A/N: So, after what feels like forever, I finally have my internet working again after the move which means that I can post my fanfiction again, yay! So... as a special treat I've decided to upload chapter 7 and I'll try to aim for chapter 8 by Saturday night... therefore, I leave you with my thanks for continuing to read my beloved fanfic and I hope you enjoy reading the next instalment of Down the Rabbit Hole
- AshTree13 xoxo
Chapter 7:
Standing with my back to the pirate town, the warm waves of the Bahamian sea roll gently inshore and submerge my feet in their foamy grasp.
If I were to use one word to describe the moment, it would be peaceful. Or breathtaking. The noise of the busybody town was just a dull hum in the background, instead, the cry of seagulls and the lapping of waves against the golden shores took precedence. Here, upon closing my eyes to the spectacular site of crystal blue waters and a clear azure sky, I could almost imagine myself at home - the feel of the wet sand between my toes, the salty tang of the sea breeze, the way the warmth of the saltwater caressed my feet and legs; the very sound and sight made me nostalgic.
It was... in a word, nice.
And, like all nice things, the moment comes to a swift end.
"Fairy Stories?!"
Struggling to contain my sigh, I open my eyes and blink at the sudden and bright sunlight. Raising my hand to shield myself from the strong beams, I turn my head back towards Nassau and glare at Edward as he paces the length of the beach, kicking the occasional pebble and driftwood with a scowl plastered across his handsome features.
"Let it go, Kenway."
"Let it go?" he replies, halting his pace to stare at me, his face a mask of disbelief, "have you been drinking the seawater or something, Tess?"
"Tessa," I exhale, knowing that I was fighting a losing battle in regards to both the subject at hand and my new nickname, yet unable to stop myself from responding – a curse which served to only egg Edward on with his tirade.
"You were there with me, Tessa," he continues, resuming his stride, hands clasped behind his lean back, "You saw how pissed Torres was when he discovered the Sage was gone, you saw his fear – the terror of losing a invaluable treasure. Torres believed in the Observatory and the Sage was his key, why else would he ship us off on a treasure fleet bound for Spain? Why go to such great lengths to hide the truth? I bet you he didn't think we'd escape, that's why he had you in heavy chains and me under heavy guard."
"Yes, Edward, I was there," I agree, picking up my ruined skirts and heading towards my companion. Once I reached the pacing man, I reached out and grasp his elbow, preventing further movement and forcing the contemplating pirate to face my stern gaze. "And yes, I believe that the Sage was important to Torres, but I also think that he mistrusted you from the start; once he learned that you were not his 'friend' Duncan Walpole, his suspicions were confirmed."
"Did you have a point?"
"Edward, I believe you," I inform him exasperatedly to his obvious surprise and pleasure. I give his arm a reassuring squeeze and step back, burying my toes in the warm, sun soaked sand as I do and hope desperately that the rest of my response satisfies the unruly pirate, "the Observatory must exist, why else would Torres react so negatively to the Sage's disappearance. It also explains his eagerness to be rid of us; he must have believed that we too were after the power that the Observatory can offer."
"We were," Edward says, interrupting me as he often does. Pausing, he runs a hand through his golden locks and gives me a sheepish smile, "well… I was after it…"
"Details," I sigh, shaking my head with a smile and giggle to which Edward responds with a grateful grin and a chuckle of his own. "But," I continue, glancing out towards the Jackdaw and the fellow ships decorating the bay of Nassau, "you need to let it go. For now. For now, it is a fairytale and you can't afford to go chasing after fairytales; not when you have a fresh crew, which I guarantee will be less than enthusiastic to go chasing after a treasure that may or may not be real... besides, you need the Sage to access it, right? That's just what I've gathered from the entire discussion."
"You… have a point," Edward reluctantly concedes, folding his arms over his chest in submission.
"I'll make you a deal-"
"Who says you're in the position to make deals?" Edward interrupts, his lips twitching into a teasing smile.
