One
Ed made his way down the corridor of the merchant ship they'd just raided. As he walked past the captain's quarters somebody called his name,
"Edward!" Jack cried, "Take over for me, I want to look if he has a pair of boots I can take, mine have holes in, and we look like we have the same sized feet,"
Ed looked through the door to see Captain Hornigold ransacking the room, while Calico Jack held the captain of the ship at gun point. Ed stepped into the room and drew his gun. He then pointed it at the captain.
Jack grinned at him and lowered his gun, then turned to the man's wardrobe,
"If you let me and my ship go, I can get you all the shoes you want!" The captain cried,
"Will you shut up‽" Hornigold snapped, it clearly wasn't the first plea for mercy the captain had made,
"I don't need you to get me shoes," Jack said, "I have all the boots I need right here," he pulled a pair of brown boots out of the wardrobe, "These will do nicely,"
The captain turned to Ed with a desperate look in his eyes, "What about you? What do you want? Anything on this ship is yours if you let me go,"
"Don't fall for it Teach," Hornigold warned,
"Don't worry Captain, I'm no fool. There's nothing you can offer any of us that we can't just take," Ed explained harshly,
"Right, yes, of course. How about…"
The captain leant over and reached out towards his desk. Ed cocked his gun, and the captain froze.
"I just want to get a piece of paper, it's in the bottom left draw," he said as he raised his hands in surrender.
Ed narrowed his eyes at the captain, "Ok, but slowly, and if I catch even the hint of a weapon…"
The captain nodded frantically, "I understand." He leant down and opened the bottom draw of his desk. He fished out a piece of paper, unfolded it and held it out to Hornigold.
Hornigold glanced over at the captain and scoffed, "What's that?"
"I'll give you everything on this piece of paper if you leave me and my ship alone,"
Ed looked at the paper over the captain's shoulder. On it was the deed to a house and the promise of a small fortune. Ed's eyes widened, the contents of the paper was worth so much more than anything they'd find on the ship.
"Pirates can't read," Hornigold snapped,
"Oh," The captain looked down at the piece of paper, "Well it says-"
"I don't care what it says!"
"Err Captain?" Ed said,
"What?" Hornigold snapped,
Ed glanced back down at the paper and shook his head, "Nothing. Do you want me to take him up to the deck?"
Hornigold looked the captain up and down before nodding, "Get him out of my sight."
Ed grabbed hold of the captain's arm and hauled him towards the door,
"What about you?" The captain asked, "You seemed interested in my offer,"
"I don't know what you mean,"
"You were reading it over my shoulder,"
"Pirates can't read," Ed repeated,
"I don't believe you."
Ed pushed open the door to the deck and shoved the captain at the nearest crew member, "Keep him out of the way while we finish up downstairs," Ed order. He didn't wait to receive an acknowledgement before he turned on his heals and stalked back down to the captain's cabin.
-x-
Two
Ed was stood by the railings of the Queen Anne, watching as most of his crew disembarked and headed into town to enjoy some much-needed shore leave.
"You ready to go, Boss?"
He turned to see Izzy standing a few paces behind him. Ed pushed away from the railings and walked over to him. "Yeah, you know everything we need to get?"
"Yes, Captain,"
Ed groaned as they made their way off the ship, "I'm the Captain, why do I have to go on supply runs?"
"You don't have to, but we always get a much better deal when you show your face,"
"I don't know why, you have as much of a reputation as I do,"
"I'm not Blackbeard," Izzy pointed out,
Ed sighed in defeat "So, where's the first stop?"
"Ammunition," Izzy replied, "But we should be able to get everything we need in town."
The two of them made their way in land into the centre of town. As they walked, Ed couldn't help but notice something felt off. They had been to this port many times before, and pirates always outnumbered the locals, but the ratio seemed even more drastic today. There were barely any locals around, and the few that Ed did spot, all gave him and Izzy a hard stare.
