This story is a direct follow-up from my other Gil/Jay story called "A Rose Blooming". I would strongly recommend to read that one first before reading this one, since you probably won't be able to understand the events in this story otherwise.
Jay walked beside Carlos through the giant castle halls. He pretended to know where he was going, but the castle was honestly still a huge maze for him. He had visited it a couple of times before, considering that one of his best friends actually lived there. All the halls still looked the same to him, while Jay tried to find the fastest route to their destiny.
"Jay, slow down," Carlos complained behind him, trying to keep up with Jay's quick pace. "I know we're late, but you don't have to rush?"
"I don't, you're just really slow," Jay said back to him.
"No, I'm not. You're just really eager to see him again." Jay quickly looked over his shoulder to his best friend. He then had to concentrate again, not sure if he was heading in the right direction.
"Gil has been really busy lately," Jay complained to Carlos. "Something about repairing the pirate ship, but every time I look at that wreck it honestly looks worse to me."
Carlos simply shrugged, even though Jay didn't pay attention to him. "At least it will give you the change to spend some time studying. Your exams are still in a few months."
Jay rolled his eyes. "You really have to remind me all the time? Don't you have anything better to do?"
"Not really," Carlos joked back. He grabbed Jay's arm, stopping him in his trace. "Someone still needs to keep an eye on you. And by the way, meeting room is that way." Carlos pointed in the direction they had just come from. Jay sighed frustrated, but also smiled up to his friend.
"Want to do a little race?" Jay asked with a challenging look on his face. Before Carlos could even answer Jay sprinted away, leaving Carlos no choice than to chase after him.
"You're just going in the wrong direction again!" Carlos yelled up to him.
"I'm not!" Jay yelled back, hearing his voice echoing through the empty halls.
...
Carlos and Jay almost busted through the doorway when they finally reached the meeting room.
"Told you I knew the way," Jay said proudly to his friend. He then noticed his boyfriend and his golden, wavy hair that fell on his shoulders, being held back by the bandana. His eyes were gentle and he immediately smiled to Jay when they entered the room. Gil seemed to be at ease, even though there was still a lot he had to be nervous about.
It had only been a few days since they had chased Gaston and his two eldest sons away. Since then they already heard multiple rumours about Gaston raising an army. King Ben had decided to inform the people of Auradon about the plausible threat that Gaston formed against them. He still didn't agree with closing the barrier again, standing to his decision to unite the Isle of the Lost and the United States of Auradon. Even though Mal and Ben had to be under a lot of pressure, they didn't show it when they sat side by side at the head of the table. Mal just sighed frustrated when she saw Carlos and Jay finally entering the room.
"Jay, could you please explain to me why it's always you who's late?" Mal asked from the head of the giant table that stood in the middle of the room.
"Sorry," Jay simply apologized, not willing to admit he actually got lost in the castle this time. Mal rolled with her eyes.
"Just sit down," Mal commanded him.
Carlos patted his arm and pointed at the two empty chairs next to Evie. Jay sighed, hating it how the Sea Three sat on the other side of the table again. He rather sat beside Gil, but sitting opposite from him had to do for now. Gil and Jay secretly smiled at each other, but Jay could quickly feel the sinister gaze coming from Harry. For a moment Jay looked at him, heeding the still busted lip Harry got from his fight with the two henchmen. Jay decided to ignore him, focusing his attention to Mal again. Even though the wound on Harry's face reminded him of the pain the slowly healing bruises still caused him.
"I thank you all for coming to our second meeting," Ben started formally.
"Yes, let's hope this one is a bit more worthwhile," Harry sighed, immediately interrupting the king. Ben raised an eyebrow to him for a moment, but then surprised Harry with a smile.
"I'm glad to see you're here as well," Ben replied. Harry took the chance to send a grin back to him, showing of an alluring sparkle in his eyes. Ben was fast to break eye contact with the flirtatious pirate, turning his head towards Uma and Gil. "Same can be said about you two. I'm really glad you're both here."
Gil frowned to him for a moment. It felt strange to him that the king and queen would actually be keen to have him in their castle. Let alone still have a meeting with him. Gil couldn't help but to look at Jay again. Jay send a meaningful smile back to him, silently expressing that he was also really grateful that Gil was still around.
