X.
Marooned

A single beam of sunlight fell on Mary Read's face. That, along with the sea birds' harsh cries, stirred her. Her head hurt, like she had drank a couple bottles of rum herself. It wasn't a feeling she admired. She groaned lightly and flickered her eyes open and found herself staring up at Edward. His head was resting against her collar bone, his hair in her nose making her wonder how she had been able to breath, and she struggled to get away from him. She wasn't having any luck. They were pinned down by a section of rubble. Edward was on top of her, their bodies from their stomachs down pressed together.

To put it lightly, Mary found herself very uncomfortable.

She struggled slightly, but the friction of their bodies rubbing against each other – she found herself even more uncomfortable. Edward grunted suddenly and she stopped.

"Mary?" His voice was groggy, sounding like he had a head for ten. She wiggled again and he must have felt the shift because he glanced up at her, an eyebrow raised. "Ahoy, Mary, I thought you weren't for such things?"

"Shut up!" She hissed between her teeth. It was uncomfortable enough, but he didn't seem to have it in his mind to help her one bit. "Edward, can't you lift yourself up a little?" She asked. He didn't answer, a slow smile coming across his face. His head was resting on her chest, as he gazed up at her as if this were some sort of game. She kept up her struggling and it made her more and more uncomfortable to feel him against her, especially there.

Finally she managed her way out and scooted to the other side of the room where she glared at Edward. He was having a laugh he was, though not a sound passed his lip.

"And right when I was enjoying myself." He rolled to his stomach (and she was somewhat surprised that he could) and began to make his way out of the rubble.

She stood and looked around. They were still in the hull of the ship. It was lying on its side, with various holes in the hull, courtesy of the storm and the Jack's crew. She climbed into the next room to find a heap of wood, metal and various debris laying on what was once the wall. It was uneven and awkward to walk across. She made her way to what would be the crew's quarters though and found her Templar there. He was dead. Neck broken. She sighed, happy she and Edward had been spared from a similar fate, and shook her head before glancing above her. There was a large hole above her and she managed to pull herself through it after jumping from one piece of wreckage to the other.

She stood on the ship and cursed.

They were shipwrecked on a tiny island. It was shaped like a crescent moon and was dotted with palm trees and bushes. She could see some animals scampering about, so at least there was life on this scrap of land. She could see a sort of spring in the middle and hoped it was of fresh water. Soon she was joined by Edward who gave a taste of his colorful language.

"This is great. Just great" He muttered and he stalked forward and slid off the edge of the ship to land in the sand below. She followed him, jumping down by him. "This is your fault Mary!"

"My fault?" She asked.

"Yes, you and your damn Templar hunt!" He growled. He had paced away from her, hands on his hips. She stood in the shade and waited for him. He sighed. "Well, after this I will most defiantly see you in that dress"

"What?" Now her voice was annoyed. "Are you still hanging on to that?"

"Hanging on to it? No, no Mary. That's my prize. I beat you, you owe it to me"

"I don't owe you shit, Kenway" It was her turn to get angry. How the coin flipped with the two of them. "You can stick that bet up your ass. There is no way in hell you are getting me to dress like a whore."

"Is that what you think it's about?" He asked. She looked at him, narrowing her eyes. "Really, Mary, what kind of scoundrel do you take me for?" He raised both arms and began to approach her. She didn't like where this was going. "No, no. It's not about you dressing like that for pleasure" He paused. "Well…maybe a little pleasure. You are a little flat in the behind, but it's a little hard to put your tits out of mind"

"Edward" Her voice was a warning. He was within arm's reach of her now and she didn't like it. He stopped. She had nowhere to back up anymore, her back against the ship.

"What is it Mary? I ain't going to hurt you. Even if I did, what price would I pay?" He snorted, his eyes amused. "No, my terms ain't about you and how little clothing you can wear before you kill me. No, it's more about you and how you act."

"How I act?" She asked, feeling like she ought to slap him. By slap, she meant deck him.

