My first POTC fic. I don't know exactly what's up and what's down in this fandom, but hey, I'm gonna give it a shot anyway!
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The sun shone brilliantly over the sea as it rose, it's warmth spreading slowly. Anamaria sighed, tired from the week's hard work. Finally, the Pearl had made port in the damned spit of land called Tortuga.
But, watching the sun rise over the landscape of Tortuga, she was brought back to the few sunrises she was lucky enough to share with her mother. Ana shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of thoughts about the family she left behind. But still, thinking of them reminded her why she had been so eager to come to Tortuga in the first place.
Despite the fact that Anamaria was the least likely of the Pearl's crew to receive a letter from family, she still made it a point to open a mailbox under her name in the seldom used Post Office of Tortuga.
She had the feeble hopes that perhaps a family member would be concerned enough to send her a letter. Still, she received nothing after escaping the plantation where she worked, thankfully, as a maid in the manor.
She escaped the cruel life of her enslaved friends due to her mixed heritage. Still, the life of a servant was one that Ana simply could not bear, and at seventeen, she had boarded the first ship out of Hispaniola, searching for what she hoped would be a better life.
Soon after, Anamaria found herself in Tortuga, under the guidance of the infallible, unflappable, and extremely good looking Jack Sparrow.
Speaking of the insufferable git, the pirate captain was following her off the ship in what he assumed was a stealthy manner. After a minute or two of playing along with this game, Ana found herself at the end of her patience, and turned around quickly.
"What are you following me for?"
Jack halted and looked left, right, and then behind himself. With a confused expression on his face, he turned back to Anamaria and pointed a bronzed finger at his own chest.
Ana's eyes were narrowed and her glare did not falter for a second.
"Who? Me?" He shook his head with a pout, resulting in the clinking of his bejeweled hair. "What gave the impression I was following you? I was simply being a good cap'n, and making sure all my crew got to port safe and sound."
He finished off his explanation with a flourish of the hands and a nod, as though he was reassuring himself that he had given Ana an acceptable excuse. His kohl black eyes dared her to defy him.
Anamaria raised a brow at her captain, not buying a single word. She had noticed the flash of curiosity in his eyes every time he watched her walk off the ship and to the Post Office without so much as a goodbye. He wanted to know just where it was that she was going every time they made port on the filthy island. Well, it was none of his bloody business, and if he wanted to know so badly, he should ask!
"Well, being such a good captain, why don't you go watch over Cotton." She gestured with her hand to the mute who was starting to disembark. "He can't very well call for help, can he?" Ana ended with her hands on her hips, feeling rather triumphant.
Jack peered down at her, and clenched his jaw in his funny way while grinding his teeth.
"I think I'd be most comfortable watching from me ship." He flashed his gold toothed grin and turned around, his gait making him stick out amongst all the even-footed landlubbers.
Just as Ana was about to turn again, Jack called to her."Don' worry! I'm still watching over you from here!" His tanned face broke into a smile that left his kohl lined eyes sparkling with humor.
Anamaria muttered a foul word, and apparently said it loud enough for Jack to hear and reply.
"I love it when you talk dirty, luv!"
Letting out a huff, and began again on her course towards the Post Office, for once letting her annoyance go easily. Ana returned to her previous thoughts.
She knew very well in her head, that it was unlikely her small family would ever hear of her arrival in Tortuga some 19 years ago. They most likely thought she had been caught and executed for escaping.
Looking around herself, Ana saw whores and shameless thieves. Beggars and people who could pass for bilge rats. All of them were probably better remembered by their family than Anamaria could hope to be.
Still, in the woman's heart lay a glimmer of hope that somebody, anybody, had heard word of 'Anamaria, the quick and witty pirate, second mate to the daring Jack Sparrow!'
And it was with this tiny hope swelling up inside her that Anamaria entered the dirty and vacant post office.
A balding man with brown spots scattered across his face and his fair share of wrinkles was leaning over the counter in the post office, snoring through what Ana guessed was a pleasant dream.
In a rare moment of tact, Anamaria coughed loudly, and when this garnered no response, she decided to give the man's shoulder a budge.
"Ey, are you asleep?" The answer to this question was obvious, but Anamaria decided to poke him again with a dirty finger and repeat her question.
This time, the man awoke with a start and blinked slowly. The snort he let out loosened dirt and God knows what else from the counter, which turned into a brown puff of smoke, making Anamaria sneeze.
He stared at the pirate for a good while before straightening his back and saying "What is it I can do for ye, miss?"
Anamaria let out a nearly inaudible sigh, running her hand through her jet black hair. How ridiculous would this sound? A pirate asking if she had gotten any mail!
Not even the navy officers that this office was meant for bothered to use it. This was, of course, due to the fact that hardly a single officer was to be found in the whole of Tortuga.
With one more sigh, Anamaria replied "I'd like t' know if I've recieved any mail." The man nodded and turned slowly to the vast amount of slots behind him.
"What be your name, miss?" He asked, craning his head around to look back at the pirate.
"Anamaria Torres" she snapped back, becoming irritated by the man's slow pace. She might as well go back there and check for herself! The man nodded again, and realizing that the "T" 's were in a back room, asked that the miss please give him just a moment.
Three solid minutes had passed and Anamaria was becoming more and more impatient. Finally having decided to go to a tavern or just return to the Pearl emptyhanded, she heard an "Aha!" from behind the wall of slots. The old man must have finally found her empty slot.
The worker's voice could be heard softly, and growing louder, as he made his way back to the front of the post office.
Anamaria strained her ears to hear what the man was saying, as his voice was weak enough already. She decided to be brave and rested her forearms against the brown counter in order to lean closer to the source of the sound. Pirate or not, this place was offensively filthy. She scowled as she thought about the mess her sleeves would become.
Ana almost fell over the counter upon seeing the balding man reappear with a thin envelope within his hand. A million thoughts zipped through Anamaria's head, but they were all a blur. All she could see was the slightly bent envelope and the neat scrawl across it's front.
She snapped out of her reverie to listen to whatever the hell this man was babbling about.
"You'e arrived just in time, Miss Torres! This letter arrived not but two days ago! And the messenger said it was of utmost importance." He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head towards her.
Anamaria reached her hand out and snatched up the letter greedily. This letter was worth more than if it were written in gold ink. No finer day had Jack chosen to come to stock up on rum!
As Ana was about to use the edge of a dirty fingernail to lift the flap of the envelope, the man spoke again.
" 'Tis from a Magdalena Torres, miss."
The woman's head snapped up. A letter from Magdalena Torres? This was not the person she had expected to recieve mail from. Her mother or a friend, maybe. But Magdalena Torres?
The post office worker seemed just as confused as her. His wrinkles creased into even deeper folds upon his forehead.
"Is something amiss, ma'am?"
Ana looked from the man, to the letter, then back. Finally, she voiced her question, almost to herself.
"Who the hell is Magdalena?"
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An author's favorite thing is always reviews! I know that the J/A ship isn't much, so tell me what I can do with this story to improve. I don't care if you like my story or not..just let me know! (You must be warned that I don't tend to update without at least 5 reviews..even though I have a good amount of chapters finished)