Glaring at Edward for his disruption, I fold my arms over my chest and wait expectantly for the mumbled apology that follows soon after. Unfurling my hands to instead fiddle with my thick braid, I continue where I left off, "I'll make you a deal, you find me a nice, warm bed for the night and a delicious, hot meal then I'll help you work out the next step in your plan to become the rich pirate you desire to be. I don't know about you, but that seems like a pretty good deal."
"You actually do have a brain in that pretty head of yours," he comments after a brief pause, ducking out of my reach with a raspy laugh as I attempt to hit him for the tactless comment.
"You'll pay for that comment!" I giggle, picking up my skirts and chasing after him as he escapes up the beach, escaping my grasp as I run behind him, my skirts in one hand. Sand flies as we race around the beach, ignoring the curious stares of the occasional passerby. And, like the klutz that I am, I find myself tripping over my own feet and the driftwood littering the golden shore, stumbling right into Edward's waiting arms.
"You are a walking disaster," he murmurs into my ear, his breathe tickling my cheek. Moving his face back from mine so he can study my flushed expression, he reaches for a loose strand of my red hair and tucks it behind my right ear, his fingers lingering against my skin, "and yet, it's part of what makes you so... intriguing."
"Stop with the flattery," I breathe, feeling my cheeks burn at the compliment, "I still owe you punishment for your earlier negligent comment."
"Tomorrow? You promise we'll work out a fool proof plan?"
"I told you," I assure him, escaping from his gentle grasp and offering a small smile, "back in Havana... we're a team. You're stuck with me Kenway and like I said back then, I keep to now - I want to help you."
"Well then," cue his devilish smirk, "I look forward to it, partner."
0-0-0-0-0-0
"I'm going to kill him!"
There were days where I starting to feel as if I was slowly adjusting to this new, unexpected life that I had been thrust in. I no longer had trouble fastening the lacings of my stay, for example, and the strange but familiar dishes that I had been treated to were actually going down my throat and settling in my stomach with no issue. Not to mention, Edward had managed to organise a trip to the local seamstress in town and I had been able to repair the hem of my silk gown as well as pick out another two simpler dresses made from cotton, which were much more suited to the type of activities I now found myself participating in. Purchasing some leather, I was able to convince the seamstress to fashion me two pairs of pants - breeches, as she had correctly me, unimpressed with the odd request - which I paired with a pair of leather/hide boots which rivalled my comfortable combats, unfortunately and unintentionally abandoned with Bonnet back in Havana.
The new clothes, the ability to stomach the food I was given, the very fact that I was adapting to the new situation; despite how small and insignificant those events may be, they meant that I was adjusting to the foreign lifestyle, one I was no meant for in the first place. It was a sign of progression and as a person who likes to get things down as easily and efficiently as possible, it was huge relief that I could adjust.
It also meant that I was less likely to wind up dead, which was understandably a positive.
However, it was moments like these when it dawned on me that I wasn't apart of this world, both in the sense that I came from a different time and that I simply didn't suit the pirate lifestyle. It was also in moments like these that I realised that I was of no use to anyone, that I was an inconvenience to Edward and his crew.
The proof?
Crumbling up the torn piece of parchment inscribed with what could only be Edward's hand, I march towards the beach with the single purpose of seeing if it was true and upon reaching the shoreline, it became apparent that it was not some awful dream but a painstaking reality.
I had been left behind.
Again.
"That asshole," I shriek, causing a few seagulls to scatter.
Unfolding the crumpled note that Edward had left behind for me to discover the next morning, I read the single sentence over once again, my anger rising to boiling point each time my eyes scan over the cursive words.
Tess,
Have gone with the crew and Hornigold to do some 'privateering' – stay out of trouble, in fact, stay in the room I've lodged for you.