After a few minutes, they rounded a corner and found themselves in the town square. Izzy walked over to look in a shop window. Ed went to follow him but then a poster, nailed to a nearby tree, caught his eye. He made his way over to it and took it in. There were no pictures on the poster but there was large text at the top proclaiming 'Town Meeting' followed by that day's date. So that's where all the locals were.
As Ed read on he felt the blood drain from his face. The meeting was about riding the town of pirates and they'd invited members of the British army to it. He looked back up at the time of the meeting. It was set to end in less than half an hour.
Ed spun on his heals and marched over to Izzy. He grabbed hold of his elbow and started pulling him back across the square,
"Edward! What are you doing‽" Izzy cried,
"We need to leave right now,"
"What‽ Why‽"
Ed glanced at Izzy over his shoulder, "A gut feeling," he said grimly,
"Ok, Captain," Izzy nodded, speeding up so that he was matching Ed's pace. Not for the first time, Ed was thankful for Izzy's unquestioning faith in him, "I'll round up the crew,"
Ed nodded, "I'll meet you back at the ship. We leave in twenty minutes, whether everyone's back or not,"
"Yes, Captain,"
Ed let go of Izzy's arm and he hurried off towards the local pubs, while Ed took off back to the ship.
Ed didn't break his run as he reached the Queen Anne, he climbed up the ladder and flung himself onto the deck.
"Get ready to weigh anchor," Ed shouted at Fang and Ivan, who were stood at the helm,
"Captain?" Fang questioned.
"Make sure the ship is ready to leave in twenty minutes," Ed ordered,
"What about the supplies?"
"We'll make for the next port and get them there."
Fang and Ivan set about carrying out Ed's orders while he paced across the deck, keeping a close eye on the movement of the sun, as his crew filed back onto the ship,
"That's everyone," Izzy called to Ed as he claimed back aboard,
"Two minutes to spare," Ed said approvingly. He turned back to the rest of the crew, "Raise the anchor!" He shouted, "Let's go."
The Queen Anne pulled out of the port and set sail once more.
Ed watched as the port became smaller and smaller in the distance. When it was just a spot on the horizon there came the sound of gun fire.
Izzy joined Ed looking out at the port they'd just left, "I wonder what's happening there?"
Ed pushed away from the side of the ship, "Nothing good," he replied, "Keep me updated if you hear anything about what happened,"
"Yes Captain."
Not that Ed needed Izzy to tell him what had happened, he knew exactly what the locals were doing, and what they'd just narrowly avoided.
-x-
Three
Ed poked his head around the door to the kitchen on the Revenge. There was nobody inside, just what Ed had been hoping for.
He walked in and made a beeline over to the breakfast table. The remains of the crew's breakfast was still cluttering it, and there were several bits of food left out, including a jar of jam. Ed picked up the jar and grinned. Stede had started hiding his personal stash of jam from Ed, saying that if he didn't, they'd run out before they next had a chance to get supplies.
Ed turned to leave the kitchen, but he paused when something else on the table caught his eye. There on the table, among all the crumbs, was Stede's journal. Ed took a quick look out the door to check he was still alone before he tiptoed back over to the table and sat down on the stool closest to the journal. He spun the journal around, so that it was facing him and flipped it open to a random page. He looked at the date at the top to find that he'd opened it to an entry from two weeks ago:
"Ed told me this morning about a town he visited once that had the most exquisite bakery. His eyes just lit up when he was telling me about all the cakes, especially the macaroons. I shall have to see if I can take him there, although I'm not sure how I will be able to find the place, but the way his eyes lit up just talking about those cakes, I can only imagine his face if he got to eat them again. Perhaps we should take a trip to France, I've heard tales about the pastries there, and if they're even half as good as I've heard, then the trip would be worth it. Ed would love it."
Ed flicked forward a few pages, now desperate to see what else Stede had said about him.
