Mary stepped off the docks and into the warm Caribbean air, taking in the sights and sounds of the island. It had true potential, she thought. With a few new houses and a British proof security system, it might be a good place for her to come and reside while she was in between contracts. For now she was headed to The Old Avery, a tavern she and her mates had often met, she knew that's where they would be. As she entered into the establishment, she noticed that a brawl had begun among two men. They were quite a few years older than her, in their late 20s if she had to guess. Mary herself had just recently turned 19, but she felt older than most men. From across the room, someone called out her name.

"Kidd! Glad you could make it!"

It was Thatch, one of her closest mates. She had even served on his ship, Queen Anne's Revenge for a time. Mary liked to consider him the father she never had in a way. Not that old Edward Thatch was truly fit to be anyone's father, but he was a good man. She respected that.

"Didn't think i'd skip out on our agreed meeting did you, Thatch?"

Mary made her way over to the table where he sat with two other men. The first one, she knew was Benjamin Hornigold, a pirate she had often done business with in the past so she knew him well enough. However, the other one she'd never seen before. He was blonde with chin length hair pulled back into a small knot and some light scruff across his face. Maybe about three years older than she.

"Ah James, no one around here has had the uh pleasure of seeing you for quite some time. We were starting to think someone had at last ended the short life of the Demon Kidd."

Mary scoffed, she didn't appreciate Thatch's constant mocking.

"You know well enough that nobody takes Kidd down that easily" Laughed Hornigold, speaking in her defense. She gave them both a half smile, momentarily forgetting about the stranger who was also seated with them. That was, until he spoke up.

"Kidd..Like William Kidd?" he asked, studying her features. She doubted he would find any resemblance to the famous pirate, seeing as how he wasn't truly her father.

"Aye, like William Kidd."

The stranger scoffed and rolled his eyes, clearly not buying her ruse. Mary decided right away that she didn't like him.

"Don't believe me? Well if you know so much about Captain Kidd then you must recognize this."

Mary reached down and unsheathed her sword, holding it out for the stranger to see. Her weapon was unique, (for one it was a broadsword) but what truly made it stand out was the fact that the words "Quedagh Merchant" were engraved just below the helm. These weren't just any words, it was the name of William Kidd's famous ship. Legend had it that there were only three men alive who still possessed one of Kidd's original weapons. Now, Mary didn't know who those other two men were, but she did know that they were probably fakes as well. It had been no easy task acquiring a replica as convincing as hers was, but in the end it had paid off. Most pirates took one look at her sword and any doubts about her legacy were wiped clean from their gullible little minds. That helped her reputation so much that although she was still in her teens, she'd quickly become one of the most feared pirates around. However, she could tell from the lingering disbelief in this man's eyes that there was probably nothing more she could do to convince him.

"William Kidd had no children, mate. Anyone can make a replica, that don't mean anything in my book."

Mary rolled her eyes, becoming increasingly annoyed with this pointless argument.

"Believe what you'd like, I was a bastard."

That part wasn't a lie, she really was a bastard. However, she didn't have the privilege of knowing who her father was. At least James Kidd knew, even if Mary Read didn't.

Thatch soon spoke up, "I'd watch it Kenway, legacy or not this lad's a demon."

So his name was Kenway, at least now she would be able to give his grave stone a proper marking after she murdered his sorry arse. Then, he laughed. laughed.

"I could take this boy on anytime, anywhere. He's a child for God's sake, Thatch!"

Mary's anger started to boil up inside of her, steaming to the point where she could no longer hold her tongue. She had found throughout the last couple of years that having a generally calm and collected disposition had it's drawbacks. Sure, she no longer got herself into as much trouble as she did in her younger years, but she found that after restraining her anger for so long, her temper became even worse. She jumped to her feet, grabbing this Kenway man by the collar of his shirt and pulling him up.

"You think you can fight me! How about right now then? I'll even let you take the first shot."

The blonde smirked and rolled his eyes, further displaying his arrogance.

"Alright Kidd, let's see those elusive skills everyone's been babbling on about." He replied.

Thatch then cleared his throat, a signal for them to both retreat, but she was much too stubborn for that. Not now, not when she was so close to beating the shite out of this fool of a man.

"Come now, he's not going to do any damage." Kenway chuckled, lightheartedly.

Mary muttered, she'd be the judge of that.

With a quick shrug of the shoulders from Thatch and a knowing snicker from Hornigold, they headed outside the tavern, eager to show each other up.

As promised, Kenway took the first shot. It was meant to be a low blow to the stomach before Kidd blocked him and countered with a good punch to his face. He stumbled backwards, obviously angry by her unexpected display of talent and fought dirty by tripping up her footing. Mary fell, but made use of this by swiping her leg right under his feet, knocking Kenway to the ground. She smirked and took this opportunity to pounce on him, stealing away the dagger he had strapped to his waist and jumping to her feet before he could roll her off. This time, mary was the one to fight dirty. She faked another shot to his face, but instead kneed him in the side. He didn't stumble this time and got a good hit in himself, leaving a future bruise right below her eye. Kidd knew that this fight had to end soon, she didn't want it to be a test of endurance. A few shots later and she had poor Kenway on his back with a blade to his throat. She laughed and gave him one final kick in the side, to make sure he kept down.

"I win."

Authors Note:

Yay! So Mary got to do some serious ass kicking (as always) XD And i'm thinking of doing another scene where Kenway threatens her with a pistol, but i'm not sure if that will make it into one of the chapters. If ya'll have any other suggestions let me know:) I live to serve.