I'm so sorry fellow Descendants fans! Have a chapter now, and I'll get another out tomorrow!


The following Friday

Gil beams as he bounds to the beach, his heart nearly exploding with excitement. T told him he and Deez had a surprise for him and he wanted to know what it was. It was rare that he got surprises from either of them, so he couldn't wait to see.

His smile nearly splits his face when he finally catches T's dark hood and D's ombre hair whipping around in the wind.

His energy renews at the sight, his stride picking up until he skids to a halt a few feet away so he wouldn't kick sand up on them. He grins as the two turn to greet him. "Hey guys," He gushes, out of breath as he plops down to sit between them.

Hyades can't help her low chuckle as she leans into his side with a one arm hug, "Glad you could make it."

"Hey big guy." T punches Gil's shoulder playfully.

"So what's up?" Gil scan the area around him for the first time, frowning when he doesn't see any boxes.

"Looking for the apple tarts I've been making?" Hyades asks, her eyes lighting up with her smile.

Gil blushes, as he nods sheepishly. "Did you bring any?"

"Did Deez bring tarts?" T snorts, "Don't be dumb-" He rolls his eyes, "But no treats til snack time." He teases.

Hyades claps excitedly.

Gil looks between the two in confusion. What was he missing? It was never good when these two worked together- It usually spelled trouble.

Hyades rolls to her knees to face Gil, reaching out to place one blindingly white hand on his tan arm, "You know how I always read my work to you?"

"Of course." Gil nods.

"Cool." T nods, as he mimics Hyades' as he moves to his knees, picking up a long thin stick. He stands and walked closer to the wet sand.

"Why?" Gil questions his head tilted to the side.

"What if I didn't have to anymore?" Hyades asks, "You've never said anything about reading yourself, and I love reading to you, but yeah, what if you could read? Would you want to learn?"

That's what this was about? Because they both wanted to teach him to read? Gil blushes again, as he looks away. "Of course I wanna learn." He frowns, "I'm just too dumb." He shifts in discomfort. He didn't want to waste Hyades and T's time with the impossible.

"Gil…" Hyades voice was soft as she leans forward, taking his face in both of her hands, "You are so not dumb. You are… So many amazing things" She smiles as she runs her thumb over the slight cleft in his chin. "But never dumb."

Gil drops his eyes as a frown contorts his lip. He leans into her touch, enjoying the feel of her trying to comfort him. "I mean- I do wanna learn but-" He shrugs, "Jus' sayin all the teachers at school said I was too dumb." He admits as embarrassment burns his cheeks.

"And Mal thinks I'm a retard, what of it?" T calls back over his shoulder as he continues etching in the sand.

Gil reluctantly smiles at T's delivery.

Hyades smiles as her gaze shifts to T before she turns her ocean blue eyes back on him, "Did you know I dropped out of school?"

Gil turns to Hyades with wide eyes, "When?" He asks surprised. "Why? Your so smart..."

"A few months ago." Hyades shrugs, "And I left because the only teacher worth learning from is Yensid, and he agreed to let me pester him." She smiles as she sits back on her ankles and starts fussing with the curls of hair in his eyes, "But my point is, the people 'teaching' aren't exactly experts on education. So who cares what they said."

Gil looks away. "But they're older than us, wouldn't they know."

The harshness of T's bark of laughter startles them both of them.

"Or not." Gil blinks in surprise. He wasn't sure he'd ever heard someone encompass so many negative emotions into a laugh before. It was slightly unsettling.

Hyades chuckles as she shakes her head in agreement, "I know you Gil…" She leans in closer as her voice drops to a whisper, "You are not dumb. I love the way you see the world, and I love talking to you." She takes his hands in her's, squeezing them tightly, "You make me think, you help me question, you've helped me learn so much."

Gil looks at her skeptically. "Do you really think that?"

"I know it." Hyades nods.

Gil studies her for a moment. He wasn't sure what to think. Hyades was one of the smartest people he knew. Maybe there was a chance he'd be able to pick it up this time… If for no other reason than the people involved. He'd never seen T give up on a challenge and Deez seemed so confident. He wanted to keep arguing- But, part of him really wanted to learn. It always bothered him- made him feel inferior, little, and worthless. His frown deepens as his eyes grow more intense. But with T and Deez… There was a chance… But what if they figured out that he was really an idiot?

