XXXVII.
Returning

"It all started here" Edward sighed as they walked down the Kingston docks. Mary glanced up at him, a questioning look on her face. "You told me who you really were here. I messed up your kill here…It all started here."

"Aye" She agreed, nodding, a thoughtful look on her face.

"And it was here I realized how I felt about you" That shocked her and she looked up at him, her face a furrowed mask of confusion.

"When…?"

"When Ben threw you into the port. Christ, I had it figured it out before you didn't I?" He laughed at the shocked and embarrassed look on her face. "Jaysus, Mary! Were you in denial the whole time?"

"No!" She spat quickly. Too quickly perhaps because Edward laughed again, although his laugh was more gentle this time.

"And I always thought you so wise" He chuckled to himself and shook his head, walking ahead of her. She fumed silently behind him, quickening her pace to keep up with him. Soon she was walking beside him again, trying to think of something to say but he beat her to it. "I only figured it out because…your heart don't beat that fast when you don't care deeply for someone. Fear don't run so deep in your veins if you can bear to be without them. Anger doesn't cloud your vision if you don't love them in some way or another" She could only look at him, her frustrations forgotten. "What?"

"You've become very wise, Edward"

"Well I didn't understand my feelings at the time but I had plenty of time to mull over ever action I ever made in jail and in the gibbet" He shrugged. "Thinking you're about to die at any time…that makes you wise"

"I can agree with that" She nodded.

By this time they had nearly reached the Bureau. Anto was standing outside waiting for them, a smug smile on his face. He had already been alerted to Edward joining of course, as they all had. He was seeing Edward in a new light she was sure. He nodded at her as well, clearly happy to see her alive and well. She wondered what he had been told about her own condition. She didn't want to ask though, she might wonder but she didn't really want to know.

"Captain Kenway" Anto said as they stopped before the table. "Mary Read" They both gave him a nod of greeting.

"You have something for me?" Edward asked.

"The present whereabouts of the Templar Woodes Rogers. He's attending a small political function, so do it clean" He watched as Edward took his swords off his robes and set them on the table.

"The word is King George is calling Rogers back to London" Edward said with a smirk, removing each of his pistols in turn.

"Aye," Anto agreed. "Not happy with his progress in Nassau"

Mary leaned against the table, a grin on her face. "Still too many pirates roaming about from what I heard" Her and Edward laughed. She had thought she was done being a pirate but truth was she and Edward weren't quite done yet. They had to line his coffer somehow. Most of that money now went to the Assassin's cause, but it was money well needed.

"You'll need a disguise to fool the powderheads at this party" Anto told him. He looked at Mary as if warning her too. She was wearing pants after all and it was clear that she could not go if she dressed more like a man than a woman. "I suggest 'visiting' diplomat, Ruggiero Ferraro. He's been on our lists for some time"

Edward nodded and placed his blowpipe on the table beside his swords and pistol. "Understood." Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out a letter Mary had seen him working on. He had not let her read it however. "Will you send this to England for me?"

Anto took it. "Aye. A ship leaves tomorrow"

"Caroline Scott Kenway. Hawkin's Lane, Bristol" He said her name gravely. He didn't look at Mary for a moment and then turned to her. His eyes didn't stray towards her though, they stayed focused on the distance behind her. she knew what he was doing and she didn't say anything, not wanting to upset his current state of mind. "Stay safe until I return, Mary" He kissed her forehead as he often did but didn't meet her eyes. Then he was gone, running off after his newest target. She looked at Anto.

"We have something for you too, Mary Read"

"Oh?"

And what he showed her made her laugh. Ah, she would have never usually gone for this, but to see the look on his face…Well just once couldn't hurt…

"Salve!" She heard a familiar voice call, though that voice was encased in an Italian accent. "Forgive the lateness of my arrival. I am Ruggiero Ferraro."

"Aye, Mister Ferraro. Not a problem"

And then she saw him enter the party. He was in the now dead man's clothes, looking uncomfortably about him. He had had taken a moment to get cleaned up and better shaved. He was looking great actually but he didn't hardly look like an Italian man. He looked like an English sailor, but maybe it was just her who thought that.

She walked over to him, opening her fan and using it to hide half her face, and he looked down at her. He had probably intended to make light conversation with her until the time was right to strike. "Well salve to you as well…"He started but then she lowered the fan she was holding and he paled. "Mary?"

"Well hello to you too…" She fluttered her eyelashes at him. He was probably surprised to see her so dressed up. And she was dressed up – like a noble woman. The dress she wore was red and everything down to her shoes was what a woman of higher blood would wear. She even wore her hair up like one of them in a twisting style that was quite frankly giving her a terrible headache. It was so uncomfortable, but she had to bear with it, at least for a little while. It was the condition for her to be at this party with Edward. She couldn't allow Edward to be here alone. She knew he was more than capable but she…she couldn't take anything to chance. She had nearly lost him too many times.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed.

