Chapter 1 (Third-Person Narrator)
Edward sat quietly at the bar in the tavern, with his head down and drink in hand. It had been the same routine ever since he settled in Great Inagua. Have a bite to eat, then drink to his heart's content. But nowadays, all his heart felt was a void that had to be filled with more than just rum and running around with the ladies of the brothel. It helped satisfy him, but not as fully as he would have wanted.
"You can't keep going on like this, Edward," Maria said, filling up his cup again.
"I know, Maria." Edward replied, "But what else can I do?"
"You can go out on your own. Meet a nice lady for more than just bodily pleasures. Make some friends. Being alone like this clearly ain't doin' 'ya any good."
Just as Edward was going to speak, a man came barging into the tavern, stumbling over his own two feet and panting as if he'd been running from soldiers.
"Everyone, listen up!" His voice boomed through the entire establishment. "The Fire Pits are back! Lucy's gonna be fightin' tonight!"
The entire tavern, minus Edward, raised their cups and shouted, "AYE!" and finished their drinks with haste and immediately started to empty of patrons and courtesans alike. Edward looked around, confused and, for the first time in a long while, curious about the man's raving.
"What was all that about?" Edward asked, pushing his cup of ale away.
"The Fire Pits are open again."
"And what are they doin' there?"
"The usual. Men battling for a bit o' coin. People put bets on their favorite fighters."
"What makes this night so different?" Edward scoffed.
"There is a woman going into the ring tonight. Lucy's a bit new to the Fire Pits, but it's a sight to see when she's looking for a scrap or Dust-up."
"Are you serious? A little Bonnie lass roughin' up a bunch o' men?" Edward laughed it off.
"Don't believe me? Then go look for yourself. Place a bet on her. You'll see…."
Edward sighed deeply. He had nothing better to do, why not try something new?
"Alright, fine. I'll go…Thanks for the drinks."
"Have fun, Edward."
As Edward stepped out of the tavern, looking up at the dark, night sky, he followed the patrons from the tavern and brothel as the street started to empty. He had a fair lot of money to spare after he paid Maria for his rum and ale. Soon, he was a walkway lit by small torches staked into the sandy ground.
Without saying a word, Edward followed the path until he got to a large gathering. There were 3 rings; 1 on either side of the mass of people and another in front of them, all drawn in the sand and lit by more torches. His attention was first drawn to the commotion in front of him.
"Step right up, lads and lassies. Place your bets with speed, gents! Our favorite tonight is Miss Lucy, now with 100 bets placed on her certain victory!"
The crowds around the betting table started to slowly thin out, allowing him to walk through more easily. A man of dark hair and a woman of dark complexion were sitting patiently.
"Welcome to the Fire Pits, stranger." The ebony woman purred.
"So what will your pleasure be?" The black-haired man asked.
"200 Reales on Lucy." Edward said, dropping his sack of coins on the table.
"You've chosen well, sir." The man said.
"Always puts on a good show for everyone," the woman added.
"Where can I find her?" Edward asked.
"Over there, just under those trees." The man pointed to the left.
"Thanks." Edward said hastily and left the table.
As he weaved through the large crowd, gently shoving people aside, he got towards in front of them and there stood 3 palm trees and six contenders. A few people were amongst the first five fighters, wishing them luck and giving them loads of praise. And then, at the end, under the right palm tree, stood a full-bodied, fiery redheaded woman of fair skin and rugged appearance. She wore black pants, knee-high boots and a plain, parchment-colored long-sleeve shirt. She wore a pocket watch necklace and a pair of stud earrings.
Edward's skeptical glare soon turned into one of surprise and enthrallment. He watched her closely as she looked up a few times at the few people around her. He was about 15 feet away from her and he could make out her beautiful face. Big, bright green eyes; plump, luscious lips; high, visible cheekbones and a small, perked up nose.
Lucy was wrapping up her palms and knuckles with a thick cloth and binding them snugly before throwing a few punches and kicks at the palm tree she was sitting up against.
