LI.
For A Time

The wind ruffled Mary's Read hair, lifting the long strands off her back and tangling them together. That was highly annoying to her, but she couldn't do anything about that. She stared down at the streets, at the lights, at the people. It was beautiful. France was beautiful and the city she was in, the name somewhere in the back of her mind right now, was beautiful in a river of stars sort of way. She was on an old tower, high above the city, looking down at the lights in the late evening, watching the lamps be lit, one by one. The sky still had a smudge of red on it, but that faded into the darkness of the oncoming night.

She stood alone and that she regretted. Edward would have loved this. It had been over a year since she had seen him though. She had left him again, ran away like the coward she was. She couldn't stand the thought of staying in London, running into her mother…She had only stayed three months and well…She had left. She hadn't felt like she had a choice at the time. Running away seemed like the only option. So she had ran. She had run here, to France, to get away and now she found her thoughts going back to that day which seemed like it was a whole lifetime ago.

Mary stood before Mark's grave. It actually said his name now. MARK READ, in big bold letters. It was a new gravestone, bought by Mary herself, wanting her brother to have the right name over his body. It was a wrong she was just now bring around to the right. Edward stood next to her, looking down at the gravestone, as if thinking about something very hard. It was a windy day and they both wore thick jackets against the chilling wind.

"How does it feel to not be a ghost anymore?" Edward finally asked.

"A ghost?" She looked at him, her eyebrow raising.

"It felt…queer, coming here and seeing a grave bearing your name though you were standing next to me. Like I was standing beside a ghost" He glanced up at her and then back at the grave.

"I think I'm a bit too old to be this ghost"

"But, all the same"

"Yes, all the same" She agreed and they looked down at the grave. She felt a little better now that it no longer carried her name. Now that it had the correct name above it though, the lie she had lived had been brought to light. She didn't care, not really. It was all a part of lying. One day, it had to be brought to light.

"Let's go have an early lunch and then I have to talk to you." Edward bumped her with his elbow, clearly trying to get her to come along with him, to leave. She glanced up at him, at his small smile and the glitter in his eyes and she didn't know if she really wanted to do that.

"Whatever you want to talk about, we can do it here and now" She told him.

"I'd really rather wait…" He shoved both his hands in his pockets and looked away.

"Now, Edward" She didn't feel like waiting around, dancing around whatever issue he had. Was it something about the Assassins? Something about Jenny? Himself? What was it? She just wanted to know.

He groaned. "You…are the most impatient woman I ever met"

"Edward." She didn't snap his name; she just said it with the impatience that he had pointed out. What he did next though, shocked her.

He got down on one knee, grabbed her hand before she could think to snatch it away and then looked up at her. "Mary, I want you to marry me" He didn't pose it as a question; it was a demand. She looked down at him in shock and her expression crumpled.

"No, Edward. I can't. I can't." She took her hand away from him and he looked up at her, hurt written over his face this time. She took his face in her hands. "I love you, I do, but I can't. I just…I…I…I'm leaving"

That was a lie. She hadn't decided yet, but this…She was leaving. She had to. She couldn't stay here when he might badger her to marry him. She needed distance, he needed time. She couldn't be his wife. She couldn't make him happy. She had too much conviction in her heart, too much fear.

"Leaving?" he repeated, looking up at her. His voice dropped, becoming cold. "To where?"

"France." She answered. She stepped away from him, realizing the cold anger than now radiated off him. He climbed to his feet, staring her down. "They have this awful Templar problem. Been asking me for a month or so to come and help where I can. I decided that they need me and I promised that I would if I could and I can so I should"

She realized that he wasn't listening to her. His glare was making her nervous. She looked back, hoping that he didn't hate her now, that his anger wasn't going to remain. She looked at him and he back and finally he sighed, an angry sound.

"I should have guessed. I should have bloody guessed, but I thought you could change" The last word was nearly shouted, so loud it made her jump. "For hell's sake Mary, why can't you just be happy? Why can't you just settle? Why can't we just be together?" His words got louder and angrier. She just looked at him, silent and mute, not knowing what to say. He must have taken her silence for something else because his rage peaked and finally he said, "Fine. Fine! Go! I don't care anymore"

"Edward, don't say that…" She reached for him and he slapped her hand away like an angry child.

"No! I'm at my wit's end with you Mary! I love you. I love you and it's not enough for you!"

