AN:

This chapter is actually where I started with this fanfiction three long years ago. When I played through Black Flag the first time, and I started to think how things might have turned out if Mary had lived, everything I knew about her character told me she would tear down cities to find the men who took her daughter. I drafted a really shitty one-shot based on this featured song, and after reading it through a few times to figure out what wasn't working, I realized there were no stakes to her drive or her relationship with Edward without all the backstory I'd dreamed up in my head. That backstory is what I wrote for you all in this story and I'm so happy to have finally reached ground zero after all this time. Enjoy!

Song: Marked Man - Mieka Pauley

Edward woke to the muted bustle of morning chores about the Jackdaw. Sunlight wove its way through the grime on the cabin windows, casting long shadows about the room. The gentle lapping of waves against the side of the hull threatened to lull him back to sleep, but he fought the urge. He knew it was time to get up and check in with his crew.

He rolled over to face Mary, who was stretched out on her stomach, arms wrapped around her pillow. She was still very much asleep. He leaned over and brushed her hair out of her face, then pressed his lips to her bare shoulder. "Wake up, my love," he whispered against her warm skin.

She rolled over with a grunt and stretched her limbs wide, kicking back the covers of their makeshift bed on the floor. They hadn't done much sailing since affirming their love for each other, and had left the cove in too great a hurry to arrange a replacement for their cots on opposite sides of the captain's quarters. The first night at sea they'd tried to sleep separately, but they'd become too accustomed to the other's presence to get much rest. In the three nights since then they'd thrown all their bedding and some various bits of cloth from the hold onto the cabin floor in an attempt at a mattress. It was hardly comfortable, but they both found it preferable.

She blinked lazily, finding his eyes in the muted morning light. "What is it now, day five?"

He nodded. "Aye, but if the winds turn favorable we should arrive by dusk." He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.

He lips creased into a small frown. "That might be wishful thinking at the rate we've been going." She let out a small sigh and pulled herself up to return the kiss to his cheek. "But we'll get there eventually. I've waited this long. Another day is no matter." Her tone didn't match the relaxed nature of her words, but he knew better than to call her on her contradictions first thing in the morning.

The calm morning seemed out of place for their mission. Mary had been understandably on edge since Ikal's arrival in Great Inagua, but she had better control over her impatience than he might in her position. His own worries and insecurities had been mounting as they sailed closer to their target, but he had been doing his best to take her lead in keeping them under wraps. The next few days were too important to risk screwing up with overthinking.

She rolled to her feet and stretched again, arms over her head nearly touching the low ceiling. His gaze raked up and down her form. He'd never exactly been a chaste man, but being with her had turned him back into an eager, hungry teenager. She reached for her chest bindings, which hung over the back of a nearby chair after being carelessly tossed there the previous night, but he sat up quickly and stopped her hand. She looked down at him with confusion and he flashed her a sly grin. "No one said we had to get dressed quite yet," he purred as he laced his fingers through hers and pulled her back to the floor.

With a warm laugh, she climbed into his lap. "How am I expected to get anything done with you around?" she growled playfully against his neck before pushing him back into the bedding.

The Jackdaw pulled into port not long after dark that night. Each man aboard was awarded a small purse of gold for their previous few days of hard work, and most of the crew took a course straight for the brothels. Edward expected they'd all burn through their pay in two days' time, but with any luck they wouldn't be in Havana long enough to warrant him opening his coffers for them again. As for him and Mary, they'd headed for his favorite tavern in town, the one Stede Bonnet had introduced him to on his first ill-fated visit to the Spanish city.

Edward settled into a chair across from his quartermaster, setting their third round of drinks on the table. She was gazing out across the small courtyard thoughtfully, her thumb tracing the edge of the parchment in her hands. Her lips moved, and though she made no noise he knew what she was muttering to herself. A name, Ignacio du Mont, and an address near the courthouse. They didn't know if this man had Jennifer or, if not, what information he might have about her, but it was more than they'd had since the child had left Mary's arms on the day of her birth. It was hope. It made him nervous.

She reached out for her drink without taking her eyes off the lines of the cobblestone she was so intently studying. "I want to go," she stated. "Tonight, while he sleeps."

