54 | HER SONG
WINTERFELL was not sure what time it was when they finally dispersed, but she knew it was late. However, only a few people had scattered and Winter was currently cheering on Jonah as he and Jay were going against each other in an extreme dance competition.
Winter jumped as a hand suddenly grasped her arm and spun her around. Her wide eyes locked with that of the ocean and he gave her a playful smirk. Bringing a hand up to his lips, Harry silently hushed her before tugging her along with him.
Winter was unable to stop the smile from spreading, allowing him to tug her away from their friends and to the doors.
"Harry, we can't ditch my own party," she laughed lightly and Harry abruptly stopped.
Facing her, Winter was surprised when he placed that white tricorn hat he had gifted her for her birthday on her head. She appeared taken aback and Harry could not help but think she was just the most adorable thing in the world at the moment.
"'Course we can, and we is — I 'ave somewhere to take yeh," he mumbled before tugging her once again, this time successfully getting the white-haired girl through the doors.
They raced across the courtyard, the music from the party becoming nothing more than whispers in the night. Winter laughed as Harry tugged her along, the girl's converse hitting the ground lightly as she went, her short skirt whipped in the wind.
"Where are we going, Harry?" She questioned as they approached one of the school parking lots.
Harry's belts jangled as they walked, and he reached down pulling a particular set of keys from one of his belts. If she looked hard enough then Winter could see the few charms he had managed to add to it, the skull and crossbones being the most prominent.
However, the kets themselves were to a familiar bike that Winter remembers gifting to him just a few weeks prior.
"It's a surprise, lass," he told her as they dodged the snow.
Thankfully, Auradon was good with keeping the roads clear during the winter season. If it snowed the plows would be out within the hour managing the roadways.
Immediately, she paused just by the motorcycle as Harry released her hand in order to mount it and twist the keys. The bike roared as its powerful engine ignited — Winter was not surprised to see that there was no helmet in sight for Harry.
Who was Harry Hook to even dare wear a helmet?
Smoke came from the back of the bike, and Winter crossed her legs while resting her arms behind her back. She bit her lip nervously while gazing at Harry from under her lashes.
Harry only smiled and held out his right hand toward her.
"Ya trust meh, don't yah lass?"
Winter breathed deeply and a smile crossed her features. She took Harry's hand, he pulled her near him and she quickly sat behind him holding onto his midsection tightly.
This was much like when the two of them rode Stewart a few months back, but now the situation was in reverse. Now Winter was the one holding onto Harry and trusting him with the ropes.
She smiled against his back at this, thinking about how far they had come since that ride through the forest. Harry felt her smile and hummed.
"Here we go, ducklin'," he told her before pushing off the ground and revving the motorcycle while pulling forward. "And try to keep ice off the road for us!" He shouted over the engine before they sped up and they turned onto the main road.
"Of course, Hook!" She shouted right back before the wind took her words away.
She held him tighter, digging her face into his back. Her hair whipped behind them. Humming, Winter watched as the sights passed by them — it did not take long for her to realize he was heading straight for the bridge that led to the Isle.
Immediately, her grip around his waist tightened and she became slightly unsure. It was not that she did not trust him, but at the same time was it really smart to be going to the Isle of all places at this time of the night?
Sensing her nerves, Harry managed to yell over the sound of whipping wind.
"It's okay, I promise," he yelled and Winter closed her eyes tightly.
Taking a deep breath, she reopened her eyes with a small smile. She trusted him.
Leaning forward, she rested her head into the crook of his neck simply allowing her gaze to take in everything around.
The bridge truly was incredible, a twirling piece of magic that allowed them to drive over a wide expanse of the ocean. In the middle of the night, the ocean appeared almost scary with the dark waters and the sounds of the waves.
In minutes they crossed over the bridge and Harry was driving down broken cobblestone roads in between even more beat buildings. Winter pursed her lips as she took in the sight of Harry's home, the place where he had grown up.
The Isle always made her remember just how grateful she is for her own life.
Winter was not familiar with the Isle, and with it being dark there was no way that she would ever be able to navigate her way through the place. But upon being met with the sounds of the sea and what sounds like pirates singing, she had a feeling they were near the bay.
Her thoughts were proven correct as just a few short minutes later Harry was driving down an even more beat dock, the wood shaky under the weight of the motorcycle. Winter was nervous at the creak it gave.