"No…It's…It's not that" She was left feeling like a child now.

"Or you don't believe I can survive, that I can live by your side!" He snapped next and she felt her face pinch. She reached for him again, wanting…What did she want? To stop his anger, to find comfort in his strong arms, even if just for a moment. He spun away from her though and began to run. He ran up the side of the nearest building and quickly pulled himself to the top. She stood there, her hand out stretched as if she could touch him even now. He disappeared quickly over the rooftops and she watched. Her hand dropped and her head dropped.

She had a feeling that she would not see him again soon.

And now it had been well over a year since she had seen him. It had taken her a week to get her things around to leave. Since he and Jenny were already living in their new house, she had not seen Edward the entire week. She had went over to his home and spoken to Jenny, who just seemed confused why she and Edward were fighting. Mary had just told Jenny to tell Edward that she would write him and then she had left.

And she had written him, but…not one letter had been sent. She had worried over writing him. What if he never answered her? Worse what if he answered her only to tell her that he had moved on and that he had given up on her? She knew her heart would break, more so than it was now. It was her own fault though and if he did move on, she would not blame Edward. No, the fault was all on her. So as she looked at the beautiful city, whom she had helped free from Templar hold, she knew she could no longer stay here. She had spent her time away from Edward and perhaps it was time to return to him. To beg his forgiveness if she had to.

So she returned to the base of operations for the Assassins here in this town and the French Assassin who was the Leader of the den looked up at her as she entered. His name was Alexandre and he was a wonderful man. He was younger than Mary by five years and he was still a little hot-blooded himself but he cared deeply for his brother and sister Assassins.

"Mary, returning so soon?" He asked her, in French. "I thought you needed some air to clear your head."

"I have cleared my head" She replied, also in French. "I believe I need to return to England"

"Ah, you beau there, is he not?" She felt her face flush when he asked her that.

"He is no such thing to me. Just a past lover but…"

"Your beau" He rolled his eyes at her, a smile playing on his face. "I know you have missed him greatly. And you have helped us just as greatly. But before you leave, I have a letter for you" He pulled a envelop out of his robes and handed it to her. "It is not from England, but another place you have once called home" He told her when she hesitated it taking it.

She opened it and removed the letter. She knew the hand writing. It was from Javi, the Assassin friend of her's down in the West Indies. It was a letter detailing the events that had happened since she had left. It seemed that Ah Tabai had retired from his role of Mentor and another was being elected in the area. He had apparently grown too old for active combat and while Mary was hesitant to believe that, perhaps he had found he wished to live the last few years of his life in relative peace. Not every Mentor served until their death. She put the letter in the pocket, intending to show it to Edward when she saw him once more.

"Thank you, Alexandre. Be sure to write me if you ever need my assistance again" She told him and she turned to leave.

"There is one more thing you could do for us" She turned back to look at him. He had some papers bound together and he set them on the desk, placing a hand on top of them. "These are documents that Edward Kenway wanted to look at. They are in French, but I'm sure you could translate them for him. An English Assassin named Miko has the other half of the documents and you'll have to stop and pick them up from him." She nodded and took the parcel under her coat.

"Anything else?"

"No. Good fortune and swift travels to you, Mary Read"

"Thank you Alexandre." And then she finally did leave, pondering over the papers she had taken from him.

What were they? Why did Edward want them? She pondered and thought over it most of her trip back to London but was never able to figure it out and she did not want to open them less they were private. She figured she would stop in at the Assassin's den and talk to whoever was there and see where she could contact Miko and then go to Edward's house and drop off the papers. It would at least give her good reason to talk to him.

She was nervous about that. But she would do it because she told Alexandre she would.

So when she walked into the Assassin's Bureau, she talked to the first man she found. It turned out that Miko was out on assignment but he knew that she would be coming for the papers and had left them here for her. She gathered them as well, finding that they were in French as well. Could Miko read them as well? Or had he just been keeping the other half because they were important? Well, with all the documents she hurried over to where Edward's house was.

Or had been.

She found that he no longer lived in the small house and had moved to a manor on Queen Anne's Square. She wished he had sent her a message to tell her of the move but, she had important documents to take to him so she hurried until she found his new home. His new manor home. It was a beautiful estate and she felt odd walking in, still a little dirty from her trip here and dressed a man per usual. She knocked on the door and a person answer, a person she knew from before.

