Hey! I know I was going to upload Monday, but I figured, why not? So this is the first chapter! I'm excited, are you excited? Heehee.
Also, to those of you who care, I will not be doing stranger tides, because I haven't seen it enough to really work with it. I MIGHT, depending on the number of reviews, do a series of oneshots after the end of this story. What say you to that?
-Han
Chasing Freedom
Annabelle rolled her shoulders in the dark alleyways of Singapore, trying to alleviate the tension her weapons were causing. Her stormy eyes were ghosting over the people quietly moving about their business under both hers and the British soldiers' supervision, as they marched in formation over wooden bridges. She ducked back further in to the shadows as they rounded a corner, their muskets held high in the night. The chopsticks holding her hair back brushed against the stone walls and her hand fingered a sword at her side.
Once they passed, she stepped back into the light and looked to her left at the Captain she was traveling with. Barbossa flicked his eyes across the street and made the way easily to the docks, their boots echoing off the walls around him and being drowned out by the slow carnival music Tia was emitting from a cart down the street. Anna shifted her gaze to the water, where a boat glided through the murky water and the sailor rowed to a tune Anna taught them. 'Hoist the Color's' floated through the heavy air, and mixed in her mind until she couldn't think of anything other than the words and the steady marching of her boots.
"Do you think Will's been caught?" she asked softly, for fear her voice would carry.
Barbossa inspected her silently, watching the hollow glow to her stormy eyes and the strong tilt of her chin. "Possibly," he said gruffly.
"And you have a plan for that?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Aye."
She nodded and continued on. The black Asian wrap shirt and baggy black pants she wore, made her blend easily into the backdrop of the streets, and the weapons strapped to her made her movements more careful and slow. The singing continued behind them as they passed a sewer grate, where Anna sent a deft wave to those she knew were hiding there. Barbossa never slowed. His steps were assured and quick as he weaved through alleyways and bridges, bringing them to a stop above the docks.
"…Particularly a woman alone," a dirty Asian man was saying to Elizabeth as she finished her song. Anna thought his teeth were black in some places, and his face smudged with dirt.
"What makes you think she's alone?" Barbossa questioned, asserting his presence by stepping into the light, leaning haphazardly and fingering his sword.
"You protect…them?" he asked, once he saw Anna step into the light. Her eyes narrowed and she resisted the urge to throw a knife through the heavy air.
Elizabeth could not control herself as well. She quickly wound herself around the man, a knife biting into his throat before he could be sure what was happening. Anna rolled her eyes as Elizabeth sneered at the man.
"What makes you think I need protecting?" she asked, her voice attempting to be dangerously low. Anna didn't find her to be threatening, but the man must have, as his hands were shaking by his side.
"Your master's expectin' us. An unexpected death would cast a slight pall on our meetin'," Barbossa said in a bored voice. Anna smiled to herself as Elizabeth put up her hands and scooted away, her eyes still dark.
"Though I doubt he cares much about a lackey," Anna muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. She watched his face darken, and her smile grew. Barbossa jabbed her in the side to get her moving again, and they followed the man through the streets, Anna's boots echoing off the walls once again. She wondered if the staccato beats matched those of her heart. A hollow smile rose to her lips, as she berated herself for her own stupidity. Empty things didn't beat.
"Have you heard from Will?" Elizabeth asked, feigning casual. Anna wondered why she asked, since the pair had been avoiding each other since-since that day. They had rarely spoken and Will had seemed to crumble into himself.
Anna had once again taken up the position of protector and stayed with him, letting him break just enough to mend. They were each other's crutch, supporting one another through dark times. They would brave the world by day, and break together by night, trying to learn to control the pain.
"I trust young Turner to acquire the charts, and you to remember your place in the presence of Captain Sao Feng," Barbossa replied glaring at the two women as they walked.
"Is he that terrifying?" Elizabeth questioned sarcastically, acid dripping from her tongue.
"He's much like myself, but absent my merciful nature and sense of fair play."
"He should be a delight, then," Anna muttered, stopping as the man reached a wooden door in the back of an alley.
"Hoi," he said shortly, and Anna thought that that must be a terrible password. Too easy. She would have expected something better from a Pirate Lord. The door opened and they moved inside, steam hitting them quickly and suffocating them with its humid thickness.
Barbossa dropped his weapons on a table, his sword and pistols clattering onto the wood. Anna removed the single sword she had in view, laying it carefully on the table. Elizabeth dropped he knife and prepared to move past.
"You think because they are women we will not suspect them of treachery?" the same man asked, speaking to Barbossa.
"You think because we are women that you cannot speak to us?" Anna asked, irritated. He glared at her and blatantly let his eyes roam over her body.
"Remove. Please."
Anna sighed and let Elizabeth go first. She removed ten knives and bombs from the leather harness beneath her outer shirt, as well as a small cannon styled gun out of her boot. She smiled demurely and crossed her hands in front of her.
Anna huffed, removing the thin black outer wrap, revealing several layers of hilts and holsters, each one filled with a weapon or ammo. She emptied them all, spilling extra bullets on the floor. She removed her boots, dropping three knives on the table from them and stepped back. She looked up, realizing she'd forgotten something, and fiddled inside her bun before taking out a small, razor thin knife that was set to blend against her chopsticks. She set it on the table and crossed her hands behind her back.
Barbossa stared at her in between shock and appreciation. Elizabeth huffed as if she had been outdone. Both attempted to move up again, when the man stopped them a final time.
"Remove, please," he said with an almost shy smile, indicating their pants. Anna rolled her eyes and muttered something about impropriety while demanding a robe. Her shoulders rolled and she wondered what he would think about her just taking it quietly.
She bit her lip, eradicating the thought and doing as she was told. She couldn't afford to think about that now.