Chapter 49
"It can't get wet!" Mal shouted in clear desperation, "Give it back before it goes out!"
But Uma only laughed as she bobbed in the water.
"Uma!" Harry and Gil said simultaneously both in shock, having never seen Uma in her mothers octopus form before.
"That's my name." Uma said with a wave as Camilla brought her hands to her hips and smirked from where she stood between Harry and Carlos. Harry and Gil exchanged a look before Uma submerged in the water, the ember tightly in her grasp.
"No!" Mal shouted again as the water grew and turned foggy as Uma used her magic. Then the wave burst and splashed them and they all looked over the edge for Uma.
"Hi boys." Uma's voice called and they all turned to see her on the other side of the bridge behind them. She had the ember – still glowing with power – between her fingertips as she wiggled it teasingly. Harry chuckled and pointed his hook at her and the three of them joined their captain on the other side of the bridge.
"Welcome back." Harry said evilly as he fist to hook bumped Uma.
"Uma, you swam off and forgot all about us." Gil said sounding hurt.
"Yeah, planning her revenge no doubt." Mal said crossing her arms.
"It's not all about you Mal." Uma said and Mal lifted a brow, "I was looking for a hole in the barrier, to let everybody out? And you know what I found boys?" she asked turning to her crew, "It's way better out there then we thought. Camilla, when you were there did you ever hear of this furry rock? They call it a coconut."
"Mm-hmm." She nodded, "And did you try chocolate?"
Uma's eyebrows rose into her forehead, "Didn't have the chance. But I did see fish so big you could dance on their backs." She said turning back to Mal's gang, "And they've been keeping it all for themselves."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Harry clicked his tongue wagging his finger before he brought his hand to wrap around Camilla's waist.
"Whatever." Mal shrugged it off, "Uma I need that to break a spell."
"Cast by Audrey, Sleeping Beauty's daughter." Carlos explained and it was Camilla's turn to look shocked.
"That prissy pink princess who mocked me?" Camilla asked earning all eyes on her and she could feel Harry's anger as he learned she'd been bullied by this girl. Camilla hadn't forgotten how Audrey would sing that terrible song as she'd walk past her in the halls of Auradon Prep replacing Cruella's name with her own. "What did she do? Have her mother's fairies turn everyone into flowers? Or turn everyone's clothes from pink to blue?" she mocked.
"She stole Maleficent's scepter and is putting people to sleep." Carlos said and Camilla's laughter stopped, she knew from experience how terrible it was being under a sleeping curse. She wasn't looking forward to that again. She felt Harry tense up beside her, clearly thinking the same thing.
"So the good guys the bad guy?" Uma asked. "Well I might not give it back. See what happens." She said playing with the ember in her hand again.
"Uma it's not the time for games! People's lives are in danger!" Mal shouted and Harry chuckled beside Camilla as she leaned into his hold.
"Guarantee me that every single villain kid who wants to, can get off the Isle." Uma said offering a deal.
"I can't do that." Mal replied.
"Can't do that." Uma muttered with a shrug heading for the side of the bridge and holding the ember over the water, "Well how 'bout now!"
"Deal!" Mal shouted desperately, "Deal."
But Uma kept dangling the ember, even pretending to drop it playing with Mal in such a vulnerable state and at her mercy.
"Uma!" Evie shouted as Harry kept smiling evilly and Camilla crossed her arms and shifted her weight from Harry to her hip as she stood in her usual confident stance. "Her word is good."
Uma took a moment to look at Mal trying to see if the dragon witch was hiding a plan or ulterior motive but Camilla could see she wasn't – a foolish move. She should have a backup plan, a way to take the ember from Uma if she needed it that badly. But Auradon had softened her and now a villain held the power she needed, perfect.
"I'll still keep this." Uma said tucking the ember into her vest, "For the time being. Because if you think I trust you to save the world on your own. . . "she scoffed, "Think again. This is a job for pirates!" she said turning to her crew and they all chuckled, Camilla twirling a piece of her black and white mixed hair as Uma and Harry slapped each other's hands in a low high five.
