"I'll be with you Kenway. I will," and with that, her eyes closed and her head dropped to the side, Edward stroked her shoulder, then reached to find a pulse in her neck. There was none. She was gone. He bowed his head, tears escaping those beautiful sea blue eyes of his, Mary understood him more than anyone, she listened to what he had to say, even if he was a pain in her arse sometimes; most of the time, she had listened. She had listened to his whinging on about the treasures he aspired to find and the money he wished to possess. And now, he mourned. He cried. His salty tears dripping and making their way down his face. He remained crouched next to her until he heard the guards,
"Fan out! Search every nook and cranny!", they were searching for him. He quickly scooped her up into his arms, one arm supporting her back, and one under her legs. He would give her a proper burial later, but for now, he had to get to Ah Tabai and Anne. He walked, supporting her, he exited through a nearby door down the end of the corridor. Just as he walked through the door, the guards spotted him, drawing their cutlasses. Carefully, he laid Mary down on the floor, and raised his fists, preparing for a fight. As the guards sped towards him, Edward immediately identified the weaker man, therefore disarming him with his bare hands, then killing him with his own sword, and then the rest of them, the anger and sadness he felt from Mary's sudden death making him more bloodthirsty. He then picked up Mary, cradling her like a newborn babe, he broke out into a jog, running until he got to the beach, hoping that he wouldn't get shot in the back. He spotted a large, wooden rowboat next to the sea, and on it, Anne was sitting on the wooden surface, her face showing the pain she was feeling as her contractions continued. Edward quickly lowered Mary into the boat, opposite Anne,
"Is she gone?" Ah Tabai questioned, his calm stare evaluating Edward. Edward nodded, bowing his head as a sign of a respect, and so that the Master Assassin wouldn't see the tears threatening to spill from his eyes,
"Oh no," Anne's voice portraying the sadness she felt to see her best friend dead in front of her, "oh God", she groaned loudly as another contraction took hold of her,
"What will you do now?" Ah Tabai said gently as he looked to Edward, seeing the pain of loss on his face, Edward paused, weighing his options, Mary's dying words rang in his ears. He knew what he needed to do,
"That, is up to you, Ah Tabai." Edward started, his face becoming unreadable, "will you allow me to join your Brotherhood?" The Master Assassin froze, he wasn't expecting that,
"Edward, we will sail back to Tulum and talk about this then, as Miss Anne and her child are our main priority as of now, you look after her, come," Ah Tabai strode alongside a surprised Edward to the boat, and they climbed aboard, Edward sitting beside Anne's feet, holding her hand, making sure he didn't glance towards the opposite side to the boat where Mary lay at Ah Tabai's feet.
As they arrived in Tulum, a tired Edward slept on the floor of the boat as Anne was helped by Ah Tabai to the doctor's hut, still in labour, and another young assassin was called to carry Mary there also, to see whether childbirth or an unknown disease had caused her death.
Adewale stood nearby, after asking Ah Tabai of Edward's whereabouts, he was rather surprised to find his ex-Captain had requested to join the Assassins. Adewale soon headed off to the beach where the boat was docked. Edward looked worse than Adewale had ever seen him before. Rough looking, he was in the rags he'd been wearing for the past however many months it had been, the clothes had spatters of dried blood dotted on them, his own or someone else's, and small cuts and bruises on his skin. He looked ill, even in his sleep, pale and worn, showing the cruel effects that the prison had on him.
"Edward?" Adewale walked up to the boat where Edward was sitting up, fast asleep, "Captain Kenway?" Adewale shook his shoulder. Edward awoke slowly, recognising his former Quartermaster's voice,
"Hello Ade," Edward stood and got off the boat, "so, how's life been treating you?"
"Better than yours it seems, the Assassins here have welcomed me with open arms and I am in the middle of training," they walked, Edward admired the breath-taking scenery, the beautiful flowers that grew, the green grass and the tall trees, the old Mayan buildings and small wooden and straw huts, it was so peaceful, so tranquil, he really could see why Mary admired the place so much, Adewale broke the silence yet again, "Edward, why do you wish to join us?"
"Mary… Before she passed, she asked me if I'd do my part. I reckon this is what she meant," he paused, "The Assassins meant so much to her, she wanted me to change my course, to be a better man, driven for a better purpose, and that is what I shall do" Edward bowed his head, "You forgive me, don't you Ade? I was- I am a greedy man, but I am willing to change, I will change, the Assassins will help me."
"I forgive you breddah. I can see you have changed, tell Ah Tabai what you have just told me, and I am quite sure he would allow you to join the creed, given you don't accidentally betray us again," Adewale added a jokey smile, then chuckled in his deep voice, and Edward joined in,"let us get you out of those rags and cleaned up, you look like you've been to Hell and back, my friend." He clapped Edward on the shoulder, not noticing Edward wincing with pain, he continued to lead him to a small wooden hut, "You can stay in my hut for now, and rest, I'll send for Ah Tabai to speak with you." Adewale gave him a brief hug and left to find Ah Tabai, Edward was a changed man for sure, he just hoped that his mentor would accept him into the order, Kenway would be a good asset to the Assassins, he had skill, courage and determination, all he needed was a bit of teaching, he had to learn to be cautious, not reckless, and he would be as skilled as any other. He reached the small area outside of the doctor's hut, not wanting to disturb Anne or the doctor, he walked past, he hoped to check on her and her babe later, but for now he needed Ah Tabai. He strode down along to the beach on the opposite side of the island and noticed Ah Tabai speaking with an unfamiliar man in red and gold coloured Assassin robes with his hood up,
"Adewale, this is Regan, Regan, this is Adewale, one of our Assassins in training," the pair shook hands, Adewale quickly noticed the amount of scars that scattered the man's tanned face, there were five at the least, long and short. "We will speak later Regan," with a polite nod to both Adewale and Ah Tabai, the mysterious man turned and walked aboard what looked to be a merchant's ship, "You wish to speak with me, Adewale?"
"Edward Kenway wishes to speak to you on behalf of his acceptance into our Creed,", Adewale paused and took note of the wary look on his mentor's face, "He is a changed man, he would not betray us, and his skill could aid greatly to our cause," Ah Tabai's features relaxed and became thoughtful, then he nodded,
"I trust your judgement, Adewale. Where can I find him?"
"Edward is resting in my hut," Ah Tabai turned to walk away, "who was that man, Mentor? Excuse my curiosity, but I've not seen him around here before"
"He is a fellow assassin, I'm travelling with him to America tomorrow, I will be leaving in the early hours of the morning to attend to some...business, so I best get Kenway's initiation into the Brotherhood done soon," Adewale nodded, knowing it was best not to ask what business Ah Tabai would be tending to during his visit, "Adewale, would you bring Edward to the training grounds for me, before sunset,"
"Yes Mentor," Adewale smiled to him and turned to walk back to his hut to speak with Edward.
A/N: I hope you like it, there are more chapters to come! Please review, I would love to know what you think of it.