Edward shook his head. "We don't know what we're walking into. We don't know how heavily guarded he is, if at all, or if he's even in the city at present. This is too delicate. We need more information."

Her gaze snapped to his, and impatience flared behind her brown eyes with a fire he was all too familiar with. "We have more information than we've had in over year! This is hardly the biggest target we've dealt with, Kenway. The two of us can handle a few commoners in yellow coats."

"I don't doubt that, but if this man has been tasked with the keeping of your daughter they'll know our faces. I want to do this carefully."

She scoffed. "Since when do you do anything carefully?"

He reached across the table and put a hand on her wrist, wishing he could do more to comfort her without blowing her cover. "Since you wormed your way into my head and started fucking around with my conscience," he answered with a warm chuckle.

She offered an affectionate smirk and placed her free hand over his. "I've been fucking around with more than that, mate. All right. We'll figure something else out. But I'm not waiting any longer than tomorrow."

Before he could respond, a pair of figures entered the Tavern that the sight of cause the two of them to break apart abruptly. "Massey! Bell!" Edward called to his young crewmates.

A look of relief crossed Massey's face at the sight of them. Bell, however, looked ill. The former patted his friend on the shoulder and made for the bar while the latter crossed the courtyard towards his captain and quartermaster.

Mary motioned for him to have a seat with them. "What's the matter, lad? You look troubled." She passed him her drink and he took a hearty sip with a nod of gratitude.

"I received some news from home upon landing," the boy responded with a frown. "Not the best news, actually. It's my father, see? He's taken ill again."

Edward grimaced. His own father had died some years ago. That was a letter every sailor dreaded. He signaled to the bartender that they needed more drinks at their table. "I'm sorry to hear that, mate. It was good of your family to write to you."

Bell gave a sad laugh. "Well… I don't hear from them often. My parents don't exactly approve of my… profession. My sister, though, we always got on." He downed the last of Mary's rum as the next round arrived. "I must confess, however, I didn't come just to share bad news. I need a favor."

Mary nodded. "If it's in our power, we'll help."

Bell gave a small smile. "I don't come from a well-to-do family. My sister wrote in hopes that I might be able to send gold home to pay for a physician. I had set some set aside to return home and settle down one day, but I'm afraid it's not enough."

Edward had always liked this boy. He imagined Bell was the kind of young man he might have been if Mary had gotten a hold of him much sooner. He had a good heart, but he had ambition and drive as well. He turned to his quartermaster. "I think that's in our power, don't you agree?"

Mary nodded, but there was something else in her eye he couldn't read, something excited. "Your father raised a loyal sailor, regardless of whether he approves of what you do with your talents. We reward loyalty." Bell's eyes lit up, but she paused, calculating for a moment. "I would, however like to ask something of you in return. You'll get your gold even if you say no. The Jackdaw is a family, which makes your father our family. But my family needs your help as well."

"Thank you, Master Kidd," the lad beamed, gripping her forearm with glee and gratitude. "Whatever you need, I'll be happy to help."

Mary smiled warmly, encouraged by his exuberance. She passed him the parchment with du Mont's address. "I need to know if this man is home. Scout the building, find out who lives there and what I'll have to fight my way through to get inside. Report back to me and dusk tomorrow, and I'll have made arrangements to send gold back to your family."

Bell took the paper and nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you, Master Kidd. Thank you, Captain Kenway. They won't know I was there." He motioned to his friend Massey at the bar and the pair left, hurried by their new endeavor.

Edward smirked at his lover. "You clever scoundrel. Manipulating that poor boy in his time of need…"

She rolled her eyes with a grin and leaned back in her chair. "I like to think he'd have done it anyway. He's a good lad, that one. Massey, too. They'll make fine Assassins one day."

He stared at her in mingled amusement and awe. She had a knack for this, turning scumbags into shadows. But she was right. He saw what she did in those young boys. They had the kind of spirit she'd shone a light on inside of himself.

AN:

Originally, this chapter was supposed to be an intro to what will be the next one, but I finished it and it stood well enough on it's own so I'm breaking it up so y'all have a little something to read. Enjoy!