"It chucked it down with rain today. We all got soaked while we were securing the ship. Once we were below deck though, Ed asked if he could borrow some clothes while his dried, and it would have been rude to say no, so I leant him a nice red shirt, that matched his complexion, and a pair of breeches. He looked just lovely. He said they were much more comfy that his-"
The journal was suddenly snatched out from under Ed's nose. He looked up to see Lucius standing next to him clutching the book to his chest, eyes wide with horror.
Ed frowned; had he been so engrossed in Stede's journal that he hadn't heard Lucius come in? It was either that or Lucius had learnt how to be a ninja, which didn't seem particularly likely,
"How much did you see?" Lucius squeaked,
"How much did I…What do you mean?"
"How much of it did you read?"
Ed gave Lucius his best unimpressed look. Unlike most people when levelled with Blackbeard's unimpressed look, Lucius relaxed,
"Oh right, of course, you can't read, can you?" Lucius narrowed his eyes at Ed, "So what were you doing?"
Ed's eyes widened slightly in panic, "I was looking at the doodles?"
Lucius raised his eyebrow and flipped the journal back open to the page Ed had been reading. There was indeed a crude drawing of Stede in the bottom corner of the page, "Not my best work," Lucius commented, "It would be better if he modelled for me, but he refuses every time I ask. I don't suppose you'd persuade him for me,"
"I'll ask him," Ed said,
Lucius smiled, "Much appreciated," He turned walked back over to the door to the kitchen, "Although, it's art, not doodles," he called over his shoulder,
"Whatever you say."
-x-
Four
Ed was stood on the hull of the merchant ship they'd just raided; he hadn't bothered to learn its name. He watched through kohl rimmed eyes as Izzy tied the newly surrendered hostages to the mast.
"Captain," Izzy called, "What's out next move?"
Ed walked with deliberate slowness towards the hostages. Once upon a time he would have delighted in how the hostages all cowered away from him, but now it just made him feel empty.
"Please," the captain of the hostages stuttered, "We have diamonds, you can have our diamonds,"
Ed raised an eyebrow, diamonds were a rare offer, "Where are these diamonds?" he asked,
"In my quarters," the captain said. He tried to raise his hands in surrender, but the rope around his middle stopped him.
"Ivan," Ed called, "With me."
Ed marched towards the captain's quarters with Ivan hot on his heals. He pushed open the door and the two of them stepped inside. Ed's mouth fell open as he took the room in, if he had ever thought Stede's quarters were excessive, they were nothing compared to this captain's quarters; every surface dripped with luxury and opulence.
"Damn," Ivan whistled, "There's a whole treasure trove in here,"
Ed nodded, "Get Izzy and Frenchie, we're going to need more people to strip this place,"
"Yes, Boss." Ivan hurried out of the door, leaving Ed alone in the room.
Ed wandered over to the captain's desk. A half-drunk cup of tea and an abandoned slice of bread lay on the surface; they'd clearly interrupted breakfast when they attacked the ship. A newspaper lay half hanging off the desk, as it if had been quickly thrown aside, abandoned like the breakfast. Ed picked it up to stop it from falling on the ground, but something caught his eye as he went to set it down. The newspaper was open on an obituary page, and there at the top was one for a Stede Bonnet.
Ed scanned the obituary, doing his best to take everything in. Stede was dead. Stede had gone home. Stede was dead.
Ed threw the newspaper down and slumped down in the chair behind the desk. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes, but he blinked them away. Not here. Ed jumped back to his feet and marched out of the room. He needed to get off this ship and away from everyone else right now. He could feel all these emotions swirling around just below the surface; they were threatening to spill over, and Ed knew he could only keep them at bay for long,
"Boss?"
Ed spun around to see Fang standing there with a look of concern on his face,
"What?" Ed snapped,
"Are you alright? You don't look well,"
"I'm fine. Izzy can wrap up here, I'll be on the ship, if anyone needs me,"
Ed turned on his heals and hurried back to the Revenge. He broke into a run once he was out of sight, nearly falling down the stairs in his haste. He slammed the door of the captain's quarters behind him just as the dam broke. Tears streamed down his face, leaving black kohl tracks in their wake.
