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Never Knew I Lost You
It was a lovely day in Auradon. The sun shined down on a beautiful forest while birds sang among the trees. In the midst of the Forest sat a cozy little cottage. On the inside of the cottage was the daughter of Aurora and the daughter of Ursula just hanging out and playing games. In the time after Audrey had tried to take over Auradon and the Isle had been freed, her and Uma hadn’t liked each other much. But after some time they realized they had a lot in common, and started spending more time together. They even made Fairy Cottage, the place where Audrey’s mother had been raised, a usual hangout place when they wanted it to just be the two of them. Right now, they having an intense card game of gin rummy at the small kitchen table.
Uma glanced at the card Audrey had just laid on the discard pile, and selected one from the deck instead. She didn’t need that card either, much to her annoyance, and placed it on the discard pile.
As Audrey took her turn, she asked, “What kind of games did you play on the Isle?”
“A lot of the same games you guys play, actually,” Uma answered, “but also ones that involved cheating, stealing, and even hitting, sometimes.” She got rid of another card, signaling the end of her turn.
Audrey looked at her in excitement. “Oh, do you know Ninja?”
“Of course,” Uma said with a smirk.
“One time, Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay taught it to some of the AKs when we were bored,” Audrey told her.
Uma laughed at the mental image. “How’d that go?”
They continued the card game while Audrey told her amusing story. After a few more turns back and forth, Uma finally selected the last card she needed. With a triumphant smile, she laid the extra card facedown on the discard pile and displayed the rest of the cards on the table to show Audrey. The princess scowled and showed her own cards, revealing how close she was to winning. Uma laughed evilly and scooped up all the cards, shuffling them back into a deck. Leaving them on the table, she got up from her seat and moved to the couch in the living room, Audrey following her.
They struck up easy conversation, talking about work, or friends, or their childhoods. Sometimes Uma was surprised how easy it was to talk to Audrey. Uma was not one who opened up easily, but Audrey had an instinctively caring side that had really shown itself after she’d seen what a selfish and bitter attitude had lead her to. She also had a confidence that Uma found admirable and comforting. While none of their conversations had been super deep or personal, Uma felt like she had a connection and true friend in the Auradonian princess.
Though, now, as she talked to Audrey, she noticed her peering curiously at her face. That was kinda weird, but Uma just ignored it. A few moments passed, and Audrey continued to stare at her face with a slightly puzzled expression, so Uma finally asked, “Okay, why are you staring at me like that?”
“Huh? Oh.” Audrey looked down in slight embarrassment then looked back at Uma. “I’m not sure how I just noticed, but you look a lot like another VK who came here not that long after Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay did. Freddie Facilier?”
“Hmm, Freddie? I didn’t know her on the Isle, but she got quite a reputation when she suddenly left without any warning. It didn’t last long, though. People forget.”
Audrey nodded thoughtfully. “You really do look like her… and you sound like her, too. It’s kind of uncanny.”
Uma shrugged. She didn’t know why they looked similar. It was just a coincidence. “Do you know her well?”
Now Audrey shrugged. “Eh. We used to hang out at AP with the others. I haven’t seen her in a while.”
After that, the conversation turned back to the previous topics with Uma getting to finish what she was saying before she noticed Audrey staring at her. Even so, for some reason she kept thinking back to Audrey’s observations. They talked and hung out for a while longer, but they were both busy people with things to do. They hugged goodbye and made their ways to their respective homes.
As Uma went back to the Isle, she was still thinking about Freddie. It felt like taking an order, except she couldn’t understand the customer and didn’t have anything to write on. It was frustrating. Why did it matter if some random VK looked liked her? Stuff like that just happened sometimes, right? It didn’t make any sense. What made even less sense was that deep in her heart, there was a light ache that felt an awful lot like loss.
NKILY
A few days later Uma and Audrey were hanging out again, but this time they were going to Ally’s tea shop with Mal, Evie, Jane, Freddie, and of course, Ally. It could be hard to find time for them all to spend together, especially Mal and Uma, since Mal was going to be queen soon and Uma was leader of the Isle. Even so, they all either had time off or not much work to do today, except for Lonnie who hadn’t been able to come. Uma was excited. This was the first time she was going to one of their hangouts.
