XXV.
As To Sink So Low

Back in Kingston Mary thought with a sigh. It seemed when she came to land anymore, she was in Kingston. She stood by Edward, dressed as Kidd as usual. Ade was standing on the other side of Edward and they were all deciding what to do.

"There isn't a ship called Princess in the dock." Mary commented. "So, we seek out someone who works for who?"

"Royal African Company" Ade told her. "It shouldn't take long. These streets are full of slavers" He looked around, as if waiting for one to jump out. Last time he was here, he was about to be sold. He looked at her and suddenly he looked amused. She shook her head, looking away. Yes, that had been quite the adventure.

"Well shall we split up?" Edward suggested. "And no getting in trouble, eh, Jim?"

"I think that should be what we tell you Edward" She slapped his shoulder. "Stay out of trouble Kenway." She began to walk away.

"'Oy! Kidd!" He called as she got a few feet away. She stopped, half turning to look at him. "We're here on personal means – not for your friends, you hear me?"

"Fine, fine, Edward!" she turned away, waving her hand. He was so pushy!

"Two hours Kidd!"

"Yes mum!" She snapped back at him and hastened her walk. He was annoying sometimes, especially since he had gotten what she might call territorial. She thought he was being an idiot, but when didn't she think that about Edward? She patrolled the streets, leaning against corners to check her boots whenever she saw anyone she thought might have information.

Sadly, her two hours went by and she found out next to nothing. She began to head back to the docks, knowing she'd be late but not caring much. She supposed Edward would be worried – or something of the sort. She supposed taking him as her's was probably the wrong thing to do. While it was enjoyable, it was also annoying. She didn't like to see him look at other woman. She realized pretty quickly that she was jealous of those woman, able to flaunt and flirt when she had to be controlled and distant when she was out and about with him. She questioned her own decision to keep dressing as Kidd by the day now.

If she dressed as Mary Read that would lead to all sorts of questions she didn't want to answer. As it was, she had cut her hair again. Edward had complained of that, but she had only taken an inch or two off with her knife. Edward had once again given his protest in the form of saying how he liked her hair down. She couldn't leave it down all the time though and as usual, her hair was twisted up behind her head. Strange though, how her corset seemed too tight today though, how the heels of her boots made her feel almost clumsy with extra height. Was she getting used to not wearing such things? That would be Edward's fault too – at least she was going to blame it on him.

"Kidd! Kidd!" It was Edward's voice and she stopped, glancing over at him. There he was, trotting towards her. "You're late, man!"

"Not by much, I'm sure" She replied.

"Still, I think Ade found something. We're meeting him there. Come on" He turned a corner and she followed. He was walking fast so it must have been a good lead. Maybe it wasn't, but at this point wasn't any lead a good lead?

They found Ade standing there, glaring up at a man who looked bored and annoyed. "There you two are!" He exclaimed. He pointed at the man. "This bahjohn works for the Royal African Company. Tell them what you told me"

The man sighed, looked from Mary to Edward back to Ade. "I haven't seen the Princess for eight weeks or more…Meaning, she may soon be back" He looked annoyed and bored. Like he rather be anywhere but where he was. He brushed some imaginary dust off the sleeve of his shirt.

"What else?" Ade pushed. The man gave him a scathing look and leaned against the beam on the porch with another sigh.

"I thought this buck belonged to the other men who was asking about the Princess this morning so I told him that-" Edward cut him off, just as Mary was going to do it.

"What other men?"

The man looked like he was being pushed too hard. He rolled his eyes. "Haughty sailor in plain rags. And a gent with a scar" He touched his cheek. "Just here" Rodgers. Damn! He was here already? Maybe they shouldn't have spent those days in bed…Still, the sailor in rags couldn't have been…Mary hoped not. She hope it was just some fool and not the particular fool she thought it was.

"Do you know where they might have got to?" Mary asked him.

"Staying just 'round the corner, they said" He motioned to where they had said and then Ade grabbed Edward, dragging him a few feet away. Mary followed. Ade glanced at her but then turned his dark eyes back to Edward.

"I grow tired of chasing these fantasies of yours, Edward. As does the crew" His voice was serious with a threat.

"Hang in there, man! We're getting close!" Edward pleaded with him. Ade glanced up at her again, as if wondering her place in this. She dropped her eyes since she had no answer for him. "Just go, tell the crew I'll be back soon."

Ade stalked off, looking annoyed and angry. Mary stood and waited while Edward took a deep breath. He motioned for her to follow and she did, stalking along beside him as they found themselves at the edge of a plantation.

"Ready to put to use those skills I taught you?" She asked.

"They were well learned, Kidd" The both jumped the wall and snuck their way through the plantation. Edward also put his blowdarts to good use. He had good aim, which was hard to have with the simple tool sometimes. He even puffed his cheeks out like he was supposed to, getting the full effect. He would knock them out and she would catch them, dragging them in the bush to finish off. They eliminated only a few guards that way because if they killed too many, someone would take note. It was mainly just a distraction.

