The crew had taken turns rowing the small, overloaded dinghy in the direction of land. Fortunately for the former crew of the Revenge and their captain, the currents were kind.
The sea seemed to favour Stede Bonnet, with how lucky he was finding things, and how little the ocean tried to kill him.
You're still alive.
You destroy beautiful things.
"Some men are blessed by the sea," said Mr. Buttons as Wee John and Roach each worked an oar and pushed the heavy craft towards the shore, "Stede Bonnet has been tongue kissed by mermaids, so beloved is he."
But Stede certainly didn't feel beloved. In fact, he hadn't said a word since the others informed him that Izzy had abandoned them on that small rock. He had been moving in a daze, only answering the crew's questions in monosyllables.
All his life, the world had led him to believe that it was better off without him. He never even considered that his absence would have made things worse for the one person he desperately didn't want to hurt.
They came ashore up on a beach in a shallow bay, just outside the town proper, and away from the towering ships at anchor. In the absence of direction from Stede, the crew had decided to land in that bay purely because it was closest and they were all tired and desperately in need of food.
It was actually a wise place to land, seeing as Stede was wanted for two murders and for desertion. His faked death at home would stop anyone from actively looking for him, but that would evaporate the moment he was recognized.
But a numbness had set in. Even at his sharpest, Stede was not a man in possession of a great deal of forethought. He was Epimetheus, not Prometheus.
In fact, he was left sitting in the dinghy long after the others disembarked and disappeared into the wooded trail that led up to the town proper.
Olu started to walk up the path, then turned around when he realized Stede wasn't following them. "Captain? You coming?"
"I'm not your captain, Oluwande. A captain needs a ship."
The small dinghy chose that moment to tip to the side as a wave crested against the shore. Stede gently tipped too, and barely stopped himself from spilling out the side.
Then there was a creaking sound, a splitting sound, and the boat shattered to pieces around him.
Stede sat there in the middle of the debris and murmured, "I haven't even got a dinghy."
Olu stood with his hands on his hips, sighed, then stepped forward to bodily haul Stede to his feet. The fancy man stared at him wide-eyed.
"Now you listen to me. You still have a ship. And on that ship are people you and I care about very much. So we are going to go into town, find some help. And then we're going to go to them. We are not leaving them with fucking Izzy Hands playing puppetmaster to Ed. Do you hear me?"
"Olu, I don't...."
Oluwande grabbed a handful of Stede's shirt with both hands and hauled him up straighter. "Do you hear me, Captain? We are finding Jim. You owe me that, at least. You owe us."
Stede nodded sheepishly. Olu set him down.
—
Most of the crew scattered throughout town to barter or steal bits of food and to find somewhere to sleep. That left Stede, Olu and Roach to head towards the only person they knew who might possibly help them.
Spanish Jackie laughed for a good five minutes, the first two were genuine - the further three minutes were clearly to hammer home the fact that she found their request ridiculous. Every time one of them would try to interrupt, she would bray louder.
Eventually, she grew tired of that and let the conversation continue. "So. Lemme get this straight," Jackie put one buckled foot up on the table. "You got no money. No ship. Nothing to barter with. Cause this one..." she pointed to Stede, "...gave up all his damned money. Money that would've paid for a whole fleet of ships. Is that about the size of it?"
"Well," Stede looked at the other two. "Yes. But if you helped us, we'd be in your debt."
"You're damned right," said Jackie. "But that and two bits will get me a clean place to shit."
She looked at the odd trio, then the wheels started turning. "Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm going to get you in touch with my girl Bonbon. Something tells me you two might be able to help each other. Or she might kill you. Either way, it gets your smelly asses out of my bar."
She leaned in to sniff Stede. "Why do you smell like paint and leopard piss?"
"Long story," said Stede. "Wait, how do you know what leopard piss smells like?"
"That's personal," said Jackie.
"Ah," said Stede. "Don't suppose you know a tall blonde woman with an eyepatch?"
"Personal," Jackie repeated.
"Got it. Understood."
Roach and Olu nodded as well.
"Right. If Skinny over there cooks me up something nice, you boys can stay the night." She waved at Roach, then gave him an up and down. "And if you want to stay in a big bed, little man, you just let me know."
—-
The accommodations Jackie provided turned out to be a storage room. They bedded down on bags of grain with old bits of fabric for blankets. Olu headed out into town to try and round up the crew, while Roach took Jackie up on her offer.
Every now and again, a shower of dust would drop rhythmically from the ceiling.
Eventually, all went quiet and Stede was left with only his thoughts and the distant scrabbling of rats. He imagined what the crew had told him about Ed's melancholy. It was almost like he could feel the other man's sadness permeating across the ocean and settling around his heart. His sadness was also choked with guilt. He had only just removed the yolk of that guilt from what he did to Mary and his family. He had felt so light for such a short time, before his heart was shackled again.
He grabbed a piece of fabric and balled his hands into a fist. The fabric was red. It was too textured and too patterned, but the colour reminded him of the little slip of silk - the external avatar of a man's heart.
Eventually, fatigue and emotional exhaustion dragged him down into sleep. In his dream, he was back on the Revenge. Ed welcomed him back and asked him where he had been. But then he turned around and felt a dagger in his back. When he turned, he was met with a monster with burning red eyes and a beard of smoke - a man streaked in blood.
He tried to run from the monster. He tripped on the deck and fell into Ed's arms. Ed, with no beard, wearing a silk dressing gown. Ed who caressed his cheek. Ed who smiled with a mouth full of fangs while he plunged a dagger deep into his gut.
Over and over again, this duality played out. Every time he reached for the Ed he knew, he turned into a monster.
And every time, the avatar of his love whispered, you did this to me.
"Wake up, genital pirate."
Stede woke with a start and stared up as Spanish Jackie hovered above him.
"She's here."
—-
Stede cleaned himself up as best he could. He didn't have the armour of his silk clothing, just trousers and a simple top. But that was probably for the best. He could tell that the woman Jackie was about to introduce to him was not a woman who suffered fools.
And Stede was by his own admission, a fool who had caused much suffering.
The person they were there to meet was standing in the empty bar. Olu was a few feet away, watching her with suspicion.
She wasn't a tall woman, but something about her radiated authority and confidence. She had warm skin, rather delicate features, and a head full of intricate and neat braids with different ornamentation weaved in - sometimes beads, sometimes a small bone, or bits of ribbon. It was artful, and beautiful. Her clothing was cut in a way that the clothes horse aristocrat recognized was great skill. But there were signs of wear and cuts and frayed edges that proved her clothing, with its layers and occasional frill, was clothing that was lived in.
Stede took a deep breath and tried to summon his old bravado and charm. "Ah, you must be Bonbon. A pleasure to meet you. Jackie thinks we might be able to..."
Before he could get another word in, the woman stepped forward, grabbed his shoulders and kneed him so hard in the gut that he lost all breath and his eyes immediately started watering.
Stede doubled over and grabbed at Olu's arm to keep from toppling over.
"Are we friends, fancy man?" the woman sneered, then leaned over to look Stede in the eye. "That's Captain Bonny to you."
"Aye, aye, Captain," croaked Stede as he slipped to the floor.