Chapter Text
Uma didn’t glance up as the door to the Chip Shop was pushed open for the hundredth time that day, wiping down a counter mindlessly. She had better things to think about, such as freeing the Isle with the Fairy Godmother’s wand, and better things to do, such as talking to the rest of the Council about her prisoner and freeing the Isle with the Fairy Godmother’s wand, but she hadn’t even received confirmation that they would be able to attend anytime before noon, when Mal would give her the wand, but that was fine. They would thank her when they were all free.
“Swords in the back,” she said when she didn’t hear the telltale sound of metal clinging in the big pot, and a boy scoffed. She paused. She knew the sound of that scoff. She glanced up, and scowled at the boy in front of her. He was dressed in loose and ripped purple pants, a tight black tank top that was also ripped, and a puffy, fluffy black jacket that was, once again, ripped.
“Like I need one,” the boy, not quite yet a man, replied irritably, and Uma could have screamed.
“Katt,” she said through her teeth, throwing the rag on the counter behind her as Katt grinned widely and waved.
“Uma,” he acknowledged, hefting himself on the counter she had just cleaned. Uma narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, but didn’t comment.
Katt was one of the Cheshire Cat’s five or six kids–the third one, if she remembered correctly. He was annoying, he was childish and he was crazy, and he definitely should have an STD by now, and the only reason nobody had killed him yet was because he hung off Beau Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf’s son, who ran with Scar’s son Sultan. Katt’s sister Kitten was only a little more tolerable, and that was only because she didn’t spend her time flirting with absolutely everyone, probably because Sultan would get mad and that would not be pretty.
“What are you doing here, Cheshire?” She demanded. “Did Beau send you?”
Katt grinned, and laid down fully on the counter on his stomach, kicking his legs up and down. One of her eyes twitched. “You know it. He wanted me to give you a message. Well, the boss wanted him to have someone give you a message.”
“And what does Sultan want?” Uma pressed, tapping her nails on the counter impatiently.
Katt giggled. It was a shrill, grating sound that made her want to tear out her hair, but she didn’t. “Wait, we were talking about Sultan?”
“Katt!” She slammed her fist down on the counter, and he chuckled. Uma rolled her eyes with a groan. “Just.. tell me what the message is. And hurry up, I have other things to do.”
He chuckled, which was a less annoying sound, but still annoying. “What, like watching your new prisoner?”
Uma rubbed her temples, not surprised, but not pleased either. “And how exactly do you know that?”
“I have my ways,” Katt grinned, which basically translated to ‘Beau told me’. “Anyways, the Council isn’t super happy that you took the boy-King all for yourself. Beau said your little meeting’s in two hours. Bring him.”
Uma slammed her hand down on the counter. “Are you kidding me?! I found him,” she argued. Also, Mal was supposed to be there with the wand in two hours!
Katt instantly started laughing maniacally. He turned to lay on his back and laughed, tears coming out of his eyes and she averted her gaze uncomfortably. He visibly forced himself to calm down until all that was left of his shrill laughter were a few chuckles and giggles. He rolled back onto his stomach, kicking his legs and resting his cheek on his forearms. “You’re cute. They weren’t asking. Last I heard, Athanasios called for the meeting, and you wouldn’t ignore your dear ol’ cousin, would you?” Uma’s breath hitched, and his grin widened, splitting his face almost grotesquely. “So? You’ll come, won’t you?”
“Yeah, I’ll come,” she crossed her arms, scowling. “Now, get out.”
He sat up, his smile becoming similar to a sneer without ever pushing his lips down. His eyes said it all. “With pleasure.” He gracefully slid off the counter, and strutted out of the Shoppe, swaying his hips. Once the door closed behind him, she swore loudly and she heard him laugh even from outside.
“Gil!” She called, and Gil peeked his head out from the kitchens. “Get Harry and tell him to go to the cabin on the ship!”
He furrowed his brows. “Is this about what Katt was saying?” He asked, and she nodded jerkily. “Alright.” He walked out of the shop, whistling all the while, and Uma tapped her fingers impatiently.
“Desiree! Gonzo!’ She called, and they quickly walked up to the counter. Desiree was a short girl in a ragged dress and a corset, heavy boots, and lots of jewellery. Gonzo was taller, with long braids and a red bandana. They were some of the newer members of her crew, having only joined about two years ago.
“What is it, captain?” Desiree asked.
“I need you both to go to Mal’s little hideout, and tell her plans have changed,” she ordered. “Tell her to hold the wand for a bit,” she added, and Desiree and Gonzo looked confused.
“Why, though?” Gonzo asked, and Uma sighed.
“There’s a council meeting in two hours,” she replied unhappily. "So, I'll be busy."
