The Mermaid & The Pirate || Edward Kenway ||
The cry echoed through the jungle unlike anything Edward Kenway had ever heard.
It was high and haunting, carrying over the canopy with such raw anguish that it prickled the hairs on the back of his neck. For one fleeting moment, he thought it was a woman screaming for help.
His hand flew instinctively to the hilt of his sword as he sprinted through tangled vines and towering palms, boots splashing through muddy pools left by the afternoon rain. The cries grew louder with every step, desperate and panicked, until he burst into a small clearing hidden deep within the island.
A lone Templar stood knee-deep in a shallow freshwater pool.
“No…” the man hissed with feverish delight, leaning his weight against the hilt of a sword driven into something beneath him. “Cry for me, you beast… give me your tears…”
His hidden blade snapped free with its familiar metallic click.
The Templar barely had time to gasp before Edward seized him from behind and buried the blade beneath his ribs. The man’s eyes widened in shock.
The body collapsed sideways into the water with a heavy splash.
Only then did Edward finally see what the sword had been pinning.
It was immense, covered in shimmering scales that caught the scattered sunlight filtering through the trees. Long translucent fins drifted through the water like flowing silk, trembling as fresh blood spread from the wound where the sword had pierced the powerful tail.
“…What in God’s name…” His voice barely a whisper as his eyes locked onto yours.
It wasn’t merely a sound, it was a warning.
Your lips peeled back just enough to reveal sharp teeth before you launched yourself toward him with startling speed despite your injury.
Edward reacted on instinct, stumbling backward as claws scraped across his sleeve.
Before either of you could make another move, another familiar voice cut through the clearing.
Mary Read shoved between you with enough force to nearly knock him into the mud.
“Stop! You can’t harm her!”
Edward stared at Mary as though she’d gone completely mad.He jabbed a finger toward the snarling creature behind her.
“Mary… that is not human!”
You answered him with another furious hiss.
“She most certainly isn’t,” Mary replied, glaring at him over her shoulder. “And you’re making everything worse.”
“She tried to claw my face off!”
“You were reaching for your sword!”
“It seemed the sensible thing to do!”
Mary pinched the bridge of her nose. “For heaven’s sake…”
You slowly backed toward the deeper end of the pool, never taking your eyes off Edward. Every movement was cautious, protective, like a wounded wildcat trying to decide whether to flee or fight.
Edward noticed your tail trembling.The wound was deeper than he’d first realized.His gaze flicked toward the dead Templar.
“What was that fool talking about?”
Mary’s expression darkened. “The Templars know about mermaids.”
Edward blinked. “…Mermaids.”
“No, forgive me.” He gestured helplessly toward you. “I simply wish to confirm I’m not suffering from sunstroke.”
You puffed out your cheeks dramatically.
Edward frowned. “…Did she just…”
Before he could finish, you darted forward with surprising speed.
Your sharp teeth clamped around his hand.
Edward let out a noise somewhere between a yelp and a curse. “Sodding—!”
You released him immediately and scooted backward several feet, glaring triumphantly.
Mary looked entirely unimpressed. “You threatened to kill her.”
“Because she’s got teeth!”
“I don’t bite strangers!”
Edward pointed accusingly at you while rubbing the fresh bite mark. “See? She disagrees.”
Mary folded her arms. “I’d bite you too.”
Edward looked at her in disbelief. “You are both unreasonable.”
You made another annoyed chirping hiss and retreated farther from him.
Then Mary noticed something that immediately wiped the amusement from her face.
Edward followed her gaze.
The brilliant scales no longer glistened with water. Instead, they looked duller by the second as the tropical heat dried them.
The delicate translucent membrane surrounding your tail began peeling away in shimmering ribbons, drifting across the rocks like discarded silk.
“What is happening?” Edward asked.
“We have to get her back to the sea.” Mary was already kneeling beside you. “Now.”
You looked increasingly distressed, trying unsuccessfully to drag yourself toward the water. Your powerful tail no longer seemed willing to cooperate.
Edward frowned. “I thought she’d swim.”
Mary looked at him as though he were hopeless as she rolled her eyes. “Because it’s drying.”
Edward looked back at you. “…And?”
“And when their tails dry…”
Before she could finish, the transformation continued.
The scales receded like water slipping away with the tide. The shimmering membrane dissolved into tiny glittering fragments that scattered on the breeze before vanishing altogether.
Edward’s jaw slowly dropped.
Where your tail had been only moments before……were unmistakably human legs.
“…I was not expecting that.”
Mary sighed dramatically. “They gain legs once their tails dry.”
Edward continued staring for another second before suddenly jerking his eyes toward the sky with all the speed of a man realizing something rather important.
Mary gave him an exasperated look. “You’ve figured it out.”
“You’ve noticed she’s entirely naked.”
“Aye.” Edward immediately shrugged off his heavy assassin’s coat without another word and, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on a nearby tree, awkwardly stretched the garment toward you.
You eyed him suspiciously.
Edward sigh, still refusing to look at you. "Take it."
After a hesitant moment, you snatched it from his hands with a quick hiss before wrapping it tightly around yourself.
Edward finally allowed himself to look back. “There. Better.”
You were now sitting awkwardly against a mossy stone, bundled inside a coat several sizes too large, looking deeply offended by the entire situation.
Mary smiled reassuringly. “Easy now. We just need to get you back to the ocean.”
Edward crossed his arms. “And how precisely do you propose we accomplish that?”