Ed sunk to his knees, the weight of everything suddenly becoming too much, and let out a gut-wrenching howl. All of the anger Ed had been feeling for the past few months drained away, leaving behind only painful heartbreak. Ed shifted so he could pull his knees up to his chest and looked out at the trashed captain's room. At the time he'd needed to be mad at Stede and getting rid of everything was the only way he could cope, but oh, right now, how he wished he's left something behind. What he wouldn't give in that moment for something of Stede's, anything really, just something he could hold and bury himself in.
Ed jumped at the sound of somebody knocking on his door,
"Edward?" Izzy called.
Ed's eyes widened, "Give me a minute," he shouted back. He jumped to his feet and ran over to the mirror on the desk. He took in his reflection. It was obvious he'd been crying. His eyes were red and puffy and there were dark tracks of kohl running down his cheeks. Ed grabbed a cloth and scrubbed roughly at his face, trying to remove the kohl streaks. He then applied more kohl around his eyes in an effort to hide the puffiness. He looked back at his reflection. He still didn't look good. Trying to scrub the old kohl off had resulted in his skin taking on a greyish tinge and, while the newly applied kohl did cover the puffiness around his eyes, it did nothing to hide the fact they were bloodshot.
"Edward!" Izzy shouted again,
"Coming!" Ed replied, he flung the door open and scowled, "What?"
Izzy frowned and gave Ed a once over, but he wisely chose not to comment on his appearance. He held up the newspaper from the merchant captain's desk,
"What's that?" Ed asked, doing his best to ignore the pounding in his chest,
"Jimenez says it's an obituary for Bonnet,"
Ed's eyes dropped to the floor, trying to hide the fact that he was once again blinking away tears,
"Bonnet's dead," Izzy said, with just a note of glee in his voice.
Ed tightened his grip on the doorframe, "Is that it?"
"What do you mean is that it? We're finally rid of that idiot!"
Ed glared at Izzy, "I mean was there anything else?"
"We're ready to leave if you want to check the ship?"
"No, I trust you to have done your job,"
Izzy turned on his heals to leave,
"Wait,"
Izzy spun back around with a raised eyebrow,
"Can I keep that?" Ed asked, nodding at the newspaper,
"Why would you want to keep it?"
Ed narrowed his eyes, "Give me the paper Izzy," he snapped,
Izzy thrust the paper at Ed, "Yes, Captain,"
"Now, go get us underway,"
"Where to?"
"I don't care. Now fuck off!" Ed slammed the door in Izzy's face and slumped back down on the ground. He flipped the newspaper back to Stede's obituary and laid it out on the floor next to him. He didn't even need to read it to start crying again. It was the last piece of Stede he had, and what a sad piece it was.
-x-
Five
Ed walked into the captain's quarters on The Revenge to find Stede hunched over the desk, scribbling on a piece of paper.
"Lucius on strike or something?" Ed asked,
Stede jumped and looked up, clearly not having heard Ed come in, "He's busy with Black Pete and I thought it wise not to disturb them,"
"Probably a good call," Ed walked over to stand behind Stede, "So, what are you writing?"
"Oh, just a list of books to keep an eye out for,"
Ed peered at the list over Stede's shoulder. He felt his heart sink as he read over it, he recognised all the names on it, "What's so special about these books?" Ed asked, even though he already knew the answer,
"They're my favourites," Stede replied, "I used to have copies of all of them before, well…" Stede glanced over at the empty bookshelves as he trailed off,
"Mate, I'm-"
Stede took hold of Ed's hand and squeezed it, "It's OK," he said,
"No, it's not,"
"I forgave you a long time ago,"
"A long time ago? It hasn't been that long,"
"Ok, well, I forgave you instantly," Stede looked back down at the list he'd been making, "I'll just find some new copies of them. I'm making a list so everyone will know what to keep their eyes out for,"
"Mate, most of the crew won't be able to read that list. Or book titles,"
"Ok, well, Lucius and Jim will know what to look out for."