"You got it, captain," Gonzo gave her a two-fingered salute, and both he and Desiree left, the doors creaking as they walked through them.
Uma walked out too after a moment, grabbing her sword from the pot on her way out. She breathed in the salty, icy sea air that always smelled like rotted fish and scowled. Soon–hopefully, if the Council didn’t try to change her plans–they should all be out. Out of this island, where the best smelling things were flowers hidden deep in the forest, which was Sultan and Pan’s territory hence suicide. Some of it used to belong to the Lost Boys, too, before Pan finally got sick and tired of them hunting down his kids and killed the new leader and all but crippled the rest.
On her way to her ship, which was a pretty short walk, some guy tried to slip his hand into her pocket, and she twisted his wrist reflexively, making him let go with a yelp. The coward ran off, and Uma rolled her eyes, not bothering to chase after him. Soon, she reached her ship, and she quickly greeted her crew, then headed to the cabin on the stern.
Harry and Gil were already waiting for her there, leaning against various surfaces. Harry pushed himself off of the wall as she entered and closed the door.
“Uma,” he greeted her with a grin, and Gil waved. “Did ye change yer mind? Can I hook Benny early?”
Uma shook her head, crossing her arms. “No. The plans have changed. The Council decided we’re having a meeting to talk about what we’re gonna do with Ben. We’ll have to put our plan on hold for a couple hours.”
Harry’s grin faltered, and Gil frowned. “When’s the meeting?” Gil sighed in resignation.
“It’s at noon,” she replied irritably, and Harry threw his hands up in frustration.
“Are ye kidding me?!” He exclaimed. “We were so close!”
“Hey!” Uma snapped her fingers at him, then at Gil. “All we have to do is convince the Council to go through with our plan. We’ve waited all our lives for this, we can wait a few more hours.”
Harry grumbled, and started pacing the floor. “Of course we can. Waiting, that’s all we’ve been doing lately! Waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the wand to get here, and now we’re waiting for permission!?”
“This is frustrating for me too, but what can we do?!” Uma demanded, and he stopped pacing. “Goddamn Athanasios called for the meeting, and as good as he is, how do you want me to say no to that?! Huh?! How?!”
“Guys!” Gil exclaimed, and they both fell silent. “Can we not fight? Arguing isn’t gonna get us anywhere, what’s done is done! Alright? So, let’s just think about what we can say to convince them. Okay?”
Uma nodded, then said, “Okay.”
Gil turned his attention to Harry. “Okay?”
Harry looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. “Okay, fine,” he groaned, and Gil visibly relaxed.
Uma cleared her throat. “Alright, here are our arguments: we want freedom. We want to live. And we want revenge. There, three arguments. Gil you’re in charge while Harry and I are gone. And you won’t have to worry about Ben. They want us to bring him with us.”
Harry slammed his hook against the wall, looking like he was about to kill whoever made that decision. “Are ye fucking kidding me?! They want him too?!” He shouted. Gil remained unfazed, and Harry took in a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “Is there anything else we should worry about?”
Uma shook her head, equally annoyed. “That’s all that Katt told me. Now, c’mon. We gotta tell the rest of the crew what’s going on. And Ben, I guess.”
Harry perked up. “Can we blindfold him on our way there?”
Uma rolled her eyes fondly. “Yes, Harry, we can blindfold him.”
They exited the cabin and stepped on deck. Various members of her crew were training, cleaning, others were fishing just off the side of the ship, and someone was watching Ben. Uma stomped her foot. “Attention!”
They all stopped what they were doing, and turned their attention to her.
“Does the cap’n have a speech?” One of her crew members, a girl named Bonnie, shouted.
“Yes, I have a speech, but this isn't good news!” Uma replied. “Listen up! The plans have changed. The Council called for a meeting in an hour, so we won’t be getting the wand at noon.” Immediately, there was a loud uproar of protests that Uma quieted down swiftly. “QUIET!” She cleared her throat once they stopped shouting, and continued, “While Harry and I are gone, Gil’s in charge, alright? And nobody’s on watch-duty for the King, ‘cause he’s coming with us. Any questions?” No one raised their hands, so Uma nodded her head in thanks for their attention, walked over to where Ben was being held, looking curious and confused, and stopped right in front of him. “I’m guessing you have questions.”
“Yes,” he replied.
She waited for several moments, waiting for him to ask the questions before losing her patience. “That means ask away,” she smiled sarcastically.
“Oh!” Ben said dumbly. “Um, what’s the Council?”
“It’s a council. Most of the major leaders here are on it. That’s how we make decisions about important things, like the fact that you’re here,” she explained, and Ben nodded slowly.
“Who’s on the council?” He asked.
