Thank you for sticking around, and I'm happy to be getting these out quickly once more.
Hold on for this chapter, the roller coaster is coming right on back around.
Please let me know what we're thinking, feedback is very much appreciated!
Listen to Chasing Pirates by Norah Jones.
-g.
Five Months Later
July 1716
"Yur' a damn simpleton, Jack. When I said ye' can't eat any good, I neva' meant the things ye' buy!" The chuckle that came from the old shop keep Callum Brown was genuine and heartwarming as he motioned for the large lumbering man who stared longingly at the small bushel of apples in a barrel on the counter.
The man, his shop boy, already held a small basket with a large slice of cheese wrapped in cloth, a bundle of chard, a lemon and a fresh bloodied fish that he'd entered with.
Drew had finished his work for Mr. Brown just a few hours before and had gone down to the shore to cast a line for supper.
The fish must have been antsy because he'd caught a nice big bass within his first hour. He didn't even have enough time to watch the boats and ships pass, as a few large frigates pulled into port. A large vessel, one he couldn't quite place but he sure knew he'd seen it before had just rolled in when the little beastie bit. He'd been so damn proud of himself, he decided to head back to the market to make it a feast fit for a Queen.
Drew grinned sheepishly as the older man grabbed a red apple, rubbing it against his brown apron, before tossing it to him. With a clumsy grasp for the fruit, Drew let out a whoop of excitement before sinking his teeth in the juicy treat noshing happily at the generous gesture of his boss.
"Remember Drew, two bits on the 'morrow." Nodding enthusiastically, Drew nearly skipped out of the shop letting the door swing behind him making his way down the ram shackle stairs and into the dusty streets.
Nassau had always made Drew happy. From the moment his pirate brethren had taken over the island, it had made Drew feel like anything he ever wanted could be gotten her.
Drink, food, singing. Hell, the prettiest girls he'd ever seen.
As he thought of women, Drew blushed and giggled to himself once more as he made his way through the wooden structures and shanties.
He'd nestled in quite easily, and Drew had never been happier. He'd even sent a letter to Kingston asking if anyone was coming this way to bring his dog with them.
Nassau was home.
Home for him and Liete.
After walking a down two streets and an embankment, Drew grasped onto the railing for a set of stairs leading up into a long shanty on stilts. The wooden slats covering the stilts holding the shanty up were aged and weathered by sturdy as the surrounded the bottom of the home, with only a small opening with a shackled door. Ascending the stairs, Drew gave a rap on the door as he bit into the apple once more looking out to the surrounding foliage.
Answering the door after a minute or so of his patient waiting, Liete smiled at him, one hand resting against the handle of the door, the other at the square of her back.
Moment's like these Drew truly realized how small she was as even though he stood two steps below the landing of the home, he still stood over her.
"Wen't fishin'. I got yew' some leemoan 'cause I knew yew' like and greens." He offered her the basket like a child offering a drawing they'd worked hard on.
Liete grasped the wicker basket before turning away from her joyful caretaker.
No, caretaker wasn't the only right word… Friend, confidant. In all honestly, if Liete hadn't had Drew with her upon landing in Nassau she'd had truly reverted back to no sanity. She hadn't even thought to bring Julle with her when she'd ran off from Great Inagua, leaving the servant woman to live freely in that mansion herself.
Liete hadn't realized when she'd decided to lie freely on her on, what that had truly meant in a rural setting where no one knew her name, and she held no title or force.
By the time the Queen Anne's Revenge had slid into the Nassau port, Edward Teach had officially withdrawn his overzealous intent, and instead had begun to show Liete a softer side. He'd shown her how to rig a sail, and given her a crash course in sailing.
All the while he'd been careful around her since that first night, not in the way of fearing her wrath, but scared to hurt her.
Liete hadn't cared for the sensation at first, but slowly as she took meals in the captain's quarters and as he deflected each of her harsh barbs and anger, she began to build a friendship with the man.
He was quick, and witty, which she'd known, but she also found him thoughtful and curious. He cared what she spoke of, and strived to understand why she thought the way she did. Liete had been careful to keep her name, and even some of the circumstances that lead to her involvement with Kenway, but found as she spoke more that her pain and anger settled into her core and began to mend like cleaned wounds.
