XXXI.
Good Times

"Good times, good times indeed lads!" Rackham was shouting as he walked down the edge of the ship. The crew members cheered. They were an assorted bunch. Rackham enjoyed preying on other pirates, gaining a mass of treasure in a short time and also a speckled bunch of crew. Mary watched him from her spot at the wheel. Their helmsman died two days back in a fight. Mary didn't mind. She would shout orders; Anne would make sure they were carried out. Mary still disguised herself as James Kidd if only because…she felt more comfortable in it. It kept her from getting close to any of the men though Anne seemed to be hoping for it. She seemed to want her to find romance the same way she did with Rackham.

They were unofficially married too. She had to roll her eyes at them. They pledged themselves to each other, way out here on the open ocean. She was happy for them but at the same time she pitied herself. She felt alone. She missed Edward but she had not heard anything of him in some time. There were no rumors of Edward Kenway among the other pirates that still roamed. It worried her. Was he dead? Missing? Had he gone home without saying goodbye to her?

She supposed she would never know. Perhaps that was for the better. Perhaps that was what she needed. For him to go away, to never return to the West Indies. This was her home now and he needed to return to his home, to his wife, to start his family, to start his life. Goodness knows she already tried that sort of life but it was denied to her. She wasn't one to live like that anyway, so it was no big loss. At least that was what she told herself to keep the days easy.

"Come now, lads! What's with the grim expressions?" Jack wobbled up and down the deck, a bottle in his hand. Mary leaned towards Anne.

"Get him off the deck before he falls in the drink" She muttered to other woman. Anne gave her a grin.

"If I take him to our room, chances are I won't be back for a while" they had a very…healthy relationship and Anne often spilt their bedroom secrets to Mary. She didn't really want to hear, but Anne wouldn't keep her trap shut.

"Take your time" Mary said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. "Send Noah up here though, he helps keep the boys in shape when you're indisposed"

"Of course!" Anne gave her a grin and practically ran down the stairs to fetch Rackham. Now that the men were accepting of young Anne, they were jealous of Rackham. To have a pretty girl on his arm, in a clear relationship…Well Mary knew they were wishing they were so lucky. Only, Anne had a fierce sort of temper and she could scare the nastiest jack-tar when she brandished her sword. In the time they'd been at sea, she had learned to be quite the sailor and fighter. She learned fast and didn't forget what she learned. She was a smart girl. She could have done much more with her life than be a pirate.

Noah came up and joined her. He was a quiet sort of man, one of the ones roused from Nassau that fateful day. His hair was sun bleached so light it looked white and he had wise green eyes. He had a scar that ran from his nose, down his lips, curving the left side of his mouth into a permanent frown. He wasn't exactly a jolly fellow. Serious, but he got his job done right. She nodded at him, not bothering to speak. He wasn't a conversationalist though when he shouted others tended to listen. Mary admired him and she knew Anne had hopes that Mary might reveal that she was a woman to Noah but…She was done living that sort of life.

They sailed for a while they day, looking for ships busting with treasure. They found one, a pirate's ship by the name of The Distress. A funny sort of name for a ship. It was a brig but Mary knew they could take it. Anne was still indisposed with Rackham so it'd be up to her to lead the attack. They were able to pull up close, the other ship not expecting a thing. They even started to slow, probably expecting they wanted to talk.

"Fire on them lads! Break 'em at your leisure!" She called.

"You heard Kidd! Break 'em!" Yelled Noah, his voice roaring over the cheers of the crew. The canons roared as they fired a volley into the others ship which startled at the attack. They were scrambling to get their own retaliation together and by that time, they had already fired again. Their canons balls chipped away at the hull and the masts. The one mast cracked and broke, falling over and disabling the ship.

"All aboard!" Mary yelled above the noise, trying not to breathe in the noxious fumes too much, less she choke and cough while shouting out her orders.

"Don't let them board us!" Noah added, his rough voice rising above the yelling of the men. Anne came up the stairs, grinning as she saw the ship they were breaking. She put one hand on the wheel, holding it steady for Mary.

"Go, have your fun" She motioned at the ship with her chin. Mary gave her a grin and ran to join the men in the fight.

Few things took her mind off her grief like a fight. She had to focus because one wrong step could end with her death. She was good at the fight; she was good at causing the men of the ship to bow to her will. Soon the other ship's crew broke under their will and Mary paced in front of the ten crewsmen left. She looked at their faces. Most of them were scared; they were pissing their pants in fear at what she might or might not do to them.

Her back was to them and her crew surrounded them with guns when suddenly she heard a yell and one man came swinging at her with a small dagger. She dodged and waved the crew off from shooting him. His honey brown eyes burned with anger. She ducked as he swung at her throat again. Then she laughed, jumping back and then engaging her hidden blade to meet his dagger. He seemed surprised. She punched him in the stomach, sending him to his knees. She grinned over him.

