Edward ran towards the town. The sun blinded his vision, loosing sight of Anne. He slowed his pace, and started walking. He pulled his leg up and kicked a flower, sending it and its roots flying. He wrinkled his nose, brushing away his sweaty bangs so he could see better.
"I am such an idiot." He muttered, questioning as to why he was skipping school and following Anne. He spat, his saliva flying through the air and catching the sun for a moment before it landed somewhere in the tall grasses. His big brown boots shuffled down the hill, so that he could control his speed. Edwards neared the town, the light wind picking up slightly. From this point on the hill, he could see most of the houses and shops of Port Royal, the dust rolling off of them and lifting into the sunlight. He could also see the docks and the big house where the governor himself lived.
He trotted on, making it to the bottom of the hill. He turned around, looking back up to where his school lay. The building seemed motionless. He sighed, lowering his head. His blue eyes focused on the ground as he made his way into the town. What was he to do if someone he knew saw him? He shoved his hands into his short pockets, watching out of the corner of his eye for anyone he knew. Edward was usually a good kid, obeying the rules. It was not like him to do something like this, ever. He figured that would play in his favour if anyone he knew did see him. But Anne? That would be a completely different story...
He turned the corner, now in the heart of the town of Port Royal. He made his way down the rocky roads, until he came upon a particular house. It was tall, with two stories, and a dark brown colour. A blacksmith sign swayed back and forth above the door, showing someone had recently entered the facility. He sighed again, his blue eyes rolling. "Too easy," he muttered, before pushing the door open.
Edward stepped into the dark room that was the black smith shop. The light from the door pooled in, making dancing patterns on the floor. He stepped down the stairs slowly, his eyes glancing around. Everything was nicely put in place, tools and all. A small, burning fire lay in a pit off to the side. This was the workshop of the best blacksmith in all of Port Royal, William Turner's. Edward made his way through it slowly, careful not to touch anything.
A little bang from one of the corner's of the room made Edward jump, spinning around. He looked just off to the side of the door, where a little stone ledge was. Anne sat there, her head titled to the side. Her coffee hair hung over, with her hat still in place. She had a black sword on her lap, pieces flying off of it as she worked at it with a small, sharp stone. Anne raised the sword up by its handle, allowing it to catch the sun and shine in Edward's eyes. He covered his eyes, squinting.
"A blade, perfectly balanced." She muttered, balancing it on her first two fingers. Her fingers were dark, covered in the black debris that had flown off her sword. She smiled slightly, noticing how her sword only wobbled slightly back and forth. "An old trick my dad taught me." She muttered again, her dark eyes looking up at Edward's for the first time.
Edward smiled slightly, stepping forwards. He reached his hand out, running it down the side of the blade. It dug small slits in his fingers, being sharp and precise. Edward stared at his bleeding finger tips in horror, not having expected them to bleed at all. He shoved them in his mouth quickly, drinking up the blood. Anne giggled, pulling the sword back towards her. She laid it beside her and began using her dress to polish it up.
"Your finest work yet." Edward mumbled, his fingers still in his mouth. Anne looked up at him, smiling.
"Thank you." She muttered again, taking her eyes back down to her sword. It was a wonderful sword, almost perfect in every way. "Wonder who will us it." She thought aloud, rubbing it up and down with her dress, tearing holes in the cloth.
"Probably someone who comes to kill you for skipping school." Edward replied, taking his fingers out of his mouth and poking them. Sure enough, they continued to bleed.
"ED!" Anne yelled. She jumped up, charging at Edward. Twisting her body sideways, she knocked her friend over with her side. Edward fell to the ground, laughing as he controlled his fall with his hands. Edward jumped up, readying himself to charge at Anne. He was about to jump forwards when
"ANNE!" A loud, painful shriek came from the upstairs in the house. Anne looked at Edward, her eyes wide with a cheeky smile on her face. She bit her lower lip, re-opening her cut, and tried not to laugh. "Anne is that you down there?!" The little shriek came again. A plum, rounded faced women appeared on the stairs that connected the workshop to the rest of the house. Her beady eyes scanned around, noticing Anne and then Edward.
"Now Anne." She said, shuffling herself down the stairs. She almost tripped, but steadied herself by grabbing the railing with both hands and holding on tight. "I'm okay. I'm okay." She muttered, breathing heavily. Anne and Edward both snickered, Edward covering his mouth so that he would not laugh aloud. "Anne, you did not call poor Mr. Edward 'Ed' did you now?" The woman continued, wandering over to Anne. She placed her hand on Anne's face. "You have another sun burn." She muttered trying to dust Anne's dress off.
