Warnings;

. Swearing
. Mentions of Violence

The Cheshire Cat's daughter remained near the hideout for at least two days after her discovery. Not only did the newfound treasure trove contain a rather temperamentally working fridge, but also a slightly fuzzy running TV that regularly brought news over from Auradon. She had no particular fascination for whatever was going on on the other side of the barrier, of course, but it helped keep her occupied when she got bored. Thankfully, the Core Four hadn't thought to have a clearout before leaving for Auradon, so Cassie had been snacking on little packets of roasted peanuts for the majority of her time in the hideout. Though she was sure it was nothing compared to the palaces she'd seen through the TV screen, she felt that it truly came close to such, especially considering the state of the Isle.

But the real highlight of the hideout was that, for the most part, no one on the Isle knew Cassie was there. The fragile 'truce' between herself and the pirates held no great weight, and Harry knowing she lived at Helena's had been extremely uncomfortable. Mad Maddy had also known about Cassie's whereabouts, and she fell right below Harry on Cassie's list of people she never wanted to talk to again. If the Fearsome Five or Sea Three had had even an inkling about the Core Four's hideout, Cassie wouldn't have even found it in the first place. It seemed no one else on the Isle knew about the wonderful place, and Cassie was determined to keep it that way. Now, it was hers.

Unfortunately, Cassie hadn't seen Helena since she left the salon two days before. She was aware enough to admit she'd been far too occupied by the hideout and rooting through every object available, along with relishing in the comfort of no one knowing where to find her. Still, the Queen of Hearts was her friend, probably the only true friend she had on the hellish Isle they called home, so it was only right for her to go and let Helena know where she'd gone and where she could find her if she wanted to.

Cassie travelled through the winding alleyways and streets of the Isle, heading towards the Heart Salon. It hadn't been more than an hour since the sun went down, so she was sure Helena was still awake and cleaning up the mess.

In a few minutes, Cassie eventually arrived at Helena's salon. She gently knocked four times, hoping Helena had heard the sound. It wasn't a secret knock, per se, though in some way it also was. Helena had told her about it during Cassie's stay in the salon, that it was the usual knock for any of her close friends to let her know it wasn't an intruder or someone who meant harm.

There was silence for a moment or two, then Cassie heard the locks being turned or undone behind the door. It swung open, but before the little cat could even open her mouth to greet her friend, her wrist was held in a tight grip and she was yanked into the salon.

"Gods, Helena," the little cat mumbled, thanking her reflexes for steadying her so she didn't land on her face. "I've only been gone for a day or two." She pushed her hair back over her shoulder as she stood upright, watching as Helena frantically shut the door and slid the locks back into place.

The Queen of Hearts pivoted to rest her back against the door. "Where the fuck have you been?" she demanded.

Cassie frowned. Sure, she'd been MIA for a little while, and she'd half expected to be scolded by her friend when she eventually decided to visit, but there was clearly something else going on. "I found a place," was all she managed to reply in her defence.

"Is it safe?" asked Helena, her brown eyes surveying the Cheshire Cat's daughter with great concern. It was as if she'd been expecting Cassie to be hurt. "No one else can find you there, right? No one else knows you're there?"

The little cat's eyes narrowed. Something had definitely happened while she was away. "Of course," she assured, worry turning her stomach when Helena let out a breath of relief. "What's going on?"

Helena took a step forward and took Cassie's hand in hers. "We have some stuff to talk about," she announced, leading the little cat further into the salon.

Cassie waited patiently for Helena to continue, twisting a strand of her hair nervously while she sat down in one of the salon chairs. The Queen of Hearts took the seat across from her, but she did not release Cassie's fingers from hers.

"Ginny got hurt," the Queen of Hearts finally said. "The night you left, Gaston came here. He said Ginny got attacked in Maleficent's old castle, the same place you guys got the jump on Harry."

Cassie fidgeted in her chair. "Is she alright?" she asked quietly.

Helena slowly shook her head. "No, she's not. Whatever you guys did to Harry that night, the same happened to Ginny. He says it's the pirates retaliating for what happened to Harry."

"You don't think so," stated Cassie, noticing the darted movements of Helena's eyes.

"There's a chance it's the pirates, but there's a chance it's someone else too," said Helena, finally bringing her gaze to meet Cassie's. "Maddie."

A shiver ran down Cassie's spine as she felt the hair on her arms begin to stand on end. "Why would she do that?"