"Yes, how you act. Every day I see you, even if it's just me and you, you put on this front. Even as I call you Mary every time we're alone, I can still see that maybe you prefer to be called James. Would you have rather been born a man, Mary?" He reached out and she stiffened. He didn't hesitate as he grabbed the wrap in her hair and ripped it out. It hurt; he had caught some of her hair in that. She didn't cry out though, but she did stumble forward into his waiting arms. He stuffed her wrap in a pocket and tried to grab for it. "And what of this?" He grabbed a handful of her hair which now lay on her shoulders. He didn't pull it but he kept it in his hand, almost gentle.

"What of it?" She asked, glaring up at him. Her hands rested on his chest, his hand on her lower back. She didn't like the contact but with his hand in her hair, she was afraid he might pull. That would hurt and it was a pain she'd like to avoid.

"This." He gently tugged on her hair "If you want to be a man why not cut it? Why not be rid of it all? No, you keep it long so that if you prefer, you may let it down and walk as a woman. But how often do you walk as a woman?"

"When I'm home!" She snapped at him. "Men can't accept that a woman can do just as much as they can! That I can be just as strong and fierce! Equality and freedom are in the distant future Edward, but they're not here. Not now."

"Is that really the truth, Mary?" He asked her, his voice harsh and loud, speaking over her words and thoughts. "Is that really so? Then why not show them? Why not make them see?"

"Fuck you, Kenway"

"We'll get to that in time, eh? I just want you to show me that you can be a woman, Mary. That's what I want to see. That's why I want you to dress like that. Show me you can be Mary Read rather than James Kidd, even if just for an hour." He had truly pissed her off and she shoved him back, not caring if he ripped her hair or not. He let go of her as he stumbled away. She ducked under his one arm and stormed off onto the sand. "Mary!"

"You don't understand a damn thing!" She shouted. "You don't understand!"

"Then make me! Jaysus, Mary!" He shouted back. At first, she considered it. She considered telling him everything. Her whole story, making him see why she did what she did. She clenched her fists, closed her eyes and tried to fight the near panic in her heart. No, no one needed to know. Not all of it, she didn't think Kenway could understand, even if she did explain. No one ever would, not in the way she hoped. She was alone in that aspect, keeping all that pain in her heart.

"Just shut up, Kenway" She told him, not bothering to shout anymore. There wasn't a need to anyway. It just hurt her throat. "I'm not having this fight with you"

"Why not?" His voice was lower but annoyed.

"Because I'm not!" She spun around to look at him. "Now give me back my wrap!" She held out her hand for it and he sighed, handing it back to her.

"But I like your hair down" He said it almost childishly. She began to put her hair back up, ignoring him. In fact, it was to spite him too. They stood staring at each other for a long moment until the frustration leaked out of the moment and the air between them was calm again.

"If we're going to survive, we better gather food, water and supplies. I saw some small animals scampering about when I first came out of the hull. There was also a spring over towards the middle of the island." She just wanted to pretend they had never had that argument. "We also should scavenge in the hull for any supplies of use there – wood, cloth, other things of such"

"Well what would you prefer to do?"

"Scavenge in the hull" She began to remove her jacket. It was hot on the island. The sun was hot, the sand was warm and she was sweltering in her coat, shirt, undershirt and corset. It was just too many layers.

Without a word to her, Edward started off to look around the island. Mary made her way back into the ship and began to move things around, finding useful things buried underneath the rubble. She had to make sure not to knock anything down on herself though and she got a few bruises from dodging falling rubble. She found some booze which she promptly hid. No need getting pissed here on this island. She found some empty jars for water and she found cloth for blankets and other such things. She gathered some useless dry wood for firewood. She gathered some damp wood to dry and use for repairs or tinder, which ever they were needed for first. She made neat piles out on the sand. She noticed that Edward raided her water jar pile though. He must have figured out what it was to be used for.

She noted he brought the jars back when they were filled with clear, fresh water. So that was good. They had water, a small spring or perhaps a pond of fresh and hopefully clean water. Last thing they needed was to be getting sick, especially while here.