However, Harry was pulling to a stop not even a second later — and Winter's gaze rested on the familiar sight of the Lost Revenge. Although, it did not appear as though anyone currently resided in it.
She rose a brow at the sight of the familiar place, even through the dark she knew this was the place where that fight between Mal's crew and Uma's had broken out just over a year ago. It was insane to think that she had officially met Harry Hook over a year ago.
That Lonnie had pulled her out of her comfort zone and practically forced her to go with her to the Isle of the Lost that day. Winter supposed that now she should be thanking Lonnie for that.
"Harry?" Winter was questioning.
Harry had a wide smile on his face, the pirate quickly turned his motorcycle off and shoved the keys into his pocket.
Jumping up, he quickly found himself in front of Winter holding her hands. Pulling her into a standing position, the pirate grasped her shoulders, his nose nearly touching her own. Winter could see the excitement that buzzed around in his electric eyes.
"Might I ask exactly what we are doing on the Isle of the Lost?" She rose a sharp brow.
"Thought I'd give ye a proper tour of the ship..." Harry said motioning to the empty ship. "Ye know, without the whole gang fight goin' on..." he added almost sheepishly while tugging her toward the ship.
They were quiet as they made their way up the plank that connected the ship to the docks.
The Lost Revenge was silent, so silent that it was eery. But Harry seemed to be perfectly content.
Without anyone on board and without the adrenaline of a gang fight, Winter was able to take in the beauty as it swayed with the movement of the ocean. Although, she was concerned about the number of holes that adorned the floorboards.
"Can you sail her yet?" Winter asked Harry.
She had read enough books starring pirates in her lifetime that she was aware a person should always speak of a ship as a "she". Harry shook his head almost sadly.
"Not just yet, with school we haven't been able to fix her up very much. We'll probably spend most of the winter break doing that," he told her and Winter was nodding in understanding.
"This way," he was suddenly pulling her in the direction of a rather dark corridor on the inside of the ship.
Winter followed as they made their way into the corridor, her eyes ghosting over the wooden walls. It was near impossible to make out any details through the dark, but Harry seemed to know where he was going all the same.
Suddenly he turned a corner and was opening a creaky door. Winter rose a brow but followed him into the room nonetheless.
"Harry, I can't see anything," Winter said with a slightly unimpressed voice.
"I know, snowie, hold on," Harry grunted before he suddenly lit a match and Winter was flinching away from the fire.
Harry was amused when he noticed the Ice Princess literally glaring at the small flame. Shaking his head with a chuckle, he made his way over to a lamp hanging on the wall and placed the match inside allowing the lamp to light up the entirety of the room with a dim light.
"Ye don't like the fire, Princess?" He said, his voice heavy with amusement and Winter was scoffing.
She allowed blue whisps of ice magic to swirl throughout her fingers, "fire and I do not always get along..." she said while staring at Harry with a small smile written across her lips.
However, as she spoke she trailed her eyes along the rooms of the wall. It was not long before she realized that this was a bedroom — Harry's if she had to guess.
Winter was surprised to see that in the corner there was a good number of different swords and blades. His closet doors had been left ajar, as though he had left in a hurry, and she could just barely make out only a few coats hanging.
Rather than pictures hanging on the walls, there were various maps. Maps of the world, of the oceans, of different islands and countries and places to explore and travel. Atlas after atlas was piled on each other — books on ships and lost treasures laying around.
Winter's eyes sparkled, she was hypnotized as she walked around the small room. His bed was nothing more than two twin-sized beds pushed together to make a full. There were plenty of scraggly but warm-looking blankets splayed out on the bed.
A few shoes were here and there, black and brown leather boots to be exact.
"You live on the Lost Revenge?" Winter had questioned, turning to stare at Harry who was standing in the corner of the room leaning against the wall with an almost nervous look on his face.
Harry swallowed and nodded his head, "Yeah, I moved out to live on the Lost Revenge with Uma after her mom kicked 'er out..."
Winter smiled at him while nodding her head, once again taking in the small but cozy room around. It was far smaller than even their dorm rooms at Auradon, and there was certainly no bathroom attached to the room.
Winter was once again humbled upon seeing the room. She remembered to be grateful for what she had, not every child had a room that could pass as a normal person's house or a king-sized bed that made a person feel as though they were sleeping on a cloud.
And yet, there was still something about this cozy little room around her that had her smiling and wanting to leap into the bed and curl up under the thicket of blankets.
