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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟎

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It wasn't long after Mal disappeared down the tunnel when Rylee felt the sword vanish from her neck. She felt Harry's grip around her tighten before she let out a relieved sigh. A small smile appeared on her face when Morgan's shouts disappeared completely, showing the princess that they won. Ben and Lonnie were safe. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos weren't going to be trapped here. Holly, Skyler, and Gabby were getting their second chances. And, most importantly, Morgan was getting off the Isle. However, all the positivity Rylee was feeling instantly vanished when Uma turned around to face her.

"I should've taken care of you when I had the chance," the daughter of Ursula hissed as she walked toward the blonde girl before stopping a foot away from her.

"Do it," the Fitzherbert girl challenged before she felt Harry's body tense while Uma just stared at her with a blank look on her face, "you've been waiting for this, so here's your chance. Go on. Do it."

Silence surrounded them after Rylee finished speaking as everyone stared at their captain and the princess. But then something happened that the Fitzherbert girl didn't expect. Uma smiled before she reached forward and took Rylee's chin into her hand.

"I wish I could, really I do. But sadly I still need you," the daughter of Ursula told her before looking over at Harry, "take her down below."

The next thing she knew, the son of Captain Hook forced Rylee's arms behind her back so Gil could bind them with a rope. As soon as the LeGume boy was finished, both of them escorted the princess towards a ladder. The Fitzherbert girl struggled to climb down until she finally descended below deck. Harry then forced her into one of the cages before he untied her wrists and closed the door. Rylee kept her eyes glued to the wooden wall as she listened to the clicking of the lock before she let out a small chuckle.

"Well, this is a nice change of scenery," the princess said without turning to face the pirates, making her completely unaware of the confused look Gil was sending her.

"It's a prison cell," the son of Gaston stated while Harry rolled his eyes at his clueless friend.

"Enjoy your stay," the son of Captain Hook told her before she heard him place something on the floor and head toward the ladder.

"Wait," Rylee called out without thinking, causing both of the boys to stop in their tracks. After letting out a shaky breath, the Fitzherbert girl finally found the courage to face them, only to find Harry staring right back at her with Gil nowhere to be found. "How could you do this?"

"It was quite simple actually," the raven-haired boy responded with a smirk as he tossed his hook back and forth in his hands, "you're far too trusting."

A wave of anger washed over the princess as she stepped as close as she could to the bars and wrapped her hands around them. "I helped you kidnap Ben. I stayed on the Isle for you. I stayed to be with you."

"And I thank you for that."

The Fitzherbert girl's breathing quickened as she watched the Hook boy walk toward the ladder once again. Just as he placed a foot on the lowest step, a thought came to Rylee's head that she'd know she'd regret if she said it aloud, but she had nothing left to lose.

"Guess my first impression of you was right," the princess announced, causing the pirate to stop dead in his tracks while keeping his back to the girl, "you're a coward who will live the rest of his life taking orders from a squid."

"And you'll be nothing but a gullible princess who will spend the rest of her days in that cage," the son of Captain Hook retaliated without looking back at the Fitzherbert girl before he ascended to the deck.

Rylee kept his eyes glued to Harry until he was out of sight. As soon as she heard the door close, she turned around and slid down the side of her cell until she was sitting on the floor. The Fitzherbert girl leaned her head back against the bars and stared up at the ceiling before letting out a shaky breath. Tears threatened to escape her eyes but the blonde girl only let a few fall. As she sat with nothing but the sounds of the sea to fill the silence, Rylee couldn't stop thinking about how true Harry's words were. She had been gullible and trusted all of them way too easily. She should've known better than to fall for a villain. It should've taken a lot less than that for her to realize whatever they had wasn't meant to last.

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Rylee woke up to the sound of the hatch opening and closing followed by footsteps approaching her. A small sigh passed over her lips as she looked up to find Uma staring down at her with Harry and Gil close behind her. The Fitzherbert girl looked at them with an emotionless expression on her face before she got to her feet.

"Look what the tide dragged in," the blonde girl said as she crossed her arms over her chest, "the sea princess and her lapdogs."

A smirk made its way into Rylee's lips when she saw their smug faces transform into glares. The Fitzherbert girl did her best to contain her laughter but a chuckle managed to slip out. That only added to the disdain Uma was feeling before she took a few steps forward to stand directly across from Rylee. "I'd be careful if I were you."

"Why? You made it perfectly clear you're not going to hurt me," the Fitzherbert girl stated without attempting to hide the anger in her voice, "you still need me and I can tell it's killing you. So I can say whatever I want right now. Isn't that right, lapdog?"

Rylee's smirk did nothing but grow as she watched Harry's glare intensify. The two of them had a glaring contest for what felt like an eternity before the blonde girl turned her attention back to Uma. "Why exactly are you here?"

"I need you to get me to Cotillion so I can find Ben and-" the daughter of Ursula cut herself off when she noticed the princess staring out a nearby porthole without a care in the world, "are you even listening?"

Silence surrounded them for a short moment before Rylee looked over at the teal-haired girl with a bored look on her face. The two of them just stared at each other before the princess opened her mouth to break the silence. "Honestly, I stopped listening after 'I need.'"