The feeling of lost had lingered in the back of Uma’s mind and she hadn’t forgotten Freddie. It remained unexplainable, so Uma was going to ignore it for now, and enjoy the company of her friends.
Audrey entered the tea shop and Uma followed her. They were last to arrive, everyone already striking up conversations. They all stopped and turned their heads when they heard the door open, seeing Uma and Audrey. Some casual greetings were exchanged, and then they took a seat on the unoccupied couch.
Uma reached for one the plates of sweets on the coffee table, taking a pastry. As she did, she noticed Freddie watching her from the corner of her eye.
“So, you’re the new leader of the Isle?” Freddie asked.
Uma nodded. “Yup. Not the easiest job ever, but I like watching over the island.”
“I feel that. My little sister, Celia, really admires you.”
Uma chuckled. “How flattering. She’s a good kid.” She took a bite of her pastry. “Mmmh. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how Auradon food tastes.”
Freddie snorted. “I know right? You should’ve seen me when I first tried Auradon food.” She glanced at Evie and Mal, but both of them were glancing between Uma and Freddie with curiosity and confusion.
“Okay, either I’m going crazy, or you two sound exactly the same,” Mal said. Except everyone was gawking at them with the same identical looks, so it clearly wasn’t the former.
Audrey leaned forward excitedly. “I know, right? Don’t they look similar too?”
“We don’t look that similar,” Uma argued with more confidence than she felt.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Audrey shot back, “you two could be twins.”
Audrey’s words made Uma’s heart leap. She glanced at Freddie, but the girl’s eyes were downcast to the floor.
Freddie asked without looking up, “Uma, do you know who you’re dad was?”
Everyone looked at her expectantly, waiting for her answer. “No. Ma never talked about him,” she said slowly.
Silence fell among the group, letting what that information could mean sink in. Jane took Freddie’s hand.
Then Evie said with some confusion, “Wait, Freddie, don’t you know who your mom is? Celia is your sister.”
“Uh, yeah, did I never mention she’s only my half sister?”
Everyone shook their heads with blank stares, except Uma — and Jane, who seemed to know already.
Uma mind was spinning like a whirlpool. “This is crazy,” she blurted, “there’s no way I could be Facilier’s daughter, right?” That wasn’t the only thing bothering her, though. She knew her mother didn’t care for her much, but she wouldn’t keep a secret like that, would she? That she had a sister?
“I don’t know,” Freddie shrugged, “you can’t deny that we look and sound alike. And we don’t know both our parents.”
That was true. The more she looked at Freddie, that was becoming clearer. It was weird to hear her voice come from another person. Uma crossed her arms in defeat. “So, what do we do?”
“Well, we could go to the Isle and ask one of our parents,” Freddie suggested.
“I’m game. Do we go now or…?” Uma and Freddie looked at their friends in question.
Jane answered, “You can go now. We’ll wait for you.”
Everyone else agreed, then Uma said, “So, who are we asking? Any chance your dad will be more welcoming than my mom?”
“Not really, but we can take Celia with us, since my dad actually cares about her,” Freddie responded, prompting everyone to give her sympathetic looks.
Uma stood, and Freddie followed suit. “We should be back soon. This shouldn’t take long.”
As they neared the door, Audrey called out, “Good luck!”
While ‘good’ wasn’t really a term to use in regards to villains, Uma appreciated the support. She wasn’t sure what they’d find on the other side of the bridge, but she felt that whatever happened, nothing would be the same.
NKILY
After they left the tea shop and got into Freddie’s car, Freddie texted Celia to meet them outside the school so they could go meet their dad. At first, Celia had been unwilling and questioned why Freddie wanted to see him. Freddie told her she would explain when she picked her up and that Uma was with her, which instantly made her change her mind. Celia said she’d be ready when they got there.
Freddie rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Typical.” Then she started the short drive to Auradon Prep.
Uma glanced at Freddie curiously. “If you don’t mind me asking, how come your dad likes Celia and not you?”
Freddie waited a moment before answering. “He didn’t like my mother… whoever she is. He has a good relationship with Celia’s mom, and they’re still together.”