"Too small for yeh?" Harry murmured in her ear so suddenly that it had her leaping in surprise.
She whipped around with wide eyes before her heart calmed down and she was breathing deeply. Harry was staring at her intensely, his eyes not wavering as he looked into her trying to discern her emotions.
It did not take her long to realize that he was searching for any sign of disappointment or disgust on her face. As though him opening up to her and showing her where he lived and what he came from was going to chase her away.
Reaching up, Winter placed her right hand on the pirate's cheek. He leaned into her hand, closing his eyes and breathing in relief.
"Now, I would not say that this is too small at all. Rather, it's comfortable and warm..." she said softly smiling as Harry reopened his eyes, "and you'd be surprised by how much I actually do like the warm," she was unable to finish her sentence for Harry took her face in his hands.
Winter was not even able to be surprised by the sudden change as he rushed forward, leaning down to close the space between the two of them desperately.
He crashed his lips against hers in a searing kiss.
Winter held the back of his head, tilting her own to kiss him deeper. He kissed her over and over again, breaking off loudly every time. With subtle volume, Harry revealed how long he'd gone without true affection: no love.
Sure, hookups were great and all, but the only real love he'd ever held was toward his family. Gil, Uma, and his sisters.
This was was different, it felt as though Harry was about to burst apart in the best way possible from how Winter's body fit against his and their lips matched like puzzle pieces. He would give her it all just to feel like this — he would give her the world if he could.
Finally, they pulled away, both red-faced and panting.
Brown eyes met blue in a battle of intensity: love and affection stank heavily in the air of the small cabin.
Harry pursed his lips as he stared at her, gazing down at where he rested his hands on her hips — the bottom half of their bodies touching each other. It was then he made his decision.
Looking back up, the pirate smiled before grasping her hand in his own. He raced off tugging her along.
"Harry!" Winter gasped, "where are we going?"
"I have something to show yeh!" He called to her, accent heavy as they left his room and made their way through the dark corridors of the ship.
It rocked gently with the ocean.
They burst out of the corridors onto the main deck of the ship, Winter was once again greeted by the fact that they were completely alone on this ship. She could not even hear the sound of pirates singing anymore and she wondered just what time it was.
She suspected that it was quite late, and she had a feeling that her party was wrapped up by now.
Harry slowed as they made their way further onto the ship, heading to the side that was not facing the dock but was facing the twinkling lights of Auradon.
The only sound was their footsteps on the old wood, Winter following Harry — the both of them staring at the beauty that was Auradon. It was then she realized that you could see Auradon Prep from the ship, the beautiful sight of the castle school stood proudly on the shore.
It truly was a beautiful sight.
Winter could not even imagine what it must have felt like to stare at such a view all your life from behind a prison with no way out.
Harry must have been thinking something along the same lines for his face was soft and thoughtful. Winter was quiet as she watched Harry, following him until he stepped onto the edge of the ship.
"It's a beautiful view," she had murmured to him and he nodded.
"The best on the Isle," he confirmed, "especially on quiet nights like this. I used to sit out here for hours wondering what it would be like to live in Auradon..." he chuckled and Winter simply listened as he spoke, "now I know..."
"Yeah," Winter smiled with a nod, "and I am very happy that the barrier is down," she said honestly, a spur-of-the-moment thought.
Even though there were still some doubts concerning it, she knew she would have it no other way. If the barrier was not down then there would be no way that she ever would have truly met Harry after they got Ben back.
"Happy birthday, Winter," Harry said without turning around.
Winter was surprised by the turn of conversation, the subject being brought up quite randomly.
"Thank you," her response was still genuine.
This was a great birthday — better then she had expected. Even with the show of her powers earlier in the day.
Even so, look what came with that. Her family would celebrate her birthday with her during the winter break when she was back at home for a few weeks.
"I actually have one more gift for yeh, lass..." Harry's voice was quiet, near a whisper and he was staring at Winter with such an intensity she was taken off guard.
"Oh?" She said it as a question and Harry was looking away, his intense gaze turned back to the ocean.
Harry took a deep breath from where he stood next to Winter, closing his eyes. He could do this. He was Harry fucking Hook, of course, he could do this. But then, why did he feel so nervous?
No, it was only natural, this is what people from their world did. Even rough around the edges pirates such as he. People randomly break into songs all the time!
