I was facing my vanity, calmly brushing through my hair as Edmond got dressed for bed behind me. Joseph was fast asleep in his room and the Swanns had left hours earlier. We had retired to our rooms after being chased by the young ones for what seemed like an eternity. The bliss of having a family was infectious though it did not last as long as I wished. Now I was trapped in a room with the air so tense that not even cannon fire could pierce it.

It was suffocating me. Mustering the will to apologize for saying something wrong was much harder than I thought it would be. I did not even think we would get this far after being ignored for as long as I had. The creak of the bed signalled Edmond had finished getting dressed.

"I-I am sorry," I finally spoke. My mouth moved to speak more but nothing came out. I had only thought of that step and nothing more. Was I supposed to reason with him? Maybe justify my feelings?

"It is all right, my treasure. I understand," he spoke gently. He walked towards me and held my shoulders. "But you must know that you are my wife and I will protect you and our son. You do not need to worry yourself over such things."

I wanted to argue, but the strain of the last months had made me weak. I did not want to argue again. I nodded numbly. He smiled at me with his usual smile but I stared at the mirror. Curious as it almost distorted what I saw into something more menacing.

"I have one more subject I must tell you about," he said rather excitedly.

I finally turned to look at him, "Whatever could it be?"

"I thought of something brilliant. You can go and spend a month or two at the Swanns while me and Joseph go on one of the shipping runs."

My thoughts halted.

"You want to take our son onto your ship?"

Edmond nodded like everything was absolutely peachy.

"Are you insane or simply wish to argue with me once more?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

I laughed bitterly and fully turned to face him, "My son is not going on one of your ships surrounded by a crew that I do not trust."

"We are back to my crew again?" Edmond asked once more irritated.

"Of course we are! I do not know them, I only know you, my son, and the Swanns! Besides, he is still so young and it is inevitable that he will get hurt after getting in the way accidentally."

"That is why I will be by his side the entire time, Mercy. I have known this crew for years now. They are the ones that I trust and it will only be a few weeks. Can you not trust me?"

I bit my lip, Rachel's words echoing back in my head. "I… can trust you."

"Then trust my men," He grabbed my shoulders again. "I will protect Joseph with my life."

"Do you promise?" I asked hesitantly.

He nodded. I gave him a small smile and rose from my seat by the vanity. Going to the bed and climbing into the sheets to escape the chill that constantly swept through our English home. Edmond followed after me and laid on his side. A large gap still remained between us.

I felt cold knowing that my home would soon be empty. My son on an adventure that he would find thrilling. His game of pirates would become so much more to him after this trip.

"Now Joseph, you remember what I told you?"

"Yes, mama!" He chimed happily. Bouncing on his feet.

"Remember to be safe, my little Joseph," I said gently stroking his hair out of his face. "And say goodbye to Elizabeth. I'm sure she'll miss you."

He nodded and bounded over to where the Swanns stood with their young daughter. The two children embraced. Rachel looked sympathetically at me but did not budge from her husband's side. A hand grasped my shoulder. I turned to see Edmund standing proudly, the wrinkle in his brow was not as deep as it had been a few weeks prior.

"Protect my son," I said firmly. "'Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned'."

He nodded firmly then wrapped me in an embrace. I tentatively returned it. One of the ship's crewmen shouted at my husband from afar, signaling the need for departure. He called little Joseph to his side who left the Swanns teary eyed.

"We will return safely", he reassured. Joseph gave me one last long embrace before he bounded up the gangway. I simply watched as the boat went through its final steps. My little boy leaned against the railing to wave at me in all of his enthusiasm. The little pirate medallion gleaming ominously from where it was settled on his tiny chest. My heart lurched as I saw the ship begin to move away from port. Slowly but surely. It took moments before my little treasure was just a dot in the distance.

X

The Swann home was not similar to my own home in any way. It was not further into the countryside, but in the hustle and bustle of one of England's towns. The home was filled with warmth and love. Rachel and Weatherby constantly showed affection to each other. Then there was young Elizabeth who was such a ball of light. Sometimes her little tricks and quirky remarks would catch me off guard and longing for my Joseph. Wishing that me and Edmond had managed to have the bliss that the Swanns did.

I managed to spend most of my days relaxing in the library with Rachel. A book to read carefully sitting in my lap and the piano being played by Rachel. Occasionally, Elizabeth would appear and ask for me to sing along to which I would happily oblige. A smile pulled at my lips as I returned back to my book after such a long tangent.

"Are you still angry at Edmund?" Rachel called from the piano bench. The soft etudes of some obscure song echoing around the room.

