That week was the one that I finally settled into a rhythm. Samuel's dehydration proved to be a combination of the food he was getting and the water situation, so our training was allowed to continue uninhibited as long as I switched to an oat alternative. Thatch's over-the-top teaching style became almost normal, as did Mualim's abrasiveness.

After lunch that day, Edward stuck only to casual touches in public. His handling of me in private was never rough or feverish; every movement, every touch, every kiss was gentle and slow, as though he was savoring me while he had the time.

I really, really liked that.

We were allowed to leave campus from noon to 1700 starting our second weekend, and Edward, Ade, and I made a habit of going into town on Sundays. The first few weekends were spent sightseeing; after that, we began seeing films in the cinema.

And so my days progressed, until the crisp breezes and bright colours of autumn drowned out the final days of summer, and I found myself at the last Saturday of October, getting dressed with Edward for Anne's Halloween party. After our successful mid-term project about Grace O'Malley for Nautical History (we had taken a leaf from Thatch's book and done a dramatic comedy sketch about her), we had had pirate duds and nothing else to do with them. So, of course, we used them for Anne's party.

Which left me sitting on my bed, watching Edward get dressed as I tied the red bandana around my head. It was the brightest light I had seen him unclothed in for a while, and I took the opportunity to once again study the tattoos that had transfixed me since September.

"NEW WORLD ORDER" was stamped across his shoulders, slightly off-centered to make room for the rest of the chain, which ended just below his left shoulder blade. A surprisingly large hooded figure took up the rest of his back, while the faint outline of what looked like a stylized triangle with the lower portion detached marked the nape of his neck.

"Oy." Edward looked at me over his shoulder as he started to pull on his shirt. "What're the tattoos for?"

"What do they mean?" He faced me and fastened the buttons. "They're reminders, mainly. The hourglass is to not waste time. The compass is relatively new." He grabbed the long blue and white coat and swung that on. "Keep true to what you believe in. The chain has a lot of meanings, but mainly it's about liberty." Sitting on his bed, he started pulling on the tall boots. "New World Order is fairly straightforward. The hooded man and the symbol on my neck are an old thing relating to my family." He halted. "I think that's it, innit?"

"What about the whale?"

Edward looked surprised. "Isn't it obvious?" He stood up and offered me his hand. "I was born in Wales."

"You're a piece of shit, d'you know that?"

Laughing, he tugged on the red sash around my waist. "Whalers a few generations back."

"Ah." I examined his entire costume as we walked down the corridor towards the dining hall, and couldn't help from grinning wryly. "You look like you could've really been a pirate," I said quietly.

"Ahh yes," he laughed. "The dreaded Welsh pirate, Captain Edward Kenway, and the fearsome cross-dresser Mary Read. Or," he added quickly as my eyes narrowed, "Captain Kidd's long-lost son."

"Of course."

Anne, who called herself a "classy whore" with an orange bodysuit underneath her outfit, spent the evening with me, at an empty table outside the kitchen, where she pried into the Thing between Edward and me.

"This has been an informational blackout, love," she said excitedly. "I mean, I didn't know you before him, so there's nothing to go by there, but he was never too good about keeping his personal life quiet for too long." She sipped from a mug of warm apple cider, her dark eyes wide over the brim. "Have you two fucked yet?"

I shrugged, my eyes on him and Hornigold, the naval officer, across the room, playing games.

"It's yes or no, missy."

I sighed. "Edward Kenway is being frustratingly… chaste." My arms crossed, I looked at Anne. "So, no."

Edward's apparent celibacy was becoming more infuriating with each day. It wasn't as though we didn't have the opportunity. On the contrary, we had all night, every night to do as we pleased. And yet, oftentimes, we didn't even share a bed.

Anne raised an eyebrow. "That's odd." She leaned back in her chair. "Him and Caroline did when they weren't even 14." She looked at me quizzically. "Have you said anything?"

"I—what? What could I even say?"

Anne shrugged, then leaned forward to rest her head on her arms. "Ionno," she said matter-of-factly. "That's why I'm asking you."

"You're an odd one." It could go back to him being so gentle with me…?

"Do you want to?" She looked at me intensely. "Could you fuck him anywhere he'd have it?" Her tone changed to a fanciful "Are you one of those girls that wants to wait till they're head-over-heels in love with Mister Perfect, in the perfect place at the perfect time?"

"I'd fuck him in the back seat of a cab if he'd let me," I said flatly. Anne grinned wickedly. "And no," I added sharply, "I do not need your help with this one."

Rackham wandered over then, and Anne faithfully stood up to leave with him. "Don't say I never tried to help you," she said, blowing me a kiss as Rackham took her away.

Mid-November caught me jumping just under a meter with Samuel. We had both made outstanding progress from September. I made sure to ride him every day that I was allowed to, and when it came time for the club to start competing, Samuel and I were one of the strongest teams on the roster.

It was easy to leave the school for Liverpool Friday afternoon. I'd made sure to do all of my weekend's homework in advance, and when the trailer pulled alongside the barn, Samuel very nearly pulled me off of my feet as he danced around in excitement. Every line of his body was tense, full of energy and anticipation. The show horse can finally show again. I stroked his neck in a vain attempt to calm him down. When he finally was loaded onto the trailer after the other four horses, he almost yanked the leadrope out of my hand.

The drive to Liverpool from Swansea was roughly four hours, and I spent the vast majority of it sleeping. The van we were in was driven by Mr. Ericson and housed the five students who had been able to attend this show. One in particular, Peter Oaker, sat next to me, and conversed with me while I was awake.

"Is this your first year at St. Gerard's?" His accent was immediately recognizable as high-born London. I nodded. "And your Samuel's?"

"That's right."

"Nice. He's gorgeous." I swelled with pride. "Mine's Mo." She was the sleek chestnut mare with a temper and talent to rival Samuel's. "You're a jumper?" I nodded again. "We're doing eventing."

"Oooh," I breathed. "I wanted to do eventing, but Samuel doesn't have the stamina for it." Peter nodded understandingly, and we spent the rest of the trip talking horsey talk.

Two naps later, the van and trailer pulled into the showgrounds. Our stalls were a short walk away from the arenas, and simultaneously offered a fine view of the beginning of the cross country and hunt fields. The entire set-up affair was finished by 2100.

As we hadn't eaten yet, I began to wander the area, searching for a food vendor. The air was cold, and I was beginning to wonder if I should just wait till we got to the hotel for food. But my stomach was eating itself, I had money in my pocket, and while the van's air conditioning was shot, I knew that there would be something warm immediately available at the vendor's.

I wound up finding a small restaurant after meandering for ten minutes. They had the typical over-priced event food, and I wound up waiting in line behind two girls about my age.

"I haven't heard much about him since school started, actually," said the one with the strawberry-blonde mane. "Annie said he'd found someone, though." You're joking. She shrugged. "I'm happy for him."

"I feel sorry for whoever's saddled with him now, though." The brunette had the slightest Italian accent. "Did Anne say where they'd met?" No fucking way.

"Nope. All she said was that he's a lot better, and he's found a girl." The blonde pulled her phone out of her jacket's pocket. "Oh, damn. They're leaving now, Claudia." She tugged on the sleeve of Claudia's coat. "C'mon."

"I'm hungry, though." The blonde hurried towards the door, and after a moment, Claudia tagged along. "Caroline!"

Holy shit.


I'm going to take this opportunity to say, if you're not reading this story on AO3, or at least checking up on it there, you're not getting the full experience. I have notes and whatnot there.

Also. Starting today, updates are only Sundays and Wednesdays, in case you missed my blog post.

Thank you to everyone who reads c: