"What will you do now?"Ah Tabai asked. His voice was calm, despite the past that the two men had together. Edward may have betrayed Ah Tabai's Brotherhood years ago, but they found some odd comfort in bonding over the loss of a friend.
"Nothing sensible." Edward refused to look at the boat where Mary's body lie; his eyes, instead, were on the prison in which she had been confined.
Ah Tabai looked back to the boat where Anne was seated next to Mary's body. Her pain was obvious, but the redhead made a valiant effort to silence her screams in respect for the moment. Ah Tabai reached into the boat and grabbed the robes that once belonged to Duncan Walpole, the traitorous assassin, only to be stolen by Edward years ago.
"You have not earned these but… they suit you." Ah Tabai handed Edward the robes, and they both nodded. It was a mutual understanding that Mary would have wanted her mentor to acknowledge Edward. The brush with Templars that he had caused the Brotherhood years earlier was nowhere near forgiven, but in the name of grief, it was put aside for the moment."Good fortune to you, Edward Kenway."
Edward was speechless. He hadn't expected anything resembling a kind word to come from the Assassin's mouth. As quickly as he had spoken, Ah Tabai turned around and pushed Anne's boat into the water, leaving Edward alone on the shores of Kingston. It was through the biggest effort of will that he was able to tear his gaze away from their boat, away from Mary's lifeless body, and instead he turned around to face the prison. He stared at the damned place, his sorrow turning to anger. Indeed, he wasn't about to do anything sensible.
He simply walked into the prison. It was the guards' choice to attack him, so he merely defended himself; at least, that was what he would tell people if they ever asked. Hell was unleashed inside the walls. All the alarm bells were rung within seconds, signalling trouble from a man who had lost it all. He fought as a devil dressed as a man. Dead bodies littered the ground of the prison, and the few guards remaining were left to flee for their lives through the puddles of blood on the stone floor. A lone guard cowered in the corner, arms above his head, knees knocking together. Edward grabbed the collar of the soldier's uniform and pressed his hidden blade to his neck.
"Where is Mary Read's daughter?" he snarled, the noise tearing from his throat in a voice that was not his own. The guard shook his head, but Edward pressed his blade harder onto his neck. "Mary Read. She gave birth in your cell, and you took her child from her." Edward yanked on the man's collar. "Tell me before I have your hide. Where the fuck is she?"
"All children born in the prison are taken to the sugar plantation nearby. They are raised by the women on the plantation until they are old enough to work…" He began to cry. "Please don't kill me. I have a wife, and children, too!" was his snivelling plea. Edward highly doubted his claim was true, but he had seen enough death for the night. He shoved the guard against the wall before pulling his hood over his head. He stepped over the dead bodies which littered the pathways, careful to keep out of the puddles of blood as he headed towards the exit. They took something from him, and now he was taking something back.
The raid upon the plantation ate up many hours. Edward's heart was still consumed with too much anger and fury to be rational, and he completely ignored stealth. Again, all alarm bells were rung, but this time no lives were spared. He killed mercilessly with the light of the full moon shining on the blood beneath him. He found and entered the huts in which the slaves were kept, and did his best to free all of them. A woman lead him to where the children were kept. There were several orphans of many ages within, but only one infant. He took her and ran.
Mary's daughter had fallen asleep in his arms only moments ago. Edward sat now on the shores of Kingston, on a log by himself, staring vacantly at the docks from which Ah Tabai had taken Mary's body. He wondered where she would be buried, but decided eventually that Tulum was his best bet. If Edward knew anything about Mary, then she would have wanted to be buried next to her brothers and sisters of the Order she devoted her life to.
The baby stirred in his arms, causing Edward to panic. What if she needed to be fed again? There wasn't a woman he knew of that would do him the favor, and how bizarre would it be to see a lone pirate carrying an infant around, asking for a woman to feed her? To Edward's delight, she only turned around in his arms and nuzzled her face closer to his chest before falling back asleep.
He was arguing with himself. Part of him said that he didn't know what he was doing. He couldn't raise a child. He acted on impulse, killing every man that dared to step in his way. But the other part was thinking of Mary, and how it would've made her happy to know that he saved her daughter. It was the least he could do for his best friend.
