Lineage

by Gherkin

05: Fare Thee Well

"Now what?" Rarity wondered aloud, to no one in particular. The city of Havana was fast disappearing from view over the Horizon, as the Jackdaw sailed away into the open ocean. She sighed and leaned her head against her hand, watching the never-ending waves crashing against the side of the ship. The strange, otherworldly device hummed in her hand, and vibrated softly. "Just what are you?" she murmured to herself, casting her gaze over to it.

Her attention was soon turned to the sound of Edward's voice from the captain's wheel. "Lower all sail, she'll take it!" he bellowed out to his crew, putting them to work. Every man had a job to do, whether it be climbing up the mast to unfurl the sails, or cleaning out the broadside cannons in case they were forced into combat. Rarity had to admit that, for pirates and scoundrels, they sure had a good work ethic.

"Raise your voices, me trumps!" Kenway cried out, grinning down at them. "Give us a shanty, lads!"

She turned her attention to the crew, who in turn looked towards one of their own, obviously the one who begun these shanties. The man thought for a moment, before taking a breath and starting to sing.

"Oh a poor old man came riding by," he began, before the rest joined in. "And we say so, and we know so! Oh, a poor old man came riding by, a poor old man!"

She smiled a little a leaned back against the wooden railing, closing her eyes and listening to them as they continued. "Says I, 'Old man your horse will die'. And we say so, and we know so! And if he dies we'll tan his hide, oh poor, old man." Her cheeks became a little flustered as the song continued, and she fidgeted a little, the lyrics making her feel quite uncomfortable.

Feeling rather faint as the song's lyrics became more specific, she moved through the crew and over to Edward, tapping him on the shoulder. "H-How about a different song for your crew to sing, Edward?" she suggested, looking up at him.

"Hm?" He diverted his attention away from the open sea and unending horizon to look down at her. "Why, is there a prob- oh." He grimaced as she raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I can see your problem now. My apologies." He turned back to the crew. "How about another one, lads?"

The crew faltered and paused for a moment with confusion, before shrugging. The leader sung again, bellowing, "The worst old ship that ever did sail, sailed out of Harwich on a windy day," and the rest of the sailors got back to work.

"Ah, sorry about that," he mumbled, blushing slightly. He gripped the wheel of his ship a bit tighter, and wiped away sweat from his brow. "I still find it difficult to believe that you were… what, a unicorn?" A small chuckle escaped his dried lips. "They are nothing but a children's fantasy tale. To us, at least."

She smiled with amusement. "Well we are very much real. Us ponies are divided into three races: unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony."

"Pegasi too?" he asked with disbelief, laughing to himself. "Yet another fantasy tale. Next you'll be telling me your land is inhabited by gryphons and minotaurs as well!"

She simply smirked at him knowingly, making him raise his eyebrow. "Oh come on, now you've got to be joking," came his objection. "This entire thing is becoming harder and harder to believe by the second." He motioned to the relic in her hand. "If I didn't know of things such of this, I'd have declared you ill in the head when we first met."

"I suppose our meeting was fate then, wasn't it?" A warm, friendly smile spread across her lips as she looked up at him. "While I may not agree with your… 'profession', you have certainly been a good friend to me, Edward. I think that under that brutish, violent exterior is a selfless man, who knows how to do the right thing for everybody." She chuckled slightly. "You just need to learn to not follow the smell of gold and riches everywhere you go."

He laughed and looked over at her. "Thank you, I think. I'll try to take that as a compliment." With a sigh, he stared out absent-mindedly at the deep blue expanse around them. "When I was certain that what you said was true, I wasn't going to just leave you to your fate in unfamiliar territory."

With a warm smile she replied, "And, for that, I thank you, Edward. I mean that from the bottom of my heart." She sighed and leaned back against the wooden railing next to the captain's wheel, basking in the glow of the evening sunlight and the cool sea breeze whipping through her hair. "You know, as much as I want to go home, I could really get used to this. Life on the open ocean."

That familiar grin spread across his face once again. "Finally growing your sea legs, are you?" he said to her with a smirk, holding the wheel with only one hand. "Next thing I know you'll be saying 'it's a pirate's life for me'."

"Oh, hush." She rolled her eyes and frowned slightly at his joking. "I mean the peace and serenity of it all. Just sitting here on the deck of the ship, closing your eyes, listening to the sounds of the wind and the ocean waves and the crew singing." She found herself smiling more and more as she went on. "The wind in my hair, the salty aroma of the sea reaching my nose…" There was a pause, and she chuckled slightly as she realised she was getting carried away. "It's certainly a unique experience, of nothing else."

