Hello all,
Please let me know what you think.
Listen to Grip by Seeb for this chapter.
-gg
The sun was beating steady, not a cloud in the sky, the waves gentle as they lapped against the hull of the Jackdaw.
The deck was crowded and buzzing, different than other moments Liete had spent aboard. Before In strained silence, she'd seen the crew watching the horizon in fogged form as they'd chased after the galleon that had laid to rest on a small island near the mouth of Nassau. Quiet, and fearful for the expedition, men had picked at their chores with apprehension.
Now, men grinned and knocked each other playfully about, some going as far as to lean against railings as if the impending battle was no more trouble than opening another bottle of rum. Several leagues of safety off from their target, even Kenway & his quarter master stood at ease at the helm.
She'd not been the only one to change these past months… Liete almost felt her hackles rise with the thought. They'd grown cocky and over confident in their time since Cat Island. It was evident by the metal & gold glinting at the rivets aboard and the upgraded weaponry that they'd done well for themselves. Taking prizes now seemed more like sport than necessity from what she could see.
Now they're prize was bigger than anything they'd taken before, and yet they treated the thought with humor and arrogance. Liete hadn't heard of such a feat being done in the short time she'd been living with the pirate society of Nassau, taking a fort in the west indies. There were several, of both British & Spanish control, around the Caribbean and to take one under pirate control would be a big flag to which ever king they dare offend. It was a bold, risky move, that if done properly could very well mean a sizable living for all those involved.
As Liete watched Drew nestle her trunk into Edward's captains' quarter on ship, her feet seemingly stuck to the platform just off the deck of the Jackdaw, it had dawned on her that none of these men understood a different way of life. All they knew were unwashed bodies, and prizes taken by force.
A wonder, she'd thought wickedly as she'd pinned each new face with eyes that greedily ensnarled each of them, to think they've each known the stink of dying men and thought it to be the one hardship to face for a life of freedom.
Liete had watched all forms of women on Nassau, other than of course courtly lady's which had no place on the pirate island and had felt a soft despair for them. Men, ever thrusting – taking, walking about in their own self-righteousness, stomping about with feet too small for the large boots they trotted about in. These women of her time with little power but to clean up the smashed remains of whatever path they'd taken. She'd felt true respect for them, her madness ebbing ever so softly towards her sex as she'd made her way in this new place. There were happenings in this world she could not eb, & it had on more than one occasion left her nearly shaking with rage.
It gave her a new found respect for her Death & for Thatch… she'd come from a world so full of woman's use, of several different forms she'd been familiar with, she was in a way lucky to be given a glimpse of honor. Honor won by throats cut & goods looted, but a code or some would say a creed of decency among them.
Looking now to the two men speaking with an eager confidence, Liete felt a small tug of longing even now. She'd abandoned her life slowly built in Nassau, to resume what really? A life as a mistress to a greedy man. Greedy for life, a life he'd never known & one she'd known to much of. Liete's dilemma now, was how would this story playout, her death so wrapped up in living, what space did that leave for her madness?
In her own way, Liete had been greedy in her decision. She'd not regret it now, she chastised to herself as she turned away from the leaders of the Jackdaw, to pear across the soft waves of the Cuban straight. Now she'd aid in this life, until it claimed her own.
The new men aboard had instantly been put at unease, as she'd made her way across the Jackdaw's deck, her eyes catching each and every one of them off guard. They'd heard stories of the silver eye'd woman, from whores to soldiers in respectable ports. A siren that had made their captain as crazed as can be. Those who'd still remained from her origin upon their ship, had kept their mouths shut save to say that the last time they'd seen of her, she'd been dancing through the village of their new hideout as they ransacked it, dressed in white covered in blood, laughing as if it had been the gates of hell itself she'd been headed too.
The men knew better than to even whisper her name, this has been something their captain had instilled in them from the very first. No one was to know that the siren they feared was family to the richest family in the Caribbean.
It had prompted gossip between them that knew, that the family had clearly gained their wealth by selling the soul of the only daughter of the prestige's family to the devil. Simple men needed something to believe, because it was far easier for them to believe in some dark magic than they could ever believe that Liete was really a product of men's cruelty.
Feeling eyes on her back, Liete jerked her head nastily to give a glare to a deck hand tying off a rope nearby. With her sudden movement he jumped back with an audible gasp and nearly vaulted himself overboard. A smile spread across her lips as she once more starred out to the ocean, the fear giving her a rush once more.