Ed looked back down at the list. Stede may have forgiven him, but he hadn't forgiven himself, and if there was a way he could get Stede those books, he would take it.
His chance came less than a week later when The Revenge stopped at a port just next to a small town to replenish supplies.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Stede asked with a slight pout,
"I'll join you later, I promise," Ed said, "I just have an errand I need to run first,"
"If you're sure…" Stede trailed off,
"Captain!" Roach called, "Are you coming?"
Ed smiled at Stede, "Go on, I'll catch you up,"
"OK, I'll see you later."
Ed watched as Stede disembarked and joined the others. Stede gave him a small wave before heading off in land.
Once they were out of sight, Ed hurried back down to Stede's room. The list was still laid out on the desk. Ed read over the list, committing it all to memory, before he hurried back out of the room. He then disembarked and headed into town.
Ed had made a point of not dressing like Blackbeard that morning, he'd stolen some of Stede's clothes and there wasn't a scrap of leather on him, but try as he might, Ed still looked like a pirate, and several people gave him a second look as he walked past.
It didn't take long for Ed to reach a quaint little bookshop, just at the top of a hill. He pushed open the door, setting off a little bell, and headed inside. The shop was empty, except from a little old lady behind the counter,
"Can I help you?" She asked, there was a noticeable tremor in her voice,
"No, I'm good," Ed said as he wandered over to the nearest bookshelf and started scanning the shelves. He could feel the lady's eyes on him as he plucked several books off the shelf, "Can I put these on the counter?" Ed asked, "It's hard to keep looking while I'm holding these,"
"Of course," the lady stuttered.
Ed placed the pile on the counter then turned back to the rest of the shop.
"Are you sure I can't help you?" The lady asked once the number of books in Ed's pile was well into the teens,
"I only have a few more left to find," Ed said,
"It'll be quicker with both of us looking," the lady offered.
Ed turned to look at the lady, and her eyes darted away from him, trying not to meet his gaze, she was clearly uncomfortable having a pirate in her shop.
Ed nodded, deciding to take pity on the lady, "Ok, I just need Don Quixote, Robinson Crusoe, Voyages to the Moon and the Sun, and…" Ed shut his eyes trying to remember the last book on the list. He really should have brought it with him, "Hamlet,"
The lady smiled slightly, "I should be able to find those," she said before making a beeline to a shelf at the back of the shop.
Ed turned back to the shelf he'd been looking at, which hosted a range of non-fiction books. One with a pretty drawing of a flower on the spine drew his eye. He reached out and pulled the book off the shelf. It was a book on the language of flowers, something Ed hadn't ever heard of, but it sounded like something Stede would enjoy.
Ed tucked the book under his arm and turned back to the shelf, looking for anything else Stede might like. Ed pulled out books on the history of sailing, sea creatures, and woodwork.
"Have you got any books on exploration?" Ed asked,
The lady turned back to him, looking slightly surprised at having been addressed, "Oh, yes, I'll get them for you once I've found these books,"
"Oh, I can get them if you just point me in the right direction,"
"No, it's OK, I'll just be one second," the lady said, as she pulled the last book off the shelf, "These are the ones you asked for," she said, passing the books to Ed, "I'll just go find those exploration books."
The lady ducked through a side door into a side room, leaving Ed alone in the shop. He walked over to the counter and placed the eight books he was holding on to the already sizable pile of books there.
"Here we go," the lady walked back into the room holding three books, "These are all the exploration books I have,"
Ed nodded, "I'll take them,"
"All of them?"
"Yes."
The lady raised an eyebrow but placed the three books on top of the pile, "Is there anything else?"
