Forgiveness
I don't own Descendants!
Halina led the way to the ship docked nearby. Harry tugged Ben along, taking off his blindfold and gag so he would know who was taunting him. Halina snapped her fingers and the ropes around the mast flew to circle Ben's body, tying him to the wood.
Harry walked over to keep an eye out for Mal and the others, but he quickly grew bored with that and jumped over to scare the King. Halina simply waved her hand so her magic would alert them to the approaching villain kids.
"Coochy-coochy-coo." Harry mumbled as he lifted Ben's chin with his hook "How's it feel to be the King now, eh?"
Ben simply stared at the chuckling pirate. Harry snuck around the mast with a sinister smile, trying to scare their prisoner.
"Give it a rest, Harry. Give it a rest." Uma shoved him away from Ben "We don't want damaged goods."
"Aw, but it's such fun to play with the ickle King." Harry complained "And you said that I could hook him.
Uma glanced at Halina who rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers, Harry was quickly pulled away from Ben and Uma towards the back of the ship.
"Thanks, H."
"Anytime."
Harry shuffled up to Halina, pouting "But you said I could hook him."
"We said at noon." Uma growled.
Harry pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time "Twenty more minutes."
"That says 11:30, Harry." Halina pointed out.
"You better hope your girlfriend comes through." Uma leaned back, drawing Ben's attention away from Halina and Harry.
"But she's not my girlfriend anymore." Ben sighed.
Uma cocked her head and smiled "Harry, leave us alone. Halina, stay."
"Excuse me?" Halina's golden eyes glittered dangerously "I am not a dog and I certainly don't take orders from you."
"Sorry, stay with us, we need to discuss some things."
"Nineteen minutes to go now." Harry whispered to Ben.
Ben looked at Halina with confusion.
"He means twenty-nine."
"Go." Uma commanded.
Harry grumbled and walked off.
"I get that you don't deserve this." Ben tried to reason with the daughter of Ursula.
Uma laughed "This. This island is a prison thanks to your father. And don't pretend to look out for me because no one's looking out for me. It's just me."
"So this isn't your Mom's plan?" Ben asked and Uma scoffed "Isn't that her necklace?"
"My Mom doesn't care about me either. Well, not unless she needs someone for the night shift." Uma sighed "Halina is the only child I know on the Isle who has even a semblance of a normal family."
"Ouch." Ben's eyes were wide.
"I don't need your pity."
"No, you certainly don't." Ben agreed "You're very resourceful. I don't see you tied up."
Uma laughed dryly "Alright, so let's trash talk Mal."
"I'd rather talk about you. I know a little about Halina, but you...?"
"Mmm. Funny and a gentleman. I really hope I don't have to feed you to the fishes."
"Oh, you don't." Ben said quickly "Set me free and we'll go back together."
"Ha!" Halina snorted.
"So now we get an invite?" Uma rolled her eyes "Gee, I wonder why. When you brought Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay to Auradon, that's as mad as I've ever been in my life. And trust me, I've been plenty mad." Uma patted Ben's cheek and turned to walk away.
"I've never thought of it like that before." Ben realized "That I could've hurt the people I didn't pick. The plan was to start with four kids and bring more people over. I guess I was busy being King. That sounds lame. I'm so sorry. You're a leader, Uma. You too, Halina. So am I. Come to Auradon and be part of the solution."
Halina was tempted but before she could really think about it, Uma said "Us? Part of your solution? Nah. We don't need you. We're gonna get there on our own. Harry. Let's see what this puppy can do." She fiddled with her necklace as she walked away.
"Halina, please, I know Mal missed you. I know they all missed you. I understand that they hurt you, but I also know they didn't mean to." Ben pleaded.
"Maybe not." Halina sighed "But they did, didn't they? They left me here, without a goodbye or even a second thought. I don't need or want that in my life."
"But, don't you know what the best revenge is?" Ben tried.
"What?"
"Letting go and living well. Being free to be happy." Ben tried.
"Look, Benny-boy, I've had some bad friends in my life. People who thought they could use me to cheat death, get money, etcetera. The problem this time is, this time Mal and the others were nice to me, I thought they accepted me and didn't want anything from me." Halina closed her eyes "I was wrong."
"But-"
"No buts. Trust me, I'd love to forgive them, but as a Goddess, forgiveness isn't something I can just do. Everything I do has an impact, even if it's not always obvious." Halina walked away, leaving Ben tied to the mast.
She closed her eyes and looked into the future, scanning the possibilities of what would happen is she forgave or not. What she saw made her stumble back and press a hand to her forehead. They planned to kidnap her and force her to Auradon? How dare they? She was more than their former friend, she was a Goddess! This could not stand. If she was forced to go to Auradon, she might never see her father again.
"Halina! They're coming!" Uma shouted "Get ready!"
Halina blinked back the tears she felt forming in the corners of her eyes. Without a word, she dissolved into the shadows and floated up to the top of the mast where she resumed her solid form and sat down on the wooden post and waited for the arrival of her old friends.
Word count: 1007 words
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Love,
The Author
