Edward's POV A few more days passed by, and with each passing, I could feel myself losing any sense of hope I may have gathered the day before. I was reverting back to a vulnerable child, hiding behind my father and using him for support. I was losing my grasp on reality. I had barely eaten since being in this damned cell, and any time I'd eat well, it would leave my body in no time. It was clear to me that I was ill, perhaps with the plague. It was the only logical thing.
'So much for my riches,' I thought solemnly. I hadn't moved from my position on the floor, lying on my side. I couldn't tell what was real and what was fake. Figures often danced in my vision, mocking me with their healthy freedom. I wanted to spit at them, scowl at them, even glare at them. Each time I would try, and yet I'd fail. Were any of them real? Was I truly hallucinating? Would I share the same fate as others before me here?
'Here is where I'll die,' I concluded to myself. 'My only regret is not having told Mary my truth…'
"My, how ill you are."
I barely heard the voice as I slowly looked up at the person just outside of my cell.
'Who the hell are you,' I wanted to ask, but I couldn't even move my mouth.
"So you're the man who masqueraded as Duncan Walpole and killed several of my husband's friends, including my husband."
I blinked a few times as I glared up at the figure, the shadow finally materializing a base. It was a woman, dressed in a rather noble lavender-pink gown. She wore a floral hat on her head matching the dress, and her hair a dark brown as it sat under the hat with curls falling out of it, framing her face. Who the hell was she though? What was she rambling on about?
She smirked slightly at me.
"You'll die in here, I'll make sure of that. The Assassin and piratical line will end with you. Since the death of Blackbeard, you are the most feared pirate out there. With your death, no one will dare mess with the Templars."
I grit my rather sensitive teeth as I watched her walk away. I killed her husband? Who could her husband have been?
So many questions swam through my mind, though I was unable to focus too much on them as I became dizzy once more. The world spun around me, and I felt myself fall back into the pit of despair and darkness.
Mary's POV We searched through several tunnels and underground passages throughout the city. We weren't having much luck. As a result, I hadn't seen my child for a couple of days straight as worked relentlessly.
"Mary," Emily stopped in our search, not facing me.
"You should go back to the surface and reunite with your son."
I felt my blood start boiling, anger and jealousy pushing out of my body in a form of rage.
"Why, so you can have Edward all to yourself? Fuck that! I'm not giving up on him!"
She faced me that time, and the look on her face sapped all of the anger out of my body and into the air where it disappeared. Her eyes seemed nostalgically sad, boring into my own.
"You need to decide what's more important right now. We have a lot of people looking for Edward. However, you have one person caring for your child right now, and it's a man. A man cannot breastfeed a child and provide the nurturing a true mother can do. Your son will start identifying with Ah Tabai instead of his mother. You fought so hard for him, are you really risking to throw it all away for a greedy pirate? After everything you two had been through, especially with finding your son, would you want his death to have been for nothing?"
I paused, thinking in shock. I couldn't believe what she was saying. Make a choice? As if it was that easy! I loved my child very much, and I had in fact fought so hard to get him back. But Edward...Edward I had known longer. I loved him, more than I thought I could ever love before. I don't know why I grew to love him, but before I knew it, he became the center of my life. Could I really desert him in his time of need? He'd hate me, wouldn't he? I loved my son too. I faced death and overcame it for him.
"I…" I tried to gather my scrambled thoughts.
"I do love my son, but I love Edward too. My son wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for Edward. Edward sacrificed so much for me, whether he realizes it or not. To give up on him now, it's not right. It's not right by him."
Emily walked up to me and placed her hands on my shoulders.
"You haven't slept for days, Mary. If you want my advice, return to the surface and at least get a day's worth of rest and nutrition in you. Edward would want you to do the same."
I was taken aback, reflecting on my times with Edward once more. When he had saved me from death, he told me to stay with the doctor and with Adé to ensure that I'd get better. He had wanted me to be strong, not for his sake or my child's sake, but for my own sake. Emily had a point. Edward would want me to at least take a break. I sighed in defeat and nodded my head dejectedly.
"You're right," I whispered softly.
"24 hours. In exactly 24 hours, I will be back searching for him. I am not going to give up on him. He didn't give up on me, and I'm not about to do that to him. I owe him."
Emily nodded and continued on with Adé as I turned, leaving the sewers. I hated this decision, but I knew it was my only real choice right now. I was feeling a bit weak.
'When I find you, Edward, I'm going to rub my strength in your face,' I smirked slightly to myself at that, trying to boost my own spirits up. It worked a bit as I rose to the surface, heading to the motel that Ah Tabai had rented temporarily for us.
I walked into the room and saw him holding my son, rocking him gently. The boy was crying softly. Mentor smiled at me as he walked over to me, passing my son back to me.
"You should rest some, Mary. By the way, did you ever come up with a name for him?"
I looked up at him a moment before nodding my head slightly, gazing back down at my child.
"Oliver. Oliver Read Kenway."