He laughed a little and smirked. "Oh, I understand. I see your point. That was very poetic. Romantic even, I might say. You certainly have a way with words, Rarity."

She went to say something in return, but paused as she saw, out of the corner of her eye, one of the crew members climbing up to the masts stop and point at something behind the ship itself. Confused, she turned to follow his gaze as he shouted out, "Spanish ships, captain! Gaining on us fast!"

Kenway quickly whipped around, pulling out his spyglass to inspect the ships that were pursuing them. "Damn it," he growled under his breath. "Two brigs and a bloody frigate. Looks like we're going to have a fight on our hands." He stowed the spyglass away once again, before turning his attention towards Rarity. "Should have known it'd be too easy for us to just get away like that. So much for your peace and serenity." With that, he stepped forward and called out to the men, "To your battle stations, lads! Make yourselves ready!"

"Well, what are we going to do?" she questioned him, as he tugged on the wheel to spin the Jackdaw into a tight turn. "Surely you don't mean to fight them head on, Edward! In case you haven't noticed, we're outnumbered three to one!"

He laughed and called back. "Aye, of course! It wouldn't be fun otherwise, now would it?" His attention was quickly turned towards the rest of his crew as he shouted out. "Man the cannons, men! Be ready to fire! And you, get on the mortars!" He pointed towards one of his crew members, who nodded quickly and scurried towards the bow of the ship.

By Celestia, he is truly insane, she thought grimly. She went to his side as he beckoned her over, and was surprised to see that he held out a small, but sharp dagger towards her. He held it with the blade towards her for a few tense, confusing moments, before he spun it in his fingers and gripped the blade, holding the grip out to her in offering. "Just what am I supposed to do with that?" she enquired, raising an eyebrow and looking back up at him.

"Swing, slash, stab, it's up to you," he told her. "It's a bloody dagger, what do you expect?" Despite his sarcastic humour and demeanour, Rarity could tell that he was somewhat tense. "Look," he continued with a sigh. "Just take it, in case you need to defend yourself personally. I can't guarantee that one of those ships won't try to board us."

She went to say something, but caught her tongue, caught up in the sudden anxiety of potentially being forced to use a deadly weapon against someone else. "Edward, I don't know if I can..." she stammered.

"Take it." The insistence in his words was clear.

There was another brief pause before she finally relented. "Fine, fine," came her mumbled reply, as she took the knife and slotted it in her belt. "I really hope that I don't have to use this."

He put a hand on her shoulder for a second, before gripping the wheel again. "You can't rely on me or any of the crew to save your arse if you get backed into a corner, if something happens," he told her, grimacing slightly at the thought. "So, better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."

"I suppose you're right." She sighed and tried her best to push the thoughts to the back of her mind, with limited success. She had never even once considered the possibility of killing another living being, not even in self-defence. In Equestria, such things were practically unheard of. Any disputes were usually resolved diplomatically, without the need for violence in the slightest. Ever since she had been thrust into this world, however, she had been exposed to more first-hand violence than she had the rest of her life. With a shudder, she wondered if she was becoming somewhat desensitised to it all. That very prospect terrified her to no end.

The danger of the situation they were in forced itself to the forefront of her mind once again as she heard Edward shout out, "Brace yourselves!" She felt him grip her arm and tug her into a bracing position as the air was suddenly filled with the roar of cannon fire from one of the ships pursuing them. A yelp of terror escaped her lips as cannonballs pelted into the side of the ship and flew overhead, but thankfully they did not seem to do too much damage.

After the barrage had ended, Kenway pulled himself up again and bellowed, "Return fire!" The cannons on the ship let loose their payload, firing it back into the ship that had attacked them first. Rarity looked over towards the brig and saw the Jackdaws shots nearly tear it to pieces, though it did not quite look completely out of the fight yet. She flinched as the captain called out to his crew manning the mortars to fire on the frigate further in the distance, and flinched again as the mortars themselves let out a deafening boom. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to see the damage they had done, since they were forced to brace for impact once again.

"What's the damage report, Adé?" Edward yelled out, looking over at his quartermaster before calling for the men on the cannons to fire again.

"Only minor damage, captain!" he replied. "No one looks to be wounded either!"

A rousing cheer came from the men below, as Rarity noticed the ship that had been damaged before finally begin to sink thanks to their last volley. One down, two more to go, she thought grimly, watching as the Jackdaw lined up a broadside against the other pursuing brig. The familiar boom of their cannons echoed out again, and the Spanish vessel was pelted with shots that tore through its mast and left it immobile. In other words, they're almost completely defenceless. Her suspicions were quickly proven correct, as Edward manoeuvred his ship out of their line of fire before ordering one last volley, sending the Spaniards to the bottom of the sea.

