Hello there!
Welcome back?
I've mapped out all the next chapters up until the end, and I promise you it will be a bumpy, crazy, satisfying ride!
I do want to answer one question someone had: Why does Beckford sound so familiar?
In the game, as well as history, The Beckfords really did own dozens of plantations and were a real family. In the Sequence titled, Sugarcane and It's Yields, James Kidd briefly brings up the Beckfords and how filthy rich they are, Ade also does this as they sail tailing the ship.
I try to be as historically accurate as I can from food, clothing, and life!
Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up this following week and it'll have a twist to die for!
Listen to Hurricane by MS MR for this chapter.
-g.
Moving from the entrance of the door, Liete caught her breath as Kenway slid into her shanty with a saunter that only spoke of the heat between them even now.
It felt like it had only been days, not months since they'd last been this close, as he brushed past her moving into the small living space. His presence filled the thin wooden room near to bursting as Liete had the feint sensation of being unable to move in the now crowded area.
Stealing herself a moment, Liete let a shaky breath go, before letting the rickety door swing shut behind her, closing them both in together.
Kenway looked around Liete's home with deep breaths, taking in the makeshift kitchen counters made of crates to his left, her kitchen table with four mismatched chairs, a corner with a covered chamber pot and a wash stand where a puddle of water not remained on the floor. An area to his right was sectioned off by a thick hemp curtain hooked to an iron rod, although he spied the edge of a hemp tick, and a small clothes chest peeping from under where a space was left from the curtain not quite reaching the floor.
All in all the home was clean, and although it was no bigger than fifteen feet in all directions from center, it felt cozy. He did feel like a giant, but he attributed that to simply feeling out of place in the small shanty.
Liete having gathered her wits, moved forward and to the left of where Kenway had seemed to stand stuck to the floor to reach into one of the crates near the wash stand to pull a rag from within.
Quietly kneeling, Liete mopped up the water she'd sent crashing to the floor just minutes before moving towards a small iron grate that Drew had hammered into the floor that hovered above her small garden in the locked bottom portion of her home. She wrung the rag out as the water fell below, no waste left.
Standing once more, glancing to her house guest, Liete caught Edward's eyes with her own, and stopped moving.
She took him in, like a slow chill running down her neck. His eyes although still as bright as the dark oceans, were surrounded by weathered and dirty skin. Wheat hair now greasy and sweat covered helped only by his ever-present pony tail.
Liete couldn't help but smile, her eyes shifting back and forth like water in a shaky pan, still amused by the disgusting fit of his clothes, not stained and filthy with blood and other questionable things.
Edward let out a breathy sigh as she smiled at him, her eyes running down his body in a soft look, one that for the first time comforted him. It made his chest puff to know she took simply happy pleasure in seeing him in one full piece, just as he did watching through her window.
"You look…" His voice was deep and soft, flattering rather than husky, his meaning clear without the words. Liete's smile faded delicately, before she folded the damp rag within her hands, quipping.
"And you look like hell." Kenway couldn't help himself as he began to laugh from his stomach, her jab shattering the tension between them as the pirate finally relaxed his shoulder chuckling to himself.
Liete, never having liked being laughed at, reveled in the man before her as she now moved forward to pull a chair from her table, its arms wide to fit a man.
"Come here, Kenway."
His laughter falling to a chuckle, he moved forward slowly, his eyes still connected to her own.
God's will, how did he fall into her trap so quickly once more. Time close to two weeks, and it had left him cursing her name for months. Minutes reunited and all he could think was how damned glad he was to see she'd gained weight and her eyes still swirled like deep pools as she spoke to him.
Liete waited patiently, the sexual tension that had always been between them before quelled at the moment. These minutes weren't for that, no, both of them were content with the simple presence of the other. In the knowing they were safe and whole. It was a warm comfort that prickled beneath her skin, leaving her soul with a soft weight.
Turning his back to her, before he could sit, her felt her hand on his back pausing him. Even through his layers of clothing and leather, her touch left him feeling calm as she came around his front to face him.
Laying the rag on the table, Liete hesitated only for a moment before reaching for his gun holster slung across his chest. She fully expected him to flinch away, considering their first moments together but instead Kenway remained as relaxed as a new foal, watching her with eyes cast down, sparkling underneath his lashes.
She lifted the filthy leather piece until he assisted pulling it from around his shoulder into her grasp, where she laid it gently along the table to her side.
Her fingers returned to begin unbuckling the sword hilts around his waist, coming free easier as she quickly laid the leather and weapons to rest amongst the others. The now filthy red sash followed, and his leather arm guards.
As she calmly worked at unbuckling and undressing him, Kenway took this time to really take in Liete.
Her eyes swirled, silver touched with a calm that seemed to come from deep within. He couldn't find a trace of Mad Liete, although he was sure she resided just below small dozen or so freckles darker now scattered across the bridge of her nose. Her skin, now the color of a light caramel, was bright and her cheeks now slightly rounded and pink. She looked healthy, and whole.