Uma’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “That’s impressive for an Isle couple. Still, not a reason to treat a kid badly.”
Freddie shrugged. “What do you expect from a villain? My dad was always shutting me down. Compared to me, Celia was spoiled.” Freddie peered at Uma for a moment. “So, what about you? How did your mom treat you?”
Uma watched the buildings pass through the car window. “She pretty much ignored me unless she needed me in the shoppe. One nice thing she did was give me a locket that had the only piece of her shell that she had. The rest was hidden on the Isle, and me and my crew found the rest of it and put it back together.”
“That’s wild,” Freddie said in wonder, “I never did stuff like that on the Isle.”
After that they fell into a somewhat comfortable silence. It didn’t last long, for Auradon Prep came into view a few minutes later. They pulled into the front lawn with the road where Celia was waiting where she said she would be. After she got in the car, Uma and Freddie briefed her on why they were going to talk to Facilier. She was a little taken aback by the idea the three of them could be related, but did agree that Uma and Freddie did look similar.
Celia talked about her day and things she’d been doing at Auradon Prep as they drove to the Isle. A lot of the conversation was directed towards Uma, mostly because Freddie already knew what Celia did. Uma enjoyed hearing Celia talk, as she liked the younger girl and it took her mind off their mission. She also told Celia about her latest endeavors, and they chatted lively back and fourth.
Once their conversation died down a little, Freddie said thoughtfully, “Do you think Audrey could be right?”
“About what?” Uma asked.
“About us being twins,” Freddie clarified.
“I don’t know,” Uma shrugged. “When’s your birthday?”
“August twenty-fifth,” Freddie responded.
Uma’s eyes widened. “So’s mine.”
Shocked silence filled the car for a moment, then Celia said, “Wait, but Uma has colored hair.”
“Uhh…” Freddie started, “I actually do too.”
Celia’s mouth dropped open. “What?!”
“Dad dyed it when I was younger,” Freddie explained, “Then I started doing it, even after I came to Auradon.”
“Oh,” Celia said plainly and summing up how Uma and Freddie felt.
They made the rest of the way to the Isle in heavy silence. Uma’s stomach was turning inside out. It was too much to be a coincidence. Right? They were too similar. She was still having a hard time convincing herself that was just it. It would be interesting to see what Facilier said.
They finally arrived at the bridge. After getting out of the car, they approached the two guards standing sentry. While a lot of VKs has chosen good not all of them had, and even fewer villains had made the switch. So guards were stationed at both sides of the bridge to discourage trouble making and alert Ben and Mal if anyone was. Uma nodded to the guards, and they nodded back respectfully.
They crossed the bridge and passed the other two guards then entered the Isle. Apart from being a little cleaner, the Isle of the Lost looked the same as it had before. They were working on gaining funds for more major fixes, and they were already doing smaller ones, like better resources. The place was a little safer as well, but it’d take a while for people to drop their Isle habits.
Celia told them Facilier would be in his arcade, so she lead the way there. When they opened the door to the arcade, they were met with the sounds of music, beeping machines, and kids talking, laughing, and shouting. Facilier stood in the back, keeping an eye on all the kids. He looked kind, but that was mostly an act to get on Uma’s, Mal’s, and Ben’s good sides. Uma could detect the schemer underneath. He was one of the villains who had given her the most trouble about changing rules. Uma wasn’t particularly thrilled at the prospect of this man being her father.
Seeing Uma and his daughters approaching, his kind expression changed to one of interest and tact. His eyes landed on Celia and he smiled brightly at her but when he glanced at Freddie, he wore a cool look. He stood alert and waited for them reach him before speaking.
“Hello, Uma,” he greeted smoothly, “how may I help you?”
Uma knew it seemed like she was here on business, especially since Freddie and Celia were with her. If she wanted something from him, they could help convince him to give it to her. She would follow his lead, for now.
“I just have a question,” she told him.
He nodded, and gestured to a door. “Let’s talk somewhere quieter.”
Behind the door was a small desk with some organized papers, a new lamp, some pens, and a framed picture of Celia. There was a rickety office chair behind the the desk, and a small wooden chair for visitors. Facilier went to stand behind the desk, but no one took a seat.