Helena tilted her head, a knowing and sympathetic expression taking over her features. "C'mon, pussycat," she mumbled.

Cassie froze. "Me. She wants me," she eventually breathed out.

"Hmm. It's the easiest way to get the others to want you too. With Ginny down they're lacking, they need someone equally as talented. Plus, since this looks like an attack from the pirates, it means they're weaker, they need to fill in that spot soon before things get worse. I guarantee Maddie's already planning some kind of way to get back at them for this."

"Why Ginny?" asked Cassie.

Helena shrugged. "She's the weakest. Anthony's smart and ruthless, the twins are strong and they can fight. Ginny isn't the best at fighting but she's got charm, and she works as a thief most of the time. She's not the easiest to replace, but if Maddie already has someone in mind..."

"Then she's expendable," finished Cassie. "But there's a good chance the pirates did it," she pointed out, somewhat hopeful.

"I thought about it," said Helena, resting her head on her other hand. "But this is too obvious. Harry's crazy but he's not exactly one for theatrics, if he wanted to get back at Maddie he'd just kill her himself, he wouldn't build it up just to knock off Ginny. Plus, Uma's trying to expand pirate territory and get more people to join the crew, starting a turf war with the Five just doesn't seem like a logical step. She wants to take over the Core Four's turf, she hasn't even touched Maddie's side of the Isle, and Maddie's not interested in taking over more of the Isle."

Cassie's brows furrowed in confusion. "I thought that's what all the big groups wanted to do?"

"Not really. We're all miserable here, pussycat. I don't think Uma cares about turf, she's just being petty because something happened with her and Mal when they were kids. Everyone's just killing time here until we eventually kick the bucket."

"So, where do I come in?" asked Cassie.

"Maddie likes you," replied Helena.

The little cat frowned. "That's it?"

"I dunno what to tell you." The Queen shrugged. "She likes you. She wants you. People here don't exactly like the word 'no', so she's doing what she can to make sure you can't say it."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "I feel like there are better ways to tell someone you like them."

Helena smiled, genuinely this time. "Not in this place. Maddie's doing everything right, of course. She helped you take out your enemy, and made sure you were the one to take him out, so she let you have the revenge you were owed. After that, she kept coming back and brought little gifts for you so you'd know she was capable of taking care of you. Now, she's taken out the weakest link in her crew to make room for you. Hell, anyone else on the Isle would've folded by now."

The Cheshire Cat's daughter was incredibly taken aback. Yes, she'd known Maddie had a bit of a thing for her and was a little crazy when she wanted something. Cassie had no idea, though, that everything Maddie had done up to this point had been part of some sort of twisted courtship ritual that was well known on the Isle.

"The problem here," continued Helena. "Is that you don't like Maddie like that. And you've been hiding in a tower since you were a kid, so you couldn't have known what all of this meant."

Cassie gaped. "And everyone on the Isle does this?"

Helena nodded. "Hmm, it's just the way things are. Sometimes the line between desire and hate will dance around each other, and things might get a little confusing between them, but the end game is the same. Hades, the things me and Gaston did to each other would scare the shit out of you."

Part of Cassie was curious, but another, stronger part decided it was best for some things to remain secret. "But I haven't danced around Maddie, haven't even been interested in going to find her."

"I know. And I also know it's probably driving her insane that you're not playing this game too," said Helena. A rather mischievous smile tugged at her lips then. "You know who you have been playing this game with?"

"Don't even say it," pleaded Cassie, unable to deal with more than one issue at this moment in time. "And didn't you say he was my 'hero', or some shit like that?"

"I told you, pussycat," laughed Helena, clearly delighted with herself. "The line gets blurred sometimes."

Cassie pouted. "I'm glad you're having fun," she muttered. "But serious talk, what am I supposed to do about Maddie?"

The smile fell from Helena's face. "I really don't know, pussycat. Maddie's got the hots for you, and she's gonna do whatever it takes to get you. I can't keep you safe this time; This is an Isle issue."

Cassie nodded and pulled her legs up onto the chair, folding them underneath her. "Okay, so, what would you do? If you were me."

"Well, if I was really desperate, then I'd find someone else to take an interest. A lesser evil, we'll say. Typically, if someone on the Isle wants someone, but someone else wants the same person, the two have to duke it out because of Isle law. Whoever wins gets the one they want."

Cassie grimaced. "That's... intense. But no one else on the Isle wants me. So, any other options?"