"Agnus," Anne said, spinning around, "I'm fine." Anne nodded her head, trying to avoid this women, Agnus, who appeared to be her maid. "And sos what if I called him Ed?" Anne added, leaning against the wall.
"Mr. Edward is about to become respectable man, turning ten and six are you now sir?" Agnus replied, looking at Edward. She dipped her head, paying her respects to him.
"Why yes, thank you m'am." Edward said back, dipping his head in return. "But really, I do not mind being referred to as Ed. By Anne at least." Agnus sighed.
"At least, Anne dear, try to respect your elders."
"Yeah yeah. Ed's not much of a elder anyways." Anne muttered, her eyes rolling the other way. Her arms were crossed, with one of her feet pressed against the wall. Her feet were bare, lacking shoes. But it was rare that you would ever catch Anne in any form of foot protection at all. Her eyes were studying the ceiling, finding it suddenly very fascinating. "My dad fought another pirate up there you know Ed." Anne added, taking her glance away from the ceiling and over to Edward. Edward nodded slowly, listening to another painful shriek from Agnus.
"For goodness sakes child, stop going on about those pirates. Its not good for you deary. And do not call your father 'dad', it is un lady like." Agnus shuffled her body away, breathing heavily as she began her way back up the stairs. "And if either of you get hungry, I have some food prepared upstairs. Okay?"
"Yes m'am." Anne muttered, walking herself in a circle. "Guess she doesn't care if we aren't at school."
"Heh, yah." Edward said. He kicked his feet. "Yah know, since I am missing school and all, I should really be helping my uncle at the docks." He stated, avoiding Anne's eyes knowing she would not like that.
Anne sighed, nodding her head slowly. "Yeah, ok, fine." She said, grabbing the stairs and pulling herself up with her arms. "See you later then." She added, before disappearing into the lit room above.
"Bye." Edward muttered, watching her go. He stood for a moment, thinking things through. Shortly after, he shook his head back and forth and headed out the swinging door.
A few hours later, Anne lay beside her window, in the small room that belonged all to herself. The room was simple, with a just a bed and a chest of toys. The walls were decorated with drawings done by Anne herself, of everything from monkeys to ships on the seas.
Anne had her arms crossed, supporting her head as she lay. Her eyes stared outside, watching as the sun was slowly sinking behind all the houses. Her brown eyes searched back and forth. She sighed, rolling over and tucking her hands once again under her head. A seagull called overhead, returning back home after its day out.
A door opened and closed, making a loud banging, just outside Anne's room. Voices erupted, chattering away. Anne sighed again, pulling herself up slowly. Her head spun. She swallowed, pressing her feet against the cold floor. She sat in silence for a moment, listening. When the voices died down, Anne sighed and slowly rose to her feet. She walked slowly and quietly towards the exit and entrance of her room. Raising her hand, Anne pressed her hand against the door, observing the temperature of the thick, dark wood. She was about to make her way out of her room when the voices started up again.
"Will?! Where are you going?" A female voice cried out.
"I have orders to fill. Just working down stairs okay hun?" A male voice answered, equally as loud.
"No, not now Will. I got a letter from Anne's school..."
There was a pause of silence. Anne turned around and pressed her back against the door and slid down. Pulling her legs up against she body and rapped her arms around them, she adjusted her head so she could hear. 'Oh no.' She thought, her brown eyes big.
"Oh." The man's voice came out finally. There was a large thumping sound, like someone climbing stairs. "What did she do this time?"
"Anne talked back to Miss Willows, her teacher remember?, used inappropriate language, vandalized school property, and left when classes were not done yet." The women's voice said, saddened by it. There was a loud sigh, then the thumping continued. Anne felt anger building in her as her temperature rose.
"I do not believe it. Anne might be trouble...but she would not go so far as to do any of that." The man spoke, his words crisp and clear, angered by all this.
"There is more. Miss Willows goes on to explain how Anne's attitude needs improvement and her serious lack of women propriety needs attending to."
Silence took over the house once again. Anne made her hands into fists, her anger growing by each word that was spoken. There was then the sound of footsteps, and chairs being pulled out from a table. Then came the sound of two people sitting down, one placing his or her hands on top of the table.
"Anne," the man started up, sighing, "reminds be more and more of Jack each day. And she has never even met the guy!" One could tell that the two people were both frustrated by this situation.
Anne raised her head. 'Jack?' She thought. She knew that name. He was in all sorts of stories her parents used to tell her as a child. Her father had explained to her how he fought the man with the swords he made himself, and how later the three of them had become close friends. Anne smiled slightly. Her mother had always made sure that she thought that Jack was fiction. But a part of Anne had always believed he was alive, out there somewhere. And now, she had all the proof that she would ever need.