Soon enough, crouching in a thick bush, she peeked up and spied them. Woodes Rodgers and Benjamin Hornigold, the Templar and the traitor. She and Edward looked at each other. He was mad, she was just sad. After all of this, Ben would turn traitor. How that hit her right in her heart! Perhaps they weren't what one would call friends but she had admired him. He had always been a good man, a man with a sense of honor.

No one is evil. She reminded herself What others perceive as evil, they themselves perceive as good. As good they're trying to do the world or their family. They do evil things for happiness. It was hard to remember that as right now she could only see Ben as a traitor, as turning his back on everything that had come before. Edward was almost shaking with his rage. He held back though as their voices raised up a little.

"Have you alerted the men?" It was Rodgers speaking. "We're short on time"

"Aye" Ben told him, as they turned to leave the plantation. "There'll be two soldiers waiting for us at the crossroads." Guards. That was just great. She and Edward would either have to hide from or kill those guards. "If you don't mind me asking…sir, what's the meaning behind these blood samples we're taking?"

Blood samples? Mary perked up and as they followed, carefully darting from bush to bush, she couldn't say that this picked on the edges of her memory for some reason. Like what they were saying right now was very important to something.

"Torres tells me that blood is required for the Observatory to properly function" Rodgers explained. Mary pressed a little closer as they had paused. She heard Edward hiss her name in warning, but she had to hear this.

"How do you mean, sir?"

"If one wishes to use the Observatory to say…spy on King George, the one would require a drop of the king's blood to do so. In other words, a small sample of blood gives us access to a man's everyday life" Ben was nodding as he understood, but then he paused, looking slightly alarmed.

"Does Torres mean to spy on me then? For I've just give him a sample of my blood!" He seemed to see this idea as fearful, as if he didn't want to be spied upon. Mary supposed few did.

"As have I, Captain Hornigold" Rodgers calmed him, holding his hands out before him. "As will all Templars. It is a measure of insurance" That made sense. It all suddenly made sense. The list that Mary found! The Templars had been gathering blood samples from their members! That list had been members who had blood gathered from them or not. She had to tell Ah Tabai…

Edward was dragging her along. Hornigold and Rodgers were moving again, speaking about pirate hunting and other such things but she couldn't listen anymore. The men they had eliminated, some of them had given their blood. Now it was useless. Their work had a greater impact than she had thought. Maybe they were on the verge of chasing them again, putting them back on the run with their tail between their legs. There was hope! Mary's heart felt suddenly lighter, as if a burden she didn't realize she was carrying had been cast off.

"What have you learned?" A voice startled her. She had been following after Edward automatically while her mind was racing. The Grand Master's voice startled her back to the moment though. Edward was leaning against a wall, acting as if he were talking to a woman. Mary forced herself to act like she was talking and laughing too.

"The Princess was taken by pirates six weeks ago. And so far as we know, the Sage Roberts was still aboard" Rodgers was saying. Taken by pirates? This might not go well for Roberts then. He might not be alive anymore.

"Very good. It is something no?" Torres was saying. She didn't catch the rest of it because she and Edward were rushing to another hiding spot. They could hear again when Torres said "What of the Sage's present location. Do we know?"

"Africa, your excellency" What an arse kisser Rogers was.

"Africa? By God, the winds do not favor that route" Torres seemed disappointed. Mary knew of some channels herself to get there, but it had been a very long time since she had been anywhere near Africa. Edward and her had to move once more, finding a spot to crouch, up in the rafters of a storage barn.

"Eh, remind me…where in Africa are we looking?" Torres was speaking again.

"Principe, sir" Ben was saying. "A small island"

"We're about to send two of our best men. Burgess and Cockram. Privateers with fast ships and firm hearts" He sounded so proud saying that. Mary peeked out, seeing Torres and Rodgers walking on, but Ben hesitated, his keen eyes sweeping over the port. Mary glanced and she heard Edward curse softly. The Jackdaw was in plain view. He saw it and Mary could see from the way he held himself, he was smiling.

"Edward Kenway! Imagine my surprise at seeing your Jackdaw anchored there!" Edward jumped down from the rafters to stand in the middle of the barn. Mary joined him. Ben turned to look at them. "And you brought the Assassin James Kidd with you! Have you heard all you came to hear? Will you now go rescue the Sage from our clutching hands?"

"A pox on you, traitor!" Edward spat at him. "You sold us down river!"

"Because I found a better path! The Templars know order! Discipline! Structure! But you never could fathom these subtleties." He shook his head at Edward. "And I suppose you'd disclaim that too, wouldn't you Kidd. Somehow, I'm not surprised you run with these Assassin fellows. You were always a queer one" He looked at Edward again and lifted his hand. Soldiers came pouring into the barn. "Goodbye, old friends! You were soldiers once! When you fought for something real, something beyond yourself!"

"Hornigold!" Edward yelled. The guards closed in and Ben began to flee. Mary slashed a guard's throat and went after him. "Kidd! Jim! Stop!" But there were too many guards and they closed in a tight circle around him. One tried to stop her, but she slashed the back of his leg. She ran onto the docks where Ben was about to board his ship.

"You never could let things go, eh Kidd?"

"Piss off, Ben" She hissed.