His heart sank again with the memory of Mary. Who had he been to her? He would've liked to call her a friend, but was he even worthy of that honor? She was the only person to see the good in him when all others gave up, and yet she died too soon. He would have…
Truthfully, Edward didn't know what he would have done if, when they found her in her cell, she had been healthy. Would he have continued on in his pirate ways, or would he have stayed and listened to her for once? He hoped that there was enough goodness in his heart that the latter would have been true.
"Captain Kenway." Edward was awoken by a tap on the back of his shoulder. He turned his face to see his quartermaster Adewale smiling to greet him. He was as still tall and bulky as ever, and Edward saw new scars along his arm. Jaysus knew what trouble he got himself into while he was gone. "You look like a bowl of plum duff."
Edward turned around to reveal Mary's daughter in his arms. She was much calmer than her mother and was still sound asleep, but Adewale's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. "Whose child is that?"
"She's Mary's." Edward spoke as he looked over her daughter. He didn't even know if Mary had had a name in mind. The child smiled in her sleep as if she knew her mother's name.
Adewale remained quiet for a few moments staring at the infant until finally saying, "Do you have an idea of what to do with her?"
"Aye," Edward said with a nod, then frowned. He didn't like his own idea, but it was for the best. "I thought about it all night before I dozed off. It would be best to bring her to the Assassins. They would know what to do with her; they might even take her in and raise her as their own. She's the daughter of one of theirs, so I'd imagine they'd take her." Adewale nodded, still staring at the infant, becoming more fascinated by the second. "Did you know of Mary's secret?"
"Not until we were planning your prison escape…" Ade's gaze returned to the infant. She'd just opened her eyes and begun flailing her arms around.
"Oh, Jaysus. What does she want now?" Edward was more worried than aggravated, despite his harsh words.
His old friend was laughing at the captain. It was an odd thing to see a dreaded pirate trying to care for an infant. "I think she's just hungry, mate."
"There isn't a woman I know of in Kingston who would be willing to feed an infant that isn't theirs." Edward started to panic again, and the child's complaints turned into wails.
"I think you doubt the power of motherhood…" Ade spoke as Edward did his best to hush the child. "Come on, let's go find you someone to feed the child, then we'll set sail for Tulum. I'll explain everything along the way."
Edward really did doubt what a child could do to a woman. Every mother that he asked gladly fed and burped the infant before lulling her to sleep. After thanking them, he visited Rhona's bureau in Kingston. Considering they parted under good circumstances, she greeted him as a friend. He showed her Mary's child as he explained his predicament. Rhona sympathized and agreed to sail back to Tulum with them, claiming she needed to visit.
As they sailed, Ade told him of how he took the Jackdaw to Tulum while Edward was in prison. He had joined the Assassins, and after he was properly initiated, had helped in planning their prison escape, not expecting that Mary would have gone into labor so soon.
The voyage was long, but Rhona agreed to feed the infant with goat's milk whenever needed. When they finally arrived on land, Edward set foot on the once flourishing island, only to see a few limping Assassins. Edward was carrying Mary's child in his arms, and she was peacefully sleeping, despite the eerie atmosphere that pervaded the entire area.
"Jaysus, Ade. What the hell happened here?" Edward cursed under his breath, forgetting he carried an infant in his arms.
"You happened here, Edward." Despite their friendly greeting and voyage together, Ade only looked disappointed. "The damage you caused six years ago has not been undone."
"I wasn't an easy man to call friend, was I?" Edward looked at what he has done to the island and then to the infant sleeping and dreaming away, her head nuzzled in his chest.
"To fight beside a man so driven by personal gain and glory is a hard thing, Edward. And I have come to feel the Assassins- and their Creed- a more honorable course. I will not be joining you again on your Jackdaw once you leave this island." Edward nodded, looking away from Ade and back to the shore as if he felt betrayed by his words. "Have I been unfair?"