"Gil," Hyades reaches up once more, taking his face into both of her hands, "I know you can do anything you set your mind to. If you can carry me, kicking and screaming and-" Her eyes flick away as she hesitates, "beating you, to the Lost Revenge, you can learn to read. It takes that kind of dedication."

Gil shakes his head. "Gettin' you on the ship was easy, once you said you missed Uma."

"You and I both know it wasn't easy," Her eyes fall to his chest for a moment, "and we both know why you did it." She looks back up at him, her eyes somehow soft and hard at the same time, "I believe in you."

Gil looks down, swallowing hard as her unyielding confidence made his eyes burn. He wipes at them in embarrassment. "I mean, I'm willing to try." He admits shifting in discomfort. He'd just have to try way harder than he had before.

T lets out a low whistle. "Awesome, I just finished. Great timing D." He calls from the rows.

Hyades stands and holds her hand out for Gil, "We got this." She grins.

Gil takes her hand as he pulls himself up. "We'll see…" He says unconvinced as he lets Hyades lead him to the rows.

"Right," T grins at Gil. "These are letters. They make up the alphabet we use to make words." He explains. "There's twenty six of them- But no worries man- Know how much you like music and there's a song to help ya remember that matches up with that star song you used ta play." He adds with a grin. "I'll sing along-But mostly I'll be pointing at the letters as we go along."

Gil's eyes narrow as he looks at the letters scrawled out in front of him. He wasn't confident in his counting either, but he knew enough to know there were way more than twenty six letters.

"There's two sets because it's upper and lower case." Hyades explains when she hears Gil counting under his breath. "They're the same letter-They just look different."

"Oh." Gil sighs in relief. "Okay- I get it now."

T nods, "Sorry man, wasn't tryin' ta scare you. I know it's a lot of information- But promise it's totally worth it."

Gil grins at T's encouragement as he squeezes Hyades' hand.

"Right-" T nods, before he turns to Hyades, "Deez your up."

Hyades smiles sweetly at Gil, before she turns to T. "I'll sing it slow at first so you can keep up with the letters T is pointing at, and speed it up when you're ready to go faster."

Gil smiles, "I think that would help." He admits, vaguely remembering a song from when he attended school.

Hyades nods, "A-B-C-D-" She slowly sings the alphabet, working to enunciate each letter clearly.

T's careful to keep up with every letter as not to confuse Gil further, easily recalling how overwhelmed he was when Carlos started with him.

Gil narrows his eyes, four of the letters looked exactly alike. How was he supposed to know the difference? He frowns. "Do you mind singing it again the same way?"

"Of course." Hyades smiles.

"As many times as you need bro." T grins at him.

They go over the song five more times, before T holds up his hand. "Wait up-I think it might help if you point along instead of me." He notes with a frown when Gil kept getting thrown off at where he was pointing.

Hyades frowns, before her eyes light up. "Yeah, I'll sing it as you point to them."

Gil nods, "Alright." He agrees as he walks over to T and takes the stick from him. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh not at all." T assures him. "Just think it would help ya learn it better."

"Everyone learns differently Gil," Hyades quickly assures him, "we might have to try a few different things."

"Yeah, we just have to find your style man." T grins at him, "No biggy. Between the two of us we'll have you readin' in no time."

Gil slowly grins at his friends encouragements. It had been a long time since he'd used his brain this way and he was a bit rusty. All the letters kept flipping on him. And that didn't make sense because the letters hadn't been touched- And he didn't want to tell them that- Because he wasn't sure if that was normal- Or if he was just stupid. He just knew he didn't want to let the two of them down.

After several more choruses of the song Gil seems to catch on, to both Hyades and T's excitement.

"Want to try drawing them?" Hyades asks, "I'll still sing them for you."

Gil chews his lip nervously.

"Promise ya we're not gonna laugh." T adds, "You never laugh at my swordplay."

"And you don't laugh at me being afraid of the water." Hyades adds.

Gil's brows furrow as he thinks about it. "But that's different-"

"Tch." T snorts, "Bull shit."

"It's all stuff other people might laugh at," Hyades shakes her head before she gestures to the three of them standing on the shore, "but not us."

