It was the early hours of the morning by the time The Revenge caught up with The Demon. It was Izzy who spotted it first. He let out a shout and no sooner had it left his mouth, than Ed was at his side, snatching the spyglass out of his hand.
"What do you want to do Boss?" Izzy asked, as the rest of the crew joined them, "Want to fire at them?"
"No!" Ed cried, "We could hit Tilly!"
"It's unlikely a cannonball would hit her if we fired at the ship," Izzy retorted,
"We could sink the ship, and she could drown. We're not firing at the ship."
Izzy held his hands up in surrender, "Fine. So, what do we do?"
"We set up a meeting," Ed said, as he turned to face the rest of the crew, "Pete, get my flag."
Pete hurried off to obey.
"Jim, Frenchie, I need you to go over to The Demon and arrange a meeting. Make it clear Blackbeard wants to do business with their Captain."
Jim and Frenchie both nodded and they too hurried off.
Ed stepped forward and the crew parted around him. "Let me know what his answer is the moment you have it," he said before he stalked off towards the captain's cabin.
Ed flung the door to the cabin open and strode inside. He made his was over to the auxiliary wardrobe and pulled the mannequin lever, causing the door to spring open. He marched inside and pulled out a wooden chest.
"Ed?" Came Stede's voice from inside the cabin,
"In here," Ed called as he opened the chest and pulled out his Blackbeard outfit. He didn't waste a second before he started pulling off his shirt and getting changed.
Stede appeared at the door with a worried frown on his face, "I just wanted to see how you were doing," he said,
"It doesn't matter how I'm doing," Ed replied as he pulled on his leather trousers,
"Of course it does," Stede said, "You're no use to Tilly if you're spiralling and in your head."
Ed strode over to the mirror and started undoing the braid in his hair, "I'm not spiralling, I'm going to be the person Tilly needs right now."
Stede smiled sadly as Ed pulled out his tub of kohl, "You're going to become the Kraken then."
Ed turned to look at Stede for the first time since he'd walked in, "Don't tell me not to," he said sharply,
"I wasn't going to,"
"The Kraken is a monster, but I can use it to protect the people I care about. If the Kraken has a use, it's this; I can use it to save Tilly," Ed snapped, then more softly, "This is the only way."
Stede stepped fully into the room and scooped Ed up into his arms, "I know. You'll save her."
A tear slowly rolled down Ed's cheek, "I can't lose her,"
"You won't," Stede said firmly.
Ed pulled back from Stede and wiped his eyes, "I don't want you to come with me," he said,
"Come with you where?"
"Over to The Demon. I want you to stay and be ready to attack the moment we get Tilly clear."
Stede shook his head, "I'm not leaving you on your own-"
"I won't be on my own, I'll take Izzy with me,"
"-and the rest of the crew are capable of attacking without me,"
"I know," Ed said softly, "I just don't want you to see me as the Kraken."
Stede was quiet for a moment before he closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to Ed's, "Okay," he said, "I'll stay here. But the first sign of trouble and I'm over there."
Ed let out a small smile, "Alright."
Stede looked back at the tub of kohl, "Can I help you get ready?" He asked,
"Yes. Make me look terrifying!"
Stede applied the kohl to Ed's eyes, in a deliberate messiness that gave his eyes the perfect hollow, unemotional look. He then back-combed Ed's hair to make it as wild and messy as possible.
There was a knock on the door just as Stede was finishing. Ed and Stede headed out of the auxiliary wardrobe and Ed called for whoever it was to come in.
Lucius raised his eyebrow as he took in Ed's appearance,
"Yes?" Ed asked when Lucius didn't say anything,
"Oh, erm, Jim and Frenchie are back. The captain is willing to meet with you,"
"Good." Ed pushed past Lucius and made his way on to the deck.
"Izzy, Jim, with me," he called.
In an instant Izzy and Jim were at his side and the three of them climbed down into the dingy Jim and Frenchie had been using.
"Stede," Ed called, "Wait for our sign then attack,"
"What's the sign?" Stede asked,
"You'll know." With that, Ed, Izzy and Jim set off towards the Demon.
They were met by two men who helped them aboard, then lead them to the captain's cabin.
Inside they were greeted by an arrogant looking man dressed in a deep purple jacket that Ed distantly thought Stede might have liked.
"Blackbeard!" The man cried cheerfully, standing up from behind his desk,
"Jacobson," Ed replied, with considerably less enthusiasm.
Jacobson seemed to either not notice Ed's mood or not care. He simply smiled at Ed as he sat back down, "Your men were very secretive when they said you wanted a meeting. They wouldn't say why, just that you wanted to meet."
Ed pulled out a seat and sat down opposite Jacobson, "I thought you might be able to help me. You see I know what you do out here and I find myself…in need,"
Jacobson smirked knowingly at Ed, "Ah, so it's a girl you want. You do surprise me; all the rumours I've heard about you suggest you prefer…the other sex."
Ed smiled tightly, "You shouldn't believe everything you hear,"
"Quite," Jacobson agreed, "Well, I'm sure I have something on board that will meet your tastes. Anything in particular you're looking for?"
"Something young. Feminine. Dark hair."
Jacobson snapped his fingers, "I have just the girl. A beautiful thing I came across just yesterday."
Ed's heart leaped. Jacobson had to be talking about Tilly, "Sounds perfect,"
"She'll cost you, a pretty thing like that," Jacobson said.
Ed pulled a pouch of coins off his belt and held it up, "Will this cover it?"
Jacobson reached out to snatch the bag, but Ed quickly pulled it back out of reach, "Not until I see her," He said, "For all I know you could be selling me bad merchandise,"
Jacobson smiled sweetly, "Of course. Lu!" He called out and one of the men who'd shown them to the captain's quarters poked his head round the door,
"Yes Captain?"
"Bring the girl up to the deck. We've just made a sale."