"No." Edward spoke calmly and truthfully. He knew what must be done and what must be changed, for the sake of Mary and for the sake of being a better man and fulfilling her dying wish. "For years I have been rushing around, taking whatever I fancied, not giving a tinker's curse for those I hurt… Yet here I am with riches and reputation, yet I feel no wiser than when I left home. But when I turn around…" He closed his eyes, remembering Mary dying in his arms. A part of him would always be with her, his only friend who had always seen the light in him. Her child in his arms was enough evidence of that. "When I turn around there's not a man or woman that I love left standing beside me."
"There is time to make amends, Captain Kenway." Edward turned around to see Ah Tabai walking down a stone staircase. His eyes were set upon the infant in his arms.
"Mary…" Her name came out like a croak, "before she died she asked me to do good by her. To sort out the mess I've made." He nodded towards the sleeping child in his arms. "I want to start by giving her child the best future she can receive."
Ah Tabai nodded and gently took the child from his arms. It felt odd to let go of her after so long. Part of him wanted to take her back, but he restrained himself. After handing her to one of the island's medics and muttering a few words, he returned to Edward and lead him around the island, properly showing him the product of his ignorance so long ago.
"Mary was fond of you, Edward. She saw something in your bearing that gave her hope that one day you would change your ways."
"Aye… she told me."
"And what do you think of our Creed?"
"It's hard to say. For if nothing is true, then why believe anything? And if everything is permitted… why not chase every desire?" He remembered the day Mary told him of their Creed and he had parroted the words, as she had called it, not understanding a thing.
"So, why indeed?" Ah Tabai prodded.
"It might be that this may only be the beginning of an idea, but not its final form of wisdom." Edward said after a moment of thinking over the words.
"That is quite a step up from the Edward I met here many years ago."
They were disrupted by an alarm signalling intruders on the island. Ah Tabai handed Edward a rope dart and quickly taught him to use it. He practiced on the Spanish intruders before returning to the shoreline to find a hoard of Spanish soldiers fighting the Assassins. Fighting alongside them for the first time was foreign to Edward, but he worked at it and slowly learned how to fight with their techniques. He found Ah Tabai again in the central part of the island after the battle.
Giving Edward thanks and praise, Ah Tabai welcomed his presence on the island as an ally of the Assassins. Edward formally thanked Ah Tabai for everything he had done before nodding towards Anne, who was sitting under the shade of a blossoming tree. She looked down to her feet, her gaze empty and grief-ridden, the shell of the rowdy woman she once was. Her eyes were darker and more sunken in, and she appeared skinnier, as though she hadn't eaten a proper meal in weeks. Even her once fiery red hair was dull and lifeless.
"How's her child?" Edward asked, fearing the worst.
Ah Tabai shook his head, confirming Edward's worries. Both men looked at her. "She is a strong woman, but not invincible."
Edward nodded and walked over to Anne, leaning against her tree. She didn't acknowledge his presence, continuing to stare at the patch of flowers that grew at her feet.
"I am sorry for your loss."
They asked if they could name the child. Ah Tabai obliged, trusting Mary's two best friends to do well by her child's identity. After some debate, Anne and Edward decided upon Mairwen, the Welsh form of Mary. They remained on the island for a few months to care for her before setting sail to kill the final targets.
It was years before Edward managed to set foot on the island again. Ah Tabai and the Assassins organized a feast upon their arrival to celebrate the successful assassinations, marking the end of their struggle, and fully fixing the wrongs Edward had done so many years ago.
A man younger than Anne asked to dance with her, and she agreed, laughing all the while as they stumbled over each other's feet. He was new to the Brotherhood, and was returning to the island after finishing a mission in Havana. Edward didn't notice the striking resemblance the young man had to an older pirate that had died long ago.
All joviality seemed to stop as Ah Tabai walked towards the feast, holding the hand of a little girl. People were looking from Edward to the girl, and he didn't know why until he laid eyes on her as well.
She looked just like her mother. Edward blinked twice before he realized that this had to be Mary Read's daughter instead of a glimpse inside the pirate's younger years. Mairwen's hair was raven black and coarse, the same as Mary's, already reaching her shoulders. She had a small nose and high cheekbones for a child of her age, with a small forehead and a strong jaw. What struck Edward, however, were her eyes, staring right back at him, reminding him of the endless blue oceans he had sailed. He didn't know how much time passed with him staring at Mairwen until Anne broke away from her partner and hurried towards her. A whisper passed through the crowd before they took up their song once more.