"What are your favourite books?" Ed asked,
The lady's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh, well, I've always been partial to Shakespeare myself. You've got some in your pile already,"
"Which ones are your favourite?"
"Ah, I think Midsummer Night's Dream is my favourite, Othello and The Winter's Tale are both great too,"
"Do you have copies of them?"
"You want even more books?"
"They're the last ones," Ed promised.
The lady went off to get the Shakespeare books while Ed removed a pouch from his belt.
"Will this cover it?" Ed asked, passing the lady the pouch as she came back to the counter.
"Cover what?" She asked,
"The price of the books,"
"Oh!" The lady's eyes widened in surprise; she clearly hadn't been expecting Ed to actually pay for the books. She undid the pouch and turned it upside down, tipping the contents out and producing a neat pile of gold coins. The lady let out a little surprised huff, "More than enough."
Ed nodded his head and moved to pick up the pile of books,
"Are you going to manage to carry all of them?" The lady asked, eyeing the near thirty books,
"I'll be fine," Ed smiled before picking up the pile and carefully making his way out of the shop.
He made his way back to The Revenge, walking incredibly carefully, so as not to let the pile of books topple over.
"Ed!" Stede cried, as Ed approached the ship. He ran over to him and helped Ed lower the books down to the ground. "What are all these?" he asked in bewilderment, looking at all the books.
"They're for you," Ed explained.
Stede looked up from the books in surprise, "Ed, you didn't have to do all this!"
"I know, but you miss your books and I wanted to make you happy,"
"Ed…" Stede pulled Ed into a kiss.
Ed smiled, "Why don't you have a look what books you've got?"
Stede grinned in delight and knelt down to read the titles, "Oh my god," he said softly, "all the books from my list are here, you know, the one I wrote last week of all my favourites!"
Ed feigned surprise, "Well, that's lucky, isn't it, the lady at the bookshop must have the same taste as you,"
Stede beamed, "What a great coincidence," he agreed.
"Shall we get them onboard?"
Stede called the others to come and help them and they loaded the books onto the Revenge and into the captain's quarters.
That evening, Stede carefully went through each book and positioned them on the bookshelf, while Ed sat and watched. He couldn't help but smile as he watched Stede fuss, and for the first time since they'd reunited, he didn't feel an overwhelming sense of guilt, he just felt pure love for the man in front of him.
-x-
Plus One
The crew of The Revenge found themselves in an abandoned port. They had pulled in for some shore leave but instead they had found streets of abandoned buildings and no people in sight.
"It's an adventure!" Stede proclaimed,
"What happened to a relaxing long weekend?" Wee John asked,
"An adventure is much better,"
"It's just not," Lucius said,
"There isn't even a bar here," Black Pete cried,
"I'm sure one of these buildings is a bar,"
"Not one where you can get a drink,"
Stede sighed, "It'll take us several days to reach the next port so, since we're already here, we may as well explore,"
"Stede," Ed said lowly, "Something about this place feels off," Ed shook his head, "It's an abandoned town, it doesn't feel right,"
Stede took hold of Ed's hand, "There's nobody here, what could happen?"
Ed laughed mirthlessly, "Don't say that,"
"The first sign of trouble and we'll head back to the ship,"
Ed nodded but he didn't fully relax.
Everyone split-up and Stede pulled Ed down the road to a nearby apothecary shop, "This looks fun," he said with a grin. He pushed the door open and there was a sudden snapping sound. Before either Ed or Stede could react, a rope swung down across the doorway and something attached to the end of it struck Stede in the neck,
"Stede!" Ed cried.
Stede went stiff as a board and started falling backwards. Ed caught him in his arms and lowered him to the floor.
"Stede?" he whispered, but there was no response. "Roach!" Ed shouted out the door, "Get here now!" Ed reached out to feel for a pulse, but he stopped, his hand hovering just above Stede's neck. There were bright blue lines spreading across his neck and down below his collar.
