Descendants (OCs) | Austin x Rosa (ft. The whole Privateers crew)
wc: 1819
summary: The Privateers dock on the Isle of the Lost in preparation for the heist of the Jolly Roger. Austin starts to wonder why he ever thought coming along was a good idea.
"Elizabeth!" Ivy shouted from the top of the crow's nest, just loud enough for Elizabeth to hear her through the wind and distance. "I can see it!" From her vantage point, the Isle of the Lost had just become visible over the horizon. It was about time.
"Okay, everyone get over here!" Elizabeth called to the rest of the crew, bringing them around the ship's wheel where Edward had been stood for the best part of the day.
"Thanks," he said quietly, just to her, before addressing the whole crew. "We're coming up on the Isle now, so I want to go over a few things." The script he had in mind was all things they'd already been told, albeit here and there over the course of a few months while they prepared. "Firstly, I know I've said it before, but I cannot overstate it. Any rules this place has, we've already broken, and the people that enforce them are the people that live here. You all have swords for that reason, this isn't training, do not hold back. You can guarantee they won't." For the first time in weeks, silence fell over the group at the reality of how far into the plan they were. "Second, we trust each other over everything. Our plan won't go perfectly. Elizabeth and I may have been back, but not for long enough to judge how much things have changed." He looked at her, a very loaded glance, and she nodded back in reassurance. They'd implemented as much knowledge as they had. "When we dock, do not leave anything on board, because it won't be there when we get back. We're heading straight for the attic Mal's given us, no detours, no talking to anyone, straight there. Stay together, but if something happens remember that the rest of us still need to know." The difficult talk Elizabeth had given them wasn't repeated in any more depth. Finding the words to explain leaving a friend to get kidnapped by themselves had been hard enough, but equally memorable enough, the first time. "And lastly, we're not leaving the Isle without all eight of us, no matter what. So take care of each other, and we'll have an easy job."
"Aye Captain!" Matthew strongly said, hoping to bring a little life back to the group. As the closest of the crew to Elizabeth and Edward he knew the role was his to take on.
"Get yourselves ready, we'll be docking within ten minutes," Elizabeth commanded, the group dispersing to follow her instruction.
Austin had nothing to get ready, his bag still just as packed as it was when they left Auradon that morning. Without knowing what else to do with himself, he stood up against the taffrail, eyes fixed on the murky silhouette of the Isle, shrouded in fog. Everything felt terribly real now. Glancing around at the rest of the crew was worse; they all appeared so ready to face whatever they found on the Isle, almost excited about it as he watching them laugh and talk.
"Hey," Rosa said softly from beside him, but it made him flinch anyway. She smiled, passing him a sword in its own scabbard. "Elizabeth asked me to give you this." Austin took it from her in both hands, taking a moment to feel the weight of it and then, like he'd seen his father do so many times, Austin partially drew the sword, turning it over as if inspecting the blade. Truthfully, he wouldn't know what he was inspecting it for. The metal was bright, his own reflection visible, the blade itself seeming sharp enough that he became wary of exactly how he was holding it.
"Thank you," he tried to say bravely, but especially to Rosa, his apprehension was obvious. "How are you feeling?"
"Yeah," she started, a non-answer while she actually considered it. "I'm excited, I feel like I've worked really hard for this." Then she paused. She could be entirely honest with Austin. "But now it's right there?" she slowly added, looking out at the island, "I mean, it's intimidating from here, right?"
"Oh, yeah I'm terrified," Austin openly admitted. In all fairness to him, he carried it well. Especially armed with his own sword, he certainly looked like part of the crew.
"Regretting joining?" Rosa lightly teased, the question a legitimate way to figure just how much he meant it.
"Not at all," he decisively said, taking her hands in his. "I promised I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you." Rosa smiled.
"Look after each other," she echoed Edward's words, a completely different meaning between just the two of them. His decision to go with them had a purpose, and she trusted his intentions just as much as her own.
The attic hadn't been hard to find, the eight of them making it there together easily. No one on the Isle seemed as keen to talk to them as Edward had implied, or maybe just the strength in numbers sentiment of eight people together with swords was off-putting enough.
