~The ringing in your ears~
A lost Revenge spoilers ahead!
Harry spent at least a day stuck in his own head while tied to a mast…wonder what that was like
Angst, hurt/comfort…mostly angst
Follows the plot of the book
Kinda ties into a past work of mine, but not required reading—just a re-used scenario
You can pry the em-dash from my cold dead hands
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The last thought Harry had that was his own was one of fear. Uma had given the crew wax to block out the Sea Witches song…and he lost it. The ship had been rocking every which way in the storm, and his piece got lost in the chaos. Now, he was standing face to face with his captain, ears ringing with the witches spell
“Hear our voices…spells abound…come to the water…we’ll pull you down…”
No, no, no no no…
His body wasn’t his anymore. His legs pulled him toward the ship’s wheel and his hands gripped the handles for dear life.
“Harry! Stop!”
He could hear Uma’s voice, but it sounded so far away, like yelling through a wind tunnel. The spell grew more persistent, the ringing louder. Harry yanked the wheel hard to the left—and got slammed in the shoulder. Uma was now standing next to him, having shoved him off the wheel
“Get her off”
A new voice in his head commanded, it sounded so familiar. His shoulders tensed, readying for contact.
No, no not Uma…don’t make him hurt Uma, please
His body disobeyed him, slamming into his captain, and sending her toppling overboard. His hands snapped back onto the wheel, and made another sharp left. The Sea witches swarmed, the crew couldn’t fight them off forever. He wanted to scream, cry out for help…but his lips wouldn’t let him, and his hands kept steering.
The ship was starting to sink when another started sailing their way, a gang of pirates jumping onto the deck. His hands released the wheel, and went for his sword as a blonde girl in a red coat appeared next him
CJ
Their blades locked, Harry’s arms straining against his will to push down on his little sister. It was a miracle she could hold her own against him. Harry was tall enough to use her as an arm rest and had far more muscle. But CJ Hook plays dirtier than most pirates, kicking her brother in the back of the knees and—
*THUNK*
Harry’s head hit the deck hard, and the world went dark
~~~
His vision returned to the sight of a slowly rising sun, but it felt like he was seeing it through someone else’s eyes. He felt hollow, like his heart had been ripped from his chest and replaced with cotton. His hands were pinned behind him and he was propped against…a mast? Rope was digging into his wrists. A kid no older than ten bobbed into view, their voice a million miles away
“It’s just for a little awhile, Captain said so”
Their smile was missing a front tooth. The ringing returned in Harry’s ears. A strangled sound escaped his throat, though he wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. The kid’s brow creased, and they ran off as Harry’s vision doubled and blurred until he was somewhere else.
~~~
He was thirteen, back on the Isle of the Lost, the grey waters soaking his feet. Harriet was supposed to be back from her voyage by now…but it’d been a week, and people were starting to whisper. Harry clutched his lucky coin in his pocket—Harriet had given it to their father, but Harry had claimed it for himself when Hook claimed to have not remembered where it came from and let him have it. The water licked his ankles, and a single tear joined their ranks
“Harry?”
CJ tugged on his sleeve—she was only eight. He pulled her into his side
“What’re you doing out here, kiddo?”
He asked her gently. He’d been gentle with her a lot recently
“Daddy’s drunk”
She mumbled. When was he not? He hasn’t been sober since mum died, he’s been even worse the past two weeks. He sighed and took her hand
“Forgetful drunk or thrashing drunk?”
CJ kicked the sand
“Forgetful”
Harry squeezed her hand a little tighter, running a comforting hand through her hair
“Ok…let’s give him some space”
The waves went quiet. CJ said something, but Harry couldn’t hear her, just the ring that bounced on the back of his skull. Harry’s vision doubled and blurred, and the world went black again.
~~~
He was still tied to the mast. Someone must’ve re-tied the rope, his wrists were free, but his chest and arms were restrained. It looked to be the afternoon, the ship still sailing in the same direction—North, maybe? He couldn’t feel much, all of his limbs had fallen asleep, he just felt the sensation of breathing against the rope. Someone sat down next to him, but he couldn’t turn to look.
“Hey”
Uma? She was ok! He would’ve smiled, apologized, maybe even try to kiss her, but his lips stayed sealed, and his eyes stayed staring blankly at the horizon. Uma’s hand gripped his shoulder, the sudden touch making the numb limb uncomfortably buzzy.
“The ropes are for your own safety…hopefully not for much longer”
Harry’s mind was elsewhere. Where? He didn’t know. The ringing in his ears was constant, though the pitch had lowered from discombobulating to distracting. He wasn’t sure if Uma was still talking, or if she was still there. The rope was pushing his leather harness into his sternum, whoever tied him up clearly didn’t want him to move, apparently for his own safety. The hollowness felt heavier, branching out from his heart to his brain, weighing down his skull. Uma was still there, her hand moving into his line of sight when his hair fell in his face…what was that?
