Chapter Text
Heading towards the republic
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It has been weeks since Blackbeard returned to the Revenge and abandoned half of the crew on the island. They had been incredibly happy when their captain showed up out of nowhere in a rowboat, but since then they have gotten even more exhausted. Not just from all the rowing but mostly because of their captain.
"I should have just drowned," murmured Lucius towards Pete. He had been fished out of the water about two hours after the crew started rowing towards land.
Stede stopped his monologue about his feelings for Ed for the thousandth time and looked up, "What was that, Lucius?"
"I said, we should finally steal a ship! We have been rowing in this tiny thing for weeks now, capt'n, and it's a miracle that it can hold us all," Lucius responded, audibly annoyed.
Stede looked at the younger man like someone might look at a child that won’t understand something simple. He took a breath before answering, "And I've told you multiple times that it will not be necessary because we will be returning to the Revenge in no time."
Stede obviously thought of the argument as finished, but Lucius wasn't having it anymore. "No, Captain, this can't continue like this! It has been WEEKS and you've said those exact things every time. There isn't even a guarantee that Blackbeard will let us back onto the ship again, especially you. Let alone if we even ever catch up to them in this thing."
The blonde was silent after that, thinking about what Lucius just said.
"We also haven't stopped by land for a while now, and we barely have any food left. We are all very exhausted," Wee John said suddenly from behind Stede.
He turned around to John before turning back and looking down towards his lap, seemingly deep in thought. "You're right, we should head to land, refill our provisions, and rest for a while." He looked up at his crew, more determined now. "On our last stop on land, someone told us Blackbeard was heading towards the Republic of Pirates, and we aren't far from there anymore, so let's head there. I'll row!"
The rest of the way was quiet, except for the occasional little conversation.
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When they arrived at the Republic of Pirates after two hours, everyone stumbled out of the little boat. They all stretched out their aching limbs, and Stede looked around the familiar surroundings.
Some guy called out from an alley, "Oi, it's the genital pirate!" which made Stede furrow his brows in irritation, looking in the direction of the man. When did that name spread?
"So what's the plan now?" He turned around to Olu, who was leaning on a barrel next to him.
"Well, we need to get some essentials first, like bread and some fresh fruit or something. After that, we will see, maybe we could head to a pub around here. I've heard that some of you wanted to for a while," Stede answered, putting his hands on his hips. Olu just nodded in agreement.
The man turned to the remaining crew, and Stede spoke up again, "Alright, everyone!" He clapped his hands, which got everyone to look at him before he continued, "We'll go around to get groceries and meet back here in an hour. Although it would be nice if we could get our necessities together as a group."
Before he could finish, though, most of the crew, except Lucius and Pete, had already scurried off.
The shopping itself went rather smoothly, except for Lucius getting sprayed with someone's blood again. They got everything they needed in a rather short time and took their remaining time to look around the small market booths for fun because they knew the other crew members wouldn't be at the meeting place already anyway.
Walking by some of those booths, Stede's eye caught onto something at one of them. A ring, very inconspicuous but something about it piqued his interest.
It was a slim ring made out of metal that was crafted to look like plant vines, though because it was very worn, they looked softer and almost like tentacles. Those vines clung around a bright yellow-orange stone in its middle like a desperate hug.
"How much for this old thing?" Stede called out to the owner of the booth.
"How much is it worth to you? Let's start with that," the man answered, with an expectant expression.
"How about 3 doubloons? It is quite worn down," came back from Stede.
"It is real amber, though, so how about we say 7?"
"I'll do 5!" Stede shot back. The two men stared intensely at each other before the salesman sighed lightly and said, "Alright, deal. 5 doubloons and the ring is yours." Stede nodded happily while handing the man the money and taking the ring.
"Was that really worth it for you? That was almost all of your saved-up money, for a ring!" Lucius asked him when he returned to him next to the booth.
He simply looked at the ring in his hands. "It was."
Lucius gave him his iconic 'what is wrong with this man' look before speaking up again. "You really need to learn that you're not rich anymore. What do you need a ring for anyway?"
They walked down the alley, slowly back in the direction of the dock, to meet the crew again.
"It reminds me of Ed," the bizarre little man sighed. To that, the other rolled his eyes but with a tiny grin accompanying it, before turning around to Pete.
Stede is left to sink into his thoughts.
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