Chapter 17

The crowd gaped in shock at the scene; Uma looked on triumphantly. Ben barely registered the silent uproar around him before he spoke again, this time a command: "Fairy Godmother, bring down the barrier."

"I most certainly will not." Fairy Godmother looked aghast.

"I am your king!" Ben shouted out uncharacteristically. "Obey him." Uma added, eliciting surprised gasps from the audience.

"Ben's been spelled." Mal uttered. A thoughtful gaze on Evie's face, she said: "Your spell book. Uma found your spell book back on the Isle."

I shook my head. "That's not it. Harry and I found your spell book back at your old hideout. We took it with us when we snuck over here. This must be something else."

"Hook's here? Now?" Carlos raised a brow. Jay elbowed him. "Not now, Carlos."

I felt a hand on my shoulder, Harry coming forward with a dark look on his face. "It's her shell. Uma has him hypnotised." He gazed back towards Ben and Uma.

The realisation dawned on me. "She pulled one of Ursula's old tricks."

A determined look on Mal's face, she headed towards the King. "Ben, look at me."

It was as if time stopped for them. "Ben, I never told you that I loved you because I thought that I wasn't good enough. And I thought that it was only a matter of time before you realized that yourself. But, Ben, that's me!" Mal confessed what she's being hiding for ages, gesturing towards the stained-glass painting. "I'm part Isle and part Auradon. And, Ben, you've always known who we were and who we can be. I know what love feels like now."

"of course, I love you. Ben, I've always loved you." Mal finished, pulling him into a gentle kiss. "Mal," He whispered, smiling against her lips.

I sighed dreamily leaning into Harry's arms, she finally got it out. It's about time. Harry pressed a kiss to the back of my head; I could feel the ghost of a smile on his lips against my hair. Evie nudged my arms, looking at Harry and me with a wink. "True love's kiss, works every time."

"Give it to me!" Scowling, Uma snatched at Fairy Godmother's wand. The guards marched forward to grab at her; in a panic, Uma rushed towards the side of the ship, her gloved hands gripped at the rails that stood between her and the dark murky waters of the ocean. Everyone rushed forward, trying to stop her from doing anything rash.

"Uma, I know you. You are so much more than just a villain," Mal tried to reason with her. "And you have to believe me, because I've been there. Do not let your pride get in the way of something that you really want."

My old captain gave us a meaningful look, her hands gripped at the metal so hard they paled with her strength. For a moment I thought she'd come to her senses, but her shell began to glow, a low sinister pulse sounded from the gold hanging around her neck. Uma's eyes narrowed, her fingers gingerly touching the smooth surface of her mother's necklace. Without a word, she pulled herself up and over the rails, diving into the cold waves below us.

"Uma! Don't!" Harry yelled, all of us pushed towards the side of the ship, trying to catch a glimpse of life from her, horrified looks were shared within the crowd.

The waters of Auradon were kinder than the riptides near the Isle, but kinder doesn't mean safe. Even from where I stood, I felt the dark and cold breeze wafting from the waves. The familiar humming pulse from Uma's shell earlier sounded from below the water's surface, a glow began to show, with ripples bubbling from the centre.

A whirling ball of water started beneath, slowly growing in size as I backed off slowly, my eyes never left the brewing storm. Thunder and lightning rolled in from clouds that suddenly collected in the once clear night sky; the booms echoed along with a sudden drop in temperature, making a threatening backdrop for the mass of tentacles and burst forth from the bubble.

Cold seawater and kelp splashed over us, the salt already stinging my eyes. Squinting from the pain, I shuddered in horror as Uma emerged from the depths, looming over the ship in the form of a giant kraken. Her sea foam tentacles pulled at the ship, making it lurch towards her. We stumbled forward, people grabbed at the railings to avoid being pulled into the swirling waters beneath. My feet slipped on the slanted, wet deck and I fell onto my knees, sliding towards the edge.

"Andy!" My friends yelled. I skidded as I pushed forward only to be pulled by gravity towards Uma, unable to grasp anything with the amount of water everywhere. The metal of the ship groaned as the tentacles tightened their grip, some people already fell into the water. A sharp creak and Uma had yanked part of the metal rails clean off the ship. The rest of it lurched the opposite direction, tossing the people onboard around. I slipped past the missing rails, falling past the edge of the boat.