Ever since I was little and found out that no matter how bad I wanted it, I couldn't be a fire truck when I grew up, my dream was to be a pirate. I loved learning about ships and the sailors and privateers turned pirates who sailed them.
So when I heard that the fourth installment (well sixth if you want to get technical and not include the spin off games) of the Assassin's Creed series was about pirates, I could hardly contain myself and bought the game as soon as it was released. I didn't care if I had to live off noodles and cereal for the next month because I was piss broke, it was worth it.
I didn't bother reading the synopsis; if it was pirates, it's good enough for me, so you can imagine my sheer joy at seeing Ben Hornigold and Edward Thatch, a joy that only continued to grow when Charles Vane, 'Calico' Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny were introduced, Charles being one of my favourite men from that era. But the person I was most glad to see each time I turned my Xbox on was James Kidd - hands down my favourite character of the entire series. When Kidd first made his debut within the game I was unsure on whether he was secretly a woman or just a young man in his late teenage years, man or woman he was gorgeous.
I was just about to start tailing Torres and Laurens Prinz when a loud thunder clap shorted out the power to my house...all except my TV and Xbox. Groaning, I moved to the window to check the sky. Cloudless.
"Odd..." I muttered to myself, "Maybe it was just a short circuit." I turned and started walking towards my bedroom door to check the circuit breaker and had just passed my TV when a huge electric shock surged through my body. My fingers and toes tingled, the hairs on my arms stood on end and I thought I was going to die. My vision blurred and darkened and all too soon I was completely out.
I wasn't sure if it was possible to dream while unconscious, but I did and, boy, was it weird. I dreamed that Edward Kenway had somehow come to life and stared down at me, his hair and clothes all wet. He kept asking if I was alright and checking if I was breathing.
When my consciousness returned, my body felt weak and heavy, the kind of feeling you get when you have the flu. I figured someone had come home and found me passed out on my bedroom floor and took me hospital because instead of hard ground, I was laying on something warm and soft. Blinking, I let my eyes refocus and sat up, instantly regretting it as my head spun.
"Dear god..." I moaned squeezing my eyes shut and dropping my head into my hands between my knees, "Note to self, never get electrocuted again. Ever." I tried taking several deep breaths but the swaying didn't stop. Giving up, hell if I was going to puke I would have done it already, I looked up again. Three things became apparently clear to me. One; I wasn't at home in my bedroom. Two; I wasn't at hospital. Three; I had no idea where the hell I was but it looked exactly like the captain's quarter's on the Jackdaw.
"I'm dreaming." I whispered, "This is a dream or I'm going crazy." Using various bits of furniture, I stumbled over to the door and pushed it opened. The bright sunlight burned my eyes and I squinted, ducking back inside the dark room a fraction while my vision adjusted. Shielding my eyes from the light, I looked around and almost fainted. Sailors to the left of me, sailors to the right and all around vast blue skies and seas. Son of a bitch.
"You're up!" A voice I knew called down to me, "Are you feeling well?" I turned and looked up to see a blonde man standing behind the helm.
"Um...where am I?" I asked walking up the wooden steps to stand with him.
"My ship, the Jackdaw." he told just as the men began to sing a shanty.
"The Jackdaw..." I muttered in disbelief, "And you're Edward Kenway, then?"
"Aye, heard of me have you?" he asked with a cheeky grin. I scratched the back of my neck,
"Yeah...something like that." I replied, "How did I get here?"
"You don't remember?" Adéwalé asked and I shook my head.
"We found you adrift, figure the ship you were on ran a reef. We, uh, we didn't find anyone else." Edward said, "How long were you out there?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." I replied, I had believed I was only passed out for a few minutes at most, but it was pretty evident from how shitty my body was feeling that I'd been out for a while.
Edward chuckled, "You've an accent I've not heard before. Where are you from?"
I sighed and leaned against the rail, "Somewhere far away, I suppose." It would still be quite a few years until Australia was colonized yet.
"Do you have any family here?" he asked.
"Probably none alive." I replied, though possible that I did have some ancient relatives alive, they were probably still in Germany, Wales and Scotland doing whatever it was they did. My parents were a few hundred years in the future.
"Well you're more than welcome to come with us to Nassau, or I can drop you somewhere so long as it's not out of our way."
