Celia wrote down every single word of what her older friend had just said. In her personal opinion, "didn't do all that bad" just wasn't an acceptable self-evaluation of all Uma had done for the isle. Celia wants the pirate captain to give herself more credit. She'd been a great leader. "Did you always see yourself as a leader?"
Uma smiles, suddenly looking not as cool as a warmth took over her eyes as she was flooded with the memories of her bossing Harry and Gil around at every turn during their shared childhood. "Yeah, something like that." She giggles. "Harry and Gil could never say no to any of the orders I gave them when we were kids. It was always me up front and the two of them following me from behind."
There's a smile on Celia's face as her pencil moves along the lines of her paper. Celia is surprised when Uma begins to speak unbidden, looking up at the beauty.
"I had my days, though," Uma says softly, a sigh in her voice, ice cream sitting forgotten. "The most I ever felt unsure and lost as a leader and in general was about eight months after Mal and her friends had left." Uma's shoulders shake as she laughs bitterly, memories of her childhood spent with Harry and Gil long gone from her mind as well as the warmth in her eyes, now back to looking like her usual coolheaded self. "I was angry at everyone for continuing to have hope that we'd be remembered but mostly I was angry at Mal. I only had hope for the first two months."
Celia doesn't take her eyes off of the sea witch. Her voice is calm, a cold, silent sort of anger and hurt in her voice.
"I thought everyone was a bunch of fools and being the leader of a bunch of fools was the last thing I wanted to do," Uma continues. The smile that appears on the beautiful girl's face is a hollow one. "But then I started feeling sorry for them, started seeing just how pitiful they were and suddenly couldn't find it in myself to step down anymore. I was lost and so were they but the difference was that it was I who was aware of how lost I was while they were oblivious."
In the short time he's known Uma, Ben's come to really admire her and feels honored that she considers him a friend. He was delighted when Celia approached him for an interview on Uma, having tea and teacakes be brought in before the official start of the interview in his office.
"Ask away, Celia," Ben smiles, taking a sip from his tea.
Celia swallows the bits of teacake in her mouth, smiling at the king as she says, "What's your relationship with Uma like?"
Ben smiles, folding his hands together, keeping his eyes trained on the stacks of important documents he'd be getting to as soon as Celia left as he says, "She's my friend." His gentle eyes move up to the younger girl's face. "And after the hell that my father and mother put her through, she has every right to not want anything to do with me."
An interview about Uma, eh? Carlos smiles, a dash of lovesickness in his eyes as he stares down at his lap. Well, talking about his girlfriend is something he certainly didn't mind. He looks back up at Celia, grinning. "Uma, eh? Great choice, kiddo. She is amazing, after all."
Celia smiles at the smitten look on the older boy's face. Giggling, she says, "Were you and Uma always close?"
Carlos lets out a sarcastic laugh. "Not at all." He's sure it'll never get any easier talking about his mother, Carlos taking a few calming breaths. "Before Ben chose me and the others to go to Auradon, my mother would always send me to Ursula's Fish and Chips to get her favorite dish on the menu." Carlos smiles, the image of his younger himself tucked away in the corner of shop as he waited for the food he'd been forced to retrieve flashing in his mind, the intimidating eyes of Uma's crew on him having always made him even stiffer and more nervous than he already was when he'd step foot in the establishment. "I could never look Uma in the eye when she'd bring me my mother's order. It was both because I was terrified of her and because I was afraid that if I looked her in the eye, I wouldn't be able to look away." He scratches shyly at the back of his head. "I always thought she was the most beautiful girl on the isle, after all and knew she wouldn't take well to me staring."
"You're doing a paper on the captain?" Gil grins. "Awww, captain will be so flattered."
Celia giggles. "She was the first person I told, Gil."
Gil's lips part as he nods. "I see."
Giggling once more, Celia says, "Uma really trusts you, huh?"
Gil smiled brightly, raising his head up high. "Yup!" Having Uma's trust was always something that made him feel extremely happy, it being something irreplaceable and hard to earn what with the girl being prone to having her walls up. "She's been my best friend and like family to me, since we were kids." He was good at so little but being happy was something he discovered he was surprisingly good at, despite being trapped on an island prison from the time of his birth but there's a noticeable disruption in Gil's perpetual demeanor of happiness. The boy lowers his head, his smile weak as he says, "I thought I was good at getting along with everyone but I could never get along with my brothers like I've always wanted."
It's so strange to see someone as joyful as Gil look so sad, Celia frowning as she stares at the boy sitting across from her.
Although the light that had once been in Gil's eyes hasn't fully returned, there's a considerable amount of it in his gaze, the boy smiling widely as he says, "I remember one day I was feeling really down about my brothers. I didn't think Uma had noticed that I wasn't acting like myself but then she tells me to meet her outside the shop during her break. What she tells me is "Look, you're not the brightest tool in the tool box but you're still a good person and my best friend. I don't know what's bothering you and you don't have to talk about it but just know that the crew wouldn't feel right without you"."
Celia smiles, glad to see Gil looking like himself again and heart feeling touched by the words Uma had said to the pirate.
"Well, since Uma is the topic of your paper, I suppose I can spare a bit of me precious time for you," Harry says offhandedly, smirking at Celia.
Celia resists the urge to roll her eyes, smiling cheekily at Harry.
"So, what is it you want to know, lass?" the second in command says, like always, toying with his trusty hook.
Celia folds her lips, wiping the thoughtful look off her face as soon as she came up with a question, smiling as she says, "What made you decide to follow Uma?"
Harry chuckles, setting his hook down in front of him before crossing his muscled arms. "If I thought there was a better leader out there than her or that I myself was a better leader, I'd be following someone else or would be the leader of me own crew." He's never been shy about his devotion to Uma, it always apparent how much he admires her and how he would do anything for her at the drop of a hat. "There's no one better that could lead our crew and there was no better leader of the isle."
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Huiliang says, hands stuffed in his pockets as he walks next to Celia, the two of them on their way to the cake shop.
Celia grins up at him. "Nothing. I just have a really good feeling about the paper I turned in today is all."
One Shot
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