"Yeah, I mean how the fuck would laughing help encourage ya to do this man?" T adds with a frown as he crosses his arms. "We're just tryin' to help because we know you're not as stupid as you think you are."

Gil open's his mouth to argue but before he can start, T interrupts him.

"You got me and Deez teaching you, man. No way either of us are giving up on this til you can read a dictionary."

"You have commented on my strong will." Hyades blinks innocently as a smile slowly claims her lips.

Gil looks between the two of them and laughs at the warmth the two of them managed to fill his chest with. "Alright…" He sighs, "I'll try." Because the two of them were clearly doing their best to help him. He wasn't sure it was possible, but he'd always wanted to try, so why not try for them?

T and Hyades high five at the his consent.

"Fuck yeah man." T turns and punches Gil's shoulder with a wide grin. "Good for you."

Hyades excitedly jumps and hooks her arms around Gil's neck.

Gil's grin nearly splits his face as he catches her, and spins her around in his own excitement, hugging her to his chest with all his strength. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt this type of warmth before, but he liked it.


T frowns as he looks above Gil's shoulder to Hyades, looking for confirmation that what Gil was doing was odd. His p's, q's, d's, and b's were all interchanged, and a few letters were backwards. Each row showed the letters differently- Though Gil didn't seem to notice.

Hyades makes eye contact, her eyes lost as she shrugs uncertainly.

T nods, before he claps his hands together at Gil's final Z. "Right. Time to get back to the song."

"This time won't you sing with me?" Hyades sing songs as she holds out her hand for Gil so they can go back to T's original rows.

T frowns as Gil keeps up with the song picking the right letters with the stick as he continued along.

"Again." He tells Hyades, before he walks off further and crouches down to start etching the letter's Gil was struggling with in the sand. He steps back. So he turned his E to threes. Mixed up the lower with the upper case letters, and couldn't seem to tell q,p,b, and d's apart. He chews his lip as he studies it. The ones that all looked like they could be something else… He was missing something. He knew Gil was brilliant. He'd shared enough conversations with the kid to know that. Maybe Carlos could help him figure it out?

Hyades turns to T on the fifth rendition. "T?" She calls out, breaking the boy out of his deep thoughts. "He's got the song down."

T turns with a grin, "Cool." He walks back over to him, hand digging in his pocket before he pulls out a pile of cards. "These really helped when I was learning. The upper case are on one side, and lower on the other with a picture of an object that starts with the letter. Like A for apple or B for banana." He explains.

"Oh, those are fun." Hyades grins as she looks the cards over. Her eyes narrow as one finger lingers on the painstakingly neat handwriting. "Hmmm…" She shakes her head before she smiles up at Gil, "If you don't mind… I was going to see if I could go back to the ship with you tonight. We could play with the cards until Harry and Uma get back."

"Of course." Gil beams at her. "Uma'd be thrilled to see you at the end of her shift.

T grins, "Meet up next week at the same time?"

Gil looks between the two of them. "Really?" He asks in surprise.

Hyades frowns, "Well yeah, it takes a while to learn to read. We were hoping you'd be okay with us having a set time every week."

Gil looks away, the burning in his eyes returning as he wiped at them roughly. "I'd really like that actually…"

"Wait- uh can I borrow the cards for a moment-" He smiles as Hyades hands her back the cards. "I just want to see something before I take off." He goes the deck as he pulls out four cards flipping them so they were all on the lower case. "Right, so Gil can you tell me which letters these ones are? Don't feel bad if ya don't get it right- They're just the hardest to learn."

Gil nods, "Sure." He nods before he leans forward and studies the cards intensely. "Uh… B, D, P, Q?" He guesses after a very long moment.

T nods, "Heard. Good to know." He grins at him as he hands the cards back. "Thanks, that really helps me figure out where your at man."

"Did I get any right?" Gil questions.

T waves his hand dismissively, "No-But neither did I when I started." He lies easily.

"Really?" Gil asks hopefully.

"Yeah." T nods, "They all kinda look the same don't they?"

