Into the Depths

Chapter 18

Uma scowled as she swabbed the floor of her mother's restaurant, the ties of the apron around her waist feeling more restraining than usual. She couldn't believe she was still on the Isle, even after what she'd seen in the viewing.

What was the point of having her, Harry and Gil there if King Beastie Jr. wasn't going to let them off or at least start pulling the younger kids off the Isle? Surely the Blue Fairy wouldn't be that cruel, to give the kids a taste of the outside world, to give Uma a taste of what it was like to have her powers, only to snatch it back?

There had been some changes though. Sure the food had gotten better, no one could deny that. But what had Ben done to the perpetrator?

Were they thrown on the Isle, trapped for the rest of their lives in the hell they helped create? Nope, they just lost their cushy title. Still got to live in Auradon, still got perfectly normal food, still got to live in the sun.

She sighed as she slammed the mop into the bucket. She wasn't going to lie, a small part of her thought that King Benny would have looked past the viewing and given her a chance. Just like he gave Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos. Didn't her crew deserve the same?

Not that I have much of a crew anymore. Not since the viewing. Well maybe that's not exactly true—the grunts are the same as they've always been, it's just two people in particular who've been odd. Oh Harry's still loyal but he's...withdrawn. He spends more time around Harriet than he does me lately. Oh and Gil's worthless but nothing new there. Mooning over Macaria of all people! If he had to get a crush on someone, did it have to be Zeus' granddaughter? Also known as my cousin, one of the brainless Olympians?

Gil was a few eggs shy of a full carton in terms of smarts but he was another loyal crew mate. As much as he drove her crazy at times, the last thing Uma wanted was for Gil to get hurt—unless she was the one doing the hurting. The only good thing about his love sick puppy act was that he wasn't trailing after Harry like an actual puppy.

It didn't endear the youngest Gaston son to Harry when they were kids and it certainly didn't endear him now.

"Cap'n!"

"Ah, finally speaking to me again I see," Uma snarked as Harry rushed in. The first mate had run so fast, he actually needed a few minutes to catch his breath. His hand and hook rested on his thighs as his back lifted up and down.

"This must be some news," Uma said with a slight smirk. "What, did Gil fall off the dock again? Did we finally take Mal's territory? Did one of the rats find a way off the Isle?"

The pirate straightened up and looked over at Uma, his face completely serious. "Mal's on the Isle."

"What?" Uma barked, the smirk slipping off her face.

Did Auradon break her like it did in the viewing?

The thought entered her head before Uma could stop it and she shoved it down. Mal had her own crew-if she was having problems she could go to them. She didn't need Uma. Not anymore.

"One of the rats, he saw Mal with DeVil and Jay, over near Curl Up and Dye. Evie was there too with a new boy. He called himself Mitchell, son of Morgana."

"Aunt Morgana doesn't have a kid. She was too busy getting revenge on Triton and getting turned into an ice cube by his precious granddaughter," Uma said slowly. The only person...or people who would know that would be...

"Harry, I think the Isle's been blessed by a royal visit," Uma said, rolling her eyes. "Chances are people across the bridge know Benny's here too, considering the fuss that Arendelle brat made during the viewing whenever Beastie boy went anywhere 'dangerous' without a guard."