"I know a lot has changed the past few days," Ben continued after the interruption. "From the very start we knew we had to be cautious for potential villain attacks, but the threat became kind of undeniable by now. But Mal and I decided that we want to pick up right where we left off last time. We want to make the Isle of the Lost a driven part of the United States of Auradon and we want to make it equal to the other eighteen regions."
Mal nodded eagerly at everyone present. Three old friends which she trusted in every situation with her life and three infamous pirates she slowly started to trust as well. They all stared back at her, sensing that she was about to say something important.
"Ben and I thought long and hard about the future of the Isle," Mal took over from Ben. "And we decided that it would be best if we entirely rebuild it. We want to transform the slums in actual houses, clean up the streets and make the place liveable. We want to make sure that the place will not be a reminder of a prison anymore."
Mal stopped for a moment and looked around. Jay, Carlos and Evie smiled pleased to each other. The pirates on the other hand looked stunned, all three waiting for the catch.
"We still have to consider that a lot of people don't want to rebuild their house," Mal continued after a while. "It's the only home they've known, so they actually might not be eager to change it. So we need a leader that actually knows what's going on over there. Someone else than Gaston preferably."
"Wait a minute," Uma interrupted the queen. "You want to put another ruler over the Isle? You're not going to rule it yourself?"
"Oh, don't get me wrong," Mal quickly answered. "Ben and I will still be the ultimate rulers, like the rest of Auradon. But we think it would be best if there would be someone entirely focused on the Isle. An under ruler so to speak."
"Most of the regions are still kingdoms with their own king and queen," Ben added when he saw Uma's confused expression. "It actually works really well. All regions have their own law and reign, while we make the overall law and create an unity." Uma nodded, still wondering where this was heading.
"So this is a proposition for us?" Harry joked, making Gil smile to him in response.
"Actually yes," king Ben answered, making the three pirates frown again.
"I never thought this was ever going to happen, but yes," Mal filled in. "Uma, I'm asking you to be the new ruler of the Isle of the Lost. Queen if you even want to call it that."
Uma stared at Mal, her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide in disbelief. Harry looked suspicious to all the others in the room and let his eyes rest on Jay for a moment. Jay shrugged it off. This was the first time he heard this as well, but it seemed like Harry expected that he was behind it all. Gil was the only one of the pirates who actually believed what had been said and smiled proudly at Uma. It seemed like her wish finally came true.
"Okay, what is this?" Uma asked after she got over the shock. "Some kind of trick? You try to seduce me, so we will help you defeat Gaston? What's the plan here, Mal?"
"Oh, come on," Mal shouted back at her. "I give you a generous offer here!"
"Mal," Evie said calming and laid a hand on her best friends arm. "You know they have good reasons to be suspicious. Give them a moment." Mal sighed annoyed, but acknowledged that Evie was right. She turned back towards Uma.
"Listen," Mal started to explain. "Back when I still lived on the Isle it was kind of my mom that reigned over there."
"Is that how you remember it?" Uma snapped back at her.
Mal sighed again, but decided to ignore the comment. "I never had that many friends over there. And since we left the place it was actually you and your pirate crew that ruled on the Isle. Like I said last time, a lot of VK's follow you. You have a huge influence on them. And we need you to continue to do this in order to make this whole plan work."
Uma looked back at Harry again. A smile began to form on her face when she slowly started to grasp what happened. Harry grabbed her hand and smile warmly back at her. He knew exactly how she was feeling. She had been fighting and plotting to achieve her reign for years. She was willing to sacrifice almost everything for it, in the hope she could succeed in which her mother had failed to do. Somehow it still felt odd that it was just given to them. Somehow it didn't feel much like a victory, since it was handed to her on a silver plate like that. She looked back at Mal, straightening her face. She wouldn't allow to show Mal how overjoyed she felt. There was still a lot to consider and in the back of her mind she reminded herself that this could still be a trap. There was still no doubt in her mind that she would take this opportunity with both her hands.