"You know, those were some of Thatch's last words to me." She could see the pain flash in his eyes, even as he drew his sword. He and Thatch had been thick as thieves. They had spent a lot of time building up Nassau together, running it, trying to steer it to something better. Old Edward Thatch had even been his Quartermaster for a spell.

"Why are you doing this? Why become a Templar?" She asked, drawing her own sword.

"Because the Templars took us in! We don't have nowhere to turn now, Kidd. It's either take the Pardon and quit the sea or die! I found a third option, one that worked for me, one that worked with me!"

"We would have taken you in Ben!" We, the Assassins of course.

"And where were your Assassins when we needed you? Not there! No, but the Templars were! And they took us in, giving us new hope! No! You Assassins are cowards" Then he charged at her, swinging his sword, cutting off any chance for her to change his mind. She wasn't sure if she wanted to at this point anymore. Ben was a lost cause.

Their swords met, midair. They fought, viciously, in a way that friends should never fight. Mary had a lot of experience with her sword, but Ben had years more. For ever slash, his sword was there to meet her's. He even managed a few minor hits which annoyed her to no end. She was the Assassin here, the one who should have been getting hits on him! Suddenly her sword was flying out of her hand and Ben punched her with his free hand, sending her to the ground. He kneeled and grabbed her, pulling her back up with him.

"This doesn't have to be like this Kidd! Renounce those Assassins of yours!" His words were a harsh whisper. He really believed she might. He wanted her to. After all, they had enough business between the two of them. He hoped she might see the 'error' of her ways. There was none to see though, not for her at least.

"Piss off" She growled. She was about to engage her blade, sink it into his stomach when suddenly his sword was through her shoulder. Through it. All the way. The pain was incredible and her hand dropped, she was pretty sure she cried out.

"Because we once fought together, because we built Nassau together, I'll let you live. Never cross me again Kidd. I'll kill you next time" Then he tossed her off the docks and into the water. She hit it like a sandbag, unable to force herself to float.

She would have fought to swim, but there was no will left in her body. Her arm ached and in fact she could hardly feel it. She looked at the sunlight filtering through the water, making everything look blue and distorted. It was beautiful in a way. She looked at it for what felt like forever. Bubbles floated towards the surface, water rushed into her lungs. She was choking but she couldn't do anything about it. She didn't know what there was to do about it. She couldn't swim, not like this.

Suddenly the water was darker; a shadow was cast over her. Perhaps it was a ship. Her eyes were barely open so she couldn't tell. Wait, was she still sinking?

"Bloody hell, Mary!" Suddenly they were on the surface. Edward was holding her above the water. She coughed and retched. "Breathe! Breathe dammit!" She felt him moving – swimming? Being pulled? – towards the docks.

"I got her" Ade? Was that Ade?

She was on the docks, still cough and trying to expel the salt water from her lungs. She was dizzy from bloodloss, but her need to breathe was more pressing at the moment. She gasped and panted and Edward was suddenly there, patting on her back holding her up as she retched and threw up the water that had flooded her lungs. She leaned back against him after. Her one arm still hurt something terrible.

"We need to get her back" Ade was speaking again.

"C'mon. Up you go, lass" Edward was holding her, jogging with her in his arms. "You keep breathing you hear me?" She felt him jump and she hissed in pain.

"Jaysus!"

"Sorry!" He replied. Suddenly it was dim and she knew they were in the navigation room of the Jackdaw. "Clear the table Ade." He must of hesitated. "Dammit it man, just dump it all on the floor – I don't care. Clear the table" There was a sound of things crashing to the floor and Edward finally put her down. She felt him removing her jacket and then peeling back her shirt.

"He ran her through good" Ade commented.

"Just get me something to close this wound with." Edward sounded annoyed. He put his arm under her again and had her sit up. "You doing okay? Mary?"

She didn't answer him right away. "Just feeling a bit faint…"

"Come on, lass. You're stronger than this" Ade came back, frowning. "Hold her up and hold something against the exit wound. I'll be quick with this" He wiped at the bloody wound and she felt the sharp needle against her skin. "This will hurt"

And it did. She kept every cry of pain in her chest though, and it hurt. She didn't want to cry out though. She had withstood pain much worse than this. She had sewn up her own wounds before. She just had to stand this pain. Just a little longer. He finished with the front wound. She leaned her head back, her chest heaving.

"Just a moment…please…Edward…I can't…"

"Hush, Mary" Edward's voice was soothing. "You can. You must"

And then he was stitching the exit wound. She wanted to jerk away from him, but somehow she held steady. Somehow, she held still long enough to finish the exit wound as well. She managed to hold still as he wrapped the wound, fixed her shirt and coat and then he lay her gently back down on the table. They were alone. When had Ade left? He pushed her hair from her face.

"You're okay. I'm going to take you to my room. Okay?" He nodded, as if encouraging her to nod. She managed it and he lifted her into his arms one more time. She must have passed out before he even got out of the room.

A/N: Well, my goodness guys! I'm so overwhelmed with your reviews. They really brighten my day. I have to tell you. So, here's a chapter tonight and I promise this Man-O-War will be updated again tomorrow as well. Look forward to it! And leave me some more reviews, I love reading them. See you later!