"Captain, what's – Oh,"
Ed glanced over his shoulder to see Roach, Frenchie, Wee John, Fang and Ivan crowded behind him. "He was hit by that," Ed said, pointing at the rope, and what he could now see was a needle.
Roach knelt down next to Ed and set about examining Stede. "He's alive," Roach reported, "But I can't do much without knowing what he's been poisoned with,"
Ed scrambled to his feet and ran over to the rope. He pulled the needle off the rope and turned it over in his hand. It was attached to a small bottle that contained the remains of an electric blue liquid.
"He's been poisoned with this," Ed cried desperately, holding out the bottle,
"I don't know what that is," Roach replied.
Ed turned to look at the rest of the shop. Every wall was lined with small bottles, all full of colourful liquids.
"Search the shop," Ed snapped at the others, "find the poison that matches this one."
Ed, Fang, Ivan, Frenchie and Wee John spread out across the shop, examining each bottle in turn.
"Got it!" Frenchie shouted, holding up a small bottle containing the same blue liquid in the air.
Ed held up the bottle from the needle to compare the poisons, "That's the one."
Ivan took the bottle out of Frenchie's hand, "We still don't know what it is," he said, "We need somebody to read the label,"
"I'll go get Lucius or Jim," John said as he took off into a run and left the shop.
Ed looked back over at Stede. The blue lines were spreading and had reached the side of his face, "We don't have time," Ed said. He marched over to Ivan and snatched the bottle out of his hand. "It says K4-SO16,"
The others all stared at him in shock,
"You can read‽" Ivan cried,
"Clearly. Roach, do you know what K4-SO16 is?"
Roach shook his head, "It's not the name of any poison I know,"
"It sounds more like a code to me," Fang remarked,
"It does, doesn't it?" Ed murmured, before looking around the room, "There's got to be something in here that explains what everything is,"
"What if there isn't?" Frenchie asked.
Ed glanced back at Stede, lifeless on the floor, "That's not an option," Ed's eyes hardened, and he spun on his heals, "Gather every book you can find," he ordered.
The crew searched the shop and placed everything they'd found on the shop counter.
Ed picked through the pile of things, looking for anything useful. He held up a large leather book Frenchie had found and flipped it open, inside there were columns of codes with a list of symptoms. "This one," he said. He scanned the pages looking for K4-SO16.
There was a crash at the door as Wee John arrived back with Jim, Olu, Black Pete, Lucius and Izzy in tow.
"Oh wow," Pete said, "When you said the captain had been poisoned-"
"Here it is!" Ed cried, "K4-SO16, causes immediate paralysation, followed shortly by death. Antidote is X6-JB94," Ed's head snapped up from the book and he threw it down on the counter,
"Did you just read that?" Lucius asked, but Ed ignored him,
"Lucius, Jim, search for the right bottle. Everyone else, get out the way."
Lucius and Jim jumped into action and the three of them started searching the shop.
After a minute Jim let out a shout, "Is this it?"
Ed hurried over to the counted and grabbed the leather book, "X6-JB94?"
"Yes,"
Ed snatched the bottle out of Jim's hand and held it out to Roach, "That's it, that's the antidote,"
"How do we know it'll work?" Olu asked, "What if that book's lying?"
Ed glanced back at the book, Olu had a point, the shop had been rigged to poison whoever opened the door, and the antidote was just inside? Ed then looked back over at Stede. His skin was becoming sickeningly pale, making the blue lines on his neck stand out even more. The sight made Ed's chest ache. "He'll die if we don't give it to him," Ed said firmly,
"He might die if we do,"
"Might," Ed said, "He definitely will if we don't." He thrust the bottle at Roach, "Take it," he cried.
Roach took the bottle, "I need a needle,"
"Here!" Lucius cried, grabbing a clean needle from a shelf.
Roach took the needle and screwed the bottle into the end of it. He glanced up at Ed, as if checking for permission, then jabbed the needle into Stede's neck.