Glancing down at the knife gripped in her hand, she mumbled to herself, "With the way this battle is going, hopefully I won't have to use this frightful thing at all." From what she could see, the frigate had stayed mostly out of the fight up until now, opting instead to launch mortars that the Jackdaw, as a much nimbler vessel, could easily avoid. She assumed that they thought the brigs would be enough to sink or at least board them if they both attacked at once, but evidently that was not the case. Now that their allies had been sunk, they were fast approaching.

"Frigate off the starboard bow!" came the sound of the captain's voice again. "Brace!"

She ducked and threw her hands over her head as the enemy ship's cannons roared to life, sending it's volley screaming over their heads. The sound was near deafening, but over the noise and confusion, she managed to make out Adéwalé's shout of warning, "It looks like they're making to ram us, captain!"

Edward ordered everyone to brace for impact yet again. She hadn't even moved from her bracing position before, but she grabbed onto the railing for extra safety. Unfortunately, it did little to prevent her getting knocked off of her feet as the larger ship barrelled into the side of the Jackdaw, sending shards of wood and metal flying everywhere. Dear Celestia, are they mad? She was thrown onto her back by the impact, leaving her dazed and stunned for a few moments. The screaming and yelling from all around overwhelmed her; she wished she could jam her fingers into her ears and pretend that none of it was real. However, the danger and urgency of the situation was thrust back into the forefront of her mind as Edward ran over to her and hauled her to her feet.

"The fucking bastards are boarding us," he explained, making sure she could stand steadily before drawing his swords. She could see the Spanish soldiers on the other ship tossing ropes and grappling hooks toward them, reeling Kenway's vessel towards theirs. "There's not too many of them, I think we can handle this," he continued. "But you can't rely on me to keep you safe." His eyes darted down towards the dagger in her grip, as did hers. "Please, for the love of God, don't hesitate to use it if you need to."

As soon as he said that, he was gone; off into the fray of pirates and soldiers before she could even think to form a response. The Spanish soldiers had boarded them by now, and the fight was in full swing. The sound of clashing steel and terrified, pained screaming filled the air as both sides fought to the death. Even amidst the disorganised mass of people, she managed to keep her eye on Edward. After all, he was quite hard to miss, especially as he carved a path through the Spaniards. To any average onlooker, it would seem that fighting, and killing, was as easy to him as breathing. His blades moved so fast, cutting, parrying, and slicing, that they were nothing but blurs, impossible to see clearly. I wonder how in the world he learned to be such a deadly fighter, she thought, repulsed by the blood and death before her eyes, but also somehow unable to look away from the entire spectacle. To be able to go up against hordes of well-trained soldiers and still come out on top... it's almost unnatural.

She was quickly snapped out of her fixation on the captain by the sound of a pained yell, coming from her right. She followed the sound to see one of the Jackdaw's pirates on his knees, with a sword run through his back and out his chest. He looked up at her in agony, before his eyes lost focus and he went limp. The man to which the sword belonged, who was dressed in yellow Spanish colours, sneered as he kicked the pirate off the end of his sword and turned his attention to the young lady in front of him. His sneer only widened as he looked her up and down, pointing his sword towards her instead. "Ah, una mujer bonita," he growled dirtily. "A pesar de que tú eres hermosa, morirás como el resto de estos perros."

A shiver ran down her spine. She had no idea what he had just said, but she did not like the sound of it at all anyway. She gulped and raised the dagger towards him, taking a step back. "Stay back. Don't come any closer!"

Naturally, that did little to deter him, as he confidently moved forwards and swung his sword. Even as she yelped and dodged out of the way, the blade was well off it's target. Judging by the cruel, sadistic grin on the man's face, she could only assume that he was toying with her; having some fun before finally deciding to finish her off. She grit her teeth and blocked the sword with her knife as he brought it down on her, the resulting shock sending vibrations through her blade and down her arms. The two of them locked blades as he forced her back into the railing. He could overpower her, of that she had no doubts, but she wasn't about to make it easy for him. She pushed back against him as he forced his blood-stained sword closer to her face, that same sneer etched across his face.