The Fitzherbert girl didn't even try to hide the amusement on her face when Uma let out an annoyed grunt. The two girls just stared at each other for a long moment before she turned to face Harry. Rylee simply watched as she used her thumb to gesture at the former before she stomped out of the room with Gil on her heels. Once they heard the slamming of the door, the tension in the room did nothing but grow. Neither Rylee nor Harry wanted to be the one to break the silence first. So they opted for avoiding eye contact instead. That lasted for what felt like an eternity before the awkwardness was finally broken by the son of Captain Hook letting out a long sigh.

"Why can't you just do as she asks?" the Hook boy questioned, causing the princess to finally meet his gaze before she sent him a fake smile.

"Would that make you happy?"

"It would make life easier."

"Then that's why," Rylee hissed, making all the emotions fade from his face before he just stared at her as the uncomfortable silence returned.

Despite keeping an expressionless look on her face, the Fitzherbert girl felt like her heart was breaking into a million pieces. Sure, she never really understood the relationship she formed with Harry Hook. But when she was with him, she felt like she was where she was meant to be. That was the sole reason she decided it was time to break the stillness that surrounded them. "I trusted you."

"Well then you can't exactly blame me, can you? It was your mistake" the pirate responded without even attempting to meet the princess' gaze, "only a fool would put their faith in someone like me."

"Then I guess I'm a fool."

"Rylee-"

"No," the Fitzherbert girl interrupted him, making the raven-haired boy look up at her with a hint of disbelief in his eyes.

Harry did his best to suppress a smirk as he stared at the annoyed-looking princess. "You don't even know what I was gonna say."

"You were gonna tell me that you're not good enough."

"I'm not good enough," the son of Captain Hook declared with a somewhat ashamed look in his eyes before he looked back down at the floorboards once again, "you deserve a prince, not some pirate. Like you said, I only know how to take orders. It's better this way."

"For who?"

Rylee watched his entire body tense at her response before Harry slightly looked up at her. A small smile appeared on the blonde girl's face as she slid her arm through the bars and lifted his head so that he was looking at her. The Fitzherbert girl cupped the Hook boy's cheek in her hand before she felt him gently leaning into her touch.

"It's for me to decide who's good enough for me and who's not. And you're the best thing that's happened to me in a very long time," Rylee told him as a smile to match hers appeared on his face then he gently kissed her hand, "please come back to Auradon with me."

Harry hesitated for a moment as he stared up at Rylee before he finally responded to the princess. "Even if I go to Auradon, I won't be accepted. I am the son of Captain Hook, after all."

"Do you really think Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos fit in? They're villain kids and they've been accepted. You already know that Morgan and I are far from perfect. Lonnie fights like a warrior. Chad Charming is self-absorbed. Jane was as shy as a person could be. Doug is a crazy genius. And, when Audrey went to Auradon Prep, she was stuck up. Ben is the only 'perfect' one, and he even has his quirks."

The immediate response she received was laughter from the son of Captain Hook, which only made the smile on Rylee's face grow. It wasn't long after that when he gathered his bearings and looked her straight in the eyes. "I'll go back with you. But the only way back is to go along with Uma's plan."

"I can do that. She is pretty gullible when she desperately wants something."

Harry sent her one last smile before he placed a kiss on her cheek. After he unlocked her cell, he retired her wrists together while uttering an apology under his breath. Once he finished his work, the pirate led the princess back up to the deck. As soon as his captain was in sight, the Hook boy's smile turned into a sinister smirk.

"U-ma!" the raven-haired boy called out, causing the daughter of Ursula to turn around to face them, "she's ready to help us get to Auradon."

Rylee just stood there and listened to Uma's plan for what felt like an eternity. If she knew that her idea was this ridiculous, she might have thought twice about agreeing to it. But here she was, standing in front of Mal's purple bike with Uma, Harry, Gil, and the rest of her pirate crew surrounding them. The Fitzherbert girl just studied the small vehicle in front of her for a long moment before she looked over at the daughter of Ursula. "We're really going to take the bike Mal used to get here? You know there's three of us going, right?"

"Can you please just stop talking?"

"That's not very civilized, Uma." A smirk formed on Rylee's face when she heard the pirate princess let out an irritated groan. After the teal-haired girl muttered something inaudible to herself, the Fitzherbert girl looked up at Harry, who looked as if he was trying his hardest not to laugh. It wasn't long after that when Rylee finally turned her attention away from Mal's bike to look back at the daughter of Ursula. "But seriously, how are all three of us going to fit on that thing?"

"It's not gonna be three of us. It's just gonna be you and me," Uma answered, causing Rylee's smirk to fall as a similar one grew on the pirate princess' face

"But you said-" the Fitzherbert girl began, only to cut herself off when she saw the look on Harry's face. It didn't take a genius to know that she had been tricked by the son of Captain Hook...again. Rylee silently stared at the raven-haired boy for another moment before she turned around and got onto the bike with Uma. "Let's go, Shrimpy. The faster I get off this Isle the better."

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