"Thank you, Captain." I said trying to remember how to talk like I was from the 1700s, "Nassau sounds perfect."
"It's settled then." he released the helm, "Adé, take over while I help our guest find something to wear." I looked down at myself, I was wearing my panda pajama shorts and a red jersey shirt,
"Ah...right." I said, it was amazing no one had said a word about the weirdness of my choice in clothing.
"After you." Edward said gesturing towards the stairs, I headed down and waited for him while he said something else to Adé and then joined me. Following him down into the crew's quarters I wondered about how I was going to get back home to my time. The thought that scared and thrilled me was if I even wanted to. Sure there was no technology, air conditioning or modern day medicine, but my life in the present wasn't all that great anyway. At least here, I would be surrounded by people I admired and could at least try to make a living without all these ridiculous clauses.
"I'm afraid we don't have much in the way of women's clothing but I might have something small that'll fit." Edward said pulling me out of my thoughts.
"I'm sure it'll be fine." I said taking the shirt and quarter-length light cotton pants he handed me, "Thank you."
"Well, it's just till we make port. You'll be able to get something a better fit in town." Edward said as I ducked behind some crates to change. Thank god I had still been wearing a bra as the shirt he'd giving me had a very low and revealing neck line. If, by some chance I had to bend over for anything, at least I found comfort in knowing I wouldn't give anyone a show. The shirt itself was basically a dress on me and I had to tuck it into my pants.
"Hmm, still a wee big." Kenway said when I stepped out fully dressed again. I shrugged,
"It'll do." I said and thanked him again. He was much nicer than represented in the game, although that could have just been because I was female.
"You're welcome to use my cabin for the time being, I don't think you'd fancy bunking with the boys." he said as we climbed the ladder back up onto the deck of the Jackdaw, "They haven't seen a woman in weeks."
"What will you do?" I asked curiously feeling awkward at his generosity. He laughed,
"Don't worry about me, lass." he said, "I spent some years as a deck hand, I don't have a problem sleeping with the crew." I tried not to giggle at his choice of words but he didn't catch it thankfully.
He stopped walking and turned back to face me, "Oh, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"
"Eleanor." I replied thankful for the first time in my life that my parents had decided to give me an old fashioned name.
Edward held out his hand, "Pleasure Miss Eleanor." His hand was rough and calloused from years of hard work but oddly enough it made me feel a little better about this whole experience. It was real. He was real. I wasn't dreaming.
"Eleanor!" I looked up from the book I was reading and headed out onto the deck at the sound of my name. I'd been with Edward Kenway for two weeks now. The first week was hell, I was throwing up every five minutes, my body not used to the rocking of the ship and making me nauseous. Thankfully, I adjusted pretty quick and soon I was used to it.
Walking up the stairs to join him on the poop deck (yes, I still laugh at that term every time I hear it), I greeted Adé and waited for Edward to tell me what he wanted.
"I thought you might want to see this." he said keeping his gaze straight ahead as the Jackdaw rounded a huge rock, "Welcome to Nassau."
My mouth popped open when the pirate paradise came into view. In my time, Nassau was an resort island that played on the history of piracy to get tourists. Sure it was beautiful but this Nassau was the real deal.
"It's perfect." I whispered in awe. I had always wanted to visit Nassau and walk where men like Charles Vane and Blackbeard walked, step in their boot steps in a manner of speaking. But this? I could never have imagined this! The Nassau they lived in. It wasn't entirely how the game depicted it, but it was pretty similar.
"Perfect?!" Edward laughed, "You musta hit your head something fierce if this is what you call perfect."
"Why? It's beautiful." I argued. Again he laughed, "Aye, from a distance maybe." I smacked him in the shoulder lightly,
"You can't say that a land where men can do as they please and be free isn't beautiful." I said, "Where I'm from there's so much politics involved, I don't think people understand the meaning of freedom even though we're told we have it."
"This land you're from sounds a lot like England."
I laughed, he didn't know how right he was. The ship docked in the bay and soon we were rowing to shore with cargo he'd acquired to sell and several crew members. The sand was warm and soft between my bare toes and made a great change from the hard wooden deck of the ship. My heart sang as I looked around while Edward and the boys hauled the long boat onto the shore, no roads made of bitumen, just sand, dirt and grass, now power lines, no cars, no groups of people just standing around staring at their phones. There was people drinking, talking and laughing together, merchants and vendors calling out their wares, men fishing on the docks and most importantly, clean fresh sea air. Sure a lot of the houses and buildings were built shoddily and there was the unmistakable smell of unclean masses around but to me it was paradise.
