I was playing Lego: Pirates of the Carribean recently, and nine times out of ten, I realized these were the two characters I had in my party. I then promptly discovered that I shipped this crazy, cracky pairing, and it gave rise to this fic. So yeah.

Edward couldn't place it, but there was something about that girl… That creature. Something that made his skin prickle uncomfortably whenever he caught one of his men looking at her for too long.

And here he thought there was no room left in his black heart to care.

He had clearly been wrong, because when she looked at him from the depths of her glass cage, he cared perhaps a bit too much.

It was the defiance, he decided at last. That burning fury that smoldered in her hazel eyes whenever she looked at him. That loathing mixed in with just a touch of fear.

It was a perfectly enticing combination.

Not that he would ever give into the temptation, but he felt a little less hollow knowing that he still felt it.

And then she hadn't cried, and he'd been so proud of her.

Disappointed, of course, but proud too. He needed her tears and it took a tragedy to coax such an emotion out of her. And then that hatred was back, and his felt his heart start pounding again.

He missed the hatred. The fire people had once turned his way before he'd stopped being Edward Teach and started being Blackbeard.

But this creature, Syrena as her protector had dubbed her, had no intention of backing down in her hatred and unspoken threats. She loathed him, and it made him feel alive for the first time in a long time.

He'd always preferred hatred to love, really. Devotion was so easily manipulated, and people in love were so easy to predict. His injury of the missionary had been proof of that.

But hate, that burning that filled a person's veins and made it hard for them to see, that was unpredictable and exciting and so much better than devotion would ever be.

Because what was the point of life if it was boring and bland?

Life should be exciting and spontaneous, and filled with unexpected happenstances. Filled with the fire that was clear and evident in this mermaid's eyes as she struggled against the bonds holding her.

But all good things had to come to an end. Edward knew that from experience and a mountain of practice.

"Leave her out here to dry in the sun."

And just like that, the fire he'd been so pleased to play with was suddenly snuffed from his life.

I refuse to call him Blackbeard when he's being all introspective and delightful like this. XD

I know it's probably an odd pairing, but I like this side of it, where it's intrigue without romance-observation and interest without instigation.

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