Facilier leaned on the desk. “So, what do you need? Mind you, I haven’t caused any trouble.”
Uma inhaled deeply, suddenly feeling uncharacteristicly nervous, something she wasn’t used to.
“Actually…” Uma began, “I’m not here for Isle matters. It’s a personal question.” Facilier straightened and gazed at her in surprise. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting this. “Are you… my father?”
“And is Ursula my mother?” Freddie added, “I think it’s about time I know who she is.”
For a moment, Facilier glanced between both of them with an expression of shock and a bit of alarm. But he quickly masked it, going back to being mysterious and aloof. “Why would you think that?”
Uma and Freddie glanced at each other. “We look exactly alike,” Uma said, “and we both don’t know who our other parent is.”
“Ah,” he said, nodding. “I can understand why you’d think that, but I’m afraid—“
“Stop,” Freddie interrupted, “I figured you’d try to deny it at first, but it’s too strange to be a coincidence. So try again: the truth?” Freddie’s eyes blazed with cold anger. Years of repressed emotions were bubbling to the surface.
Facilier stared at Freddie, a panic like that of a trapped animal in his eyes. Uma could barely take the supense anymore. She was about to say something when Celia beat her to it.
“Come on, Dad,” she coaxed.
Facilier gave a long sigh and ran his hand down his face. “Yes, you’re right,” he admitted at last, “Ursula and I are your parents. You are identical twins.”
Uma released the breath she didn’t know she was holding and all the tension that had amassed since they left the tea shop dissipated. So it was true. Facilier was her father and Ursula was Freddie’s mother. She had a sister, and not just any sister, but an identical twin sister. She glanced at Freddie to see she had relaxed a bit too, but was glaring at her father — their father — in anger.
“Is that why you’ve always treated me so bad?” Freddie demanded. “Because I was Ursula’s kid?”
Facilier narrowed his eyes at his daughter. “Ursula is a fool and as softed-hearted as you.”
Freddie scoffed and rolled her eyes, not appearing affected by the remark.
Uma cut in. “Okay, well, that’s all we need from you,” she said, trying not to snap at him. “We’ll be going.” She turned to leave, Freddie following behind her.
“Wait,” Celia said, but when Uma looked at her, her eyes were trained on Facilier. “Say you’re sorry to both of them.”
Facilier looked at her, aghast. “I don’t have anything to apologize for.”
Celia rolled her eyes. “Come on, you know that’s not true. You’ve always abused Freddie and you haven’t acknowledged Uma’s existence as your daughter till now,” Celia insisted.
Facilier gazed at her for a few moments, seemingly thinking about what to do. Then he sighed in defeat and faced Uma and Freddie.
“I’m sorry,” he said flatly.
“For?” Celia prompted.
Facilier was tight lipped for a moment before continuing, “For abusing Freddie and ignoring Uma.”
Celia smiled at him. “Good job.” Then she went over and hugged him. He returned the hug, relaxing as he did. Uma watched with detached fondness, knowing Facilier probably hadn’t been sincere in his apology, but glad he cared for Celia. She glanced at Freddie, who was watching them impassionedly, as if she had seen the scene a thousand times. She probably had.
After Celia said bye to her dad, they left the arcade. Uma was relieved to be out in the open and away from Facilier. They found a newly-constructed bench to sit on and process what they’d learned. After a few moments of mildly awkward silence, Freddie broke it.
“Thanks for sticking up for us,” Freddie said to Celia.
Celia shrugged, “Yeah, well, it’s not fair he doesn’t like you.” She looked at Uma. “Or that he barely ever acknowledged you are his daughter.”
“Well, at least he likes you. You risked losing his approval by standing up to him,” Uma told her.
“Uma’s right,” Freddie agreed, then paused. “I can’t believe Ursula is my mother…” She put her head in her hands.