"Take this stuff and sell it. Use half the money to resupply and the other half for the crew." Edward was telling Adé.
"What will you do, Captain?" the tall Trinidadian man asked. Edward looked over to me, "Find this one some better clothes." I made a face at him and jumped as a tiny crab raced across my toes.
"C'mon, lass." he said taking my elbow and leading me up the beach into the town. We walked past the Harbour Master who nodded to Edward, fisherman, drunk sailors stumbling into and out of the tavern - one of those buildings that didn't look the way it did in the game. Sure it had a balcony that greatly resembled the tavern in AC, but it was a huge building well made from timber. It was two stories and one of the biggest buildings in Nassau. Built on a small hill, the balcony was on the first floor and overlooked the beach, but thanks to the hill it sat on, the balcony was held up by stilts.
"Um, Edward?" I asked tugging on his sleeve as we walked, "You know I'm completely fine with what I'm wearing now..."
"Don't be stupid, lass. You're not even wearing shoes."
"Neither do your crew." I muttered.
"Aye, but they're not women." he argued back, "If you're bothered by me coming along, I can find Anne or someone to-"
"No...it's not that..." I said and stopped walking, "I, uh...I have no coin." I had almost said cash and until I knew exactly what their money was called in this part of the world, I should probably just stick to vague terms.
Edward laughed, "You were floating in the sea for God knows how long, I would be truly surprised if you did."
"So that's why-"
Edward ruffled my hair and smiled down at me, "If it bothers you that much you can always pay me back when you earn some coin of your own."
"Why are you so generous?" I asked wondering whether this was the same Edward Kenway I'd been playing as for a week.
"You're my lucky charm." he admitted, "After we plucked you outta the sea, we've had nothing but great luck with prizes. Ah, here we are." He opened the door and held it for me, "After you."
The shop was simple but had a wide variety of food stuffs, weaponry and clothes.
"Good morning." the merchant said cheerily, "How can I assist you today?"
"Got any dresses, mate?" Edward asked strolling up to the country and leaning an arm against it.
"I've some in the back if you'd like to see them?"
"Aye. Bring them out and let's have a gander." Edward said but I stopped both men,
"Um, actually...I prefer pants."
The merchant's thick eyebrows shot up and he looked as though he wanted to question my choice in fashion,
"You heard the lady." Edward said before the merchant could say anything.
"Yes, sir. Right this way, ma'am." he said beckoning me to follow him, "I'm afraid I don't have any pants for...women...But you're welcome to choose from the men's clothes I have."
"Thank you." I said and he left me to browse in peace. There was an abundance of men's clothing in comparison to four or five dresses and female undergarments. Digging through all the stuff, I managed to find some soft leather lace up pants in my size, a pair of boots and a woman's off the shoulder blouse.
"May I try some things on, sir?" I called out to the merchant.
"I-I don't see why not." was his reply and I assumed Edward had given him a reason to agree. Sliding off the clothes I'd borrowed from Edward, and pinching some clean underwear (he wouldn't know the damn difference anyway), I tried on the outfit I'd assembled and went to get Edward's opinion.
He was leaning both elbows on the counter top talking with the merchant about something when I walked out, "Well, what do you think?"
Both men looked up, "You're lookin' like a true pirate, lass." Edward said with a grin.
"So...good?"
"Aye. We'll take it." he said placing down a small bag filled with gold coins in front of the merchant, "As well as those two pistols."
"Of course, sir. Pleasure doing business with you."
Edward jerked his head towards the door, signalling me to follow him, and we headed back out into the town.
"Now where are we going?" I asked curiously.
"To see some friends of mine." he replied. I was ecstatic at the possibility of meeting these great historic people I loved so much. The tavern was lively, a band was playing an up beat island-y song, people were talking and laughing loudly and it smelled like stale alcohol, sweat and wood, smells that probably wouldn't appeal to your modern day person but, man, did I love it. The shutters had been opened and the warm sunlight lit up the tavern.