They worked for a long time, until Edward came back with several lizards that needed skinning. He took some of her cloth, skinned them and strung what meat they did have in slabs on the cloth. He then hung it up using the ships. Good idea to keep it from getting sand on it. She had already built a small fire pit but had yet to get around to lighting it.

"How we going to cook it?" She asked him, motioning to the meat with her eyes. They both had already been to work for several hours. Edward had shed his robes already and most of his weapons but his hidden blades. She had opened her shirt a little but not too much. Her sword lay by Edward's dual blades.

"A spit" Edward replied simply as he tried to create a fire.

"There ain't no sticks on this island Edward" She told him.

"We got our swords, don't we?" He motioned to the three of them.

"Do you know a thing about cooking?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow.

He paused, looked up at her and frowned. "Why would I know a silly thing like that?" She sighed, shoulders sagging. Of course, men. And they thought they were the superior ones.

She brushed him aside and used two rocks to create a spark for the fire. Once they had that going, she had him fetch the swords, wash them off and she placed Edward's two swords on either side of the fire, pushing them down so that the handles were nearly perfectly aligned and then she put two slabs of meat onto her sword. She pushed them until the meat was nearly center on her sword and then carefully put her sword through the guard and handle of Edward's.

"I was going to do that" Edward eyed the spit cautiously. She could only smile as she turned the meat for a moment. He watched in silence.

"Turn the meat. Keep it cooking evenly." She ordered him.

"I'm not your damn dog" He snapped. "What the hell are you going to do?"

"Change my clothes. I don't want what I have to be ruined by our stay here. Stay here" She walked away, loosening the cuffs of her sleeves as she went. She climbed back into the hull of the ship and found her dead Templar. "Sorry about this, mate" She muttered to him. "But I have more need of what you got than you do"

She undressed him, taking his shirt and under shirt but leaving everything else. She moved to the room that had woken up in and began to take off her shirt, unbuttoning it quickly, just in case Edward was brazen enough to come and try to take a peek. She didn't take her corset off anyway, so it wasn't like there was anything to look at. Then she slipped on the dead man's shirt. She paused only a moment to look at the gold chain hanging around her neck. It was usually tucked in her corset but it must have fallen out. It was old, sometimes she forgot it was there but…She tucked it back away, fixing the collar of the shirt so Edward wouldn't take notice of the chain. She buttoned the cuffs and then the shirt and hurried back out to meet Edward. He was rotating the meat with the look of pure innocence.

It was very clear he peeped on her.

She chose to ignore that and scoot him away from the food before he burned it. He stood to the side and watched her work. They were silent for a little while but she glanced over at him, catching sight of his shoulder that had been injured in Havana. It had been three weeks now and the wound was healed enough that he had nothing over it. It just appeared to be a scratch now.

"Does your arm bother me you much?" She asked him.

"No. Not much" he said, glancing at it. He glanced back at her after a moment and offered a small smile. They were silent for a moment.

"When did you get all those tattoos?"

"Mostly when I was serving under Blackbeard and Hornigold. Most other men had tattoos and I figured it was time I join their ranks" He answered honestly. "You have a tattoo too…on your chest"

"Mm…" She replied, though it was a vague answer. He, of course, had seen it when she pulled her shirt down. It was a tiny thing, a marking of her own choosing she had gotten on a sort of bet. A bet much like her bet with Edward, yet so very different in result.

"When did you get it?"

"A long time ago"

"Ah, Mary, you should know, that won't do with me" He walked around the fire until he was directly across from her. "Come now, you can trust me."

Could she? He said it so easily. You can trust me. Could she trust Edward Kenway? Could she trust him with her secrets, all of them? No, she didn't think so, so he'd have to deal with her yet being vague.

"I got it while I was still in England" She answered finally. His brows furrowed but he didn't press further. For that she was thankful. She didn't want to think about it anymore. Those memories were painful. She locked them away for a reason.