Liete's nimble fingers nudged his blue and now off white jerkin above his head, and he obliged drawing the garment up to then throw on the back of one of her other chairs leaving him in his boots, breeches, and filthy cotton shirt.
Now that the layers of his outfit had been peeled back, Kenway had the unfortunate realization that now that he'd been unwrapped, he stunk.
A red blush erupted from underneath his fine layer of dirt on his cheeks, but Liete didn't even turn up her nose for an instant. She simply pulled the white shirt till it no longer remained tucked into his breeches, and motioned for him to finish as she pulled away.
As he grasped the hem of his shirt, and she began to walk back to her crate kitchen, the door to her shanty home swung open to reveal a sweaty and grinning Drew with the water pail he'd left near the edge of the stairs, now full of water once more.
He didn't even blink at the undressing Kenway as she simply lugged over to the wash basin hollerin' out in a happy voice.
"Missus Liete, fetched ya' som mo' wata! I'll be headin' on back to Thatch, jus' didnay wanta' leave ya' wit' no wata." Liete followed him to the corner where he went to dump the water into the wash stand. Before he had the chance, she picked up the metal bowl and carried it to the table, once again motioning for Kenway to remove his shirt.
Watching her and her lap dog carefully, he did so quickly throwing the offensive smelling shirt to join his jerkin and leather on the back of the chair opposite him.
She placed the basin down right near the chair behind Kenway on the table speaking softly to the bear of a man following behind, his haphazard smile never faltering.
"Pour the water carefully there Drew, and place the bucket back." Moving back towards the crates, Liete pulled out a fine toothed whale bone comb, a small glass bottle of nightshade and thick bar of castile soap.
Drew on the other hand physically seemed to shake with the delicate task of making sure the water didn't spill over to the table, while at the same time looking at Kenway with what Edward could only call hope.
Once the bucket was empty, Drew grinned at Kenway and to Edward's surprise he winked before rushing to place the bucket down and out the door with no other words.
Drew couldn't help but grin to himself as he plunked down the stairs from where Liete and Captain Kenway now stayed. The change within Liete was instant, even as she dripped full of water, the moment he'd seen the captain and called to him, her eyes lit with a fire he hadn't seen since they'd left Great Inagua.
He knew Liete loved his captain, he knew it from the moment he'd first rowed her to shore as he swam along side them, and since they'd come to Nassau to settle, she'd done her damnest to forget it.
But Drew had seen it, he wasn't a clever man, but he wasn't stupid. He'd seen the fire bright and angry as she'd thrown a hurricane of a temper as they'd left the captain behind, and it had slowly been put out with each passing day till it left her eyes glazed. It was like looking into a dark pool that had been covered in fog. The color and depth muted.
They'd returned like a gale of wind had come forth when Kenway had jumped from the roof of their home and she'd seen him again for the first time.
Drew worried about her, as did Captain Thatch, but unlike the older man, Drew didn't see Kenway as a bad omen. No, he just wanted Liete to be happy, she deserved it.
Something in his simple mind told him he better hold to her like glue and so he did, never one to question himself much.
Drew hummed to himself as she stuffed his hands in his breeches, back on his way to the Avery Tavern where a pint and the surely Blackbeard waited for him.
Grabbing an additional rag, Liete positioned herself in front of Kenway placing the rest of the items next to the water basin.
Throwing the original rag she'd use to mop up the water into the basin, Liete wrung it out once more before finally facing Edward straight on.
Kenway was calm in his near nakedness, simply watching Liete as she looked up at him with still calm eyes. Her presence had changed, that was for sure. The hurricane within had settled to soft Caribbean rain as she raised the rag, hesitating for a mere moment, before placing the cold rag against his throat.
Sliding the rag slowly, wiping away at the dirt and grime built up over his muscles, Liete couldn't help but let a small lilt form on the corner of her lip. The normalcy of the act, the intimacy of the act, felt so foreign and yet… it fed straight into the parts of her healing soul that has remained sore and untreated.
It seemed wrong, to have missed this man the expanse she did, for the small amount of time they'd spent together, most of it in constant conflict.
As she cleaned his face, chest, and arms, the months of apprehension faded and Liete knew she'd made the right choice in leaving him before.
Clean all the way to them waistband of his breeches, Liete pulled away with the now dark rag, the lilt still present as she finally spoke, her voice the same soft tone from the night before she left.
"Sit down, Master Kenway." With no hesitation, Kenway sat, his body pricking with goosebumps, his eyes never leaving Liete's face, his head leaning back looking up at Liete in the simple brown servant's dress, corsetless, hair wet and damp against her neck and shoulders.
"I've changed." The matter of fact way Liete mumbled the words as she dropped the filthy rag to the table, picking up the clean one to place in the water basin.
"I know, you've said that love.." The quick snap of Liete's eyes towards him singed him straight to his stomach, where a flutter erupted, the fire potent.
