Hiya Descendants Gang!

Happy Monday! And welcome to another update.

Sorry if you were hoping this would be the chapter Yensid takes Maleficent to task. We did write that, and you will get to see it on Friday. Silly Twisted. She was really tired when we updated on Friday.

So what can you expect with this chapter?

How does some Uma/Harry hurt comfort sound?

We hope you enjoy :)

-Dark-

P.S. If you haven't taken our poll yet, don't forget to head over to our profile page. It's at the very tippy-top of the page. We'd like to know what characters you're looking forward to seeing in book four.

Harry trudges back to the ship, tired and miserable. It'd been fucking days! They'd checked the cove. They'd checked the school. They'd checked the old beach they'd once hung out on. Hell, they'd climbed a stupid fucking mountain. All for what?

Nothing apparently. Nothing but sore legs and less hope. He sighs.

He'd be a liar if he said he hadn't been overly hopeful she'd be on the damn mountain. He and Gil had both been so disappointed it hurt. But it was the last place they could think to look. Gil said she preferred to stay out of town, but if she were hiding out in the uninhabited they would have run into her by now. She would have heard them looking for her, or T would have spotted them by now.

Did this mean they weren't playing their stupid game? He frowns, not wanting to believe T and Deez were both gone. Maybe Uma had more luck?

He sighs. He was just so tired of hoping, of feeling completely defeated. He also wasn't used to his muscles aching like this. That stupid fucking game had them going all over the isle on a damn goose chase. Ugh. No wonder the dragon hated it.

Not that it mattered. They weren't where they were supposed to be. So hunting blindly it was.

But! When they found them, he was putting his foot down on that stupid fucking game. And he for damn sure knew Gil was with him. He imagined Uma would be too if she'd had as much luck as them.

He pulls his arms behind his back and stretches. Several pops provide some relief to his aching back. He'd felt bad for taking Gil up on his offer to go alone to check the cove one last time before heading back to the ship, but he doubted he'd be able to climb the cliff at this rate.

When he finally arrives at the docks he lets out a sigh. So close to home.

Thank the gods. The bed was screaming his name.

When he sees the face James was making his relief falters. "Oy, what be ah wrong now?" He demands, knowing without question something was off.

James frowns, "Cap'n be in a right foul mood when she be gettin' to the ship these past few days ya'll be split." He admits from where he was mopping. "Was hopin' ya could calm the Kraken before she be takin' one of us ta task with that whip of hers after she finishes breaking everything in the cabin." He rubs the back of his head, "Again." He adds sheepishly.

Harry lets out a sigh as his chin drops to his chest. So Uma didn't find any treasure either. "I be ah havin' this mate. Don'nah be ah worrin'." He gives James an encouraging pat on the back as he inches towards the cabin.

He flinches as he hears Uma's scream of frustration. "Godsdamn motherfucking sonovabitch!" Something crashes.

"But ya might be ah wantin' ta be ah headin' below ta be safe," Harry grimaces as he turns to their room, "maybe send Tim up," he winks mischievously, "just in case."

James chuckles as he salutes Harry, "Thanks, mate."

Harry groans. Oh sure, he could chuckle. Meanwhile, his number one ass was on the line. He shuts his eyes as he walks over to the door, taking a deep breath before he walks in to face the enraged Kraken.

"Harry!" Uma rushes to him after the door shuts, clutching to him as she buries her head into the crook of his arm. "Is she with you? Where's Gil?" She mumbled against his jacket.

Harry blinks. This was not what he'd been expecting at all. He immediately holds her close and runs a hand over her braids, noting to himself they needed to be redone soon. "No love, we ain'nah havin' luck on our treasure hunt this time. An Gil be ah offerin' ta check forgin' cove before he be comin' back, just ta be ah bein' sure.."

"I didn't think you had any luck. Not with the way ya came in." Uma takes a deep breath as she pulls him further into the room. She swallows, "An, I'm glad he went to check the cove." she admits as she looks up at him, her eyes red from crying.

Harry omphs as she nearly throws him on the bed, "Uma? Somethin' be ah on yer mind?" He wasn't surprised by the tears. It was Deez missing after all. And Uma had admitted how much she cared about T recently. But something else was wrong here, and reason told him he was going to be as happy as a lobster in a boiling pot about it. What had happened? What had Uma so… Off?