"Oh, you are beautiful, my dear. Just like your mother, you know that?" Anne ran her hand through the black mane before taking the child's hand in her own. Mairwen smiled at Anne, not knowing what to say. The Assassins had taught her to be kind, that was for sure. "Do you remember me, Mairwen?"
"I think so." She nodded. Their last meeting had been in Mairwen's infancy, and although Anne had done her best to care for her before leaving with Edward, any memories would have been foggy at best. "They told me of you."
"Really? What did they say?"
"They told me you cared for me when I was small." Mairwen grinned, but it slowly faded as Edward neared the two of them. He was still ogling the child as though she was a ghost.
"Do you remember him?" Anne asked with a smile that was a vain attempt to lighten the mood.
"Yes… I believe so." She squinted as if trying to remember a lost memory. "The Assassins told me of you as well. You saved me and brought me here. Thank you." She nodded towards Edward and tried to show she was grateful, but all Edward could do was stare at her wide-eyed.
"Edward!" Anne coughed and nudged him in the shoulder. "You're scaring the lass; stop looking at her like that."
"But she's-"
"I know." She took a sudden interest in the earth below her. Edward shook his head, making a mental note to pry later.
He cleared his throat and looked back to Mairwen, who was still looking to her feet. "You don't need to thank me. Your mother was…." He paused, trying to find the right words to say to her. "Your mother was a good friend of mine."
To their right, Edward could hear the musicians start to play a different tune, one much more happy and lively. The people dancing cheered and added a bounce to each step.
"Dance with me!" Mairwen laughed and took Edward's hand, leading him towards the other dancers.
"I really don't-" Edward tried to reason with the child, but she only tugged his hand even more.
"Go on, Edward." Anne giggled and watched Mairwen attempt to drag Edward towards the crowd, trying to take him with her. He remained rigid as a rock, and she rolled her eyes.
"I bet you danced back in the day when you weren't old.," she teased, a wicked smile on her youthful face. Edward almost choked in indignation.
"I'll have you know I'm not old; you're just unbelievably young."
"You have a beard." She looked at him as if he was kidding himself. "You're old."
Edward looked around the crowd to try and prove to the child that he wasn't old and that some men just liked growing beards at one point, only to find that he was the only man on the entire island with a beard. When he turned to face Mairwen once more, she was smiling in mock pity. "Ah Tabai and Adewale are old, too. It's alright, Kenway." With that, she patted him on the arm before walking back to Anne, who looked like she could hardly breathe from her bursts of laughter.
Edward was frozen in his spot, unable to comprehend the nagging in the back of his brain. He felt like was staring at the ghost of Mary. Save for her ocean eyes, Mairwen was the spitting image of a young Mary. They shared many mannerisms, Mairwen subconsciously crossing her arms over her chest on occasion and walking with the same jaunty stride.
She was the reminder that Edward failed to save his friend. She was the reminder that Mary was gone forever.
He knew he couldn't stay.
As soon as the sun rose the next morning, he awoke the crew of his Jackdaw, ordering them to ready the sails and get the supplies; they were to leave as soon as they were prepared. His crew was hungover and tired, but they obliged. No matter their speed, however, they were too slow for a certain Irishwoman to wake up and stop Edward before he could even step aboard his ship.
"Leaving already, are you?"
"Aye, I suppose I should return to the Great Iguana. Jenny's ship is bound to arrive by the time I do. I think it's time I set everything right." He tried not to look Anne in the eyes, but she already knew he was hiding something.
"And you were to leave without even a word of goodbye?" Anne's tone told Edward that she was hurt at his plan to leave without a goodbye. She knew that this would be the last time he was to sail in these parts of the world. He had told her of his plans to return to England once and for all and become a man of quality, but she couldn't believe he would depart without so much as telling her, or at least Mairwen.
"I have to go, Anne." His voice begged reason "You know damned well why." Anne's aggressive expression fell and she looked to her feet to hide it, but Edward caught it too soon. "What is it?"