Once she was done, she scanned the many faces that had attended the Fire Pits tonight, giving a slight smile…that is, until she locked eyes with Edward Kenway. Her glowing, mesmerizing, green orbs met his blue sapphires. She looked away for a moment, then looked back at him; he was watching her now. She shook her head slightly and said something inaudible to her betters around her, making them disperse and leave her presence.
She leaned on the palm tree, crossing her arms and watching the other fighters she was up against. Edward took this time to slowly walk up to her and removed his hood.
She looked him up and down once. "Well, well. I don't think I seen you here before."
"I reckon not. It's my first time here."
She stood up straight and face him. "Is that so?"
"Aye, it is."
"Welcome to the Fire Pits. Hope you enjoy yourself."
Edward nodded with a slight smile on his face.
The meet-and-greet was interrupted when a conch shell trumpeted loudly. Lucy looked at the Fire Pit signaler with disappointment and rolled her eyes. She wasn't upset that the fights were starting; she enjoyed them for the mere fact that they were a good source of income for her. She was upset that her time with the mysterious new face had come to an abrupt end.
"It's time for me to go..." Lucy frowned at Edward.
"Sounds like it is."
Before she went to the far right fire pit, something compelled her to stop and look back.
"I'm Lucy, by the way." She held out her hand quickly and firmly.
"Edward." He held her hand gently, but it was Lucy that gave the firm handshake. "Nice to meet 'ya."
"Likewise." And with that last word, Lucy disappeared into the massive crowd gathering around the pits.
The announcer for the Fire Pits stood atop a rock formation.
"Gather 'round, lads and lasses. The Fire Pits will now commence!"
Another man with dark skin and even darker hair got up and stood beside him.
"Let's hear it for all the fighters, battling in the Pits tonight….Valentino Torrez! Augusto el Peligro! Christian de la Cruz! Alexander Tiburon! Jonathan Roderick!…."
Edward crossed his arms impatiently, waiting for them to finish.
"And last but not least! From right here in Great Inagua! Here she is, Miss Lucy the Tempest!"
The crowd exploded with cheers from women and men alike as the woman sauntered into the middle of the far right pit. Edward weaved his way past a few people into the first inner ring of spectators. Lucy stood with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face that reminded him of his own. She waved to the lot of them as they started to chant her name.
Once the pairs of fighters were established, the battles began. Torrez and Tiburon faced off in the middle pit. De la Cruz and Torrez were in the left pit. And Edward watched Lucy and Roderick go at it in the right pit. Roderick was one of the fighters that misjudged this woman by her somewhat slim and fragile frame for a woman of meekness. Thinking he would win through a few backhands and knocking her to the ground, she stayed down for a brief moment until Roderick started to feel like he got the upper hand. Once Lucy saw a break in his guard, she let him have it. She hit hard and fast and did not relent until she was able to kick him in the stomach, bring him to heel and knock him out with a single slug.
Edward, seeing Lucy emerge the victor, smiled at her and applauded.
Torrez and the Tiburon's fight looked more like a scuffle between two drunkards in a bar. Aimless punches and knocking each other about until one or the other submitted to the others' superiority. Tiburon came out on top in the end. De la Cruz and Torrez were complete opposites: one small-framed, agile, young man while the other a robust sailor that took down his opponents with sheer power and endurance. Torrez and Tiburon went at it in the semi-final battle. Tiburon, for this battle was clearly outmatched. Torrez was of the Spanish fleet with plenty of fighting skills under his belt, much more than a sailor from Nassau. Tiburon, in a desperate and underhanded attempt, threw sand at him close to the end of the battle and gave one last punch to him, breaking his nose and felling his rival.
Once these were said and done, they merged the three rings and made an even bigger pit in front of the rock formation on which the announcers stood.
"And now, for the final battle of the Fire Pits, Alexander el Tiburon and our own Miss Lucy the Tempest! The last one standing after 3 rounds is our champion!"
Edward stood quietly behind the ring of torches that separated him from the battlefield in which Lucy and her opponent stood. He was more preferable to studying how she fought rather than blindly join in the ranting and cheering.