Uma had to concur. She couldn’t believe Facilier was her father either. What had he meant when he called Ursula soft-hearted? Ursula was a lot of things, but that wasn’t one. How had her mother not told her she had a twin sister? Anger fizzled inside her. Her mother had mostly neglected her doing her childhood, apart from teaching her about evil, how to survive the Isle, and making her work in the fish and chips shoppe. Ursula couldn’t have at least told her she had a twin sister and who her father was? Uma remembered one time when she was younger, she had asked that question. She had seen others, like Harry and Gil with fathers and mothers, and curiously wondered who hers was. Ursula had angrily shouted to never ask that again, and almost hit her daughter — a real hit, not one for putting a hand in a metaphorical cookie jar. Uma had never seen her mother so upset, so she didn’t ask again, and forgot about her unknown father.
Until now, and her unknown father was no longer unknown. Obviously, something happened between Ursula and Facilier, and Uma thought it was high time she get some answers. She couldn’t avoid her mother anymore.
She turned to Celia and Freddie, who were talking while she was lost in thought. Freddie caught her eye.
“Well, I think I’m going to pay my mother a visit.” Uma told her. “You could come if you wanted, but I understand if you don’t.”
Freddie’s eyes went down and she gazed at the ground for a moment, thinking. Then she looked back up with a determined glint in her eyes. “Let’s go.”
Celia spoke up from between them, “I’ll hang out till you come back.”
“Okay,” Freddie said, “you got your phone?” Celia nodded. “I’ll text you when we’re ready to leave. If you’re somewhere else, meet back here.”
And with that, Uma and Freddie set off to confront their mother.
NKILY
As they made their way to the Isle’s beach, Uma got curious. “I’m impressed you were okay with seeing Ursula so quickly.”
Freddie shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to meet my mother. Didn’t expect her to be Ursula, but that doesn’t change anything.”
Uma nodded, but she could feel her frustration growing. “How could she not tell me I have a sister?” she whispered. Freddie made no comment.
They spent the rest of the trip in silence, each mulling over their thoughts. When they got to the beach, Uma stared out into the water for a second. Her seashell necklace glowed as she encanted: “I summon thee from the sea.”
After the barrier was taken down, Ursula moved back into the ocean, naturally. The spell was a way for her to tell Ursula she was needed, without Uma having to go into the water herself. Not that Uma minded the water, she loved it in fact, but it was simply more convenient.
After a few minutes, the water started bubbling, and Ursula emerged. Living in the ocean was definitely doing the cecaelia good: her brown skin, a similar shade to Uma and Freddie’s, glowed in the sun, and her hair was pulled back in a cluster of thick, neat, white and turquoise dreadlocks. She still has an air of frailty about her, both from age and living on the Isle, but she looked better than when Uma had last seen her.
Ursula crawled onto the beach with her dark blue tentacles, and upon seeing her other daughter, her eyes widened in shock. Uma glanced at Freddie, who seemed tense.
Ursula glanced between them, keeping her expression carefully neutral. “So, I guess you know.”
“How could you not tell me?!” Uma shouted. “How could you not tell me I have a sister?!”
Ursula shrugged. “It never came up.”
Uma scoffed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Freddie flinch. “That’s hardly an excuse. Telling me who my family is, is the least you could have done.”
Ursula rolled her eyes, as if what Uma said was the silliest thing she’d heard all day. “It’s not that simple. What would have happened if I had told you? It’s not as if Facilier would have let you waltz in whenever you felt like it.”
“That’s not the point,” Uma argued.
“Doesn’t matter. I wasn’t going to have you finding your sister, then Facilier causing trouble for us because you stepped over his territory.”
“He couldn’t do much.”
“Perhaps not directly, but he had favor with Maleficent— he wouldn’t have been the headmaster of the school her daughter attended if he hadn’t— and she could’ve done plenty.”
Uma supposed her mother had a point there. Maleficent had loved randomly assigning punishments to her subjects. Best not to do anything to actually anger the dark fairy.
“Still could’ve told me,” Uma pressed, “you only ever wanted me to work in the shoppe. It would’ve nice to know I wasn’t alone.”
Ursula sighed, then unexpectedly, turned to Freddie. “You’ve been quiet. Do you have anything to say to me?”
Freddie swallowed nervously, thinking for a moment before speaking. “I’ve always wanted to know who my mother was. She seemed to be the reason my father… disliked me.” Now Ursula flinched. “What happened between you?”
