When the Black Flag Rises

Chapter 12-- Edward/Eryn: Duality

A/N: This is one of the few combination chapters I'm doing. Otherwise, I'm keeping with the back and forth. I give you a warning, this chapter has sensitive information such as family death, abuse and prostitution once it's in Eryn's point of view. Thank you for your patience.

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KenwayPOV

I groaned when the needle pierced my skin again. The woman tending to me huffed in amusement. "You are a baby," she told me with a thick Spanish accent that had me take a moment to discern her words. "Take a sword to chest and you act tough. I stitch you and you whine." She pulled at the thread and tied it, breaking the strand with her teeth.

"Thanks, Maria." She seemed offended.

"Marisa," she corrected, putting her thin needle into a dirty white pouch on her dress. She finished it off with strips of fabric tied around my chest, inspecting her work with a nod.

"Figured it was something like that," I grunted, sitting up and feeling at my chest. The cut had been shallower than I'd originally thought, but Maria-- or Marisa, whatever the hell she said-- let me know that it had still bled a decent amount. I don't give a shit. I'm a damn pirate captain, a scary motherfucker. I ain't planning on being brought to my knees by a little pain.

However, standing turned that thought right around. Fuck! I mentally swore while grabbing at my chest. Ooh, son of a bitch! Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to continue to walk forward with the intent of giving instructions to Adé before retiring to a nice bed in the mansion. If only Caroline could see me now, I thought with mild amusement. 

My trek down to the Jackdaw was less than graceful, but I made no complaints. I had appearances to keep up, and the second I fell, word would get around and I'd lose the support of my followers. 

"Adé!" I shouted, breathless. "Find a place to rest on land. Grant can watch the ship tonight." Adéwalé crossed his arms. 

"You'd trust him not to sail away with the ship?" Adéwalé's   arguing set a spark off in me.

"I gave you a damn order, and you'd do well to listen," I growled. "He wouldn't dare, for one. For two, what kind of captain would I be if I couldn't trust my own fucking crew?" Adéwalé dipped his head in apology, a regretful turn to his eyes.

"Sorry, suh. Didn't mean no insult." I let out a huff of annoyance. 

"Just remember your place, Adé. Friends or not, I'm still your captain." I began to stumble away before another thought occurred to me. "Oh, and make sure Grant knows to keep that damn assassin under control." My first mate instantly bit his lip and began to stutter a reply.

"Suh, I-- she-- Miss Turnah left this morning. I don't know where she went, and I've been watching the deck all day." Fury made my blood boil. 

"That fucking broad," I snarled, stomping across the Jackdaw and hurling open the hatch. Just as Adé had said, she was nowhere to be found. "She couldn't be so fucking stupid to stay in--" Eryn wasn't present anywhere on the ship, which included my own room. I raised my voice to a shout so loud it scraped my throat. "Where the fuck is Turner?!"

...

ErynPOV

I shivered in the harsh cold of winter, my eight-year-old self huddling near my mother. "Ma?" I whispered. "Ma, wake up." The house creaked under the harsh wind pulling at the thin wooden walls. I ignored the bitter cold that froze my fingers and held onto my mother's burning hot skin.