There was someone whispering in the back of his mind, not to him…but they were in his head…they sounded like Harriet.
~~~
He didn’t know where he was…but Harry knew he felt like he was gonna die
His body was trembling and felt like it was on fire, his throat was raw and the taste of copper and bile lingered on his tongue. The air smelled like saltwater, but he was next to lamplight. He heard the creek of a door, and soft footsteps.
…Harriet. She looked no older than twelve, messy brown hair, too-long tunic and torn leggings…and their mother’s red jacket.
Harry knew where he was now.
He was on the Jolly Roger, ten years old—almost eleven, the winter he almost went to join mum on the other side.
Harriet approached his bed with a guilty look in her eyes, her hand resting on his forehead. Her hands were so cold he would’ve recoiled, but his body hurt to too much to move away.
“You’re burning up”
Harriet whispered, a fact that felt terribly obvious to him. Her eyes went to the glass of water on the nightstand and her frown grew even more somber. He hadn’t been able to keep anything down for nearly two days.
“You’re not allowed to die”
The statement would’ve been funny if Harriet hadn’t meant it so earnestly. Mum had died almost a year ago, she didn’t want to lose him too. Harry couldn’t speak, his throat too scratched and raw for words, instead it seized up and went into a coughing fit.
“Sshh, it’s ok…you’re ok”
Harriet propped him up despite his body’s protest. He buried his face in her shoulder, tears stinging his eyes as his chest tightened and refused to loosen back up.
“Just breathe, kiddo, just breathe”
Easier said than done, but he tried anyway. His vision blurred, Harriet’s voice faded…
~~~
He was numb again…cold
Harry didn’t know where he was, nor did he care. He was still tied up, the ringing in his ears overwhelming. The sky was dark and starry, and he was…floating. A piece of wood bobbed past him
He was in water…how’d he end up there? The waves churned, and four ghoulish figures surrounded him—sea witches. They were closing in, and he was starting to sink
Just breathe, kiddo, just breathe
The water was past his chest, licking at his jaw. The water felt weird against his numb limbs, like their was a barrier around his skin keeping it from making contact. The water rose past his jaw, now lapping at his lips and nose, small drops sticking to his eyelashes. Two more minutes and he’d probably be dead. He sank further, eyes stuck open as the water passed them by, soaking the tips of his hair…
Something wrapped around his waist, pulling him back to the surface and a melody filled his ears, pushing out the painful ringing—
~~~
Harry blinked fast and hard. It felt like his soul had just been kicked back into his body—hard. He looked down at the tentacle around his waist, looked behind him and saw—
“Uma? Wh-what happened?”
His limbs felt like wet cement, his brain was still catching up with his soul, and…how’d he end up in the ocean!?
Uma just smiled
“I’ll explain later. Cover your ears”
He quickly obliged and covered his ears as Uma swam them back to the Lost Revenge, Gil and Desiree waiting with a rope to hoist him back on board.
His first act back on deck was less than dignified. His legs were so numb he’d almost crashed into Gil, the other boy catching him in a tight bear hug
“Dude, you’re ok!”
He cheered. Harry would’ve laughed but Gil was crushing his lungs
“I’m ok!”
He managed to wheeze out before Desiree pat Gil’s shoulder
“Let him breathe”
She laughed as Gil put him down. Luckily, the bear hug seemed to have brought all the blood back into Harry’s upper and lower extremities and he could actually feel his arms and legs again. The crew all turned as Uma hopped back on board, and somehow, Harry was the first to act.
He pulled her into a hug. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t even know where to start. Uma hugged him back, but the fact that they were being watched clicked a second later and they both pulled away, blushing
“Uh…good to be back aboard, Captain”
He stuttered. Uma looked at him fondly and smirked
“You didn’t think I was going to let my first mate get turned into fish food, did you?”
“I thought you were on your way to Davey Jones’s locker”
Desiree was evidently saying what most of the crew was thinking. They all seemed a little jittery
“That was a little too close for me. Let’s not do that again, okay?”
Another chimed in. Harry chuckled and turned to Uma
“What lifesaving debt will I owe you next?”
He nudged her shoulder, and Uma returned the gesture
“A basket of fish and chips when we get back”
Harry let out a well earned sigh and looked out at the starry sky
“Now…care to explain what trouble we’ve sailed into?”
Hope you enjoyed! The art in the book kinda implies Harry was completely out of it while spelled…but a man being tied to a mast while catatonic didn’t sound as fun to write, so I took some creative liberties. He was basically a damsel in distress, I took the opportunity!
And yes, the ending dialogue is directly from the book, even in my little tumblr writings I’m canon compliment to the letter—quite literally