"No, it's nothing." She shook her head and looked back to him, feigning a smile.
"Tell me."
"It might not even be true."
"Anne, tell me."
"She's yours, Edward." She let out the words in one quick breath, her crystal eyes widening as if she was surprised she said it aloud.
Edward felt like the world was spinning. What was Anne saying? It couldn't have been true. It was impossible. It couldn't have been true. "What?"
"Mary told me while we were… while we were in prison together." She had tried her best to forget her experience in the Jamaican prison, but the scars remained. Speaking of it was hard enough. "I didn't think it was true; she wasn't thinking straight. It was right after she gave birth, and she was very sick. I-"
"Oh, Jaysus." Edward sucked in air and rubbed his head as if to deal with a hangover. How could Mary have kept this from him? The entire time they were in prison, he had expected her to be pregnant by one of Rackham's men, not anyone else, and certainly not him. The only memory he had that could make Anne's claim possible was a night they spent drinking together. They'd both had too much, and he couldn't remember much of the rest, both of them thinking nothing of it after that night. But how could this have been possible? "So you mean to tell me that I am the father of Mary's child... of Mairwen?"
"Edward-" Anne tried to stop him, but he was already half-running away to god knew where, to do what god knew what.
"Mary," Edward knelt down on the dirt in front of an engraved tombstone. Even after all those years, he had avoided this moment like the plague, putting it off as long as possible, but now, it seemed, it was inevitable. He had to visit the one woman he tried so hard to forget. He looked up from his hands and back to the stone in disbelief. After all those years of trying to forget, Edward was here, kneeling at her grave. He had planned to leave this island once and for all, leaving behind the ghosts of his past, but now he could see that he could not have lived like that. "I suppose… I suppose this visit is long overdue."
He took a deep breath, searching for the right words to say. "Your daughter… she's beautiful. And she's just like you too, you know. She's clever and smart and likes to poke fun at me. She… she reminds me of you." He looked to her grave again, reading the words etched into the stone. A loving mother and loyal friend. He frowned and he felt his throat close up, remembering the night she had left him.
A stray breeze lifted up the tips of Edward's hair and left goosebumps on his skin. It was nowhere near the weather for wind, but the cold gust still danced around Edward, lifting the leaves from the ground and the flowers on the bushes. Her last words echoed in his head; I'll be with you, Kenway. He tried to blink back the tears, but realized it was a losing battle.
Let people call him weak, but he simply didn't care anymore. He had tried to bury his sorrow and shift it into rage, which fueled him to avenge her death and kill the Templar targets, later letting him change into a better man. But he had never, until now, properly mourned for Mary.
"Jaysus," Edward wiped his cheek which was now damp from his tears. " I miss you. I miss you bossing me around, and I miss you teasing me. You were a pain in my arse all the time, but..." He tried to laugh, but the humor was lost. "I… I miss you, Mary."
"Edward?" If Edward had expected anyone to find him here, he would have bet on Anne, looking for him after he ran off, Adewale, or even Ah Tabai. Instead, he was greeted with the small frame of a little girl.
"Mairwen?" He was shocked. "Mairwen, what are you doing here?" Edward dug at his eyes with the heel of his palm, clearing his throat. There was no way she would catch him crying at her mother's grave.
She seemed puzzled, looking at Edward as if she couldn't believe she was seeing him here. She was almost as surprised as him. "I visit here sometimes to place flowers on her grave."
He just now noticed a bouquet of white annatto flowers in her hand, along with other flowers native to the island.
"Yes, I was…" He cleared his throat and tried to find a believable excuse, but none came to mind. In the end, he decided to tell her the truth. He was her daughter after all, and he shouldn't be lying to her. Especially not in front of Mary's grave. She would have sent lightning at Edward on the spot. "I was visiting your mother; saying goodbye. I'm leaving."
"Why are you leaving so soon?" She looked hurt now with the knowledge that he planned to abandon her without even saying goodbye. Did she know the truth? Or was she just hurt because he, the one who had brought her to the island, to safety, was abandoning her at last?