- Edward
"I'm going to kill him!" I repeat to myself, although a little softer than before, reluctant to draw attention myself. I wasn't an idiot; I was a woman in a time where women had very little rights and I wasn't exactly the strongest girl you'd meet – it was something Desmond and Shaun had always troubled me about, that is, my reluctance to improve my muscle mass. And although the constant nagging annoyed the hell out of me, I knew they did out of concern that I would get myself into some situation that I would be unable to wiggle myself out of - therefore, I was all for following Edwards' suggestion to 'stay out of trouble.'
But apparently, trouble likes to find me.
"Morning, Theresa."
Jumping at James Kidd's sudden outcry, I turn towards the slight man and nod a greeting, crunching the inked parchment in my tight fist and praying that the young man had not heard my personal tirade at Kenway, who was, I knew, a friend of Kidd's. I didn't want to appear disrespectful nor ungrateful for what Edward had done for me, so I hoped that he would overlook my dissatisfaction if Kidd had indeed overhead my mumblings. That and I wanted to make a good impression on the somewhat charming and exotic men who Edward was familiar with.
"Good morning, Kidd," I greet, awkwardly fiddling with the thin leather chain I had purchased the other day from a kind jeweller, the small charm – a tiny, white pearl – slipping in and out from between my fingers as I do so. After a brief pause, I try to find a topic that we could pursue and was relieved when I came to a conclusion. "You remembered my name," I tell him with a smile.
"Hard to forget a pretty name like yours," he replies with a wink, coming to halt before me, his hands shoved into the pockets of his breeches.
God, are all the men here flirts?
"Honestly, I'm surprised to see you here, Theresa, thought you and Kenway were attached at the hip," he continues, adding the last part on as an after-thought and upon seeing my distasteful expression in reply, he allows himself a short, barking laugh. "What's with the look? I'm only saying that I thought you'd be sailing the Caribbean aboard Kenway's new Brig… the, uh, Jackdaw was it?"
"Just Tessa, Kidd… and you aren't the only one."
"Left you behind, did he?" he inquires, raising a thin black eyebrow in astonishment, "now… why would Kenway be such a fool to abandon a pretty young lady such as yourself?"
"Who knows," I reply, rolling my eyes in agreement, "I barely know what the man's thinking, he's just one surprise after another." Pausing, I consider the man in question and allow myself a heavy sigh, kicking at the smooth, golden sand of the Nassau beach, "to be honest with you, he probably thought it'd be better for me to stay behind. I'm not the best at sea and I'm not particularly helpful, I'd probably get in the way…"
"Don't beat yourself up, Tessa, I'm sure-"
"Although, how could the Bastard just leave me behind with no explanation save for his pathetic attempt at leaving a note?!" I explode, interrupting Kidd's comforting words - which, judging from his startled expression, he did not expect - in favour of ranting about my unfavourable Captain, "I mean, it would have been nice to get something other than a sentence explaining what the Hell is going on! He could have let me in on what he was planning, that was the deal! Bloody arse!"
"Obviously," Kidd begins after a lengthy period of silence, "you're not particularly pleased at being left behind…
"No shit Sherlock!" I snap, glaring at the innocent man.
"Whoa, I'm not the enemy here," Kidd chuckles, raising his hands in mock surrender. He hesitates and confers upon me a perplexed expression, "what's Sherlock? Is he someone you know?"
"Oh, sorry, it's just an expression," I apologise, more than a little regretful and my earlier tone. The poor guy was only trying to sympathise with me, to tell me that he understood my anger at Kenway and I had repayed him with an insult he didn't even comprehend. God, I was being a whiny bitch.
I hated it.
"Hm, okay then..."
"Seriously," I tell him, shaking my head in both amusement and apology, "it doesn't mean anything... I'm sure you got the gist of it..."
"Yeah," he agrees and once again the awkward silence from before stretches between the two of us. "Anyways," he continues, turning his gaze out towards the open sea, "if you're interested, I have a proposition for you."
"A proposition?" I ask, instantly captured by my insatiable curiosity.
"Judging from the way you reacted, you'll like what I have to offer."