Gil sighs in relief.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Hyades turns to Gil excitedly, "I left the tarts in my hideout. Would you mind grabbing T's for him before he vanishes on us-" Gil doesn't even wait for her to finish as he turns and races for Hyades' driftwood hideout. She chuckles before she turns back to T, "Seriously though-I'll have to figure out how to get the rest to the ship with us..."

"I can spare the time to carry pastries while Gil carries your ass..." T offers easily with a shrug as he plops back in the sand. What was up with Gil? Was it his eyes? Or something else? He knew the kid could learn shit. He'd seen the kid pick up all different types of hobbies through the years.

Hyades bites her bottom lip as she twists her fingers nervously, "Okay, I think I'd usually try to have more tact, but um…" She sighs as her eyes follow Gil getting close to her hideout, "Did Carlos teach you how to read?"

T freezes, as he swivels his head up to Hyades so quickly he nearly gets whiplash. "What?" He demands, how the fuck had she figured it out.

"The handwriting on the cards… It's Carlos'." She explains, "I've sat next to him in every class we've had together for years."

T lets out a sigh as he leans back in relief, "Oh the cards are Carlos'- I lifted them the last time I was over there- What the hell does he need them for? Kid knows therm-ah-dynamics and shit."

Hyades purses her lips before she catches his gaze with hard eyes, "Look, no judgment zone right?"

T looks away, what the fuck was up with this chick? This was like the twentieth time she'd been able to pick up shit like this. "Why?"

"Because Gil might feel better knowing he's not the only one that didn't learn to read when he was little."

T lifts his brow, "Speakin' from experience?"

"It helps, believe me. Yensid…" she sighs, "Look, equal uncomfortable moment… I talk to Yensid, a lot, you know that-" She wraps her arms around her waist before she sits down a little distance from T, not looking in his direction, but close enough so she could continue to speak softly, "I felt better when he told me he's had to kill before, like maybe I'm not as horrible as I think I am. Because if he's done the same thing…" She shrugs, "Maybe I still have a chance."

"If you're fucking horrible what does that make the rest of us?" T snorts, as he turns to study her. Was she being serious? "If someone's stupid enough to try you- Sometimes you don't have a choice- But don't you ever dare fucking regret protecting yourself from scumbags." He tells her with the most aggression Hyades had ever heard in his tone.

Hyades huffs, "I didn't want this to become a me thing, I just wanted…" She rolls her eyes, "Look, do you really think anyone else has killed anyone? Knows what it's like to be the reason, whatever the circumstances that lead up to it, that someone's life is over?" She turns to look at T, "Have you ever killed anyone?"

"I've dreamed about it." T admits.

"Well I have nightmares about it." Hyades admits in exasperation, "I know I was protecting myself in the end, but still, it's an extreme reaction. And just because I was scared is not a good enough justification… It's more of an excuse."

T shrugs as he studies her. "S'not like your running around setting everything on fire and ruling this shit hole with an iron fist like some others would do in your position. So you've killed a few scumbags- The isle ain't any worse for it."

Hyades shrugs, "It's still hard."

"I'm sure it is…" T admits, "But you did the isle a favor. What if those pricks had tried E like they tried you? Do you think she would have fared as well as you?"

"That's the thing, we'll never know. The man who scared me in the alley that just wanted my money? Who knows how far he would have gone? He scared me, and now he's dead. He might not have been violent, but I don't know. What I did, I had no right to take his life. But I did." She huffs, "Look, I'm just saying it felt nice to talk to someone who understood how I feel. Who's seen death happen right in front of them and knew it was by their hand."

T rolls his eyes, "Doesn't sound so bad compared to the alternative." He sighs, "But I'll think about it." He lets out another sigh, "And this better stay between the four of us."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Hyades nods somberly, shaking off the darkness that had settled in during their conversation as Gil runs back up with boxes in his arms.


Hi again! Anyone have any guesses as to what is holding Gil up? What about Hyades' eerie ability to connect dots? And who do you think T dreams of killing? We hope you enjoyed this chapter. We know it was really fluffy. Speaking of fluff though, anything fluffy you'd like to see? We have a huge outline and a sense of where the story is going once events of Descendants happen, but we're curious. Let us know, or just leave us some positive vibes! Also, let us know what you think of the new story art! Twisted worked real hard, and came up with like a million (or six) different covers, but we ended up liking this one for this part of our Descendants story.