"We still need to deal with Gaston. Otherwise this has no use at all," Uma said to the king and queen.
"Word goes around that an army is being raised on the Isle and that Gaston is their leader," Mal confessed to the group. "I wish we had more information, but that's all we have. We have nothing concrete so far."
"You would think those two henchmen had something to tell us," Harry mentioned, referring to the two men they had captured. After the battle the pirates had to hand them over to the proper authorities for the interrogation. Uma had been fine with it, since it actually saved the pirates from guarding the two men.
"They hadn't much useful to tell us I'm afraid," Ben answered Harry's question. "It seems they didn't know much about what Gaston was planning."
"Seems a little hard to believe, considering Gaston really enjoys talking about himself," Harry said thoughtfully. Then a vicious look appeared in his eyes. "Maybe sending Gil down there and let him break his other arm could trigger some fresh memories."
Gil's eyes grew big for a moment and he carefully send a worried glance towards Harry. Uma already rolled her eyes, knowing this plan would not be carried out anyway.
"That sounds a lot like torture," king Ben answered seriously. "We don't do torturing in Auradon."
"Well, you don't actually have to do so," Harry answered. "Just making Gil stand there and threaten he'll do it usually already does the trick. Trust me, I come with experience."
Ben raised his eyebrows towards the pirate. "No," he said firmly. "No torturing and no threatening of torturing. We will do this in a civil manner."
"Boring," Harry said while he leaned backwards in his chair. He still noticed how Gil sighed relieved and secretly made eye contact with Jay. Gil hated it that Jay had seen him like that, even though it made Harry glow with pride. Harry never wavered to use some violence, but Gil rather avoided it. Unless if it was absolutely necessary.
...
Harry was glad the meeting didn't take too much of his time, since king Ben got called for some urgent matters. Uma and Mal decided to discuss some matters between just the two of them and Uma send her two most loyal pirates back to the ship. Harry felt hurt when he got send away from Uma's side. Things had been weird between them since he had told her about Audrey and it made him feel anxious once more. He didn't show this at all and his confident smirk remained on his face. Harry sighed extravagant when they finally walked through the gates of the castle once more. He raised his hands towards the sky, soaking up the sunlight for a solid ten seconds. As if he had been locked up in the castle for days.
Jay already felt annoyed by him and he quickly walked pass him. He had been left with Gil and Harry, since Carlos also quickly left to go to Jane, who had been watching Dude since he was gone.
"You alright?" Gil asked his first mate. Somehow he could sense something was off.
"Just tired of wasting my time on our dear king and queen, that's all," Harry answered Gil. Jay stared intimidating towards Harry, showing he didn't like it how the pirate was talking about Mal. Harry on the other hand acted like he didn't notice it. Jay was grateful at least Gil was still with him as well and he wasn't left alone with just Harry.
"And you?" Harry asked back at Gil. "Why are you looking with that frown on your face?" Jay looked up and also noticed the worried expression on Gil's face. He hated to admit that Harry saw it before him.
Gil simply shrugged, trying to put a smile on his face. "It's just that Ruby and I would go to her gardens today. She said she would pick me up, but I haven't heard from her anymore."
Harry and Jay quickly glanced at each other. They both knew how important Ruby's lessons were for Gil, even if it was just to escape to the peaceful gardens every once in a while.
"You think she is scared of me?" Gil wondered out loud when neither of them responded.
"She has no reason to be," Jay quickly said. "Why would you even think that?"
"People have been acting weird around me," Gil said and stared at the ground for a moment. Jay frowned back at Harry, hoping he could give him a little more information. Harry only had his eyes set on Gil and leaned against him.
"Well, what did you expect," Harry said to him. "Why are you worried about that gal anyway? You know you don't need her."
Gil shrugged and stared back at Harry for a moment. "I know, but it was really nice over there," Gil said softly. "I really liked it."
"So that's why you almost betrayed them all," Harry responded with a smirk.
"Seriously Hook, not helping!" Jay said back. He wasn't sure what the two of them were talking about, but the saddened look on Gil's face let him know something was clearly bothering him. Jay reckoned he had to think of something quick.
