Hello everyone! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I really hope you enjoyed it. A little more lighthearted, though in Gil's part there is mention of death as a concept so just warning. I am so thankful to everyone who has read this- over 1000 reads!- and the reviews, favorites and follows made my day. I hope you guys enjoy this last chapter before they get to school, and once again thank you for all your support, it means everything.

Uma

It didn't matter that she had been here for 3 days already, it still surprised her that whenever she breathed her throat didn't burn. Every lungful was clean, not suffused with smog and the filth the island wore like a second skin. She had already lost the rasping when she breathed, the air going down like a fine wine rather than toxic sludge. It was a change she could get used to, her mind already feeling less groggy, like the curtains had lifted.

She dug her fingers into the thick grass below her, relishing in the sheer softness. There was nothing like this on the Isle, the only place things grew was on the Evil Queen domain and the small clearing that Maleficent managed to claim. It was luxurious and so vibrant, she had no idea that such a shade of green existed. It really was like living in a new world, the fear, hatred and exhilaration fighting in her mind like opposing armies.

Sighing contentedly, Uma gazed at the star- studded sky above her. It was stunning, reminding her of her black silver studded leather jacket. She had no idea so many stars existed; on the Isle they were lucky to even glimpse a single star, the light already stolen by the smog that hung over them. They looked so pure, winking above her like they knew something she didn't. Normally, she hated when someone knew something she didn't .but gazing up upon them she was happy to let them have their secrets, she was just grateful they allowed her to bathe in their light.

"I thought I would find you out here," she heard, but didn't bother turning around. She didn't care if it was a Queen or a worm; she wouldn't turn for anyone.

Seeing as she wasn't going to get a reply, Tiana walked over and settled on the grass, leaning back to let the earth cradle her. She didn't bother trying to talk to Uma, recognising that the girl just wanted to be. She kept her eyes firmly on the sky above her, tracing the various constellations with her eyes. The stars had always been a source of comfort for her, a reminder that no matter how crazy things can get some things will never change. All she needed to do was look above her and she'd see evidence of that.

"Don't you have queen shit to do?" Uma eventually muttered, shattering the spell-binding silence that encased them.

"Probably, but Naveen can deal with that." she replied, not bothering to repremanind her for the language she used. She had given up on that on the first day.

Uma hummed non-committedly, her eyes still glued to the sky above her. A part of Tiana wanted to talk to the girl, to try pry open her rugged edges to find the gem underneath. She could tell the girl had a tough start, she had seen the rough skin and the marks that littered her body like macabre freckles. What she didn't know was how to get the girl to trust her, to let her know that she truly was there for her.

"Did you learn the constellations on the Isle?" Tiana asked, desperate to try to find something calm for them to talk about.

Uma scoffed bitterly, rolling her eyes at her naivety. "There were no stars, only smog," she replied, not bothering to sugarcoat it.

"I'm sorry to hear that, would you like me to teach you?" Tiana offered, her heart hurting for the girl beside her.

"Don't bother. My boyfriend told me about them." she said brusquely, making Tiana flinch slightly at her tone.

"Harrison right?" Tiana asked, only for Uma to whip around and pin her with a glare that made her father.

"Look, I know I have to be here until school starts, but you don't need to pretend to like me. Let's just keep our distance from each other, yea?" she snapped, standing up and striding away, her braids swinging angrily around her. "And it's Harry, not Harrison." she added, before striding away, done with Tiana and her false niceties.

Jay

"Where is it? I know I put it in my jewellery box," Rapunzel muttered, frantically moving objects as she looked for a specific piece of jewellery. "Ugh, mum is going to be so mad if I lost it, ugh stupid Rapunzel that was a damn heirloom!" she wailed, pulling her hands down her face as she scolded herself.

"Such language! I'm horrified," she heard the voice of her husband mock her, a teasing lit to his faux horrified tone.

"This is serious, Flynn!" she retorted, using the name that they use between themselves, "it is a Corona kingdom heirloom, mum will lock me back in the tower if I lose it!" she wailed, her breathing shallowing as years of loneliness swarmed her mind, robbing her of common sense.