That sneer was soon replaced by a look of shock, however. The shot from a flintlock pistol had found itself buried in his shoulder, having missed her head by mere inches. Capitalising on his moment of weakness, she pushed back against him, forcing him off of her. In the process, she broke her dagger away from his sword and inadvertently plunged it into the soldier's neck before she could stop herself. A terrified gasp escaped her lips as she saw him gasp for breath, before finally falling backwards. For a few moments she just stared, feeling numb over the fact that she had just ended someone's life, even if it was accidental. Despite everything, she managed to glance back over her shoulder to see who had fired at her attacker. Naturally, it was Edward, who gave her a nod before diving back into the fray.

Soon enough, the attack had been repelled, as he said it would. He had fought the captain of the other ship one-on-one, and bested him. The other Spanish soldiers soon surrendered after that, now that they had no leader to guide them. Sighing and shaking slightly, Rarity watched as Kenway's crew dumped the corpses of their enemies and fellow sailors alike over the side of the ship, while Edward salvaged the Spanish frigate for parts to repair the Jackdaw. The sight of that soldier's final, pained breath was etched into her mind, ready to greet her every time she closed her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, she could not shut it out. Having had enough with looking at all of the death around her, she crept away and below deck, wanting some time to herself.

***

"How long have you been staring at that thing?"

Edward's voice managed to bring Rarity back to reality. She blinked and rubbed her eyes a couple of times, before noticing the strange artefact in her hands. "I'm not sure," she admitted sheepishly, glancing down at the thing before looking back up at the mirror. "Over an hour, I think. Maybe."

He chuckled a bit and sat down next to her, his gaze lingering on the artefact in her hands for a second. "Aye, it's been about that long since the whole battle ended, I'd say. Are you feeling alright?" He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I saw what you had to do. It can't have been easy."

A shudder ran through her body as she thought about it. "It... it wasn't easy, you're right. But I'd rather not talk about it, if that's alright with you."

No effort was made to hide the look of concern on his face, but she shrugged and relented. "Very well. Shall I propose a different option, instead?" He smiled and nodded towards the mirror in front of the both of them.

She looked at it as well, before looking back at him. "What are you saying? Shall we see if this does anything to it?" The thing in her hands was still humming and vibrating, as it had been since they found it. He nodded and she thought for a moment. "But how are we going to use it? I see no way of connecting this... cube, for lack of a better word, to the mirror."

She raised a valid point, one that made him think for a couple of moments. "Hmm..." He got to his feet and paced around, eventually walking up to the mirror and inspecting it up close. "See if bringing it any closer helps."

She got to her feet and walked towards it too, holding the cube out in front of her. It might have just been her imagination, but she could swear that the vibration had increased in intensity, if only ever so slightly. "I think something might be happening," she said to him. "But it's nothing special. Still, I think that the mirror is somehow connected to it after all."

"Aye, the humming is louder," he pointed out. "I can hear it much more clearly." He watched as she held it out towards the mirror for a couple of seconds, however nothing else came of it. "Hmm, still nothing," he mumbled. "Perhaps we're doing something wrong?"

"Perhaps," she mused, studying the old mirror. Compared to the mirror back in Equestria, this one looked vastly different. It was ornately furnished, with a wooden base. Nothing about it seemed to hint to any supernatural origins. Yet she knew for sure that it was what she fell out of once she had travelled from Equestria. Just what do I have to do to get you working again?

Edward tapped her shoulder. "Here, give it to me for a moment." She handed the artefact to him, and he held it up to the light seeping in from the cracks in the wooden planks above. Judging by the look on his face, he could find no clues on the cube's exterior as to how to use it. With a sigh, he leaned against the mirror as he kept inspecting it. When he did so, both the mirror and the cube burst into life. A bright, golden glow emanated from both of them. Out of shock, he dropped the cube to the floor, and Rarity quickly picked it up.

"What did you do?" she asked, gazing into the golden glow of the mirror.

"Buggered if I know," he admitted, staring into it as well. "I just touched the bloody thing and it burst into life. Can you tell where it goes?"

She shook her head, and he tried to press against the mirror. His hand went through, but he yelped in pain and quickly withdrew it. "Jaysus, that burns! There is no way you'll be able to go through there without burning yourself alive."

She looked down at the glowing artefact in her hand and an idea came to mind. "Maybe this will help." Tentatively, she held out a hand towards the mirror, with the cube gripped in her other. As her fingers passed through the surface of the mirror, she was pleasantly surprised to find that she was unharmed, unlike her friend. She grinned excitedly. "It works! Edward, it actually works!"

"Aye, it would seem so." He matched her grin, before sighing. "I suppose you'll be going through then, won't you?"