"You shouldn't worry too much. Ruby will come around," Jay said as hopeful as he could. "Why don't we just grab something to eat?" Jay could already see a little change on Gil's face when he mentioned food.
Gil then slowly turned towards Jay, a slight smile already appearing back on his face.
"Like pizza?" he said hopeful.
Jay smiled back at him and simply shrugged. Gil had been really addicted to this new food since Jay introduced him to it a few days ago. "If that's what you want." Jay was glad to see his little plan worked as he saw an enthusiastic sparkle in Gil's eyes once more.
"You're coming with us?" Gil asked towards Harry.
"Why not. Someone got to keep an eye on Jay," Harry responded, a little disappointed to see this didn't frustrate Jay.
"Alright, let's go," Jay said, taking the first steps towards the village. He had to admit, he'd rather be alone with Gil. But if his boyfriend wanted to take the other pirate with them than he wouldn't sulk on it.
"Just a moment Jay," Harry said, making Jay stop in his trace. "Do you really think we can leave our captain with Mal?" Jay send him an irritating glare and wondered if Harry was actually starting to pick a fight with him.
"Now, forgive me for being sceptic," Harry answered laughing to Jay's glance. "This sudden proposition seems rather odd to me."
"It's not odd at all," Jay answered him, continuing their way back to the village. He was glad to see Gil quickly followed him this time. This made Harry quickly follow as well, since he didn't want to be left behind. "Mal wants this to work and she's willing to make every sacrifice for it."
"So now talking to us pirates is a sacrifice," Harry said with a provoking smile on his face.
"For me at least," Jay said back, realizing Harry was definitely challenging him again.
"I'm not worried about Uma," Gil said, interrupting their bickering and quickly walking in between them. "We all know she can stand her ground towards Mal."
"Indeed," Harry said and proudly wrapped his arm around Gil. "We pirates have always known who the real queen is." Jay saw how Gil smiled back at Harry, reminding himself that he was indeed walking with two pirates.
"If you're so worried, why don't you go back in there and protect your captain?" Jay said back, trying to suppress his frustration. "Or girlfriend or whatever she is to you."
Harry's eyes narrowed by just hearing the word, but he made sure a smile remained on his face. "Girlfriend you say," he softly spoke.
"Uma has been too busy to make time for us," Gil answered in Harry's place. "Besides, Harry has a new girlfriend now."
Jay looked up in surprise. "Seriously? Who?"
Harry wished he could sign towards Gil to shut his mouth, but he reckoned that every signal would probably be better understood by Jay than Gil.
"I forgot her name," Gil answered when he frowned to think clearly. "It's that one girl we fought of when we came here. Who put everyone to sleep and such."
"Audrey?" Jay asked out in surprise. He looked over to Harry for some conformation. The lack of response of the pirate told him it had to be true and he couldn't help laughing.
"It is funny, it seems," Harry responded annoyed to Jay's laughter.
"Yes, it is," Jay responded amused. "Usually I would feel sorry for the girl, but this time I might even feel a little pity for you."
Harry rolled his eyes, but decided not to responded on it anymore. He didn't have much to say on it. He couldn't honestly say that Audrey was his type and telling him he liked the girl would also be a lie.
Jay still laughed as they passed the first houses of the village, but he quickly went quiet as he noticed something was off. The entire atmosphere suddenly felt grim, while people seem to be holding their breath or send some side-ways glares towards the three boys. Some of them even fled inside a shop or their house, while other just stared and pointed at them. Jay frowned as he noticed the sudden tension around them. He could also feel how Gil walked closer to him and even Harry went silent for a moment.
"What's wrong with them?" Jay asked out loud when he looked back at a group of people who had been intensely staring at them.
"Well, the people of Auradon never seemed too keen to have some pirates around their village, but it's getting worse since they heard about Gaston's plans," Harry answered him.
Jay frowned as he tried to listen in to some random conversation. He could indeed clearly hear the words 'Gaston´ and 'son´, as the mumbling man sneakily pointed a finger towards them.
"I don't think they like me that much," Gil said, but he also send a slight smile towards Jay.