As Liete and Drew stepped off Teach's ship, Teach had found lodging for them, as well as a job for Drew right off the bat. He didn't ask for anything in return, and had simply asked that Liete continue their talks together each night at the local pub.
It had been a simple request, and one that as Liete settled into the rhythm of colonial life gave her an outlet to learn and understand the changes around her. Drew of course kept her company and as she began to speak to the men and women around them, she began to truly heal.
Heal from her past, accept her decisions and building a life true to herself.
Mad Liete began to fall away little by little…
After four months or so as Teach let his beard grow reaching past his neck quickly, Liete had grown as well.
It was in that time that he adopted the title Blackbeard, and with it he left with the tide with a promise to return and when he did he would come to help in any way she needed.
Liete had watched the Queen Anne's Revenge fade into the distance, and had smiled hoping what he spoke was true but never put any faith into it.
Now, Liete moved towards the small wood burning stove in the corner of the shanty's large room placing the basket on a small counter made up of boxes with a slat of wood on top. The boxes underneath held a selection of dry goods for cooking as well as tallow, candle wax, matches, and other cooking utensils.
The shanty was homey, with one room, a small alcove in the main room, and an area for a kitchen.
Drew had absolutely refused to take the room, and had instead bartered services with the draper to help build him a new wooden case in exchange for drapes he tacked to corner off the alcove of the main area to give himself an impromptu room.
They'd gone together to scavenge for wood along the shore, and within the swamp, drying them out over a small fire they'd lit within a circle of stones in the lower half of their home, before Drew borrowed a hammer and crafted a bed frame for her with roping strung across the bottom.
Liete had taken it upon herself then to interact with the locals, as a commoner.
She'd managed to scrounge up another dress through the few pillaging endeavors that Teach had insisted on, and so with the new dress of dark red with a French corset and a puploom end to its bodice she'd made her way to the center market near the stone fort in search of a weaver.
Leaving her auburn hair to flow around her shoulders, as she'd walked through the streets of Nassau she felt the familiar stare of fear and apprehension.
Her white skin had finally gained some color, her freckles darkening on her nose and high cheeks. Liete held her hands together to lay against her lower stomach, holding her chin high and her eyes bright and wide.
The silver of her eyes turned nearly white in the sun, as she'd made her way through groups of pirates burned and filthy lounging about in drunken stupors, prostitutes cooing to those passing by, and the occasional rat scuttling to hide once more.
Eyes watched her with whispered tongues following as she lifted the hem of her dress to avoid the foul smelling puddles that riddled the entire town.
Nassau was grimy, shambled and still managed to hold an atmosphere of union. The people, no matter how base some of them may be, seemed to hold a true sense of comradery while somehow ignoring the disease and dank sickness surrounding them.
Liete only released her hem once she'd come to the market square as the packed dirt was dry and clean of any excrement, as the closest merchants perked up interested in her fine dress and her new face.
"Fresh fish!"
"Pistols, Daggers!"
Ignoring the calls around her, zeroing in to the weaver immediately, Liete stopped in front of the stall littered with blankets, shirts, breeches, and coats.
She had waited patiently as her eyes glittered over each item, a thought floating up from the pieces of her that still wailed in loss. Before she allowed herself any further thought on any other subject than a hemp cloth, a small emaciated woman erupted from the back of the stall, a smile reminiscent of Drew's with plaque covering most of the teeth she still held bright and shaking with hunger.
Liete could tell she was not the weaver, but an apprentice. Even in this hole, most masters of an art didn't pay their apprentices to learn, most of the time it was the contrary. Where anything the apprentices made and sold, a large sum of that went to the master. It was a poor, thankless learning curve.
"What can I do fer you today Miss Thatch?" The apprentices words were small and mousy and as it was the first outing by her lonesome since she'd come to Nassau it truly surprised her to be labelled as Blackbeards.
Turning her head slightly, pinning the girl with a blank stare, Liete reached forward to run a hand along a large swath of died black cotton piled on the counter before asking curtly.
