Chapter Text
Things had been going so well lately (great raids, great hauls, great weather) that Stede had insisted on celebrating on land, going to the nearest port to have a big time and spend a bit of gold.
When Izzy had nagged and complained (“Not in that island, Bonnet, there’s a better place not much further, just a few days away.”), Stede had pursed his lips and had ignored him with only a bit of hesitation. Because they had agreed, and Izzy had actually insisted, that despite their recent habit of having fun in the bedroom, outside the privacy of his cabin they were still just captain and first mate and so Stede, impatiently, had made his suggestion an order and that had been it.
Izzy hadn’t looked happy and of course he had grumbled and glared, but still he had obeyed and soon they had arrived at a tiny island in the middle of nowhere and they had got off the ship ready to have some fun.
And they had partied, hadn’t they? They had spent their money generously on delicious food, expensive whims and a ridiculous amount of rum. But the thing was… that the place was a bit gloomy, the locals were somber and quiet and nobody seemed to be too friendly no matter how many rounds of liquor Stede ordered for them with a smile.
Maybe Izzy had known the island wasn’t the most entertaining place and he should have listened, Stede mused, but, well, they were already there and he was determined to have a good time with his crew. Izzy, on the other hand, was being particularly stubborn and moody and was watching them like a hawk from a corner while barely taking a sip from the drinks they all were bringing him.
They had ended up gathering in the biggest tavern in town and they drank and sang and partied, but then at nightfall, the locals started leaving the place until it was just them drinking there and right before midnight the owner closed the windows, picked his coins and announced very seriously that it was time for them to go.
Before Stede could complain, Izzy made them all leave the place and made sure they all went straight to the house they had rented for the night. He seemed tense and not drunk at all and Stede was sad to see that the man apparently didn’t know how to have fun.
“It’s still early, Izzy,” Stede whined. “We could have a bonfire on the beach.”
“Fuck no, Bonnet,” Izzy replied bluntly. “That’s not something you can do here. Everybody stays at home at night in this town and you’re way too drunk to be walking near the sea anyway.”
The others seemed content with disappearing in the different rooms (some to continue the party, some to finally have some rest), but not Stede, not at all. It was still early and he wanted to have some fun so while Izzy was helping a very drunk Frenchie and a tired Wee John to find their room, Stede walked out quietly and headed towards the beach on his own.
It was a lovely night, with a clear sky and a bright full moon, but the place was indeed deserted, just as Izzy had said. Every window and every door was closed and there wasn’t a soul on the dirty streets that were as quiet as a cemetery. Still, a stroll on the beach sounded nice so Stede walked there, refusing to simply go back to the house.
The long, empty beach spread right in front of the first row of sad, old houses near the port and it didn’t take Stede long to get there. He was trying to walk without losing his footing on the sand when he heard Izzy’s voice calling at his back.
“Bonnet, where the fuck do you think you’re going? Don’t go out there alone!”
But Stede kept walking as fast as he could, ignoring his calls, because he was stubborn, and well, more than a bit drunk and also because he knew that Izzy’s unicorn leg wouldn’t let him walk on the sand fast enough to catch him no matter how angry he was.
The beach was long and the walk was tiring, though, Stede realized after a while. Tiring and boring. So much walking, with his feet sinking in the sand all the time, and nobody who he could talk to or laugh with by his side.
He also felt bad for Izzy, he realized with a pang of guilt, for having left him there without a word when the man was simply worrying about him, as he usually did. So he decided to go back to the house and head to bed and maybe say sorry to Izzy before falling asleep.
He was walking back when he heard the screaming. A woman, crying for help, begging.
Stede looked around, suddenly alert and the moonlight barely let him see her, the figure of a woman wrapped in a white shawl, banging on the closed doors of the houses by the beach, asking for help.
“Please, somebody help me! Please, they’re going to drown!”
The woman’s harrowing screams were loud and chilling, yet nobody opened a door or a window, nobody answered. The woman kept moving along the road begging desperately and Stede did the only thing he could do, he waved and called for her.
“Miss!” he said, as loud as he could. “Here! What happened?”
The woman turned to look at him and her pleas stopped, but as she started walking toward him, Stede could still hear her sobbing.
Stede tried to rush to her, but the stupid sand and the shadows and his hazy mind made him slow and clumsy. The woman, though, walked effortlessly through the beach, her white shall waving behind her with the breeze, and before he could know it, she had almost reached him.
She was young and dark haired and her pale face was twisted in so much anguish that Stede’s heart ached with pity for her.
“What happened, miss? How can I help you?” Stede asked.
“Please, good sir, it’s my husband,” she pleaded, frantic with worry. “His ship has just crashed against the rocks beside the cliff, but there’s still time. Please, sir, we can still take a boat and rescue them! We must at least try!”
Stede looked confused at the sea. He had been on the beach for a while now and even in the dark, he would have noticed if a ship had crashed nearby and was about to sink. The moon light was enough that night to be able to see that. There were no white sails near the cliff, no lantern lights moving to signal for help, no scared sailors screaming in the distance.