The space itself was fairly open, various stolen furniture laid around the place somewhat logically. It was far more sheltered than outside, warmer too, and the door mechanism would keep other people out. They could sleep on a floor for the next week, so long as they were relatively safe from the people they now shared the Isle with. Ryan was the first to drop his bag by the comfiest looking bed, flopping down onto it while Tobey looked at Edward, hoping he'd say something. Edward just shrugged.
"I'm not trying to become a pirate captain to tell you where to sleep," he bluntly said, tossing his own bag across the room, landing it on a larger bed, and pulling Elizabeth by the hand towards it. Matthew had spent his time pulling bag hanging fabric around the place, revealing what led to another area, and what was just covering a wall.
"More space in here," he said, revealing nearly the same sized space again.
As the plan went, the first night gave the crew time off. They hadn't known exactly how long the journey would take, only Elizabeth's best guess based on how long it had taken her to sail a severely injured Edward back a few years ago, or how well a group of Auradonians would travel by boat. They took their time to look over their map of the Isle, reconsidered details. Rosa had sought her brother's advice, the two of them now slowly going over a few of the swordplay movements they'd been taught in the confined space, mindful of both their surroundings, and the impending time they had left to clarify uncertainty. Austin didn't know how they still had the mental energy to consider any of it.
Between four beds, a few lounge sofas, and piles of beanbags and blankets on the floor, all eight crew members had found somewhere to sleep. Austin had argued with Rosa about it, for he was completely unwilling to let her sleep on the floor when there was a far comfier couch available. He'd been mostly honest about it, overthinking it all as he lay awake in the dark, his own makeshift 'bed' set up on the floor beside her. They'd be okay. Their new relationship would survive this. And when the eight of them left the attic tomorrow to start scoping out just how guarded the Jolly Roger really was, they'd all come back just fine. No one would have to be left alone, taken as some kind of hostage for negotiation by themselves. It wouldn't come to that.
Footsteps outside prompted him to breathe quieter, to be more alert especially if he was the only one awake. Austin reached for his sword, fingertips making contact with the leather scabbard. At first he'd thought he'd imagined it, but hearing another larger group outside below them running by, laughing loudly in the middle of the night set him on edge. Slowly, incredibly slowly, Austin sat up, conscious that even the movement of the blanket on top of him could alert the people outside to his location. Their voices faded on the wind, and he finally felt safe to exhale.
"Austin?" Rosa whispered, getting up to follow him. As he stopped by the railing, looking out across the street below, she stood beside him. "What's wrong?" The gentle concern on her face pained him. Despite months of sword training, and now actually on the Isle of the Lost, Rosa was still so soft in every way she interacted with him.
“I couldn’t... I can’t sleep,” he half-truthfully said. Thinking about putting everything into words made it feel worse. "You don't have to wait up with me." She moved closer to him, before wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his shoulder.
"I want to," she promised. "It feels kind of surreal, being here." Austin nodded, nothing to respond with other than a light touch of his own hand over where her fingers interlocked. The Isle seemed more alive at night, and now they were stood a little closer to the street, incomprehensible shouting echoed down each road. "I'll never get used to this," she whispered.
"I don't want to," Austin bluntly replied, holding her back, his arm around her waist. "It'll be okay," he mindlessly repeated, believing it a little more with her so close. "I've got you with me."
"You've got that right," Rosa smiled brightly up at him. After hours of promises to protect her, he was getting things the right way around now at least. "Come on, let's get some sleep before tomorrow." When he didn't reply, she tried to gently pry herself away from him, to lead him back to bed, but he was clearly unwilling.
"Rosie?" Austin whispered. He couldn't look at her as he asked, "I know I made a big deal out of it earlier, but... can you sleep a little closer to me?" Rosa just smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek. They were still okay. Of course they were still okay.
"Of course," she replied, for it was the most obvious choice in the world.
She successfully coaxed him back into the main attic, taking his spot and burying herself in blankets on the floor, before opening her arms to welcome him. Austin took the invitation, lying beside her, and allowing her to hold him against her chest despite how much he needed to tuck his legs in to still fit under the blanket.
"Better?" Rosa whispered, kissing his head and pulling the blanket over his shoulders. Austin nodded, closing his eyes and pretending he was anywhere else, burying his face against her neck. The regret he'd felt for joining the adventure earlier had disappeared. Maybe things would go okay tomorrow, but either way, they were certainly more than okay now.