"What an interesting name to place upon my head. I didn't realize I was owned by anyone on this island." The girl blushed darkly glancing behind her with a hint of fear, hoping that her master hadn't heard the poison that had entered Liete's tone as she'd spoken.
Liete had left behind far too much to be someone's property once more.
"My apologies, Miss… I only kne' you'd come inta' port with Cap'n Thatch and he set ye' in a house. Thought ye' were only his ward, nothin' to offend M'um"
"Captain Thatch is a friend, nothing more. I am my own woman, and that is how it shall stay. Miss Liete will do fine from now on, girl. Now…" Liete only gave pause to raise one eyebrow at the frightened mouse before reaching into a small fold of her dress where a pouch of reales rested.
"I am looking for hemp, sturdy thread and needles."
"Yur' making a tick M'um?" The surprise was ripe within the woman's bony face, and when Liete jerked to give her another blank stare, she raised her hands to cover her mouth an audible whimper erupting.
Liete had learned, like all young ladies, to sew and mend with the best of them. Although she'd never made her own mattress before, she couldn't fathom the process being much different than a chaise pillow.
She didn't owe an explanation to the apprentice, no matter the light that suddenly formed within her eyes of curiosity.
No doubt the woman before her was a grand lady, a woman of substance, not only from her clothes but the way she held herself. Why she was here in Nassau with such breeding, the apprentice girl could only assume that she'd gotten herself into trouble with her royal family somewhere off.
The little made up story made the scary woman more intriguing as she moved clumsily to collect several yards of hemp, and a few spools of thick cotton thread. For good measure, the little mouse collected a few sharp needles and tucked them within the spools thread before folding the hemp to package the goods together.
As the woman worked with slightly shaky hands, Liete continued to palm the black cotton, lost in thoughts.
A ward of Thatch, how simple the thought.
No, he simply inquired to a home, and she'd done the rest. As Drew carried her small chest, with Liete brokering the deal with the shifty man whom looked anywhere else but her eyes.
"M'um that'll be a pound or two bits." Fishing the money out of her small purse, Liete stopped and asked harshly.
"How much for the black cloth, and do you have any leather to match?"
Liete came back from her memory, as she grasped the cheese in her palm, her eyes having stared off into the bright mid-day window above the stove.
Drew hadn't noticed her sudden departure from reality, as he scuffed into his draped off area, moving about a bit as he pulled his buckled shoes off, and grabbing his leather boots.
He hummed to himself as he went to the small basin in the corner of the main area to the left of the kitchenette grabbing onto the large wooden bucket.
"I'm off ta' grab water in case yur' feelin' a wash Miss Liete."
Liete merely nodded her head, prompting the simple man to be on his way. With the clatter of the provincial door coming again, Liete let out a soft sigh as she tucked the cheese into a wooden cabinet with a lock Drew had built for them in an attempt to stay any creatures from nibbling at their goods.
Wiping her hands against her apron, her dress the very one she'd stolen from Great Inagua some five months ago, although she no longer wore the simple corset, Liete moved towards her small room.
A large chest that she'd bartered from a passing pirate vessel stood at the base of her small bed, her hemp tick filled with feathers from the butcher and covered in blankets she'd bought off another passing merchant.
Opening the chest, Liete pushed a few simple dresses to the side to pull a long black gentleman's coat folded neatly.
As pulled the garment loose, and stood full to hold it open to her eyes, Liete couldn't help herself but to give a light chuckle. She'd been daft that day, purchasing the goods and commissioning the creation of a set of man's garb; cloaks, breeches, and leather armor. Trimmed in white and greys, the outfit had cost a damn pretty penny leaving quite a hole in her small chest, but it was magnificent.
A pretty penny to be locked away, Liete chuckled once more at the irony, before folding the fine coat back once more, closing the trunk with a finality.
These past months had been simple, had been hard, but Liete had reveled in them. Even now, with the wooden slats that hardly kept the wind out, she didn't regret her actions. Life here had brought compassion, and kindness to her gait. Although her madness reared its ugly head ever so often, Liete welcomed it like an old friend amongst new ones. She was no longer limited by the fear of others, although she'd seen it as a smart defense.