"I can't stay here, Mairwen. I'm sorry." He frowned and looked to his feet, not wanting to look at his daughter. She looked so hurt already, and it was all Edward's fault. He really did have a talent to screw everything up, didn't he?
"Oh… I see." She blinked and took a deep breath, deciding not to pry for more information from him. The Assassins must have fought to tame her wild spirit and put some manners into her; Edward was amazed. Mairwen walked past him and towards Mary's grave, looking at her feet the entire time. She placed the flowers on her mother's tombstone before sitting in front of it.
Edward frowned and looked accusingly to the sky. Mary said she would be with him always, so where was she? He couldn't just leave Mairwen like this. He sat next to her, both looking at Mary's tombstone. A loving mother and loyal friend. She was as a wild spirit, but he knew that she did love her friends, and he surely hoped that she had loved her daughter as well, for as short of a time they had together.
"Do you miss her?" The breeze around them continued to sway, making some petals from Mairwen's flowers fall.
"I didn't know her and I don't remember her, but I always wonder what she was like." Mairwen's tone was neutral at best. "The Assassins told me stories that she was wild but clever, and wise."
"Aye, she was." Edward laughed, remembering all of their memories together as privateers, and then as pirates back when she still kept him in the dark about her true identity. "She posed as a man for most of her life, you know. When she decided to stop dressing as James Kidd and revealed herself as what she was, she and Anne were the two most feared pirates of the sea. I heard tales while in prison of the two female pirates, beautiful yet deadly."
"Oh, please tell me one." She seemed eager to hear a new story of her mother, smiling broadly.
Edward didn't have many stories to tell of Mary, and certainly none appropriate for a young girl. Hardly anything Mary did was child-friendly, but he eventually decided to tell her the story of the night she revealed herself to him as a woman. He told her of the adventure and the mystery, leaving out some details concerning the Sage and Prins and the guards they had killed that night, but it was a fantastic story all the same. By the end, the sun was already setting, painting the sky with orange and pink hues which reflected off the endless blue ocean. She looked thoughtfully to her mother's grave, wishing she could have known her.
"Do you miss her, Edward?" Her question caught him off guard. She usually wasn't one to push for issues people weren't comfortable talking about, but she was deeply curious. Whichever way he answered, however, she could already tell the truth by the way he looked at her mother's grave, or the way the light glimmered in the tears pooling in his eyes.
"Aye.. I do." He closed his eyes and turned his face skyward, but only one tear fell down his cheek. The girl noticed before he could wipe it away. She placed her small hand in his and gently put her head atop his shoulder, father and daughter together at last, to mourn the loss of the mother.
A week later, Edward formally announced his plans to Ah Tabai, and he obliged, truly wishing Edward good fortune. It made Edward somewhat proud that he had managed to change Ah Tabai's thoughts on him, and their final parting was on friendly standards. He was even welcomed back to the island if he ever so wished.
He bid farewell to Adewale, and they spent the night before Edward's departure drinking to their memories with whatever rum was left aboard the Jackdaw. Edward couldn't help but imagine that Thatch, Hornigold, Vane, and Rackham were there, drinking and laughing alongside their old comrades. For once, the memories and hallucinations left a sweet feeling rather than sadness and guilt. Edward was finally leaving this part of him behind for a better future, but he would never forget the men and women who had set him on this course.
Edward went to the shores of the island on the morning of his departure to find Mairwen sitting at Anne's feet, both staring towards the Jackdaw. Anne's red hair glimmered like a beacon in the sunlight, Mairwen's laughs harmonizing with Anne's higher giggles far across the shore. Anne was like an older sister to Mairwen, and Edward felt a tinge of guilt when he realized that he was taking that part away from her, despite Anne and Mairwen's reassurances that they would be fine. As he walked closer to the two, he noticed that Anne was taking care to weave blue flowers into Mairwen's black hair, a relic of Anne's own style
"I'll do my hair like this everyday now. It's beautiful." Mairwen smiled in her reflection and touched the petals of each flower in her hair as Anne held up a rusted looking glass for her. She turned around and hugged Anne, their embrace prolonged. Anne did her best to cover her sadness with a kind smile. Her heart was heavy saying farewell to her best friend's child, but she found comfort in knowing that it was for the best; Mairwen was going to live a better life with Edward.