"Sometimes…you know, you act a little funny Mary. You sometimes just look… It's just how you hold yourself, like…like you're in a lot of pain, all the time. Like you can't even breathe without it hurting, but you're trying to just breathe through it. Funny, I never noticed it before when I thought you were James but lately, it's like I see a different side of you" Edward's voice was low and cautious. He knew well of her temper. Hell, they had just had a shouting bout a few hours ago. He probably didn't want another fight on his hands. She didn't either.

"Oh, rot, Edward" She sighed. "You're just imagining things"

"You really can trust me Mary. We've been thick as thieves since we met haven't we?"

"When we first met, I thought you were a cocky little git, who was probably going to get a sword to the stomach for all his troubles. It wasn't until you came back, parading around with your Jackdaw that I thought anything of you." She paused. "You're an interesting man, Kenway, I'll give you that. Different than anyone else I've met. And I've met a lot of people"

"And how many of those people have you killed?" He said this with amusement in his voice, trying to break the mood a little.

"Oh…I suppose a few" She said with a small smile. "And only one or two of them with poisoned tea"

Edward laughed and she smiled. She reached towards the meat, cutting off a slab and looking inside of it to see if it were done. It was growing darker by the minute but the fire was comforting. It was almost normal to be standing by Edward at a fire. It reminded her of the time she and Thatch and Edward all met together to discuss the fate of Nassau. While she had a hand in creating what it was today, she had also abandoned it to Thatch and Hornigold, leaving them to govern it so she could train to be an Assassin.

Soon the food was ready and they ate in relative silence, gazing at the stars more often than each other. Perhaps being stuck here with him wasn't going to be so bad, or so she liked to think. In a week or two, hopefully his crew would find them and they would be able to take her back to Tulum. Perhaps she'd ask to go back to Nassau first. There were two names on the paper that were supposedly there. She'd like to handle that herself. One last bout for her and Edward before she asked to return to Tulum, for who knew how long it'd be before she saw him again?

When it was quite late according to the moons and stars, Edward stood. "Are we sleeping in the hull? It'd be warmer I'd suppose"

"We do have some old sails for blankets" Mary commented. She pulled herself to her feet and together they returned to the hull and to the widest open space they could find. They only had what light was coming in through the broken hull and it wasn't much but they managed to bed down near each other. Rest was uneasy for Mary, but that was how it usually was.

Brown eyes unseeing. Her eyes looking up to her mother's. "I'm sorry" She had whispered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Her own brown eyes – not dead, not like his – filled with tears which spilled over her cheeks. "I didn't mean it" Her broken doll lay on the floor, as broken as his body. Her mother merely looked disappointed and perhaps that was the scariest thing of all.

"You have nothing to prove" That was what he told her. Scrawny, short but determined, she would not be pushed around. She wasn't much for a fight, not yet but she learned, she practiced, she was taught. "You think you can best me, lad?" Oh she could, she knew she could. They fought, she won by the skin of her teeth. "You lose" Then she spat blood at his feet.

Her fourth, fifth, tenth storm. Her sea legs didn't fail her. She ran across the ship, securing it, doing her best. The Spanish were tough; the sky was dark with smoke and with storm. They were boarding them, even as they tried to run. She fought alongside the others; she hoped not to die alongside the others. Suddenly a blade came down, right across her-! "Lad! Lad? Stay with me!" The last thing she saw was blue eyes filled with worry.

She woke sooner than she usually did, too warm. Didn't she already take her jacket off? She opened her eyes and realized she was moving. Not rocking, just…like she was laying on someone who was breathing. She realized, yes, she was laying on someone who was breathing. Edward. She sat up fast , the world tilting as she tried to gain her bearings, and Edward grabbed her arms to steady her.

"Whoa, lass. It's alright. It's just me"

"I…Let go of me, you salty old scratch!" He let go of her and she stumbled back, landing on her ass a few feet from him. He didn't say anything, he didn't need to. She didn't want him to either and he seemed to sense that and for once in his life, and stayed silent. Eventually he left the hull, letting her to herself, which was all she wanted anyway.

He couldn't understand. Not even if she explained.

A/N: Due to me being gone so long, I'll have a few chapters to publish over the course of the day. c: