"Fire the starboard broadside!" You shout above the noise.
Cannons roar as your vessel, the Great White, attacks the enemy ship. The guns of the battery fire, pounding back against the heavy ropes that keep the cannons from skidding across the ship. Clouds of white smoke billow about as you continue to shout out orders to the crew.
"Swab! Powder! Wadding! Shot! Run out the guns!" You briefly glance at your crew, quickly and obediently obeying your every command, before returning your attention back to the prize. "Fire as the guns bear!"
They swab out the bore, push in a charge of powder, push wadding down on the powder, load the shot, push the gun out through the gunport, and fire the cannon, with you commanding each step of the process. "Swab, powder, wadding, shot, fire! Swab, powder, wadding, shot--"
Your order is quickly silenced as an enemy cannonball tears through the side of your ship, sending giant splinters of wood flying through the air. A rogue splinter, perhaps a yard long, rips through the stomach of Jenkins, a young boy which had only been aboard for a mere nine days. A fragment of a cannon ball collides with Harpers' arm, mangling it horribly. The crew freezes, stunned by the sudden carnage, as Jenkins and Harper scream in agony.
"Kipling!" you shout, earning the attention of one of the oldest and most experienced pirates aboard. "Take a few men and get Jenkins and Harper down to the surgeon!"
Kipling shouts a quick 'aye, Captain' as he and a few other men take the wounded below deck. Their screams continue to echo, but you do your best to push them from your mind and focus on the task at hand.
Though he couldn't yet be properly seen, you knew that the Captain of the ship you were pursuing, the Jackdaw, wore an arrogant smirk. You mentally cursed the man as you spun the big multi-handled wheel in the direction of the Jackdaw. You needed to make this a boarding action as quickly as possible. While maintaining a broadside to broadside fight, you set a course directly for his ship. Unfortunately the Captain anticipates your plan and attempts to edge away from you, trying to keep this a gunnery battle for as long as possible.
Despite the Jackdaws' best efforts, you close in rapidly and smoothly. Both the Jackdaw and Great White get off several more broadside attacks before you pull alongside the enemy ship.
At last, this battle now comes down to a boarding action. Members of your crew are already aboard the Jackdaw before you've even taken your hands from the wheel. Both crews scream and shout as they charge towards one another, waving cutlasses and firing flintlock pistols. Unsheathing your own cutlass, you leap across onto the deck of the Jackdaw alongside your comrades. Smythe, your loyal quartermaster, lands silently beside you and flashes a quick grin before charging into battle, waving a cutlass in one hand and an axe in the other.
You follow suit with a yell, daring somebody to take you on. One pirate turns to you, accepting your challenge, and rushes you from the left. With a smirk you turn and plunge your sword into his chest. He falls--but there is another diving in from the right, closing fast as you struggle to extricate your blade from his dead shipmate.
Having no time to yank your sword free, you let go of the hilt and spin around, levelling your pistol as your new opponent swings his sword. Steel whistles past your ear--you fire at point-blank range--and the pirate falls to the deck, a smoking hole in the centre of his chest. In a smooth motion you pick up the fallen enemy's sword and pistol to replace your own.
You turn your attention back to the task at hand: finding that smug son of a bitch.
A loud whistle directs your attention towards the helm of the ship, and lo and behold, there he is: Edward Kenway. The deadliest scourge of the seas. A Devil, cleverly disguised as man. Of course throughout your years of piracy you had heard tales about the infamous Edward Kenway, but never had you actually met the man. Until today.
He looks to you, and, with one hand, removes the hood which had kept his face concealed. Scraggy, gold locks capture the light of the sun overhead, while dark, kohl lined eyes capture your own. A smirk appears on his, surprisingly full, lips as he rests an elbow casually against the helm, completely ignoring the battle that continues to rage on around him. He waves a hand at you, challenging you to face him. You mirror his smirk and fight your way through the crew to reach your target, gracefully leaping over bodies that now litter the deck, and carefully avoiding the numerous blades being swung from all angles.
You have almost reached your goal when you find your way blocked by two massive, angry pirates standing shoulder to shoulder, swords drawn and charging at you.
You howl an incoherent challenge and rush to meet them. Steel clangs against steel, and pain scores across your left leg as one of them lands a blow, though, luckily, not deep enough to do any serious damage. You manage to elbow one of them in the throat, and he falls back, choking curses. That gives you the opportunity you need to wound the other slightly and run before he recovers.