"The same rule applies to gangs. If one gang wants someone, and another gang wants someone, they hash it out. Most of the time it doesn't come to that, though. I haven't heard of a gang fight going down over someone in a long time. Usually, someone backs down before it comes to it."

Cassie nodded, her eyes rolling skyward in thought. "So, my only two options are to join another crew or find someone who likes me just as much as Maddie does?"

Helena scrunched up her nose. "Sorry, pussycat. Isle rules."

Cassie took a deep, soothing breath, running her fingers into her hair to gently scratch at the back of her head. Neither of Helena's options appealed to her in any way. She would be giving up her freedom whichever path she chose. Joining another gang on the Isle didn't seem like the best path, mainly since Cassie didn't know of any other gangs on the Isle who were looking for a new member, but also because she didn't do well with being told what to do. Finding someone else on the Isle who liked her just as much as Maddie was also a no-go.

"I could always go into hiding again," suggested the little cat, only to earn a stare of disapproval from her friend.

"We both know how that went down last time, Cassie," the Queen said pointedly, giving her hand a quick squeeze of affection.

All Cassie could do was hum in agreement. It hadn't been that long since she'd stopped hiding away in Maleficent's attic, only around two or so months, if she was counting right, but for her, it seemed longer. Days of wandering around the Isle in her feline form in search of a way to cure her boredom and nights spent rooting around the streets for something beautiful to catch her eye. She wouldn't exactly say she was grateful that Harry caught her on the ship that particular night, but she also had to admit her life had gotten a lot less dull since she'd met him. Undoubtedly dangerous, but never boring.

"I don't know what to do," she finally admitted, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. "Please, tell me what I should do."

Helena sighed and leaned forward in her chair. She kept Cassie's left hand in her right but reached out with her left to brush back a few strands of the little cat's hair. "I'm sorry, pussycat. I can't choose for you. Whichever one you do go for, I'll be right behind you. I've got your back, Cassie."

The Cheshire Cat's daughter couldn't help but smile, warmth overtaking the biting fear of the choice she now had to make. She would always have her best friend, no matter what happened or the route she chose to take.

"I guess I'd have to go with finding a gang. Tying myself to someone on the Isle... I couldn't do something like that," she finally said.

Helena gave a nod of understanding. "I get it. Besides, some people here aren't so bad. I'll do some digging for you, see if any of the other gangs are looking for someone new. Maddie's crew are notorious, pussycat, so I don't know if this is gonna take. The only crew on this Isle stupid enough to start something with them has to be Harry's pirates."

Cassie groaned, but soon something entered her frantic mind. "The other day, Harry said Uma wanted to see me," she recounted.

"You're kidding?" laughed Helena, though there was no humour there. "You almost killed her bestie, I don't think she has good intentions."

"True, but you said so yourself, the lesser of two evils," reminded Cassie. "I'm not gonna run off and join the pirates, but if Uma thinks I'm useful for something, then that counts, right?"

Helena's gaze narrowed as if she was looking for something in Cassie's eyes. "Such a fine line." The Queen's words were a whisper, though her amusement was evident, and Cassie frowned in return. "He came here for you yesterday, you know. I told him to go sit on his hook."

Cassie fought to withhold a reaction. She didn't want to encourage Helena's ideas. "Do you think it'll work?" she asked, hoping to divert her friend's mind.

"Uma is looking to expand," pondered Helena. "She's covering more turf now, so she needs more pirates, or at least someone with a good enough skill set. There are other gangs on the Isle, pussycat. I won't say they're better but at least you don't have a bad history with them. Let me ask around, see if there's an opening for you somewhere before you go dancing again."

The little cat rolled her eyes. "I guess."

"Anyway," said Helena, moving back to get comfortable in her chair. "Tell me about your new place."

~...~...~

It took a little while for Helena's word to spread. Cassie had first thought the Queen of Hearts would handle everything a little more discreetly, gathering information from her own sly sources. The Cheshire Cat's daughter eventually realised she had been mistaken after a day or two.

Nearly everywhere on the inner Isle, Cassie had been hearing whispers and mutterings of her name. Well, not her name entirely. During many journeys in her feline form she'd passed by numerous Isle dwellers who spoke secretly between each other, thankfully taking no notice of the little black cat circling them. They'd spoken of a recently discovered 'villain kid', a black-clothed thief with the ears of a cat. Of course, at some point the stories started to diverge from reality even more. Cassie eventually came to find them incredibly funny, after her initial shock at hearing people talk about her. Some stories spoke of a large, brute teenager stealing trinkets and jewels from the most well-known villains living on the Isle. Some would argue that she had sharp horns rather than cat ears on top of her head. Truthfully, Cassie would find the entire thing hilarious if it wasn't her story being spread about the Isle.

