Twelve years ago…

Tigerlily didn't say a word as Harrison led her and Mary down the corridor and up the steps to the main deck. She felt unnatural in her dress, with its many layers and under-layers that made movement difficult. Thank goodness Mary had found some flats, since Tigerlily never could have made it up the stairs in heels. She was sure Harrison could see her heart hammering against her ribs, but she just kept walking, holding Mary's hand and hoping to find comfort in her friend. They could do this. They had to.

It seemed like ages before they finally reached Blackbeard's stateroom, but only too soon, they arrived and were ushered inside. They made their way through the office area into the dining room, which was covered in green silk wallpaper and included a miniature chandelier full of sparkling crystals. Most of the room was taken up by a massive oak table, ornately carved and surrounded by matching oak chairs that were upholstered in dark green velvet. The table was set with fine hand-painted china, gleaming silverware and dazzling crystal wine glasses. One wall was taken up by a window, while another was dominated by an oil painting of a ship sinking into the sea during a ferocious storm.

Blackbeard was already seated at the head of the table. He was wearing a red velvet jacket embroidered with glossy black thread and matching black breeches under gleaming leather boots. He looked devilishly handsome—or perhaps just devilish.

He sprang up as soon as the two women entered. "Ladies! Come in! I've been looking forward to our little dinner date all day."

He slid around the table and offered Mary his arm, leading her to the seat next to his. To her credit, she kept a charming smile fixed on her face. Tigerlily quickly dropped in the seat across from her, grateful she was fast enough that Blackbeard didn't have a chance to seat her as well.

"Mary darling, you look radiant, as always," the captain purred, kissing Mary on the temple. "It's hard to believe, but you may look even more beautiful tonight than I've ever seen you."

"Thank you, dear," Mary murmured.

"And you, princess," Blackbeard continued, swinging his attention to Tigerlily without leaving Mary's side, "you're like an entirely different person. I could almost forget you're a savage. You clean up so very well!"

Tigerlily didn't have the same poise Mary had been able to cultivate after so many years, so all she did was nod.

Blackbeard didn't seem to mind. He was certainly in a good mood that evening. Spying a half-full bottle of champagne on the table, Tigerlily guessed that was part of the reason why.

"She's actually a pretty sort of thing, isn't she, dear?" Blackbeard continued, letting his fingers slide down Mary's neck and over her collarbone, where he absentmindedly played with the lace along her shoulder. Mary winced as his fingers connected with one of the many bruises she'd tried to cover with powder.

"I suppose," she agreed cautiously.

"I'm afraid I was rather hard on the two of you earlier," the pirate said, still cheerful. "I may have gone a bit overboard. It's just that I'm so jealous about my Mary… You understand, don't you, sweetheart?"

Tigerlily saw Mary's jaw clench before she responded, her voice as smooth and controlled as ever. "Of course, darling."

"Thank goodness," Blackbeard said, as though he was truly concerned. "Then let's eat!"

He sat back down at his place, and pirates instantly materialized with silver platters heaped full of the choicest delicacies—roast beef smothered in gravy, piping hot bread covered in sweet butter, rich puddings, tart cherries, potatoes, corn on the cob, all kinds of fruits. Any other time, Tigerlily would have been seized with a ravenous hunger after living on bread and water for so long, but now she was too nervous to enjoy anything.

Blackbeard snatched up Mary's glass and filled it with champagne, then reached for Tigerlily's. "Darling, she's a bit young for spirits, I think," Mary spoke up hesitantly.

"Nonsense," Blackbeard replied jovially, filling Tigerlily's glass to the brim. "It will bring some color back to her cheeks. Besides, she's hardly a child. How old are you now, princess?"

"Thirteen," Tigerlily answered quietly.

"See?" Blackbeard crowed. "More woman than child." He handed the glass back to Tigerlily, and she tried not to flinch when her fingers brushed his. "Now, what should we drink to?" The women waited hesitantly, too cautious to speak up "I know," Blackbeard finally announced, eyes lighting up. "Let's drink to growing up."

"To growing up," the women echoed, raising their glasses. Tigerlily sipped her drink cautiously. She had drunk spirited drinks before, the sweet, tangy kind the medicine man in her tribe made for special occasions; all were allowed to drink that, as long as they were under the watchful eyes of their parents. But this drink was different—sharper, more sour, stronger. It felt like fire washing down her throat, and she struggled not to cough it back up.