Feel happy? Better sing a song about it. Got a new crush? Oh, there is another song. You're sad, or maybe a tragedy occurred? There is a song right there.
It happened all the time, Harry could belt out a song randomly. As could anyone in Auradon: it was as easy as breathing.
But Winterfell never did, it was something that Harry noticed from the second he met her.
Never did the girl with white hair join in on any group singing, and she certainly never sang by herself. Or at least, Harry had never seen it nor had he heard about it from anyone. The only thing that he knew was that Winter's mother, Elsa, apparently had one of the best voices of all royalty in Auradon.
It was quite curious that Winter never sang, especially now that Harry was thinking about it.
But this was not about that! No, this was about Harry singing to Winter. It was about him serenading her. And if he doesn't do it soon then the moment will be ruined and the opportunity will have been missed.
From his side, Winter rose a brow as she noticed that Harry was biting his lip almost nervously. The princess never thought that she would see the day that Harry Hook ever got nervous. But the fact that he was nervous and obviously overthinking something put her on edge because that almost never happened.
What kind of gift was he trying to give her?
Just as she was about to question Harry, the pirate turned to her with a sort of soft determination in his eyes.
"Winnie, now, I don't have much money but," he breathed out, eyes glistening over as though considering it, "...if I did... I'd buy a big house where we both could live..." his words held a softness that Winterfell had never heard, there was a melodic ring to his words.
Winter had a feeling she knew where this was going. She could feel the winds changing course, bringing a melody with it as it came.
She always thought it odd that the wind brought music to people who sang, but she was certainly not complaining about it at this moment.
Rather she stared at Harry, her own eyes wide and glimmering at his beautiful words. His own eyes were spoke a thousand words.
They held each other's gazes, standing only inches away from each other. Just within arm's length of the other, close enough that they could kiss if they wanted.
The wind brought a stronger melody as it passed by the both of them, their hair ruffling in the breeze.
"If I was a sculpture, but then again no..." he chuckled with his light words of song and Winter laughed as well, but listened to his beautiful music as he continued on, "or a man who makes potions in a traveling show..."
Winter tilted her head, his words becoming less talking and more song. Harry's voice was beautiful, to say the least. It was full, rich... expressive — the words were art and Harry was the one wielding the brush.
"I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do..."
Winterfell wanted to assure him immediately that he was more than enough, he would always be more than enough. But at that moment, the winds changed the melody to something much more powerful.
It was the strings of many violins and cellos, or at least it sounded like it. And Winterfell was furrowing her brows looking every which direction as the winds chorused music.
Winter was never able to understand it, and the sudden change in the chorus was enough to rip her focus away from Harry and rather to the strong melody of the wind.
Winter's attention was taken back to Harry as a rough hand gripped her chin gently and moved her head. Winter froze from shock.
But that did not prepare her for the striking music that bellowed from Harry — no sign of an accent in the thundering words.
And Winter was powerless to turn away, only able to stand and bask in the glory of his alluring voice.
"My gift is my song..." his words were sung loud and proud, they echoed across the shores and twirled delightfully well with the natural music the wind provided, "and this one's for you..." Harry ended the powerful melody gently, staring into her eyes as though she held the entire world itself.
Winter's breath caught in her throat at this. So this was his gift?
A fire crackled between them; passion danced in both their eyes and love ran rampant through their hearts.
"And you can tell everybody that this is your song..." his grip on her chin fell looser, "it may be quite simple, but now that it's done..."
His grip fell away completely, and Harry took a step away from her. Winter found herself missing his warmth instantly, she made to fix the spacial issue between them, attempting to place herself right in front of him once again. But Harry only smiled playfully, taking another step away.
He wrote this song over the span of time that Winter was unconscious in the hospital wing of the school. It took him a whopping total of two hours before he was finished, the words to the song came easier than he ever would have expected.
In fact, the words had been there for days, nagging at his mind until he finally gave in and wrote them down before singing them to himself at a lone piano in a lone room at Auradon Prep. It was the first song he had ever written, and it was entirely about Winterfell Frost.
"I hope you don't mind that I put down in words... how wonderful life is now that you're in the world..."
Winterfell was about to burst into tears. Not tears of sadness but tears that screamed of passion and happiness. And her face gave that away as her lips curled into the softest smile, her eyes shining with nothing but love.
Although a small part of her still stood in disbelief, her head tilted as she took in the pirate.