You sprint up the set of stairs leading to the quarterdeck and come face-to-face with the Devil himself. No words are exchanged as he unsheathes his cutlass and lunges. You sidestep, barely avoiding having your gut skewered. He spins on his heel and swings his blade, only this time you manage to block his attack with your own blade. Kicking your leg out, you make contact with his stomach, causing him to stagger back. You waste no time in charging at him with your sword, but unfortunately he catches your wrist and in an instant, your back is pressed hard against his chest.
His breath tickles as he chuckles beside your ear. "I must admit I'm a little disappointed, lass. All these months of endless pursuit, well, I was expecting a bit more of a challenge."
"But, Captain Kenway," you started, tightening the grip you kept on the hilt of your cutlass, "I haven't even begun to challenge you."
He released his hold on you after feeling your elbow plunge into his ribs. Quickly bringing the heel of your boot down onto the toe his foot, you spin, swinging your elbow and making contact with his nose. A sickening crunch, and an array of colourful words, follow suit as he staggers away. Blood seeps through his fingers currently clutched around his nose.
Anger flashed across his features. He lunged, his rage making him reckless, but you danced out of the way. Both of you took a few steps apart, taking a few moments to analyse one other. Funnily enough you couldn't understand why so many feared the man. Not only was his footwork slow, but his movements alone were sloppy and in desperate need of refining. He was impulsive and lacked experience that was required to defeat you.
From numerous rumours that have been whispered into your ear, it was clear now that that's exactly what they were: rumours.
Edward lunged, his blade hacking at your throat. You dodge it easily and knock the steel away. He didn't pause, and immediately brought his sword in low and up in a dip, the point heading straight for your stomach. However, your sword came to life and caught his swing. With a flick of your wrist, Edwards' sword flew into the air and landed a few feet away, hitting the deck with a clink.
Pressing the tip of your blade into his neck, you smiled triumphantly, noticing that, not only had you defeated THE Captain Kenway, but his crew had also surrendered and were in the process of being tied up.
Edward forced a grin, "It seems I was wrong. You are a challenge."
"Tell me something I don't know, Sugar," you said. Smythe joined your side, a length of rope in his hands. "On your knees, Kenway," you ordered, gesturing to the deck with your cutlass.
Edwards' eyes flickered around the ship before snapping back to your face. He held his hands up in surrender, the corner of his mouth turning upward momentarily. His miniscule smile swiftly became a wince as Smythe tied his hands securely behind his back, then forced him onto his knees.
"So, you finally caught me, huh?" Edward looked you straight in the eye. "What's your name, lass?"
You slipped your cutlass back into its sheath and placed your hands on your hips. "(L/N). Captain (L/N).
A look of surprise flashed across his face, but was instantly replaced by a strange smile. "You're Captain (L/N?)"
"Ah, so you've heard of me," you cast him an amused look.
"Kind of difficult not to hear about you, lass. Seems every tavern I step foot into I hear your name being whispered among seamen and drunkards alike. Though I must admit, you're not exactly what I had imagined."
You raised a brow, "Oh?" You squatted in front of him, cocking your head to the side, "And what, exactly, were you imagining?"
"Well for one, I had always presumed that Captain (L/N) was a man," he admitted, his eyes travelling down to your chest before flicking back to your face.
"Most people do," you said, with a sly smile, "until they actually meet me."
"At which point," he said, "they can't help but be disabused by their erroneous notion."
Your smile widened at that, "You flatter me, Kenway."
"I also never would have imagined that you'd be so beautiful," he continued, a seductive smirk taking over his features.
"Are you always this charming?" A sweet smile grazed your lips. "Or does getting tied up by strange women always bring out the best in you?"
"Wouldn't know about that, lass," he shifted on his knees and leant forward, moving his face closer to yours. "I'm the one that usually does the tying up," he whispered suggestively.
Your heart skipped a beat at his innuendo and you averted your gaze, hoping that he would mistake your blushing for sunburn. Clearing your throat, you muttered, "There's a first time for everything I suppose."
"Aye. That there is, lass. Tell me...have you ever been tied up?"
"No. Nobody's ever caught me before," you said, pretending not to understand what it was he was implying.
The corner of his mouth twitched upwards, "Well then, maybe I can change that."
An image of him tying you down on his bed occupied your mind, causing your mouth to turn dry. You shook your head to clear such thoughts. Why is this affecting you so much? You've flirted with many a man over the years, and bedded just as many. Something as frivolous as this shouldn't be having such an effect. Though to be honest, none of those other men have been nearly as attractive as this Kenway fellow.
