High School testing is so annoying, so I'll be slowly progressing a multi-chapter fiction in the Pirates of the Caribbean Universe. This fiction explores a deeper Anamaria along with a more sassy, suave, mysterious Jack Sparrow. (A/J)
Disclaimer: All characters, plot, etc related to Pirates of the Caribbean belong to Walt Disney and Company.
Prologue: Freedom's Call
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Stealthily she crept next to him, using her left hand to wipe the tavern bar, as her right hand meticulously reached into his pocket to retrieve a purse of gold. Quckly, she stuffed her earning into the rough linen folds of her clothing; a makeshift pocket useful for hiding practically anything from sight. After a few more seconds of wiping, Anna quickly left the spot, and headed for the back kitchen.
She never got there.
As soon as she made to leave, a swift hand caught her wrist. Anna stifled a gasp and slowly turned around.
"Sir?" she asked, keeping her voice level.
Anna could only see his nostrils and mouth peaking from the hat that covered his eyes. His hair was long, about the same length as her hair--an unusual fashion for a man. His hair was braided, and not tied back like other longhaired men. From his appearance, it seemed he had not bathed in a long time, but then again, he did not smell like the tavern beggars. A bit of facial hair was growing into a fine moustache; his stubble of a beard seemed to bother him.
The stranger brought her hand to his lips, as if he had mind to kiss it. Anna could only stare as he stopped short, murmuring into it, "It is unwise, Lady Lass, to steal from a man with much more experience of commandeering than you probably ever will…Savvy?"
"Yessir."
His hat nodded in reply, his voice loftily replying, "Get me a bottle of rum, Lady Lass."
Anna nodded vigorously, letting out the breath she had unknowingly been holding.
--
She fetched it for him, and the stranger took a swig from the bottle.
"What would a lass such as yourself be searching for in the pocket of a man such as…me?"
She answered truthfully, "Gold."
She saw his lips twitch into a half grin, half smirk.
"You're truthful. Good girl, you're quite sensible, really…"
Anna made no reply.
The stranger gave another grin, "And also quite bold… I could hang you for this, I'm sure?"
It was more statement than question.
"Yes."
The stranger gave a contemplative humm, but merely nodded.
"You work here?"
"A slave."
"Ah, that's it!" he exclaimed, " A slave! How do you like being enslaved?"
He asked the question with such curiosity, she would have missed the sarcasm had there not been such a blatantly obvious answer. She replied monotonously, "I am grateful I can serve the white folk and learn my place in the world."
"Did your master teach you that?"
"Master is wonderful."
The stranger gave another humm, but made no reply.
She could not have remembered it then, but as she drifted off to sleep, she recalled that he never asked for his purse.
--
The chill of dawn felt like an icestorm. Sunlight penetrated through the thick shield of her eyelids. Anna began to stir.
No, don't wake.
Anna wanted just a little bit more time…She was dreaming a beautiful dream, one that she couldn't quite recall.
It's fading already…no, please, just a bit more…It had been about something exciting, something that made her blood rush faster than ever, her heart threaten to burst out of her very skin… and a voice… Yes, a voice, whispering, this is it…this is it…this is—
"This is it!" shouted the voice. Anna suddenly felt a hard thing hit her stomach, and she cried out in pain. Her hair that fell just past her shoulders was yanked, and Anna felt hot breath down her neck.
The tavern… she was on the floor…asleep on duty… oversleeping on duty. There was at least one person in the tavern bar besides the voice, judging from the sipping sounds; even at this hour, she knew who it was.
The stranger she met last night.
Why was he still here? Was he going to tell the voice? How long had she slept?
The voice screeched again, and the pain that followed threatened to rip her apart.
Her eyes opened to see his fat blob of a face livid with anger, eyes popping, moustache twitching. His boot collided with her stomach again, and this time, she did not even bother to scream.
The Master.
"Get up," he screeched, "Good-for-nothing girl! Lower than dirt! Lower than slave! How pathetic—a dark-skinned girl like you without a trace of African lineage, a native, no less! Reduced to mingle with slaves!
"Your poor father sold you when you were a mere infant. Poor man, desperate enough for a mere three pounds! What a burden three pounds have cost me—this is the third time you've overslept! I'll whip you 'till your bones show through your skin!"
Anna was pushed out the door and kicked to the ground. She pushed herself up, breathing heavily on all fours. She was angry, but she did not see red just yet. Townspeople were staring. They rushed pass her, stepping on her outstretched hands.
"My bones already show through my skin," she murmured.
"What?" screamed Master. "Speak up, slave!"
With deadly calm, Anna rose and faced Master. "If my bones show through my skin, it's because you starve us to death."
"Don't you dare talk back to your Master! You would be dead if I did not care for you, stupid girl! You're lucky you even have food to eat—you'd die as soon as I throw you out."
"At least I'd be free."
Master was definitely angry; Anna would definitely be on her way to hell for this rash action. Master found his brick near the doorway. Annie knew that Master rarely punished the slaves, but when he did, there would be hell to pay.
"Girlie, this will be the last time you'll ever see daylight! I shall be glad to get rid of you."
Anna stood her ground, weary, yet unafraid. Behind him, she could see Mum Rachel watching with horror. The children, Bessie and Fredrick were as well, and soon, they began to whimper and cry at the implications. Master raised the brick, intent on bashing Anna's skull.
