Anne and Mary didn't leave the house for a week. Partly, it was due to their worrying parents but both girls were horrified of the outdoors. Wonder and amazement had turned to terror. But curiosity was still deeply rooted in the children's minds and Anne often found herself gazing out of the window from her bedroom, imagining that strange boy jumping from tree to tree.
When they did leave the house, they never left their mother's side, the strangers of the new town seemed more ominous, their imagination scaring themselves as they thought of large, hairy beasts thundering around them.
But over time, they learned to be brave. As long as they stayed away from the forest, they knew they'd be safe. Anne, however, was still drawn to the forest. She wanted to see that boy again, to see if he was real.
"Mary..." She said one morning, sitting beside the window, staring out.
"Yes?" Her sister replied, following her gaze.
"I want to go back, back into the forest."
"You can't! You nearly died last time! It's dangerous!" Mary squealed.
"I know, but someone saved my life. If he's out there, I want to meet him."
"Anne, Papa won't let you."
"He won't know."
"What are you saying?" Mary questioned.
Anne paused, glanced from her sister and back to the window and stood.
"I won't be long." Anne told her, wrapping a coat around her as she clambered out of the window, using a chair to boost her up. "Put cushions underneath the sheets and tell Papa that I'm still asleep."
"Anne, come back!" Mary called, rushing to her.
"I'll be fine. Trust me."
"I'll tell Mother!"
Anne snapped back, glaring.
"Don't you dare. As your captain, I command you to stay quiet."
Mary bit her lip.
"Alright, but if you die, it's not my fault!" She called after the rebellious girl.
Anne slipped away back into the forest. She tread carefully, cautious of her last encounter, avoiding dark caves. At every rustle from the trees above her, she jolted. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
To ease her mind, as her mother often did, she sang. The music filled the eerie quiet of the forest and made all of nature sway in time to the tune.
"Far have I travelled,
And much have I seen,
Dark distance mountains,
With valleys of green,
Past painted deserts,
The sun set on fire,
As he carries me home to,
The Mull of Kintyre."
The boy watched the strange girl from the trees, obscured in the branches. He was entranced by her beautiful voice and her delicate pale skin. Was she a spirit?
A bird cried out from nearby, it's piercing screech striking Anne to her core. Following the sound, breathlessly, she found a nest, settled in the branches above. It was a curious bird, graceful with striking features, powerful and deadly, yet gentle as it fed its young.
"You like eagles?"
Anne spun at the voice, eyes wide. Before her stood the boy, an amused smile on his face.
"Is that what it is?" Anne asked, recovering.
"Yes. They are beautiful, are they not?" He said, watching the eagle preen its chicks.
"They are."
"Now, look." He pointed to it as it spread its wings, flapping twice before taking off, turning and twisting with ease through the trees, before extending its wings to their full length, gliding through the open air.
"Magnificent." Anne remarked.
There was a moment of silence as the two watched the eagle fly away into the distance.
"Thank you for saving my life." Anne turned, clasping her hands. "It was very brave what you did."
"My family always taught me to help who I could." He smiled. "May I ask your name?"
"It's Anne. Anne Young. And what is yours?"
"Antinanco." He said and the girl frowned, tilting her head to one side.
"Anti..."
"Antinanco." He repeated.
"Antinanco." She said, trying to work the name around her mouth. "That's a strange name."
"It means 'eagle of the sun'." He said.
"Oh, that's nice. I don't know what Anne means." She chuckled to herself.
His accent was strange to her, not like anything she was used to.
"Where are you from?" She asked.
"Here."
"But... You're not like the people here."
"I am not like those people, no. My people live nearby, deep in the forest."
"Why do you come out this far then?"
"Why do you?"
Anne paused, annoyed that her question had been turned around to her.
"Because I'm curious."
"And so am I."
"Do you speak another language?" She pressed.
"English is my other language."
"You speak it very well."
"So do you."
Anne found conversation intently amusing. She kept asking questions about his home and why she hadn't heard of him or his people before. He would reply with simple, obvious sounding answers and then grin at her reaction, whether it was amusement, or annoyance.
They sat beneath the eagle's nest, where Anne then told her story. He nodded, fixated on her every word as she described life in England, her mother, father and sister and even the bedtime stories she was told by her father, fascinated by pirates and the like.
"So your grandfather and your grandmother were pirates?" Antinanco asked, curious of her stories.
"Well, that's what my father says, but it's probably lies to make us feel like our family lead adventurous lives."
"But you and your sister are named after Mary Read and Anne Bonny?"
"Yes, my father said my grandparents knew them, fought with them."
"Why don't you ask your grandparents?"
Anne sighed, slumping back into the trunk of the tree.
"Grandma Jemima and Grandpa Thomas died a long time ago, when my papa was small."
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine, I never knew them, so it's not like I miss them. Papa was heart broken though."
"It's a sad thing to lose your parents."
Anne nodded. She remembered a time not too long ago when she had been exploring in her family home in Oxfordshire. She found a teddy bear, tattered and old, but loved. Anne remembered barking a laugh and rushing to show her parents. Her mother gave a gentle smile, congratulating her find, whereas her father held a curious expression. Quietly, he signalled to be given the bear. She did so and watched as he tearfully stared at it. Her mother shepherded her out of the room as her father began to cry. Upset at her father's misery, Anne had asked what she had done. It was then that Eleanor explained to her that Edward was twelve when he had been visiting family friends with his parents. The house had been attacked by mercenaries and they had killed both his parents and his friend's father. That bear was the last memory he had of them. Everything of value had been taken by the Assassins while the family home was set aside and only to be given to Edward once he turned eighteen. All at once, Edward was an orphan, with nothing to his name, but an old, loved, teddy bear.
Antinanco looked up to the sky.
"It must be midday by now." He remarked.
"Midday?!" Anne scrambled to her feet. "I have to go, if my parents find out I'm gone-"
"I'm sorry I kept you out for so long." He bowed his head.
"No," she smiled. "I've enjoyed it, really. Thank you."
As Anne raced off back through the forest, the young Mohawk hunter watched her go.
'What a strange girl,' he thought. 'Such pale skin and what an odd voice. Not to mention her clothing. I don't think it was made from animal skins at all.'
Anne glanced back as she ran.
'What a strange boy,' she thought. 'Such dark skin and what an odd voice. Not to mention his clothing. I don't think it was bought from a shop at all.'
As she clambered back through the window, she considered telling her parents of the curious boy she met. But then, she decided against it. If they knew she'd been going back into the forest, they'd never let her leave the house again.
'No,' she thought. 'This was going to be my secret.'