"We can always go back to hating each other when this is over." Jay said to Mal who still didn't look convinced.
"Fine." Mal muttered before Jay turned to them.
"Where are our bikes?" he asked.
"Oh um yeah, we crashed 'em." Gil chuckled.
Harry laughed before making a vroom sound and giving a long whistle using his hand imitating the falling bikes they'd launched into the Gultch.
"Haha, look at his face." Harry laughed pointing his hook at Jay as Camilla brought her hand to his bicep and they smiled at each other.
"Here's a thought." Evie said stepping forward, "We could try to be friends. Put our history behind us and celebrate our differences."
Everyone looked at her with the same disbelieving look like they were all questioning if she'd lost her mind. Camilla stopped her hand mid hair twirl but none of the expressions she was getting stopped the bluenette.
"Yeah? Who wants gum?" she asked taking out a small pouch.
"Let's go." Uma said rolling her eyes and stepping forward toward Auradon but Mal stopped her.
"Ah! No. I'm in charge. Let's go."
- -ROTTEN TO THE CORE - -
When they made it to Auradon's shores thanks to some of Mal's magic they still had quite a walk before they reached the school which only left them all in a very tense atmosphere. Finally, as her crew started to get distracted by Auradon's beauty and Mal's gang became more worried about Audrey Carlos took his chance to walk beside Camilla.
"So. . . how have you been?" he asked and she scoffed and looked at him.
"Not bad for living on an Isle living off half rotten food." She said rolling her eyes.
"Cami –"
"Don't call me that."
"I'm serious." He pushed, "Whether we were on the best of terms or the worst you always made time to mock me. But now. . . you've been unusually quiet."
She crossed her arms and sighed knowing she'd have to tell her brother eventually.
"It's. . . mother."
At the mention of Cruella Carlos' demeanor changed in an instant and he knew whatever was bothering her was more serious then he ever imagined.
"What did she do?" he asked but Camilla remained quiet and avoided eye contact as they fell to the back of the group where no one would hear them, "Camilla, I know her worst side better then anyone. What did she do?"
Camilla stopped walking and it looked like she was on the verge of tears again. Carlos was afraid, he'd never seen Camilla looking so upset, so vulnerable and he wasn't sure how to help.
"She found out about me and Harry." she turned to him her eyes glistening with sadness then she gave an emotionless chuckle, "You remember growing up, how when mother would get angry with Horace and Jasper she'd threaten things?"
"Poison them, drown them, bash them in the head." he quoted in a low voice, "I remember. Sometimes when she was really in a rage she'd threaten to call one of her old skinners and let them have their fun with Horace and Jasper."
"That's the kind of stuff that ran through my mind when I saw she had Harry locked up." She admitted looking at her feet as his head turned to her and he looked at her with shock.
"She locked him up?" he asked.
"What else would she do?" Camilla asked turning to him with her eyebrows pulled together.
"I – I. . . it's just, you were always her favorite. I always figured no matter what you did she'd look the other way. Take her anger out on someone else, find someone else to blame. She adored you." He stuttered through his thoughts. It was true, growing up Cruella had dreamed her daughter would grow up and be just like her, beautiful, stylish and cruel. Carlos, she'd treated like an in house butler, someone she only valued because she'd otherwise have to leave her chores to Horace and Jasper, who everyone thought of as buffoons.
Camilla scoffed but there was still a sad tinge to it as she crossed her arms again and looked at her feet as they followed behind the others, "Well apparently being the favorite only meant she'd be even more disappointed when I fell from the pedestal she put me on."
Carlos moved closer to her, he wanted to hug her, to tell her it was all okay and she could confide in him. But after everything they'd been through he wasn't sure if she'd appreciate the gesture.
"What did she do?" he asked quietly, knowing he'd suffered their mother's wrath before and he wondered which punishment she'd made Camilla suffer too.