After hearing the most ridiculous stories for a few days, Cassie naturally returned to Helena's salon to demand an explanation. According to the Queen of Hearts, dragging herself to another crew, when she was very well-known as a former member of the Fearsome Five, to ask if they could take on a friend of hers would be a disgusting display of weakness. It would cloud Cassie in a negative light since the gangs on the Isle would think of her as a coward who needed someone else to fight her battles for her. Making other gangs on the Isle want to have Cassie for themselves was what Helena needed to do. If word spread about Cassie's skills and abilities, then someone on the Isle would take notice and make an offer. None of the other people on the Isle could, after all, switch between a girl and a cat.

Unfortunately, during this time, Maddie and the rest of her group had been trying to track the little cat down. Cassie had lost count of the times she'd almost bumped into the group during the daytime, harassing or tormenting countless people in the marketplace for even a sliver of information on her whereabouts. Several Isle dwellers were rather vocal with their opinions on the Fearsome Five, pointing out that Maddie and her group wouldn't be slithering around the marketplace if the Core Four were still around.

The inner Isle had also grown quite interested in Uma's pirates. In the beginning, the chatter had been less than favourable. Obviously, it made sense. Maleficent had been ruling the inner Isle for twenty years, controlling the motions of everything from day one. Now that she was gone, the inner Isle had been turned upside down. Since they had no way of knowing who would take over next, the residents of the inner Isle were extremely rattled. At least they knew where they stood in relation to the Mistress of Evil. From the inner Isle's perspective, the differences were as stark as night and day, and the pirates were an unknown force that they had not expected. But the locals were naturally divided, especially with Maddie running wild in the marketplace. Uma was an outsider, and they didn't really respect her, but their growing contempt for Maddie was more intense. Most hoped the pirates would show up and humble the Fearsome Five, though others pointed out that Maddie and her group shared more similarities with their side of the Isle more than the pirates. In the grand scheme of it all, it seemed the odds were unevenly divided at this moment in time.

To Cassie's chagrin, she had made herself stay in the hideout at night. With the Isle residents throwing stories between each other, and Maddie and her group hunting her down, leaving the safety of her new-found haven just didn't seem worth it. She'd already told Helena where to find her if she needed to, and she'd been routinely pinching snacks and other necessities from the marketplace during her feline form, so going out wasn't really needed.

Eventually, a week turned into two, and the little cat was so damn bored. There was just one channel on the television, and it was all about the princes and princesses of Auradon. The daughter of Maleficent had also been a recurring theme since she was now 'dating' the newly crowned king of Auradon. Even so, the endless gushing and fawning of the Auradon residents when it came to the bad-turned-good Core Four had become tedious. Cassie was positive she would smash the screen herself if she had to hear about Mal's obsession with strawberries one more time.

The very distinct sound of the front door squeaking open caused Cassie's head to twitch. Her feet instinctively dropped to the ground in preparation, but she quickly composed herself. Helena was the only one who knew where she was.

The Queen stepped into the living room, cautious not to scare the baby on her hip by being too loud. "You are going to be pissed!" she exclaimed.

Cassie's brows furrowed. "Huh?"

Helena huffed and fell onto the couch beside Cassie, shifting Gilzean onto her lap. "You're blacklisted," she fumed.

The little cat blinked. "I'm what?"

"Blacklisted," the Queen repeated, lowering Gil to the floor. "It means no one on the Isle wants you in their gang."

Cassie's eyes darted to the side, her lips moving though no sound passed through. "Uh... why?" she eventually inquired.

"It's not that no one wants you, pussycat," reassured the Queen. "Trust me, you'd be a great addition to any gang." Her red-painted lips twisted downward, and her eyes rolled in annoyance. "Getting blacklisted means someone—usually whichever crew is at the top—puts some shit on your name. If any crew on the Isle takes you in, then they're starting a turf war with the gang that blacklisted you."

"Was it Maddie?" The little cat sighed, disheartened by the news Helena had thrown her way. Her best option had been to join another gang, but if no one else wanted her, she was pretty much screwed.