Harry also simply shrugged, but Jay could feel the rage inside him as he started to realize what had been bothering Gil earlier. The people of Auradon literally turned their back on the boy, trying to avoid him and the rest of the pirates as much as possible. Jay understood that the two pirates were probably used to people hiding away when they walked by. It also reminded him of how people treated him when he first came to Auradon. Jay quickly concluded it had never been that bad, when he saw how a woman pushed her two children quickly inside the house when they passed by.
"Why are people in Auradon so damn stupid?" Jay said out loud towards the woman. It pleased him to see the shocked expression on the woman's face. She had heard him.
"Well, Ben did tell them to be cautious of Gaston and his sons," Harry answered nonchalant. "He just forgot to mention one of the sons is actually on their side."
"They're still acting like a bunch of idiots," Jay shouted. He hoped anyone in the city would hear him. "As if Gil hurt any of them."
Harry couldn't hide the smile on his face. Gil probably didn't even notice, but Harry saw how Jay was defending Gil in a passive-aggressive manner. It made him appreciate Jay once more as he walked with pride with the two other men through the streets of Auradon.
"We could tell them how Gil broke that man's arm," he said with a smirk.
"Not helping!" Jay immediately replied, reflecting his frustration on Harry once more.
Harry noticed how Gil send him a concerned glance again. Gil wished Harry would stop mentioning it. He didn't want to be reminded of it all the time, hearing the man's screams through his head once more. Harry wrapped an arm around Gil's shoulder, making Gil feel a little better again. At the same time Harry smiled up towards Jay, a fearless sparkle was reflecting in his eyes. Jay could feel his confidence rising inside him as well and decided to also wrap an arm around Gil. It didn't matter what all those people thought of Gil, they would always be standing by his side.
The blond pirate responded with a bright smile. He pulled both his boyfriend and his best mate closer to him when he laid his arms around their shoulders as well. Somehow it still stung when Gil saw how some other folks fled inside their houses. Fortunately they almost left the busy streets of the city behind them and they entered the green open park to which the restaurants were located.
"You think all people of Auradon hate me now?" Gil questioned out loud, while he dropped his arms to his side again.
"So what if they do?" Harry responded with a question, still walking close to Gil.
"I bet Lonnie won't be like that at all," Jay answered the question instead. Gil looked a little bit more hopeful when he mentioned her. He still let his eyes scan the area, hoping he would recognize the car in which the Fitzherbert family always drove in. Gil then forced a smile on his face and nodded happily towards Jay. They had almost reached their destiny when a small voice suddenly called up behind them.
"There you are," Ruby said happily. The three boys turned around to see the little girl with the long, golden hair smiling brightly back at them. "I've been looking for you. I hope you didn't forget our arrangement."
"No, I didn't forget," Gil happily said back to her. He already took a step towards her, but then turned around to look at Harry and Jay with a pleading look on his face.
"Seems like we have pizza a little later today," Jay answered Gil's unspoken question, knowing Gil still needed permission for the smallest things.
Gil immediately smiled brightly back at him and waved them off. Both Harry and Jay smiled when they saw Ruby didn't flinch away from Gil at all, even though she looked really fragile compared to the robust pirate beside her.
Jay quickly wiped the smile of his face, when he realized he somehow ended up alone with Harry after all. The two of them stood in awkward silence for a moment, both just staring at Gil that quickly disappeared after they turned a corner.
"How about you and me are going to get that pizza," Harry suddenly broke the silence. "We could call it a date. I promise I won't tell Gil."
Jay snorted at the word date and already shook his head. "Listen," he said, while he turned towards Harry. "I'm going to my favourite place and if you just happen to be there too, you'll be lucky if I let you sit on the table next to mine."
A smirk immediately appeared on Harry's face as he leaned in a little closer to Jay. "Alright, lead the way, bright eyes."
Jay decided to ignore the flirtatious undertone in Harry's voice and continued his way to the pizzeria. Somehow he still had a smile on his face, when Harry went to walk beside him.
I'm sorry it took me a little longer to write this chapter. It actually became much longer than I first anticipated.
I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of the follow-up story. And of course I hope you will enjoy the rest of the story as well.