"Rose!" She gasped in surprise. It was the young maid who had helped them in Bristol. It seemed she had left her old occupation to come work for Edward.

"Oh! You're…you're Miss Read! Master Kenway said you were away on a trip"

"I was, but I have returned and have some important documents for him" She said, keeping her tone clipped and formal. Rose curtsied and invited her in. She led Mary to a parlor where Edward was chatting with a woman, a few years his younger. She was smiling at Edward in a way that clearly meant attraction. Mary felt her heart shudder and she quickly made her expression stony and disinterested. He looked up, startled at the interruption and his eyes got a little wide when he took Mary's form in the doorway.

"Mary?" He gasped her name, as if shocked she had returned.

"Has it been so long, Edward?" She asked. She drew the documents out of her coat. "I brought these for you. They're in French so I'll help you translate them…but perhaps another time. I would hate to interrupt you" She turned to leave.

"No, why don't you stay? Have a cup of tea, rest. You look road-worn and weary" She looked over her shoulder to see him standing slightly, as if preparing to stop her should she choose to leave anyway. She rolled her eyes at him, shoulders slouching slightly. She couldn't say no, so she turned and sat in a chair across from him, closer to the woman who cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her own chair.

"So, Edward, who is this?"

"Ah, yes. Apologizes. Tessa, this is my friend Mary Read. Mary, this is Tessa Stephenson-Oakley. She's the daughter of the man who I rented my former house's land from. She helped me acquire this house" He smiled at Tessa and she smiled back. She was a beautiful woman and Mary felt her expression sour a little, a snake of jealousy working its way into her heart. "Tessa, Mary Read is a good friend of mine. I've known her for years now."

"Yes, you've mentioned her a few times" Tessa nodded over her tea. She seemed to sour at that. She obviously was jealous of Mary. Maybe she should be.

"So, Mary, these documents. Who are they from?"

"I'd rather not say" Mary said, her hands on her knees.

"Mary, you have quite the odd way of dress. I took you for a man when I first glanced upon you" Tessa said, glancing her way.

"A woman's mark is never large on the world in our times. I've been dressing as a man since I was young and have found that it is sometimes easier to be a man and sometimes easier to be a woman. For instance, less questions are asked if you are a man traveling alone than if you are an unmarried woman traveling alone" She told her, giving her a look. Edward cleared his throat.

"Well, Tessa, I hate to cut our visit short, but I have important things to talk over with Mary. Perhaps you can come calling some other time. Shall I walk you out?" They both rose and Mary stayed where she was. She waited for Edward to return and he did after quite a few moments. He sat on the couch and motioned for her to join him. She was reluctant to, but she did, sitting on the far edge, as far from him as she could.

"Are you courting her?" She asked, not able to shake the jealous tone out of her voice completely.

"Mary, I haven't seen you in over a year and that's the first thing you ask me?" He shook his head. "Yes, I am courting her. What was I supposed to do, when you left me so suddenly?"

"Edward…I…" She shook her head and stiffened her expression again. "I came to help you translate these documents. It'll take some time I think"

"Does this mean you're back in London?" He asked.

"Yes, I'll remain here for some time I believe" She answered him. He was silent a moment and then he reached out to touch her and she flinched away. His hand dropped.

"I missed you"

"I missed you too" She whispered and dropped her eyes, closing them tightly. She opened them slowly and looked at him. "But you're courting that woman now. I won't stop you. It's not my place. It never was"

His lips pressed together like he wanted to protest. "I think you just have a problem with marrying me" She heard him mutter finally. She pretended as if she did not hear. She stood.

"Shall we relocate to your study to translate those documents?" He grabbed them off the table and stood as well. "What are they, if I may ask?"

"Oh, just some notes on the First Civilization. I've been studying something they call the Grand Temple." He told her with a smile.

"Quite the scholar are you now?" She asked and they walked together, speaking as if were old times. Her heart hurt, as she had missed her chance but it was her own fault. She would just have to live with the consequences. She would always love Edward, but perhaps it was time for her to move. It would be better if he were with someone more normal with less of a history. She wanted him to be happy and he seemed to be. She would just have to try and be happy without him, which though seemed an impossible task, surely could be done. She had lived most her life without him and she could live the rest with them being the only thing they should have been in the first place, friends.

A/N: Don't hate me! There's a plan, there is a plan people. Just, no hate. Just wait. You'll see.