Uma holds up her hand, "I don't fucking care if you yell at me," She crosses her arms hip jutted to the side as her eyes drop to the floor, "Just- I know I'll deserve it, but- Don't interrupt me." She demands, not looking at him as she tries to take several calming breaths. "Please." She pleads. "I just- I need to get this out."

"I can'nah be ah promisin' that. I can only be ah tryin'." Harry admits as he frowns. With a sigh, he pats the bed next to him holding his arms out. If she needed him to not interrupt, he needed her to just get it out. And the best way for that to happen was for him to hold her.

Uma doesn't need a second invitation, she quickly jumps at the offer of comfort.

"It be okay love," He pulls her tight to his side and presses his lips to her temple, "just be ah tellin' me what be happenin'."

"I was looking for T," Uma swallows, as she tucks her head against his chest and takes another deep breath, "An- And I ended up at the church."

Ah. That was why she asked him not to interrupt. Because she knew how he'd feel. Knew that he would want to throttle her and yell about how stupid a move that was. No backup and no one was told where she was. It was bad enough that two of them were already missing. He didn't know what he and Gil would do if Uma up and disappeared on them too. His grip tightens on her, and he pulls her into his lap but remains diligently silent.

It took everything in him.

"And it took me a while, but I found this like, secret passage behind a bookshelf." Uma clutches his arm. She licks her lips as she glares around at the chaos that was now their cabin. "I found her room. And," Her grip gets tighter. "Harry, it was fucking…" She shakes her head. "The bed was so, so," She exhales deeply, "So, covered in old blood, I mean, it was in the feathers. The feathers had old bloodstains, Harry! There were chains on the wall covered in blood, and all the windows were padlocked shut. I found his herbs hidden in a floorboard. Then his clothes, the ones she wears with us." She takes a shaky breath. "It was so confusing, 'til it suddenly wasn't." She leans her head to the crook of his shoulder, fingers curling in his shirt.

Was she talking about T or Deez? It was confusing, but he also knew better than to interrupt her now. Whatever she was telling him was clearly important. And he felt like he was missing something big. He purses his lips as his belly fills with dread. Something was coming. Something bad. He holds her tighter to him. He couldn't remember the last time she'd been so upset.

He couldn't remember if she'd ever been upset like this. This wasn't just anger. This was something else.

"Harry, I knew it was gonna be bad. I knew it in my heart." She burrows closer to him, "But I fucking wasn't expecting that. Wasn't expecting- I mean it's fucking T. T! Fucks-I-could-care T. Dealing with what you and Gil endured when you were little, but, Harry-" She buries her face deeper into the crook of his arm, as she turns and hugs him. "And she's been dealing with it all by her fucking self. How did we miss that? Miss the abuse? Miss him being a her?"

T was a girl?

The rest of it, the things that T had dealt with- He'd already suspected it. But he was trying to find the right time to talk to T about it. Had wanted to slowly drop hints to his past, and had even done so a few times.

But… T was a girl? That was new. And strangely didn't bother him as much as it was bothering Uma. No. That didn't make sense. Uma wouldn't care what the fuck T was- Which meant this had to do with something else. The room maybe?

"How the fuck did I miss this?" Her tears roll off his jacket as she clutches to him like a lifeline. "How?" She asks, sounding so desperate it made his chest ache.

It was all he could do to continue to pet her, to run his hand over her hair and back, to hold her to his chest. To press his lips to her forehead.

She sobs harder, her fingers twisting tighter in his jacket. "He took away her light Harry! No wonder he's so fucking good at navigating in the dark. That fucker took everything from him. Everything. He even had to hide his stupid fucking books. There were floorboard hiding spots all over the place, with normal fucking shit in them- Normal. Like not something you'd expect in a hiding hole."

So it was the room. He clenches his jaw.

He blinks frantically as he holds Uma to him. Was he allowed to talk yet? He desperately wanted to. Wanted to assure Uma, kiss away her doubts and fears. Ask questions. Was T really a girl? And why did that make more sense than it didn't? His confusion didn't dull the anger he felt at her going alone, but if Uma had found T's room with no T occupying it... Where was T?

Uma pulls away after a moment, wiping her tears furiously. "No fucking wonder he was so fucking-" She growls, "So fucking afraid of facing that, that thing." She sniffs as she rubs her face with her sleeve, "I-I-I," She swallows, "What if he's dead?" Her grip on his arm was nearly bruising now in her sheer panic.

