Sixteen Years After The Barrier. (17 AB).

"Why do we have to race?" Harry complained, looking at the poster for the ship race. "Hattie got given a ship" Jaz could think of a thousand things wrong with that statement. Harriet hadn't been given a ship. She'd straight up challenged Pa to a fight for it a couple of months ago after Pa had come closer to killing Harry than usual. He didn't know that and neither did CJ. Jaz wasn't supposed to know but she'd heard Sammy telling Squeaky and Squirmy about it when the twins had asked why they were moving ship.

"Yeah, but Harriet isn't a disappointment." She said instead of telling Harry the truth. Her brother frowned at those words, but it hurt his pride less for her to say something he already knew that tell him Harriet had fought for the ship because she was scared Harry wouldn't survive Pa's next drunken bender.

"I'm gonna win that ship," Harry said, instead of responding to Jaz's statement. "I'm gonna beat Uma, and then she'll have to be my first mate and give me my hook back." Huh. So that's where Harry's hook was. Harry loved that stupid thing. Jaz didn't know why, and she didn't care. She knew that threatening to throw it overboard was a good way to get Harry to do what she wanted and that was all she needed to know about it.

"And if she beats you?" Harry muttered something under his breath at that and Jaz smirked. Translation: He had to work for Uma if she won. Funnily enough, she didn't think Harry would mind that past the token protest about having to work for someone else. He followed her orders already after all.

Lottie ambled down the docks as the race started, heading to the Chip Shoppe. She couldn't care less about who won, she wasn't a pirate. Shoving Jaz's hat out of her eyes—it was a bit big on her—Lottie noted that the waters were full of make-shift boats. As she watched, a pair of witches went past using a giant spoon as a paddle. A goblin ship pulled ahead, what looked like a table being dragged along behind it by a rope. The Chip Shopped was blessedly quiet as she slipped inside, rolling her eyes at the 'Sword Check' sign like she always did. Sure, she might be one of the few on the Isle to prefer knives over swords, but that didn't make them any less dangerous.

Gil frowned as he woke up. He'd fallen asleep and woken up in his own time. That never happened. Opening his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the that usually packed room was empty. The second thing he noticed was that it was, actually empty. There was one other person in there. A girl with black and white hair was stood in the doorway, smirking at the Sword Check sign. She looked vaguely familiar, but most kids on the isle did. She was clearly a pirate though, or the daughter of one at the very least. She had a red coat on like the Hook kids—she couldn't be a Hook kid, Harry only had three sister's and he'd met all of them—and there was a tricorn perched on her head.

"Er, hi? Where'd everyone go?" She jumped slightly, turning to look at him. Probably hadn't even noticed he was there. The tricorn fell over her face and Gil put a hand over his mouth to stop a laugh spilling out. She was alone, and she wasn't jumpy or jittery, meaning she was confident that nothing would be able to hurt her. People like that were not the sort of people you laughed at.

"Boat race. I was bugging Harry but then I got bored. So I came here." Oh! Gil knew who she was. That was Harry's sister's new friend. Lucky or something.

"You're Lucky, right?" He asked, dropping a tray full of food onto a table in the middle of the room. "Harry's sister's friend."

"Lottie." She stated firmly "And Jaz and I aren't friends. We're partners." She made it sound like there was a difference between the two, and maybe there was, but nobody ever admitted to being friends on the Isle, so he'd probably just insulted her.

"What's the difference?" the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Lottie frowned slightly, wandering over and hopping up onto the table. Gil pulled the tray out the way so she didn't sit on it.

"I- actually, I don't know. What is the difference?" They sat like that for a moment, just thinking, and munching on the food. Food always helped him think after all. Gil startled when the door slammed open, Uma striding in with Harry on her heels. She looked happy, and Harry had his hook again. He hadn't had it that morning.

"Guess who just won the boat race!" She called, walking in like she owned the place. Which she kinda did?

"Uma!" Gil jumped to his feet, knocking the table over and sending Lottie to the floor. Gil could have sworn he heard metal hit the floor, but there were no weapons in sight aside from the swords Harry and Uma had dropped into the sword check with his own.