"You son…of a bitch…" He wheezed.

"What's your name, mate?"

"Daniel. Daniel Wordsworth" He said, the anger never draining from his eyes. "You bloody fucking traitors. Lower than even us scum" He spat blood at her boots which she nimbly dodged.

"Keep him. Lock him in the hold till his blood cools." She motioned at Daniel. Her men grabbed him, tied him up and dragged him back to their ship. She looked at the nine remaining men. "So, who wants to join our crew? Join us or have a nice swim"

There was some hesitation and all but one man joined them. They tied him up and brought him with them too. These men were all good fighters which was how they survived. If they couldn't turn them in time, they'd dump in the ocean. Same with the Daniel fellow. They took everything valuable on the ship that wasn't nailed down and then sunk it. Mary returned to the wheel where both Anne and Jack were waiting for her.

"Having a bit of fun are you?" Jack asked. He had clearly had even more to drink because his breath smelled like a barrel of rum.

"Taking a bit of money where I can. Got eight new men and two that might join us. I'm going to go talk to them. Anne, if you could keep us on course…?"

"Aye, James" She took the wheel and began shouting orders at the men who hopped to it with her. She wasn't one to be questioned. She'd slice them from pick to sternum if given the proper excuse. So she was the last one that most men wanted to cross on a bad day. Jack put an arm around her and laughed saying how proud he was of his woman.

Mary had to look away, her heart aching for Edward. She had been willing to give up a lot for Edward. If he asked her to…well say, give up Pirating, she would have considered it. She couldn't give up being an Assassin. Not truly. Though…She almost had. She was…frustrated with them though. If she hadn't joined them, she might have never developed a relationship with Edward, if she had never joined them, she would be by his side now. It was because of them she got close to him, it was because of them she couldn't be with him. It was a bitter taste in her mouth and so she figured she'd sail with Jack and Anne and hope her heart would settle and her blood cool in time. For now she needed distance, time to think. That wasn't so much to ask, now was it?

She walked below deck and to a room far back. The door was open when she came across it, but she shut it. She wanted some privacy with her prisoners. They were sitting cross-legged on the ground, arms bound behind them, sitting in the middle of the room. Mary perched herself on a table nailed to the wall. She let one leg hang while she put her other foot on the table, leaning her arm against it and staring at the two men. Daniel and George were their names. They said nothing, staring back at her. Daniel was getting visibly agitated though. He was young, younger than Edward probably.

"Are you going to fucking kill us or just stare all day?" He snapped finally. The corners of Mary's mouth turned up a little, amused at his outburst. "You son of a bitch! What the hell are you laughing at?" He spewed more curses at her, nearly impressing her with the vile things coming out of his mouth. She ended up laughing outright at him.

"Are you done, lad?" She asked him as he fumed at her.

"Shut your gob, Dan. It's clearly not doing any good to waste your breath on this one." George warned. He looked a little shaken by her presents.

"Why the hell should I?"

"Don't you know who he is?" Hissed the other male.

"'Oy, how do you know who I am?"

"I've been to Nassau plenty of times and I've seen you and your ilk, sulking around the Old Avery. Most of 'em are dead from what I hear, but one or two of you dogs still roam the seas. Old Thatch – Blackbeard -, Hornigold and Vane. Calico Jack was never much fear but what was his name? Kenway? Yeah, Kenway was a monster as well they said. Then there was the lad who is said to be twice the devil his father ever was – James Kidd. That's you ain't it?"

"Aye, I go by the name James Kidd" She stood and began pacing around them.

"And you're really Kidd?" Daniel asked. "You're really the fearsome James Kidd?"

"What of it, lad? You have a bone to pick with me?" She walked up the younger of the two men. When she looked into his eyes, she saw that anger yet but it had cooled. Admiration shined there as well. She never expected James to be admired. Sure, she played it young, but she didn't expect to attract a following.

She snorted. Then she returned to her table and sat a while longer, taking out her pipe to pass the time. They tried to speak to her, get her to speak to them but she kept silent, smoking mindlessly, as if thinking. It was nice to be left in peace. Usually up on deck it was all chaos and orders and shouting. Sure she had the wind in her face, the wheel under her hands and she had the men by the collar but here she had the quiet enough to think. She looked at the two men and then stood again, tucking her pipe away, drawing a dagger from in her coat.

"It's a shame to keep you down here, rotting away when you could be doing honest work. And you'll do it or I'll kill ya" She cut the ropes binding them and they rubbed at their wrists. She didn't put the dagger away and she didn't help them to their feet. She walked to the door and turned to look at them once more. "You" she pointed at George with her knife "will report to the deck and help there. You" Now her dagger was pointed at Daniel "will report to the first mate. He'll have some task or another for you."

Then she walked out of the room, allowing them to their own fates.

