The Aftermath

Ch 8: Wounds Red as Apples...

The Aftermath ch 8 : Wounds Red as Apples...

Ben turned around to leave. He stepped through the door of the cabin. He walked and looked into the second cabin, not on purpose but something just seemed to catch his attention. And when he looked inside he had to do a double take. He had walked past the door but he took two steps back and posed in front of the door. In the cabin, on the bed, lay a little boy. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Ben was surprised to see the kid here. He knew the boy had been abandoned by his parents. He knew Uma and her pirates weren't bad but he didn't expect them to help an innocent kid in the situation this kid was in. And frankly, he hadn't thought about the kid. It felt like a personal attack that the pirates have in fact been a better and more caring persons as he. He felt guilty. Suddenly he heard footsteps nearing him. He turned around to see Harry leaning onto Uma for support. Uma was scolding him for standing up to Ben and in the process hurting himself more. They didn't really seem to notice him. Instead of getting angry with him still being here Harry just asked: "Do ye mind movin' mate? We'd like to get into me cabin." Ben stepped aside and not another glance was send in his direction by the two lovers. Uma picked up the little boy and softly placed him in the lounge chair which had been Gaston's. The boy slept through the moving process and shifted himself unconsciously into a comfortable position. Uma and Harry's banter had toned down a notch, trying to avoid waking the little boy. Uma helped Harry onto his bed and tugged his hair. She made a comment about with Ben wasn't able to hear. Harry laughed and Uma smiled. Ben just watched them interact for a while.

He felt a wave of shock going through him when he felt a hand being placed onto his shoulder. He turned around to see one of Uma's pirates. The girl laughed. "Don't look so scared. I won't kill ya. Not yet at least." She winked and Ben didn't have a clue what to do. "Well, you really are quite the talker, aren't ya? The name is Desiree by the way. And I was joking. For now." She added and her smile suddenly faded. But it returned onto her face just as quick. Ben finally spoke up. "I'm Ben. I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to be there. You really sneaked close to me." Desiree laughed. "A true pirate needs some skills. But I recall that they told you to leave so when did you decide to grow the guts to stay?" Ben searched for the words to explain and found himself speechless. He helplessly looked at Uma and Harry again. "Ah, I get it. You were surprised that we pirates can express love as well and just watched them for a while. Well, let me clear it up. You people from Bore-adon aren't the only ones who know love. We of the Isle are just cautiously about expressing it. Believe it or not but I'm in a relationship of my very own at the moment." Ben just nodded and decided that this was safe subject to talk about. "Who is your boyfriend?" he asked. She started to laugh. Ben was very confused. "I don't have a boyfriend silly. I'm into girls." "You like girls?" "Girls can love girls and boys. It isn't weird. There has to be a gay couple in Auradon as well, I'm sure." Ben just shook his head. Desiree was surprised by it. "You Bore-adon people really are one terribly functioning community, aren't you? And I thought the Isle is bad." She hugged the confused Ben. "Oh, and Ben, it's time to go." And this time Ben left for real.

That evening the Wharf Rats had a meeting. Not only the ones who were always there on the boat but also the ones who were protected by the older Wharf Rats and who would become a Wharf Rat as soon as they reached the fourteen years age mark Uma required for her crew. It was a whole gathering with all the little kids playing tag in the background using the ship as their playground. Jonas spoke up. "Captain, not to offend you but how do you plan on getting us of this Isle? You just kindly told our only chance no." Harry shifted, clearly mad but Uma placed her hand on his arm to calm him down. "Jonas, thank you for asking that question. I actually was waiting for someone to ask it." Jonas smiled insecurely. Uma continued. "Why would I wait for that question? Because I have a plan. Dear old Mal left her little spell book behind on her last visit. I found a spell that would let everyone whose heart isn't evil of the Isle. And it only requires three items. Item one: the spell. We already got that one. Item two: Fairy Godmother's wand. And item three: a pure heart." Desiree smiled. "Captain, I think I have some excellent news if that's the case." And with those words she pulled the wand out of her pocket. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "You didn't think I talked to and hugged BeastieBoy just for the fun of it, now did you? No, I swiped some of his stuff. I've got his keys, a bar of chocolate and the wand. I'm afraid there isn't anything of the chocolate left. I shared it with the little Eli Balthazar." Uma was smiling and received the wand from Desiree. "Gil, put this in our safe." They talked for a while until Uma became tired. She dismissed the crew.

Soon only Uma, Harry and Gil were left. "Boys, tomorrow we will rest. The day after that we will gather food and water. I know this will be difficult because most of it is already rotten so we will use the whole crew to gather as much food as possible. And then the day after that we three will go on a quest." "What are questing for?" Gil asked. "We are going to recruit a pure heart for our crew." Harry looked puzzled. "Who in frick's name has a pure heart on this damned place?" he asked. Uma answered. "A princess' daughter." Gil was stunned. As far as he knew there weren't any real princesses on the Isle. Maybe except for...

~flashback~

Gil was fourteen at the moment. His dad had decided that it had been time for another hunting trip. But when there weren't any hunt-able animals to be found Gil had become the prey. He had run as his dad had followed him, hunting him down. His dad has sent an arrow his way which had luckily only grazed his arm. He knew that if his dad caught him it wouldn't be pretty. Gil had run through the entire forest. He got close to a stone wall. He had reached a dead end. His heart was beating almost violently. He was scared out of his mind. Here would be no one to protect him. It might be his end. He was breathing way too quick. He heard his father approaching when suddenly he felt something staring at him. He turned around. Two blue eyes looked into his. It was a girl. She beckoned him to follow her and turned around. He had barely seen her face. She was quick. All he saw was her blonde her. He followed her. She slit into a cave. He followed her. He reached a big space in the cave. There was no trail of the girl. But in the middle of the cave was a bowl of water, some alcohol to clean his wound where his father had struck him and a clean cloth to wrap around the wound. As he walked towards it he heard quick footsteps from his side. All he saw of the girl were her red boots and a part of her blue skirt. She turned and once again he was met by the blue eyes and a flash of her blonde hair. It just touched her shoulders. Her eyes showed empathy but they also made clear he should not follow her. He sat down and took care of his wound. After a while he fell asleep in the cave. When he woke up there was a clean cloth wrapped around his arm and he was covered by a blanket. In front of him there was bottle of water and a red apple.

~back to the present~

"The apple girl!" he exclaimed. Uma nodded at him approvingly. "I believe she is Snow White's daughter. The only difference is that she is smart." Harry seemed somehow confused by this statement. "What would a princess' daughter do here?" He asked. Uma explained. "As you know I found the files King Adam kicked out of the palace. In it was one about a girl who would break his rule. It was supposedly about the daughter of Snow White. He wanted the girl gone so I guess that miss Snow put her dear baby in a basket and let her float to another kingdom where she would be safe. The poor thing drifted to the isle. I actually found a file of her arrival on the Isle. Just like I found our birth documents. When a new person arrived on the Isle King Adam would get a document. But she didn't die. No. She survived. And when a princess sees an innocent creature in need she will help him. So our dear princess helped our poor Gil. And since she is Snow White's daughter Evie must have despised her. So who do we have who fits that description? Fabienne! So we will just have to find her." Harry suddenly brightened. "I know where to find her."

Author's note: Okee, so I have to admit that Snow's daughter is based on me... Hope you enjoy this chapter.