You turn your attention back to him to find him staring at you with great intensity. Was he always that close? Your lips curved into a playful smirk. There's certainly no reason not to have a little fun. Nothing wrong with a little flirting, after all.
"What makes you think you can catch me, Kenway?"
"Cause I won't stop 'til I do."
You shook your head, a look of amusement on your face, "We'll see about that. In the meantime, however, let's talk about why I'm here."
"Here to steal my ship, no doubt."
Looking around the Jackdaw you gave a nod of approval, "She is a beautiful ship alright, and I certainly would love to claim her as my own, but luckily for you, that's not why I'm here."
Edward narrowed his eyes, "Then why are you?"
"Well, Kenway..." you began, placing a hand on his chest, "...you have something that I so desperately want."
You slid your hand down, feeling the roughness of the linen against your palm and the hidden skin beneath his robes. The muscles beneath your hand were thick and taut as steel, a testament to the manual labour one undergoes on a ship. Sliding your hand further down, you stopped once reaching the top of his breeches. Edward tensed faintly, his eyes narrow and filled with curiosity. Slowly, you glided your fingertips across the band of his breeches until you reached his hip, then continued sliding your hand down his thigh.
"If what you want is down there, love, maybe we should take this little search somewhere more private," Edward whispered beside your ear.
"Now there's a tempting suggestion," you smirked, moving your face closer to his until your lips were mere inches apart. Your hand slipped into his pocket, and your fingers wrapped around what you had been searching for for the past few years. "But I think I just found what I wanted."
You withdrew you hand with a victorious grin and stood tall, holding the small crystalline cube towards the sun. The drop of blood contained inside shone brightly. You finally had the proof that the Observatory was more than just a simple myth.
"Oi! That belongs to me, lass!" Edward snarled as he attempted to get to his feet, only to be forced back by Smythe. Edward glared at the enemy quartermaster as a gun was held to his forehead.
"Correction, Kenway...it used to belong to you. It now-," you slipped the blood vial into you pocket, "-belongs to me. All we need now is the Sage."
Edward frowned as he turned his attention to you, "This is what this is all about then, eh? The Observatory? How the hell do you even know about it?"
"I think the more appropriate question is: how do you?"
You knelt before him once again, unfastened the top buttons of your blouse, and pulled the fabric aside, allowing him full view of the Assassin insignia tattooed into your skin.
He didn't bother to hide his surprise. "You're an Assassin."
"And you're not," you ran your fingertips around the Assassin symbol tied securely to the front of his belt. "Why are you wearing Duncan Walpole's robes?"
"The lad was kind enough to lend 'em to me," he shrugged.
"Hmm, how very generous of him." Getting to your feet, you made your way over the helm of the Jackdaw and shouted, "Salvage the ship."
Hatred filled Edwards eyes, "I thought you weren't here to steal my ship."
"Oh the ship is still yours, Sugar. I'm just taking what you owe me."
"I owe you nothing, lass."
"Oh but you do. There's a huge hole in the hull of my ship because of you, and two of my men are incapacitated and unable to work. Costly damage that is," you said with a slight nod. You then cocked your head to one side, eyeing the twin pistols strapped on the sides of his muscular chest. "Nice pistols."
He shot a quick glance down at his weapons before snarling, "Don't you dare!"
Too late.
Both pistols were already resting comfortably in your hands. You inspected both pistols carefully before slipping them into the holsters on your thighs. Your crew milled about the ship, taking whatever they had set eyes upon, and swiftly returned to the Great White, now patiently awaiting your departure of the Jackdaw.
Smythe joined your side with a shake of his head, "No sign of the Sage, Captain."
You silently nodded in response. Where in the hell could that lobcock be? You ordered Smythe to prepare the ship for departure. "Looks like it's time for me move on. It's been a pleasure, Captain."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey!" Edward protested at your retreating figure. "That's it? You salvage most of my ship; rob me of my weapons and the blood vial; and now you're going to just leave us tied up?"
You blinked, "Well...yes." You walked away, leaping across onto the quarterdeck of the Great White. Wind filled the now unfurled sails, and the bow began to slowly slice through the waves.
"This ain't over, (L/N). Once I free myself of these binds, I will hunt you down and take back what you've stolen!" Edward screamed after you.
Leaning over the ship's bannister, a cocky grin spread across your face as you mock-saluted him.
"Catch me if you can, Kenway!"
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This is my first attempt at a one-shot; at writing any story really. Constructive criticism/ feedback would be amazing ♡
Rates and comments would be greatly appreciated also 😙