"Oh, please tell me more," I beg, taking a step closer to the strangely welcoming pirate, "I'm going to lose my mind if I have to stay here on my own, there's not exactly much to do..."
"How would you like a taste of what it's like to be a pirate?"
"... pardon?"
"I'm planning to steal from a nearby plantation," he informs me, leaning back against the rough trunk of a nearby palm tree, his cool brown eyes studying my face with a mostly unreadable expression, "it's ambitious, but profitable, if I can manage it… I could use you, to distract the guards… think you could manage that?"
"Oh yes," I answer with a smile, striding forward to take his outstretched hand, "distraction I can do. You've got yourself a deal, James Kidd."
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Why look! It's the Bastard son of the late William Kidd! Still a mere boy and yet… ten times the demon his father was."
Strolling across the beach of Andres Island, Edward Kenway addresses James Kidd from across a small, blazing fire in which the latter was residing beside, conversing with two men who were possibly part of his crew. The two men in question share with Kenway a knowing smile before one passes him a stick in which a freshly cooked fish hangs speared off the end, it's skin crispy, the smell of a warm, recently prepared meal wafting in the air amongst the salty sea breeze and familiar tang of rum.
"Fancy seeing you here, Kenway," comes Kidd's reply, a wary smile on his face when addressing his fellow pirate captain, "still looking sleek and mean. Did you steal that costume from some dandy in Havana?"
Laughter from the two men.
"No sir, I found this on a corpse… one that was walking and talking shit to my face only moments before," comes Kenway's lofty response, his grey-blue eyes meeting Kidd's unflinchingly.
"Huh." The only reply Kidd could manage that seemed to appropriately fit the pirate's ominous declaration.
Straightening up and handing back the speared fish to its original owner, Edward motions for Kidd to follow his lead and the two walk off, leaving the mean roasting their meal in the fire. "So… what's this about a planned raid on a planation," Edward begins in a hushed whisper, "not keeping secrets from me?"
"Not very well it seems," comes Kidd's reluctant reply, his eyes drifting over Kenway's shoulder to an approaching figure whose face even from a distance is a mask of rage.
"Kidd-" Edward begins, ready to demand a truthful reply from the younger pirate before a familiar, feminie voice cuts him off in what could only be described as a shriek of fury.
"You Bastard!"
"Tess?!" unprepared for the appearance of the tiny woman, he finds himself being brutally assaulted by her petite fists which smack repeatedly into his leather protected chest, her pretty and usually angelic face flushed red with anger. "What the Hell are you doing here?"
"How dare you show your face after abandoning me in Nassau, you ungrateful jerk!" came her reply, one fist slugging his shoulder painfully in one quick swing of her right arm.
"What are you-"
"Don't give me that shit, you ungrateful cow," she snarls, her chest rising and falling rapidly from what he assumes is a combination of exhaustion and the tight constraint of her undergarments, "you left me and went on an adventure with your buddies. I know you think me useless – and maybe you are right – but I have news for you buddy, I am part of your crew whether you like it or not and whether I like it or not, you are my ticket for finding my way around this place, so we are stuck together. Understand?"
"Jesus Kidd, you brought her here didn't you?" the pirate accuses, rubbing his chest to soothe the pain from Tess's sharp, repeated blows, glaring at his 'friend', "why the Hell would you do that?"
"We made a deal," he answers, shrugging his thin shoulders, unconcerned with the threatening look his receives in response to his apparently incorrect reply.
"Stay out of it, Kenway," Tess agrees, folding her arms over her chest, her sea-green eyes narrowed in distaste, as she looks upon him, biting her rosy, plump lips as she does.
"You are impossible," he sighs, massaging his temple as the dull throb of an oncoming headache takes him by storm. "Kidd, could you just explain to me what is going on?"
"Everyday," Kidd begins, looking out towards the sea, satisfied that the confrontation had some to an end, "Schooners packed with sugar sail past, coming from nearby plantations."
"Most times," Tessa continues, "they apparently stop here and sell off a few crates. There's one man visiting today that would earn a fine profit, according to James."