In a few steps he crossed the room and tucked her head under his chin, rubbing soothing circles on his back. "Your family would never do that to you, no matter what you lose, and if they even tried to I'd rescue you all over again.' He said, lifting her chin to look him in the eyes.

Rapunzel immediately calmed. Eugene was like her own personal lantern, lighting the path for her and bathing her is a warm, safe glow. He would never lie to her, never lead her astray. He was steadfast and protective, always there to guide her but not encroach on her power. He was her everything.

"You are right, I know. How's Jay been? Has Ryder, Ruby and Elaina been nice to him?" she fretted, praying that her triplets would be kind to the boy, though considering they only arrived yesterday from their time at the Moon Ridge Kingdom, where her husband was Crown Prince, it was debatable if they even had the chance.

"Babe, I don't think they've even seen him," Eugene soothed, fighting back the smile that fought its way onto his face. "Give them a chance to settle in first, okay?"

She huffed, but ultimately agreed. It wasn't like she had much choice, her husband was stubborn. "Fine, I'm going to go see them, can you go find Jay for me? I want them to meet in a controlled setting," she said, already out the door.

"Sure thing babe, and I'm almost positive your necklace will come back soon, don't worry," he said, putting emphasis on the word positive.

With one last meaningful look around, Eugene left the room, giving his fellow thief and houseguest time to return what he had stolen, no questions asked.

Gil

"How's the patient?" Jasmine asked, placing her book on her golden nightstand.

Aladdin groaned, flopping on the bed. He muttered something unidentifiable, making Jasmine huff and gently prod him with her toe, clearly expecting a more verbose answer than that. "He's fine, though he's still confused as to what went wrong," he said after tilting his face on the side, making the Sultana groan and roll her eyes, wondering how in the name of Allah they had ended up in such a position.

Jasmine and Aladdin were no idiots, they knew taking another child under their wing would be a challenge. Doubly so considering who had raised him- Gaston wasn't exactly renowned for his galliantness and brains after all. They expected the boy to be rough around the edges, though considering Aladdin was all too familiar with such characters from his time in the streets they figured they could handle it. What they were not expecting was for the boy to have met Carpet, screamed and hid under the bed, only coming out with gentle coaxing. To make matters worse, Gil had apparently decided that all carpets could fly… which was how they ended up in this mess.

Gil had found the nearest rug and found the nearest balcony, one that was four stories high and launched himself off it, clinging to the carpet like it was magic. Both Jasmine and Aladdin had heard the crash from inside, where they were talking to their elder daughter Alia and son Aziz, and had sprinted out, their children on their tails. They had expected the boy to be trying to climb the wall like Jasmine did in her youth or something equally wild, but no, they found the boy moaning in pain, his body plastered on the ground with an intricately designed rug underneath him.

Jasmine sent a guard to fetch a doctor, the guard returning with the woman speedily. Carefully they had maneuvered the boy inside using the rug to carry him and scoured his body for injury; finding a few broken bones and a concussion. It was a miracle, and if he hadn't been endowed with magically enhanced strength and durability he would have died. They had tried to stress this to the boy, but he was too fixated on why the carpet didn't fly, merely shrugging at the thought of his own demise, claiming it wouldn't have mattered, especially since his dad had two other sons who mattered more.

(Aladdin had held Jasmine as she sobbed her heart out that night, her motherly instincts crying at the thought of the poor boy having such a degraded sense of self that he didn't even care about his own death. And it had taken everything in Aladdin not to dissolve into tears himself., a hatred for Gaston rivalling the one he felt for Jafar rearing its ugly head.)

It was 5 days since then, and the boy had mostly recovered, though he still had a slight limp. Aladdin had just returned from checking on him, gently guiding him to bed and making sure he stayed tucked in the luxurious sheets. He had stopped at the room they had locked up all their plush rugs in, not wanting to risk Gil hurting himself any further. Allah knows the boy was a walking disaster.

"Hey Jas?" Aladdin called, having climbed up and tucked up in bed himself.

"Yea?" she replied, clapping her hands to make the lights go out.

"We are never having more children."

