Chapter Text
It had been over three weeks since Ben sent out a search party. Still no sign of Uma. Ben sighed defeated as the guard finished giving their empty report. He had so much to juggle on his plate. He wanted to continue his program of sending kids from the isle over, but with Uma on the loose, it was put on hold. Not because his team could not handle it but for the sake of his people. The idea of even inviting Isle kids to Auradon took much longer than he ever anticipated. Ben wanted his first act as King to be noble, honourable, but he didn't know how outrageous it seemed to everyone else. People were satisfied living in their fairy-tale dream; they didn't want Ben to burst it with his naivety. His success was cut short to only bringing four over. It was nowhere as grand as he envisioned it, but at least it had been established. Perhaps four was too many; he almost lost all that his father had worked so hard to build.
At his coronation, he was forever in debt to the VKs for choosing good. His first grand gesture almost turned out to be his most extensive mistake. He had to regain the trust of his people as their monarch; he could not fail them. Uma slipped out the last time they drove off the isle; he couldn't be more humiliated at his actions at the cotillion. Finding Uma was a chance to prove to himself, his parents and his people.
Mal turned to Ben as the guard left the room. “It's been too long.”
“It's been three weeks, she would have done something by now; maybe we don't need to worry about it.” He tried to sound convincing, but Ben was never good at lying as he wished he was.
The pressures of being the lady of the court had subsided knowing Ben had her back. He supported her for who she was. But for the rest of Auradon, it felt like they were twisting the knife they already stabbed in her back. Mal being the lady of the court put Auradon on the edge. Their king falling for a VK and no explanation for their trusted princess; only to see him with another isle kid at the cotillion. Who was Mal to Ben other than trouble?
“She is a vil- she is from the isle.” She corrected herself. “She will sneak up when we least suspect it; I don't trust her. Remember what she did when she got out.” That didn't sound right. 'Got out' sounded like she escaped from prison. Not that the isle wasn't a prison, just that it was home no matter how much Mal wanted to step outside its borders. “She spelled you to take down the barrier, she could have taken the wand before the cotillion started, but she wanted to play her little games. She wanted to see my face when you held her in your arms.”
Ben's face flooded with guilt; he tried so hard to forget his actions that he didn't think about how Mal felt. “I'm truly sorry.” He knew it wasn't his fault, but he still could not feel partly responsible for causing Mal so much pain. If he wasn't so easily enchanted none of that would have happened, his stomach took a churn at that thought, because he wasn't sure if he still would have loved Mal either, but he was quick to dismiss that.
“Don't be, it wasn't your fault.” She said as she stroked the side of Ben's face, her hand was soft against his skin.
Mal was so grateful to have Ben at her side. He saw her for who she was, but part of her didn't know if she could keep up the act for everyone else. She knew they'd never fully have her back, but she had her friends and that's all she needed right?
Ben mustered up a gentle smile, though his eyes were glued to the search party's report. How are we going to find Uma? That question never gave him any peace of mind. Fairy godmother denied them the use of magic. He even gave the historians a shot, but instead of getting any useful information, he got a lecture full of life lessons and if he wasn't the future king, he would have left the room, politely of course.
The use of magic would have been so much easier. Both knew that but Fairy godmother forbade it, along with “One day you won't have me to rely on, you will need to be able to resolve far greater calamities than the whereabouts of Uma, without the use of magic.“
Mal held in the urge to eye roll, did she forget she isn't the only one who can use magic.
“And if I see any use of magic, I'll personally ground you both to the school grounds with it.” She glared sharply at Mal.
Fine, no magic.
There was a knock at the door that broke Ben’s thoughts and brought him back to his office. “You may enter.” Ben had always been one for manners.
“Hi, heard the guards came back with their report, came to help.” She had a cheery smile, which slightly lifted the mood. Lonnie had taken on the role of defence ambassador ever since Ben's apology trip became his rescue mission. It suited her well, she was a strategist; her brain was always ticking. “Maybe we are looking at it from the wrong perspective, instead of us trying to find her, why don't we look for someone who can?”
Lonnie was smart, and Ben was so grateful to have her on his team.
“Are you implying going back to the isle?” That almost sounded condescending coming from Mal. The isle was her home but ever since she went back, the place didn't feel right, she felt like she was walking on nails, everyone would glare at her as if she was a traitor. It felt like she was disowned from her home, going only reminded her of what they really thought. It wasn't easy trying to be the future queen, for once she had to care about what the public would think, she couldn't do what she wanted and twist the consequences to what suited her.
Maybe if she hadn't stayed with Ben, going back to the isle would be like a queen claiming her throne. She would have been the villain she aspired to be, everyone would have feared her not just the people on the isle. But Auradon had its ways seeping into her mind, being bad was so much easier, but she chose good.