“Shit, that’s a lot of people,” she chuckled. “Hades’ son Athanasios, Captain Hook–Harriet Hook, not the old guy. There's also Peter Pan’s son Percy, the Coachman’s son Camorra di Capo, Scar’s former son Sultan, Queen of Hearts’ son Harley, Ginny Gothel, Antoine Tremaine, César Frollo, and Tate Jenner.”
Ben furrowed his brows. “How can you be someone’s former son?”
Uma paused for a moment, wondering if she should tell him the full story or just part of it. She decided on part of it. He didn’t deserve the full story unless Sultan and his little sister Shetani said so, which was not likely. “Scar’s really bad with kids. Next question,” she yawned. These next minutes up until the meeting would be long .
“Who’s Tate Jenner?” He asked.
“I’m guessing you wanna know who his daddy is?” Uma raised a brow, and Ben nodded. “He’s dead, thank Hades. His name was Tom, and he was the leader of the Lost Boys after they and Pan split up. Don’t ask me for details, I don’t have them. So, Tom used to have a portion of the forest up North, but Tatum mostly ran it for him and when he died, Tate and his boys took all of it. They’re called the Brotherhood, and they’re all the sons of the Lost Boys. Since Tate gives food resources to the rest of the Isle when things get really bad, he’s on the Council. Anything else?”
Ben nodded yes. “Who’s Camorra di Capo?”
“I told you. He’s the Coachman’s son.” Ben still looked confused. “You know, the guy who turned boys into donkeys? Well, he did other things with them too, but that’s a separate thing,” Uma shrugged.
“What did he do with them?” Ben asked innocently, and Uma gave him a blank stare.
“He pimped them out,” she replied, and Ben paled considerably. She almost felt bad for him. Then, she felt angry because why did he get to be this innocent, but not Isle children under ten years old? She clenched her hand into a fist. “Get a grip. Di Capo’s a pimp too. The only difference is that he doesn’t touch kids.”
Ben opened and closed his mouth a few times, then closed it for a final time.
“You done asking questions?” Uma demanded.
“Yes,” he muttered, sounding almost haunted, and she rolled her eyes.
“If this shocks you, you wouldn’t last a day here,” she scoffed, then stalked off back to where Harry and Gil were pretending not to be spying. She grabbed Harry’s pocket watch, ignoring their abashed excuses, and checked the time. It was 11:08, so they should definitely get going now.
“Captain!”
She looked up at the entrance to the ship. Desiree and Gonzo were running in, looking panicked, and Uma, Gil, and Harry quickly made their way over to them.
“What’s wrong?” Uma demanded. “Report.”
“When we got to Mal’s hideout, Katt was there,” Desiree panted. “He took the wand with him, said that Athanasios wanted it. And Mal’s gonna be at the meeting too, with Jay.”
This time, it wasn’t Harry that screamed. Uma did. Desiree and Gonzo flinched, and she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then counted down from ten and back up like Ethel, the Evil Queen’s first daughter, taught her and Tate to.
Uma breathed out heavily, opening her eyes again. “Alright, then. Harry, get Ben and let’s go.”
Harry obeyed wordlessly, and returned with a blindfolded Ben. Uma and Gil nodded at each other seriously, and then, she and Harry left the ship, heading to the west side docks. The walk was brisk and silent, and around 11:56, they’d arrived at their meeting place: Captain Hook’s ship, the Jörmungandr. It was easily twice the size of hers and it was painted a dark red, gold trims running across the hull. The gangplank was down, two pirates guarding it to make sure no one tried to sneak in.
Uma walked past them without sparing them a second glance, and Harry followed after her, pushing Ben up the gangplank. She stormed past the cabin to the meeting room, where Sammy Smee, Captain Hook’s First Mate, and her second mate Joanna, Red Jessica’s daughter, were leaning against the door boredly. He was staring at a gold pocket watch, which he snapped shut when Uma approached, and he pushed himself off the door.
“One more minute, and you’d be late,” he opened the door. “Beast stays outside with Jo, yeah?”
Uma gritted her teeth, but nodded jerkily, and she and Harry entered the large room, where all the other members of the Council and Mal were seated around a round table in the very middle of the room. Before she went to Auradon, she was too pretentious to tie herself down to the Council’s rules so she wasn’t officially a part of it. If they had a really important meeting, Athanasios could force her to attend if he wanted to, but he usually didn’t, simply because it annoyed her when they made major decisions without her even though she chose not to join.
Harry took one of the chairs against the wall next to Tatum’s second Valentino, and Uma took her seat at the table table. There was a lit chandelier above them, and Uma noticed that Ethel was also there, sitting in Athanasios’ chair while he stood behind her. Ethel only came to meetings when they would need a mediator. Uma sighed internally. This was not about to be a calm meeting.