Once We are Descendants

Chapter 78: Crumbling

"That is the last thing I would expect from the crocodile," Killian says.

Ursula and Uma had retreated towards the house, probably to discuss the options given by the Dark One. It was evident that the two cephalopods had created a bond and now the teenager was looking to her "mother" for guidance about what to do next.

The rest of the group is waiting around, not willing to go back to the library without Uma in tow, they just hope it could be done through her own free will.

"Agreed," Emma says. "He never helps anyone unless there's something in it for him,"

"To be fair," Mal says. "He didn't really help us, he just put Uma in her place and basically threatened her unless she helped us."

"That's my dad in a nutshell," Crystal shrugs.

She then notices that Harry is staring off in the direction of the house, separate from the rest of them. She sighs.

Despite how much he'd annoyed her the last few days especially with him breaking boundaries that she never wanted to be broken; she knew deep down that she was growing to care for Hook's son. She had to admit, he's not the worst person out of the Villain kids, and she has had a few sweet moments with him. Every time he looked at her with the genuine blue eyes, her cheeks flushed. She knew that these were the early signs of attraction, she was awfully familiar with them. She'd had similar reactions with others, Mason in particular, but a few of those infamous ex-boyfriends were generally nice; it just all went to hell when she found out that they were weirdos.

She'd accepted long ago that she was a beacon for those oddities, probably due to who she was, the offspring of a dark sorcerer and miller's daughter. While Mason had been the most normal, Harry was closer on the "typical" boyfriend scale than the guy who tried to mug her and then take her out on a date with the money he'd stolen. Or the guy who owned 8 ferrets. Or the guy who collected sculptures of male 70s underwear models...Or the weirdo who wanted a Daredevil 2 movie. She shudders, letting the flashbacks go through her head.

While Harry clearly had some issues to work through, she wasn't exactly perfect either. She had a dark past and regrets she preferred to forget about. Despite the rough exterior, maybe there was something worth looking into with him... maybe...

She goes up to stand next to him.

It takes the pirate a minute to notice that she's standing next to him.

"What's on your mind?" she asks quietly.

"Not much," he shrugs.

"I may not be Emma, but I know that's a lie."

"Ah... I'm jus assumin' that it's now is my time to convince her to help us."

"I guess so, but my dad made it pretty clear that her options were limited."

"I jus tink that Uma shuld help anyways, witout the threats. We all wanna go home."

Crystal shifts uncomfortably and breathes a small sigh of relief. Maybe she won't have to explore the signs of attraction with Harry, especially if they are going to be leaving soon. She ignores the sad and uneasy feeling in her stomach as if she didn't want him to go... yet.

"Well, maybe you should talk to her anyway... tell her the truth and if she won't do it for the other kids, do it for her crew. I assume that she only really cares about them anyways."

"If at all..." Harry says.

"What do you mean?"

"Uma only cares fur one and looks out fur number one."