Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I totally agree with them! I always get Scottish and Irish mixed up, but I'll be sure to edit that chapter and fix it when I get the chance. I'm hoping that the chapters to come will get longer as I go. In my fictional universe, Caroline isn't dead and Jenny isn't born. That'll be important for later segments!


Edward looked over to Anne beside him. There was no doubt she was beautiful, with her dark red hair and deep green eyes. Her now lithe form (Really, she was always slim, but during her pregnancy she had obviously bloated) was pressed against the tree, and her soft hand held his. For some reason, he felt himself relaxing, something he hadn't done in what seemed to be forever.

Even in their combined sorrow, it was peaceful. The pirate felt like he could breathe again, in the simple, quiet moment. No words were spoken, the two just watched the sea crash against the shore and the sun sink beneath the horizon, and slowly began to accept their pasts.

It was dark before he knew it. The stars twinkled over head, and the moonlight shone on the ocean waters. They were still holding hands, and Edward wouldn't have minded if he could live that moment forever. They were absorbed in their own thoughts, sometimes his flickered to Anne. The sounds of their gentle breathing were calming to him, and he was admittedly a tad bit upset when an Assassin approached them and interrupted the serene atmosphere they had been in.

The bald assassin cleared his throat, and Edward turned to glare at him.

"Er, excuse me Mr. Kenway, Ms. Bonny. We have a curfew in Tulum. Safety purposes of course, the jaguars get dangerous at night."

"Are you implying that we can't handle ourselves?" Edward asked, itching to punch the intruder in the nose.

The man's eyes widened, "No! No sir! But everyone has been advised to retire early, we're afraid to draw attention from some patrolling ships."

Inwardly, the captain sighed, but he stiffly nodded, and released Anne from his grasp. He began to rise, stretching his sore limbs, watching the assassin leave. He heard Anne do the same behind him, and smiled slightly when she let out a yawn.

"Get some rest, lass. I'll see you tomorrow," he told her as he began lumbering back to the Jackdaw's captain's cabin, ready for rest himself.

He heard her reply, an 'Aye' as he walked over the docks. The wood creaked from underneath his boots and he jumped aboard his beloved ship, shuffling through the cabin doors and sitting in a chair surrounded by mountains of maps and letters. Edward unsheathed his swords and set them down gently on the cluttered table. He closed his eyes, and let the darkness lull him to a dreamless sleep.


Edward was awoken by the soft creak of a wooden door. His eyes caught Ade watching him, his face in its usual monotonous expression.

"Captain, I have come to notify you that I will be training to become an assassin," Ade spoke, "As such, I cannot remain quartermaster for the Jackdaw."

Edward nodded, he expected as much. He had been a terrible captain, and he realized just how wrong he had been in his lust for coin.

"I understand completely, Ade. I wish you all the luck in the world."

The dark skinned man gave a rare grin, "I haven't forgotten about the absence I'll be leaving. I know of one Irish lass that'd be more than capable of taking up my position."

The pirate captain was smiling before he knew it. As Ade walked out of the cabin, Edward refastened his swords and prepared himself for the bright sun that was sure to flash in his eyes.

The second his boots were out of the threshold, an accented voice called him.

"Kenway!"

His head swiveled around, his blue eyes found Anne Bonny herself leaning against the railing near the wheel of the ship. Her hair held flowers now, bright and beautiful.

"I hear there's an opening for quartermaster available."

He began to climb the stairs, one step at a time, "Don't have to ask, Anne. Welcome to the Jackdaw."

She grinned, arms crossed over her chest, which, he guiltily noted, was quite, erm, endowed. He quickly tore his eyes away, fighting down the blush that threatened to creep onto his cheeks. It didn't work as well as he planned.

"Edward, are you feeling alright? Your turning red."

"I'm fine. Well, I'm going to go check the cargo, you can uh, get comfortable?" It sounded more like a question, but he ran away to his cabin again, selling some of the sugar he had stockpiled so that it seemed he was doing something.

In reality, he just spent the time mentally slapping himself. He was a married man, and he had no right to think of Anne in that way. It didn't matter that Caroline had left him, he still believed, even though he knew it was foolish, that they could have a happy life together, once he finished Roberts and Torres.

Besides, Anne had just lost a child, he'd never take advantage of her like that. And she'd never like him in that way, right?

He groaned. He hadn't been intimate with someone in nearly six years. He was starting to think that he was going mad. Anne was his friend and now quartermaster, and besides that, she was nothing more. At least, that's what he thought.


This chapter was almost 400 words more than the last! Thank you guys for reading and reviewing!