Edward, with his arms crossed across his chest, couldn't help but chuckle as he pulled his eyes away from the viper he'd brought aboard. She'd not lost her penchant for inciting fear in others, and it made sense more than ever why she'd somehow found kinship in Thatch with his own qualities of madness.
Adewale looked to the fort now, to survey one last time before their attack on the vessel. It left Edward with a giddy anticipation. He'd done the right thing by bringing Liete along, at least for him, & now he'd been handed the means to further his search for the observatory. All in the same time, it was like he'd be awarded by whatever god looked at them from above.
Refusing within himself to fall further into religious reflection, Edward shuffled his feet and spoke with a lilt of confidence.
"So, What'll you do with you share of the gold we take from governor Torres? Return to Africa? Prince among men?"
Adewale pulled the spyglass from his face, to pin him with gimlet stare, one that spoke of a fond annoyance.
"I cannot return to a place I have never been. I was born in Trinidad, a slave from my first breath."
Not meaning offence and realizing that his words may have been a bit cruel, Edward unfolded his arms and opened them wide in good faith.
"Ah. But wouldn't you feel... I don't know… more welcome there?"
Quick with the response, Ade could not help himself as he rolled his hands with a certain tinge of mocking to how he'd often seen affluent white gentiles display themselves.
"As you might feel more welcome in Paris?"
"Fair Point." Edward couldn't help the small snicker that left his mouth as he grabbed the spyglass from the darker man. He'd hardly been accepted by the English with his welsh heritage, the French were just pompous & ridiculous.
Putting the spyglass to his own eye, Edward surveyed the two large fort cannons, woefully in need of repair evident even from the distance they were at. Wall patrol was either heavily understaffed or they lay low in the heat of the day. All good fortunes to their cause as Adewale spoke once more, laughter in his words to start.
"With this skin and this voice, where can I go in the world and feel at ease? No, this country here is my best chance. This country called Jackdaw."
Dropping the spyglass from his face, Edward looked to Adewale, as the conviction grew in his voice and the humor fell away. It was inspiring, making Edward's chest fill with a sense of pride for his quarter master.
"Where I know the names of all citizens, and they know mine, and we worked together. Not always out of love, but to keep our country afloat."
Edward nodded and held the spyglass to Ade, the conviction the made had shown drenched in his own words as he spoke.
"I think I understand ye. Let's take her then. For the citizens of Jackdaw!" His last bellow brought resounding cry from the crew who even without being a voice in the previous conversation, were so full of anticipation for the coming battle & loot, they'd cheer to about anything in the moment.
As Kenway took to the helm, the cheer sparking the country of Jackdaw into action, as sails were released for full speed, mortars gleaming in the afternoon sun with fresh powder and stone now aimed and ready for when the fort was to be in range. Only Liete, never one to act with quickness unless in some wave of madness, moved away from where she'd taken perch on the railing just below where his quarter master and him stood at what seemed a snails pace in his quickened mind.
Memories of his pleas with her to go below deck when they'd followed after Du Casse were in the forefront of his mind & he'd had a mind to return to that failing argument but when he'd seen her emerge from within his quarters with a simple dress of black muslin, he'd suddenly quieted.
Whether it was her confident gait as she'd purposefully moved about the deck willfully making each of his crew nervous and frazzled, her ever constant biting at her lips that still for all the time they'd been apart remained tarnished, or maybe it was the small looks she cast his way ever so often that pinned him with the eyes that had been haunting him for months. His Liete may have changed after short time together, but her madness still ran deep within her, calling to him, scaring him & exciting all at once.
She alone challenged him, refused him & wanted him. It was volatile and dangerous but as she'd said to him so many months ago, she'd asked for him, howling at her feet. Each time he looked at her, each time he'd thought of her when she'd left him with nary a word, he'd wanted to do just that.
Kenway had long misjudged the resilience and dependency of women, and Liete made him eat it. It would be nothing by an afront to her nature to try and force her away when she was every bit at risk whether topside or within.
She was a fine pearl that had been molded from sand that itched and then molded with decay and hardened. Able to withstand the ebs of the ocean, and still shine in the tidepools…
No, he'd not underestimate Mad Liete again.