"I sat on the roof, and I kicked off the moss. Well, some of these verses, well — they've got me quite cross..." Harry had turned away as he was singing to look at the ocean, the wind twirling around them both with its music.
"But the sun's been kind while I wrote this song... it's for people like you that keep it turned on..."
His voice, unearthly and haunting, it compelled her where she stood. The evocative tune wound around her emotions and she was unable to turn away, frozen in place as the song washed over her.
Her song.
Her song that Harry Hook had written and dedicated to her.
This was hands down the absolute best gift that anyone had ever given her. Not even her mother, a woman of music herself, had ever written a song for her.
"So excuse me for forgetting, but these things I do. You see, I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue..."
Winter was laughing at that part, and Harry allowed his own wide grin to fall over his face at the silly verse. It was even funnier when staring into the gorgeous warmth of Winter's brown eyes: eyes that he would never be able to forget even if he wanted to.
"Anyway the thing is; what I really mean, your eyes are the sweetest eyes that I've ever seen...!"
That part was sung with more passion and love than Winter could ever imagine.
Harry had moved forward to grasp her hands within his own. She just about melted on the spot, her hands clutching his own.
In seconds, Harry was not only clutching at her hands but rather he swooped forward placing one hand on her waist while continuing to hold the other and twirling them around the deck. Winter smiled brightly as they spun, her footfalls easily keeping in step with Harry's.
The gentle rocking of the ship was nothing compared to how they danced with each other, never once allowing their gaze to falter. Their steps were perfectly in sync as Harry led them in a type of wild ballroom-style dance.
The winds whirled around them — a choir coming with the wind's music. Words were sung: words that did not come from Harry or Winter but rather sounded like dozens of people singing a single verse at once.
"And you can tell everybody this is your song..."
The north wind whirled around the two dancing figures.
"It may be quite simple but now that it's done..."
Neither Winterfell nor Harry noticed how they began to float in the air as they danced, their footsteps falling onto no floorboards but rather thin air as though it was as solid as a rock. How could the two notice when they were so enraptured by each other and the song?
"And you can tell everybody..." Harry began to sing once again, his voice intertwining with the winds in perfect harmony, "that this is your song..." he pulled her closer to him, "it may be quite simple but now that it's done...!"
He rested his head against hers with a smile, the two slowly dancing back toward the floorboards.
"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words ... how wonderful life is now you're in the world..."
Both of them closed their eyes as they rested their heads, now only swaying with each other rather than spinning around. Harry held Winter close to him, breathing in her scent.
"I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now that you're in the world..." he ended gently, his beautiful voice fading as did the music in the wind.
The moonlight shone brightly on them both, and Winterfell swore that the Man in the Moon was smiling at the exchange.
It was rare that the Man in the Moon AKA Manny AKA the boss of the Guardians missed anything that happened during the night.
The two swayed gently with each other as the song left their souls.
It was silent for many moments afterward, the two finally stopping and simply staring into each other's eyes.
"I have no words, you've given me the best gift that I could have asked for — thank you..." Winter said, her words soft and breathy and they spoke of pure truth.
Harry only hugged her tighter to him, kissing the side of her head.
"It's yer song, whenever yeh want it — whenever yeh need," he continuously kissed the side of her head, "yeh need only ask..."
———————
Author's Note:
Hey guys. I just wanted to hop on here real quick to let everyone know a few things. First of all, thank you for all your love and support for this book, you have no clue how much it means! And I know this chapter has been just a tad cheesy, but c'mon, it's still a Disney fic and what would Disney be if there were no cheesy song serenades (even in fanfic form).
But if anyone doesn't know this is "Your Song" by Elton John, I personally am envisioning the Moulin Rouge version to go with this chapter. The video that goes with the Moulin Rouge version is also awesome and is where I got the inspiration for this from!
This chapter was also written in the future — like I just wrapped chapter 63 and got inspired to write this lovely ole' piece. Spur of a moment decision, and I decided this chapter was better suited as a birthday present and chose to place it here, so now I need to fix all the chapter numbering after this so that's fun lol. But anyway that's the reason that up until chapter 63, there is going to be literally no mention of this song -- it's because it was a last-minute add.
But yeah, there are only going to be fun things from here on out (well, not totally fun, lots of angst) but fun things for me to write! So yay, have fun reading and again, I love you all!