The Greatest Sea Witch

Tightrope

Seven days go by quickly for most, but others find it feels like years. Driven by her stubborn pride, Uma locked herself in her room above the Chip Shoppe. Cook managed to run the store on her own, but many of the regular customers stopped coming for the lack of service. Even some of Uma's crew opted to eat elsewhere. It wasn't like their captain was going to make an entrance anyway. She was even more of a recluse than her mother was.

Harry was lost. Suddenly the crew was looking to him for leadership, but he kept trying to tell them that Uma would come around eventually. He discovered that the only person he was truly trying to convince was himself.

He'd replay the events of that night in his head over and over again, struggling to find where he went wrong. For a moment in time, he and Uma were on the same page. She even said it herself, that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her, but she backed away again. The only difference was that instead of saying 'I don't,' she said 'I can't.'

As much as that instance baffled him, it wasn't his main concern. He was worried what would happen when Ben comes back to the Isle to hear Uma's decision. Harry had to admit he underestimated the young King's ability to strike a weakness in Uma and even to delegate with a sea witch in general. Most people thought she had no fallacies, but if one were to look close enough, she cared for the kids on the Isle. She hated that they were dragged into this nightmare of a life. She wanted better for them.

And that was being offered to her on a silver platter in exchange for one thing: her ambition. She had to let go of her hubristic desire and let herself get help from the very people who kicked her down for so many years. She hated Auradon, and she hated the Isle. She wanted out from both, but what she wants and what she knows is right don't correlate at the moment.

The sun was just beginning to rise on the seventh day, and Harry hadn't slept a minute. He wished he knew what Uma was thinking at that very moment, but no one had seen her in days besides the occasional venture into her kitchen to grab food before retreating back to her room. She'd clearly failed at coming up with another plan to get off the Isle on her own, so if Harry had to guess, she was dreading the minute Ben arrived to receive her decision. The real question was whether or not she was willing to give up her ambition just yet.

Harry sat up in his bed at the sound of footsteps on the deck. Everyone in the crew was asleep, and no stranger dared step on another pirate's ship unless they had a death wish. Harry swung his legs over the edge of his bed, pulled on his boots, and ran out of the room, grabbing his sword and hook on the way out. It was either Uma or an intruder. No matter which one it was, he might have to defend himself.

He slowly peaked his head through the door that led outside, scanning the deck for the source of the footsteps. He saw the silhouette of a tall man–definitely not Uma–ambling waywardly about the ship. Harry watched the man pick at the splintering wood of mast with his fingernail, but he narrowed his eyes when he realized it wasn't a fingernail. It was a glimmering gold hook.

"What are you doing here, Dad?" Harry asked the uncharacteristically sober Captain Hook, his tone threatening instead of interrogatory. His father spun around, flashing Harry a winning smile that made the ladder want to throw up. He knew Captain Hook was rarely ever that happy, and when he was, it could only mean trouble. Harry stood his ground and declared, "This ship doesn't belong to you anymore."

"Don't be so sure, my dear boy," Captain Hook drawled, slowly walking over to his son. He gestured to his gold hook with a sickening smirk etched into his wrinkled face, "You see this hook? You remember what it means, don't you?"

Harry set his jaw, tired of this father's tendency to dance around the truth, "Special occasions," Harry answered.

"Right," Hook confirmed, drawing his finger over the edge of his hook, "And I'm very pleased to say this ship has been repossessed."