Lucy's fighting style got the job done, clearly, but he saw that it was unrefined. There was no style to it at all, if any. They acted, she reacted. He punched, she dodged swiftly. But the hits she did take either rewarded her with a chance to attack or was simply a misjudgment on her part. Edward got the feeling that she never learned to properly fight someone. Was she an orphan? Or did her parents never teach her to defend herself? It was difficult to say which of the two was true. But Edward enjoyed watching her fight, until his concentration was interrupted by the conch horn. Round two was finished.
Lucy was roughed up a bit, but not too much to damper her spirit. She did a few stretches, grunting and grimacing from the obvious pain she was enduring. The bruises and cuts that Edward could see looked as bad as the ones that the men sustained. Her lower lips had a small cut, but it was bleeding and dripping rubies from her chin. A couple bruises on her eyebrow and cheek were starting to darken in color.
Tiburon had a few men helping him to recuperate as much as he could before round three began, but Edward noticed not a single man or woman was in her corner, helping her. She just did her stretches, dusted herself off and crouched for a moment. Despite her fights, she still wore a frown on her face. A blank, empty frown. Edward could see that her mind was elsewhere. Her look overwhelmed him with a feeling of void and a sense of loneliness that he felt. While he had lived a life of piracy to be able to provide more for Caroline, he lost sight of what he held dear. He had no one left in his corner, either. Sympathy overwhelmed him. Compassion surged through him. Not an ounce of pity was present within him.
Lucy took a deep breath and looked at the crowd, then el Tiburon, then her eyes settled on Edward behind him. He nodded once and she flashed him a smile and nodded before the last conch trumpet sounded.
Lucy got up and held her fists close to her face. She knew she needed to recuperate more, so she dodged as much as she could before el Tiburon stumbled. Then she pounded away at his face, torso and stomach. Sand was thrown at her before she was able to kick him. She was able to block it from hitting her eyes, but that alone was enough for el Tiburon to pound her and pound her until she started stumbling back. The shark then delivered one last punch to make her fall backwards.
The crowd erupted in disapproving boo's and hisses, then started to chant Lucy's name. Out of all the faces in the mob of people, Edward's gaze was enough to empower her again. She got back to her feet, mustering a smile as the chanting turned to applause once more.
Lucy wiped her mouth of the blood coming from her lips.
"You just don't know when to quit, do 'ya, bitch?" Tiburon taunted.
Lucy glared evilly and shook her head.
"You fight nearly as well as a man."
"Oh, really?" Lucy asked, "I was gonna say the same about you…"
That comeuppance pissed off the shark more than the actual fighting. Once he ran at her with blinding speed, she swiftly kneeled him in the groin, leaving him knelt in the sand and immobilized. Having had enough of this battle, Lucy waited for him to look up at her before she landed one final punch.
After an agonizing five seconds, the fight was done for.
"That's it! It's all over! Lucy the Tempest is our Fire Pits champion!"
All of the crowd cheered again, but Lucy's eyes rested on Edward, who was applauding her and chanting her name along with everyone else.
After a long while, nearly all of the crowds had gone. Lucy did not see Edward at all. But she knew for sure he'd return to the Pits, wanting more. His gaze never left her. He kept his eye on her the way her guardians did: for her own safety and protection. She felt like he cared more her safety than anyone else that came to see her fight.
Once she got her share of the winnings from the placed bets, she put them in her bag and made her way back into town and headed home.
Just before the two announcers took their things and packed up, Edward stopped.
"Hey, you two!"
"Hello, sir." The fair-skinned man said.
"What do 'ya need?" The dark-skinned man asked.
"That girl, Lucy, she always walk home by herself?" Edward asked.
"I'm afraid so, my friend."
"She hasn't told her guardians about her fighting. Doesn't want them to worry." The man with the light complexion frowned.
"I'll make sure she gets home safe." Edward said, pulling on his hood and taking off down the hill where he could faintly see Lucy, limping down a clear path.