"Tell me, Mister Ferraro, how is your Italian?" She grinned at him and the blank look on his face. "Keep quiet and let me handle the talking." She waved her fan in front of her face. It was so hot; many of the women were sporting fans of their own but the damn dresses they wore didn't help much. "You won't let a French woman speak for you?" And that time when she spoke her accent had drastically changed.

"How's your French?"

"Very good, actually" That was one thing she did know. She didn't know Spanish and she only knew a word or two of Italian but she was fluent in French. Then she bumped his arm, prompting him to offer it to her and she took ahold of it and they walked. The walked deeper into the party, spotting Rodgers quickly and easily. He was standing in front of everyone, holding a toast. He didn't look happy though and he wobbled as if he were already slightly drunk.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He slurred and Mary noticed a glass in his hand. "A toast! A toast to my brief tenure as governor of the Bahamas!"

"Must think highly of himself, eh?" Edward whispered to Mary and she couldn't help but smile a little bit. She cast her eyes up to Edward and then back to Rogers as he stumbled across the platform, drink sloshing from his cup.

"For under my watch, no less than three-hundred avowed pirates took the King's Pardon and swore fealty to the crown!" He roared to the crowd. There was a slight applause and people smiled but Rogers wasn't done. "And yet, for all my successes, his Majesty has seen fit to sack me! And call me home to England! Brilliant!" His words were sour and sarcastic. People were glancing at one another, now unsure if they should clap or not. A few still did, slow, soft claps that died in the next few seconds. Someone coughed uncomfortably.

It was clear that Rogers had a bit to drink and it was also clear that he did not know how to handle his booze. Edward seemed to find humor in the situation, a small smile playing on his face. Mary watched Rogers herself, wondering if he might just do himself in and save them the trouble. He held his drink higher yet, anger glinting in his dark eyes.

"God bless the fucker! Therefore, hooray! Hooray for the ignoble and ignorant prigs who rule the world with sticks up their arses! Hooray!" Then he took a drink and a few people clapped and laughed nervously. Mary glanced up at Edward and then she and him worked their way into the crowd.

Edward knew very little Italian as she had already gained. He knew how to say 'Hello' and how to say 'Thank you'. He greeted everyone with a quick 'Salve' and when they said his coat looked dashing, a quick 'Grazie'. Mary was able to hold a longer conversation, meeting a few other women also fluent in French. They both kept their eye on Rogers. He circled around the gathering, talking to different people again and again but each time he circled he had less friends and a more wicked tongue. Soon it became apparent where he was going to go and Edward began to tug her that way.

There was a balcony overlooking the party and the two of them headed up there, instinct telling them that this was where Rogers would go. There was a young couple up there who were startled by them and quickly excused herself. Mary leaned up against the balcony, clearly in sight for when Rogers appeared and Edward pressed himself back into the shadows behind the doorway. She adjusted the front of her dress and even with Edward pressed into the shadows, she saw a wicked glint in his eyes. She couldn't help but give him a saucy wink.

Soon enough Rogers trooped up the stairs and onto the balcony. He looked at her, eyes wide. Then he gave her a gentle smile – or what she supposed was supposed to be one, he looked more like a shark out for blood to her. He was too drunk to recognize her clearly and walked up beside her. A man was a man after all and she was a woman – she had played this card before and it always worked.

"Hello, flower. What are you doing up here all by yourself?" He slurred at her. She smiled, acting as if she had interest.

"Waiting for you, Governor" She kept her fan in front of her face. She didn't cast her eyes to Edward who would be creeping up on Rogers any moment now.

"I'm a governor no longer and perhaps I tire of being a proper man as well. Maybe those disgusting pirates have some things right…" His fingers reached for her but she stepped out of his reach. Edward grabbed him, and he spun, hand going to his pistol. Edward was a step ahead again though, reacting faster than him and shoving his hidden blade into his throat. The two men sunk to the floor. Rogers gasped in shock and pain. Mary looked down at him, standing behind Edward.

"You was a privateer once! How is it you lack so much respect for sailors only trying to make their way in this world?" Edward growled at him. Mary was silent. Rogers focused on her a moment longer and then turned to Edward.

"You couldn't possibly understand my motives…cretin! You, who've spent a whole lifetime dismantling everything that makes our civilization shine!" His eyes went back to Mary. "And you, whore! You are no better than him."

"Leave her out of this!" Edward growled, blocking Roger's view of Mary.

"Edward, it's okay" Blood was leaking from the wound in Rogers throat. The moment Edward removed his blade, Rogers life would be over in a few minutes. As it was, he was keeping the other man alive.

"I do understand your motives. I've seen the Observatory and I know its power." Edward nodded, even as Rogers eyes widened. "You'd use that device to spy and blackmail and sabotage!"

"Yes and yet, all for a great purpose. To ensure justice. To snuff out lies and seek truth" Edward shook his head, sighing.

"You're a fool Roger. There ain't no man on this Earth who needs a power like that. There ain't no man on this Earth who needs to know ever other's secrets. There ain't no man on this Earth who needs the Observatory's power." Mary told him. She touched Edward's shoulder. He looked up at her and then back to Rogers, who was speaking again.