Her grin faded slightly, and she looked up into his eyes. "Yes, that's right. You know that I miss my friends dearly, Edward."

"Yes, that I do. And I'd hate to keep them from you any longer."

She nodded slowly, before reaching out and putting a hand on his arm. "Then this is goodbye, Edward." A sincere, grateful smile spread across her lips. "Thank you so much, for everything that you have done. I mean that from the very bottom of my heart. This has certainly been an adventure."

"It has," he agreed, smiling back. "It was a pleasure to have you on board my ship, Rarity."

"The pleasure was all mine."

He chuckled. "Very well. Go then, be with your friends, and live well."

His words made the smile on her face widen as she stepped backwards. "I will, Edward. I promise. You make sure to do the same." He nodded, and she stepped back into the mirror, disappearing from view. The mirror glowed for a few more seconds, before fading once again.

I suppose that's that then, he thought to himself, gently stepping forward and placing a hand against the glass of the mirror. As expected, it was little more than a regular old mirror again. A couple of minutes went by as he stood there, staring into the mirror and through his own reflection. Then, with a sigh, he turned and started to walk back above deck.

By now the rest of the crew had made all of the necessary repairs, and were ready to set sail once again. A few greeted him, but he ignored them. The rest seemed to notice his sombre mood and expression and gave him a wide berth out of respect. A few hushed whispers reached his ears: people wondering what had happened to the strange young woman he had been with. He ignored them. Instead he made his way to the captain's wheel, nodding towards Adéwalé again. Looking out upon his ship and her crew, he took hold of the wheel and called out for full sail.

A few moments passed by, before he suddenly called out to the crew. "Lads, how about another shanty?"

The members of the crew glanced at one another, as they thought of what to sing. After a couple of seconds, they began to bellow out once again, singing a song for their captain as the Jackdaw sailed into the Caribbean sunset.

Comments

[Yoni]

I guess that Rarity is about to meet Connor, or perhaps even Haytham

[Amethyst Blade]

I don't think she will be returning to Equestria....Also, she took the dagger with her?

[GuardianofRoin]

5515380 Safe bet. After all, why else would Connor be in the cover art? Though to be honest, I'd rather see her meet Ezio. That would be fun if he was still in his young, womanizing stage. Even meeting the brotherhood Ezio would be fun to see.

[Yoni]

5515589 I think this story can really stretch to not only Edward and Connor, but also to the rest of the assassins. Just think of how Rarity would react to Altair during his antics in the holy land, or meeting De Vincy, and perhaps even Washington. And I bet she'll just love visiting Paris.

[GuardianofRoin]

5515797 Heh, too true. Then again Paris at the time of Unity was kinda shit unless you were secluded in some rich mansion or palace. She wouldn't be able to stand Altair though and would be even worse with the middle ages. I see her more as a renaissance era woman though, the time of enlightenment. Would also be fun to see Ezio flirt with her though.

[Yoni]

5515848 Ezio's flirting would sure be something I'd like to read, but I guess we shouldn't get ourselves so hyped. After all, it's for the author to choose whether to actually do it or not, and considering were the current plot line is taking us, I'm not sure it will actually happen, though it's nice to think about it nonetheless

[GuardianofRoin]

5515897 True, true. Then again, even if the author decides not to do it we may end up inspiring another writer to make a story like that. Maybe even have Ezio brought to Equestria or something.

[chrisharte97]

This is good.

[Sputnikmann]

Next stop, the American Revolution! ... probably.

Can't wait!

[metallusionsismagic]

saw the Jackdaws shots nearly tear it to pieces

Jackdaw's

the blade was well off it's target.

its

as he forced her back into the railing

Would use against, I think.
I'm sure she'll be absolutely charmed to meet the rest of the family! If you thought the Apples had ties everywhere, just you wait!

-----
Meanwhile, in the distant future, Abstergo is at a loss for answers and simply labels the encounter an "easter egg" in the final release.

[person10179]

5515907 Heck maybe even just have Rarity go through all the games, except in a backwards order.
Edward
Connor
Ezio
Altair

It'd also be interesting for her to be really confused when Ezio recognizes her the first couple of times she meets him (AKA Revelations and Brotherhood) And she'd have to finally introduce herself to him in 2.
And, I don't know, maybe people speak English in this story, wherever they're from (Cuz I don't think Masayef is in an English speaking place. I know Jerusalem isn't. Or Constantinople. Or-You know what, I could go on for quite a while xd. I think the point's across lol)

[treegrowth]

More plz

[MorpheustheDream]

I was so looking forward to continue reading this, only to find out there was no chapter after this.