They all watched Stede with bated breath. Nothing happened for a moment, then Stede sat up with a dramatic gasp, "What happened?" he asked,
"You were poisoned," Lucius said flatly,
"Poisoned‽"
"Yes, Captain," Roach said, before turning back to Ed, "I want to check him out back on the ship,"
"I'm fine," Stede insisted,
"Sir,"
"OK,"
Roach helped Stede to his feet,
"I'm coming too," Ed said, "Izzy, wrap up everything here,"
"Yes, Boss."
Ed looped Stede's arm around his shoulder,
"I can walk just fine," Stede said,
"I know," Ed said quietly.
Stede smiled and let Ed guide him towards the ship, followed by Roach.
Once they were back on board, they made their way down to the kitchen and Roach sat Stede down on the table. He gathered a few pieces of equipment and started checking him over.
"Is he OK?" Ed asked, hovering over Roach's shoulder,
Roach frowned and pushed past Ed, "Captain, could you please give me some space?"
Ed reluctantly took a step back, clearly not having realised how close he was.
"I feel fine," Stede protested as Roach prodded at him,
"You do seem to have made a full recovery," Roach agreed, "But I want you to tell me the moment you feel sick."
Ed offered Stede his hand and helped him to stand up,
"Just take it easy for the next few days," Roach said.
Stede nodded let Ed lead him down to the captain's quarters. Just as they reached the door though, there came a shout from the deck that sounded like an argument breaking out.
"I shouldn't have left Izzy in charge for so long," Ed sighed,
"Go and be Captain," Stede said, "I'll be fine,"
"You sure?"
"Yeah," Stede learnt over and kissed Ed's cheek, "Go look after our ship."
Ed made his way on deck, to see Lucius and Izzy standing nose to nose, shouting at each other.
"Hey!" Ed shouted, causing everyone to look over at him. Izzy took a step back from Lucius.
"Lucius, go keep Stede company, he's in his room. Izzy, get us ready to set sail,"
"Where to?"
Ed looked around, "Away from here. The next port, we're still owed some shore leave."
The crew set about getting The Revenge ready to sail and before long they were underway.
Ed took a quick look around. It seemed like the crew had everything under control and he could go back to Stede. He made his way down to their room as quickly as he could without breaking into a run. He pushed open the door and was surprised to find that Lucius still there,
"Ed," Stede smiled warmly, "Lucius was just filling me in on everything that happened,"
"Well, now Edward's back I'm sure he'll tell you everything I missed," Lucius said as he got up. He patted Ed on the shoulder as he walked out of the room.
"Tea?" Stede asked as Ed sat down in Lucius's vacated seat,
"Yes please."
Stede poured Ed a cup of tea and passed it over to him.
"I didn't know you could read," Stede said,
Ed shrugged, "I may not have gone to a fancy boarding school like you did but, my dad was a privateer, I have something of an education,"
"But you signed the Act of Grace with an X!"
"Everyone just expects Blackbeard not to be able to read, and I just don't correct them,"
"Why?"
"You know, play into their expectations, be the monster they expect me to be,"
Stede shot Ed a level stare, "Being literate or not plays no part in anybody's status as a monster,"
"No, obviously," Ed agreed, "I just meant the point of Blackbeard is I am exactly what people expect me to be, most the time that's just the most terrifying pirate, but they also expect me to be uneducated, and uninterested in changing that. Anyway, it's handy, people thinking you can't read, means they leave things in plain sight where you can read them,"
"Well, I won't be making that mistake,"
"Again,"
"Again‽ What have you been reading?"
Ed smiled, "Nothing important,"
"Ed!"
"It's fine, I promise,"
Stede pouted at Ed. He got up and plucked a book from his bookshelf. He held it out to Ed and looked at him expectedly, "Now I know you can read; I'm going to get you to read to me at every chance I get,"
Ed took the book and flipped it open.
Stede beamed and sat back down, getting comfy as Ed started to read.