Chapter Text
There had never been a king or queen of the Isle. There had never been one single dominating villain. There were never enough resources to risk wasting on a battle of that scale. Many of them were already close enough to the top as it was. So, with as little bloodshed as possible, they claimed footholds to cement their territories around the Isle prison. They were lords ruling over the masses in the place of any one monarch. They were exiles ruling a prison colony without any trade or representation on the mainland.
The Isle, though, like all lands born from magic, imbued with it despite the magical barrier’s attempt to keep magic out, yearned for a champion to be crowned. Someone willing to fight for the children born of her, those she left her biggest mark upon.
Many years after the Isle’s creation, children that might finally be worthy appeared. One born of Maleficent, the other of Ursula.
The Isle watched them shed blood in the name of claiming and protecting what was theirs, claiming land, resources, and people both. She took special interest in who they claimed, especially those chosen as their seconds in command. Mal chooses Jay, son of Jafar, and Uma chooses Harry, son of Hook. They would be fine future generals of war, loyal and wild seconds that could rule alongside the rising queens of the Isle. The rest of their selective crews were made up of plenty of potential royal advisors to choose from.
The Isle found it would be happy no matter which queen came out on top.
Years passed, and it appeared that the young descendent of Maleficent had won. With just a little more time, and as her power and influence only grew with each defeat to Uma’s pirate crew, and the other struggling gangs of the Isle, the half-fae would soon be hailed by the Isle inhabitants as their high queen. It was inevitable, even if those of the Isle had yet to fully realize it. The Isle needed someone to lead her, and she was getting restless, just like the children, from having her magic and very essence stifled behind the barrier for years on end.
But then her future queen left, carried away in a limo and over a magical bridge with her subordinates. There were whispers of a plan to free the Isle, though. That her future queen had a plan to help the Isle and her children, to free them all.
But it all fell through, and her soon-to-be queen turned into her never-queen, a false savior of her people, and the Isle turned her gaze back inwards.
There—the pirate captain Uma had taken control of the territories Maleficent's descendant had left behind, accruing more resources and children to her cause. And right beside her stood her second in command, her first mate, Harry. Like Jay, he’d been by the potential queen’s side almost from the start. He grew alongside her. In that way, they were no different. But unlike Jay and Mal’s relationship, the Hook boy had taught the sea witch how to be a leader. Not how to lead, for the girl showed aptitude for that in leaps and bounds, but how to use her abilities in the best way to make people follow her, to become a true leader.
The young woman hadn’t learned what it was to be a leader through watching her own mother’s example, as Mal had done through watching her own. No, Uma had to find her own way with only the steady hand of a captain’s son to lead her, someone who saw her potential and could assist her in bringing it to the surface.
The boy could be an excellent captain in his own right, the Isle concluded, an excellent leader, a possible champion, a king in place of her queen—if he’d ever allowed himself. But the boy remained a second in command, and Uma reigned supreme with the Isle inhabitants finally recognizing the sea witch as one of the Isle’s chosen champions.
They called her queen in their minds, at first in rebellion towards Mal, the would-be queen of the exiles and the next queen of Auradon, but then they started to actually call her queen out loud, in murmured, fervent whispers, as they began to sense, to taste, the freedom that was just out of their reach. They finally had begun to realize what the Isle had known all along, that they needed a ruler, a leader, a champion, a captain to lead them toward freedom.
They called Uma queen and so it was. The Isle was sated, for now.
And then Uma left, too.