"So, if you'd like to rob his plantation, I'll point him out," Kidd finishes with a smirk.
"I would," Edward replies with a nod and a quick glance at the angry redhead, "but you're staying-"
"Think again," she interrupts, knocking her shoulder into his as she makes to follow Kidd, "I'm not staying behind… and nothing you can say will change my mind."
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Not a bad haul," Edward admits happily, counting the crates of sugar as his crewman carry them from the broken-in warehouse to the safety of the Jackdaw, where it will be transported to a nearby sea village to be sold in order to make upgrades to the ship.
"Enough to improve the broadside cannons, you think?" Adéwalé inquires as he passes by carrying four crates of the white gold.
"From what Kidd told me, sugar is one of the most profitable trades in the Caribbean at the moment," I answer for Edward, noticing that the stubborn man is too distracted by the near presence of plantation guards and the counting of his newly acquired cargo, "so we should be able to do just that, Adéwalé."
"You're help, Fair Lady, was greatly appreciated," he replies with a grateful smile, carting off his cargo towards our vessel.
"Did you hear that? My help was 'greatly appreciated,'" I tell Edward with a smirk, raising an eyebrow as he rolls his eyes in response.
"Don't let it get to your head," he says, closing the warehouse doors with a soft click once all of the cargo and crew had exited the large wooden building, "you're distraction was helpful… but I could have done it all without your assistance."
"Why can't you just say thank you?" I hiss as we hid ourselves in the vegetation surrounding the grounds, making our way side-by-side back to the safety of the Jackdaw, "is it that hard?"
"Tess," Edward sighs, glaring over his shoulder at me, "can you just let it go?"
"No," I grab his shoulder and force him to stop and really look at me, face-to-face, my brow furrowed in confusion, "I thought we had an agreement. We're a team. You can't just leave me behind Kenway, I can be of use if you'd-"
"If I'd what, Theresa?" he growls, shoving away my hand which causes me to lose balance and fall back against the cold, hard earth, "if I'd let you do what? You don't know how to use a rapier, you're useless on the deck of the Jackdaw, you scold me every-time I do my blasted job-"
"You're 'blasted job' is stealing from innocent people!" I retort, my face flushed with anger as the argument begins to reach boiling point. Honestly, I don't know where this argument even came from - I was confused and more than a little baffled by Edward's sudden change in attitude. It was more than frustrating and I just couldn't work out for the life of me what I had done to insure his wrath. Yes, I'd tagged along with Kidd when he explicitly told me to stay behind and, I quote, 'stay out of trouble' but I was sick of being left behind.
I was sick of felling useless.
I could get my hands dirty, maybe I couldn't get them as dirty as Edward's but I could do something other than sit around and do nothing! I mean, I had helped out Desmond and Shaun and Rebecca and the Order plenty of times back in my own period.
But you knew what you were doing back then, a little voice reminds me, and besides, it's not like you were ever in the field. You were a hacker, your job was behind a screen not face to face with someone trying to kill you. You didn't do the dirty work, that was Desmond, remember?
Shut up, I tell myself, flinching away from Edward as his glare darkens the longer the silence continues.
"Tessa, stay out of my way," he warns, turning away from my disbelieving expression and continuing his approach towards the Jackdaw where it patiently awaits for our return, "or so help me, I will kill you. I don't need you, you are a liability - a loose end - and I tie up my loose ends... don't make me do that, Tessa."
Remaining crouched in the shadows as Edward makes his way towards his ship, I feel the familiar knot of anxiety tighten it's grip in the pit of my stomach. The panic that had stuck with me from day one but had hidden in the shadows hit me once again with a vengeance and the moment Edward was out of an ear shot, I stumble to my feet towards the safety of the warehouse shadows. Reaching it, I find myself puking up the contents of my stomach in the nearby foliage, unable to keep the tears from streaming down my face as the reality of my situation hits me hard and mercilessly.