Harry

He must have died and somehow managed to haggle his way into Heaven, Harry decided. It was the only reasonable explanation for his current present. There was no land in sight, only reams of ocean water that stretched out as far as the eye could see,sparkling as if covered with flecks of glitter. The sound of the waves beating excitedly against the ship's helm as it sliced through the ocean was enthralling, and he felt all his worries draining out of him as he stared out over the railing, sea spray speckling his form.

After the first time they had come out he had left his pirate hat back at the palace. The wind was eager, wanting to run it's hands through his messy locks. The sun beat relentlessly down on him, warming his soul and evaporating some of the stale hurt. It was as if he had stepped into a dream world, the entire seascape coming right out of his most vivid daydreams. His dad had told him stories of the high seas when the alcohol had softened his hard exterior, but those descriptions paled to the reality. This was magic, euphoric and peace all rolled into one and it almost made him regret that he had to leave it all behind.

"Nothing like being out on the ocean!" Eric called from his place at the wheel, his hair blowing wildly in the blustery weather.

"Aye, tis a beaut day," Harry replied, ignoring the voice in his mind that snapped at him for treating this man with anything less than viciousness.

Since his first day here, Eric had taken him out to sea. They went out at daybreak and didn't return till the sky was painted with hues of gold. Sometimes Ariel would swim out to join them, her affinity for the water guiding her to the right place. He had asked Eric once why she didn't join them on the ship but had just laughed good-naturedly, explaining that Ariel said it felt wrong being so close to the water but not in it, and that she stayed behind to manage the kingdom so they could go out and enjoy the weather.

Harry had felt his respect increase marginally at that, respecting that instead of trying to control her husband she wired with him, reminding him of the way the wind and water worked together the wind sculpting the waves that that the ocean provided the water for. She was incredibly politically savvy, Eric had explained, but was still one of the more rambunctious royals, the pair often escaping into the sea without a care in the world.

"Is ye Queen join'n us todae?" Harry asked, walking over to Eric.

"Nah, not today. She's got some papers to sort out then she is going to go see Galen and Kailani, she said,'' That was another thing that confused the bejeezus out of Harry, Ariel had two husbands.

"Am still baffled how the lass cuid marry ye both," Harry said, shaking his head slightly.

He wasn;t confused about the polyamory aspect, which was normal on the Isle. but the idea for a royal to marry two people, irrespective of them both being her soulmates? Well that went against everything he thought he knew about these pompous idiots.

Eric chuckled, his face sporting the familiar lovesick grin he got whenever Ariel was mentioned. "Perks of Atlantica not recognizing above sea marriages and vice versa," Eric said, a spark of amusement in his bright eyes.

"Is teh infertility thing an issue?" he asked, remembering how Erc had told him that Ursula's spell had taken more than her voice, it had robbed her of her ability to conceive, making her Atlantican step-daughter Kailani all the more precious to Ariel.

Eric's smile dimmed and Harry briefly wondered if maybe she shouldn't have mentioned that. Deciding he really didn;t care if the King was upset he just kept looking out to see, fashioning his most authentic disinterested expression on his face. "It is hard yea, but since my life is tied to Ariel's, meaning I get her mermaidian extreme longevity, having a heir doesn't matter. When we get older she may permit me to take a mistress for the purposes of creating aheir, but I am trying to postpone that for as long as possible. All I want is her," he said, his voice transforming from forlorn to dreamy by the last word.

"Yer a lovesick fool," Harry snorted amused at the other man's expression.

Eric just turned to Harry, the knowing gaze in his eye making the pirates stomach sway like a stormy sea. "Trust me, once you find your soulmate no other girl compares. I knew the moment I heard her voice that she was mine, but that was partly due to the fact her mother was part siren, allowing her voice to pinpoint her soulmate. But I digress," he said, shaking himself out of his thinking. "When you find her, you'll never let her go. Then we'll see who the lovesick fool is," Eric added slightly, his voice turning teasing.

They bantered for a little while longer, ribbing each other. While on the ship they were brothers at sea, their differing views not strong enough to hold up to the allure of the sea. Harry ignored what Eric said, having long ago decided the true love and all its incarnations were the stuff of heroes, something the most assuredly was not.

Moon Ridge is the changed name I'm using for the Dark Kingdom, from the Tangled Series.