"Oi!" She yelled, scrambling to her feet. Shoot. She was probably gonna hurt him now, meaning Harry and Uma wouldn't let her come back. Shame, he was starting to enjoy her company.

"Gil." Uma greeted "Who's this?" she asked, nodding her head at the girl.

"I'm Lottie." Lottie stated, grabbing her hat off the floor.

"Pest." Harry growled, spotting Lottie.

"Asshole." She shot back, smirking.

"So, you're the De Vil girl." Uma interrupted before it could turn into a catfight. Harry liked to fight things. Gil knew that.

"Yep. The one and only Charlotte De Vil." She gave a mock curtsy, still smirking. "And you're Uma. New captain of the Lost Revenge if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not as dumb as you look. C'mon Gil. Let's go take a look at our new ship." She turned, grabbing her sword as she strode out, harry on her heels. Gil smiled at Lottie before grabbing his sword and following them out. He hoped he saw her again. She was nice.

"Oi! Captain Hook!" Harriet turned to see Uma walking towards her.

"Captain Strand. What do you want?" The Sea Witch rubbed her the wrong way. Part of it was the way Harry practically worshipped her—he denied it, but they all knew he was lying—and part of it was the simple fact that, if they weren't trapped behind the barrier, Uma would be something far more dangerous than Harriet herself.

"Just thought you'd want to know that I nicked your brother to be my first mate." Uma was smiling, but it was full of teeth. Harriet prepared herself for Harry complaining that Uma had won for the next week. It would only last a week though. As far as her little brother was concerned, Uma was a goddess.

"Good luck keeping him alive and in line then. He likes to fight things." Harriet should know. All three of her stupid siblings liked to fight things. Mainly each other.

"I know." Harriet couldn't help but smile slightly at the tone. So, Uma had already had an idea of what she was dealing with. Harry was by far the hardest of the three younger Hooks to keep in line. Absently, she wondered how much of their family history Uma knew, whether or not she knew how often Harriet had saved her only brother from being killed by their own father. She doubted it. Harry hated admitting to being weak.

"If he dies, I'll kill you" She warned. Harry might be a pain in the ass and a nightmare to keep in line—sometimes she wondered if he was more trouble than he's worth when she had to distract Pa again—but he was the only little brother she had.

"Oh don't worry. I have no intention of letting anyone hurt either of my boys." Uma bared her teeth and Harriet bared hers right back. Uma was possessive. Good. Possessive was good. Possessive meant she would reign down hell on anyone that touched Harry without her permission. One less sibling for Harriet to constantly watch over. One less person for her to have to protect.

"He worships you, you know that." She called as Uma turned to leave. She didn't know why she said it, but the Sea Witch had to know how much she meant to Harry.

"I know." Uma replied, vanishing into the shadows.

Uma moved as quickly as she could. She, Harry and Gil had gathered a crew and they were celebrating in the Shoppe tonight. They couldn't start without her. Besides, she hadn't told Harry that she wanted to talk to Harriet. The other captain deserved to know why Harry wasn't heading back to her ship anymore. She'd talk to the Gaston twins about Gil, but she doubted they cared much.

Uma laughed, dancing around the shoppe as the crew cheered, and Harry was breathless. She grabbed his hook—the only one who ever did—and pulled him up to join her.

"What's my name?"

"Uma." He whispered it like a prayer, gazing into her eyes, like pools of ink flecked with stars. She was dangerous—they all were—but he knew without a doubt that she'd never hurt him. He was safe. Safer than he'd ever been on his father's ship, Harriet on watch at the door while the rest of them slept, safer that he'd been on Harriet's ship, knowing nothing could get on or off without his older sister's permission, safer than he'd been even when Ma was still around, giving everyone in Pa's crew a run for their money. He was in the arms of one of the most dangerous people on the isle, ensnared by a goddess in the making, her hand wrapped around his only weapon, and he'd never felt safer.

Uma's surname, Strand, is from Old Norse strǫnd meaning "beach, sea shore". It was originally given to someone who lived on or near the sea.