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Harry's POV

She nodded in her gait, slightly conscious. "Yes, why? Do I seem off?"

"Not at all!" I put an arm around her waist. "Just checking in, princess. Promise to tell me if anything is troubling you?"

"Sure, yeah." She smiled, placing her hand on mine. We continued like this for a bit, when she sighed. "My mind is quite full, if I am truthful."

"Unload it on me." I urged. "Come on, there are plenty more paces till we reach the Isle and no better conversation. Talk to me."

"Okay." She glanced down at her wrist. "To start, this," she shifted to a whisper for a moment, "bracelet of mine," and then she paused, thinking. "Ever since everything began, it has been hyperactive. It's worrying."

"Like what happened back at your palace? The storm?"

"Would you believe me if I said there have been a couple more instances after that? Literally within the rest of that day?"

"When?" I tried not to sound too surprised. "Wouldn't you have been drained after..." My voice faltered. Johnny and Uma were a bit away, but it was still too risky to verbalize it.

"I was drained. Physically and mentally. You wouldn't even imagine how much that exhausted me."

I dropped my hand from her waist and held her palm in mine instead, slightly squeezing it in reassurance.

It was as I guessed. That plan for Hook's Bay was too much - and although it was her plan all along, this time I actually encouraged it. My heart felt weak at the thought.

When I didn't interrupt at that, she went on. "One, I cannot tell you the specifics of right now. But for all purposes... let's just say that it hadn't been 20 minutes and the magic was able to act on reflex and desire."

"Desire? Why would you try to summon it when you knew you were burnt out?" Her lack of care for her well-being was another concern - it had grown exponentially since the summer, and it was so unlike her.

"It was complicated, Harry. I couldn't see another way." She near-glared, forcing me to shut my mouth. "Regardless, that happened. Then, later at the show, when I thought that sword was coming for my head. I felt the beginning of a surge, which thankfully was suppressed the minute Steve jumped up. The point is, it could and would have done something to protect me, and I often cannot control what it will do. It is spontaneous and disturbing - and in the moment I frankly wished to be hit by the sword than to have the bracelet light up. That's how much I am growing to despise the thing, and how it makes me feel."

I bit the inside of my cheek, unsure how to say anything that would help and not make it worse. "Is it possible that the bracelet is only reflecting your mind? Just consider for a second, that maybe you're not feeling this way because of the bracelet, but that the bracelet is acting like this because your mind is a mess."

She didn't appear to like what I said, but she also had to listen to reason. As I saw it, even if what I said was false, getting (y/n) to try and clear her head would better the situation regardless.

Everything falls apart if she does.

A small part of me made note that this kind of double-ended plan was exactly the type of thing my mother always came up with, and I relished in the thought that even without her, I was turning out more like her than Father.

"Maybe you're right. It doesn't change the fact that I don't know how to be calm." She gestured ahead at Johnny. "How could I be when everything is on edge?" Her voice was hushed but strong.

"(Y/N) I'm not asking you to change a thing." I softened my voice. "You're already doing everything right - the hard part's over now, isn't it? When I'm saying these things, it's just more for me than you. I want desperately to help you, so I'm trying to brainstorm how."

"You're doing enough. Especially with all you have going on-"

"Hey, what I have going on is nothing. Never feel like you should shield me from any problems of yours just because I seem preoccupied. It's not important - you are. Please burden me with as much as possible, because otherwise I feel like I'm looking in from the outside, and it is incredibly hard to handle."

Her features consequently relieved some of their tension, and she nodded. "I just didn't want to throw off your game, in any way."

"My game? Come on, like that matters at all." I smiled. "It'll take a lot more to throw it off."

She slightly squinted her eyes at me, joking. "Well in that case," She picked up her pace a little and called out to Uma. "You said something last night, about the usually-rude Auradon royals."

I caught up to them in a few steps. "What did she say?"

Uma and Johnny made room for us, (y/n) pulling up beside Uma and me beside (y/n) on the other end.

Uma turned to Johnny and began. "We noticed an odd shift in their behaviours, while you were visiting Agrabah. It seemed like for once, the student body was acting as one, and not a constant battle between two ends."

"Some of the royals came back early, like Steve." (Y/N) slightly flinched at the sound of Johnny's voice. "He was actually helping some of the lost Isle kids find their way around, rather than gloating in their faces."

"Hm." Now (y/n) spoke, but only to say that much. Steve? I'd expect a much harsher response from all of them, considering it was Steve they were talking about.

But then again, the two of us spent quite a bit of time perfecting our moves for the show, and through it all, he never did make me feel less for who I am. Which was, all things truly considered, bewildering.

"What do you think could have changed?" I bent over to look at Uma.

"Must've come to their senses, that's all." She laughed. "What else could it be?"

For the first time, the silence held a knowledge between Johnny, (y/n), and me, and I felt awful that Uma of all people was still in the dark. If she knew I was keeping something like this from her, as her First Mate, she'd be furious at me.

"Who knows?" (Y/N) joined in her laughter. "Maybe Fairy Godmother's goodness classes are actually rubbing off on them."

That was all that would be said on this, as Dizzy's Curl Up & Dye came into sight.

It was not too different from the last time I had been in there - regrettably, I had been horrid to Dizzy - it was only cleaner, and a lot more colourful if that was even possible.

Uma, who was the only one out of us who had been there more than once, was the one to greet Dizzy. From Dizzy's reaction, I gauged that she and Uma had made up for the events which involved me stealing from her, but she hadn't quite yet made up with me.

After greeting everyone with a cheerful buzz, her tone flattened, expressing only a pointed, "Hello, Harry."

This part was actually getting too long so I split it up, but now this got a little cut short! Don't worry, Harry's POV will return next week for this weird encounter. 

(Also, a bunch of this references the scenes in Descendants 2, if you forgot!)

Have a great week guys!

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