A strong arm stopped him.
More trouble.
The stranger at the tavern took his hat off in salutations and gave the Master a small ridiculously affected smile (a mere twitch, really).
"My good man!"
The Master stared.
"Yes, well," began the stranger, seemingly unaware of his actions, "I couldn't but help overhear your disagreement…"
Neither could half the town…"…Especially when you said you were going to dispose of the girl. So why kill her when you could make a profit, eh? What say you to that?"
What was he, a merchant?
If he was, he certainly looked the part. He was dressed in pompous, elaborate, and, once again, ridiculous attire; there was even a bloody feather in his hat.
"No."
Anna had to smirk in spite of the situation. She was the best slave Master had; even he admitted that.
She knew it, too.
The stranger was persistent, and Annie became suspicious of his intentions.
Finally, Master was getting impatient. He named a ridiculously largesum.
"One thousand pounds!"
Only a thousand! Surely she was worth more…
Master smirked at her, the stranger glanced at Anna, and then…
"Deal!"
He pushed another purse into unsuspecting hands, and faster than Master could protest, the stranger practically dragged Anna along. Mum Rachel and the children were still crying. Master was still smirking, hands outstretched, holding the bag…
--
"You owe me one thousand pounds!" fumed the stranger as he dragged her to the dock.
Anna barely had time to breath as she fought she keep up with his stride. Just when she was running and skipping, he suddenly turned around. Startled, Anna bumped into him.
"What did you to with my button collection?"
"What?"
"My metal button collection you tried to steal!"
"I..." Button collection! "I left it... back..."
He grumbled even more, "A thousand pounds and my button collection!"
He almost took one more step but stopped.
"And not even a thank-you?" He mumbled some more words, words that Anna was sure were quite unfit for a merchant. The stranger dragged her along. As he pulled her arm, Anna noticed the sleeve had ridden up his arm for a second or two. As fleeting as it were, the shape of the branded letter flashed before her eyes. Pirate.
He stopped walking several more times, each time at the most unexpected moment. And each time, Anna bumped into him.
The pirate turned suddenly again, "Tell me, what use could a lass of your…situation…be for a man of my situation?"
The pirate did not wait for a reply, and preceded to pull on her arm again, but with sudden agility, Anna used her free hand to grab onto his arm, at the very spot where the letter was.
"That depends on what situation the man has gotten into."
The pirate raised an eyebrow and looked down at his arm.
"Ah, touché."
Swiftly, he pushed the girl into a rowboat. "Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service, m'lady."
"I'm sorry, who?"
"Captain Jack Sparrow," he said, exasperated, "Treasure seeker extraordinaire."
"The lunatic looking for the treasure of Isla de la Muerta? I've been sold from a man who knows horseshit about money to a man who's lusting for it!"
"Yes, I am, but no, I'm not, and no, I'm not. There are other things in this world to lust after."
She was silent as he rowed. Finally, she blurted, "Are you going to…"
"To what?"
She hesitated, "Rape me."
He laughed, "You still haven't answered my question, and so you can't expect me to answer."
"I can navigate…He always expected me to navigate the ship when the rum came."
"You live near the harbour."
"He's cheap. Duties were less pricey in Tortuga."
"Ah, so you've been there, wonderful. Very well, aye. Barbossa steers like hell, anyway."
--
"Gents! Listen up!"
The murmuring pirates became silent, their quizzical, almost threatening eyes trained on Anna. She bit her lip nervously, and the pirates smiled wickedly, their glints becoming even more hard and steely.
She averted her eyes, and suddenly heard the wood creaking as a tall pirate stepped out from the cabin. The pirate smiled at her friendly and gently, and Anna thought, piracy doesn't sound all that bad.
She gave him a small smile in return, Not bad at all.
--
"You need a name."
Anna turned swiftly, "How did you get in here?" she asked, covering herself with a sheet, "I thought I locked that door."
He chuckled. "You may have taken advantage of my private chambers, Lady Lass, but here be pirates. We don't believe in locks."
He sat next to her on the bed. She shifted nervously, "Move."
"Why? You're not going anyway, are you? Besides, I am quite comfortably situated where I am."
He shifted closer. "You still need that name."
She shrank farther back.
"How 'bout Scarlett?"
"I'm a slave, not a whore."
"Were a slave. Giselle?"
"Anamaria."
"What? I thought you don't want anything that reminds you of Anna."
"Mother called me that."
A fixed stare was his reply.
"Mother was a native on the islands who married a nobleman from Spain. His younger brother gambled and we lost our fortune paying off the debt. When that wasn't enough, Uncle kidnapped me and sold me here. So the man Ma—he was talking about wasn't my father."
Jack was silent for a moment, but said firmly, "The life of a pirate's not like that. You're free now."
Anna was still looking down at her lap, unsure of what to do. She heard the rustle of Sparrow stand and felt his hand on her shoulder.
"Get some sleep, Lady Lass. You'll need it if you're taking over the Black Pearl."
--fin--
Edit 09.02.05:
Yes, this is a multi-part fic. And Jack's hair has been fixed :) . And I would like more reviews, even if this is only chapter one, day 2 (or was it 3). And I would like someone to guess who the tall pirate is! Lousy spelling/grammar mistakes-- sorry!