Anne pulled herself up, her back still pressed against the door. She turned around, gulping, and slowly turned the cold, brass door knob. Light from the outside room poured into her dark one. She blinked slowly, focusing on the table in front of her.
At the table, the two people sat, man and women. The stared at Anne for a second, seeming baffled. The women was of unspeakable beauty. She had long, straight brown hair, drenched from the sun. Her eyes were dark, staring forwards. Her skin and features were prefect. She wore a cream dress, laid out prefect as she sat. Very different from Anne's wrinkled one. The man had darker hair than the women, a chocolate colour almost. His hair was down to just below his shoulders, with a small beard and mustache to match. His skin was darkly tanned and his eyes were dark, just as the women's were.
This couple, staring back at Anne, were the infamous William and Elizabeth Turner. William, farther away from Anne than Elizabeth was, adjusted his position, coughing into his hand. Anne slowly removed her brown cap, her messy hair exposed. Holding her hat with both her hands, she stepped forwards slowly. Her eyes searched theirs, looking for answers.
The house sat, in silence, for far longer than it should have.
"I finished my sword dad." Anne said quietly, breaking the silence at last. She covered her mouth with her hat, biting down on the brim.
"Oh, did you? May I see?" William said, rising to his feet and pushing his chair back.
"Its perfectly balanced dad." Anne said quickly, her eyes glowing with relief. "I checked and everything." William smiled making his way closer to Anne. He was about to say something with a smile when Elizabeth interrupted him.
"Will! We ought to do something about this." Elizabeth said, her eyes glaring at William. Slowly she took her gaze towards Anne, who looked at her with nervous eyes. "Anne Turner, do you not want to do some needle work with me? We should fix your dress. And we could make brownies." Elizabeth said, trying to smile.
Anne shook her head quickly. "Not right now mom. I gotta show dad my sword." She smiled, turning towards the stairs.
"You really should address us as mother and father you know." Elizabeth said, straightening her posture.
"No." Anne said, laughing and shaking her head. "I would sound like some stuck up richy then." Anne stuck her tongue out, giggling. "Anyways, you don't look like a mother. Just a mom."
Elizabeth opened her mouth. Unable to say anything bad to her daughter's laughing face, she rolled her eyes. "I will get you for that." She smirked. She turned around, and grabbed a stick from the corner of the room. Anne's mouth dropped open, in a huge smile. She bolted towards the stairs, jumping down from them. William ran after her, jumping down after her. Because he was heavier, he fell faster than she did. He grabbed her half way down and the two of them fell, rolling around in the hay below. Elizabeth ran down the stairs, holding her stick.
"I'll hold her down." William said, grapping Anne's two arms. Anne laughed, kicking her feet as she tried to get away.
"Okay. I will get the cooking pot ready." Elizabeth laughed, turning around with a smile. Her dress flared out as she spun, looking oh so beautiful.
Anne's mouth dropped open further. "No way!" She yelled, kicking her feet around faster. "Like the cannibals on the island you went to right?" Anne asked, twisting her back around so she could see her father's face. William shook his head, his eyes twinkling.
"Not like. We /are/ the cannibals on the island." He yelled, making strange sounds with his mouth. Anne laughed, wiggling her body around.
"Nono! Don't eat me!" She yelled out, smiling. "Make me queen first, then you can eat me." Elizabeth laughed, spinning around.
"Demanding one we have." She said, glancing at William. William nodded in agreement. "Alright." Elizabeth said, placing her hands on her hips. "Bring her here."
William pulled Anne up, placing her in front of her mother. Elizabeth placed a little crown on her head, many once green leaves woven together. William lifted Anne up and placed her on the rock wall, which was to be her thrown.
Anne's shinning eyes glanced around her, swinging her feet. She looked around her, imagining what it would look like in the jungle. She pictured the pillars to be big trees, reaching higher in the sky than she was able to see. The stairs became a cliff, rocks tumbling down from it as daring people crossed it. The tools lying around the workshop became an assortment of animals. This jungle in Anne's imagination was lush, with all sorts of different sounds ringing out around each shadow.
She looked at her parents. She pictured them with darker skin, and markings all over their bodies. Her eyes glowed, as an idea flooded her mind.
"Dance!" Anne demanded, laughing. "Dance like you said the cannibals did dad." She titled her head to the side, her eyes huge with wonder and excitement.
Elizabeth and William exchanged glances, both rolling their eyes. William began dancing around the room, arched over and making funny gestures with his hands. Amusing facial expressions took over his face. Elizabeth laughed, as she began chanting and moving forwards in the same was William did. The two twirled around the room, screaming their hearts out.
At that exact moment of perfection and happiness for the Turner family, the door to the workshop burst open, a cold night breeze entering the house.