"I know what you're thinking little brother and believe me what her mind came up with was worse then anything she ever did to you."
He scoffed lightly, "I doubt that. She loved taking things out on me."
Camilla smirked for the briefest of moments before she turned away and he couldn't see her face but he did still hear her even though she spoke softly under her breath.
"She never used a poison apple against you."
Carlos stopped dead in his tracks and when Camilla had noticed she stopped and turned to him. She looked so small with her arms crossed, her posture slightly hunched and a look of sadness and betrayal he hadn't seen since he'd chosen good at the coronation.
"What?" he asked breathlessly like he'd just had the wind knocked out of him. Camilla didn't answer only continued to look at him. "She didn't. . . she couldn't. . . there's no magic on the Isle."
"No." Camilla agreed, "But there was one apple left up the Queen's sleeve."
He walked toward her and paused a foot from her, "Cami, I. . . I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you."
"It's not your fault." She said sincerely as they continued walking not too far from the group that anyone had noticed what had been going on between the estranged siblings.
There was a long silence before Carlos was able to pull himself together after that shocking news and continue their conversation, it had been so long since his sister had opened up to him like this, actually this might be the first time ever, and he didn't want to lose their moment. He wanted to reconnect with her, he wanted to fix what had become broken between them.
"So. . . Hook saved you then?" he asked, "You two have true love?"
"Yes. . . and no." she replied which made him look at her confused. She took a deep breath before turning to him and explaining. "You saw me hurt after the duel at the Lost Revenge, and after when Harry told you I died. . . he wasn't lying about that."
His eyebrows shot up into his forehead, "I don't under –"
"I did die. But, Harry's kiss of true love saved my life. But it wasn't what saved me from mother, not entirely. To beat mother it took more then that."
"I'm still not following."
She took another deep breath, "We both bit the apple. Mother tried to get me to make Harry bite it but I couldn't, so I bit it myself. It wasn't part of any plan, I just. . . couldn't hurt Harry but I wasn't strong enough to beat mother myself. I thought, taking myself out of the equation was the only way to help him, that maybe if I wasn't a factor anymore she'd let him go." She laughed humorlessly, "Crazy idea. I should have known it wouldn't work, but I wasn't really thinking with my head, I wasn't really thinking at all." She sighed, "After I was under the sleeping curse mother made Harry bite the apple, he told me – afterward – he felt like if we were under the same curse maybe somewhere in that cursed dreamland we could still be together."
It got quiet again but not for long as the questions bubbled up inside Carlos and he couldn't keep himself from letting them out. "So, how did you two break free?"
"CJ kissed Harry's cheek when she and the rest of the gang found him in the dungeon in Evie's old castle. It woke him up, then they found me and Harry was able to wake me." She turned to him, "I know you hate Harry Carlos, but I can't live without him anymore, without him, without the crew, I'd have no one. Diego is the only family I have left back there and as much as he helps. . . it's not enough to keep me going." She chuckled this time with a small light in her eyes, "I'm a pirate, it's who I was always meant to be."
He could understand that. He'd felt the same way as he'd adjusted to life in Auradon, joining Tourney, R.O.A.R., his relationship with Jane, it was what made him feel complete, like he'd found himself. And now he realized that this pirate's life Camilla had found gave her that same feeling of belonging, of feeling complete.
"I don't think I can hate Hook anymore." He admitted, "Not after he saved your life twice. I don't like him, but I can't hate him."
Camilla chuckled again and looked at her feet this time not out of sadness but to hide the happiness in her eyes, a happiness that was just a little too happy for a villain, and she didn't want to lose her edge, not around Mal and the others.
"And you are wrong about one thing." Carlos said making her look back up at him, "Diego isn't the only family you have. I might not be on the Isle anymore Cami, but I made you a promise, and one way or another I'm going to find a way to keep it." He brought his hand to her shoulder, "You'll see."
Camilla wasn't sure how to respond so, she gave her best smirk and said nothing even when her baby brother smiled back and she felt warmer then she had in a long time.