Helena winced. "Not exactly," she muttered.

~...~...~

Overwhelming boredom couldn't drive the Cheshire Cat's daughter out of the hideaway, but the unbearable fire of anger from being screwed over certainly could.

Travelling back into pirate territory hadn't passed through Cassie's mind in a while. After everything that had gone down with the son of Hook, and the pain she'd endured on their turf, she'd promised herself that she'd never go back there again. She'd almost run herself into the ground to escape his grasp, pretty much handing herself to a manic witch in her desperation to be rid of him.

The time it took for Cassie to travel from her hideout to Uma's chip shoppe seemed shorter this time. Although, the overwhelming hostility setting Cassie's veins on fire might've been the cause. Her muddled thoughts were rather frantic, and her sight somewhat clouded.

Honestly, she felt like a complete moron. Yes, she'd known that the stories spreading through the Isle would make their way to Uma's territory. And yes, she'd anticipated the group would laugh cruelly at her predicament, since Harry had surely filled them in on Maddie's odd fascination with her. However, she hadn't considered that they'd go to such lengths to draw out her suffering. Considering the terrible and dehumanising things she and Harry had done to each other, it was pretty dumb of her. Compared to things they'd done in the past, this was a minor aggravation on his part.

When Cassie finally arrived at the Chip Shoppe, she was almost certain she'd broken one of the swinging doors when they met the walls with an echoing 'bang'. It was quite late into the night—almost early morning if she had to guess—so she hadn't counted on there being many pirates inside the shoppe. And, luckily for her, she'd assumed correct.

Gil was near the countertop and facing the doorway, so he was the first to see her. "Oh! Hey, Cassie!"

The little cat acknowledged his greeting with a nod of her head, making her way towards Harry with a determined stride. His back was towards her, his hook set aside on the countertop near a tray of food he seemed to be eating from. Not entirely his fault, anyhow. The Chip Shoppe was Uma's territory, and therefor his. There was no reason for him to keep his guard up on his own turf; after all, everyone deserved to have a place on the Isle where they could unwind and feel safe.

Unfortunately for Harry, Cassie's anger overcame her ability to think clearly.

The Cheshire Cat's daughter flung herself high onto the pirate's back, placing her feet in the space between his ribs and hipbones. Then, her slender fingers reached for the beautifully crafted dagger Helena had given her right before she stormed out of the hideout, which she'd made sure to hide in the waistband of her trousers on the way to the Chip Shoppe. Pressing the dagger to his throat, her left hand grabbed just below his jaw and pulled fiercely, forcing his head back.

"Hello there, kitty," he purred, the irritating grin she'd had the misfortune of becoming used to stretching his lips.

Cassie scowled. "Hi, Harry."

"Took ya long enough."

The little cat frowned, her knees squeezing against his ribs. "You were trying to get me here?" she asked. "Why?"

He answered, "I told ya, Uma wants to talk." Then his gaze dipped downward. "Ya mind movin' that?"

Cassie appreciated the reminder. "You're such an asshole," she spat, her grip tightening around the handle of the dagger. "You fucking blacklisted me?!"

The pirate laughed—well, as much as he could with his head yanked back and a knife to his throat. "That's what ya're worried about? Haven' ya got bigger problems?"

"My biggest problem would've been solved by now if you hadn't blacklisted me," snapped Cassie.

"Ya truly do flatter me, darlin'. But it wasn' me."

Cassie shot back, "Bullshit. Helena told me it was you."

Harry clicked his tongue. "Ya sure?"

"It wasn't Harry, pussycat."

The little cat's head turned to the side, and found Uma had come into the shoppe at some point during her conversation with Harry. "What?" she muttered.

"It wasn't Harry. It was me." The captain hardly seemed disturbed by the fact her first mate was on the verge of having his throat cut, though Cassie was hardly surprised by it. After all, she had a long history of not being able to kill.

"Why?" the little cat inquired.

Uma gestured towards Harry. "Let him go, and we'll talk."

Cassie wasn't stupid enough to trust Harry after she'd pulled such a stunt, but she trusted Uma not to kill her. The captain wasn't one for long-drawn theatrics or tricks; if she'd wanted Cassie dead, she'd have done it the moment she walked in and realised what was going down. For whatever reason, it seemed Uma really did want to talk to her about something.

The little cat huffed. "Fine." Carefully, holding the dagger away from Harry to prevent more damage, she descended from his back. "But you did deserve that," she told the hook-handed pirate.