“Surely her first mate would have an idea of her whereabouts.”
“Harry!?” Mal said stunned.
That's the name. Lonnie took a quick mental note of that, she was not entirely sure how she could ever forget his name. “He knows Uma the best. He knows how she thinks, and how she works, even if he doesn't know where she is, he is our best chance. Unless you want to use magic.”
The silence was unnerving, neither of them could deny Lonnie, and each of them had their reasons as to why they tried the other options.
Ben looked hesitant. “We could try.”
It wasn't a good idea, he could read that from Mal’s face, but he couldn't think of a better solution. Ben didn't hate magic, but he knew it always came with a cost and right now he didn't need to lose anything else.
~~*~~
“I demand to speak to your captain.” Ben said with a little more force than he meant to. He knew the ways of the isle a little better than last time.
He was “unsupervised” last time or that's the way Mal put it. He didn't have backup to rely on this time round, he probably should have thought this out a bit more, but every time he thought about returning, a sudden wave of flashbacks would creep up.
He wasn't going to let himself be captured again, he couldn't wear what Evie made last time, the isle would never forget the image of their king tied to the mast on The Lost Revenge. He wore his most battered clothes, not that he had many, he was the king and his wardrobe matched. The I-need-to-be-tougher-than-I-look attitude was starting to rub off on him with each step further into the isle.
That’s when he finally let go of the pirate, he had been holding up to his face with a fist full of clothes. Maybe that was too much, the pirate quickly scrambled aboard the ship and into the captain's cabin. That was easier than he anticipated, though he didn't remember seeing that pirate's face before. The ship looked a little different in the dusk, it gave an eerie hum of silence, things must have changed since Uma left. The pirate clumsily ran out and without making eye contact, they nodded their head in the direction of the door.
Ben examined the cabin as he entered in, the moonlight creaked in from the window, there was a globe next to the window ledge that caught Ben's eye, from what he could make out of it, it had seen better days, the colours were faded, they were almost indistinguishable if he hadn't known the borders of the land. He was surprised to find such an intact antique globe; it must have been much older than the isle.
“You demanded my presence?” Ben could almost hear the eyebrow raise in his voice.
“Yes.”
Ben said while trying to get to grips with his surroundings.
“Well, by all means, what could I possibly do for you?”
As Ben attempted to search for an answer, he noticed a glass lantern, one of the side panels had been cracked but the front window had been shattered completely and was tilted at the hinges. It looked as if it had been broken from the inside, but why was it on display next to more honourable memorabilia? It hadn't been used for years. It felt worryingly familiar, like from one of the old stories his father used to tell him.
Then it dawned. Harry's voice isn't that sinister.
The voice turned to greet him, Hook.
~~*~~
This was a stupid idea , going back to the isle by himself, why did I think could do it? He was nervous to meet Harry face to face again. He followed all the right steps and memorized the map of the isle; how did he end up here?
“So, you’re the new pirate?” A young lady with a fitting red leather jacket questioned. “What brings you to work for our crew?”
Ben caught a glimpse of her sword, which was thankfully firmly secure in her belt. Pirate, Ben's brain was moving slow, how long had he been scrubbing the deck? She twirled with the ends of her golden locked ponytail, as she waited for a response. “I wanted to taste the life of a pirate.” Both could hear the lie through that.
“Hmmm.” She stared him up and down. “Why our crew?” It wasn't every day that people demanded to work for Hook. No one came to this side of the isle unless they wanted to walk off the face of the earth. “Why not The Lost Revenge?” She said with her eyes rolling and a dismissive wave of her hand.
At least that ship had pirates of his age, and they were thousand times more welcoming than hers, they'd literally take anyone. That was an exaggeration, she knew that, but it helped her justify why she still stuck with her father's crew.
He paused for a minute, almost frozen in time scrubbing the deck, “I-” That's all he managed to say with a gulp before he got interrupted.
“Is it because of…” Her brain was ticking. “…Harry?” She looked at him as if she won the jackpot.
Harry, if it wasn't for him, he wouldn't be in this mess. Why did Lonnie have to suggest Harry? Why did I go alone? It would be so much easier to talk to Harry if he wasn't looking like he came to interrogate him with a bunch of guards. Ben understood how tyrannical that would look to the people, who were imprisoned by his kingdom. Uma helped him see that. He didn’t need the whole isle’s attention. Not that that mattered now, he needed to find a way out. There were too many eyes, and he had no idea where he was, on this wretched island.
Before he realised, he still hadn't answered her, she smirked and turned to prance away with the clinking of the golden buckles on her knee-high black boots. He was too drained to figure out what that meant, he needed to escape.