Stede turned to look at the woman with compassion. The poor thing was probably unwell, he thought. She must be imagining things.
“There- there’s no ship there, miss,” he said, softly. “You must be confused. Can I walk you to your home? Where is it?”
But the woman ignored his words and grabbed his arm as she insisted on her plea.
“Please, sir, there’s still time! Help me get to him, we can still save him!”
“I’m really sorry, but there’s nobody there to be saved, there’s no ship-“
“Please, sir! Please, come with me!”
Her voice got louder and the grip on his arm tightened as she started walking towards the shore, dragging Stede behind her.
Surprised by the woman’s strength, Stede stumbled along for a bit before he had enough clarity of mind to plant his feet on the sand and stop the woman and when he finally did it, she turned around to face him again and the sight made Stede’s blood run cold.
The woman’s eyes were big and dark like coal and there was a furious expression on the pale face that had not long ago looked so helpless.
“Why won’t you help me? Why?” she asked in anger. “You don’t even care, neither of you does!”
Stede tried to shake the woman’s hand off his arm, but her grip only tightened more, fingernails sharp and strong sinking into his skin through the fabric of his shirt.
“I have to get to my husband, I won’t let him die like that!”
She turned once more and started walking, dragging Stede with her towards the waves. Stede struggled, trying to get free, and fell to the ground, but the woman kept walking as if Stede’s weight didn’t bother her in the slightest.
For a moment Stede thought he heard Izzy’s voice far away and he screamed for help as he kept trying to make the woman loosen the grip on his arm, but to no avail. Her hand was strong and cold and by the time Stede remembered the knife in his boot, the waves had already started soaking his clothes.
He stood up and stabbed the woman in the arm, but no blood poured from the wound and she didn’t even flinch or falter. She kept walking with ease into the waves, her eyes looking straight ahead at the rocks by the cliff.
“I’m coming my love,” she said. “Wait for me!”
Stede screamed for help again as he felt the water rise to his waist and he started to panic.
“Stede!”
That was Izzy’s voice, this time he was sure, Stede thought, finding the strength to fight back once again. He tried to pull himself away from the woman with all his might even as he felt her nails tearing through the skin of his arm.
He turned back as he kept fighting and saw Izzy was rushing to him, but the man stumbled and fell, only to crawl and then stand up in seconds, trying to get closer as fast as he could.
That stubborn man, Stede thought, his heart beating hard. That brave, angry, stubborn man. Of course he hadn’t simply gone back to the house, he had tried to follow Stede so he wouldn’t be alone because he cared. He cared so much, even if he always tried to hide it.
Stede’s sentimental thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the waves started hitting his chest and splashing on his face. The woman had kept dragging him into the sea relentlessly, but Izzy was just right there!
Stede stretched his arm as far as he could as he kept trying to resist the woman’s pull and Izzy kept moving forward, wading through the water until his own arm stretched in a desperate attempt to reach Stede’s hand, but he fell and sank into the water.
Then Stede heard the raucous call of a seagull and suddenly a bird was flapping its wings above him and then attacking the woman’s head with its beak and feet, flying away to come back a few seconds later, making the woman finally stop.
Izzy resurfaced, gasping for air and without a second of hesitation he surged forward and grabbed Stede’s hand. Together they tried to pull Stede away from the woman, who was still distracted by the seagull’s attack and finally managed to free Stede from her grasp.
They both started moving towards the shore, but the woman turned to look at them, the seagull apparently forgotten once it had finally flown away and disappeared into the dark.
Stede held Izzy against him, helping him to stay upright against the strength of the waves, but they keep moving and when they finally reached the shore and they fell down on the sand together, Stede finally felt brave enough to look back. He saw the woman was still in the water, simply staring at them as they held each other, soaked and trembling and still gasping for air.
The woman’s furious expression had disappeared and a deep sadness had covered her face. Without another word, she turned around and started walking again, deep into the sea.
A sudden push to his chest made Stede yelp. Izzy was trying to bluntly push him away to be able to sit down and Stede finally let go of him to do the same.
“You’re a fucking moron, Stede,” Izzy said, glaring at him. “What the fuck were you doing?”
“I just wanted to help her…” Stede said weakly.
Izzy sighed deeply, but his eyes softened and Stede had to make a big effort not to start crying. He took a few deep breaths to stop the tears from falling and then, feeling a bit calmer, he looked closely at Izzy, trying to see if the man was all right.
The first mate was soaking wet and covered in sand from head to toe as if he had fallen down and had had to crawl on the sand more than once that night, which was probably what had actually happened, but he seemed to be fine otherwise.
Stede’s state was not much better. His wet clothes were already heavily covered in sand and sticking to his body uncomfortably and the arm the woman had scratched was bleeding lightly, but he was too happy to be alive to complain about that.
He noticed Izzy was doing the same thing, checking him over with a frown on his face and Stede smiled and took his hand to squeeze it reassuringly. Then he turned to look at the sea once again and saw the woman was gone and there wasn’t a sign that could tell that she had ever been there at all.
He shivered, feeling drained, but he smiled when he felt Izzy squeezing his hand back.