Liete Beckford was healing from her years of isolation and torture, rather than covering it to fester and bubble forth once more.
Making her way back to the basket, Liete pulled a large wooden board and a small fileting knife from with one of the crates below her counter to begin prepping the fish. She'd never cooked a day in her life before coming to Nassau and as she learned by watching those around her and experimenting, Drew had blissfully eaten and helped as much as he could.
Even Thatch before he'd sailed off had come to try her cooking and although it hadn't been a grand meal, to both of their credits, they never complained.
Drew had more than once insisted that he should cook, and although Liete appreciated the gesture, it made her feel all the more human to do such a simple task. It warmed her to see Drew dig in, humming and eating it down as if it were his last meal each time.
A soft rap on the door brought Liete turning in an eyes blink, the knife hidden within her apron just as the door pushed open to find Edward Thatch pulling his plumbed hat from his head.
"I come in peace M'lady, just an honorable man to see a beautiful woman." Thatch strode in the shanty confidently, his thick boots clicking against the wood, his chest puffed and full with nearly four pistols, his clothes just as fine as the day she'd met him.
Liete scoffed, pulling the knife from underneath her lower stomach, slamming the thing into the wooden counter her hands resting at her hips.
"An honorable man is as likely to come here as I am to let him come in peace." With her words, the dark man began to laugh gently before moving forward catching one of Liete's hands as she offered it to him upon drawing closer.
Kissing the top of her hand, he squeezed her palm affectionately before pulling away to steal a seat at her small ramshackle table. Thatch threw his hat down on the table before facing Liete once more.
Liete graced the man with a genuine smile, happy to see the man she now considered friend. It'd been a month last she'd seen him, his beard had grown scragglier, and as he smiled her way she could feel the demeanor changed from him.
He came with happiness but a deep streak of fear laced within him as he cleared his breath under her watchful swirling eyes.
Thatch could never quite get used to the way the silver waves in her eyes began to pulse when she looked into a person's very soul. Very little could be hid from Liete, he'd realized that early on as he'd filled her company. On the other hand, she was a complete mystery, only allowing what she wanted you to know to pass through her lips.
Taking Liete in, Thatch thought dangerously, Until now that is.
"So here am I, returned from plundering once more, care to ask if I've lost an appendages or brought any back?"
"If I cared for any man's appendages, including yours, I'd already know of it." Liete turned from the pirate, to commence prepping the sea bass, comfortable under his friendly gaze.
"I know of one certain appendage you'd like to know of.." Just as she began to filet the fish, Liete tossed her long hair over her shoulder to glance once more at her guest with amusement dripping from her words.
"This appendage you speak of, if it hasn't grown any larger, then I'll decline the knowing."
Laughing full bellied, the older man watched as she cut away four large filets from the fish in her hands as if she'd been doing it her entire life.
She'd settled in peace here, and although winds were changing for her, Thatch did not want to bring this new gust forth.
Thatch ran a hand through the feathers of his hat, picking his words wisely as his tone turned from playful to somber rapidly. He had meant to hold back on telling the woman before him, if only to save her the stress of it, but with the lateness of his arrival to the shores of Nassau, he daren't.
"We'll be having a reunion here soon, Lass."
The rate at which Liete stilled was frightening, her body appearing the go in to complete paralysis. It only lasted a moment, before she'd turned, stomping her leather shoes against the wood flooring to the basin where Drew had grabbed a pail and grasping the metal bowl filled with yesterday's water picked it up, and dumped it over her head.
Thatch stared in complete shock as the women sighed, and turned back to him her tone scarily even as she spoke.
"Just checking if I was still awake, Master Thatch."
As serenely as a dove, she opened the door of her home, dripping her way along leaving a pool at her feet as she stopped to look out to the large hill and swamp area far off.
"When will he arrive?"
"This morning. The Jackdaw slid into port a few hours before I did."
Liete's mouth turned into a thin line, as a happy go lucky Drew came bounding up the path coming to a stop with confusion masking his face before hollering up to her, his simple mind not able to understand why she was wet on such a bright hot day.
"Miss Liete, am I needin' to run fer the doc?'