The sounds of danger came as the fort caught sight of their black flag, a loud bell of warning for its inhabitants resounding in the open water, and just as Edward gave his first shout to release the mortar shot from the bow, the fort released a shot from its own cannons.
Liete should be looking to the fort, watching the shot they intended for the Jackdaw to remain out of harms way, but instead as she stood with an arm wrapped to the main mast to stay out of the rushing men's way on the deck itself, she turned her back to the fort with eyes only to her Death.
Now that they'd entered into battle, the cries of men and yelling, the boom of cannons and smell of burning would make it hard for even the most steadfast of men to remain calm. Yet, Kenway stood in calm, his face hardened with his lips in a thin tight line taking in all around him as he barked orders with clear & precise confidence.
The foremast creaked as a shot from the fort made contact, Kenway angling the rudder in time to save the bow crew from any further onslaught. The Jackdaw's own cannons spewed nearly tirelessly, reload after reload igniting with precision from their operators.
Liete felt her breath hitch at the stark excitement within Edward as he once more veered the vessel out of harms way and to the portside as the cannons on deck now ignited to bring down the already crumbling defenses of the fort.
Here was the same man that had slaughtered his way through her prison, who'd coldly dispatched the very men that had kept her frozen in time & aching.
Do you cherish the savagery as a means to cope with your own?, her thoughts whispered into the chasms of her mind, sending shivers down her body as men screamed around her as a another shot tore through the portside of the Jackdaw silencing some for good. She hardly noticed as debris flew through the air, catching one side of her body with splinters and soot from burning wood.
No, she challenged within herself, I cherish this death, as a reminder of what life there is to lose. For choice is a gift that has been stolen for them & for me, what price we pay for it, is the reminder of its value.
As the lucky shot taken before one of the two turrets fell rocked the Jackdaw and cost him the lives of two men, Kenway looked to Liete, to find her silver eyes churning a hurricane of their own.
Bleeding slightly from her arm and hand she had wrapped on the mast, her black dress stood better against the onslaught. Her auburn hair now darkened with soot from the smolder remains of a part of the railing, Edward bellowed once more for the men to take all shots towards the weakening final turret. Two more solid shots from the Jackdaw, and all the forts defenses would be lay waste. The crew and him would have the opportunity to then attack on foot, killing their commanders and taking Torres for their own means.
Kenway reluctantly pulled his gaze from Liete as his crew gave a bellow of excitement to find the final turret crumbling into the fort around it. They'd won the first phase of this battle, the first pirate ship to do so in the west indies.
Releasing a whoop of his own, Kenway maneuvered the vessel to aim towards the dock built to the side of the fort that still remained blissfully clear of any fort soldiers.
He expected they'd be shivering in fear atop their fort, hoping their high walls would protect them. Little did they know, walls could never keep a pirate out.
Signaling to Adewale, Kenway released the wheel to the man, and as his crew took stock of the ship and prepared for battle as they checked their pistols and swords, he didn't pay them mind.
He moved directly in the path of Liete who still stood against the main mast, her eyes now settled into waves, going back and forth against the walls of her pupil, a smile present on her lips that was haunting.
There was no hesitation as he reached to encircle her waist with his hand, tugging her to him with fervor, before catching her lips with his own, the thankfully now all to familiar sensation of his feet sticking to the deck welcomed instantly.
What about this panic and mayhem of a fight ignited this frenzy between them? Kenway had no mind to figure, as she too brought her arms around his neck, burying her hands into his hair as he stole his very breath from him.
The crew of the Jackdaw stilled as their captain partook in the siren he'd thrust aboard, with no mind to the whispers of bad luck. They watched with eyes that wavered as if looking at them physically hurt them to take the image in. The witch rewarding her prey for his carnage.
Liete felt her heart beat steadily as she nearly found herself wrapping her legs around his torso, her back against the mast. If only for the silence that befell around them, she'd have forgotten the scene now unfolding. This mission had yet to play out, now was not the time to sink into each other.
Pulling away first, freshly rejuvenated with Kenway's own fervor, Liete graced him with a smile that as so rarely it did, reached her eyes.
"My Kenway, you act as if you have not been properly laid low in months." Her husky words gave him a shiver that no amount of fighting could. As he made to answer, Liete placed on more chaste kiss to his lips, biting his bottom lip a little to hard, before snarkily growling.