Uma was also curious. They looked to their mother expectantly. Ursula looked like she’d rather be anywhere except where she was, but after a moment she started talking.
“It started simple enough,” Ursula explained. “We helped each other out every so often. Eventually, we planned to get married, or the Isle’s definition of it. Then I found out I was pregnant, and we never got around to it. I will admit, I wasn’t against the idea of having kids. It might’ve made living on that awful island worth something.” She paused, her eyes staring distantly, lost in memory. Then she sighed. “Facilier didn’t feel the same. He tolerated it, and we raised you together for a while. But he was ambitious. He had lots of business on the Isle. Being with me held him back from that. So, one day he decided to leave. I was tired of putting up with him, so I didn’t argue. He took you with him,” she said, looking at Freddie. “And that was it.”
Uma and Freddie shared a glance. Uma wasn’t sure what to make of the story.
Ursula continued, eyes downcast. “As much as I hate to admit it, and as much as I didn’t like him at the time, it hurt to lose him and Freddie. I lost my drive then, focusing on surviving, which lead me to neglect the child I still had.” Her eyes turned back to Uma, who glanced away, suddenly uncomfortable.
She had always assumed her mother was lazy and uninterested because of losing her magic and being forced to live on the Isle. While that was definitely still part of it, she had also lost her partner and child. It couldn’t have been easy to watch them leave and be able to do nothing about it. Feeling helpless was Uma’s least favorite thing.
“Well, that’s… understandable, I suppose,” Uma said. “Not an excuse though.”
Ursula shook her head. “No, it’s not,” she agreed, “perhaps I should’ve tried harder… for both of you.” She suddenly brightened as if remembering something. “Wait here,” she told them, then went back under the water.
“Hmph,” Uma scoffed, watching Ursula leave.
There was silence between her and Freddie with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. But after a moment Freddie spoke. “You know, I’m not surprised he took me away from you. Seems like every bad thing in my life can be traced back to him.”
Uma glanced at her sympathetically. “I’ve never really known Ursula. Even more so, now that I know what she went through and how it affected her. But I guess the past is past, and we can only look to the future.”
Freddie gave her a nervous smile. “Together?”
Uma smiled back, more confidently. “Definitely,” she said and took Freddie’s hand.
Once again the water bubbled, and Ursula surfaced. This time, she appeared to be holding something. When she got to the shore, she motioned for Uma and Freddie to come closer. When they did, she held up two shell necklaces, one a shiny pale red, the other a shiny turquoise.
“I made these for you both shortly after you were born,” she explained. “After everything that happened, I never bothered giving them to you. But now seemed a good time, if any.” Her eyes found the shell necklace that was already around Uma’s neck. “Though, I don’t suppose you’ll need this one.”
Uma clutched her necklace. She’d earned this one through her own merits and hard work, not to mention her crew’s help. Giving it up didn’t feel right — she had won it fair and square. “No, I won’t... but I do appreciate it.”
Ursula gave a her nod of acceptance, and, to Uma it seemed, one of respect — a sign she saw them as equals, that she considered Uma worthy to possess her old necklace. She felt her throat tighten. But she was probably reading to much into it.
Freddie had claimed the red necklace and was gazing at it in her hand. She looked back at Ursula, her eyes full of emotion. “Thank you. This means a lot.”
Ursula nodded. “You’re welcome. I wasn’t able to do it when I first made it, but it’s enchanted now. You should be able to take a cecaelia form, like Uma has done.”
Freddie’s eyes widened, and she glanced back at the necklace. “Well, that sure is something.”
Uma laughed. “We’ll have to get you to a beach soon.”
Freddie nodded in agreement, then said to Ursula, “Thanks for telling us the story. It’s a weight off me to know who my mother is and what happened.”
Ursula nodded, and responded, “And I am honestly glad you both know now.” She paused, debating on her next words. “If either of you ever want to stop by, you will be welcome… and I am proud of you both.”
“Noted,” Uma said, while Freddie nodded. “See you another time.”
And with that, Ursula waved a tentacle in farewell and returned to the sea, the water bubbling where she disappeared. They both watched for a moment, then turned and trekked up the beach.