"I bet there's some primitive initiation process your tribe puts children through, isn't there?" Blackbeard continued. "Like killing a crocodile with your bare hands or something else wonderfully savage like that."

"Something like that."

"Have you done it yet?" Blackbeard asked.

Tigerlily had no desire whatsoever to share her people's customs with Blackbeard, but he was surprisingly curious—and she knew he would never let up until she shared the details he wanted. "No. We usually do go through the initiation on our thirteen birthday, but—" she looked at him pointedly, unable to hide her hatred—"I was here."

"Ah," the pirate said, nodding his head knowingly. "I see. Shameful inconvenience, I'm afraid." He leaned back in his chair, swirling his champagne absentmindedly as his eyes trailed down Tigerlily's frame. "You know, we have a sort of initiation process back home, too—a way to turn girls into women. If your tribe can't initiate you properly, maybe my men and I can."

A warning, soft but insistent, started to grow in the back of Tigerlily's mind. Perhaps it was the way Mary's hands tightened on her utensils, or perhaps it was the uneasy feeling that started to well up in the pit of her own stomach. She didn't know why she was uncomfortable, exactly, but she knew something was building up, some pressure that could erupt in a very bad way, if the course of the evening was unaltered.

So she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Where's Cornelius?"

For a blessed moment, the tension eased away. "Oh, the fairy," Blackbeard said with a scornful smile. "He makes a rather pleasant night lamp. I'm keeping him in my quarters for now."

"Is he all right?"

"He's perfectly fine," the pirate replied carelessly. "A little noisy for my taste. But after tomorrow, he'll be off my hands—and so will you."

Tigerlily dropped her fork in surprise, and it clattered onto her plate. "What?"

"Why, that's the whole reason I wanted this little get-together tonight," Blackbeard told her, enormously pleased with himself. He took another gulp of champagne, draining his glass and pouring himself another. "It was our last chance to enjoy each other's company. I sent out the ransom today, and your tribe's bringing me my pixum tomorrow. I'll be trading you and the fairy for more pixum than this ship can hold."

Tigerlily glanced at Mary, trying to control her roiling emotions. Her first feeling, one that filled her with guilt, was of exhilaration, of unspeakable joy that she would finally be going home. She could just go back to her cabin and wait for morning. But just as quickly, the feeling disappeared. What about Mary? Mary, who was concentrating so keenly on her dinner, who was working so hard not to look affected by the news. She couldn't possibly leave Mary. No, they would see their plan through to the end.

When Mary looked over at her, she could tell her friend was thinking the same thing. Tigerlily just needed to distract Blackbeard long enough that Mary could stab him. It would be difficult—Mary could never puncture through his thick clothes. She'd have to find exposed skin, like his neck. But she could do it. Tigerlily believed in her.

For once, Blackbeard missed the women's glances at each other. The alcohol was dulling his senses. "That's why tonight's so important," he spoke up, his voice ringing out more loudly after so much champagne. "It's a celebration, really—a goodbye party. We have to enjoy our last night together. Drink up!"

Tigerlily forced herself to keep eating, though the food was tasteless in her mouth. It was like eating corn mush. She kept drinking, too, trying to keep Blackbeard content and unwary. The more she drank, the less awful it tasted, though her head began to feel confusingly heavy. Somewhere along the line, she realized she was having trouble forming coherent thoughts as quickly as usual, like she was sleepwalking or walking through water.

Blackbeard noticed her troubles with amusement. "The princess appears to be a bit of a lightweight."

"Well, it's her first time drinking," Mary pointed out. "Sweetheart, maybe she should go back to my room and get some rest." She leaned in to Blackbeard, treating him to a view of her spectacular cleavage as she ran her fingers up his arm. "I'm sure we can… occupy ourselves… without her company."

Blackbeard caught Mary's hand and pressed a kiss into it, breathing in her perfume with relish. "Now, there is nothing I would like better than to spend some time alone with you," he answered, "but business must always come first. And I have some unfinished business with the princess. It is our last night together, so it's my last night to tie up loose ends."

"Can't it wait until morning?" Mary pouted coyly, playing with the top buttons of Blackbeard's coat. She leaned closer, kissing Blackbeard on the corner of his jaw and nipping at his ear playfully. He groaned with pleasure, catching Mary by the chin and kissing her passionately. Mary returned the kiss, throwing one arm around Blackbeard's neck to pull him in tighter while the other hand slowly reached for her hairpin. Tigerlily's breath caught in her throat as she watched in painful anticipation.