"Aye," he chucked in reply, gently prodding the small cut she'd made on his throat. He waved his tongue quickly over his red-stained fingertips. "I probably did."

Cassie rolled her eyes and stepped away from Harry, instead turning to face Uma. "What's up?"

~...~...~

When Cassie returned to the hideaway much later, she found Helena had stayed. The Queen of Hearts was curled up on one of the beds, notably the former bed of the Evil Queen's daughter, with Gilzean fast asleep beside her.

"Hey," the little cat whispered, leaning down to remove the boots from her feet.

"Hi," muttered Helena in reply, carefully sitting upright so she didn't wake the little one. "How'd it go?"

Cassie sighed and set her boots to the side, gently climbing onto the bed to sit in front of Helena. "Well, I'm still alive," she joked.

"I see that," Helena responded, her brows furrowed as she examined the little cat. "What happened?" She had every right to be sceptical.

With a hint of shame, Cassie recalled, "Well, you know how you said I had to join a crew to get rid of Maddie?" Helena nodded slowly and she continued. "I kinda did."

"Oh, Cassie," the Queen groaned, pressing her palms to her eyes. "What the fuck did you do?"

Cassie nervously laughed. "Well..."

~...~...~

Just as she had months before, Cassie begrudgingly followed Uma through the door at the back of the shoppe. They made their way down the dimly lit hallway, hardly made visible by the sporadic torches hung from the walls, and by the always-unsettling pale-blue glow that lit up the cave entrance. They eventually arrived at a familiar door, which Uma cautiously opened.

Cassie came through the door after Uma, reluctantly keeping a hand against it so that it didn't swing back into Harry's face.

"So," she murmured, fidgeting slightly while Gil, Uma, and Harry settled into their respective positions. "What's up?"

"We heard you're looking for a crew," stated Uma; straight to business, it seemed.

"You heard right," confirmed Cassie. "What about it?"

An odd noise passed through Cassie's ears, similar to that of a knife against metal. In the instant that passed between her body twisting to the side and the tiny hairs along the back of her neck becoming alert, there was a "thud" that broke the silence in the room.

The daughter of the Cheshire Cat gaped, her heart racing wildly in her chest. She dragged her dark eyes to the small knife stuck in the door and noted that it would have pierced her stomach if she hadn't moved quickly enough. "What the actual-"

"Damn, you are fast," noted Uma.

"You had to throw a knife at me to figure that out?" yelled Cassie. She then gestured to Uma's first mate. "He could've told you that!"

Harry wagged his index finger back and forth. "No harm in makin' sure," he gleefully sang.

"I should've pushed you off that damn tower," she snapped, taking a step towards him.

Accepting the challenge, the first mate moved one step closer than she had. He shot back, "An' I should'a hooked you when ya gave me the chance."

"Enough!" shouted the captain, reaching out to grab the back of Harry's coat. "We're not here for that," she reminded him, tugging him back to where he once stood.

"Then what are we here for?" demanded Cassie. The entire situation had now become tiresome and considerably worrying.

"We want you to join the crew."

Understandably, Cassie was greatly surprised. In fact, she had to scratch her nails against her palms once or twice just to make sure she was awake and not suffering from some fucked-up nightmare. "You wanna run that by me again?"

Uma's eyes rolled skyward, though a smirk of amusement pulled at her lips. "We want you to join us," she repeated, slower this time, though Cassie knew it was only to mock her.

A laugh of disbelief passed through Cassie's lips. "Are you insane? Why would I wanna do that?"

"Because Maddie wants you, and you don't want Maddie," said Gil, twiddling his thumbs from atop a nearby crate. At least the smile he gave her was one of kindness and friendship.

"While that's true," said Cassie, offering a small smile in return to the son of Gaston. It swiftly dropped the moment she turned back to Uma and Harry. "I'm not completely stupid."

An audible scoff came from the hook-wielding pirate. "Didn' ya barge in here moments ago an' put a knife to my throat?" he pointed out.

Cassie giggled. "I didn't win our game by being stupid, Harry," she taunted, incredibly pleased as she watched his grin falter. "Or did you forget? That near-death experience really messed with your head, huh?"

The first mate jolted to his feet and would've happily gone for her had his captain not had the sense to yank him back. "Stop it, Harry," she warned.