Harry closes his eyes against the thought as he holds her tighter. T couldn't be dead. He was T. He survived the well. Survived being attacked by sidekicks. Survived Atilla, twice. There was no way he was dead.

Uma swallows as she heaves in deep breaths. "What if he's fucking dead, Harry?" She asks, tone much softer as she looks up at him for answers. "There was so much blood…"

"I be allowed ta talk then?"

Uma nods, not letting up her grip on his arm. "S-sorry."

"You should be Uma!" Harry finally snaps as he pulls her back to look into her eyes, forcing her chin back when she refuses to look up at him, she was going to look him in the eyes as he yelled at her for risking her life.

"There were'nah no reason ya be needin' ta see that all alone. Not ta be ah mentionin' the fact ya be goin' without lettin' us know. We be ah runnin' all over this damn isle lookin' for two people, and ya could ah been makin' it three with that whaleshit." He glared at her, unable to lessen his grip on her chin or shoulder.

"I know." Uma pleads with him, "I fucking know that. But I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't..." Her eyes drop. "And it's fucking T-I wasn't havin' any luck on the ground..."

Shit. He hadn't thought about that. It seemed none of them had in their scurry to find the two. T usually took to the roofs. How the hell had they expected Uma to find him when she couldn't even climb the crow's nest? He sighs as he pulls her roughly to his chest, "That don'nah be makin' it okay for ya ta be puttin' yerself in danger at that damned church." He reprimands again as he presses her head against him, "But ya did, and yer okay, and I be ah fuckin' pissed over it, but it's done. Don'nah be doin' somethin' so fuckin' reckless without yer boys again. Swear it now on every sea god and Deez."

"I swear it." Uma agrees as she burrows her face into his jacket.

"On Deez." He snaps.

"I swear on Deez's life." She nods weakly.

Harry bites his bottom lip before he pulls her back and looks at her, his eyes softening at her tears. He lowers his tone before he continues, "Now, I be ah knowin' this be difficult baby, but I be ah havin' questions."

Uma nods, as her fingers twist further into his jacket.

"Ya be findin' T's room." Harry tucks Uma close beside him on the bed, letting her shelter under his shoulder, "What be ah makin' ya think T be ah girl?"

Uma sniffs, "I thought it was like Gil at first," She swallows, "But there weren't any boy clothes at all… And the makeup. There was so much makeup I didn't know what half of it was. And the jewelry. And the furniture. Everything in that disgusting room was just so fucking painfully girly..."

Harry grimaces as he carefully runs his hand over her hair, needing the contact to keep calm while also knowing she needed it to keep going, "Where was the room? How ya be ah findin' it behind ah bookshelf?"

Uma sniffles as she wipes at her eyes, "It opened when I pulled-" She shudders, "When I pulled on the Purity book." She swallows. Her tone tainted with revulsion.

Harry's face twists in disgust as heat boils in his stomach before racing up this throat. "Okay." He coughs trying to force the burn back down, "And since ya be ah searchin' so thoroughly ya be ah knowin' fer sure T ain'nah be hidden at the church."

Uma nods weakly as her eyes start to water again.

Harry gently wipes his thumb over her eyes, "Now, love, we don'nah be knowin' for sure T ever be goin' back there." He offers with a heavy heart. "The more we search, the more it be ah lookin' like he be ah goin' through with the deal. That were ah bein' what he be ah promisin', aye?"

But T willingly going to Auradon without so much as a fight? That was the part he was having the hardest time reconciling. If T had been forced to go to Auradon with the Rottens, what could have possibly made it silent? And why would they not know where Deez was? It didn't sit well. It didn't explain anything well enough for his liking.

Uma's silent for a moment before she slowly nods. "Aye…" She mumbles unconvinced.

"Ya be ah sayin'," Harry takes a deep breath as he hugs Uma tighter. He needed to know. If T wasn't in Auradon right now he needed to know, "ya be sayin' there be blood… Any o' it be ah lookin' fresh?"

Uma chews her lip before she shakes her head. "No." She sniffles, sounding as if she wanted to cry all over again.

Harry sighs in relief, "See, he didn't go back there." He presses his lips to her temple, "We might be ah needin' ta focus on findin' Deez for now love. If she be here, she can be ah tellin' us what happened." He explains as he rubs his thumb along Uma's jaw.

Uma untwists one of her hands as she wipes furiously at her eyes. "Gil can't know…" She starts, her eyes flaring with worry and determination.