The Lost Revenge was home to the Sea Three, but it had been hell, Uma played a more crucial role than Harry would have thought to ever give her credit for. Uma going solo was something the crew never thought would happen. A captainless ship is a dangerous game to play. They were a target and the isle made sure they knew. Sleepless nights with endless attacks, Aurdonians would have thought it was war.
Gil had hope, he was the last one with any remaining hope. Three weeks had tested the crew’s loyalty. Gil put up a fight with anyone who tried to make themselves captain, and with the state they were all in he didn't have to put up much.
The isle slowly began accepting that The Lost Revenge was planning to stay. Somehow they survived, though they'd never admit it out loud. No one wants Captain Hook to rule the entire coast; they would never see the sea.
News spread of a new member of Hook’s crew, and there were whispers that echoed in each corner. Gil taunted Harry with this rumour, and as Gil expected it caught his attention.
“Who’d wanna work for him?” No one would want to join their crew, since they were a target and if anyone tried, their intention wasn't to just join.
It had been a while since Gil saw any fire in Harry's eyes. Harry had his work cut out for him the past few weeks.
“Who cares.” Gil could see pass Harry's defence but didn't provoke it.
“Have you collected the rounds for today?” Harry diverted the subject. Gil wasn’t the best suited for the job, he didn't have the wits to negotiate but he had the muscles to prevent it.
~~*~~
“Mal!” She turned her head to see who was calling her. Jane was running frantically, she looked concerned.
“Yes?” Mal answered.
“Have you seen Ben at all today?”
“No.” Mal didn't look nearly as concerned as Jane did, she had days where she barely saw Ben, he had Kingly duties to attend to. “What’s the matter?”
“He hasn't been in his office and none of the royal attendants had seen him for his meeting to discuss trade between the Corna kingdom. I-I mean the prior meeting for that, not the one with-”
“He's missing?” Mal cut her off, if he was gone, they had to be quick to the chase.
“Who was the last person who saw him?”
“I was hoping you were…”
“Me and Lonnie saw him yesterday, we were talking about Uma…” Please tell me he didn't. “Where's Evie?”
“What?! We're looking for Ben!”
Jane is not the one for this. “I know just- erm, I've got this don’t worry.” Mal tried to sound convincing and comforting, but Evie was the one who could comfort not Mal.
Jane just stood there speechless, she didn't move, as the denial slowly faded, and the situation dawned on her. Mal was quick to leave, where's Evie?
~~*~~
Harry was mindlessly wondering about the Chip Shoppe, who wanted to work for Hook? That question had been eating at Harry. If Captain Hook’s own son left the crew, why would anyone want to join?
He took out his sword, from the sword check-in and swung the doors wide open. He began slashing his sword in mid-air as if to cut away his thoughts. He managed to make it to the harbour of his ship, he saw Uma’s crew working as expected, the questions were impounding, but he couldn’t ignore them and with that he turned around and headed towards his father.
He wasn't going to confront his father; it wasn’t the time or place. He couldn't show jealousy, that would be weak. He knew everyone on that ship, for better or worse he grew up with that crew.
He didn't want to be seen; he couldn't get caught. He was stalking in the alleyway; one he could never forget. He was peering across the ship when he noticed someone trying to scrub the deck. The person wasn't a pirate, his technique was pathetic. Why were they scrubbin’ the deck at this time ? Harry didn't recognise them as any of the crew. He needed a closer look. Harry sneaked around to another alley, where he was able to get a better angle of the person scrubbing the deck. This one was significantly tighter, it was his favourite to hide in as a child, it felt safe. If anyone came chasing after him, he could weave in and out of all the obstacles, with much less difficulty than his older pirates. The person's clothes looked strange, they were worn and battered but it didn't seem entirely right. The person lifted their head and wiped their forehead with their arm.
Harry's eyes glared wide open and locked on their face. He didn't believe it. He knew he was crazy but maybe he was going mad. Ben. How?
~~*~~
“Evie?” Mal was peering into their shared room. Evie was sewing. “Mhm.” She mumbled with a piece of thread between her lips, she was trying to concentrate.
“It’s urgent. Ben has gone missing, I think he’s on the isle.”
“What? Not alone??”
Mal nodded.
“Are you alright?” As she dropped everything and cupped Mal’s face. Mal gave a sad smile. The interaction was short. “We need to find the boys; do you know where he might be?”
“I do, but it’s not going to be easy.” Both had started to pack a few things.
“Lonnie mentioned that Harry might be our best option for finding Uma.”
“This was a plan?”
“We haven't mapped out one yet; by the look on Ben's face I thought he was unsure about it.” Mal thought she could read Ben well.