"Of which I am not surprised"
Releasing him as one would do a hot pan or disgusting rag, Liete rested her back against the mast, looking as innocent as a damn child.
Kenway licked the bottom of his lip, feeling the tender flesh in case of any bleeding, pinning Liete was an exasperated glare. She merely had the audacity to look confused before turning away from him to look through the silent men.
As her eyes washed over them, the bustle of activity began a new, each of them embarrassed to be caught staring at the couple. All except Drew, who nursed a steadily bleeding gash that looked nasty enough for stiches across his collarbone, and yet still had the grin of merriment that she'd seen whenever he'd found something he thought amusing.
As she moved to attend to Drew, as the Jackdaw groaned as she came to port, the bellows and ringing above them from the crumbling fort, Liete's hand was suddenly gathered in rough hands forcing her to look back for just a moment to her Death.
"If somethings to happen, stay to the fort & send word to Thatch."
Her laugh sent men clambering over the railing at top speed, fingers shakily making signs of the cross, the idea of battle more palatable than facing Mad Liete any longer.
"Oh Mr. Kenway, you still endeavor to by my savior. Haven't we established… I'm still the hunter."
"For now Miss. Liete, For now." Taking the hand he held, Kenway gave it a kiss, his lips warm and calming before following suit of his men, vaulting from the side to grab onto to brick walkway, hauling himself up before sprinting once more upwards towards the fort entrance.
"Miss Liete, yur sure one fer makin' a man cuckold right top." Liete looked to the grinning Drew who'd stayed behind with no second glance from the crew.
Motioning to the large man, Liete led him towards the door for below deck to patch him up, choosing to ignore the quip as her mind cackled and agreed.
Torres, a man clearly of some smart mind, followed the pirate whose face he'd never thought he'd need further remember.
When he'd cast the heathen off to be sold in Kingston, and eventually lost with his treasure fleet, he had no mind to think of him again.
Yet, here was this pirate now capturing him & his wealth with little but an hour's siege.
He'd forbade his guards to take action, submitting to the brutes questioning, he saw no other way to find his way out of this situation alive.
Now as the pirates escorted him to the hold on one of the ships that had been with the treasure fleet itself, now heavily armed leaving no wonder to its ability to incapacitate the fort, Torres felt little else but anger.
How did a Templar grand master such as himself, find himself captured by the likes of syphilis ridden English dogs?
The one who lead them, Kenway his men called him, walked with purpose as motioned for Torres to ascend the plank that had been laid as entry to the brig.
He had half the mind to jump into the water, but he was a smarter man than that. Survival was key, finding the sage was key, and at moment it seemed at least this dog's ideals would bring him closer to this endeavor even as prisoner.
As he ascended and was grabbed viciously upon his descent to the deck of the ship, Torres nearly gasped with confusion.
Before him, with the deep auburn hair that marked their family, was a descendant of the family that held the most sway within the west indies. He'd met with their patriarch several times and had only just recently brought the junior of the family into the Templar's ranks once the stubborn senior had passed.
This woman had been stashed away, locked to an island with no name before then, as a welcome gift for the Junior who worried of the price placed on her head. Torres had of course agreed, to have the Beckford estate within their ranks was a substantial wealth gain, and if locking away one stupid girl kept it that way, he'd not even blinked.
He was nearly whisked past her with nary a word, but Torres locked what he could of his frail body and met her eyes square on. Ah yes, the silver that he remembered, she was beautiful indeed.
"Miss. Beckford, to find you amongst such… royalty, is very interesting." The woman's eyes lit with an odd confusion and anger, as if she felt she should know him, but couldn't quite place him in her memory.
Before anything further could be said, his handler pulled him below decks, but Torres could not help but frown at the thought-provoking development this created.
As the strange Spanish accented man was yanked below deck, Liete found all eyes on her once more, this time with a gleam of disbelief from the crew members that did not behold her original introduction.
Kenway felt a panic drop into his stomach. He'd made damned sure her name had been lost to the tide, and to have his prisoner know her by name, it gave credence to her lineage and a new frenzy that may make a desperate man, well desperate.
"Not a word you lack jawed snipes. Back to your tasks at hand." Kenway bellowed, and as if it was a true pain, eyes fell away but the whispers did not.
Liete looked to him with eyes swirling in anger, and for once fear was a drop within his stomach at what was to come.