A/N: Folks, it's 4am, I just finished to write this and I couldn't wait for tomorrow (well later today..) to upload it so here it is. I did as best as I could to correct the text, but some mistakes may still remain since my brain is just done with the shit. 'Ight, hope you'll enjoy this friendly one-shot.
Just so you know, I didn't play Black Flag yet so some actions or the way I made the characters may not be like in the game, but I read a lot about them so hopefully my reading have been successful. Okay now I go sleep x.x
This fanfiction is inspired by Sir Sly's song Gold (which featured in one of the many AC Black Flag trailers)
*Disclaimer because someone really doesn't want me to rest: I DO NOT OWN ASSASSIN'S CREED OR THE CHARACTERS, THEY ALL BELONG TO UBISOFT, THANK YOU.*
Edward looks through a field-glass, inspecting the island laying in front of him, as the Jackdaw accost on the shore. His men get on the beach while he's still on the deck admiring the green palm trees, the white sand, the turquoise sea and the grey rocks. It was in those moments that he'd take a moment to contemplate his life as a pirate, a lot better than what his father wanted him to be. He breathes the fresh air of nature as he jumps down the ship, his boots landing in the sand and already he could feel its heat around the leather.
"Where do we go now, Kenway?" Blackbeard's rough voice shouts from away on the shore.
He looks down at the map he was holding and his eyes stop for a moment on the bright red X traced on the upper right corner of the paper. Then he tries to locate the beach they landed on and starts to make a path in his head on how to get there. It wasn't a map like the others; there wasn't any path drawn onto it, it was to its owner to make up his own way to get to the treasure. He takes a piece of coal out of his pocket and notes their actual position, then begins to trace the path they would follow as best as he could, not aware of the emplacement of the potential obstacles.
When he's done, Edward looks down at the yellowish paper as Blackbeard meets him and also takes a look at the map and eventually takes it from his hands. "Seems manageable…" he comments as he gathers the rest of the crew and guides them into the jungle.
Kenway, who's back on the quarterdeck to take his weapons, looks around him after a moment and notices that he's now alone. He didn't even hear them as they left him, but he could still hear Blackbeard leading the group as he's singing shanties. For the young captain, it's a challenge that he gladly accepts. He places the last pistols in the straps meant for them and puts on his hood.
Edward runs across the deck and to the bowsprit that he climbs up until he reaches the long bowsprit mass. Half bent down, he walks onto in until he's at its end. At his left lies a arch made of rock leading to a hill that continues in the jungle. He jumps and clings to a rock that was out and he easily climbs up the arch until he's on its top. It's large enough for him to easily walk to the hill and from up there, he can admire the splendour of the wilderness of the island. He stops walking to use his eagle vision and so to find Blackbeard that he can't hear now because of the noise of the waves against the rocks below him. He finds him – highlighted in gold – and the crew – highlighted in blue – deeper in the jungle and so restarts walking.
From up there he feels more powerful, more in control. If something happens to them he could easily kill the enemies with his blowpipe and so be rewarded by the satisfaction from both his crew and his own self for having save them. As he walks in straight line unlike them, he's soon forced to catch up to them before they're too far from him and he'd to go wait for them on the ship. He scans the horizon, looking for anything he could grab or use to get down of the rocky hill.
Having nothing else than trees to do the job, Edward jumps off and lands on the top of a coconut tree. Then he jumps from trees to trees until his foot slips on a leaf and he begins to fall. His fingers tighten on a liana strong enough to keep him from crashing on the ground still far below. When he's steady, his whole body begins to sway back and forth until he reaches another liana and another. At the end of his little monkey game trip, he swings himself on a branch when he hears:
"Weight-hay and up she rises early in the morning! What will we do with a drunken sailor? What will we do with a drunken sailor?"
A smile curls his lips as he turns around to find the crew cheering as they follow Blackbeard who's looking at the map but doesn't seem to give it as much attention as he should. Edward looks down at the distance separating him from the ground and comes to the conclusion that he could jump off without hurting himself too badly. So he waits for them to be closer enough before swinging himself off the branch, landing on his feet, knee and hands, and at the last moment, releases his blades at Blackbeard's face.
The pirate lets the map fall to the ground as he froze on place. It actually takes him a brief moment to realize who's the hooded bastard pointing a weapon at his face. When he does, he grasps Edward's wrist and pulls him closer as he says with his more angry and devilish voice:
"That's not exactly what I'd call fair play, Kenway. If you want to fight, do it otherwise."
"Oh come on lad, it was only a joke!" he says with a grin as he removes the hood from his head with his free hand.
"Well…" Blackbeard starts as the rest of the crew remains silent. He pauses for a moment before releasing his wrist and bursting out laughing. "Of course it was!" He places his arms around the young pirate's shoulders as they restart to walk and sing, now guided by the captain through the jungle.
–
Edward looks down at the map for one last time then to the huge cave ahead of them.
"In there, Kenway?" Blackbeard asks, already making his way inside.
"Yes."
They follow him inside and the deeper they go in, the darker it gets although it takes a while for the light of the sun to completely disappear from inside the cave. As he walks in almost complete darkness, Edward's foot hit on something and a metallic noise resounds onto the rocks. They all stop as he bends down and searches the ground with his hands to find the source of the noise. His fingers feel a cold round surface that he takes in his hand and spins it a few times between his fingers, wondering if it's what he thinks. A sunbeam that catch up with the surface confirms that he was right as a golden glow reflects on the walls for a brief moment.
They stay silent as they progress deeper until Edward bumps into something and someone behind him bumps into him.
"Lads," Blackbeard's voice too close of his ears informs him that he's bumped into him. "Did you see it?"
The captain tries to see through the darkness as he hears a few "Oh!" and "Woah!" around him. It takes a moment to his eyes to catch up with the golden glow reflecting in a small space a few feet away ahead. They all begin to walk in a faster rhythm until they're almost running and they stop when they reaches the edge of the treasure.
The place where it's contained is like a small room inside the cave: there are four walls with a hole in one of them large enough for two men to stand side by side. Inside lies the biggest amount of gold and jewelry they've ever seen in their whole life. A chest made of strong wood with steel hinges is opened in a corner, its contain all over the floor, all over the room. They're almost blinded by all the gold ahead of them.
Edward, standing in front of everyone, contemplates the magnificent of the treasure. He could almost feel tears of joy forming in the back of his eyes. All over the country, people would be talking about the great captain Edward Kenway who found the hugest treasure ever hide by humans. His name would be on everyone's lips, every woman would want him in their bed. He could buy himself the finest boozes, the fancies weapons. He could equip the Jackdaw with the biggest canons and the strongest sails. They could all eat and cheer and drink as much as it'd please them.
They were rich. Extremely rich.
It was the end of the age of robbery and starvation, the end of the time they'd spend days eating coconuts and fishes they'd have found on the shore. It was the end of their misery and the beginning of their triumph against the templars, against world, against the laws and against the rules.