"Edward Kenway, me boy!" a loud voice bellowed above the ruckus, "Got yourself a woman at last, I see!" I followed Edward over to the small table where two men sat by themselves; one wore a blue coat and was cleaner than a lot of men I'd seen. He had dark hair pushed back off his face and thick mutton chops. I recognized him as Ben Hornigold. The other was bigger in height and width, wore a long dark brown leather coat and had three pistols strapped to his chest. His hair was black and loose, just off his shoulders and he had a fantastic beard. Just looking at him it was hard to not realize who he was - Edward Thatch, otherwise known as Blackbeard.
"Morning, gents." Edward greeted them.
"I thought I smelled trouble." another voice said as a man with windblown brown hair and a dangerous look joined us. His gaze landed on me as he sipped from his cup, "Who's your friend?"
"I'm Eleanor." I said feeling very small under Charles Vane's stare. He held his hand out to me and I took it, thinking he was just going to shake it. Instead, he brought it to his lips and brushed a gentle kiss over my skin, "Pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise." I replied eventually finding my voice again.
"You wouldn't say that if you knew him." Oh god, I knew that voice. I turned, an unconstrained smile already on my face as James freaking Kidd slapped a hand on Edward's shoulder in greeting.
"Elle," Edward said using a shortened version of my name, "Meet Ben Hornigold, Ed Thatch, Charles Vane and James Kidd. Rough as they are, they're good men I sailed with as a privateer before it all went to hell."
"It's wonderful to meet you all." I said eagerly, though my gaze was glued to Kidd. He was just so damn pretty. He caught me staring and grinned, holding his hand out to me like Edward and Charles had done before.
"Hello." he said simply, like Edward's, his hand was rough and calloused but warm and very, very real.
"Where'd you find this one, Kenway?" Charles asked taking a seat next to Ben and putting his feet up on the table.
"Adrift out to sea a fortnight ago." Edward replied crossing his arms.
"Lucky you." Charles said.
"Aye, lucky me indeed." Edward agreed and tossed medium sized pouch fat with coin into the table, "This is just a portion of luck I've had since she came aboard." Thatch opened the pouch and whistled, "This is a year's wage and then some."
"You wouldn't consider letting me borrow your little friend for a while, would you Kenway?" Charles asked earning a laugh from Edward and a blush from me. Edward slung his arm around my shoulders,
"Sorry mate, the boys would depose me if I got rid of her." he joked but I had the feeling he just didn't want me getting involved with Vane. Sure the man was an animal and known for his violence, but I'd always liked Charles - or rather the real Charles Vane.
"Think about it." Charles said standing, "Nice meeting you, lass."
"That man needs a leash." Ben said once Charles was gone. I watched him leave the tavern with Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny,
"He's not that bad. I've met worse men." I said absently earning a chuckle from James Kidd.
"Your taste in men must be horrid." he teased playfully. I grinned at him, "The worst."
"Sit down you two and have a drink." Thatch said leaning over to grab another chair.
"Another time." Edward said before I could sit, "We still have some work to do."
"That's too bad." James said with a sigh, "I was hoping to get to know you a bit more." Edward elbowed Kidd in the arm,
"You'll have time for knowing later, lad." he said and headed towards the door, dragging me with him.
"Nice meeting you all." I said waving.
"See you around, then?" James said moving to take Charles' seat. I smiled at him, "I'd like that."
Edward's work was showing me around Nassau, buying some fruit, vegetables and meat and meeting up with Ade to see how the selling of their goods had gone. Afterwards, we made camp on the beach and while Edward and his crew, Ade aside, got drunk, I stared up at the stars and thought about the amazing things that happened - meeting all but two of the most notorious pirates in the West Indies, making a fool out of myself in front of them because I couldn't contain my excitement and starting my career of piracy by stealing underwear. Promising start in my opinion. As much as I was thoroughly enjoying being in this era with these people, I did miss working plumbing and showers...and soap. Tomorrow, I would ask Edward where I could find some kind of fresh, clean body of water to bathe in.
Okay, so this is my second AC Black Flag fic...I am officially addicted. I'm aiming to make the majority of this fic "lighter" than my other one which is why the characters appear so damn nice right now, and unlike Devil of the Sea, most of this will be set in Nassau and not all over the West Indies.
Also I'm fully aware Eleanor has a kind of Mary-Sue vibe happening right now, sorry about that, but I promise she won't go full Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way
or anything. Also I may change the title eventually.