"Yet, you damn Assassins suffer the outlaw Roberts to use it!"

"No" Edward replied right away. "I'm taking it back. And if you tell me where he is, I'll stop the man. We'll stop the man"

"Here at the edge of a blade, I find a friend in you at last!" Rogers laughed a little. "Our best sources…have spotted him some miles from…from Nassau"

"Can you tell us anymore…?" Mary asked.

Rogers coughed, blood staining his teeth. "No, thanks to the object he uses…He's always one step ahead." He then looked at Edward. "Well…? What are you waiting for, you mad bastard? Go…"

Edward removed his blade and Mary took a few steps back. He was just standing as there was a scream. Mary and Edward looked up to see the couple from before. They had clearly wanted to see if the balcony was open so they could return to their previous activity. The woman was looking at Rogers on the ground, Edward with his blood coated wrist and Mary standing a few feet behind him. She screamed again and her date thundered back down the stairs calling for the guards. Edward turned to her, grabbing Mary's waist. He pulled her stark against his chest and stepped up on the edge of the balcony. Mary was pulled up with him. It was hard to balance in her shoes, but Edward had a good hold on her and she knew he wouldn't let her fall.

"Grazie!" He called to woman, giving a mock bow, and then, with Mary still tucked against him, he jumped backwards. Edward made sure he landed first in the hay pile. Mary was the first one up because of it. She grabbed the dagger she had hidden under her skirt and cut the front of her skirt and then cut the sleeves off her dress.

"Let's go Edward! Guards!" Edward jumped up as she ripped the sleeves off, throwing them to the ground. "Let's split up! Meet you back there!"

Then she was running. She saw Edward taking to the buildings and she took to the streets. There were cries of 'murder' on the street. Mary cut through the crowds. She dug into the front of her dress, removing from a hidden pouch within and it was filled with several smoke bombs. She threw one back at the guards coming after her. She couldn't climb in this outfit but she already knew what she was going to do.

She turned into an ally, shocked that the guards were already waiting for her there. Only two though. Her dagger was still clutched in her hand and she attacked like a cornered animal, slitting both of their throats in a moment. She ran on, shaking the dagger, trying to get as much blood off it as she could. She found a spot where she was mostly hidden and cut the skirt again, ripping off part of the front. It was indecent but it was all part of the plan.

She looked up, hearing the step of guards. She had nowhere to hide, not where she was. She clutched the dagger tighter again and pressed her back against the wall. She could hear two…three? Yes, she heard three different people walking. She swallowed hard, hoping she could take them on…or perhaps if she was quiet, they'd go right past her…

Sure enough, they didn't bother to stop and look behind the fence, they kept running. She hurried, going the way they came from when she heard a shout. She knew she should have stopped and perhaps talked her way out, but she was very nearly there. She turned a corner sharp, mussed her hair and placed herself in a group of whores. She pressed money into their hands and they quickly acted as if she were one of their own. While she disliked thinking of being a whore herself, well…the way she had altered her dress allowed her to use the disguise quite well.

The guards came running and didn't even spare her a second glance. As soon as they were gone, she sighed.

"Where do you need to get, sweetie?" Asked one of the woman. She was a blonde with a bright blue and white dress. It was a little dirty with what looked to be dried mud and blood on the edges of it. She looked to be a little younger than Mary herself and her eyes glittered as she spoke. She was obviously smarter than she let on. Mary wondered how she got to her current occupation.

"A bit more towards the port." She answered.

"Me and Cheri will help." She motioned to a girl with long black hair and in a green dress.

"You don't have to." Mary didn't want to put the two young women in danger but they laughed instead.

"If you're worried about us getting hurt, we can defend ourselves. Some men don't know how to take no for an answer so we have to be able to" Cheri said, a wicked grin on her face. She lifted her skirt a little where a dagger glinted. "Now let's get going"

It didn't take long, with their help, for Mary to reach the Assassins once more. Edward was already waiting for her. She waved off the two helpful women and then walked over to Edward and Anto. Edward was looking at her altered outfit and Anto was reaching around to get her usual clothes that he had been holding for her.

"Well, let me get changed and we'll set off right away, eh?" She asked Edward.

"Aye." He said simply. She couldn't help but laugh and she grabbed her clothes. His expression was funny, like he was trying to figure something out. But at the sound of her laughter it softened. "Hurry up, hm? I'll get some supplies from the port while I wait. Meet me at the Jack."

He walked away but hesitated, glancing back. She caught him sighing and she couldn't help but laugh. While he had done a lot of changing, he hadn't changed that much. But she couldn't be too bitter about that. Not right now anyway, not with the fact they were hunting down Roberts looming in her mind. Yes, soon she'd see Roberts again. The last time she saw him he had a pistol pressed against her temple, holding her wrists behind her back in the most painful way possible to keep her from engaging her blades. She owed him and she'd get him back. He just didn't know it yet.

A/N: Sorry for being MIA for so long guys! But here I am once more. Prepare for an onslaught of chapters today!