"I'll say it a million times more before were through, Kenway. Take care with your words." Kenway nearly grinned at her cool tone, preaching of change but reminding him of high seas and battle.
"Say it two million if you'd like. I'll listen to every one of them." The raw sincerity behind his words, paired with his near naked body and her completely clothed lulled Liete further into the illusion of honesty.
Liete moved to stand behind Edward, a hand pulling the tie from around his hair letting his dirty wheat hair fall to his shoulders. Picking up the rag, Liete held it above his head before wringing it out, Kenway hissed with the cool water flooding through his scalp as she began to run the rag through his scalp dampening each strand of hair patiently as she collected her words.
Her fingers running through his hair sent shivers down his back as Edward closed his eyes, filling his senses with her touch.
"When I left Inagua, I did so because for everything we were, I couldn't let myself become another version of the Mad woman locked away. What I wanted, what I needed, was to have the freedom that I have never been granted, and so I had to take it."
Her words rung true, as she used her nails to shake his wet mane open, reaching for the bar of soap to rub it against the roots of his hair lathering it gently moving down.
Kenway, listening carefully, bit his lip at the genuinely pleasurable feeling of suds covering his head. As she spoke, and cleaned him Kenway leaned back into the chair letting his head lull back. If she wanted to slit his throat in this moment for all purposes, in this moment, she could and he'd slip off to see old hob at peace.
She worked mindlessly, taking pains to lather Kenway's entire head, and neck, reaching her arms around his shoulders, chest, lifting his arms one at a time with the soap.
"When I came here, I felt the true taste of freedom I craved. You'd given me a small glimpse of it, and I can't imagine not chasing it. It was terrifying to do this, and although poverty is nothing to joke of, I have never been so calm in my life, so grounded. The people here may fear me, as most will do for not all invisible scars remain tucked away, but they see me. They've taken to me, talk to me like a human being."
Placing the soap on the table, dunking the rag back in the water, wringing it out to wipe the soap from his body, Liete let the words flow like vomit. All the things she'd been sure of as she grew to sanity on this island, she wanted Kenway to know, to accept, to be a part of once more.
Discarding the rag, Liete tugged at the rickety table and with a groan of contempt it finally slid forward as she angled it till one edge was against the back of Kenway's chair. She slid the water basin underneath and pushed lightly till his head was fully leaned back and half submerged into the water.
Running her hands through his hair and water, cleaning the dirt and grime away as the water turning brown and milky white with soap and filth. Once the strands of his hair felt thin and clean Liete lightly lifted his head letting the water fall back into the bowl, backing away to the wash basin pedestal to pull a swath of cloth.
Wrapping his head, allowing him to sit up once more, Liete used her hip to slide the table back into place, before beginning to pull the excess water from his hair squeezing with her hands against his long hair.
"I'm calm, I've learned it. Slowly and still trying. I'm finding the peace within to simply enjoy the presence of those around. Not every shadow is an enemy…"
With damp, but mostly dry hair, Liete rubbed his scruff down as well as tucked the rag underneath his arms, setting it aside before gathering the whale tooth comb and night shade.
Pulling the stopper, Liete held her breath as she laced the comb with the tonic, running it through the roots of his head, and through his beard her fingers moving slowly, carefully, hesitantly.
"And above all… Master Kenway, I missed you."
The last of her words came as a whisper, a torrent underneath that tasted of hard earned truth.
Kenway, having never been pampered before in his life like this, nearly missed her utterance. For all of their moments, dalliances, she'd never once admitted to anything between them other than lust. To hear even just the small honesty was… absolutely mind shattering.
Kenway stood so suddenly it sent the nightshade in her hand crashing to the ground as he grabbed her across the chair, finally claiming her lips as his own.
His feet stuck to the floor, just like before, as her scent of cotton and lavender remained. His heart raced in a fervor, his hands holding either side of her head as he offered up his soul in silence, simply enjoying the beautiful sensation of infatuation.
Liete couldn't even say it within her mind just yet, but she felt it. Whatever it was that made people live, and die by the heart, oh did she feel it.
Before it went any further, Liete pulled away from Kenway, easier done considering a chair was still between them. With a small lip bite, she held her hands up once more like she'd done on her door step.
Moving quickly, Liete threw open her chest, gathering the robes she'd just been admiring once more and hurried back to her main room leaving the chest open in her rush.
Thrusting the garments into the surprised Kenway's arms, Liete finally smiled genuinely and sweetly pulling away leaving Kenway still damp, hyped, and clutching the black linen and leather with confusion.
"I've found some of what I've been looking for, and some that I've lost. I don't want to be Mad Liete any longer, nor do I want to be resigned to one place. I want the freedom I've created and you yourself own. To your thoughts then.."
Liete smiled once more, before turning to leave her home, leaving Kenway to finish cleaning himself, and to leave him to his own thoughts.