"This way you'll always remember me." Anne had a sad smile upon her lips as she placed one last flower behind Mairwen's ear.
"I could never forget you if I tried." With one last hug, Mairwen stood up to look at Edward. He nodded, and she put her small hand in his, ready to set sail one last time.
"I would be a happy man if you were to come with us," Edward said, turning to Anne.
"England's the wrong way 'round for an Irishwoman." She looked to Mairwen once more before turning back to Edward, a small smile on her face. Edward was the last friend she had remaining from her past, but she immensely happy he was finally going to live peacefully, as he had always wanted. "You are a fine father, Edward."
With a final pat on the back, Edward led Mairwen to the Jackdaw, taking his final steps away from piracy and his first towards being a man of substance. Mairwen's excitement at her first voyage was almost contagious, Edward thought with a rueful grin. A strong breeze carried them from the port onto the open seas, and Edward closed his eyes, allowing himself to be embraced by the winds of his final journey.
Maybe it was the remnants of last night's rum, or simply his mind's final ploy to remind him of what he was leaving, but Edward could've sworn that he heard the voice of his child's mother, so strong even in her dying moments.
I'll be with you, Kenway. I will.
The opera house was darkly lit by candles, and the vaguely melodious cacophony of the musicians tuning their instruments alerted the audience that the opera's start was only minutes away. Edward leaned over the edge of the balcony, overlooking the crowded seats between his family's booth and the curtained stage. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see a young man readying himself to approach his eldest. He almost laughed at how he closed his eyes and muttered something to himself before clearing his throat; it was a ritual that Edward had partaken in many a time, in his youth.
"Miss Jennifer Kenway, if I may introduce myself-" The man took off his hat and addressed Edward's daughter. He felt sorry for the lad; he had unknowingly already ruined any chance he had at wooing his daughter.
"Miss Jennifer Scott, if you please." Jenny's quick correction to the man's innocent mistake was accompanied by a fiery glare. She huffed slightly before walking away.
"I'm sorry. I-" The man was ready to mutter a string of apologies and follow Jenny before Edward accosted him.
"My daughter," Edward began, moving to physically block the man from following Jenny, "was raised by her mother, Caroline, before she passed away some years ago. Jenny prefers to use her surname to mine." He nodded towards his eldest daughter, leaning against the balcony as she waited for her younger siblings to put away their garments and join them.
"Ah, forgive my ignorance." The man bowed his head in apology, and Edward simply nodded.
"I will. She may not." The suitor frowned and walked away with a final goodbye. Shortly after he was gone from their reserved balcony, his two younger children arrived, with his daughter carrying his son in her arms.
"Father, father!" he called, flailing his arms towards Edward. He was a young boy clad in a pastel blue frock coat with golden embroidery. The boy's hair was dark, but the golden lighting made it seem lighter than it was. His eyes matched his father's, but his face was of his mother.
"Oh, alright. Wait a moment." The girl sighed before handing the boy into Edward's welcoming arms. Edward nodded in thanks, and she walked towards her elder sister who was still sulking in the shadow of the balcony.
"Who was that fellow I saw walking down the hall on my way up? He looked quite disappointed." Mairwen had a devilish grin as she teased Jenny, but her sister was unamused.
"Just wait until suitors start coming for you, Mairwen," Jenny grumbled, still irritated. Edward remained silent; two suitors had already come to Edward some time ago, seeking to court his younger daughter once she was of age. With each man he offered the idea to Mairwen, but she had refused each, saying she did not wish to court anyone. Tessa feared for her, but Edward assured her she would change her mind as she matured.
Mairwen was even more beautiful now that she had matured. She wore small water lilies placed in her hair that night. She preferred to keep her coarse dark hair down on her shoulders, rather than tying it up as was the fashion. Many a suitor had tried to compare his two daughters to each other, with Jenny's smoldering intensity to Mairwen's earthy style, but they were two completely different people.
"Won't your arms tire?" Edward was brought back to present thought as his son poked Edward's cheek.
