The Thrill Of You

Chapter 2

Stede's POV

Alone and in the darkness, having to attempt to keep track of time, a day or two had passed if I was correct. Two whole days and no one had come down to the brig to see if I had died yet. As this thought came across my mind, my stomach growled and there was a sound of shifting in the distance. A light was lit, a flash of a flame, and then a face. "Stede Bonnet," The voice whispered, one I recognized from the first time being boarded. "Y-you. It's you!" I yelled, though I was trying to jump up in anger, the weakness of malnutrition was more than I thought as I couldn't stand up as threatening as I would have liked. 

"Oh, so you know who I am?" The man asked, his tone wavering yet intimidating. "No... Your voice is the one I heard when I boarded," I grumbled, lying down in pain as I sighed, ignoring the man standing at the cell door. "We might have gotten off on the wrong foot-" He got cut off as someone else entered the room. "You're just supposed to be down here to give him the rations," I heard the voice come out raspy, remembering it as the guy who had a knife to my throat.

"Izzy, you're supposed to be watching up on the deck," The mysterious man told the other, his tone more threatening and demanding. "I just wanted to see what you wanted with this pompous brat," The man named Izzy venomously responded, getting up in the long-haired man's face. He shook his head and put the lamp on a nearby hook. "It's not your job to know what I'm talking about with the prisoner, your job is to make sure everything is running smoothly while I'm interrogating him. Besides, what do you care if he gets rations when you haven't even bothered to remember to do it for the last couple of days," He whispered intimidatingly, to which there was silence, prolonged eye contact, and eventually, Izzy went away, back up the stairs.

"He's a twit sometimes, pay no mind to him," The man spoke again, standing with one of his hands concealed. "Brought you some food since Izzy failed to do so," He told me, pulling out a plate covered in a handtowel, and sliding it through the gap between the floorboards and the metal door. I sat up and cautiously grabbed the plate, immediately pulling the towel back and eating some of the bread. "Apologies for Izzy, again, he just doesn't know how to properly take care of guests," The man told me, to which I swallowed the dry bread, but it tasted better than not having any food.

"Apparently, neither do you, I've been here two days, only knowing this Izzy guy's name, I've been treated like a prisoner, and you just kidnapped me away from my family," I spat viciously, the pain from swallowing so hard making my throat hurt, but hunger overtook my senses again, devouring the piece of bread. "I'll admit, my crew isn't even wanting you to be here, so with the conditions, this seemed the best to get a conversation with you," The man spoke, more gentle but still this persona of a hardened man that has seen much of the world.

"The name is Ed, or as you'll hear anyone else address me; Blackbeard," He told me, a sudden chill running down my spine as I slowly looked up to him. Blackbeard, in the flesh... And leather. Lots of leather. As I had been eating the food on the plate, satisfying my hunger slowly, I noticed more of the man before me. "Y-you're Blackbeard? I got kidnapped, by Blackbeard's crew?!" I yelled, almost dropping the plate and barely catching it before it hit the wooden floor. "Uh, yeah? Look, I just wanted to talk, though I might not have much time before Izzy comes back," Blackbeard told me, leaning against the cell bars.

"Why me? How does anyone like you even know about me?" I asked, putting the plate down that only had a little bit of bread left. I looked away from the plate, seeing his head nodding a bit. "I've heard from port to port that a gentleman was looking for adventure, to be a pirate. But I wanted to know why," Blackbeard told me, shifting all of his weight on his right knee as he stood there. He winced a little as he adjusted a brace of sorts. "I... I don't enjoy the mundane, I just wanted a thrill in my life. Even just a little bit," I confessed, leaning over a bit to rest my elbows on my knees.

"A pirate that came from wealth is unheard of on these waters," He told me, his gaze unwavering as his left hand rested at his left knee. I wondered what happened, but I was never one to pry into someone's life. Surely, it was a hard story to tell. "It's hard to find someone doing something original," He spoke again, getting my attention in the somewhat long silence. "It's not original per se, just wanting something new... Something to thrive in," I admitted, though I was still thinking. Mary, the children, I had unknowingly left them all behind.

I had been thinking of leaving, the ship I was getting constructed was already finished and hidden away, but I was surely going to leave a note or a farewell before I left. A note would have been nice because where I left off with everyone, was not okay. I was arguing with Mary, I didn't say anything to my children, I didn't tuck them in one last time as I planned. "Well, mate, you look like you're not doing so well. I'll be back with lunch here in a few hours, alright? I promise," Blackbeard told me, trying to redistribute his weight back to both of his legs. "And Stede... Call me Ed if you'd like. When it's just us. Being called Blackbeard is too formal," He told me, his voice gentle but on edge.

"Well, you know where I'll be," I joked, rubbing my side a little bit to make the hunger pain that stuck in my side. "I'll bring a little something extra for our next chat, something to make up for the hunger," He told me as he left, leaving the lamp down with me. The vicious and mysterious Blackbeard, the most revered and terrifying pirate, was genuinely nice. His tone was so gentle, he promised to bring extra food since I didn't eat for two days, he left the lamp down here so it wouldn't be dark. That last one could have been an accident, but it was still appreciated nonetheless. Sure, I had regrets about being in the middle of a spat with Mary and not having tucked my kids in one last time, but being here, it couldn't be that bad. Right?