about?

Oh right. Blah, blah, blah, blah, with a side of dull and kill-me-now.

His hand was tightly squeezed and the murderous glare he was directing at the young king turned into a cocky smile as he looked at his captain. Though she looked just as bored as he felt, he knew that she was observing everything, taking everything in, figuring how things ticked so she could take things apart and put it back the way she deemed fit. She watched the way all the poncy little princes and princesses gave their group ample space around them. How they looked anywhere but directly at the three pirates who with their dark tattered clothes and equally dark expressions (well except Gil; the poor idiot couldn't make anything look dark). Still, their whispers of judgement follow the group with every step that they took.

It was different on the Isle. On the Isle people feared them and crowds parted for him and Uma as soon as they walked into the room. On the Isle, people, even enemies, knew to refer to him as the first mate of Captain Uma. Here, surrounded by these too clean, too bright Auradon brats, he was merely a villain's son and he once again felt his father's shadow fall on him and swallow him up in the man's never ending disappointment.

Harry shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. To stay focus, but his skin felt too tight, like it was too small for him, his fingers barely felt Uma's hand in his. His eyes flickered quickly from one thing to another and his heart felt like it was about to break through his chest. He tried to focus on the words coming out of Ben's and Evie's mouth, the excited gasp that Gil let out over something, even the uncreative gossip about himself, Uma, and Gil that was swirling none to discreetly around them. Usually, one wrong word in regards to his captain would have had a string of angry curses and threats leaving his mouth but his breathing became too uneven, too shallow and the world seemed to spin around and around and around...

Davy Jones, was it always this difficult to breathe? Was this how he was going to go? Hookless and leaving only Gil to support Uma? No. He promised. He wouldn't be taken from her side.

"Harry. Breathe."

And slowly, with multiple deep breaths in and out, everything shifted back into focus with Uma at the center. He tried to grin but his lips just not reaching his eyes. "Sorry, Captain...Just...tired," he said in an unusually soft and uneven voice. Uma motioned Gil to step closer to them, a worried look on the boy's face as he blocked the view of many prying eyes from them.

"It's happening again," Uma commented more to herself and Harry's grin couldn't help but widen just a bit despite the discomfort he was in at the hint of concern in her voice and how tightly she squeezed his hand. "I shouldn't have waited so long to talk to you about your hook," she said, eyes holding uncertainty and self blame. Harry hated that look. Hated that he was the cause of that look, as he found himself leaning on her much smaller frame physically for support, Gil already trying to put one of his arms around his shoulders to aid Uma. He tried to ignore the voice that sounded too similar to his father's whispering "pathetic, useless boy".

Ben looked concerned, eyes roaming along the pirate's face for the cause of what ailed the first mate, looking unsure when nothing obvious stood out to him. It was Evie however, who took control over the situation (Harry seriously wondered how she hadn't just taken over the damn kingdom by now). "Let's cut the tour short and show you three to your rooms," she said gently but with a note of authority that even Harry dare mess with in his current state.

Uma nodded, taking the opportunity to get Harry away to somewhere more private that Evie was silently offering. Harry held back a groan. He didn't want Uma owing the other girl more than necessary, if anything at all, especially for him and felt like sea scum that he was putting more on his captain's shoulders. "Just lead the way, Princess."

Stuck between Uma and Gil, it didn't take long to get to the dorms. Harry almost sighed in relief when Evie and Ben showed them the first room that would belong to him and Gil. He pulled away from his crewmates to stumble his way to the nearest bed where he flopped himself down face first. He let out a slight sigh of relief, pressing his face into the pillow. He didn't feel like he was suffocating anymore from or that his fingers were going numb but he was left feeling drained and too sweaty.

Harry focused on his breathing, letting out a sigh of content when he felt the bed dip next to him and Uma's wonderful fingers run through his hair.

The room was silent for a moment before Ben broke the silence. "What just happened?" he asked. (Harry almost snorted at the sound of concern in the boy's voice. How did King Sheds-A-Lot Jr. last even a minute on the Isle with that bleeding heart of his?)

"I don't know," Uma responded, continuing to run her fingers through Harry's hair.

"Uma, please. Trust me. I just want to help. You said 'it's happening again'. You know what this is," the young king responded frustratedly.

Harry peeked one eye out from the pillow where his face was buried watching warily as Uma attempted to calm herself down. "I said, I don't know." A shiver ran down his back at her tone as she continued to rake her fingers through his hair.

Ben tried again, "Uma-"

"I DON'T KNOW!" the sea witch said untangling her hand from Harry's hair and standing up suddenly, scowl set on her face. The air around her seemed thick with the smell of sea salt and coming storms. Harry pushed himself up on the bed, ready to back up his Captain at her first order, whether he was too weakened to or not. "Do you think I would let this continue to happen to what is mine if I knew what was going on?" She took a deep breath, reigning herself in and Harry reached out for her hand, which she immediately gripped like a lifeline. Voice more controlled but softer she finally shared, "It just happens when Harry works himself up too much. Not having his hook doesn't help."

Evie made a move to try to stop Ben but the boy continued on, stepping closer to the young captain. "But a doctor on the Isle should have-"

"What's a doctor?" Gil asked looking so confused from where he had sat himself down on the other bed. That stopped Ben up short, staring at Gil as if he had whole heartedly with full conviction told him that he had two heads.

"Ben," Evie explained softly as Uma turned her back on them, returning back next to her spot on Harry's bed. "The Isle doesn't have doctors."

I'm really not giving these poor kids a break, am I? I had intended to add Uma meeting her new roommate (wanna take a guess to who she's rooming with? It may or may not surprise you) but I felt like where I ended was a good ending for this chapter.

I'm hoping to get a new chapter in by the beginning of next week but it might take until the end of next week since I'll be starting an internship for school starting tomorrow. Sorry in advance and thank you for understanding.

As always, thank you again for all the awesome reviews! Each one really makes my day bright and I'm thankful for all of them.