"I don't quite know, Rachel."

Weatherby scoffed from his desk that lied closer to the back of the room. Papers were spread across the oak top. I glared over at the older man, "Yes, Weatherby?"

"Oh no, don't mind me. Just signing some papers,"

Rachel rolled her eyes knowing full well how the man liked gossip. Her gaze turned to mine, "You cannot stay mad at him forever, Mercy. You're married to him."

"Yes, I realize that but it is much harder than you think."

Her eyebrow quirked. Weatherby sat up a little straighter at the corner of my eye. Perhaps my immaturity was the culprit of such looks.

I pursed my lips, "He has been avoiding me. How are we to get past anything if we cannot even speak?"

"Just wait for him to come to you."

"I have been waiting, Rachel. I have been waiting for months now," I exclaimed in exasperation. "I-It's almost like he's trying to punish me!"

"I am sure he does not mean for it to seem that way."

"But that is not how I see it. Does he not realize? Does he not know I have emotions?"

"He cannot see your thoughts, Mercy. Edmond-"

"He can certainly see my face! See how I feel when he climbs into our bed and does not touch or even look at me!"

"Mercy, please-"

"I have gone through hell enough times in my life, Rachel! I do not want to meet the devil again and again," I begged desperately. The tears welled in my eyes, anticipating their fall I looked away from her.

"I know, but you cannot let it shadow over your future. Joseph does no-"

A hearty cough interrupted Rachel's words. Her husband touched her shoulder tenderly. She reassured him with her own hand. My eyes shifted quickly between the two of them.

"What is happening?" I asked, the argument disappearing from my mind.

Weatherby sighed and turned to Rachel, "Go and rest in our room. I will handle Mercy."

She looked like she wanted to argue but he gave her a sorrowful look. The room remained silent as Rachel left. I looked at Weatherby who had aged years within minutes.

"Rachel has always been weak," he began slowly. "She has had a rather persistent cough for months now and the doctor has ordered her to avoid stressful situations."

I nodded quietly, a blush flushing over my cheeks and neck. There was nothing I could do or think of. If she knew this then why did she not tell me? A weight dropped on my shoulders knowing that I had inadvertently exasperated her condition. We remained in silence for a few minutes.

"Will she get better?" I questioned.

"I am sure she will," Weatherby said gently. "I don't know what I would do if she did not."

I had come to the port early. After a month of being away their ship should be back. I made sure to check everyday for half the week. I bounced slightly on my toes. The butler at my side ignored my enthusiasm; far too tired of being dragged to the port to care. I narrowed my eyes as the sun met the horizon. The minutes ticked by slowly. I knew I had to leave before it became too late. Rachel would worry if she knew that I was staying by the port at night.

The sun vanished beneath the ocean but I still saw a bright orange light on the horizon. Confusion overcame my face as I squinted to try to see closer. The only thing that was discernible was a fiery speck partnered by deep black. Minute by minute they slowly moved forward and I could vaguely see the line of a ship's sails on both specks.

"Do you see that?" I asked the butler that was daydreaming beside me. His eyes cleared as he squinted to look at the two dots before widening. He took off to tell another man that worked at the docks.

It only took moments for the sleepy dock to be awakened. Men rushed around, pointing, climbing into their boats and ships to start going to see the burning ship and it's attacker. Then the bright inferno popped. The black ship escaped into the darkness of night that had overcome the sky. No one stopped to watch like I had. More men began to sail out to the fiery wreck to save what they could.

I was left standing there. It was like a dream, a terrible fantasy. Something unbelievable happening in such a quick amount of time. I could not register any of it.

"Milady, we must be going now," the butler finally spoke.

I shook my head, "My family should be coming back."

"I do not think-"

"They are coming back!" I snapped angrily.

He lowered his head in acceptance. The chaos continued around us until the first group of men came back from the wreck. There was no extra person with them. My stomach dropped as a man stepped forward towards me. I could not recognize him but he seemed to know me.

"I am sorry, missus."

A/N:

Hehehehe, it's really early and I won't be able to do the upload later today so here's an update! Nothing too much. :)

Coconutplums: You made me really happy with that comment thank you :') It's nice to know that you really like the story and that it is just your bread and butter. Think I'll keep requesting critiques though because my writing confidence is nonexistent. As for the pairing, they really is a few people my character could pair with (no it won't be raggetti or a love triangle between cotton and cotton's parrot; those are for a oneshot at a later time). Thank you for the review!

Jaeden1112: Wow, my first review spam. That's cool. Won't be going on that sus site though :)