Hooked For Good

After Ever After

Harry's POV

"You wanted to see me, Admiral?"

As I walked into Prince Eric's office, I rubbed my sweaty hands on my blue slacks. Today was the day we left for a mock-mission for two months. The other recruits and I had been up all morning setting up, and the sun still had yet to rise. I was in the middle of helping my fellow midshipmen load supplies onto the ship when I received a call to Eric's office.
I didn't have the luxury of seeing the esteemed Admiral in a casual environment anymore. If he called me in to see him, I was either doing something wrong or we were all going to die.

So obviously I was a little nervous.

"Yes, come sit down, Harry," he said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. That was my first indicator that this wasn't an ordinary meeting. He used my first name. For the entire summer, he either called me Hook or 'Midshipman Hook.' Keeping a neutral expression to hide my confusion, I walked over to the chair and sat down, resting my uneasy hands on my knees.

"You're not in trouble, by the way," Eric assured me, although it did nothing to calm my nerves. If I wasn't in trouble, then the only other option was that we were all going to die. Still, I nodded my head in understanding and waited for him to continue.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing," he said simply, sitting back in his chair. His black coat was adorned with medals of all sorts, and his white hat sat evenly on his head. I was used to him shouting orders at me in this attire, not checking up on my well-being.

"Um," I began, uncertainty laced in my voice. "I'm fine."

"Great," he said thoughtfully. "Are you ready for the mission?"

"Yes sir," I said, relieved to finally be given a question that makes sense.

"Do you have family coming to the send off?" Eric asked, once again going back to the more personal questions.

"Yeah, I think so," I answered honestly. "I'm sure my sisters will be there."

"Do you think Uma's going to be there?" He asked suddenly.

I'm going to be totally honest: I had no clue. The military training camp prohibited use of cell phones, so I couldn't call or text her. The need to see her had been eating away at me all summer, but I only have myself to blame for that. I was the one who decided to tell her I love her and goodbye in the same breath.

"I hope so," I replied, my tone dropping.

Eric furrowed his brow and folded his hands on top of his desk. His inquisitive green eyes bore into my confused blue ones. I shifted uncomfortably under his stare. This was the same man who could read my emotions without the need of me telling him, and he prides himself on such a talent. I couldn't tell what he was thinking or, better yet, what he was looking for.

"Listen, Harry," he eventually sighed after a long moment of silence. "Relax a little. For the next couple of minutes, I'm not your Admiral. I'm the charming Prince Eric."

"Okay," I drawled skeptically.

He stood up from his desk and crossed to the front of it. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back onto the edge of his desk. "As a prince, I always root for the happy ending," he smirked. "So I ask as a kind of mentor with experience in this field, is everything okay between you two after the love arrow incident?"

"Oh," I mumbled, still digesting his words slowly in my head. Once I eased my tense shoulders, I cleared my throat and replied, "Yeah, everything was fine."

"Nothing was awkward?" Eric asked, "It didn't rock the boats in anyway?"

"No, not at all," I said with a reassuring chuckle, but my smile faltered slightly. Uma and I went back to normal–or as normal as we get–after the love arrow fiasco, but I may have thrown a wrench in that when we parted ways. I stared down at my hands, deciding to confide in my superior for now, and admitted sheepishly, "Actually, I may have rocked the boats a little bit."