Just as Mary's fingers tightened around the hairpin, Blackbeard broke the kiss. Mary dropped her hand hurriedly as he pulled away. "I almost forgot!" he exclaimed, standing up and heading to the corner of the room, where a crimson box sat on the edge of an end table. Grabbing it quickly, he turned back around and opened it up to reveal what was inside: a glistening ruby necklace. "I found this for you," he explained, pulling it out of the box, "as a sort of apology present."

"You shouldn't have," Mary protested with just the right amount of admiration in her voice. Tigerlily got the feeling that this was a familiar routine—that if she looked through Mary's cabinets, she would find scores of such dazzling presents, meant to buy back forgiveness and erase bruises.

"I wanted to," Blackbeard replied, sounding as proud as a kid giving his mother a homemade craft. He slipped behind Mary, impatiently tugging away her pearl necklace, which he tossed on the table without a second glance. Almost reverently, he slid the ruby necklace in place, fastening it around Mary's neck. It was so big, with so many rubies and diamonds, that it draped over nearly her entire front.

Mary fingered the necklace appreciatively. "Thank you."

"A pretty thing for a pretty thing," Blackbeard said, sliding his fingers down Mary's neck and resting them on her shoulders. Lucky, he wasn't able to see how much Mary paled at his touch. "But something's not quite right."

Mary paled even more. "What's wrong, dearest?"

With one smooth movement, Blackbeard pulled out Mary's ruby hairpin, letting her hair spill down over her shoulders. "You know I love you most with your hair down."

Tigerlily tried not to react, but she couldn't help sharing an alarmed glance with Mary.

Blackbeard turned the hairpin over in his fingers, staring at it thoughtfully. "I remember when I gave you this," he said. "It was a present to mark our second year together. But… I don't remember it being quite so black."

"Of course it was," Mary said hurriedly. She forced out a laugh. "You just don't remember. I haven't worn it in ages."

"No, you haven't," Blackbeard agreed, and Tigerlily almost cringed at the dark undercurrent in his voice. "You haven't worn your hair up in ages, either. I'm surprised you did tonight."

"Why… I just wanted to look nice for you," Mary replied. Her smile was winning as ever, but her voice was starting to sound a little more fearful.

"Oh, you always look beautiful," Blackbeard said, stroking her cheek. "It's that intoxicating mix of a pretty face and a loving heart and such… guileless… innocence." His fingers curled around her chin, tipping her face up. "Look at those lovely clear eyes. They just beg you to trust them."

"There's… there's no reason not to," Mary said, her lip trembling.

"No, of course not," Blackbeard agreed. "You're far too sweet and lovely and good to plan anything as vile as a betrayal, aren't you? Not my Mary. And you are my Mary, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?" Blackbeard's grip on her chin tightened, and she winced.

"Yes, I'm yours," Mary whispered.

"And you always will be," Blackbeard replied, his voice harder now. "Despite what girlish bonding you might have felt with this savage—" he swept his free hand towards Tigerlily derisively—"tomorrow, she'll be gone. And you'll be here, alone except for me, like it always has been and always will be. I'm the only thing you have in this world, my beautiful Mary, and you'd do well to remember just how much you need me."

He kissed her then, but it wasn't a loving kiss—it was rough and angry and possessive. Mary whimpered against his mouth, but he held on, fingers tangled in her curls. One hand slid down to her waist, pulling her up from her chair and yanking her against him roughly. He yanked on her hair, craning her neck for easier access to her mouth, despite her yelp of pain.

Finally, he allowed the kiss to break, though he kept his arms around her possessively. "If I didn't have unfinished business with that brat," he said, jerking his head in Tigerlily's direction, "I'd throw you across this table right now and remind you just how totally and completely you're mine. But as it is—" he jerked her head back even farther so that he could press a kiss into the hollow of her throat—"we'll just have to wait." He glanced over her shoulder. "Harrison!"

Harrison materialized next to Mary without a word.

"Harrison will escort you back to your room," Blackbeard said, kissing Mary's wrist with sudden gallantry, "and I'll be down as soon as I can."

Mary followed Blackbeard's second-in-command out of the room, daring one last tearful glance back at Tigerlily before the door slammed shut.

Now it was just the princess and the pirate.