Mary looked directly at him. “You’ll carry her.”
Edward stared. “I’ll what?”
“You want me to carry something that can rip my throat out.”
Edward looked toward you.
You looked back and very slowly……you bared every one of your sharp teeth.
“She literally just bit me.”
“I killed the fellow stabbing her!”
“You also called her a beast.”
Edward opened his mouth, closed it. "Fair enough."
Mary smiled sweetly. “So…”
Edward groaned loud enough to startle birds from the surrounding trees before crouching down with all the enthusiasm of a man preparing to embrace his own execution.
“Fine. But if she bites me again, I’m dropping her.”
The moment he slid one arm beneath your knees and another behind your back, you immediately leaned forward.
Edward flinched. “Oh no.”
Your nose pressed against his shoulder.
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh, here it comes.”
Instead of another bite, you sniffed him once.
After a thoughtful pause, you settled comfortably against his chest with a small contented chirr.
Mary burst into laughter so hard she had to lean against a tree.
Edward looked down in complete confusion. “…Why is she purring?”
“Because,” Mary managed between laughs, “I think she likes your coat.”
Edward stared at the impossible creature now happily wrapped in his assassin’s coat and entirely comfortable in his arms.
“…I preferred it when I thought mermaids were myths.”
Edward carried you through the dense jungle with all the enthusiasm of a man transporting a particularly temperamental barrel of gunpowder. Every few steps he muttered something under his breath that Mary wisely chose to ignore, though she caught the occasional “bloody impossible,” “biting fish woman,” and “this is why I preferred ordinary pirates.”
Wrapped securely in his assassin’s coat, you remained remarkably quiet. Whether it was because you were exhausted from the wound in your tail or because you were plotting creative ways to kill the man carrying you, Edward couldn’t quite decide.
“I can feel her staring at me,” he grumbled after several long minutes.
Mary didn’t even look up from the path she was clearing with her cutlass. “That’s because she is.”
“You threatened to kill her.”
“I’ve already admitted I may have been slightly hasty.”
Edward sighed dramatically. “I thought she was about to eat me.”
You made a low, offended chirping sound.
“There,” Edward pointed triumphantly. “She disagrees again.”
“Perhaps stop talking about eating her.”
“I never said I was eating her.”
“…That came out worse than intended.”
By the time they reached the secluded cove, the afternoon sun had begun dipping lower across the horizon. Gentle waves lapped against a weathered wooden dock that jutted into the crystal-blue water.
Mary smiled with obvious relief. “There we are. We just need to get her back to the water. She’ll gain her tail back.”
Edward looked from the ocean to you and back again. “So that’s it?”
He nodded once. “Excellent.”
Without another word, he walked to the very edge of the dock.
Mary’s eyes widened. “Edward…”Before she could finish the warning...
He promptly dumped you over the side.
There was a tremendous splash.
For one horrifying second, there was nothing but ripples.
Edward dusted off his hands with complete satisfaction. “There.”
Mary stared at him in utter disbelief. “You could’ve been gentler!”
“You tossed her into the sea!”
You shot to the surface with astonishing speed, your magnificent tail once more replacing the human legs that had been hidden beneath his coat moments before. Water cascaded from your scales as you glared up at him with enough fury to make seasoned sailors rethink their careers.
“I WILL RIP OUT YOUR THROAT, PIRATE!”
Edward froze, his mouth slowly fell open. “You…”He pointed at you with the same stunned expression he’d worn back in the jungle. “…You can speak?”
Your eyes narrowed. “Of course I can speak, you idiot!”
With a powerful flick of your tail, you slapped the water so hard that a wave crashed over the dock.
Edward barely had time to throw an arm over his face before he was completely drenched from boots to hair.
Mary burst into laughter.
You folded your arms triumphantly. “That was for throwing me!”
Edward blinked seawater out of his eyes. “I was helping!”
“I returned you to your natural habitat!”
“You tossed me like spoiled cargo!”
“You’ve got a tail! I assumed you’d manage!”
You scoffed so dramatically that even Mary laughed harder. “You’re the worst pirate I have ever met.”
Edward straightened his soaked coat with as much dignity as a dripping man could muster.
“And yet you know I’m a pirate.”
Your brow furrowed for a heartbeat before realization dawned. “…That doesn’t even make sense.”
“It doesn’t,” Mary admitted between chuckles, “but he’s been waiting years to say something like that.”
Edward grinned, looking far too pleased with himself. “It felt appropriate.”
You stared at him for a long, silent moment.Then you rolled your eyes so dramatically that even Mary was impressed.
With one final splash, this one suspiciously aimed directly at Edward’s face as you then dove beneath the waves.
A flash of shimmering scales disappeared into the deep, leaving only widening circles on the calm sea.
Edward wiped seawater from his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “…She has a remarkably good aim.”
Mary folded her arms with a satisfied smile. “Get used to it.”
He frowned. “What do you mean, ‘get used to it?’”
Mary simply walked past him toward the waiting rowboat. “Congratulations, Edward.”
"I’ve got a feeling…" She looked back over her shoulder with an amused grin. “…that she’s going to make your life very, very difficult.”
As if summoned by the words, something beneath the dock yanked sharply on Edward’s boot.
He let out a startled yelp and stumbled onto one knee while your delighted laughter echoed from somewhere beneath the waves.
Mary laughed all the way back to the boat. Edward, dripping yet again, had the distinct feeling this would not be the last time the mermaid got the better of him.