“That,” Freddie said when the sand turned into rocks and a road from the Isle was visible, “was not how I expected today to go.”
Uma laughed loudly, and Freddie joined her. They paused in their walk, laughing at the strangeness of everything that happened, until the rest of the tension left them.
“No, no one could have expected something like that to happen,” Uma agreed, “but I’m glad it did. Now I have two sisters.”
“And now I have a twin sister,” Freddie added, and they resumed walking. Uma noticed Freddie had a thoughtful look. “It’s almost like I knew there was something missing, but didn’t know what, exactly. But I can’t tell if that’s actually true, or if it just feels that way because I know now.”
“Yeah, I feel that,” Uma responded, “Audrey mentioned you some time ago, and I had this weird feeling of loss. It didn’t make any sense, and I felt like I was going crazy for a second.”
As they stepped on the dirt road that lead away form the beach, Freddie took Uma’s hand. “That’s understandable. But we’ve found each other now. And we can make sure we don’t loose each other again.”
Uma nodded in agreement. “That’ll never happen. We’re both here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Neither am I. We have all the time in the world.” They smiled at each other, ready to start their new adventure together.
NKILY
Freddie texted Celia that they were ready to leave, and they met back up at the bench. As they made their way back to the car, Uma and Freddie recounted Ursula’s story to Celia.
“Wow,” she said with some disbelief and sadness, “he really just left like that?”
“Eh, maybe,” Freddie shrugged. “But that’s in the past, and what matters now is that we found each other.”
“Yeah,” Uma agreed. “We can make up for lost time and be our own family.”
“And look,” Freddie held up her shell necklace. “Ursula gave me this. There’s magic inside, and I can use it to turn into an octopus.”
“Woah,” Celia said in wonder, “that’s wicked. I’m a little jealous.” The three of them laughed.
They talked the whole ride back to the cafe, discussing likes and dislikes, recent accomplishments, maybe a few frustrations, anything that was on their minds. Some of their excitement was cut short when they had to drop Celia off at Auradon Prep, but Uma promised her they would talk soon.
Now it was just her and Freddie in the car and in the short ride back to the cafe, Uma couldn’t help but reflect a bit. Family had never been something that was important to her. Ursula had never seemed to care about her, and she grew close to Harry and Gil but that wasn’t quite the same (not to mention how she felt about Harry was… complicated). But even in the short time she spent with Freddie and Celia, she felt she found something she hadn’t known was missing.
Freddie noticed her thoughtful expression. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”
“Family,” Uma answered, “and that I’ve never really had one.”
“I can relate to that,” Freddie said, “Celia was nice, but I always felt so alone on the Isle. I hope we can change that now.”
Uma agreed. “Me too.”
They talked for a bit more, but soon enough, were back at the cafe. When they went inside, they saw that everyone was still there.
“So,” Audrey asked as Uma and Freddie retook their seats, “was I right? Are you sisters?”
Uma and Freddie gave each other conspiratorial sly grins, making their friends wait a moment longer. The anticipation crackled in the air.
Finally, Uma said, “Yes. We are.”
Which prompted excited squeals and questions from the others, including Audrey having a celebratory ‘I knew it!’ moment. Uma cringed and signaled for the assault on her ears to stop. Once it had, her Freddie were able to tell them what happened and what they’d learned. They listened to their story, and when Freddie told them about the necklace they all leaned toward her to get a better look.
“She said I can use it to turn into a cecaelia, like Uma.” Freddie held the shell out to them.
“That’s pretty sick,” Mal said.
“Yeah. It really feels like I know all of me now.”
“Well it isn’t everyday you find a lost sibling,” Mal commented, and Uma wondered if she was thinking about her half-brother, Hadie, who hadn’t known they shared a father.
“But it must be exciting,” Jane added.
“It is,” Uma and Freddie answered in unison, chuckling.
Everyone hung out for a bit longer, but the time came for everyone to go. It was a bit sad for Uma and Freddie since they hadn’t got much time together, but they promised to see each other soon. They said goodbyes and exchanged phone numbers, then left. But it was okay, Uma thought. They had found each other, and weren’t going to let go. They would face the world together and nothing could stop them now.
The End