George still had living friends among the crew but Daniel stayed distant. Twice he tried to kill Mary, but she thwarted it. She could have very easily killed him but she saw it in bad taste so she let him live. That proved to be a mistake. Not because he would take her life, but because he would become a greater part of it than she realized.

It started a week later when she was on the deck at night alone. Everyone else was sleeping. They were hidden in a cove and she was standing at the bow, watching the water, watching the stars and thinking of Edward. She missed him so much and since he was just going to annoy her in her dreams, she decided to stay awake and pace. She wished she could see him again but she had closed that door. Someday soon, she would lock it and attempt to forget about it as much as she could. She knew he had left an imprint on her heart and that would be hard to ignore or forget but she would try.

She heard the creak of wood and turned just in time. She stepped back and the dagger only caught her clothing instead of her skin. It was a swipe aimed at her throat. She gasped though as her shirt fell open and her corset loosened. By some accident his dagger had swept through it, breaking the string of it.

He was looking at her funny, probably wondering why she was holding her arms against her chest so. She was hiding the gap in her shirt, which if she moved wrong would show the top of her one breast, which would now be visible because her corset was sliding down her chest now that it was loosened. Her eyes narrowed and he stalked closer. It was freeze and let him harm her or forgo her secret and teach this lad a lesson.

She hit him under his chin with her open palm, making him stumble back and then she grabbed his arm and twisted it, causing him to cry out. She was standing behind him, holding his arm while he was on his knees at this point. He had dropped the dagger and she kicked it away. He used her distraction to yank his arm out of her grip –which had to be agonizing – and then spun to his feet. He didn't pause and swung for her. She ducked under his fist but he grabbed at her coat. Somehow his fingers found purchase in the rip in her shirt and he pulled. She heard the fabric rip and she elbowed him in the stomach. He fell hard. She jumped back a few steps, trying to pull the fabric up again. He got up, ready to fight more. She held out one hand.

"Stop"

"What? Why? Because your shirt is ruined? What are you, a lass?" She didn't answer, but she met his eyes. Her eyes questioned what would be so funny about her being a lass. He blinked. "You…you're a man…right? James is your name…? Right?"

"Come with me, lad" She said with a sigh in her voice. She turned and she heard him stumbling after her. Everyone else was already resting so no one saw them slip into her private chambers. "You behave yourself in here or I will kill you"

"You never tried to kill me before"

"Because I didn't want to. I didn't see a point." She said honestly. "And so, why do you find it so laughable that I might be a woman?" She was taking off her coat, her back to him as she said this.

"Because…how could you be? How could you hide that secret for all these years? It's impossible"

"Nothing is impossible." She threw the coat, which was still fully intact on her bed and then started to unbutton her shirt. She knew he was watching. With the shirt off, she could see that he had ruined her corset. She had another few so it wasn't no matter. Still, it was a bit annoying though. She felt his hand on her shoulder and he slowly turned her so she was half facing him.

"Fucks sake. You are a woman!" She heard him breathe. She guided him to the bed to sit down. She changed out of the corset and just put on a shirt, buttoning it up most of the way, just so she was decent. He sat there in a state of shock, watching her.

"The first two men who found out in a surprising way took this better than you" She said, a smile on her face. James had time to stew on it before he talked to her about it though and Edward had just laughed it off. She remembered his words…

"Your name isn't James…is it?"

She shook thoughts of Edward aside. She had to focus. If she thought of his laugh, his smile, his face, his body…No, she had to focus on Daniel here. Daniel was the threat and though she could kill this lad easily, she still couldn't let her guard down. Letting her guard down was how she would get killed one of these times. The only thing she'd get from letting her guard down would be a ruined throat.

"Oh yeah?" He asked. "And what happened to those men?" She bet he was expecting her to tell him she killed them. He must have thought her heartless. In fact, he seemed to see her as it more so now that he knew she was a woman.

"The first one I married. The second one became my lover" She answered honestly. He blinked. He clearly hadn't that coming. Suddenly she realized she shouldn't have said it that way. It implied she had jumped into bed with everyone who she had told her secret to. "I don't mean…I don't mean anything has to happen between us. That wasn't what I was implying."

"Oh, no I…I wasn't going to presume. I mean, I tried to kill you three times now…"

"And is that going to stop now? Next time I'm going to kill you and throw you overboard." He seemed to think about her threat. "Why are you trying to kill me anyway?"

"My…my cousin who was as close to me as my own brother was killed when you attacked our ship" He stated, casting down his eyes, but she saw the pain in his eyes. "I thought maybe…"

"Killing me won't bring him back, lad." She shook her head at him. "Listen, go to your bunk, sleep on it. We can talk tomorrow night if you'd like" Then she shooed him of her room and lay down. Oh, she thought as she started to fall asleep, I never told him to keep his mouth shut.

A/N: Thirty-one chapters! Holy crap. My gosh guys. Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed in between the last chapter and this one! Stay tuned for more guys!