Crossing the Water

Chapter 11

"He'll be like this for a while," Mal told everyone. "Let's just move on."

Celia led them down an alleyway to a door where she pounded out a rhythm. The person on the other side of the door stomped out another rhythm in return, which caused Celia to knock once more.

"That wasn't Freddie was it?" Uma asked as Jay continued to mutter in the background. "On the other side of the door?"

"No," Facilier shook his head.

"Freddie snuck in with the Tremaines but Ben didn't want to send her back when he found out. Especially after E and I vouched for her," Mal chuckled, ignoring Leah's scoff. "She's currently with Ally exploring Wonderland."

"Ally?"

"Alice's daughter."

"That probably should have been obvious based on how you said 'Wonderland'."

The person on the other side opened the door and Celia turned to the others, grinning, before walking in. Mal smirked at the others before following her; Evie right behind her.

"And the boys are our guards," Evie smiled at the sight on the screen.

"From now till always," Carlos nodded, whacking Jay over the head to finally end his muttering.

"Yeah, it's the four of us...well the seven of us now," Jay said, looking at the Sea Three and rubbing his head as he whacked Carlos on the arm in return. "It's just tentative right now."

Once inside the arcade, Celia made a beeline for her father who had just finished up assisting another kid.

"Hey."

"Daddy!" Celia exclaimed.

Mal smiled softly, thinking back to when she was younger. The days before Hadie...before she felt she'd been replaced. The joy she'd felt seeing Hades, having a parent who cared about her. There was a part of her who longed to have that again.

Well, in addition to what she had with Steph. Her relationship with her step mother had mended itself after Mal had grown to like Hadie when she was thirteen and he was seven respectively.

But with Hades...her dad...there'd just been too much said for the same relationship to develop.

There are still days where I wonder what might have happened if Uma had known, that she was my cousin, Mal thought. She was such a force of nature when we were kids. Still is now that I think about it. She probably wouldn't have put up with the silent treatment I was giving to dad. Err...Hades. I don't want to slip up and call him dad in front of Uma. Sure we're allies again but that's just a discussion I'd rather not get into.

"Here she is!" Facilier said, lifting Celia up into his arms and laughing. The two of them did what looked to be a little dance as Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos looked on fondly from the balcony area. "Come on. And.. And... Ho! Hey, yeah."

Facilier tapped his cheek for a kiss but Celia just flicked his hat, before running off. Facilier wrapped her up in his arms.

"Come here little rascal," he said as he walked off to the side with Celia.

Tiana couldn't help but smile at seeing the interaction between Facilier and Celia. It reminded her a little of her own relationship with her father, how filled with joy Facilier had been upon seeing Celia, and it made her feel happy to see that at least some of the kids on the Isle had good relationships with their parent.

Not that any of the kids deserved to live on the Isle but no need for a bad situation to be worse with neglectful parents at best.

"Ah! So, what kind of hustle you got going on with them shiny people?" Facilier asked as someone, assumed to be an employee, tossed him his cane.