The corner of her mouth rose as she heard Edward rush into the room and say, "Where is she?"
"Ed, please..." said Izzy from behind.
"Ah, at last," she called out. "The famous Blackbeard has returned to his ship."
"You're here," she heard Edward breathe out.
She turned her gaze over and her smile instantly disappeared. The man standing before her was a shadow of the one she knew and was expecting. The remains of charcoal eyeshadow still lingered around his eyes and chin; gone was the famous salt-and-pepper beard.
"Bloody hell," said Almina, getting to her feet. She glanced over at Izzy and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet giving her a sad, apologetic look. "Leave us, Z."
Edward turned his head slightly as he watched Izzy close the door behind him as he left without a word.
"He told me you had changed. But I wasn't expecting this," said Almina, stepping closer to Edward.
"I was reminded of who Blackbeard was. That's all," replied Edward, passing by her to grab a bottle from a nearby table.
"Reminded of who the real Blackbeard is... or the Blackbeard that everyone else has come to create?" retorted Almina, turning around to look at him as he plopped down into a chair.
"Is there a difference?"
"You know there is."
"Maybe you've been fooled like I was," he said, taking a swing.
Almina stepped around the chair to stand in front of him. She observed him a bit more before letting out a sigh and reached out to take the bottle to take a swing herself.
"Ugh," she blurted trying not to spit the liquor back out. "This the best you got?"
"When the main objective is just to get drunk, you don't care much about taste."
"Maybe for you. But I still prefer to have a good taste left in my mouth when I'm embracing the bottle," retorted Almina. "You know what I think... this isn't about who or who isn't Blackbeard. This about something else. Perhaps a certain Gentleman Pirate."
"It was nothing," replied Edward quietly.
