Blackbonnet - Our Flag Means Death

Gold Beard

 "Hoist the sail! Swab the deck! And Swede-"

"Yes captain?"

"Sing your little Swedish heart out, and make sure it's... Dramatic!" Stede yelled.

It had been a month since Stede had first learned how to fully use his sword, but he had honestly gotten really good at it. With his constant need to prove himself as a pirate he and his crew seemed to be attacking multiple ships on a weekly basis, and today was just another one of those days.

"Buttons!"

"Yes, Captain."

"Get us behind them."

Now that. That caught everyone off guard.

"You want me to get behind them?" Buttons asked.

"Yes. I'm thinking of trying something new for once. A little bit of extra fun."

"Fun?" Buttons questioned, one of his eyebrows raising with mild concern.

"Well it's not like we can take any more direct hits. Have you seen the condition of our poor ship!" Stede exclaimed in dramatic outrage.

Signaling for everyone to stop-especially the Swede- Stede sat down on a nearby barrel. It was only then when his crew could finally see how much their captain had changed. His long golden locks were now being taken over by a sea of gray and white, along with a newly grown beard. His flashy clothing choices are now only shown in the multiple adornments of rings he wore on his fingers. And his face, Oh his face looked tired, so fucking tired.

"I-I don't... I mean, the problem is that..."

"Captain?" Wee John asked.

"Nope. I can't do this. I'm not ready yet. Get back to what you were doing, and buttons-"

"Yes, Captain?" Get me behind that ship. Now."

The crew did as they were told, and as the hours went by they were finally behind the large ship.

"What now captain?" Buttons asked.

"Get us as close to the ship as you can, and make sure to sharpen your teeth, I have a feeling you're gonna need them."

Walking into his room, Stede looked around at the vastly open space. He hated it. It was a constant reminder of what he had lost and how much of an idiot he truly was. Why had he believed the words of some bully who didn't even know him? Why didn't he realize he was in love with Ed sooner? Why did he have to fucking run away? But, Stede knew why. He knew exactly why he did what he had done, because what other reason could there be besides him being a coward. Stede was a coward.

Stedes body went numb, his legs moving him towards the finely crafted sword in which he was gifted just one month ago, Ed's red silk tied to the handle. Pulling it down from the hooks in which it rested on Stede could almost hear Edwards voice. "I miss you, Darling." He whispered.

On deck, the crew was amazing. All of them were waiting patiently, weapons in hand for Stede to give them direction.

"Wee John and Roach. You two will be a fighting duo. Each of you will provide the other what they lack. Roach, make sure to keep Wee John safe. And Wee John-"

"Yes, Captain?"

"This time, do not hold back on showing your strength. Give them hell!"

Wee John nodded, his cheeks a pinkish red from the compliment.

"Buttons, I need you to go after the captain of the ship and get hold of the wheel. We need to be the one in charge of the ship. Oluwande, I need you and BlackPete to go for the cannons. Make sure that not a single one goes off.

"Yes, sir!" Oluwande said.

"And you, my dear Swede will be staying here on the ship."

"Aww. Why do they get to have all the fun?"

"Because I need someone to be on the ready to get us out of here if things turn sour."

"But I wanna go fight with everyone else." Swede wined.

"How about this? If you stay on the ship and wait for us I'll have Roach make you any meal of your choosing."

Swede's eyes lit up at that.

"Woah, woah, woah. I did not agree to this." Roach complained while waiving his cleaver.

"Too bad. It's already been decided." Stede said with a mean girl's attitude.

As the crew got ever so closer to the ship it was finally time for the fight to begin. Climbing up the side of the ship, Stede's crew took immediate action. People began to fly every which way as Wee John threw their bodies around like they weighed nothing. Blood stained the deck with Roach performing his medical procedures. Stede gagged a little at the sight.

Up above he could see buttons biting at the arm of the captain, his screams filling the air. "I guess it's my turn now, Darling." Stede whispered to his rapier, giving the small silk cloth a kiss for good luck.

Running forward Stede was met with another man of his build. Bringing his rapier to the man's throat, blood sprayed out like a fountain. "Oh god!" Stede yelled, holding a hand to his mouth. No matter how many times it happened, he never could get used to the sight of blood.

Turning around to go in search of Oluwande, Stede was met with a sharp pain in his arm instead. A small knife laid still in his arm, the man who had thrown it only a few feet away. The feeling of the knife in his arm was a lot, but Stede had gotten used to the pain of being stabbed. "You're gonna regret that." He said in his most menacing voice.

Swinging his rapier at the man it was easily countered by another small knife hidden within his sleeves.

"You're a pretty good swordsman." He said with a grunt as he pushed Stede away from him.

"I could say the same thing about you." Stede retorted as he thrusted his sword forward.

"Oh, so close." The man said as he dodged the blow.

"Take this seriously!" Stede complained.

"Wha-? Me? You think that I'm not taking this fight seriously!" The man practically screamed in dramatic outrage. "I wouldn't even dream of doing that." He said with a wink.

"Oh, please. If you could just focus for one minute that would be great." Stede grumbled.

"One minute?"

"One minute."

"Okay, deal." As soon as the words left the man's mouth he pulled a second knife into his hands and ran full speed towards Stede, his eyes never wandering to anywhere, but his body. Striking him in the leg, Stede could see his own blood seeping out once more and could tell this was now a real fight,

Bringing his rapier down the man deflected it with his knife as the other dug deeper into his leg. "Fuck!" He yelped in pain.

"You're too slow for me." The man said in a serious tone.

"Yeah, you're right, but he's not." Stede said with a smirk on his face as the man was lifted into the air by Wee John.

"What do you want me to do with him, Captain?" He asked.

"Throw him overboard!" Stede said with a coy smile as he pulled out the knives from his arm and leg. "But, first I think you might want these back." He said as he slowly pressed both blades into the man's shoulder as slowly as he could. "Make sure to take care of it John."

"With pleasure." John said with an excited grin.

Limping his way back onto his ship, Stede could feel the blood draining ever so quickly from his leg. Ripping a piece of cloth from his shirt he wrapped the mangled piece of skin that used to be his leg as tightly as he could.

"Captain, what do you want me to do?" Swede asked ever so carefully.

"Call everyone back onto the ship. This... All of this is over." Stede said as he breathed heavily.

"Okay." Swede said as he called a signal to the others.

"Oh, and one more thing Swede. I think I need a doctor." Stede said as he passed out on deck, blood still flowing heavily from his body.