"That I do be ah knowin'," Harry nods. Gil would end up taking it the hardest. How many times had Gil punched him? Her? He shakes his head. Yeah, Sweet Boy was going to beat himself up for the way he'd treated T.

Not that T hadn't deserved the punches Gil dealt, but because he had a strict moral code where girls were concerned. He didn't even like swearing in front of them, let alone the thought of one being hit.

T a girl. His head was still reeling. First the red hair. The dyed skin. Now his gender. How little did they actually know about T? It hurt. Hurt that T hadn't trusted them. Hurt that they had missed it for so long. Hurt that they had let T's omissions and lies get so out of hand.

"Best ta be ah waitin' 'til we be ah havin' more. When the lad be ah getting back ya two can be huntin' down Deez." He levels a glare at Uma, "But I be ah checkin' out the church again, ta be ah seein' if that whaleshit fuckin' bastard be ah knowin' anything." He only wished he hadn't thrown the damn book out the window now. He sighs, certain he could spin a tale about his da not liking the Bible or something. That would be easy enough.

Uma opens her mouth to argue but clearly thinks better of it as she just nods mutely before she burrows her head into the crook his arm again.

He doesn't have to wait much longer for her to fall asleep. She was exhausted from both her revelations and her fit from them.

How had she missed it, she'd asked him so desperately. The better question was, how had he? He and Jay had plenty of opportunities to talk to him… He shakes his head. Her? That felt strange. Not once in the years that they'd known each other had the thought ever once crossed his mind.

Thinking of Jay was another stab. He'd lost the mate he'd come to depend on when it came to all things Deez and T, related. He swallows a groan. What was he going to do without him? The thought made tears sting his eyes as he finally lets himself feel the loss.

How was he supposed to deal with everything Uma found out? Not that he hadn't already suspected most of it. But to know it. One hundred percent.

Except it wouldn't be real until he saw it himself. He trusted Uma with his life, and more, but he knew this wasn't going to be real until he saw it.

Harry sighed as he looks around the room. Uma was spent. Not that he could blame her. He hadn't thought about T's relationship with heights when they'd taken assignments. He knew Uma felt responsible for T, so he hadn't questioned her resolve to search for him, her. He felt so remiss. On so much.

He was glad she'd agreed to be on Deez watch with Gil now.

Gil. Their Sweet Boy. Their Anchor.

That was going to be a delicate situation. He hated lying to his best mate, but he also knew Gil would be destroyed over the news while T and Deez were still lost to them. Later. Once they knew… Maybe then.

The best case he could hope for was them finding Deez and learning that T had been taken to Auradon. Then the whole situation would be out of their hands and they could talk about it. Could all come to terms with it. With all of it.

It hurt to think, but he honestly hoped the Rottens stayed the hell in Auradon and never came back. Hoped, as much as it pained him, that T had gone with them. If they could get out, maybe there was a chance for the rest of them. And if not, at least some of the best made it out. He could admit that. Rivals or not, the Rottens were some of the best on this forsaken isle. Jay. Carlos. Evie. He considered all of them friends. And if they all defended and stood by their Dragon, she couldn't be that bad either.

He sighs again as he inches off the bed, holding Uma in his arms before he turns and tucks her in. Gil would be back soon, and Uma needed to rest before she faced him.

He takes a deep breath before he resigns himself to cleaning up after the Kraken's rage. It would give him time to think. Time to calm down himself. And hopefully he could clean enough before their Sweet Boy returned so he could put off explaining the depths behind their Captain's latest rage.

So…

What did you guys think?

Personally, this is one of my favorite chapters of this book (At least from what we've written so far, so don't quote me). It's got that hurt/comfort protective feel to it that feeds my soul. Plus I absolutely adore Uma/Harry scenes.

We were aiming to make this chapter heavy as it was intense. Did we deliver?

What did you guys think about Harry's thoughts to T being a girl? It was a bit difficult for us to pin down what his response was going to be, but in the end, we both agreed that for the most part Harry wouldn't give a fuck about that, especially with all the information being fed to him. Do you agree? Or do you think it should've been something different? AKA What were you guys hoping for?

Did we do Uma justice in her breakdown?

It's rare that one of her boys reprimands her, so what did you think of that table turn?

Is your heart going out to the Sea Three?

Are you biting at the bit for Deez to come home? For T to escape or be found?

Let us know

In the comments below,

We're dying to hear your thoughts!

With much love and appreciation

-Twisted