"Hey, I'm not so old as that!" Edward laughed and looked back to the stage. "But if they do, then we shall quit this posh gig and meet your mother for some chocolate at White's. How's that sound?" Jenny finally decided she was over the suitor and arm in arm, she and Mairwen left the corner and stood next to their father.
"Yes please!" Haytham smiled, enthusiastic to visit his mother's chocolate shop.
"Okay, hush now." He whispered to his son as the crowd began to clap and the curtains opened, signaling the beginning of the opera.
No.
Edward was painfully aware of his daughter's footsteps storming into the room as he fought off the two men. The clang of their blades did nothing to cover up Mairwen's indignant response when he requested that she run.
"I ain't leaving you, damnit!"
She always did have the mouth of the pirate who had fathered her. "It's no good!" Edward replied. A quick parry to the man with the pointy ears; he had narrowly missed Edward's upper thigh.
Mairwen pulled a long dagger from inside her light shift and moved to fight next to her father. "I ain't leaving you nowhere," she adrenaline rush was obvious in every line of her body; the graceful, natural movements that had once made Mairwen what she was were replaced by a carnal aura that turned the girl into a ferocious sight.
"Get out," Edward shouted, blocking another attack from his frighteningly agile opponent. "Don't die on my account. Go!" He would've disarmed the pointy-eared man, had he not danced out of his reach at the last moment. "If you're gonna fight, do it for your mum and sister." The second attacker made a move at Edward while his blade was engaged with the pointy-eared man, getting a deep gash in over the right side of his abdomen. He turned slightly to his daughter; her engagement with a third man had moved her several feet away from him.
Mary?
The wild eyes of the young woman in the room with him were ones that he hadn't seen for a long, long time. The white shift billowed around Mairwen as she used every muscle in her untrained body to attempt to gain an advantage on the man she fought. Edward was so proud of her; she was doing much better than he had in his first weapons fight.
But, alas, the coppery smell of her father's blood caught her nose, causing Mairwen to pause, to drop her guard, to turn and look in panic for Edward as the assailant took the opportunity to run his blade through her abdomen, impaling her through the liver.
Only once before had Edward fought as he did after that. The man who killed his daughter was dead in seconds, and the other two were soon to follow, but Edward was older now than he was in Kingston, and out of practice as much as blood.
In the end, it was the pointy-eared man who ended him. Edward had gotten his blows in, that was to be sure, but the odds were against him. He heard Haytham galloping up to the open doorway, and he looked to his son, feeling his own blood hot on his too-cold chest. There was a woman standing behind him, dressed in clothes from another lifetime, and as Haytham found his own sword, she approached him, calmly, and almost jauntily.
Mary Read cast a mournful look to her daughter, sprawled on the floor next to the body of her killer. She knelt down and pressed a kiss to the sweat-soaked forehead, and produced a delicate white annatto flower from the inside of her olive-colored coat before tucking it behind the girl's ear. She straightened up and made her way to Edward, her brown boots making not a sound on the wooden floor.
Edward was conscious of the sluggish movements of the rest of the room as Mary dropped into a low crouch in front of him. "Fancy seeing you here, Kenway."
"Ain't that the truth." He was finding it hard for his eyes to focus, and his breathing was slowing. It was very cold.
Her calloused hand reached out to grab Edward's chin, fastening his attention on Mary as she locked her hazel eyes with his. "You did your best, Edward," she said somberly. "And your best was better than anyone else could've done."
Edward blinked slowly before nodding. Haytham had begun, so slowly, to attack the invaders of his home.
"And thank you," Mary continued, her face softening in the slightest way. "Truly, Kenway, thank you for what you did." She straightened up and sauntered towards the doorway, where Adewale, Hornigold, and many of Edward's other old friends stood, smiling, waiting.
"We'll be seein' you, Edward," she said as a grinning Vane clapped her on the back. The group began to move from Edward's sight. "That's a promise."
Thank you so much to Camiara for agreeing to co-author! It was an amazing experience and I could not thank you enough for turning my word vomit into readable thoughts and paragraphs. Epilogue credit is all to you :)