The little cat smiled and wiggled her fingers, harassing him further. "You think I don't know what it'll mean?" she wondered, turning back to Uma. "I join you, I'm under his command, right?" She waved a hand to where Harry sat.

"You won't be under Harry's command, pussycat, you'll be under mine," the captain corrected.

"He's your first mate. I might not get the whole 'pirate' thing, but I know the basics by now."

Uma nodded. "See, you're already on your way to being one of us."

Cassie groaned. "Look, I might have limited options right now, but letting Harry order me around his last on that list. I'd rather go back into hiding," she stated firmly.

"What if I gave you four months?"

"What do you mean?" asked Cassie, her eyes darting towards Harry.

"Well, four months is typically how long it takes to train the newbies. Usually you'd train under Harry, but... well, you guys don't play nice together. You'll train under the next best pirate, another guy on the crew. For four months, you only listen to him and me, not Harry. If he tries to get to you, he'll be going against a direct order," the captain specified, sparing a momentary glance of disapproval towards her first mate.

"Uma, c'mon," said pirate pleaded.

"I'm still pissed at you," she snapped. "Anyway," she muttered, facing Cassie once more. "That's my offer."

The Cheshire Cat's daughter took a moment, pondering Uma's words. Yes, she was desperately seeking out a group to join, but was this her best option? Joining another group, where one of the more powerful members didn't want her dead, was the most desired. However, Uma blacklisting her had really locked that option away. With the Core Four gone, the pirates seemed to be expanding with successful results. With them in power, no other group on the Isle would even consider taking her in. All Cassie could truly do right now was find the lesser evil, and she truly loathed the answer she was left with.

"You'll keep him off my ass for four months?" she eventually asked, attempting to ignore the churn in her stomach.

Uma smiled, though it was hardly reassuring. "My word as Captain." She held out a hand in Cassie's direction, the bracelets around her wrist jingling with the motion.

"And this will keep Maddie away?" asked Cassie, taking a hesitant step forward.

"I guarantee it."

Cassie moved closer and quickly put her hand in Uma's, preventing her niggling thoughts of warning from swaying her decision. "Then it's a deal."

~...~...~

The silence in the room was incredibly uncomfortable. Cassie was almost certain Helena hadn't said a word in at least five minutes. "C'mon, Helena," she begged. "You've gotta give me something."

The Queen of Hearts was, naturally, stunned into silence. "You're out of your fucking mind, you know that?" was her eventual, rather disapproving, reply.

Cassie grimaced. "I know. I swear, I don't even know if I made the right call. But if no one on the Isle will take me, this is my best option right now. Right?" A part of her yearned to hear something positive from Helena, a small sign that she'd made the best of an incredibly screwed-up situation.

Helena blew out a breath. "I guess. I mean, given the circumstances, it wasn't the worst. But what happens when those four months are over?"

"Well, I'll just have to be on my best behaviour until then," joked Cassie.

"I'm serious, Cassie," the Queen said firmly. "You guys have been hurting each other for months; that kinda past doesn't just go away now that you're part of the crew."

"I know, I know," assured the little cat. "Gil said he can't kill me as long as I'm one of them. I'll adapt!"

Helena frowned. "If you're sure about this, then I support you."

Cassie hoped her smile was convincing enough. "Of course."

When Helena turned to smooth a stray strand of hair away from Gilzean's face, Cassie's lips twitched downward. She absolutely hated keeping secrets, especially when it came to Helena. But if she'd told Helena what Harry said to her right before she left Uma's shoppe, she was sure the Queen of Hearts would've had her chained up in the salon before the sun even came up.

'Such a shame what happened to Helena's little friend, eh? Tell her I hope she feels better soon'.

AN;

Hello wonderful readers! A short chapter this time, so for that I apologise.

Reviews;

LottieLue1: Hi there! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter. I hope you enjoy this one as well :)

Sora: I have no idea. I don't think it would be rated that high just for language though

brynnrose98: I'm so happy you liked the chapter! The development between Cassie and Harry will start picking up a bit more now :)

whoviangirl813: You're ever so sweet, I'm glad you've been enjoying the story so far. I hope you enjoyed today's chapter :)

Please leave me a review or PM to let me know what you think of this chapter. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see in this story, as I'm always open to suggestions. Also, I've recently installed a new grammar correcter so if there are any mistakes feel free to let me know.

Much love to all who've reviewed, followed, and favourited so far. It means so much to me that you're enjoying the story.

Thanks!